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Due to precipitation infiltration, evaporation of water, and rising and falling of the wetting line, the tailings are in a cyclical moisture absorption-dehumidification state for a long time. The mechanism of change of physical and mechanical properties of tailings during the dry and wet cycle is related to the safe operation of the entire tailings dam. In order to explore the variation of the mechanical behavior of tailings in a tailings pond in Hunan Province with the number of dry and wet cycles under different initial water content conditions, the tailings sand samples with moisture content of 6.10%, 10.40%, 14.00%, 18.20%, and 21.00% were subjected to 0 to 6 times of moisture absorption and desorption cycles at natural dry density, and then, the stress-strain relationship curves, pore water pressure, failure mode, and shear dilatancy of these samples were tested by triaxial consolidation undrained shear test. The test results showed that when the number of moisture absorption and desorption cycles increases, the strength of the tailings sand sample was weakened, and the strength tended to be stable after 3∼5 cycles. In addition, the stress-strain curve of the sample with lower water content dropped sharply. However, the pore pressure of tailings sand samples with different water contents under different wet and dry cycles all showed a phenomenon of increasing first and then decreasing in general.

Objective. Preservation of fertility in Turner syndrome (TS) patients may be feasible through cryopreservation of ovarian tissue before follicles begin to disappear. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is said to be a predictive factor of spontaneous pubertal development in TS. We aimed to determine the cut-off values of AMH for the diagnosis of TS girls with spontaneous puberty. Design and methods: A total of 95 TS patients between 4 and 17 years were evaluated at the Department of Pediatric Genetic Metabolism and Endocrinology from July 2017 to March 2022. Serum AMH, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were analyzed according to age, karyotype, pubertal development, and ultrasound ovarian visualization. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyzes were used to test the utility of AMH for the diagnosis of TS girls with spontaneous puberty. Results. One-fourth of TS girls aged 8–17 years had spontaneous breast development, with the ratios as follows: 45, X (6/28, 21.4%), mosaicism (7/12, 58.3%), and mosaicism with structural X chromosome abnormalities (SCA) (2/13, 15.4%), SCA (1/13, 7.7%), and Y chromosome (1/3, 33.3%). The AMH cut-off value for the prediction of spontaneous puberty in TS patients was 0.07 ng/ml, with sensitivity and specificity both at 88%. FSH, LH levels, and Karyotypes could not be considered as markers of spontaneous puberty in TS (P > 0.05). A strong relationship was observed between serum AMH levels and spontaneous puberty or ultrasound bilateral ovarian visualization. Conclusions. The AMH cut-off value for the prediction of spontaneous puberty in TS girls aged 8–17 years was 0.07 ng/ml, with sensitivity and specificity both at 88%. However, spontaneous puberty in these patients is not predictable based on karyotype or FSH or LH levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key to China's regional high-quality development lies in county-level coordination and promotion. Therefore, based on 2847 county-level administrative units in China, this paper uses empirical analysis methods such as dynamic spatial panel Dobbin model and intermediary effect model to study.Then we test the relationship between the industrial structure of county innovation capacity and regional development of high quality. The results showed that (1) the regional development of high quality at the county level in China was generally distributed in clusters, and the agglomeration had a further trend of strengthening. (2) The innovation ability and industrial structure also had a positive effect on the regional development of high quality at the county level, and the result was significant. (3) Innovation had both direct and indirect effects on regional development of high quality. Industrial structure and regional development of high quality had strong spatial and temporal dependence effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iris species, commonly known as rainbow flowers because of their attractive flowers, are extensively grown in landscape gardens. A few species, including Belamcanda chinensis, the synonym of I. domestica and I. tectorum, are known for their medicinal properties. However, research on the genomes and evolutionary relationships of Iris species is scarce. In the current study, the complete chloroplast (CP) genomes of I. tectorum, I. dichotoma, I. japonica, and I. domestica were sequenced and compared for their identification and relationship. The CP genomes of the four Iris species were circular quadripartite with similar lengths, GC contents, and codon usages. A total of 113 specific genes were annotated, including the ycf1 pseudogene in all species and rps19 in I. japonica alone. All the species had mononucleotide (A/T) simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and long forward and palindromic repeats in their genomes. A comparison of the CP genomes based on mVISTA and nucleotide diversity (Pi) identified three highly variable regions (ndhF-rpl32, rps15-ycf1, and rpl16). Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete CP genomes concluded that I. tectorum is a sister of I. japonica, and the subgenus Pardanthopsis with several I. domestica clustered into one branch is a sister of I. dichotoma. These findings confirm the feasibility of superbarcodes (complete CP genomes) for Iris species authentication and could serve as a resource for further research on Iris phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to unveil the generation and variation rule of the main taste components in braised broth for 10 quantitative repeated braising cycles. The major taste compounds of three groups (MS, broth cooked with meat and spices; M, broth cooked with meat; and S, broth cooked with spices) were systematically analyzed by the state‐of‐art chromatography and electronic sensory technology. As braising cycles progressed, contents of free 5′‐nucleotides and amino acids were increased in MS and M, while those nucleotides were not detected in S. A significant discrimination of taste in MS and M was revealed by electronic tongue evaluation during the process. As the formation rates (FR) of taste compounds and the transformation rates (TR) of taste compounds to volatile compounds were mainly accounting for the generation and variation of flavor in broth, a hypothesis was proposed to illustrate the whole variation of taste compounds in the process integrally that the ratio of FR/TR dividing the process into three stages, Degradation, Balance, and Accumulation. Practical applications: The traditional braising process and formula are empirical and extensive, which impede the increase in meat products output. Nowadays, the industry of braising products is facing a problem of standardization and quality control, and needs to carry out scientific and quantitative process improvement efficiently. Therefore, the developed comprehensive approach demonstrates great potential for braised meat broth flavor monitoring and quality control in an objective and holistic manner. It provides data support and new ideas of technology development for quality control in the process of meat braising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid overall characterization of quality changes in complex food systems is considered extremely challenging. Herein, a multi‐molecular infrared spectroscopy (MM‐IR) methodology in combination with low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance and chemometrics, to in‐situ reveal the quality changes of surimi (protein) products as a whole was developed. Surimi with cryoprotectant (SWC) and without cryoprotectant (SWO) were used as a typical demonstration. Specifically, secondary structures in proteins could transform into each other and the structural variation of SWC was smaller than that of SWO. Cryoprotectant could slow down the water conversion from non‐moveable to free, thereby slow down the rate of protein degradation. principal component analysis results of massive samples verified the differences in quality between SWC and SWO at different storage stages. Therefore, the addition of cryoprotectant led to the frozen surimi having less protein secondary structure conversion and water migration. In sum, the developed MM‐IR could be applicable for the quality tracking of frozen surimi. Practical applications: Low‐temperature storage is currently the most mainstream storage method for surimi, and the preservation time of surimi can be extended by adding cryoprotectants. In this study, the overall quality of frozen surimi could be characterized in situ and simultaneous multi‐component analysis could be realized, and the changes in the secondary structure of surimi protein and the migration of water could be tracked in situ. The results of this work had the potential to track the quality changes of complex frozen aquatic products as a whole and predicted the frozen storage time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common diagnosed cancers around the world. The poor prognosis and high fatality caused by metastasis are still the challenges for clinical treatment. Therefore, it is promising to clarify the detailed molecular mechanism of CRC metastasis. Accumulating evidences indicate that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in cancer progression including CRC. In this study, the function of lncRNA UCA1 was investigated. UCA1 was confirmed to be highly expressed in colorectal cancer. Moreover, the UCA1 expression level was positively related to tumor stages. Silencing UCA1 showed inhibitory effect on cell proliferation and metastasis. Both UCA1 and NOTCH3 were validated as direct targets of miR-185. Silencing UCA1 repressed NOTCH3 expression through the miR-185 sponge. NOTCH3 was found to be highly expressed in CRC patients and positively related to UCA1 expression. Furthermore, HES5 was verified as a transcription factor of UCA1, which induced UCA1 expression. In conclusion, UCA1 is a direct target of HES5. UCA1 promotes CRC metastasis through regulating the miR-185/NOTCH3 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through field observation and theoretical study, we found that the Hanxing mining area has a typical ternary structure in coal mining under high water pressure of the aquifer. This ternary structure is the Ordovician limestone aquifer-aquiclude including thin limestones-coal seam. Although the aquiclude is considerably thick, there is still a great risk of water burst during mining under water pressure in the deep burial environment. Multidimensional characteristics of floor water inrush in deep mining are summarized in the paper, including water migration upwardly driven by the Ordovician confined water, the planar dispersion of the water inrush channel, the stepped increase of the water inrush intensity, the hysteretic effluent of the water inrush time and the exchange, and adsorption of the water quality. The water inrush mechanism is clarified that the permeability, dilatancy, fracturing, and ascending of the water from the Ordovician limestone aquifer form a planar and divergent flow through the transfer, storage, and transportation of thin limestone aquifers. The corresponding water inrush risk evaluation equation is also proposed. Based on the thickness of the aquiclude, the thickness of the failure zones, and the water inrush coefficient, the floor aquiclude is classified into five categories. While water inrush cannot be completely controlled by the traditional underground floor reinforcement with ultra-thick aquiclude or even zonal grouting, a comprehensive prevention and control concept of the four-dimensional floor water hazard in full time-space domain are proposed. A tridimensional prevention and control model of three-dimensional reticulated exploration, treatment, verification, and supplementation is presented. A full time domain technological quality control process of condition assessment, exploration, remediation, inspection, evaluation, monitoring, and reassurance is formed, and a water disaster prevention method with full time-space tridimensional network in deep coal mining is established. Case study in the Hanxing mining area demonstrates that the proposed methods are highly effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gut microbiota represents a source of genetic and metabolic diversity of a complex polymicrobial ecosystem within its host. To investigate age-based variations of the gut microbiota among Shennongjia golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana hubeiensis), we characterized the microbial species in fecal samples from 18 Shennongjia golden snub-nosed monkeys evenly pooled into 3 aged groups (Group 1, 1-3 years; Group 2, 5-8 years; Group 3, above 12 years) in Shennongjia, Hubei Province, China. Genomic DNA was extracted from fecal samples, and the 16S rRNA gene V4 region was sequenced using the Illumina high-throughput MiSeq platform PE250. A total of 28 microbial phyla were identified in the gut microbiome of these monkeys with the ten most abundant phyla (i.e., Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Spirochaetes, Tenericutes, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Fibrobacteres, Cyanobacteria, and Euryarchaeota). A total of 1,469 (of 16 phyla and 166 genera), 1,381 (of 16 phyla and 157 genera), and 1,931 (of 19 phyla and 190 genera) operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were revealed in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, with Group 3 containing the most diverse groups of OTUs as revealed by the species relative abundance clustering analysis. These results suggest that the gut microbiota in these monkeys maintain a dynamic status, starting from the early developmental stages of life with the species relative abundance increasing with age. This is the first study to comprehensively characterize the gut microbiota and provide valuable information for monitoring the health and nutritional needs of this endangered primate at different ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The property of asphalt binder plays an important role in the performance of asphalt mixture. The natural rubber additive (NRA) was recommended as a modifier in the preparation of high viscosity asphalt (HVA) binder. Then, the gradation named LASTIKA-13 was adopted to design the high viscosity asphalt mixture (HVAM) according to the orthogonal test analysis and the optimized gradation. The performance of the proposed HVAM was evaluated through a series tests including the permanent deformation at high temperature, moisture stability, low-temperature cracks, and bending fatigue test. The results indicate that the proposed modified asphalt binder shows a comparable property with the conventional modified asphalt binder. The proposed HVAM with the NRA modifier has a superior performance to other conventional mixtures in the temperature susceptibility and resistance to moisture damage. Furthermore, the proposed HVAM was less sensitive to the temperature change and has good performance in terms of resistance to low-temperature cracks, bonding characteristics, and fatigue behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clump-based discrete element model is one of the asphalt mixture simulation methods, which has the potential to not only predict mixture performance but also simulate particle movement during compaction, transporting, and other situations. However, modelling of asphalt sand mortar in this method remains to be a problem due to computing capacity. Larger-sized balls (generally 2.0–2.36 mm) were usually used to model the smaller particles and asphalt binder, but this replacement may result in the mixture's unrealistic volumetric features. More specifically, replacing original elements with equal volume but larger size particles will increase in buck volume and then different particle contacting states. The major objective of this research is to provide a solution to the dilemma situation through an improved equivalent model of the smaller particles and asphalt binders. The key parameter of the equivalent model is the diameter reduction factor (DRF), which was proposed in this research to minimize the effects of asphalt mortar's particle replacement modelling. To determine DRF, the DEM-based analysis was conducted to evaluate several mixture features, including element overlap ratio, ball-wall contact number, and the average wall stress. Through this study, it was observed that when the original glued ball diameters are ranging from 2.00 mm and 2.36 mm, the diameter reduction factor changes from 0.82 to 0.86 for AC mixtures and 0.80 to 0.84 for SMA mixtures. The modelling method presented in this research is suitable not only for asphalt mixtures but also for the other particulate mix with multisize particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the bus network, key bus station failure can interrupt transfer lines, which leads to the low effectiveness of the whole network, especially during peak hours. Thus, identifying key stations in the bus network before the emergency occurs has a great significance to improve the response speed. In this paper, we proposed a new method considering station hybrid influence and passenger flow to identify key stations in the whole bus network. This method aims to measure the influence of bus stations while combining the topological structure of the bus network and dynamic bus stations passenger flow. The influence of bus stations was calculated based on the local structure of the network, which refines from finding the shortest paths with high computational complexity. To evaluate the performance of the method, we used the efficiency of the network and vehicle average speed at the station to examine the accuracy. The results show that the new method can rank the influence of bus stations more accurately and more efficiently than other complex network methods such as degree, H-index, and betweenness. On this basis, the key stations of the bus network of Beijing in China are identified out and the distribution characteristics of the key bus stations are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the variation law of mechanical properties of tailing sand of a metal ore in Hunan Province under the action of moisture absorption and dehumidification circulation, based on the indoor triaxial test results of tailing sand, this paper introduces the statistical damage theory, combined with the physical and mechanical properties of tailing sand, and studies the elastic-plastic mechanical properties of tailing sand on the basis of the Lemaitre strain equivalent theory. Giving full consideration of the change of tailing sand's pore and volume in the deformation process, an improved statistical damage constitutive model is proposed; it can reflect that the residual strength of tailings after the peak value still has bearing capacity under the action of dry wet circulation. Compared with the results of indoor triaxial consolidation undrained test, this constitutive model is more reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle flow numerical simulation software (PFC3D) was utilized to establish the consolidated-undrained triaxial compression test numerical models of mine tailings with different dry densities to deeply investigate the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of mine tailings in a tailing pond in Hunan Province. Comparing the results of the simulation and the laboratory experiment, the mesoscopic parameters of the particle flow numerical simulation were obtained through continuously adjusting the mesoscopic parameter with the higher degree of agreement between the stress-strain curve, the peak strength, and the elastic modulus as the determining standard. The macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of mine tailings were studied from the perspectives of stress-strain, axial strain-volume strain, coordination number, particle velocity vector, and contact force between particles. After numerous numerical tests, it was found that the PFC3D simulation results are consistent with experiment results of the dry density tailing samples under different confining pressures; compared with the high confining pressure, the simulation test results at lower confining pressures were more with that of the laboratory tests; low density and high confining pressure both have inhibitory effect on the dilatancy characteristics of triaxial samples; with the same confining pressure, the dilatancy tendency of low dry density samples is suppressed comparing with the high dry density samples. The initial coordination number of the numerical model is large, which proves that the contact degree of the model is good to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guaranteed-performance formation control for swarm systems with the second-order dynamics is investigated based on the synchronization control strategy. Firstly, a new formation protocol is presented, where the weights of connected edges are adaptively regulated and the performance constraint is imposed. Then, on the basis of the Riccati inequality, sufficient conditions for synchronization-based guaranteed-performance formation are proposed, and an explicit expression of the guaranteed-performance cost is shown, where it is fully distributed to design gain matrices of the formation protocol in the sense that it is independent of global information of swarm systems. Moreover, the whole motion of a swarm system is determined, which is associated with initial states of all agents and formation control vectors. Finally, two numerical examples are shown to demonstrate theoretical conclusions, where the static whole motion and the dynamic whole motion are considered, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to prepare a liposomal temperature-sensitive gel able to slowly release resveratrol after local intramuscular injection. The best formulation of resveratrol liposomes was based on the highest encapsulation efficiency and drug loading designed by Box-Behnken. The prepared liposomes were approximately circular, with a mean particle diameter of 161.5 ± 0.12 nm and zeta potential of -6.9 mV. The optimized liposomes were dispersed in a polymer gel (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) for preparation of an in situ-formed gel at 35 ± 2 ° C. In vitro release of the prepared liposome temperature-sensitive gel was studied and compared with ordinary drug-releasing gels, revealing a significantly longer drug release time. Finally, a rat sciatic nerve injury model was used to evaluate the pharmacological activity of the liposome temperature-sensitive gels for the repair of damaged nerves. The results indicate that the gel was able to promote recovery of damaged nerves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to precipitation infiltration, evaporation of water, and rising and falling of the wetting line, the tailings are in a cyclical moisture absorption-dehumidification state for a long time. The mechanism of change of physical and mechanical properties of tailings during the dry and wet cycle is related to the safe operation of the entire tailings dam. In order to explore the variation of the mechanical behavior of tailings in a tailings pond in Hunan Province with the number of dry and wet cycles under different initial water content conditions, the tailings sand samples with moisture content of 6.10%, 10.40%, 14.00%, 18.20%, and 21.00% were subjected to 0 to 6 times of moisture absorption and desorption cycles at natural dry density, and then, the stress-strain relationship curves, pore water pressure, failure mode, and shear dilatancy of these samples were tested by triaxial consolidation undrained shear test. The test results showed that when the number of moisture absorption and desorption cycles increases, the strength of the tailings sand sample was weakened, and the strength tended to be stable after 3∼5 cycles. In addition, the stress-strain curve of the sample with lower water content dropped sharply. However, the pore pressure of tailings sand samples with different water contents under different wet and dry cycles all showed a phenomenon of increasing first and then decreasing in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presented the preparation and performance of a kind of high viscosity and elastic recovery asphalt (HVERA) by using some modifiers. The performance of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), rock asphalt (RA), crumb rubber (CR), and stabilizing agent (SA) for different modifiers was investigated by conventional binder test. Effects of modifiers on the high- and low-temperature properties of HVERA were investigated. The dynamic viscosity (DV) test, dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and bending beam rheometer (BBR) analysis indicated that the high- and low-temperature rheological properties of asphalt were improved attribute to the addition of mixture of modifiers. Meanwhile, the short-term aging and long-term aging were simulated by rolling thin film oven (RTFO) and pressure aging vessel (PAV) tests. Furthermore, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements were conducted for obtaining the mechanism and microstructure distribution of the modified asphalt binders. From the test results in this study, it was evident that the addition of SBS, RA, CR, and SA into a neat asphalt binder could both significantly improve the viscosity of the binder at high temperature and lower the creep stiffness at low temperature, which was beneficial to better both high-temperature stability and low-temperature cracking resistance of asphalt pavements. It was proved that the high temperature grade of HVERA could be increased by increasing of RA and a proper percentage of modifiers could be improved by the low temperature grade of HVERA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study on the relationship between the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on senescent neural stem cells and Wnt-β/catenin signaling pathway. Background. Recent studies have shown that overactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is closely related to stem cell senescence. Whether Rg1 delays the senescence of NSCs is related to the regulation of this signaling pathway. Methods. The whole brain of Nestin-GFP transgenic newborn rat was extracted, and NSCs were extracted and cultured to P3 generation. The following indicators were detected: (1) NSC culture identification, (2) the effect of LiCl on the proliferation and survival rate of NSCs, (3) the effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on the proliferation and survival of NSCs, (4) the growth of NSCs in each group observed by an optical microscope, (5) the cell cycle of each group detected by flow cytometry, (6) the proliferative ability of each group detected by BrdU, (7) the fluorescence intensity of Nestin and Sox2 of NSCs in each group observed by a fluorescence microscope, (8) the positive rate of senescence staining analyzed by SA-β-Gal staining, (9) the localization of β-catenin in NSCs observed by laser confocal microscopy, and (10) the changes of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related proteins in each group detected by Western blotting. Results. LiCl activates the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and promotes mouse neural stem cell senescence. Ginsenoside Rg1 promotes proliferation of neural stem cells and inhibits Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation. Conclusions. LiCl can activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway of NSCs, and ginsenoside Rg1 can antagonize the senescence of NSCs caused by activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and delay brain aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal inflammation can result in renal injury. Uric acid (UA) is the final product of purine metabolism in humans and because of the lack of urate oxidase, UA may accumulate in tissues, including kidney, causing inflammation. Galangin was isolated from a traditional Chinese medicine plant and possesses several beneficial effects, working as an anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-viral agent. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the molecular mechanism of galangin in the attenuation of UA induced renal inflammation in normal rat kidney epithelial cells NRK-52E. Our findings suggested that galangin treatment efficiently protected NRK-52E cells against UA induced renal inflammation by decreasing tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and nitric oxide (NO) release, and it inhibited nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-18 mRNA expression. In addition, galangin was not exerting any cytotoxicity at the concentrations that were effective against inflammation as assessed by CCK8 assay. Moreover, western blotting showed that galangin treatment effectively inhibited nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) and nucleotide-binding domain- (NOD-) like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) signaling pathway activation. Taken together, these findings suggested that galangin plays a pivotal role in renal inflammation by suppressing inflammatory responses, which might be closely associated with the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, NF-κB and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The warm mix asphalt was fabricated with different moisture contents (0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%) of limestone aggregates using the Superpave gyratory compactor. The moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixtures with an organic wax additive RH was studied. The samples were compacted and tested using the modified Lottman test AASHTO T283, and the X-ray computed tomography technology was used to capture the internal structure images before and after the freeze-thaw cycles. The test results show that the air voids were distributed in the size range of 0–5 mm3 and 5–10 mm3. The number of air voids decreased with the increase of air void size and increased after freeze-thaw cycles. The air void content can be influenced by the residual moisture in aggregates. The higher the moisture content of aggregates is, the larger the air void content is. So, the air void content is likely to be sensitive to moisture damage. The increase ratio of the air void and moisture content of aggregates had good correlation with the indirect tensile strength and tensile strength ratio of the samples. The indirect tensile strength and tensile strength ratio of the samples decreased linearly, and the samples were sensitive to the moisture damage with the increases of increase ratio of the air void/moisture content in aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ephedrae Herba and Ephedrae Radix et Rhizoma (Mahuang) have been used as Chinese herbal medicines. Ephedra plants mainly live in deserts and have good governance of desertification. Despite their important medicinal and environmental protection value, dietary supplements containing ephedrine from Ephedra species may threaten the health of people. Morphological resemblance amongst species causes difficulty in identifying the original species of Ephedra herbs. Chloroplast (CP) genome shows good prospects in identification and phylogenetic analysis. This study introduced the structures of the CP genomes of three Ephedra species and analysed their phylogenetic relationships. Three complete CP genomes of Ephedra showed four-part annular structures, namely, two single-copy regions and two inverted repeat regions. The entire CP genomes of three Ephedra species in terms of size were 109,550 bp (E. sinica), 109,667 bp (E. intermedia), and 109,558 bp (E. equisetina). Each CP genome of the three Ephedra species encoded 118 genes, including 73 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 ribosomal RNA genes. Eleven high-variation regions were screened through mVISTA to be potential specific DNA barcodes for identifying Ephedra species. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony trees showed that CP genomes could be used to identify Ephedra species. The Ephedra species had a close phylogenetic relationship with Gnetum species and Welwitschia mirabilis. This research provided valuable information for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of gymnosperms and drug safety of Ephedra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galangin has been reported to have many pharmacological effects including being anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal and a suppressor of vitiligo, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. The purpose of this research was to characterize and determine the efficacy of the antitumor activity and pharmacokinetics of galangin-loaded PEGylated liposomes compared with free galangin. Galangin-loaded liposomes and galangin-loaded PEGylated liposomes were prepared using thin-film dispersion prior to ultrasonication. The mean particle size of the galangin-loaded PEGylated liposomes was approximately 120 nm, the polydispersity index was 0.212, the zeta potential was -2.24 mV, and the entrapment efficiency was 76.31%. The release of galangin from galangin-loaded PEG-modified liposomes was slowest as gauged by dynamic dialysis in vitro. In the apoptosis experiment, galangin-loaded PEG-modified liposomes demonstrated cytotoxicity to hepatoma cells by apoptosis that was greater than the two other forms of drug carrier. In vivo experiments demonstrated that the half-life of galangin in PEG-modified liposomes was 4 hours in the plasma of rats, significantly longer than that of free galangin. The experimental results suggest that the PEG modification of liposomes effectively increases the solubility of galangin and alters its pharmacokinetic parameters, such that it may be effective in the treatment of liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatty acid accumulation in broodstock influences the fecundity of spawners as well as egg quality. A comprehensive understanding of the lipid and fatty acid changes in broodstock during the reproductive period can increase our knowledge of the nutritional requirements in artificial breeding programs. The study assessed the lipid and fatty acid compositions of muscle, liver and ovary of American shad at different stages of reproductive development under reared conditions. The results indicated that there were significant differences in lipid content among ovary, liver and muscle. Mean total lipid levels in ovary, liver and muscle were 15.92%–10.87%, 13.62%–6.89%, 10.39%–6.11% respectively. During the development season, the total lipid content in muscle in stages V and VI were significantly lower than those in stages II and III. The total lipid content in liver in stages IV, V and VI was significantly lower than in stages II and III, whereas the total lipid content in the ovary increased significantly as the gonad developed and reached its highest value at stage V. From II to VI stage, the liver content of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) decreased and the ovarian content of DHA increased, whereas the content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) remained relatively constant. The content of C16:0 and C18:1n‐9 decreased in muscle and liver, but significantly increased in ovary. It is therefore suggested that the lipids were preferentially transferred from muscle and liver to ovary beginning in stage IV as the gonad matured. At stage IV, the lipid transfer accelerated, and saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, such as C16:0, C18:1n‐9, DHA, EPA and arachidonic acid, were selectively transferred to and conserved in ovaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study describes the skeletal development and the occurrence of deformities in American shad, Alosa sapidissima, larvae from hatching to 45 days after hatching (DAH). The ontogeny of the vertebral column started at 16 DAH (days after hatching), with the formation of the posterior neural and haemal arches, and was complete at 28 DAH. In comparison, the vertebral centra started to form at 16 DAH, with ossification being visible in all centra at 38 DAH. The pectorals were the only fins that formed before the onset of feeding (at 2 DAH), with ossification being complete at 45 DAH. The caudal fin formed at 5 DAH, with ossification being complete at 40 DAH. Dorsal and pelvic fin development began at 6 DAH and 20 DAH respectively. The ossification of both the dorsal and pelvic fins was visible at 45 DAH. The anal fin began forming at 14 DAH, and was complete at 30 DAH. The ossification of the anal fin was complete at 45 DAH. Overall, 22 types of skeletal deformities were detected in about 41% of individuals. Most anomalies were detected in the haemal region, while the fewest anomalies were detected in the anal fin. In addition, the frequency of deformities gradually increased with fish age at the different developmental stages. Our results are expected to contribute baseline information on how rearing conditions impact skeletal development, in addition to identifying potential causative factors of skeletal deformities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the properties of resistant starch (RS) from Chinese chestnut ( Castanea mollissima), which was prepared by autoclaving treatment and pullulanase hydrolysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the chestnut resistant starch (CRS) granules had a cohesive structure, an irregular shape, and diameters ranging from 6.0 to 7.2 µm. The enzymatic and retrogradation processes increased the yield of RS, and also decreased its swelling power, water solubility, and viscosity. An increase in transparency was also observed. The percent syneresis of the two starches increased steadily over time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that autoclaving and pullulanase hydrolysis converted C-type native starch into a B-type pattern and increased the crystallinity. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicated a reduction in gelatinization temperature and enthalpy compared with native starch. The thermal properties of RS increased due to the retrogradation and recrystallization ( p < .05). Practical applications Chinese chestnut ( Castanea mollissima) is an important nut crop with high nutrition and planted in China widely. High water content in fresh chestnut leads to mildew attack easily, which will affect the chestnut market value and trade business. Therefore, it has great significance and practical demand to develop the deep processing technology and diversify its products. The resistant starch has been implemented as an ingredient for its resistant digestion properties for making flour food and functional food. However, the research and application of resistant starch from Chinese chestnut ( Castanea mollissima) has been rarely seen. This study investigated the structural and physicochemical properties of chestnut resistant starch and provided a reference for the application of chestnut resistant starch in the food processing industries. For example, an increase in transparency and syneresis suggested chestnut resistant starch could be potentially used as a functional ingredient in jelly, beverages, and other food products, but not be possible for use in the frozen food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To study the correlation between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution and dyslipidemia. Methods. CNKI, VIP, Wanfang database, CBMdisc, PubMed, and Embase were searched, and meta-analysis was performed by Review Manager 5.2 software. Results. Altogether 11 studies were included with 12890 individuals. The results showed that balanced constitution was a protective factor of dyslipidemia (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.47~0.82) while phlegm-dampness constitution was a risk factor of it (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 2.22~2.80), and the effect of phlegm-dampness constitution in South China (OR = 3.31, 95% CI 1.71~6.43) was more obvious than that in East (OR = 2.40, 95% CI 2.06~2.80) and North China (OR = 2.24, 95% CI 1.81~2.78). Conclusion. This study provides evidence for the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in TCM. However, most of the studies included are of moderate quality; more high quality, multicenter, large-sample studies are expected to provide higher level evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this paper are to use Direct Coal Liquefaction Residue (DLCR) to modify the asphalt binders and mixtures and to evaluate the performance of modified asphalt mixtures. The dynamic modulus and phase angle of DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixture were analyzed, and the viscoelastic properties of these modified asphalt mixtures were compared to the base asphalt binder SK-90 and Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) modified asphalt mixtures. The master curves of the asphalt mixtures were shown, and dynamic and viscoelastic behaviors of asphalt mixtures were described using the Christensen-Anderson-Marasteanu (CAM) model. The test results show that the dynamic moduli of DCLR and DCLR-composite asphalt mixtures are higher than those of the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. Based on the viscoelastic parameters of CAM models of the asphalt mixtures, the high- and low-temperature performance of DLCR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are obviously better than the SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. In addition, the DCLR and DCLR-composite modified asphalt mixtures are more insensitive to the frequency compared to SK-90 and SBS modified asphalt mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, rat models of acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and HK-2 cell models of hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) were established to investigate the expression of inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (ID1) in AKI, and the regulation relationship between ID1 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α). Through western blot, quantitative real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and other experiment methods, the induction of ID1 after renal I/R in vivo was observed, which was expressed mainly in renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs). ID1 expression was upregulated in in vitro H/R models at both the protein and mRNA levels. Via RNAi, it was found that ID1 induction was inhibited with silencing of HIF-1α. Moreover, the suppression of ID1 mRNA expression could lead to decreased expression and transcription of HIF-1α during hypoxia and reoxygenation. In addition, it was demonstrated that both ID1 and HIF-1α can regulate the transcription of twist. This study demonstrated that ID1 is induced in renal TECs during I/R and can regulate the transcription and expression of HIF-1α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this research are to use micro- and nanomaterials to modify the asphalt mixture and to evaluate the mechanical performance of asphalt mixtures. These micro- and nanomaterials, including carbon microfiber, Nanomer material, nanosilica, nonmodified nanoclay, and polymer modified nanoclay, were selected to blend with the control asphalt to improve the overall performance of the modified asphalt binders and mixtures. The microstructures of original materials and asphalt binders were observed by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The mixture performance tests were employed to evaluate the resistance to rutting and permanent deformation of the modified asphalt mixtures. Test results indicate that (1) the dynamic modulus of micro- and nanomodified asphalt mixtures improved significantly; (2) the rutting susceptibility of the modified asphalt mixtures was reduced significantly compared to that of the control asphalt mixture; (3) the microstructures of modified asphalt binders were different from the control asphalt, and the structures determine the improvement in the performance of modified asphalt mixtures. These results indicate that the addition of micro- and nanomaterials enhanced the rutting performance and strength of asphalt mixtures. In addition, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the modifying effects of micro- and nanomaterials on the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medicinal plant Ferula has been widely used in Asian medicine, especially in Uyghur medicine in Xinjiang, China. Given that various substitutes and closely related species have similar morphological characteristics, Ferula is difficult to distinguish based on morphology alone, thereby causing confusion and threatening the safe use of Ferula. In this study, internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences were analyzed and assessed for the accurate identification of two salable Ferula species (Ferula sinkiangensis and Ferula fukangensis) and eight substitutes or closely related species. Results showed that the sequence length of ITS2 ranged from 451 bp to 45 bp, whereas guanine and cytosine contents (GC) were from 53.6% to 56.2%. A total of 77 variation sites were detected, including 63 base mutations and 14 insertion/deletion mutations. The ITS2 sequence correctly identified 100% of the samples at the species level using the basic local alignment search tool 1 and nearest-distance method. Furthermore, neighbor-joining tree successfully identified the genuine plants F. sinkiangensis and F. fukangensis from their succedaneum and closely related species. These results indicated that ITS2 sequence could be used as a valuable barcode to distinguish Uyghur medicine Ferula from counterfeits and closely related species. This study may broaden DNA barcoding application in the Uyghur medicinal plant field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore cervical carcinoma and screen a suitable gene as the biomarker used for prognosis evaluation as well as pain therapy. Low expression levels of solute carrier family 24 member 3 (SLC24A3) was involved in the appearance and development of numerous malignancies. Nevertheless, the prognostic value of SLC24A3 expression with cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) patients remains uncertain. During the present study, SLC24A3 expression in CESC was retrieved from TCGA, GEO, and MSigDB databases. Based on TCGA and GEO profiles, we performed survival and difference analyses about SLC24A3 both in two GEO (GSE44001 and GSE63514) and TCGA-CESC cohorts (all p < 0.05), indicating that SLC24A3 was low expressed in tumors and associated with higher overall survival in CESC patients. Additionally, we programmed a series of analyses, including genomic profiling, enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, and therapy-related analysis to identify the mechanism of the SLC24A3 in the process of cancer in CESC. Meanwhile, qRT-PCR was used to validate that the expression of SLC24A3 mRNA in Hela and SiHa cell lines was significantly lower than in PANC-1 and HUCEC cell lines. Our finding elucidated that the SLC24A3, a sodium-calcium regulator of cells, is an indispensable factor which can significantly influence the prognosis of patients with CESC and could provide novel clinical evidence to serve as a potential biological indicator for future diagnosis and pain therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 3D fingerprinting positioning scheme based on cellular networks is proposed by using implicit information of the location around geographic environments. Compared with original fingerprint positioning scheme, singular measurement is processed at the beginning of the proposed scheme. The main improvement of our proposed scheme is to employ cell matching degree and choose the best reasonable fingerprint according to the correlation of its surrounding points. Additionally, in order to improve searching efficiency, a new searching window is introduced. Finally, compared with the maximum likelihood method and the weighted K nearest neighbors method, the promising numerical results are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B rucella are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause chronic infections by limiting innate immune recognition. It is currently unknown whether B rucella FliC flagellin, the monomeric subunit of flagellar filament, is sensed by the host during infection. Here, we used two mutants of B rucella melitensis, either lacking or overexpressing flagellin, to show that FliC hinders bacterial replication in vivo. The use of cells and mice genetically deficient for different components of inflammasomes suggested that FliC was a target of the cytosolic innate immune receptor NLRC4 in vivo but not in macrophages in vitro where the response to FliC was nevertheless dependent on the cytosolic adaptor ASC, therefore suggesting a new pathway of cytosolic flagellin sensing. However, our work also suggested that the lack of TLR5 activity of B rucella flagellin and the regulation of its synthesis and/or delivery into host cells are both part of the stealthy strategy of B rucella towards the innate immune system. Nevertheless, as a flagellin-deficient mutant of B . melitensis wasfound to cause histologically demonstrable injuries in the spleen of infected mice, we suggested that recognition of FliC plays a role in the immunological stand-off between B rucella and its host, which is characterized by a persistent infection with limited inflammatory pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This analysis was aimed at providing evidence-based medicine basis for systematic evaluation of chondroitin combined with glucosamine in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Methods. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of chondroitin combined with glucosamine in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, China Knowledge Network Database (CNKI), China VIP Database, Wanfang Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) online database. The retrieval time ranges from the database creation to the present. Two investigators gathered the information individually. The risk of bias was assessed using the criteria of the Cochrane back review group. RevMan5.4 statistical software analyzed the selected data. Results. A total of 6 RCT articles were obtained. Overall, 764 samples were evaluated by meta-analysis. The clinical efficacy of chondroitin combined with glucosamine was significantly better than that of routine treatment by meta-analysis. The confidence interval of 95% was (4.86, 17.08) (Z = 6.89 , P < 0.00001). The scores of joint pain, tenderness, swelling, and dysfunction in patients with knee osteoarthritis treated with chondroitin combined with glucosamine were significantly lower than those treated with routine treatment. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between chondroitin combined with glucosamine and single treatment of KOA. Due to the small number of documents included in the analysis, it is not suitable to make a funnel chart, but there may be some publication deviation in the analysis. Conclusion. Chondroitin combined with glucosamine is more effective than chondroitin or glucosamine alone in the treatment of KOA and deserves clinical promotion. However, this conclusion still needs to be supported by multicenter, high-quality, double-blind, large-sample randomized controlled clinical trials due to the limitations of the six trials included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 3D fingerprinting positioning scheme based on cellular networks is proposed by using implicit information of the location around geographic environments. Compared with original fingerprint positioning scheme, singular measurement is processed at the beginning of the proposed scheme. The main improvement of our proposed scheme is to employ cell matching degree and choose the best reasonable fingerprint according to the correlation of its surrounding points. Additionally, in order to improve searching efficiency, a new searching window is introduced. Finally, compared with the maximum likelihood method and the weighted K nearest neighbors method, the promising numerical results are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA barcoding is a novel molecular identification method that aids in identifying traditional Chinese materia medica using traditional identification techniques. However, further study is needed to assess the stability and accuracy of DNA barcoding. Flos Lonicerae Japonicae, a typical medicinal flower, is widely used in China, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. However, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae and its closely related species have been misused and traded at varying for a wide range of prices. Therefore, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae must be accurately identified. In this study, the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequence assembly was performed using CodonCode Aligner V 3.5.4. The intra-versus inter-specific variations were assessed using six metrics and "barcoding gaps." Species identification was conducted using BLAST1 and neighbor-joining (NJ) trees. Results reveal that ITS2 and psbA-trnH exhibited an average intraspecific divergence of 0.001 and 0, respectively, as well as an average inter-specific divergence of 0.0331 and 0.0161. The identification efficiency of ITS2 and psbA-trnH evaluated using BLAST1 was 100%. Flos Lonicerae Japonicae was formed into one clade through the NJ trees. Therefore, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae can be stably and accurately identified through the ITS2 and psbA-trnH regions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]