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Agricultural expansion at the cost of natural or semi-natural habitats is simplifying human-dominated landscapes. As croplands provide a large resource of food to herbivores, pest damage may increase, but such large-scale patterns across regions are little known. Here, we used two years of maize field data from 102 counties (each 1318 km2 on average) across Shandong Province in China to study the spatial distribution of two major co-occurring maize pests: the putative habitat specialist the Asian Corn Borer (Ostrinia furnacalis) (ACB) and the generalist Yellow Peach Moth (Conogethes punctiferalis) (YPM). We used Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) to assess the spatial distribution patterns of these pests and their relation to landscape factors. In both 2016 and 2017, the aggregation and abundance of the ACB was positively correlated with the proportion of maize on the county level, whereas the YPM exhibited the opposite pattern, i.e., a negative correlation with maize proportion. The ACB abundance was below the economic threshold level when maize was <31% in 2017, whereas the YPM abundance was below the threshold when maize was >27% (in 2016) or 23% (in 2017). Maize plant presence was the main determinant of the abundance of the ACB, while the YPM appeared to benefit from further resources in non-crop habitats. These contrasting distribution patterns suggest that the two pests are driven by their different resource requirements. In more diversified landscapes, pest control may need to focus primarily on the generalist consumer, the YPM, whereas in maize-dominated landscapes, the specialist consumer, the ACB, is dominant and needs attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the impact of oceanic processes on the sensitivity of transient climate change is investigated using two sets of coupled experiments with and without tidal forcing, which are termed Exp_Tide and Exp_Control, respectively. After introducing tidal forcing, the transient climate response (TCR) decreases from 2.32 K to 1.90 K, and the surface air temperature warming at high latitudes decreases by 29%. Large ocean heat uptake efficiency and heat storage can explain the low TCR in Exp_Tide. Approximately 21% more heat is stored in the ocean in Exp_Tide (1.10×1024J) than in Exp_Control (0.91×1024J). Most of the large ocean warming occurs in the upper 1 000 m between 60°S and 60°N, primarily in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans. This ocean warming is closely related to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The initial transport at mid- and high latitudes and the decline in the AMOC observed in Exp_Tide are both larger than those observed in Exp_Control. The spatial structures of AMOC are also different with and without tidal forcing in present experiments. The AMOC in Exp_Tide has a large northward extension. We also investigated the relationship between AMOC and TCR suggested by previous studies using the present experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a lot of millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) applications being issued, wideband circuits and systems have attracted much attention because of their strong applicability and versatility. In this paper, four transformer-based ultra-wideband mm-Wave circuits demonstrated in CMOS technologies are reviewed from theoretical analysis, implementation, to performance. First, we introduce a mm-Wave low-noise amplifier with transformer-based Gm-boosting and pole-tuning techniques. It achieves wide operating bandwidth, low noise figure, and good gain performance. Second, we review an injection-current-boosting technique which can significantly increase the locking range of mm-Wave injection-locked frequency triplers. Based on the injection-locked principle, we also discuss an ultra-wideband mm-Wave divider with the transformer-based high-order resonator. Finally, an E-band up-conversion mixer is presented; using the two-path transconductance stage and transformer-based load, it obtains good linearity and a large operating band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel bilinear algorithm is proposed for multiple-input–single-output (MISO) system identification, which is based on a modified L p -norm cost function with fractional lower order statistics. To model the MISO system, we employ the bilinear form (BF) which is defined with respect to the impulse responses of a spatiotemporal model. Considering the non-Gaussian behavior in practical MISO system with BF, α -stable distribution, whose density function decays in the tails less rapidly than the Gaussian density function, is used to model the interference noise. As an added contribution, we extend the least mean pth power (LMP) and normalized LMP (NLMP) algorithms to BF, resulting in the LMP-BF and NLMP-BF algorithms. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerobic oxidation of monoalcohols and diols to acetals is an important academic and industrial challenge for the production of fine chemicals and intermediates. The existing methods usually rely on a two-step process in which alcohols are first oxidized to aldehydes over metal catalysts (Ru, Pt, Pd) and then acetalized using acids. Due to the instability of aldehydes, how to avoid over-oxidation to their respective carboxylic acids and esters is a long-standing challenge. For this reason, certain non-conjugated dialdehydes have never been successfully produced from diol oxidation. Hereby we report a Ru@metal-organic framework (MOF) tandem catalyst containing ultra-fine Ru nanoparticles (< 2 nm) for direct alcohol to acetal conversion of monoalcohol and diols with no formation of carboxylic acids. Mechanistic study reveals that the presence of Lewis acid sites in the MOF work in concert with Ru active sites to promptly convert aldehydes to acetals thereby effectively suppressing the formation of over-oxidation byproducts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which lacks estrogen receptor α (ERα), progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression, is closely related to basal-like breast cancer. Previously, we and others report that cyclin E/cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) phosphorylates enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) at T416 (pT416- EZH2). Here, we show that transgenic expression of phospho-mimicking EZH2 mutant EZH2T416D in mammary glands leads to tumors with TNBC phenotype. Coexpression of EZH2T416D in mammary epithelia of HER2/Neu transgenic mice reprograms HER2-driven luminal tumors into basal-like tumors. Pharmacological inhibition of CDK2 or EZH2 allows reexpression of ERα and converts TNBC to luminal ERα-positive, rendering TNBC cells targetable by tamoxifen. Furthermore, the combination of either CDK2 or EZH2 inhibitor with tamoxifen effectively suppresses tumor growth and markedly improves the survival of the mice bearing TNBC tumors, suggesting that the mechanism-based combination therapy may be an alternative approach to treat TNBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has emerged as an alternative of stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. Peri-device leakage after LAAC is common. This retrospective, case-control study aimed to identify risk factors related with peri-device leakage after LAAC with Watchman devices. Patients who underwent Watchman devices implantation received trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE) before, during and 45 days after procedure. Peri-device leakage was defined as a residual flow of any size detected with TEE. Patients with residual flows were compared with sex and age matched controls without leakage after implantation. Basic clinical characteristics, as well as LAA imaging characteristics were collected and compared. From 2014 to 2016, 125 consecutive patients were implanted with Watchman devices in our center. TEE at 45 days after implantation identified 53 patients with peri-device leakages (2.62 ± 1.55 mm), who were compared with 43 sex and age matched controls who also received the Watchman devices implantation and had no peri-device residual flow. The basic clinical characteristics, as well as LAA morphology were comparable between the two groups, while patients with leakages had larger LAA orifice, longer LAA body and larger LAA volume. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LAA orifice size measured with TEE was the only independent risk factor predicting post-procedural leakage. The AUC of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.70. Using the TEE orifice size cutoff value of 18.7 mm yielded a sensitivity of 0.92 (specificity 0.52), while the cutoff value of 23.1 mm yielded a high specificity of 0.91 (sensitivity 0.24). Minor peri-device leakage ( < 5 mm) is common after LAAC with Watchman devices. LAA orifice diameter measured with TEE is the independent risk factor predicting peri-device leakage after the implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel water-insoluble six-coordinated complexes, catena-(N,N-pyridine or imidazole)-μ2-oxalato iron(II) ((C24H20Fe2N4O8)n and (C32H32Fe4N16O16)n ⋅ C2H5OH, abbreviations: CPOFe or CIOFe, general term: COFe) have been prepared and characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, element analysis, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. To investigate the catalytic properties, a simulated environment has been established. Methyl orange (MO) and Rhodamine B (RhB) have been chosen as model pollutants to characterize the photocatalytic system with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm). The results indicate that COFe could effectively activate H2O2 to oxidize and mineralize the substrates in aqueous media under ambient conditions, e.g. temperature, pressure, and visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of RhB has been over 98% in an hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access control is an important measure for the protection of information and system resources to prevent illegitimate users from getting access to protected objects and legitimate users from attempting to access the objects in ways that exceed what they are allowed. The restriction placed on access from a subject to an object is determined by the access policy. With the rapid development of cloud computing, cloud security has increasingly become a common concern and should be dealt with seriously. In this paper, we survey access control models and policies in different application scenarios, especially for cloud computing, by following the development of the internet as the main line and by examining different network environments and user requirements. Our focus in the survey is on the relationships among different models and technologies along with the application scenarios as well as the pros and cons of each model. Special attention will be placed on access control for cloud computing, which is reflected in the summaries of the access control models and methods. We also identify some emerging issues of access control and point out some future research directions for cloud computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trends of the sea surface temperature (SST) and SST fronts in the South China Sea (SCS) are analyzed during 2003–2017 using high-resolution satellite data. The linear trend of the basin averaged SST is 0.31°C per decade, with the strongest warming identified in southeastern Vietnam. Although the rate of warming is comparable in summer and winter for the entire basin, the corresponding spatial patterns of the linear trend are substantially different between them. The SST trend to the west of the Luzon Strait is characterized by rapid warming in summer, exceeding approximately 0.6°C per decade, but the trend is insignificant in winter. The strongest warming trend occurs in the southeast of Vietnam in winter, with much less pronounced warming in summer. A positive trend of SST fronts is identified for the coast of China and is associated with increasing wind stress. The increasing trend of SST fronts is also found in the east of Vietnam. Large-scale circulation, such as El Niño, can influence the trends of the SST and SST fronts. A significant correlation is found between the SST anomaly and Niño3.4 index, and the ENSO signal leads by eight months. The basin averaged SST linear trends increase after the El Niño event (2009–2010), which is, at least, due to the rapid warming rate causing by the enhanced northeasterly wind. Peaks of positive anomalous SST and negatively anomalous SST fronts are found to co-occur with the strong El Niño events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust adaptive filter based on kernel risk-sensitive loss for bilinear forms is proposed. The proposed algorithm, called minimum kernel risk-sensitive loss bilinear form (MKRSL-BF), is derived by minimizing the cost function based on the minimum kernel risk-sensitive loss (MKRSL) criterion. The proposed algorithm can obtain the excellent performance when the system is corrupted by the impulsive noise. In addition, to further improve the performance of the MKRSL-BF algorithm, the novel algorithm based on the convex scheme is proposed, which can suppress the confliction between the fast convergence rate and the low steady-state error. Finally, simulations are carried out to verify the advantages of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two laser crystals of Er3+:KLu(WO4)2 and Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 were successfully grown using the top-seeded solution growth technique with K2W2O7 as flux. Segregation coefficients of Er3+ ions in Er3+:KLu(WO4)2 and Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystals were 0.664 and 0.9, respectively. The density of the Pr3+ ions in the Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystal was 1.19 × 1019 cm−3, and the segregation coefficient was 0.18. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the two crystals with Y-oriented polarization (parallel to the b axis) light were recorded. Judd-Ofelt (J-O) theory was adapted to analyze the main parameters and they were crucial for evaluating the potential of laser crystals with output wavelength of 2.7 µm. Results showed that the Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystal had good J-O intensity parameter Ωt (t = 2, 4, 6) and relatively large emission cross section at 2.7 µm. The lifetimes of the 4I11/2 state in the Er3+:KLu(WO4)2 and Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystals were fitted to be 87.13 ms and 79.36 ms, respectively. The lifetime of 4I13/2 state decreased sharply from 5.59 s in Er3+:KLu(WO4)2 to 53.19 ms with co-doping of Er3+ ions and Pr3+ ions. Laser oscillation was accomplished at 2.7 µm wavelength using a b-cut Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystal sample with size of 4 × 4 × 10 mm3. Finally, a continuous-wave (CW) laser was realized with the highest slope of 15.94%. The center wavelength of the laser output was 2740 nm, and its FWHM was approximately 1.8 nm. Therefore, the Er3+/Pr3+:KLu(WO4)2 crystal has remarkable potential for generating 2.7 µm lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cobalt-containing perovskite oxides are promising electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolyzers. However, a lack of fundamental understanding of oxide surfaces impedes rational catalyst design for improved activity and stability. We couple electrochemical studies of epitaxial La1−xSrxCoO3−δ films with in situ and operando ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate the surface stoichiometry, adsorbates, and electronic structure. In situ investigations spanning electrode compositions in a humid environment indicate that hydroxyl and carbonate affinity increase with Sr content, leading to an increase in binding energy of metal core levels and the valence band edge from the formation of a surface dipole. The maximum in hydroxylation at 40% Sr is commensurate with the highest OER activity, where activity scales with greater hole carrier concentration and mobility. Operando measurements of the 20% Sr-doped oxide in alkaline electrolyte indicate that the surface stoichiometry remains constant during OER, supporting the idea that the oxide electrocatalyst is stable and behaves as a metal, with the voltage drop confined to the electrolyte. Furthermore, hydroxyl and carbonate species are present on the electrode surface even under oxidizing conditions, and may impact the availability of active sites or the binding strength of adsorbed intermediates via adsorbate-adsorbate interactions. For covalent oxides with facile charge transfer kinetics, the accumulation of hydroxyl species with oxidative potentials suggests the rate of reaction could be limited by proton transfer kinetics. This operando insight will help guide modeling of self-consistent oxide electrocatalysts, and highlights the potential importance of carbonates in oxygen electrocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure of neonatal animals to anesthetics may cause developmental functional changes and acute structural anomalies in the brain. Clonidine, an α2-adrenoceptor agonist, functions as an analgesic and sedative and protects against brain injury. Nevertheless, whether clonidine protects the developing brain from damage caused by sevoflurane (SEVO) anesthesia remains unclear. Seven-day-old rats were exposed to 3% SEVO for 6 h, during which time either clonidine or saline was injected three times. The arterial blood gases, respiratory rate, and anesthesia level of each rat were evaluated. Western blot analysis was employed to detect proinflammatory cytokines, NF-κB, and cleaved-caspase-3. Surgical anesthesia was adequately induced by SEVO. No rats died during the study. Compared with untreated rats, SEVO induced production of cleaved-caspase-3. Administration of clonidine and SEVO significantly reduced apoptosis. Moreover, nuclear translocation and NF-κB phosphorylation were inhibited by clonidine, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) production decreased after SEVO administration. Marked apoptosis in the brain was induced by SEVO anesthesia. Clonidine treatment provided significant protection against SEVO-induced apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

They found that there are lots of areas with low sea ice concentration south of 78°N, while sea ice concentration and thickness increase with the latitude to north of 78°N. Qin et al. (2021) retrieved the sea surface wind speed from Sentinel-1 SAR images using conventional retrieval and machine learning methods. Editorial Improving the observation and prediction capabilities for Arctic marine environment: from the perspective of Arctic Shipping Hui Wang 1, Qizhen Sun 1 *, Lin Zhang 1, Xi Liang 1, Qinghua Yang 2, Na Liu 1, Chunhua Li 1, Qingsheng Liu 3, Bingrui Li 4, Qian Feng 5, Xiao Cheng 6, Yi Yu 7 1 National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing 100081, China 2 School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China 3 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China 4 Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China 5 National Satellite Ocean Application Service, Beijing 100081, China 6 School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China 7 Donghai Navigation Safety Administration, Ministry of Transport, Shanghai 200086, China Received 5 December 2020; accepted 31 December 2020 © Chinese Society for Oceanography and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021 In recent decades, Arctic climate is warming at a rate of almost twice the global average (Osborne et al., 2018). Numerical prediction models for weather, sea ice, and ocean of the Arctic need to be developed, so that short-term forecasts and mid- and long-term predictions can be provided. [Extracted from the article]

Correction to: I Scientific Reports i https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15206-6, published online 29 June 2022 The original version of this Article omitted an affiliation for Cheng Zhang. These authors contributed equally: Zhi-Nan Xia and Jing-Gen Wu. [Extracted from the article]

The I Sonchus i genus in the family Compositae comprises 50 species, spread over Europe, Africa, and Asia [[1]]. As one part of our work on bioactive metabolites from the plant kingdom [[9]], the chemical constituents of I S. brachyotus i were studied and 17 compounds were isolated and characterized. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analyses, including SP 1 sp H and SP 13 sp C NMR spectroscopy. Compounds B 2 b , B 4 b - B 10 b , and B 12 b - B 16 b were first separated from I Sonchus i genus, and all of the compounds were isolated from I S. brachyotus i for the first time. [Extracted from the article]

This study compared the effects of three education models, namely, the bag-of-virtues (BV), values clarification (VC), and virtue ethics (VE) models, through qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the quantitative study (Study 1), a between-subjects design was adopted in sampling 120 freshman cadets from a Taiwanese military academy. For the qualitative study (Study 2), focus group interviews were conducted with 10 freshman cadets. The results show that the VC model was the most effective among the three moral education models, followed by the VE and BV models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of bisphenol A (BPA) on Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Cyanobacteria) and Scenedesmus quadricauda (Chlorophyta), we grew the two species at BPA concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 mg/L and examined their growth, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activity, and chlorophyll a fluorescence. The 96-h EC50 values (effective concentration causing 50% growth inhibition) for BPA in C. raciborskii and S. quadricauda were 9.663 ± 0.047, and 13.233 ± 0.069 mg/L, respectively. A significant reduction in chlorophyll a concentration was found in C. raciborskii and S. quadricauda when BPA concentrations were greater than 1 and 2 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, Fv/Fm, ΔF/Fm′, and qP decreased significantly at 10 mg/L BPA in C. raciborskii but started to decrease at 10 mg/L in S. quadricauda. The changes in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (α, rETRmax) that were obtained from the rapid light response curves of both algae species showed similar responses to Fv/Fm, ΔF/Fm′, and qP under BPA-induced stress. Values for all of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in S. quadricauda were higher than in C. raciborskii; however, the nonphotochemical quenching measured in C. raciborskii was considerably higher than it was in S. quadricauda. In addition, lipid peroxidation (determined as MDA content) and antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD and CAT) increased in both species as the BPA concentration increased. These results suggest that C. raciborskii is more sensitive to the effects of BPA than S. quadricauda and that photosystem II might be a target for the activity of BPA in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practice, adaptive filter could work in an under-modeling scenario, meaning that its length is less than that of the unknown system. In this realistic situation, therefore, the existing analysis for the improved normalized subband adaptive filter (INSAF) algorithm is not applicable. To this end, this paper analyzes the mean square steady-state performance of the INSAF for under-modeling. In addition, we propose a variable step size INSAF algorithm suitable for under-modeling scenario, to obtain fast convergence rate and low steady-state error. Simulation results have supported our theoretical analysis and proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two arctangent-based normalized subband adaptive filter (Arc-NSAF) algorithms are proposed, which are derived from two different forms of arctangent cost function and their difference is the order of the arctangent computation and the summation operation of the normalized subband error signal. Benefiting from the excellent property of the arctangent function for suppressing impulsive interferences, the proposed Arc-NSAF algorithms not only possess good robustness against impulsive interferences, but also obtain faster convergence rate for the colored input signals. To further improve the convergence performance of the Arc-NSAFs when identifying sparse system, the proportionate versions of the Arc-NSAF algorithms are also proposed. Simulation results have demonstrated the superiority of the proposed algorithms in impulsive interferences environments as compared to their respective competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pseudouridine (Ψ) is the most abundant post-transcriptionally modified nucleotide found in RNA. Ψ is clustered in functionally important and evolutionary conserved regions of RNAs in all three domains of life. Pseudouridylation is catalyzed by two distinct mechanisms: an RNA-independent and an RNA-dependent mechanism. The former involves a group of stand-alone protein enzymes, and the latter involves a family of complex enzymes called box H/ACA RNPs, each of which consists of one RNA (box H/ACA RNA) and a set of four core proteins. Over the years, the mechanism of RNAdependent pseudouridylation has been extensively studied. The crystal structures of partial and complete box H/ACA RNP have been solved. However, the detailed picture of RNA-dependent pseudouridylation is still not entirely clear.Objective: In this work, we review what is known about box H/ACA RNP and the mechanism by which box H/ACA RNP catalyzes RNA-dependent pseudouridylation. We also discuss some examples of the dual nature and redundancy of box H/ ACA RNPs that deviate from the usual mechanism.Methods: A methodical literature search was performed using the Pubmed central search engine and International Digital Publishing Forum (EPUB) using the following keywords: “pseudouridylation,” “pseudouridine,” and “box H/ACA RNP.” The necessary information was extracted and cited.Results: A detailed introduction is made including the discovery, mechanism and crystal structure of box H/ACA RNP. Three sequence/structural requirements for box H/ACA RNA-guided pseudouridylation are discussed and the exceptions to those rules are explored.Conclusion: Over the years, box H/ACA RNP-catalyzed pseudouridylation has been extensively studied, generating fruitful results. However, a detailed picture regarding the mechanism of this reaction is still to be deciphered. More work is needed to fully understand box H/ACA RNP-catalyzed pseudouridylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss Hermitian solutions of split quaternion matrix equation $$AXB+CXD=E,$$ where X is an unknown split quaternion Hermitian matrix, and A, B, C, D, E are known split quaternion matrices with suitable size. The objective of this paper is to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a solution and a solution formulas. Moreover, we provide numerical algorithms and numerical examples to exemplify the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report firstly the development of sustained antimicrobial and antioxidant gelatin-lysozyme films crosslinked by the oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), a duel-functional agent. Lysozyme release kinetic studies were performed at neutral and acidic pH, and they could be described as a biphasic process. OPCs crosslinking retarded lysozyme release at pH 7.0, in a dose dependent manner, and the inhibition zone tests confirmed that the sustained release of lysozyme was realized upon weak crosslinking with OPCs. OPCs crosslinking enhanced thermal stability of the gelatin films, and gave them the ability to barrier ultraviolet light. OPCs loadings endowed the films excellent antioxidant activities, the DPPH radical scavenging activity of the films increased linearly to 93.97% upon increasing OPCs loadings from 0 to 2.0%. Concomitantly, the reducing powder of the films increased linearly from 6.08 ± 0.09 to 45.53 ± 2.74 μmol Asc Acid/g film. Additionally, the antioxidant properties of gelatin films against lipid oxidation in edible oils were evaluated. Lipid hydroperoxides of algal oils in the gelatin bags were approximately a quarter of that in low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-based bags, and the malondialdehyde (MDA) values of algal oils were lower than that in LDPE-based bags by 1-2 orders of magnitude. Regrettably, the incorporation of OPCs did not enhance the antioxidant capability of gelatin films against lipid oxidation in wrapped edible oils, possibly due to the limited release toward algal oils in term of its oil-soluble attribute. This study opens a promising pathway for producing sustained antimicrobial and antioxidant gelatin films using a bi-functional agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photo-transformation of NO into NO at the N presence is discovered over a WO photocatalyst under UV/visible light irradiation. During the photoreaction, we found that both NO and N disappear and additional NO appears at the same time. A reaction pathway is proposed and verified by the results of an online chemiluminesce NO analyzer, GC-TCD, and in situ DRIFT monitoring of the reactants and products in mixtures. The collected data indicates that NO + ½ N → 2NO is an overall reaction of this photocatalytic reaction over a WO photocatalyst. Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing work of XML keyword search focus on how to find relevant and meaningful data fragments for a query, assuming each keyword is intended as part of it. However, in XML keyword search, user queries usually contain irrelevant or mismatched terms, typos etc, which may easily lead to empty or meaningless results. In this paper, we introduce the problem of content-aware XML keyword query refinement, where the search engine should judiciously decide whether a user query Q needs to be refined during the processing of Q, and find a list of promising refined query candidates which guarantee to have meaningful matching results over the XML data, without any user interaction or a second try. To achieve this goal, we build a novel content-aware XML keyword query refinement framework consisting of two core parts: (1) we build a query ranking model to evaluate the quality of a refined query RQ, which captures the morphological/semantical similarity between Q and RQ and the dependency of keywords of RQ over the XML data; (2) we integrate the exploration of RQ candidates and the generation of their matching results as a single problem, which is fulfilled within a one-time scan of the related keyword inverted lists optimally. Finally, an extensive empirical study verifies the efficiency and effectiveness of our framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report the structure, mechanical properties, and vibrational spectra of 2,6-diamino-3,5-dinitropyrazine-1-oxide (LLM-105), an energetic molecular crystal, with a first-principles method based on density functional theory (DFT) using the recentely developped HASEM package. The elastic constants, acoustic velocity, and parameters of equations of state were calculated, and the predicted ordering of stiffness constants is C (38.5 GPa) > C (24.0 GPa) > C (17.7 GPa). We also investigated the structure and equation of state of LLM-105 under hydrostatic pressure up to 100 GPa. The predicted structures are in good agreement with experimental results available from ambient pressure to 20 GPa. Under compressions, the LLM-105 crystal exhibits anisotropic compressibility, with a highly incompressible response along the a-axis and c-axis. It is worth noting that there is a sudden change in the lattice parameters and change rate of volume at ~30 GPa. Based on the intermolecular interaction analysis and vibrational spectra, a phase transition at the hydrostatic pressure of ~30 GPa is predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The city of Shenzhen, China, is planning to establish a trauma system. At present, there are few data on the geographical distribution of incidents, which is key to deciding on the location of trauma centres. The aim of this study was to perform a geographical analysis in order to inform the development of a trauma system in Shenzhen. Methods: Retrospective analysis of trauma incidents attended by Shenzhen Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in 2014. Data were obtained from Shenzhen EMS. Incident distribution was explored using dot and kernel density estimate maps. Clustering was determined using the nearest neighbour index. The type of healthcare facilities which patients were taken to was compared against patients' needs, as assessed using the Field Triage Decision Scheme. Results: There were 49,082 recorded incidents. A total of 3513 were classed as major trauma. Mapping demonstrates that incidents predominantly occurred in the western part of Shenzhen, with identifiable clusters. Nearest neighbour index was 0.048. Of patients deemed to have suffered major trauma, 8.5% were taken to a teaching hospital, 13.6% to a regional hospital, 42.6% to a community hospital, and 35.3% to a private hospital. The proportions of Step 1 or 2 negative patients were almost identical. Conclusion: The majority of trauma patients, including trauma patients who are at greater likelihood of severe injury, are taken to regional and community hospitals. There are areas with identifiable concentrations of volume, which should be considered for the siting of high-level trauma centres, although further modelling is required to make firm recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the data assimilation methods for sea surface winds, based on the level-2B HY-2A satellite microwave scatterometer wind products. We propose a new feature thinning method, which is herein used to screen scatterometer winds while maintaining the key structure of the wind field in the process of data thinning for highresolution satellite observations. We also accomplish feeding the ambiguous wind solutions directly into the data assimilation system, thus making better use of the retrieved information while simplifying the assimilation process of the scatterometer products. A numerical simulation experiment involving Typhoon Danas shows that our method gives better results than the traditional approach. This method may be a valuable alternative for operational satellite data assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urinary brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an ubiquitous neurotrophin, was found to rise in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). We hypothesized that the urinary level of BDNF could be a potential biomarker for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with BPH. Totally, 76 patients with BPH-caused LUTS and 32 male control subjects without BPH were enrolled. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was applied to assess the symptom severity of LUTS. Urodynamic tests were performed for the diagnosis of underlying detrusor overactivity (DO) in the patients with BPH. Urine samples were collected from all subjects. Urinary BDNF levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and normalized by urinary creatinine (Cr) levels. Seventy-six BPH patients were divided into moderate LUTS group ( n=51, 720) according to the IPSS. Of the 76 BPH patients, DO was present in 34 (44.7%) according to the urodynamic test. The urinary BDNF/Cr levels were significantly higher in BPH patients with moderate LUTS (8.29±3.635, P<0.0001) and severe LUTS (11.8±6.44, P<0.0001) than normal controls (1.71±0.555). Patients with severe LUTS tended to have higher urinary BDNF/Cr levels than patients with moderate LUTS (11.8±6.44 vs. 8.29±3.635, P=0.000). The conditions of BPH with LUTS correlated with elevated urinary BDNF levels, and urinary BDNF levels were even higher in BPH-DO patients. The results of this study have provided evidence to suggest that urinary BDNF level test could evaluate the severity of LUTS in BPH patients, and BDNF level can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of DO in BPH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel normalized subband adaptive filter algorithm with combined step size is proposed for acoustic echo cancellation, which is derived by utilizing a variable mixing parameter to combine a large step size and a small one, thus providing fast convergence rate and small steady-state error. The mixing parameter is indirectly updated by utilizing the stochastic gradient method which minimizes the sum of squared subband errors. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm in terms of the convergence rate and steady-state error as compared to other algorithms mentioned in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that propofol, an intravenous anesthetic commonly used in clinical practice, protects the myocardium from injury. Mitochondria- and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mediated oxidative stress and apoptosis are two important signaling pathways involved in myocardial injury and protection. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that propofol could exert a cardio-protective effect via the above two pathways. Cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were treated with culture medium (control group), HO at 500 μM (HO group), propofol at 50 μM (propofol group), and HO plus propofol (HO + propofol group), respectively. The oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and apoptosis of the cardiomyocytes were evaluated by a series of assays including ELISA, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting. Propofol significantly suppressed the HO-induced elevations in the activities of caspases 3, 8, 9 and 12, the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, and cell apoptosis. Propofol also inhibited the HO-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) release and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) depolarization, and restored the HO-induced reductions of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). In addition, propofol decreased the expressions of glucose-regulated protein 78 kDa (Grp78) and inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), two important signaling molecules in the ER-mediated apoptosis pathway. Propofol protects cardiomyocytes from HO-induced injury by inhibiting the mitochondria- and ER-mediated apoptosis signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new proportionate normalized subband adaptive filter (PNSAF) algorithm, called the IAF-PNSAF, which assigns an individual activation factor for each filter coefficient instead of a common one for all filter coefficients as in the standard PNSAF algorithm. This algorithm achieves an improved performance in terms of the convergence rate and tracking capability for identifying a highly sparse system. Moreover, to overcome the trade-off of the fixed-step-size IAF-PNSAF algorithm between the fast convergence rate and small steady-state misalignment, its adaptive combination version is proposed. Simulation results for identifying the impulse response with high sparseness have demonstrated that the proposed algorithms outperform their counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cesium lead iodide (CsPbI), in its black perovskite phase, has a suitable bandgap and high quantum efficiency for photovoltaic applications. However, CsPbI tends to crystalize into a yellow non-perovskite phase, which has poor optoelectronic properties, at room temperature. Therefore, controlling the phase transition in CsPbI is critical for practical application of this material. Here we report a systematic study of the phase transition of one-dimensional CsPbI nanowires and their corresponding structural, optical, and electrical properties. We show the formation of perovskite black phase CsPbI nanowires from the non-perovskite yellow phase through rapid thermal quenching. Post-transformed black phase CsPbI nanowires exhibit increased photoluminescence emission intensity with a shrinking of the bandgap from 2.78 to 1.76 eV. The perovskite nanowires were photoconductive and showed a fast photoresponse and excellent stability at room temperature. These promising optical and electrical properties make the perovskite CsPbI3 nanowires attractive for a variety of nanoscale optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An actinomycete strain, designated strain LUSFXJ, was isolated from a soil sample obtained near the Xiangtan Manganese Mine, Central-South China and characterised using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic analysis indicated that this strain belongs to the genus Streptomyces. The DNA-DNA relatedness between this strain and two closely related type strains, Streptomyces echinatus CGMCC 4.1642 and Streptomyces lanatus CGMCC 4.137, were 28.7 ± 0.4 and 19.9 ± 2.0%, respectively, values which are far lower than the 70% threshold for the delineation of a novel prokaryotic species. The DNA G+C content of strain LUSFXJ is 75.0 mol%. Chemotaxonomic analysis revealed that the menaquinones of strain LUSFXJ are MK-9(H), MK-9(H), MK-9(H) and MK-8(H). The polar lipid profile of strain LUSFXJ was found to contain diphosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified polar lipid. The major cellular fatty acids were identified as iso-C, anteiso-C, iso-C, C and Summed feature 3. Strain LUSFXJ was found to contain meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic cell wall diamino acid and the whole cell hydrolysates were found to be rich in ribose, mannose and glucose. Based on phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, it is concluded that strain LUSFXJ represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name S. xiangtanensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LUSFXJ (=GDMCC 4.133 = KCTC 39829). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the normalized subband adaptive filter (NSAF) algorithm has attracted much attention for handling colored input signals. Based on the first-order Markov model of the optimal weight vector, this paper provides some insights for the convergence of the standard NSAF. Following these insights, both the step size and the regularization parameter in the NSAF are jointly optimized by minimizing the mean-square deviation. The resulting joint-optimization step size and regularization parameter algorithm achieves a good tradeoff between fast convergence rate and low steady-state error. Simulation results in the context of acoustic echo cancelation demonstrate good features of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semiconductor lasers in use today rely on various types of cavity, making use of Fresnel reflection at a cleaved facet, total internal reflection between two different media, Bragg reflection from a periodic stack of layers, mode coupling in a high contrast grating or random scattering in a disordered medium. Here, we demonstrate an ultrasmall laser with a mirror, which is based on Fano interference between a continuum of waveguide modes and the discrete resonance of a nanocavity. The rich physics of Fano resonances has recently been explored in a number of different photonic and plasmonic systems. The Fano resonance leads to unique laser characteristics. In particular, because the Fano mirror is very narrowband compared to conventional laser mirrors, the laser is single mode and can be modulated via the mirror. We show, experimentally and theoretically, that nonlinearities in the mirror may even promote the generation of a self-sustained train of pulses at gigahertz frequencies, an effect that has previously been observed only in macroscopic lasers. Such a source is of interest for a number of applications within integrated photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk factors of high trait anger of juvenile offenders were explored through questionnaire study in a youth correctional facility of Hubei province, China. A total of 1090 juvenile offenders in Hubei province were investigated by self-compiled social-demographic questionnaire, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-II (STAXI-II). The risk factors were analyzed by chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression analysis with SPSS 19.0. A total of 1082 copies of valid questionnaires were collected. High trait anger group ( n=316) was defined as those who scored in the upper 27th percentile of STAXI-II trait anger scale (TAS), and the rest were defined as low trait anger group ( n=766). The risk factors associated with high level of trait anger included: childhood emotional abuse, childhood sexual abuse, step family, frequent drug abuse, and frequent internet using ( P<0.05 or P<0.01). Birth sequence, number of sibling, ranking in the family, identity of the main care-taker, the education level of care-taker, educational style of care-taker, family income, relationship between parents, social atmosphere of local area, frequent drinking, and frequent smoking did not predict to high level of trait anger ( P>0.05). It was suggested that traumatic experience in childhood and unhealthy life style may significantly increase the level of trait anger in adulthood. The risk factors of high trait anger and their effects should be taken into consideration seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain fast convergence rate and low steady-state error in acoustic echo cancellation, a convex combination scheme of the improved proportionate normalized subband adaptive filter algorithm is proposed. Instead of the gradient method in the conventional combination theory, the mixing parameter is adapted by using the normalized gradient method which makes it more robust to the variations of subband error signals. Also, to implement a smooth transition from the fast filter to the accurate filter, a cyclic feedback of the overall tap-weights giving to all component filters is applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]