Search

Post–heating operation is crucial to produce ambient yogurt, which is also a direct cause of sensory defects, especially graininess. Consumers' perception of graininess varies based on individual sensitivities. Accurate evaluation of graininess is a prerequisite for improving the sensory quality of ambient yogurts. The purpose of this study was to propose a method to discriminate consumers' sensitivity to grainy perception of post–heating (55 °C–85 °C, 25 s) fermented milk, and to further determine the volume proportion threshold required to produce different graininess intensities by blending fermented milk with different particle sizes. The results suggested that increasing the post–heating temperature induced various graininess by promoting different microgel aggregation. Fermented milks with microgel aggregate sizes of ∼14–∼20 μm, ∼27 μm, and ∼46–∼65 μm were classified as "weak", "moderate", and "strong" graininess, respectively. This result was obtained by approximately 81% of the panelists with moderate and high sensitivity on the perception of graininess. Furthermore, the graininess can be modulated by regulating the fermented milks with larger microgels and with smaller microgels; however, the blending volume of the latter must exceed 50% to reduce the graininess of the former by 1–2 sensory intensity ranks. • The graininess of fermented milk was adjusted by regulating particle size distributions. • Smaller particles with a volume ratio exceeding 50% masked the perception of larger particles. • Consumers's sensitivity was identified by a power-law fitting between particle size and graininess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed deep learning frameworks facilitate large deep learning workloads. These frameworks support sharing one GPU device among multiple jobs to improve resource utilization. Modern deep learning training jobs consume a large amount of GPU memory. Despite that, sharing GPU memory among jobs is still possible because a training job has iterative steps that its memory usage fluctuates over time. However, resource sharing also introduces the risk of job performance degradation. Co-located jobs sharing a GPU device may suffer from different levels of interference, mainly caused by memory oversharing. How to improve resource utilization while maintaining good job performance is a novel challenge for job placement strategies. This paper studies the job placement problem. We propose an opportunistic memory sharing model to describe the time-varying job memory requirements. Based on this model, we introduce an Opportunistic Job Placement Problem (OJPP) for shared GPU clusters that seek job placement configurations using a minimum number of GPU devices and guarantee user-defined performance requirements at the same time. We propose a greedy algorithm and a heuristic algorithm with computational complexities of O (n log ⁡ n) and O (n 2 log ⁡ n) , respectively, to solve the problem. We also propose an online adjustment algorithm with the computational complexity of O (n log ⁡ n) to perform updates to job placement configurations in runtime. A machine-learning-based interference prediction method is used to prepare accurate interference estimations. Extensive experiments are conducted on a GPU cluster to verify the correctness and effectiveness of our algorithms. Compared with standalone training jobs on dedicated clusters, the proposed approach reduces resource consumption by 46% in a shared cluster, while guaranteeing over 92.97% of the job performance, in terms of average job completion time. • Introduce a stochastic model to describe memory oversharing of deep learning jobs on a shared GPU device. • Introduce a novel interference-aware Opportunistic Job Placement Problem for shared distributed deep learning clusters. • Propose algorithms to handle both offline job placement and online adjustment problems. • Illustrate extensive experimental results to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoplastics (NPs) frequently cause adverse health effects by transporting organic pollutants such as dibutyl phthalate (DBP) into organisms by utilizing their large specific surface area, large surface charge, and increased hydrophobicity. However, the effects of NPs combined with DBP on the reproductive systems of mammals are still unclear. The present investigation involved the administration of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) to BALB/c mice via gavage, with a size of 100 nm and at doses of 5 mg/kg/day or 50 mg/kg/day, along with DBP at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day, or a combination of PS-NPs and DBP, for 30 days, to assess their potential for reproductive toxicity. The co-exposure of mice to PS-NPs and DBP resulted in a significant increase in reproductive toxicities compared to exposure to PS-NPs or DBP alone. This was demonstrated by a marked decrease in sperm quality, significant impairment of spermatogenesis, and increased disruption of the blood-testis barrier (BTB). Furthermore, a combination of in vivo and in vitro investigations were conducted to determine that the co-exposure of DBP and PS-NPs resulted in a noteworthy reduction in the expressions of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and occludin). Moreover, the in vitro findings revealed that monobutyl phthalate (MBP, the active metabolite of DBP, 0.5 μg/mL) and PS-NPs (30 μg/mL or 300 μg/mL) inhibited autophagy in Sertoli cells, thereby increasing the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The study found that PS-NPs and DBP co-exposure caused harmful effects in male reproductive organs by disrupting BTB, which may be alleviated by reactivating autophagy. The paper's conclusions provided innovative perspectives on the collective toxicities of PS-NPs and other emerging pollutants. [Display omitted] • Co-exposure of PS-NPs and DBP induced testicular impairments in male mouse. • PS-NPs + DBP enhanced reproductive toxicity relative to PS-NPs and DBP alone. • Due to impaired autophagy, PS-NPs + DBP aggravated the destruction of BTB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) play key roles in the development of human cancers. The lncRNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) is reported to be an oncogene in a variety of cancers. However, the roles of PVT1-5 and its related miRNAs in lung cancer are poorly understood. In this study, we found that PVT1-5 expression was significantly increased in lung cancer tissues and cell lines. By using biotin-labeled lncRNA-PVT1-5 probe for miRNA in vivo precipitation (miRIP) in lung cancer cells and dual-luciferase reporterassays, we identified that miR-126 was associated with lncRNA-PVT1-5. Furthermore, knockdown of lncRNA-PVT1-5 in cells could down-regulate the expression of SLC7A5, the target of oncogenic miR-126, resulting in the cell proliferation. Conversely, inhibiting the expression of miR-126 markedly increased the expression of SLC7A5 and alleviated cell proliferation inhibition. Thus, our results indicated that lncRNA-PVT1-5 may function as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-126 to promote cell proliferation by regulating the miR-126/SLC7A5 pathway, suggesting that lncRNA-PVT1-5 plays a crucial role in lung cancer progression and lncRNA-PVT1-5/miR-126/SLC7A5 regulatory network may shed light on tumorigenesis in lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a frequently used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid can impair the chemoreceptive behavior of honey bees even at sublethal doses, while the physiochemical mechanism has not been further revealed. Here, multiple fluorescence spectra, thermodynamic method, and molecular docking were used to study the interaction and the functional inhibition of imidacloprid to the recombinant CSP1 protein in Asian honey bee, Apis cerana . The results showed that the fluorescence intensity (λ em = 332 nm) of CSP1 could be significantly quenched by imidacloprid in a dynamic mode. During the quenching process, Δ H > 0, Δ S > 0, indicating that the acting forces of imidacloprid with CSP1 are mainly hydrophobic interactions. Synchronous fluorescence showed that the fluorescence of CSP1 was mainly derived from tryptophan, and the hydrophobicity of tryptophan decreased with the increase of imidacloprid concentration. Molecular docking predicted the optimal pose and the amino acid composition of the binding process. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that imidacloprid reduced the α-helix of CSP1 and caused the extension of the CSP1 peptide chain. In addition, the binding of CSP1 to floral scent β-ionone was inhibited by nearly 50% of the apparent association constant ( K A ) in the presence of 0.28–2.53 ng/bee of imidacloprid, and the inhibition rate of nearly 95% at 3.75 ng/bee of imidacloprid at sublethal dose level. This study initially revealed the molecular physiochemical mechanism that sublethal doses of neonicotinoid still interact and inhibit the physiological function of the honey bees' chemoreceptive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the storage and computational efficiency of hashing technology, it has proven a valuable tool for large scale similarity search. In many cases, the large scale data in real-world lie near some (unknown) low-dimensional and non-linear manifold. Moreover, Manifold Ranking approach can preserve the global topological structure of the data set more effectively than Euclidean Distance-based Ranking approach, which fails to preserve the semantic relevance degree. However, most existing hashing methods ignore the global topological structure of the data set. The key issue is how to incorporate the global topological structure of data set into learning effective hashing function. In this paper, we propose a novel unsupervised hashing approach, namely Manifold-Ranking Embedded Order Preserving Hashing (MREOPH). A manifold ranking loss is introduced to solve the issue of global topological structure preserving. An order preserving loss is introduced to ensure the consistency between manifold ranking and hamming ranking. A hypercubic quantization loss is introduced to learn discrete binary codes. The information theoretic regularization term is taken into consideration for preserving desirable properties of hash codes. Finally, we integrate them in a joint optimization framework for minimizing the information loss in each processing. Experimental results on three datasets for semantic search clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Store classification is a challenging task due to the large variation of view, scale, illumination and occlusion. To efficiently distinguish different stores, we introduce two features: Text-Exemplar-Similarity and Hypotheses-Weighted-CNN. For the first feature, the similarity with the discriminative characters is used to represent the text information. For the second feature, we first generate a set of object hypotheses. Then, we introduce two priors: edge boundary and repeatness prior to give a higher weight to the hypotheses enclosing the object. After the generation of two features, a simple and efficient optimization method is used to find the best weight for each feature. Extensive experiments are evaluated to verify the superiority of the proposed method. We built a new 9-class store dataset composed of photos and images from the internet. The experiments show that our method is nearly 10% higher than the state-of-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a feature discovering method incorporated with a wavelet-like pattern decomposition strategy to address the image classification problem. In each level, we design a discriminative feature discovering dictionary learning (DFDDL) model to exploit the representative visual samples from each class and further decompose the commonality and individuality visual patterns simultaneously. The representative samples reflect the discriminative visual cues per class, which are beneficial for the classification task. Furthermore, the commonality visual elements capture the communal visual patterns across all classes. Meanwhile, the class-specific discriminative information can be collected by the learned individuality visual elements. To further discover the more discriminative feature information from each class, we then integrate the DFDDL into a wavelet-like hierarchical architecture. Due to the designed hierarchical strategy, the discriminative power of feature representation can be promoted. In the experiment, the effectiveness of proposed method is verified on the challenging public datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effect of cisapride, a selective serotonin 5-HT 4 -receptor agonist, on voltage-dependent K + (Kv) channels using freshly isolated smooth muscle cells from the coronary arteries of rabbits. The amplitude of Kv currents was reduced by cisapride in a concentration-dependent manner, with an IC 50 value of 6.77 ± 6.01 μM and a Hill coefficient of 0.51 ± 0.18. The application of cisapride shifted the steady-state inactivation curve toward a more negative potential, but had no significant effect on the steady-state activation curve. This suggested that cisapride inhibited the Kv channel in a closed state by changing the voltage sensitivity of Kv channels. The application of another selective serotonin 5-HT 4 -receptor agonist, prucalopride, did not affect the basal Kv current and did not alter the inhibitory effect of cisapride on Kv channels. From these results, we concluded that cisapride inhibited vascular Kv current in a concentration-dependent manner by shifting the steady-state inactivation curve, independent of its own function as a selective serotonin 5-HT 4 -receptor agonist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Docetaxel efficiency in the therapy of prostate cancer (PCa) patients is limited due to the development of chemoresistance. Recent studies have implied a role of INPP4B in tumor chemoresistance, while the effects of INPP4B on docetaxel resistance in PCa have not been elucidated. In the present study, the docetaxel-resistant human PCa cell lines PC3-DR and DU-145-DR were established from the parental cell lines PC3 and DU-145, and the expression and role of INPP4B in docetaxel-resistant PCa cells were investigated. The results demonstrated that INPP4B expression was significantly downregulated in docetaxel-resistant cells. Overexpression of INPP4B increased the sensitivity to docetaxel and promoted cell apoptosis in PC3-DR and DU-145-DR cells. In addition, INPP4B overexpression downregulated the expression of the mesenchymal markers fibronectin, N-cadherin, and vimentin, and upregulated the expression level of the epithelial maker E-cadherin. Furthermore, INPP4B overexpression markedly inhibited the PI3K/Akt pathway. We also found that IGF-1, the inhibitor of PI3K/Akt, markedly blocked the change in EMT markers induced by overexpression of INPP4B, and reversed the resistance of PC3-DR and DU-145-DR cells to docetaxel, which is sensitized by Flag-INPP4B. In summary, the presented data indicate that INPP4B is crucial for docetaxel-resistant PCa cell survival, potentially by regulating EMT through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing cosegmentation methods focus on exploiting inter-image information to extract a common object from a single image group. Observing that in many practical scenarios there often exist multiple image groups with distinct characteristics but related to the same common object, in this paper we propose a multi-group image cosegmentation framework, which not only discoveries inter-image information within each image group, but also transfers inter-group information among different image groups so as to produce more accurate object priors. Particularly, the multi-group cosegmentation task is formulated as an energy minimization problem, where we employ Markov random field (MRF) segmentation model and the dense correspondence model in the model design and adapt the Expectation-Maximization algorithm (EM) to solve the optimization. We apply the proposed framework on three practical scenarios including image complexity based cosegmentation, multiple training group cosegmentation and multiple noise image group cosegmentation. Experimental results on four benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed multi-group image cosegmentation framework is able to discover more accurate object priors and outperform state-of-the-art single-group image cosegmentation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general purpose no reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) is a challenging task, which faces two hurdles: (1) it is difficult to develop one quality aware feature which works well across different types of distortion and (2) it is hard to learn a regression model to approximate a complex distribution for all training samples in the feature space. In this paper, we propose a novel NR-IQA method that addresses these problems by introducing the multi-domain structural information and piecewise regression. The main motivation of our method is based on two points. Firstly, we develop a new local image representation which extracts the structural image information from both the spatial-frequency and spatial domains. This multi-domain description could better capture human vision property. By combining our local features with a complementary global feature, the discriminative power of each single feature could be further improved. Secondly, we develop an efficient piecewise regression method to capture the local distribution of the feature space. Instead of minimizing the fitting error for all training samples, we train the specific prediction model for each query image by adaptive online learning, which focuses on approximating the distribution of the current test image’s k -nearest neighbor (KNN). Experimental results on three benchmark IQA databases (i.e., LIVE II, TID2008 and CSIQ) show that the proposed method outperforms many representative NR-IQA algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of the calmodulin inhibitor CGS 9343B on voltage-dependent K + (Kv) channels using whole-cell patch clamp technique in freshly isolated rabbit coronary arterial smooth muscle cells. CGS 9343B inhibited Kv currents in a concentration-dependent manner, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value of 0.81 μM. The decay rate of Kv channel inactivation was accelerated by CGS 9343B. The rate constants of association and dissociation for CGS 9343B were 2.77 ± 0.04 μM − 1 s − 1 and 2.55 ± 1.50 s − 1 , respectively. CGS 9343B did not affect the steady-state activation curve, but shifted the inactivation curve toward to a more negative potential. Train pulses (1 or 2 Hz) application progressively increased the CGS 9343B-induced Kv channel inhibition. In addition, the inactivation recovery time constant was increased in the presence of CGS 9343B, suggesting that CGS 9343B-induced inhibition of Kv channel was use-dependent. Another calmodulin inhibitor, W-13, did not affect Kv currents, and did not change the inhibitory effect of CGS 9343B on Kv current. Our results demonstrated that CGS 9343B inhibited Kv currents in a state-, time-, and use-dependent manner, independent of calmodulin inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, a novel method is proposed to detect salient regions in images. To measure pixel-level saliency, joint spatial-color constraint is defined, i.e., spatial constraint (SC), color double-opponent (CD) constraint and similarity distribution (SD) constraint. The SC constraint is designed to produce global contrast with ability to distinguish the difference between “center and surround”. The CD constraint is introduced to extract intensive contrast of red-green and blue-yellow double opponency. The SD constraint is developed to detect the salient object and its background. A two-layer structure is adopted to merge the SC, CD and SD saliency into a saliency map. In order to obtain a consistent saliency map, the region-based saliency detection is performed by incorporating a multi-scale segmentation technique. The proposed method is evaluated on two image datasets. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on salient region detection as well as human fixation prediction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we propose an automatic human body segmentation system which mainly consists of human body detection and object segmentation. Firstly, an automatic human body detector is designed to provide hard constraints on the object and background for segmentation. And a coarse-to-fine segmentation strategy is employed to deal with the situation of partly detected object. Secondly, background contrast removal (BCR) and self-adaptive initialization level set (SAILS) are proposed to solve the tough segmentation problems of the high contrast at object boundary and/or similar colors existing in the object and background. Finally, an object updating scheme is proposed to detect and segment new object when it appears in the scene. Experimental results demonstrate that our body segmentation system works very well in the live video and standard sequences with complex background. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, a novel face segmentation algorithm is proposed based on facial saliency map (FSM) for head-and-shoulder type video application. This method consists of three stages. The first stage is to generate the saliency map of input video image by our proposed facial attention model. In the second stage, a geometric model and an eye-map built from chrominance components are employed to localize the face region according to the saliency map. The third stage involves the adaptive boundary correction and the final face contour extraction. Based on the segmented result, an effective boundary saliency map (BSM) is then constructed, and applied for the tracking based segmentation of the successive frames. Experimental evaluation on test sequences shows that the proposed method is capable of segmenting the face area quite effectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The three-phase behavior of quaternary systems comprising N-lauroyl-N-methylglucamide (MEGA-12)/alcohol/alkane/water has been studied using fishlike phase diagrams. From the fishlike phase diagrams a series of phase inversions Winsor I (2) → III (3) → II () were observed, and the hydrophilic–lipophilic balanced (HLB) plane equation for the quaternary system was deduced. Some physicochemical parameters, such as the mass fraction of alcohol in the HLB interfacial layer, , the coordinates of the start (, ) and end points (, ) of the middle-phase microemulsion, the mass fractions of MEGA-12 and alcohol in the total system ( and ), and the solubilities of MEGA-12 and alcohol in oil phase ( and ), were calculated. The effects of different alcohols, alkanes, and NaCl concentrations in the aqueous phase on the phase behavior and solubilization capacity were investigated, which indicates that alcohol with longer and alkane with shorter hydrocarbon chains have a larger solubilization capacity. NaCl concentration has little influence on the phase behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It is predicted that oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the ocean will expand as a consequence of global warming and environmental pollution. This will affect the overall microbial ecology and microbial nitrogen cycle. As one of the world's largest alluvial estuaries, the Yangtze Estuary has exhibited a seasonal OMZ since the 1980s. In this study, we have uncovered the microbial composition, the patterns of community assembly and the potential for microbial nitrogen cycling within the water column of the Yangtze Estuary, with a particular focus on OMZ. Based on the 16 S rRNA gene sequencing, a specific spatial variation in the composition of prokaryotic communities was observed for each water layer, with the Proteobacteria (46.1%), Bacteroidetes (20.3%), and Cyanobacteria (10.3%) dominant. Stochastic and deterministic processes together shaped the community assembly in the water column. Further, pH was the most important environmental factor influencing prokaryotic composition in the surface water, followed by silicate, PO 4 3−, and distance offshore (p < 0.05). Water depth, NH 4 +, and PO 4 3− were the main factors in the bottom water (p < 0.05). At last, species analysis and marker gene annotation revealed candidate nitrogen cycling performers, and a rich array of nitrogen cycling potential in the bottom water of the Yangtze Estuary. The determined physiochemical parameters and potential for nitrogen respiration suggested that organic nitrogen and NO 3 − (or NO 2 −) are the preferred nitrogen sources for microorganisms in the Yangtze Estuary OMZ. These findings are expected to advance research on the ecological responses of estuarine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) to future global climate perturbations. [Display omitted] • Planktonic prokaryotic microbiome in the Yangtze Estuary water was characterized. • Oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the Yangtze Estuary has distinct prokaryotic community. • Stochastic and deterministic processes shape community assembly in the Estuary. • OMZ shows potent nitrogen respiration potential. • Terrigenous organic N and NO 3 − (or NO 2 −) may be preferred N source for OMZ microbes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unified semi-analytical method for the free in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations of arbitrarily shaped plates with clamped edges. The method is derived using boundary conformal mapping (BCM). The BCM is first proposed here to overcome the mathematical difficulty in describing the clamped boundary conditions of complex or/and irregular shaped plates. Elliptical, rectangular and horseshoe plates with clamped edges are studied to demonstrate the proposed method. After that, another two groups of arbitrarily shaped plates including three polygonal plates and three curve-edged plates are studied. The efficiency of the proposed method is checked through a convergence study. Results from the proposed method agree well with the available results in the literature and with finite element results. All the case studies demonstrate that the proposed method is versatile and gives good accuracy for both the in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations of arbitrarily shaped plates with clamped edges. New results from the proposed method can serve as benchmarks for further study on the vibration of plates, especially of irregular shaped plates. • Free in-plane and out-of-plane vibration solutions for clamped plates are proposed. • Solutions are semi-analytical, generalized and apply to arbitrarily shaped plates. • Boundary conformal mapping (BCM) is introduced to obtain the solutions. • BCM overcomes mathematical difficulty in describing irregular shaped boundary conditions. • BCM method is versatile and has excellent accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregation state of mineral slurry by coagulant with the presence of clay nanosheets appears similar to a flocculation gel with the absence of flocculant. The interactions between particles in mixed clay and quartz minerals systems are influenced by the interactions of ion correlation and slime coating, which creates zeta potential variation. Particle concentration has a substantial effect on zeta potential, and coal slurry has a relative high particle concentration. To realize an in situ aggregation study, zeta potential measurement of coal slurry was performed using electrokinetic sonic amplitude (ESA) without dilution at different calcium ion concentrations and pH values. The zeta potentials of three minerals commonly occurring in coal slurry (quartz, kaolinite and montmorillonite) with similar particle concentrations were also measured. The result suggests that aggregation of coal slurry by calcium ions in the presence of clay minerals belongs to fluctuation. The ion correlation and slime coating could be detected by ESA with a decrease in zeta potential under high calcium ion concentration conditions. The face-face coagulated clay nanosheets were formed by ion correlation, acting as a "flocculant chain". The adsorption force between the "flocculant" and particles is described as a slime coating. This flocculation process is referred to as "salt-clay-coagulation-flocculation" (SCCF). During ion correlation, rearrangement of the electric double layer between face-face spaces causes a reduction of the zeta potential. The super-fine negatively charged clay nanosheets might coat onto the quartz particle surfaces under the effect of electrostatic attraction force and Ca2+ ion correlation. Quartz and clay minerals were oppositely charged because the special adsorption of calcium ions on the clay basal face was restricted in hexatomic rings. • The aggregation termed as "salt-clay-coagulation-flocculation" (SCCF) can be determined by zeta potential test. • During SCCF, "flocculant chain" is formed by face-face coagulation of clay. • During SCCF, the adsorption force between the "flocculant" and particles is slime coating. • Face-face coagulation is attributing to the ion correlation between the clay basal surfaces. • The zeta potential difference between quartz and clay is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] We synthesized herein a novel 3D cathode constructed by growing cobalt diselenide in situ on the surface of carbon nanofiber for hydrogen evolution reaction. The cobalt diselenides with two typical morphologies (agaric-like and nanorod-like) were synthesized by precisely controlling reaction time and temperature in the same system. They show excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reactions. Especially, the agaric-like diselenide cobalt electrode has the low overpotential (187 and 199 mV) to obtain the current density of 50 and 100 mA cm−2 with a small Tafel slope of 37 mV dec−1 in acidic medium. The excellent catalytic performance of the agaric-like cobalt diselenide can be attributed to its large specific surface area and fast electron transfer rate. More importantly, the agaric-like cobalt diselenide supported carbon nanofiber electrode has excellent long-term stability in electrolyte. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance and stability of agaric-like cobalt diselenide supported carbon nanofiber indicate that it is a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an exact analytical solution is proposed to investigate the free in-plane vibration of sector plates. The highly complex and coupled differential equations of in-plane vibration motion are decoupled by invoking Helmholtz decomposition. The method of separation of variables is used to solve the resulting uncoupled Helmholtz equations. Applying the boundary conditions at both radial edges, the compatible eigenvalue problems for sector plates are obtained. Then, applying the boundary conditions at inner and outer circumferential edges, the corresponding characteristic equations can be solved to obtain the natural frequencies and the associated mode shapes. The results from the proposed method agree very well with the results from the available literature and the FEM. Significant influence of the boundary conditions and the geometric parameters on the free in-plane vibration characteristics of sector plates is investigated and addressed. The superficial frequency veering "aberration" between neighboring modes is discussed and found in fact to be an eigenvalue crossing phenomenon. It is proved that for a sector plate, only with simply supported radial edges, there exists an exact analytical solution. The proposed exact analytical solution can provide not only the detailed characteristics of the free in-plane vibration of sector plates but also the benchmark for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the vasorelaxant effects of sitagliptin, which is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor in aortic rings pre-contracted with phenylephrine (Phe). Sitagliptin induced vasorelaxation in a concentration-dependent manner but the inhibition of voltage-dependent K+ (Kv) channels by pretreatment with 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) effectively reduced this effect. By contrast, the inhibition of inward rectifier K+ (Kir) channels by pretreatment with barium (Ba2+), large-conductance calcium (Ca2+)-activated K+ (BK Ca) channels with paxilline, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive K+ (K ATP) channels with glibenclamide did not change this effect. Although the application of SQ 22536, which is an adenylyl cyclase inhibitor, also did not change this effect, treatment with KT 5720, a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, effectively reduced the vasorelaxant effects of sitagliptin. ODQ, which is a guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, and KT 5823, a protein kinase G (PKG) inhibitor, did not impact the effect. Furthermore, neither the inhibition of Ca2+ channels by pretreatment with nifedipine nor the inhibition of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) pumps by pretreatment with thapsigargin changed the effect. Similarly, the effects of sitagliptin were not altered by eliminating the endothelium, by pretreatment with a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor (L-NAME), or by inhibition of small- and intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (SK Ca and IK Ca) using apamin and TRAM-34. Taken together, these results suggest that sitagliptin induces vasorelaxation by inhibiting both membrane potential (Em)-dependent and -independent vasoconstriction and activating PKA and Kv channels independently of PKG signaling pathways, other K+ channels, SERCA pumps, and the endothelium. Unlabelled Image • We investigated the vasorelaxant effects of sitagliptin and its related mechanisms. • Sitagliptin induced vasorelaxation via the activation of the Kv channel and PKA. • Tight control of sitagliptin dosing is needed, especially in hypotensive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rationally designed reaction between the GO sheets, Sn2+ ions and GA molecules in mild hydrothermal condition contributes to the formation of an intermediate SnO 2 @GA@RGO sample with a MOF on graphene configuration, which is converted to the final SnO 2 /C/RGO composite with optimized microstructures after thermal treatment. [Display omitted] Tin dioxide (SnO 2) is being investigated as a promising anode material for both lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Effectively dispersing small sized SnO 2 crystals in well-designed carbonaceous matrices using eco-friendly materials and simplified methods is an urgent task. Herein, gallic acid (GA) molecules, abundant in plant kingdom, are firstly selected to react with few-layered graphene oxide (GO) in mild hydrothermal condition, and the GA modulated reduced graphene oxide (GA@RGO) supporting skeleton can be obtained. Then Sn-GA metal–organic framework (MOF) domains can be directly engineered on the surface of the GA@RGO sheets with controlled size and improved dispersion. Finally, the well-designed Sn-GA@RGO precursor is converted to the SnO 2 /C/RGO nanocomposite with significantly optimized microstructure. The SnO 2 /C/RGO sample delivers an excellent specific capacity of 823.6 mAh·g−1 after 700 cycles at 1000 mA·g−1 in half-cells and 741.3 mAh·g−1 after 50 cycles at 200 mA·g−1 in full-cells for LIBs, a specific capacity of 370.3 mAh·g−1 after 600 cycles at 200 mA·g−1 in half-cells for SIBs. The sample preparation strategy is rationally established by comprehensively understanding the interactions between GO sheets, Sn2+ ions and GA molecules, and the engineered SnO 2 /C/RGO nanocomposite has good prospects in wider fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chelation reaction between LS-Na and SnCl 2 under mild hydrothermal condition generates the SnCl 2 @LS sample with a uniform distribution of Sn2+ in the LS domains, which can be further dispersed by GO sheets via a redox coprecipitation reaction. After thermal treatment, the SnCl 2 @LS@GO sample can be converted to the SnO 2 /LSC/RGO composite with improved micro-structure. [Display omitted] Tin dioxide (SnO 2) is widely recognized as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. To simultaneously achieve satisfactory electrochemical performances and lower manufacturing costs, engineering nano-sized SnO 2 and further immobilizing SnO 2 with supportive carbon frameworks via eco-friendly and cost-effective approaches are challenging tasks. In this work, biomass sodium lignosulfonate (LS-Na), stannous chloride (SnCl 2) and a small amount of few-layered graphene oxide (GO) are employed as raw materials to engineer a hierarchical carbon framework supported SnO 2 nanocomposite. The spontaneous chelation reaction between LS-Na and SnCl 2 under mild hydrothermal condition generates the corresponding SnCl 2 @LS sample with a uniform distribution of Sn2+ in the LS domains, and the SnCl 2 @LS sample is further dispersed by GO sheets via a redox coprecipitation reaction. After a thermal treatment, the SnCl 2 @LS@GO sample is converted to the final SnO 2 /LSC/RGO sample with an improved microstructure. The SnO 2 /LSC/RGO nanocomposite exhibits excellent lithium-ion storage performances with a high specific capacity of 938.3 mAh/g after 600 cycles at 1000 mA g−1 in half-cells and 517.1 mAh/g after 50 cycles at 200 mA g−1 in full-cells. This work provides a potential strategy of engineering biomass derived high-performance electrode materials for rechargeable batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutrophication, mainly caused by the oversupply of nitrate (NO 3 − ) and phosphate, has become a serious environmental problem in Xiangshan Bay (east China), but the sources of the nitrate are poorly understood. In this study, the estuarine distributions of dual stable isotopes (δ 15 N and δ 18 O) of NO 3 − measured in May 2012 were used in combination with concurrent measurements of salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate) to investigate NO 3 − sources and the processes that control NO 3 − distributions within the bay. In the lower bay, high concentrations of NO 3 − (up to 60.6 μmol L −1 ), an N/P ratio of 52, and low values of nitrate δ 15 N (δ 15 N NO3  = 5.7‰–6.7‰) and δ 18 O (δ 18 O NO3  = 1.8‰–3.5‰) indicate that NO 3 − in this area was likely from the Changjiang and Qiantangjiang rivers as well as local nitrification-associated inputs. In the upper bay, constituent concentrations and high values of δ 15 N NO3 (up to 8.8‰) and δ 18 O NO3 (up to 6.8‰) suggest that NO 3 − distributions here were controlled mainly by the mixing of coastal and fresh waters, phytoplankton assimilation, and inputs of riverine NO 3 − , possibly derived from manure and sewage. Spatial variations of Δ(15,18), the nitrate δ 15 N-to-δ 18 O anomaly, is possibly resulted from the different water residence times across the bay, which could in turn lead to different degrees of nitrification or variable amounts of NO 3 − from atmospheric deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Flexible microspheres consisting of Si nanoparticles, CNTs and amorphous carbon are prepared. • The mass producible spray-drying method is used for building the stable composite microspheres. • The carbon nanotubes and amorphous carbon act as conductive pathway and relieve internal stresses. • The interpenetrating structure improves the performance of Si nanoparticles as anode materials. The huge volumetric expansion (> 300 %) of Si that occurs during the charge–discharge process makes it to have poor cycling ability and weak stable structure. These factors are considered as critical obstacles to the further development of Si as anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, novel 3D interpenetrating microspheres, i.e., Si@C-CNTs, which consist of silicon nanoparticles interpenetrated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and stuck with amorphous carbon (C) have been designed and prepared via a spray-drying assisted approach. As anode of LIBs, Si@C-CNTs microspheres can achieve high silicon loadings of around 86 % and a high initial coulomb efficiency of 80.8 %. The electrodes maintain a reversible specific capacity of 1585.9mAh/g at 500 mA g−1 after 200 cycles, and deliver an excellent rate capability of 756.4 mAh/g at 5 A g−1. The outstanding performance of Si@C-CNTs can be due to their 3D interpenetrating structure and the synergy effect between the CNTs network and amorphous carbon therein. They synergistically act as conductive matrices which significantly improve the conductivity of the composite; they also act binders and reinforcing skeleton which help the composite spheres to have stable structure. Especially, the latter (reinforcing skeleton) alleviates the volumetric effect induced by the expansion and shrinkage of silicon particles during lithiation. The unique architecture provides an ideal model that can be used to design Si-based composite anode for advanced LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naturally available amylose (AM) serves as both reducing agent for few-layered graphene oxide (GO) in the first mild redox coprecipitation system and precursor for small-sized pyrolytic amylose-derived carbon (AMC) in the following thermal treatment. Compared with the Fe 3 O 4 @RGO sample, the crystal size and excessive exposure of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles, the over restacking of reduced graphene oxide (GO) sheets in Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO composites are effectively controlled. [Display omitted] A straightforward and eco-friendly method is demonstrated to engineer magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) nanoparticles well dispersed by an amorphous amylose-derived carbon (AMC) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) framework. Naturally available amylose (AM) serves as both reducing agent for few-layered graphene oxide (GO) in the first mild redox coprecipitation system and precursor for small-sized pyrolytic AMC in the following thermal treatment. In particular, the presence of the AM molecules effectively limits the crystal growth kinetics for the akaganeite (FeOOH) in the intermediate FeOOH@AM/RGO sample, which contributes to the transformation to Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with significantly controlled size in the final Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO composite. As a result, both Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and AMC domains are adjacently anchored on the larger sized RGO sheets, and a unique hierarchical structure has been engineered in the Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO sample. Compared with the controlled Fe 3 O 4 @RGO sample, the Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO composite exhibits remarkably enhanced initial coulombic efficiency, superior cycling stability and rate performance for lithium-ion storage. The mechanisms of the interaction between GO sheets and AM molecules as well as the inspiring electrochemical behaviors of the Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO electrode have been revealed. The Fe 3 O 4 @AMC/RGO sample possesses good potential for scaling-up and finding applications in wider fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Amorphous carbon is adopted to protect VO 2 from the dissolution in alkaline electrolyte. • The insertion of Co2+ boosts the internal structure stability of vanadium oxide. • Dual engineering strategy is realized via the hydrothermal method and annealing process. • The unique starfruit-like morphology is beneficial for the diffusion of ions. The vanadium dioxide (VO 2 (D)), with ultra-high theoretical capacitance, has been considered as a boon for electrode materials of advanced supercapacitors (SCs). However, the VO 2 has a series of shortcomings such as poor electrical conductivity, severe structural damage, and rapid capacity fading during cycles, resulting in unsatisfactory electrochemical performance. Herein, the Co2+ pre-intercalation and amorphous carbon confined vanadium dioxide (CoxVO 2 @C) with starfruit-like nanostructure is synthesized on a conductive Ni foam substrate via a versatile and cost-effective method. As a cathode for SCs, the obtained CoxVO 2 @C not only enables a small amount of Co2+ pre-intercalation layer to offer faster ion diffusion kinetics for VO 2 , but also utilizes a high-conductivity amorphous carbon to protect VO 2 from dissolution in an alkaline electrolyte, thereby exhibiting the ultrahigh specific capacitance up to 4440.0 mF cm−2 at 5 mA cm−2 (525.2 F g−1 at 2 A g−1) and the prominent long-term stability performance of the electrode. Benefited from these excellent characteristics, a high-performance CoxVO 2 @C//V 2 O 3 hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) device with an operating voltage of 1.7 V is further assembled. The HSC device delivers a superior energy density of 102.3 W h kg−1 at a power density of 6.1 kW kg−1, manifesting its practical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular disease is the prime determinant to cardiovascular morbidities and mortalities, which comprises the early vascular damage and subsequent cardiovascular events. Non-alcohol Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a systemic metabolic disorder that drives the progression of vascular disease through complex interactions. Although a causal relationship between NAFLD and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been established, a growing number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated an independent association between NAFLD and early vascular disease and subsequent cardiovascular events. In addition, mechanistic studies suggest that NAFLD initiates and accelerates vascular injury by increasing systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, impairing insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism, and modulating epigenetics, the intestinal flora and hepatic autonomic nervous system; thus, NAFLD is a putative driving force for CVD progression. In this review, we summarize the clinical evidence supporting the association of NAFLD with subclinical vascular disease and cardiovascular events and discuss the potential mechanisms by which NAFLD promotes the progression of vascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Trifluoperazine inhibited vascular Kv current independently of calmodulin activity. [•] Trifluoperazine inhibits Kv channel in both open and closed state. [•] Caution is required when using trifluoperazine to study vascular Kv channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) model is frequently-used in simulating ion transport through ion channel systems. Due to the nonlinearity and coupling of PNP model, choosing appropriate initial values is crucial to obtaining a convergent result or accelerating the convergence rate of finite element solution, especially for large channel systems. Continuation is an effective and commonly adopted strategy to provide good initial guesses for the solution procedure. However, this method needs multiple times to solve the whole system at different conditions. We utilize a reduced model describing a near-or partial-equilibrium state as an approximation of the original PNP system (describing a non-equilibrium process in general). Based on the reduced model, we design three initialization methods for the solution of PNP equations under general conditions. These methods provide the initial guess of the PNP system by solving a specifically designed Poisson-Boltzmann-like model, Smoluchowski-Poisson-Boltzmann-like model, and linear approximation model. Simulations of potassium channels 1BL8 and 2JK4 demonstrate that these methods can effectively reduce the number of Gummel iteration steps and the total CPU time in the solution of the PNP equations, and especially do not need the continuation approach anymore. The reason is that these initial guesses can approximate the PNP solution well in the channel region. Besides, our numerical experiments demonstrate that as one of the initialization methods, the linear approximation method can even produce very close results such as current-voltage curves to that from the PNP model when the membrane potential is not high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved gluten materials were prepared using bio-fermentation and acid bath coagulation methods for congo red adsorption. After comparison, the method of acid bath coagulation with better effect was selected and further preparations of improved gluten materials were achieved under different acid coagulation baths and the solid-liquid ratios. Finally, particular adsorption properties were studied using the sample of improved gluten material with the acid coagulation bath of HCl and the solid-liquid ratio of 1:5. Influence parameters on the congo red adsorption such as temperature, dose, contact time and pH were discussed. The adsorption properties of the improved gluten material were investigated by isotherm (the Langmuir model and the Freundlich model), kinetics (the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion equations) and thermodynamic analysis. The results showed that this improved gluten material was an efficient adsorbent for removal of congo red. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating nanoscale active materials on conductive holey reduced graphene oxide (RGO) framework is an effective strategy to synthesize composite electrode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Herein, a composite of γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles stabilized by the engineered holes on RGO was successfully synthesized by using a facile in-situ etching route, which exhibited high lithium storage performance. The fundamental insight of its enhancement mechanism was discussed. This work offers a newly route to synthesize the composite of holey RGO confined metal oxide nanoparticles for the applications in lithium ion batteries and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has implicated PM 2.5 as a potential environmental risk factor for CKD, but little is known about the associations between its components and CKD. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study using the updated air pollution data in the nationwide population (N = 2,938,653). Using generalized additive models, we assessed the association between long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and its components (i.e., black carbon [BC], organic matter [OM], nitrate [NO 3 −], ammonium [NH 4 +], sulfate [SO 4 2−]), and CKD prevalence. The air pollution data was estimated using high-resolution and high-quality spatiotemporal datasets of ground-level air pollutants in China. Besides, we adopted a novel quantile-based g-computation approach to assess the effect of a mixture of PM 2.5 constituents on CKD prevalence. The average concentration of PM 2.5 was 78.67 ± 22.5 μg/m3, which far exceeded WHO AQG. In the fully adjusted generalized additive model, at a 10 km × 10 km spatial resolution, the ORs per IQR increase in previous 1-year average PM 2.5 exposures was 1.380 (95%CI: 1.345–1.415), for NH 4 + was 1.094 (95%CI: 1.062–1.126), for BC was 1.604 (95%CI: 1.563–1.646), for NO 3 − was 1.094 (95%CI: 1.060–1.130), for SO 4 2− was 1.239 (95%CI: 1.208–1.272), and for the OM was 1.387 (95%CI: 1.354–1.421), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed females, younger, and healthier were more vulnerable to this effect. In the further exploration of the joint effect of PM 2.5 compositions (OR 1.234 [95%CI 1.222–1.246]) per quartile increase in all 5 PM 2.5 components, we found that PM 2.5 SO 4 2− contributed the most. These findings provide important evidence for the positive relationship between long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and its chemical constituents and CKD prevalence in a Chinese health check-up population, and identified PM 2.5 SO 4 2− has the highest contribution to this relationship. This study provides clinical and public health guidance for reducing specific air particle exposure for those at risk of CKD. • Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 and its components is significantly associated with CKD prevalence. • Sulfate is the strongest contributor to the CKD prevalence among PM 2.5 components. • Our research provids updated evidence for clinical and public health guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans are exposed to disinfection by-products through oral, inhalation, and dermal routes, during bathing and swimming, potentially causing skin lesions, asthma, and bladder cancer. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a master regulator of the adaptive antioxidant response via the antioxidant reaction elements (ARE) orchestrating the transcription of a large group of antioxidant and detoxification genes. Here we used an immortalized human keratinocyte model HaCaT cells to investigate NRF2-ARE as a responder and protector in the acute cytotoxicity of seven haloacetonitriles (HANs), including chloroacetonitrile (CAN), bromoacetonitrile (BAN), iodoacetonitrile (IAN), bromochloroacetonitrile (BCAN), dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN), dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN), and trichloroacetonitrile (TCAN) found in drinking water and swimming pools. The rank order of cytotoxicity among the HANs tested was IAN ≈ BAN ˃ DBAN ˃ BCAN ˃ CAN ˃ TCAN ˃ DCAN based on their LC 50. The HANs induced intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation and activated cellular antioxidant responses in concentration- and time-dependent fashions, showing elevated NRF2 protein levels and ARE activity, induction of antioxidant genes, and increased glutathione levels. Additionally, knockdown of NRF2 by lentiviral shRNAs sensitized the HaCaT cells to HANs-induced cytotoxicity, emphasizing a protective role of NRF2 against the cytotoxicity of HANs. These results indicate that HANs cause oxidative stress and activate NRF2-ARE-mediated antioxidant response, which in turn protects the cells from HANs-induced cytotoxicity, highlighting that NRF2-ARE activity could be a sensitive indicator to identify and characterize the oxidative stress induced by HANs and other environmental pollutants. [Display omitted] • Haloacetonitriles cause acute cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in HaCaT cells. • Haloacetonitriles induce NRF2-ARE-mediated antioxidant response in HaCaT cells. • NRF2 protects human keratinocytes from HANs-induced acute cell damage. • NRF2-ARE activity is an indicator for the oxidative stress caused by haloacetonitriles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death among adults worldwide. Mindin is an ECM protein that plays important roles in regulating inflammation, angiogenesis and neuronal outgrowth. The role of mindin in the context of brain ischemia has not been examined. Methods and results: Transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery was performed on mindin knockout (KO) mice, mice that carried a neuron-specific constitutively active mindin transgene (TG) and the appropriate controls. The outcome of the ischemia was evaluated by examination of the infarct and edema volumes and by neurological score assessments. The brains were collected 24h or 3days following the induced stroke. Compared with the control mice, the mindin KO mice exhibited lower infarct volumes and better outcomes in the neurological tests. Mindin-deficient mice exhibited low expression levels of stroke-induced inflammatory mediators, an attenuated recruitment of inflammatory cells, and inhibited activation of NF-κB. The neuronal apoptosis levels were also lower in the brains of the mindin KO mice than in those of the control mice. The mice that expressed a neuron-specific, constitutively active mindin transgene exhibited effects following the cerebral ischemic injury that were the opposite of those that were observed in the mindin KO mice. Moreover, Akt signaling activation was elevated in the ischemic brains of mindin KO mice. Conclusions: Mindin KO mice exhibited minor infarctions, an attenuated inflammatory response and low levels of neuronal apoptosis following an ischemic insult. These data demonstrate that mindin is a critical mediator of ischemic brain injury in an experimental stroke model. Akt signaling most likely mediates the biological function of mindin in this model of cerebral ischemia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of regulator of G-protein signaling 5 (Rgs5), a negative regulator of G-protein-mediated signaling, on cardiac repolarization and arrhythmia in mice. Wild-type and Rgs5−/− mice were subjected to in vivo, in vitro, and cellular electrophysiological experiments. Rgs5−/− mouse hearts showed significantly prolonged cardiac repolarization, including prolonged QT interval and action potential duration (APD). Consistent with these findings, measurement of K+ currents in ventricular myocytes of Rgs5−/− mice revealed significant reduction of the outward voltage-dependent K+ currents, including I peak, I to, I Kur, and I ss, compared to that in wild-type mice. Transcript and protein expression levels of Kv4.2, Kv4.3, Kv1.5, and Kv2.1 were downregulated in Rgs5−/− mouse ventricles compared with those in wild-type mice (P <0.05). In addition, electrically induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias were facilitated by Rgs5−/− in isolated hearts. Importantly, the increased incidence and duration of electrically induced ventricular tachyarrhythmias were associated with enhanced dispersion of APD and spatial heterogeneity of I peak, I to and I Kur between the epicardium and endocardium in the Rgs5−/− heart. This study showed the relationship between the absence of Rgs5 and cardiac electrophysiological abnormality. The results strongly indicate that Rgs5−/− induced prolonged repolarization and ventricular tachyarrhythmia, which were closely related to the remodeling of voltage-dependent K+ currents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The recombinant duck interleukin-2 (rduIL-2) monomer was firstly isolated under nature condition, and refolded by oxidization procedure. Refolded rduIL-2 monomer induced in vitro proliferation of Con A-stimulated duck splenocytes in a sensitive and dose-dependent manner, and up-regulated in vivo the amounts of CD4+ T cells with low dose of administration. However, high doses intermittent administration resulted in sever side effects in vivo, with typical lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis and nephritis, and lymphocytic depletion in splenic corpuscle. Our findings might be beneficial to studies of both mechanism and applications in vivo of avian IL-2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigated the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin (a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor) and the underlying mechanisms using rabbit aorta. Empagliflozin induced vasodilation in a concentration-dependent manner independently of the endothelium. Likewise, pretreatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME or the SKca inhibitor apamin together with the IKca inhibitor TRAM-34 did not impact the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin. Pretreatment with the adenylyl cyclase inhibitor SQ22536 or a guanylyl cyclase inhibitor ODQ or a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor KT5720 also did not alter the vasodilatory response of empagliflozin. However, the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin were significantly reduced by pretreatment with the protein kinase G (PKG) inhibitor KT5823. Although application of the ATP-sensitive K+ (K ATP) channel inhibitor glibenclamide, large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (BK Ca) channel inhibitor paxilline, or inwardly rectifying K+ (Kir) channel inhibitor Ba2+ did not impact the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin, pretreatment with the voltage-dependent K+ (Kv) channel inhibitor 4-AP reduced the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin. Pretreatment with DPO-1 (Kv1.5 channel inhibitor), guangxitoxin (Kv2.1 channel inhibitor), or linopirdine (Kv7 channel inhibitor) had little effect on empagliflozin-induced vasodilation. Application of nifedipine (L -type Ca2+ channel inhibitor) or thapsigargin (sarco-endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase pump inhibitor) did not impact empagliflozin-induced vasodilation. Therefore, empagliflozin induces vasodilation by activating PKG and Kv channels. Unlabelled Image • We investigated the vasodilatory effects of empagliflozin and its related mechanisms. • Empagliflozin induced vasorelaxation via the activation of the Kv channel and PKG. • Tight control of empaliflozin dosing is needed, especially in hypotensive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]