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The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) share some similar behavioral functions, such as associative learning, Pavlovian to instrumental transfer, and choice behavior. However, their prefrontal anatomical inputs have not been well characterized before, especially the collateral projections. In this study, we analyzed the distribution and collateralization of projections to the BLA and the NAcc from the prefrontal cortices (PFC), including the prelimbic (PL) and the infralimbic (IL) divisions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the subregions of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), such as the medial OFC (MO), the lateral OFC (LO), and the ventral OFC (VO). Double retrograde tracing approach was used, in which Cholera toxin subunit B conjugated with the Alexa Fluor 488 (CTB-AF488) or Alexa Fluor 594 (CTB-AF594) were unilaterally injected into the BLA and the NAcc, respectively, in male Long-Evans rats (n = 6). Among the sampled neurons, prefrontal projection to the BLA or the NAcc is more robust on the ipsilateral side, and more robust from the PL, the IL, and the MO compared to from the LO and the VO. The majority of the projections from the PFC to the BLA and/or the NAcc are confined in deep layer. In addition, for each of the prefrontal areas, about 15–25% BLA-projecting neurons send collateral projections to the NAcc, and vice versa. In conclusion, our data suggested that prefrontal control over the BLA and the NAcc is not entirely independent. The functional importance of the collateral projections awaits further examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory cytokine, and its expression is upregulated in tumor tissues and serum samples of patients with various cancers. Because of its immunosuppressive nature, IL-10 has also been suggested to be a factor leading to tumor cells' evasion of immune surveillance and clearance by the host immune system. In this study, we refined a peptide with 20 amino acids, named NK20a, derived from the binding region of IL-10 on the basis of in silico analysis of the complex structure of IL-10 with IL-10Ra, the ligand binding subunit of the IL-10 receptor. The binding ability of the peptide was confirmed through in vitro biophysical biolayer interferometry and cellular experiments. The IL-10 inhibitory peptide exerted anticancer effects on lymphoma B cells and could abolish the suppression effect of IL-10 on macrophages. NK20a was also conjugated with gold nanoparticles to target the chemotherapeutic 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-loaded nanoparticles to enhance the anticancer efficacy of 5-FU against the breast cancer cell line BT-474. Our study demonstrated that NK20a designed in silico with improved binding affinity to the IL-10 receptor can be used as a tool in developing anticancer strategies. Human interleukin-10 (IL-10) is known to be an immunosuppressive cytokine for anti-inflammation, however, IL-10 can enable the evasion of tumor cells through immunosuppression of the host immune system. Here, the authors develop an IL-10 inhibitory peptide, NK20a, that displays anticancer effects, and show that its conjugation with chemotherapeutic gold nanoparticles enhances their anticancer efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-world data sources can facilitate essential understanding of the epidemiological features of anaphylaxis. However, the accuracy of case-identifying definitions based on diagnosis codes for anaphylaxis in healthcare databases remains understudied. We conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing claims data from the largest multi-institutional healthcare system in Taiwan during 2017–2021. We included patients with incident anaphylaxis identified by either ICD-10-CM codes for anaphylaxis (Group 1) or ICD-10-CM codes for severe allergic or drug adverse events and additional modifier codes for acute allergy events (Group 2). We randomly selected 20% of the cases to determine the positive predictive value (PPV) of anaphylaxis case-identifying definitions in Groups 1 and 2 after review of electronic medical records by two physicians. From the original cohort (n = 2,176), we randomly selected 433 patients with either a diagnosis of anaphylaxis (Group 1), or a diagnosis of severe allergic and drug adverse events with additional modifier codes for acute allergy events (Group 2). In Group 1, we judged 135 / 170 patients as true anaphylaxis cases, giving a PPV of 79.4% (95% CI: 73.3–85.5). In Group 2, we judged 47 / 263 patients as true anaphylaxis cases, giving a PPV of 17.9% (95% CI: 13.3–22.5). In conclusion, acceptable PPVs were observed when anaphylaxis cases were identified by ICD-10-CM codes for anaphylaxis, but not by ICD-10-CM codes for severe allergic or drug adverse event with additional modifier codes for acute allergy events. Our multi-institutional findings could serve as a fundamental reference for further studies of anaphylaxis based on real-world healthcare databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early, express, and reliable detection of cancer can provide a favorable prognosis and decrease mortality. Tumor biomarkers have been proven to be closely related to tumor occurrence and development. Conventional tumor biomarker detection based on genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic methods is time and equipment-consuming and always needs a specific target marker. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), as a non-invasive ultrasensitive and label-free vibrational spectroscopy technique, can detect cancer-related biomedical changes in biofluids. In this paper, 110 serum samples were collected from 30 healthy controls and 80 cancer patients (including 30 bladder cancer (BC), 30 adrenal cancer (AC), and 20 acute myeloid leukemia (AML)). One microliter of blood serum was mixed with 1 μl silver colloid and then was air-dried for SERS measurements. After spectral data augmentation, one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) was proposed for precise and rapid identification of healthy and three different cancers with high accuracy of 98.27%. After gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) based spectral interpretation, the contributions of SERS peaks corresponding to biochemical substances indicated the most potential biomarkers, i.e., L-tyrosine in bladder cancer; acetoacetate and riboflavin in adrenal cancer and phospholipids, amide-I, and α-Helix in acute myeloid leukemia, which might provide an insight into the mechanism of intelligent diagnosis of different cancers based on label-free serum SERS. The integration of label-free SERS and deep learning has great potential for the rapid, reliable, and non-invasive detection of cancers, which may significantly improve the precise diagnosis in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment for gynecologic cancer is associated with sexual dysfunction, which may present during and/or after treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of sexual dysfunction among gynecologic cancer survivors compared to cancer-free women in a population-based cohort study. We identified a cohort of 4863 endometrial, ovarian, and cervical cancer survivors diagnosed between 1997 and 2012 in the Utah Cancer Registry. Up to five cancer-free women were matched to cancer survivors (N = 22,693). We used ICD-9 codes to identify sexual dysfunction. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for sexual dysfunction with adjustment for potential confounders. Approximately 6.6% of gynecologic cancer survivors had sexual dysfunction diagnoses 1–5 years after cancer diagnosis. Gynecologic cancer survivors had higher risks of overall sexual dysfunction (HR: 2.51, 95% CI: 2.16, 2.93), dyspareunia (HR: 3.27, 95% CI: 2.63, 4.06), and vaginal dryness (HR: 2.63, 95% CI: 2.21, 3.12) compared to a general population of women, 1–5 years after cancer diagnosis. Sexual dysfunction was associated with advance cancer stage (HRRegional vs. Localized: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.31), radiation therapy (HR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.29, 2.31), and chemotherapy (HR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.30, 2.50). This large cohort study confirms that there is an increased risk of sexual dysfunction among gynecologic cancer survivors when compared to the general population. Further investigation is needed to address the risk factors for sexual dysfunction and to improve patient-provider communication, diagnosis, documentation, and treatment of sexual dysfunction among gynecologic cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo has recently become a key material in green engineering. However, measuring its transverse elastic modulus (ET) is difficult due to the inherent structural properties of bamboo culm. In this study, two micromechanical analytical models, the Chamis model and Reuss model, and a finite element (FE) inverse numerical method were used to calculate the elastic modulus perpendicular to the bamboo grain by using a specially designed strip-reinforced polymer specimen. A bamboo veneer microtensile test was used to verify these approaches. The effect of the specimen geometry on measurement accuracy was also determined. This novel approach was also used to determine the ET of two bamboo species. The Chamis model had the best performance because its assumptions regarding the fiber section geometry were consistent with the actual specimen; the Reuss model had the worst results. The result of the FE method was slightly distorted due to the high sensitivity of parameters. A parametric study revealed that the micromechanics and FE descriptions of the modulus of the resin–fiber combination differed. The fiber volume fraction affected the prediction accuracy, but not the width or spacing of the bamboo strips. The strain and stress distribution of composite repeating units were studied. The results of ET measurements for the two bamboo species were reasonable. In conclusion, a novel, verified, simple, and accurate method was developed for determining the ET of bamboo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Pelvic incidence (PI) is a key morphological parameter that reflects the relation between the sacrum and iliac wings. It is well accepted that PI remains constant after reaching maturity. However, recent studies indicated that PI might be altered after lumbosacral fusion. Additionally, it remains uncertain on the long-term influence of long fusion to pelvis with S2-alar-iliac screw on PI in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD). Study Design: A retrospective study. Objective: To investigate whether and how PI would change during the follow-up in ASD patients who underwent S2AI fixation and to identify factors associated with the change in PI. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all ASD patients who underwent spinal surgery using S2AI screws between November 2014 and January 2017 at our institution. Patients with minimum follow-up of two years were included. The following sagittal radiographic parameters were measured: PI, Lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic tilt (PT), PI-LL, sagittal vertical axis (SVA) at pre-op, post-op and 2-year follow-up. According to the changes in PI at immediate post-operation, patients were classified into two groups; Group A: Changes of PI less than or equal 5° and Group B: Changes of PI greater than 5°. Results: A total of 82 ASD patients (Group A: 32, Group B: 50; mean age of 53.5 ± 12.6 years) with a mean follow-up period of 30.2 ± 9.2 months were included in this study. At immediate post-operation, Group A showed no significant change in PI (45.7° ± 11.4° to 45.3° ± 11.2°, p = 0.749); while Group B had a significant decrease in PI (51.6° ± 14.5° to 40.9° ± 14.0°, p < 0.001). At the last follow-up, 48% patients (24/50) in Group B had a significant increase in PI (32.8° ± 6.4° to 45.8° ± 11.2°, p < 0.001). Intergroup analysis showed that ΔPI, post-op PI, post-op PT and age were significantly different between both groups. In addition, pre-op PI, post-op PI, post-op PT, post-op PI-LL were significantly correlated with ΔPI at last follow-up. Also, logistic regression analysis showed that post-op PI was the associated risk factor (OR = 0.865, p = 0.024) for PI-LL mismatch. Conclusion: Our study showed that PI decreased in more than half of ASD patients immediately after spinal surgery using S2AI screws. Approximately 48% of them were able to recover during the 2-year follow-up. Lower pre-op PI, post-op PI and PT were found to be strongly associated with the return of PI. Thus, these current findings indicated that patients with a high PI at pre-operation should not be over-corrected to avoid PI-LL mismatch postoperatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organic/inorganic nanoceramic hybrid resin prepared by the sol–gel method (sol–gel) and polymer reaction can bond colloidal nano-oxide particles to form a three-dimensional network structure through internal chemical reactions. Then, a part of the heat dissipation material is added to the organic/inorganic hybrid resin to prepare a high heat dissipation, electrical insulating nanomaterial, which is used as the insulating layer of the coil and the silicon steel sheet. These nanoceramic hybrid resins with high heat dissipation, high temperature resistance and high weather resistance developed in this research are used to replace the various organic resin coatings inside the motor/generator, including the motor/generator coils, stator and rotor silicon steel sheets, which are expected to be able to significantly improve the performance and life of the motor/generator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron is an essential micro-element, involved in multiple biological activities in vertebrates. Excess iron accumulation has been identified as an important mediator of lipid deposition. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, we found that a high-iron diet significantly increased intestinal iron content and upregulated the mRNA expression of two iron transporters (zip14 and fpn1). Intestinal iron overload increased lipogenesis, reduced lipolysis and promoted oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Iron-induced lipid accumulation was mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 α (HIF1α), which was induced in response to mitochondrial oxidative stress following inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2). Mechanistically, iron promoted lipid deposition by enhancing the DNA binding capacity of HIF1α to the pparγ and fas promoters. Our results provide experimental evidence that oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and the HIF1α-PPARγ pathway are critical mediators of iron-induced lipid deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate the effect of an interdisciplinary STEM course on children's attitudes of learning and engineering design skills. A total of 449 elementary school children in China were recruited from three different grade levels (i.e., second, fourth and sixth grade) to participate in this study. All participants attended a weekly interdisciplinary STEM course for two consecutive semesters. In order to understand how an integrative STEM curriculum interplayed with participants' attitudes of learning and engineering design skills, we conducted two measures to assess the results: the attitude measure (i.e., the attitude of learning questionnaire) and the outcome measure (i.e., the STEM knowledge assessment and the scenario design assessment). Meanwhile, pre-and-posttests were implemented for each measure when comparing the differences in learning. Our findings revealed that an interdisciplinary STEM course led to positive changes in children's attitudes of learning, yet its effect on different grade levels could vary depending on children's cognitive development. In addition, interdisciplinary learning experiences significantly improved second and fourth graders' engineering design skills, particularly in the scenario design assessment. Lastly, we summarized the relationship between one's attitudes of learning and engineering design skills along with its educational implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor enhancing agents have had promising effects on cognition among patients with dementia. However, the results remain inconsistent. This exploratory meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of NMDA receptor enhancing agents for cognitive function. PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Controlled trials assessing add-on NMDA receptor enhancing agent treatment in patients with dementia and using cognition rating scales were eligible and pooled using a random-effect model for comparisons. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated in each study from the effect size; positive values indicated that NMDA receptor enhancing agent treatment improved cognitive function. Funnel plots and the I2 statistic were evaluated for statistical heterogeneity. Moderators were evaluated using meta-regression. We identified 14 RCTs with 2224 participants meeting the inclusion criteria. Add-on NMDA receptor enhancing agents had small positive significant effects on overall cognitive function among patients with dementia (SMD = 0.1002, 95% CI 0.0105–0.1900, P = 0.02860). Subgroup meta-analysis showed patients with Alzheimer's Disease and trials using the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale as the primary outcome had small positive significant effects (SMD = 0.1042, 95% CI 0.0076–0.2007, P = 0.03451; SMD = 0.1267, 95% CI 0.0145–0.2388, P = 0.2686). This exploratory meta-analysis showed a very small, positive, and significant effect on overall cognition function in patients with dementia. Studies with larger samples are needed to evaluate different cognitive domains and phases of dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new acenaphthylene derivative, salviarisanal (1), has been isolated from the aerial part of Salvia arisanensis, together with six known compounds, carnosol (2), 16-hydroxycarnosol (3), ferruginol (4), cryptotanshinone (5), salvileucantholide (6), and dugesin B (7). The structure of the new compound 1 was determined through spectroscopic and MS analyses. Among the isolates, cryptotanshinone (5) exhibited cytotoxicities with IC50 values of 5.38, 7.16, 4.84, and 9.10 μM, respectively, against DLD-1, CCRF-CEM, HL-60, and IMR-32 cell lines. 16-Hydroxycarnosol (3) also exhibited cytotoxicities with IC50 values of 7.42 and 6.73 μM, respectively, against DLD-1 and IMR-32 cell lines. In addition, salviarisanal (1), carnosol (2), 16-hydroxycarnosol (3), and ferruginol (4) showed potent inhibition with IC50 values of 18.45, 30.33, 27.58, and 35.05 μM, respectively, against LPS-induced NO generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new measure-resend ASQKD protocol. The proposed ASQKD protocol uses only single photons, needs fewer pre-shared keys and even provides better qubit efficiency than the state-of-the-art ASQKD protocols. The security proof shows the robustness of the proposed protocol under the collective attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) forward modeling algorithm of surface-to-borehole transient electromagnetic (SBTEM) fields based on an unstructured vector finite-element method to analyze the characteristics of SBTEM responses for complex geoelectrical models. To solve the double-curl diffusion equation for the electric field, we use an unstructured tetrahedral mesh to discretize the model domain and select the unconditionally stable backward Euler scheme to discretize the time derivative. In our numerical experiments, we use a grounded wire as a transmitting source. After validating the algorithm's effectiveness, we first analyze the diffusion characteristics and detectability of the electromagnetic field. After that, we focus our attention on the distribution and the cause of zero bands for Ex and dBy/dt components with the hope of guiding future field surveys. Finally, by simulating different models, we analyze the capability of the SBTEM method in detecting typical mineral veins so that we can provide a reference for mineral resource exploration in the deep earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the induced polarization (IP) effect, the sign reversal often occurs in time-domain airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data. The inversions that do not consider IP effect cannot recover the true umderground electrical structures. In view of the fact that there are many parameters of airborne induced polarization data in time domain, and the sensitivity difference between parameters is large, which brings challenges to the stability and accuracy of the inversion. In this paper, we propose an inversion mehtod for time-domain AEM data with IP effect based on the Pearson correlation constraints. This method uses the Pearson correlation coefficient in statistics to characterize the correlation between the resistivity and the chargeability and constructs the Pearson correlation constraints for inverting the objective function to reduce the non uniqueness of inversion. To verify the effectiveness of this method, we perform both Occam's inversion and Pearson correlation constrained inversion on the synthetic data. The experiments show that the Pearson correlation constrained inverison is more accurate and stable than the Occam's inversion. Finally, we carried out the inversion to a survey dataset with and without IP effect. The results show that the data misfit and the continuity of the inverted section are greatly improved when the IP effect is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a patient diagnosed with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) with homozygous TREX1 gene mutation. Her magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) showed intracerebral large artery disease, which was rarely reported in the past in TREX1 AGS patients. Her younger sister also had homozygous TREX1 gene mutation and died of necrotizing enterocolitis. Intracerebral large artery involvement has been seen as a particular feature of SAMHD1-related disease. Our patient also had arthropathy, which is a finding more commonly mentioned in SAMHD1-related diseases. The observations in our case may contribute to our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanism of TREX1 AGS, involving the intracerebral large arteries, arthropathy, and possibly the gastrointestinal tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-domain airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data are frequently subject to interference from various types of noise, which can reduce the data quality and affect data inversion and interpretation. Traditional denoising methods primarily deal with data directly, without analyzing the data in detail; thus, the results are not always satisfactory. In this paper, we propose a method based on dictionary learning for EM data denoising. This method uses dictionary learning to perform feature analysis and to extract and reconstruct the true signal. In the process of dictionary learning, the random noise is filtered out as residuals. To verily the effectiveness of this dictionary learning approach for denoising, we use a fixed overcomplete discrete cosine transform (ODCT) dictionary algorithm, the method-of-optimal-directions (MOD) dictionary learning algorithm, and the K-singular value decomposition (K-SVD) dictionary learning algorithm to denoise decay curves at single points and to denoise profile data for different time channels in time-domain AEM. The results show obvious differences among the three dictionaries for denoising AEM data, with the K-SVD dictionary achieving the best performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the nature of micro-electromechanical systems, the vector magnitude (VM) activity of accelerometers varies depending on the wearing position and does not identify different levels of physical fitness. Without an appropriate energy expenditure (EE) estimation equation, bias can occur in the estimated values. We aimed to amend the EE estimation equation using heart rate reserve (HRR) parameters as the correction factor, which could be applied to athletes and non-athletes who primarily use ankle-mounted devices. Indirect calorimetry was used as the criterion measure with an accelerometer (ankle-mounted) equipped with a heart rate monitor to synchronously measure the EE of 120 healthy adults on a treadmill in four groups. Compared with ankle-mounted accelerometer outputs, when the traditional equation was modified using linear regression by combining VM with body weight and/or HRR parameters (modified models: Model A, without HRR; Model B, with HRR), both Model A (r: 0.931 to 0.972; ICC: 0.913 to 0.954) and Model B (r: 0.933 to 0.975; ICC: 0.930 to 0.959) showed the valid and reliable predictive ability for the four groups. With respect to the simplest and most reasonable mode, Model A seems to be a good choice for predicting EE when using an ankle-mounted device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an activity-based formulation for Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Treating adsorption as a chemical reaction between the gas molecule and the adsorption vacant site, the classical Langmuir isotherm model expresses the reaction in terms of the species concentrations. Designed to capture the surface heterogeneity, the proposed thermodynamic Langmuir isotherm model substitutes the species concentrations with the species activities and calculates the species activity coefficients with the adsorption non-random two-liquid activity coefficient model. The resulting isotherm model accurately represents pure component adsorption isotherms for gases with wide varieties of adsorbents including silica gels, activated carbons, zeolites and metal organic frameworks at various temperatures. With three physically meaningful parameters, the model outperforms the classical Langmuir isotherm model for the 98 isotherms of 33 systems examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) may increase cancer risk. However, limited information was available on GI and/or GL and head and neck cancer (HNC) risk. We conducted a pooled analysis on 8 case-control studies (4081 HNC cases; 7407 controls) from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of HNC, and its subsites, from fixed- or mixed-effects logistic models including centre-specific quartiles of GI or GL. GI, but not GL, had a weak positive association with HNC (ORQ4 vs. Q1 = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.02-1.31). In subsites, we found a positive association between GI and laryngeal cancer (ORQ4 vs. Q1 = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.30-1.96) and an inverse association between GL and oropharyngeal cancer (ORQ4 vs. Q1 = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.63-0.97). This pooled analysis indicates a modest positive association between GI and HNC, mainly driven by laryngeal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Loss of the neuromonitoring signal (LOS) during thyroidectomy signifies recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, which is one of the common complications, especially by traction injury. Transient intraoperative LOS means spontaneous recovery of nerve function during surgery or within 6-month post-surgery. Few articles discuss intraoperative recovery time and transient LOS, and there is no consensus on the risk factors for RLN traction injury and its recovery course; thus, we wanted to determine the maximum intraoperative recovery time. Materials and methods: This retrospective study included patients who had undergone thyroidectomies at Tainan National Cheng Kung University Hospital between January 2015 and August 2018. A total of 775 patients (with 1000 nerves at risk) who underwent intermittent intraoperative neuromonitoring during thyroidectomy were included in this study. The LOS nerves were divided into 4 groups based on the LOS subtype and the intraoperative status of the recovery. The postoperative vocal cord function was determined by thyroid ultrasound and/or laryngoscope. All the patients would be followed up postoperatively in 2–3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4–6 weeks. Results: LOS occurred in 67 of 775 (8.6%) patients and in 70 of 1000 nerves at risk (7.0%). There were 2 in 70 nerves (2.9%) with LOS type 1 (segmental nerve traction injury) with intraoperative recovery (Group 1), 5 (7.1%) with LOS type 1 without intraoperative recovery (Group 2), 47 (67.1%) with LOS type 2 (global injury) with intraoperative recovery (Group 3), and 16 (22.8%) with LOS type 2 without intraoperative recovery (Group 4). All LOS type 1 (segmental nerve injury) nerves had pathologic lesions near the RLN or vagus nerve, but none had invaded the nerves (p < 0.05). The resolving time intraoperatively in the 2 patients in Group 1 was 5 min and 10 min, respectively. The resolving time intraoperatively in Group 3 was 1–20 min, and the average time was 4.8 min. In Group 2, 3 injured nerves recovered within 6 weeks postoperatively, and 2 nerves in 12 weeks. In Group 4, all the 16 injured nerves recovered within 6 weeks postoperatively. Conclusion: Applying intermittent intraoperative neuromonitoring during thyroidectomy, traction recurrent laryngeal nerve injury still happened in 7.0%. 70% of the injured nerves recovered the function intraoperatively after releasing the traction, and the longest duration of recovery is 20 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: MaC2H2s are involved in cold stress response of banana fruit via repressing the transcription of MaICE1. Although C2H2 zinc finger proteins have been found to be involved in banana fruit ripening through transcriptional controlling of ethylene biosynthetic genes, their involvement in cold stress of banana remains elusive. In this study, another C2H2-ZFP gene from banana fruit was identified, which was named as MaC2H2-3. Gene expression analysis revealed that MaC2H2-1, MaC2H2-2 and MaC2H2-3 were cold inducible in the peel of banana during low temperature storage. MaC2H2-3 functions as a transcriptional repressor and localizes predominantly in nucleus. Particularly, promoters of MaC2H2-2 and MaC2H2-3 were noticeably activated by cold as well, further indicating the potential roles of C2H2 in cold stress of banana. Moreover, MaC2H2-2 and MaC2H2-3 significantly repressed the transcription of MaICE1, a key component in cold signaling pathway. Overall, these findings suggest that MaC2H2s may take part in controlling cold stress of banana through suppressing the transcription of MaICE1, providing new insight of the regulatory basis of C2H2 in cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The embedded interposer carrier (EIC) technology for 3D-integrated circuits (3D-ICs) play an important role as a promising candidate to deal with the assembly/bonding processes of thin stacked chip and substrate. However, peeling stress of the interface between stacked via holes and copper-filled through silicon via silicon-based interposer may cause a thermomechanical reliability issue among multi-stacked film EIC architectures. For dealing with this situation, we propose a process-oriented finite element analysis method considering material nonlinear behaviors as well as process flows including process temperature and steps. This method is able to analyze systematically the effect of cycling temperature loads induced during the bonding process. From the result of simulations, it indicates that the curing process of laminated material is the critical step among the entire bonding process. In addition, the material about a compliant interposer is recommend to be a suitable solution for EIC architecture enhancing operational reliability. Furthermore, the thermal stress of each thin film stacked inside EIC structure can be relieved by means of the flexible of the carrier laminate design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) films and three-paired organosilicon/SiOxNy multilayered structures prepared by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition were respectively deposited onto the polyethylene terephthalate and silicon substrate with overcut and undercut patterned photoresist to mimic the packaging of the patterned organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and surface contaminants. The step coverage at the bottom and sidewall surface was conducted from the cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy observations. A methodology for investigating the position-dependent coverage at the concave region of the sidewall surface on the undercut patterns was developed. The increase in the water vapor transmission when these barrier structures were deposited onto polyethylene terephthalate substrate was linked to the decrease in their coverage at the sidewall surface, which was ascribed to the reduction in the diffusion path for water vapor permeation. It also was demonstrated that the degradation in the barrier property was significant as those structures coated onto the undercut patterns originating from the precursors hardly arrived at the concave region. However, although the film growth at the concave region of the sidewall surface was limited, paired organosilicon/SiOxNy structures still showed a superior barrier property to that of single SiOxNy film as the appearance of the organosilicon film in the paired structure was favorable to prolonging the diffusion length for water vapor permeation. The investigation into the barrier structures coated onto the patterned surface was beneficial for better understanding the package reliability on the patterned OLED devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the prophylaxis of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) in patients with hematological malignancies undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Six studies involving 365 patients were included. The pooled results showed that MSCs significantly reduced the incidence of cGVHD (risk ratio [RR] 0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46 to 0.86, P = 0.004). Favorable prophylactic effects of MSCs on cGVHD were observed with umbilical cord-derived, high-dose, and late-infusion MSCs, while bone marrow-derived, low-dose, and coinfused MSCs did not confer beneficial prophylactic effects. In addition, MSC infusion did not increase the risk of primary disease relapse and infection (RR 1.02, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.50, P = 0.913; RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.81, P = 0.752; respectively). Moreover, there was an apparent trend toward increased overall survival (OS) in the MSC group compared with that in the control group (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.29, P = 0.084). In conclusion, this meta-analysis demonstrated that MSC infusion is an effective and safe prophylactic strategy for cGVHD in patients with hematological malignancies undergoing allo-HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional 3D Magnetotelluric (MT) forward modeling and inversions are mostly based on structured meshes that have limited accuracy when modeling undulating surfaces and arbitrary structures. By contrast, unstructured-grid-based methods can model complex underground structures with high accuracy and overcome the defects of traditional methods, such as the high computational cost for improving model accuracy and the difficulty of inverting with topography. In this paper, we used the limited-memory quasi-Newton (L-BFGS) method with an unstructured finite-element grid to perform 3D MT inversions. This method avoids explicitly calculating Hessian matrices, which greatly reduces the memory requirements. After the first iteration, the approximate inverse Hessian matrix well approximates the true one, and the Newton step (set to 1) can meet the sufficient descent condition. Only one calculation of the objective function and its gradient are needed for each iteration, which greatly improves its computational efficiency. This approach is well-suited for large-scale 3D MT inversions. We have tested our algorithm on data with and without topography, and the results matched the real models well. We can recommend performing inversions based on an unstructured finite-element method and the L-BFGS method for situations with topography and complex underground structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the dependence of EM inversion on the choice of initial model and to obtain the global minimum, we apply transdimensional Bayesian inversion to time-domain airborne electromagnetic data. The transdimensional Bayesian inversion uses the Monte Carlo method to search the model space and yields models that simultaneously satisfy the acceptance probability and data fitting requirements. Finally, we obtain the probability distribution and uncertainty of the model parameters as well as the maximum probability. Because it is difficult to know the height of the transmitting source during flight, we consider a fixed and a variable flight height. Furthermore, we introduce weights into the prior probability density function of the resistivity and adjust the constraint strength in the inversion model by changing the weighing coefficients. This effectively solves the problem of unsatisfactory inversion results in the middle high-resistivity layer. We validate the proposed method by inverting synthetic data with 3% Gaussian noise and field survey data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problems in three-dimensional gravity inversion are the non-uniqueness of the solutions and the high computational cost of large data sets. To minimize the high computational cost, we propose a new sorting method to reduce fluctuations and the high frequency of the sensitivity matrix prior to applying the wavelet transform. Consequently, the sparsity and compression ratio of the sensitivity matrix are improved as well as the accuracy of the forward modeling. Furthermore, memory storage requirements are reduced and the forward modeling is accelerated compared with uncompressed forward modeling. The forward modeling results suggest that the compression ratio of the sensitivity matrix can be more than 300. Furthermore, multiscale inversion based on the wavelet transform is applied to gravity inversion. By decomposing the gravity inversion into subproblems of different scales, the non-uniqueness and stability of the gravity inversion are improved as multiscale data are considered. Finally, we applied conventional focusing inversion and multiscale inversion on simulated and measured data to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed gravity inversion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purify cellulosic ethanol wastewater (CEW) and obtain algae simultaneously, culturing microalgae using CEW as the medium is a potentially promising technology. In this study, mutation breeding of Scenedesmus sp. induced by ultraviolet (UV) and ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) was performed, and three mutant strains were screened using undiluted CEW. Among them, the mutant MU1 showed a high biomass yield of 1075 mg L−1 and biomass productivity of 39.81 mg L−1 day−1, and the lipid and protein content of MU1 can reach up to 21.4 and 41.9% (dry weight of biomass), respectively. Meanwhile, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), total phosphorus (TP) and chroma (CHR) removal percentages in CEW reached to 33.5, 71.2, 46.4 and 17.8%, respectively. These results indicated that MU1 is suitable for purifying CEW and producing biomass simultaneously, providing a prospective way for CEW treatment and low-cost microalgae cultivation.ᅟ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-ship-towed marine electromagnetic (EM) system is a new marine exploration technology recently being developed in China. Compared with traditional marine EM systems, the new system tows the transmitters and receivers using two ships, rendering it unnecessary to position EM receivers at the seafloor in advance. This makes the system more flexible, allowing for different configurations (e.g., in-line, broadside, and azimuthal and concentric scanning) that can produce more detailed underwater structural information. We develop a three-dimensional goal-oriented adaptive forward modeling method for the new marine EM system and analyze the responses for four survey configurations. Oceanbottom topography has a strong effect on the marine EM responses; thus, we develop a forward modeling algorithm based on the finite-element method and unstructured grids. To satisfy the requirements for modeling the moving transmitters of a dual-ship-towed EM system, we use a single mesh for each of the transmitter locations. This mitigates the mesh complexity by refining the grids near the transmitters and minimizes the computational cost. To generate a rational mesh while maintaining the accuracy for single transmitter, we develop a goal-oriented adaptive method with separate mesh refinements for areas around the transmitting source and those far away. To test the modeling algorithm and accuracy, we compare the EM responses calculated by the proposed algorithm and semi-analytical results and from published sources. Furthermore, by analyzing the EM responses for four survey configurations, we are confirm that compared with traditional marine EM systems with only in-line array, a dual-ship-towed marine system can collect more data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The airborne electromagnetic (AEM) method has a high sampling rate and survey flexibility. However, traditional numerical modeling approaches must use high-resolution physical grids to guarantee modeling accuracy, especially for complex geological structures such as anisotropic earth. This can lead to huge computational costs. To solve this problem, we propose a spectral-element (SE) method for 3D AEM anisotropic modeling, which combines the advantages of spectral and finite-element methods. Thus, the SE method has accuracy as high as that of the spectral method and the ability to model complex geology inherited from the finite-element method. The SE method can improve the modeling accuracy within discrete grids and reduce the dependence of modeling results on the grids. This helps achieve high-accuracy anisotropic AEM modeling. We first introduced a rotating tensor of anisotropic conductivity to Maxwell's equations and described the electrical field via SE basis functions based on GLL interpolation polynomials. We used the Galerkin weighted residual method to establish the linear equation system for the SE method, and we took a vertical magnetic dipole as the transmission source for our AEM modeling. We then applied fourth-order SE calculations with coarse physical grids to check the accuracy of our modeling results against a 1D semi-analytical solution for an anisotropic half-space model and verified the high accuracy of the SE. Moreover, we conducted AEM modeling for different anisotropic 3D abnormal bodies using two physical grid scales and three orders of SE to obtain the convergence conditions for different anisotropic abnormal bodies. Finally, we studied the identification of anisotropy for single anisotropic abnormal bodies, anisotropic surrounding rock, and single anisotropic abnormal body embedded in an anisotropic surrounding rock. This approach will play a key role in the inversion and interpretation of AEM data collected in regions with anisotropic geology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulation was employed to investigate how stable chondroitin sulfate- graft-polycaprolactone (CS-PCL, CP) copolymers self-assemble into micelles in an aqueous environment. Three types of CP containing low (2.4%), medium (6.3%), and high (18.7%) PCL contents (denoted L-CP, M-CP, and H-CP, respectively) in which PCL molecules consisting of 63 monomers were grafted onto each CS molecule consisting of 120 monomers were considered. L-CP and M-CP were found to display spheroidal micellar structures, while H-CP presented a rod-like structure, in agreement with previous experimental observations. In addition, the entanglement of the PCL segment increased as its molecular weight was increased. The number density distribution profiles of PCL, CS, and water molecules indicated that there were a few water molecules between the PCL core of the micelle and the water solution surrounding the micelle (in the micelle layer immediately above the core), and the number density of water in the CP micelle increased as the PCL content decreased. Using the radius of gyration, the three-dimensional conformations of the micelles were explored. When the number of CP chains was 3, H-CP adopted a long nanorod form, whereas L-CP and M-CP were roughly nanospherical. When the number of CP chains was increased beyond 3, however, the structure of L-CP changed from a nanosphere to a nanodisk. Finally, the slope of the mean square displacement profile was greatest when the molecular weight of the PCL segment was lowest, indicating that the mobilities of the CS and PCL segments are highest in L-CP. The self-diffusion coefficients of the CS and PCL segments decreased as the number of PCL segments grafted increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the inversion accuracy of time-domain airborne electromagnetic data, we propose a parallel 3D inversion algorithm for airborne EM data based on the direct Gauss-Newton optimization. Forward modeling is performed in the frequency domain based on the scattered secondary electrical field. Then, the inverse Fourier transform and convolution of the transmitting waveform are used to calculate the EM responses and the sensitivity matrix in the time domain for arbitrary transmitting waves. To optimize the computational time and memory requirements, we use the EM 'footprint' concept to reduce the model size and obtain the sparse sensitivity matrix. To improve the 3D inversion, we use the OpenMP library and parallel computing. We test the proposed 3D parallel inversion code using two synthetic datasets and a field dataset. The time-domain airborne EM inversion results suggest that the proposed algorithm is effective, efficient, and practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrotransfection has been widely used as a versatile, non-viral method for gene delivery. However, electrotransfection efficiency (eTE) is still low and unstable, compared to viral methods. To understand potential mechanisms of the problems, we investigated effects of electrode materials on eTE and viability of mammalian cells. Data from the study showed that commonly used metal electrodes generated a significant amount of particles during application of pulsed electric field, which could cause precipitation of plasmid DNA from solutions, thereby reducing eTE. For aluminum electrodes, the particles were composed of aluminum hydroxide and/or aluminum oxide, and their median sizes were 300-400 nm after the buffer was pulsed 4-8 times at 400 V cm, 5 ms duration and 1 Hz frequency. The precipitation could be prevented by using carbon (graphite) electrodes in electrotransfection experiments. The use of carbon electrodes also increased cell viability. Taken together, the study suggested that electrodes made of electrochemically inert materials were desirable for electrotransfection of cells in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional foundry industry has developed rapidly in recently years due to advancements in computer technology. Modifying and designing the feeding system has become more convenient with the help of the casting software, InteCAST. A common method of designing a feeding system is to first design the initial systems, run simulations with casting software, analyze the feedback, and then redesign. In this work, genetic, fruit fly, and interior point optimizer (IPOPT) algorithms were introduced to guide the optimal riser design for the feeding system. The results calculated by the three optimal algorithms indicate that the riser volume has a weak relationship with the modulus constraint; while it has a close relationship with the volume constraint. Based on the convergence rate, the fruit fly algorithm was obviously faster than the genetic algorithm. The optimized riser was also applied during casting, and was simulated using InteCAST. The numerical simulation results reveal that with the same riser volume, the riser optimized by the genetic and fruit fly algorithms has a similar improvement on casting shrinkage. The IPOPT algorithm has the advantage of causing the smallest shrinkage porosities, compared to those of the genetic and fruit fly algorithms, which were almost the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: CpERF9 controls papaya fruit ripening through transcriptional repression of cell-wall-modifying genes CpPME1/2 and CpPG5 by directly binding to their promoters. Abstract: Papaya fruit ripening is an intricate and highly coordinated developmental process which is controlled by the action of ethylene and expression of numerous ethylene-responsive genes. Ethylene response factors (ERFs) representing the last regulators of ethylene-signaling pathway determine the specificities of ethylene response. However, knowledge concerning the transcriptional controlling mechanism of ERF-mediated papaya fruit ripening is limited. In the present work, a gene-encoding AP2/ERF protein with two ERF-associated amphiphilic repression (EAR) motifs, named CpERF9, was characterized from papaya fruit. CpERF9 was found to localize in nucleus, and possess transcriptional repression ability. CpERF9 expression steadily decreased during papaya fruit ripening, while several genes encoding pectin methylesterases (PMEs) and polygalacturonases (PGs), such as CpPME1/2 and CpPG5, were gradually increased, paralleling the decline of fruit firmness. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) demonstrated a specific binding of CpERF9 to promoters of CpPME1/2 and CpPG5, via the GCC-box motif. Transient expression of CpERF9 in tobacco repressed CpPME1/2 and CpPG5 promoter activities, which was depended on two EAR motifs of CpERF9 protein. Taken together, these findings suggest that papaya CpERF9 may act as a transcriptional repressor of several cell-wall modifying genes, such as CpPME1/2 and CpPG5, via directly binding to their promoters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the alteration of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the hypothalamus and its correlation with insulin, leptin and ghrelin during the development of a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: The type 2 diabetes mellitus model was developed in diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats followed by the intraperitoneal injection of low-dose streptozotocin (STZ, 25 mg/kg). At four time points during the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in rats, the fasting serum insulin, leptin, and plasma ghrelin were measured and the hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) content and mRNA expression were detected in the rats, which were divided into 4 groups: normal control (NC), DIO, DIO, and T2DM; the mRNA expression of OB-Rb, and GSH-R1a in the hypothalamus were also assayed. Results: During the development of the type 2 diabetes mellitus rat model, both the fasting serum levels of insulin and leptin (ng/ml) elevated significantly and the fasting plasma ghrelin concentration decreased the hypothalamic NPY (pg/mg) content significantly. NPY mRNA increased significantly in a time-dependent fashion while both the OB-Rb and the GHS-R1a mRNA of the hypothalamus decreased significantly. Hypothalamic NPY concentration was positively correlated with the changes in serum insulin and leptin and negatively correlated with plasma ghrelin. Conclusions: During the development of the type 2 diabetes mellitus rat model, the hypothalamic NPY content and NPY mRNA expression increased in a time-dependent manner, which was positively correlated with the changes of the serum insulin and leptin and negatively correlated with the plasma ghrelin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy (RT) not only damages tumors but also induces interferon (IFN) expression in tumors. IFNs mediate PD-L1 to exhaust CD8+ T cells, but which also directly impact tumor cells and potentially activate anti-tumor immune surveillance. Little is known about the contradictory mechanism of IFNs in regulating CD8+ T-mediated anti-tumor activity in lung cancer. This study found that RT induced IFNs and CXCL9/10 expression in the RT-treated lung cancer cells. Specifically, RT- and IFNγ-pretreated A549 significantly activated CD8+ T cells, resulting in significant inhibition of A549 colony formation. RNAseq and consequent qPCR results revealed that IFNγ induced PD-L1, CXCL10, and ICAM-1, whereas PD-L1 knockdown activated CD8+ T cells, but ICAM-1 knockdown diminished CD8+ T cell activation. We further demonstrated that CXCR3 and CXCL10 decreased in the CD8+ T cells and nonCD8+ PBMCs, respectively, in the patients with lung cancer that expressed lower reactivation as co-cultured with A549 cells. In addition, inhibitors targeting CXCR3 and LFA-1 in CD8+ T cells significantly diminished CD8+ T cell activation and splenocytes-mediated anti-LL/2shPdl1. In conclusion, we validated that RT suppressed lung cancer and overexpress PD-L1, CXCL10, and ICAM-1, which exhibited different roles in regulating CD8+ T cell activity. We propose that CXCR3highCD8+ T cells stimulated by CXCL10 exhibit anti-tumor immunity, possibly by enhancing T cells-tumor cells adhesion through CXCL10/CXCR3-activated LFA-1-ICAM-1 interaction, but CXCR3lowCD8+ T cells with low CXCL10 in patients with lung cancer were exhausted by PD-L1 dominantly. Therefore, RT potentially activates CD8+ T cells by inducing IFNs-mediated CXCL10 and ICAM-1 expression in tumors to enhance CD8+ T-tumor adhesion and recognition. This study clarified the possible mechanisms of RT and IFNs in regulating CD8+ T cell activation in lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitric oxide (NO) is a small molecule with a wide range of biological activities in mammalian and bacteria. However, the role of NO in fungi, especially Candida albicans, is not clear. In this study, we confirmed the generation of endogenous NO in C. albicans, and found that the production of endogenous NO in C. albicans was associated with nitric oxide synthase pathway. Our results further indicated that the production of endogenous NO in C. albicans was reduced under oxidative stress such as menadione or HO treatment. Meanwhile, exogenous NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), synergized with HO against C. albicans. Interestingly, SNP could inhibit the antifungal effect of azoles against C. albicans in vitro, suggesting that NO might be involved in the resistance of C. albicans to antifungals. Collectively, this study demonstrated the production of endogenous NO in C. albicans, and indicated that NO may play an important role in the response of C. albicans to oxidative stress and azoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the ocean bottom is a sedimentary environment wherein stratification is well developed, the use of an anisotropic model is best for studying its geology. Beginning with Maxwell's equations for an anisotropic model, we introduce scalar potentials based on the divergence-free characteristic of the electric and magnetic (EM) fields. We then continue the EM fields down into the deep earth and upward into the seawater and couple them at the ocean bottom to the transmitting source. By studying both the DC apparent resistivity curves and their polar plots, we can resolve the anisotropy of the ocean bottom. Forward modeling of a high-resistivity thin layer in an anisotropic half-space demonstrates that the marine DC resistivity method in shallow water is very sensitive to the resistive reservoir but is not influenced by airwaves. As such, it is very suitable for oil and gas exploration in shallowwater areas but, to date, most modeling algorithms for studying marine DC resistivity are based on isotropic models. In this paper, we investigate one-dimensional anisotropic forward modeling for marine DC resistivity method, prove the algorithm to have high accuracy, and thus provide a theoretical basis for 2D and 3D forward modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is dedicated to design and realization of a new single inductor bipolar multi-output (SIBMO) DC-DC converter with performance improvement. A bandgap is first designed to offer a stable input bias with capability to work against inevitable input voltage variations for avoiding possible p-n breakdowns. A new drive technique based on constant on-time (COT) is developed for the designed SIBMO with assistance from level shifters and zero current detection circuits to drive MOS devices. The designed circuit is capable of boosting input voltage 2.8 V to four bipolar outputs of +6, −6, +12 and −12 V. The COT proposed herein adopts a new technique of time multiplexing to offer stable multi-outputs with an off-chip inductor for fast switchings. This new COT is different from the conventional pulse width modulation which usually operates with fixed frequencies. The COT is particularly favorable in regards of crossing regulation and high transfer efficiency in cases of unbalanced loads. The proposed SIBMO and COT are applicable to drive systems of organic light-emitting diodes, optical sensors, and portable electronic devices, displays, etc. The designed on-chip SIBMO and COT are fabricated via the TSMC 0.25 µm high-voltage CMOS process. Experimental results clearly show the capability of the designed SIBMO chip to offer four bipolar, stabilized output voltages with a total power consumption minimized to 320 mW and the switching frequency varying from 650 to 500 kHz. Most importantly, the maximum efficiency reaches 83.1 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of government ideology on energy efficiency using data for a panel of 23 OECD countries over the 1980-2013 period. With dynamic panel data method applied, our evidence suggests that government ideology is a significant determinant of energy efficiency. Specifically, we show that left-wing parties are associated with energy efficiency improvements. Overall, our results are robust to the two measures of energy efficiency variables, alternative measures of government ideology variables, using annual and 3-year averages of the data, the inclusion of economic and political variables, and to model specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melasma is an acquired pigment disorder showing symmetrical hyperpigmentation of the face characterized by light to dark brown patches with indistinct borders on both cheeks. Melasma is prevalent in middle-aged women with harmless hormone imbalances. It is also known as the mask of pregnancy and is prevalent in most child-bearing women. It fluctuates month by month, and yet, there is no promising treatment. The Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (QS-Nd:YAG) laser (1,064-nm wavelength) was introduced in Asia years ago for both skin toning and treatment of facial pigment. This low-fluence, 1,064-nm QS-Nd: YAG laser also reportedly improved melasma. Adjunctive treatments such as vitamin C iontophoresis or chemical peels were recommended in other reports. The technique using the 1,064-nm QS-Nd:YAG laser for toning and the enhancement of adjunctive treatments need further investigation and long-term follow-up before recommendations for the ideal protocol for melasma treatment can be made. The aim of this study is to evaluate the improvement of melasma using different parameters with the 1,064-nm QS-Nd:YAG laser with ultrasonic application of topical vitamin C. Eight patients, ranging in age from 32 to 45 years (mean 37 years), with long-term melasma were studied. Most of the melasma cases were dermal or mixed-type melasma. The patients had no cosmetic treatment (laser, intense pulsed light, or chemical peel) 1 year prior to the study. The entire face of each patient was treated with the 1,064-nm QS-Nd:YAG laser for four sessions at 1-month intervals. The laser treatment was divided into three parts with different parameters. First, each patient underwent whole face exposure for one pass with an 8-mm spot size at a power of 2.0 J/cm. Next, the spot size was shifted to 6 mm at a power of 3.5 J/cm for one full-face pass, and then ended with a 4-mm spot size at 3.2 J/cm for one full-face pass, with multiple passes for the main lesions. The end point was mild erythema and swelling, without petechiae. All patients applied ice packs for 5 min before the adjunctive treatment. We designed a split-face study with or without ultrasonic application of topical vitamin C. Only the right side of the face received ultrasonic melasma application of vitamin C for 15 min after ice packing. The left side of the face was covered with a moisturizing lotion. Objective evaluation was performed with visual analog score. All eight patients completed the 3-month follow-up after the four laser treatments. Statistics showed significant improvement with ultrasonic application of vitamin C compared to laser monotherapy. The improvement was more pronounced during second to fourth sessions. There was no rebound or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation detected during the 3-month follow-up period. The combination of 1,064-nm QS-Nd:YAG laser treatment with ultrasonic application of topical vitamin C exerted more prompt response of melasma. We recommended this protocol including mixed parameters of 1,064-nm QS-Nd:YAG laser toning method combining with vitamin C ultrasonic application that can yield higher satisfaction for the difficult facial pigmentation problems such as melasma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We design a double U-shaped ring-based metamaterial, which has a good capability of the realization of sense of refractive indexes. The metamaterial consists of two regularly spaced parallel arrays of U-shaped rings with 90° rotation embedded in a medium, in the top of which an array of holes are dug for sensing unknown materials. Our simulations demonstrate that the structure can recognize subtle changes in refractive indexes of the unknown materials by special resonance frequencies, and it can thus be regarded as a highly sensitive sensor. Furthermore, it could also be integrated into other electronic devices because of its tiny size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local lattice distortions and the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) parameters (anisotropic g factors and the hyperfine structure constants) for the two Pt centers in ZnWO are theoretically investigated by utilizing the perturbation formulas of these parameters for a 5 d ion under rhombically elongated and compressed octahedra. The elongated (and compressed) centers are ascribed to the [PtO] clusters on Zn site suffering the axial elongation of 0.01 Å (and compression of 0.02 Å) along Z axis and the planar bond angle variations of 7.4° (and 7.8°), respectively, due to the Jahn-Teller effect. The above local lattice deformations may considerably cancel the original large axial elongation (~0.31 Å) and perpendicular rhombic angular distortion of the host [ZnO] cluster and yield more regular [PtO] clusters in the impurity centers. The calculated EPR parameters based on the above lattice deformations show good agreement with the experimental data, and the local structures of the impurity centers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of the causes of vestibular symptoms in patients with chronic otitis media (COM) faces frustration, mainly because the bithermal caloric test using tap water is generally contraindicated in perforated ears. This study utilized audiometry, ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) test, and cervical VEMP (cVEMP) test to evaluate inner ear deficits after COM. A total of 85 COM patients (117 ears) underwent otoscopy, image study, audiometry, oVEMP test, and cVEMP test. Mean bone-conducted (BC) hearing threshold ≤25 dB was observed in 74 ears, 26-40 dB in 30 ears, and >40 dB in 13 ears. Restated, abnormal BC hearing threshold was identified in 43 ears (37 %). Percentages of abnormal cVEMP test, oVEMP test, and BC hearing threshold in 117 COM ears were 65, 62, and 37 %, respectively, exhibiting a significantly declining sequence in inner ear function. Furthermore, cVEMP/oVEMP test results were significantly correlated with BC hearing threshold, whereas no correlation existed between the cVEMP and oVEMP test results. In conclusion, the sequence of inner ear deficits after COM runs from the saccule/utricle to the cochlea and semicircular canals. Restated, in addition to BC hearing test, the cVEMP/oVEMP test may serve as a supplementary tool for early detection of inner ear involvement in COM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulmonary artery catheter (PAC)—despite its invasiveness—remains the gold standard for cardiac output (CO) monitoring. The FloTrac system, a less invasive hemodynamic monitor has been developed, which estimates CO using arterial pressure waveform analysis without external calibration. Recently, an upgraded version of FloTrac system with improved algorithm to follow changes in vascular resistance was introduced into the market. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of the CO estimated from the fourth-generation FloTrac/EV1000 system (COFT) compared to that measured with PAC using the thermodilution method (COPAC) during robotic-assisted off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery. COFT and COPAC were obtained simultaneously at 4 predefined time points during robotic-assisted OPCAB: 5 min after the induction of general anesthesia (T1), after starting one-lung ventilation (T2), after capnothorax (T3), and after mini-thoracotomy was performed (T4). The agreement of data was investigated by Bland–Altman analysis. Thirty-four patients were initially enrolled. After exclusion, 32 patients and a total of 128 paired CO measurements were obtained. The overall bias was 1.46 L/min, the 95% limits of agreements were − 3.40 to 6.33 L/min, and the percentage error was 72.98%. Regression analysis of the systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI) and the bias between COPAC and COFT showed that the bias was moderately correlated with the SVRI (r2 = 0.43; p < 0.0001). Despite a software upgrade, the reliability of the fourth-generation FloTrac/EV1000™ system during robotic-assisted OPCAB to estimate CO was not acceptable, especially in patients with low SVRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase (NKA) is a widely found and important transporter in mammals. The kidney is a major osmoregulatory organ of which the proximal tubules play a crucial role in the maintenance of ionic homeostasis functioning via salt and water reabsorption. FXYD (FXYD domain-containing protein) 2, the γ-subunit of NKA, is the first identified and the most abundant member of FXYD family, affecting the sodium/potassium affinity of NKA in the kidney. Based on DNA microarray analysis, the expression levels of fxyd2 gene are markedly increased upon hypertonic challenge. Combined with bioinformatic analysis using the NCBI database, we identified an unnamed protein with 145 amino acids, of which the N-terminus involved the FXYD sequence similar to FXYD2a and FXYD2b, and thus, named as FXYD2c. However, the role of FXYD2c protein in the regulation of NKA expression in the kidney has not been elucidated. In this study, we found that the mRNA and protein levels of FXYD2c were significantly increased upon hypertonic challenge. Immunoprecipitation data revealed that FXYD2c interacts with the NKA α1 subunit. Subsequently, the functional inhibition of fxyd2c using short hairpin RNA abrogated NKA activity. Taken together, our study offers novel insight into the potential function of FXYD2c in promoting NKA activity upon hypertonic challenge in HK-2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Na/K-ATPase (NKA) is a widely found and important transporter in mammals. The kidney is a major osmoregulatory organ of which the proximal tubules play a crucial role in the maintenance of ionic homeostasis functioning via salt and water reabsorption. FXYD (FXYD domain-containing protein) 2, the γ-subunit of NKA, is the first identified and the most abundant member of FXYD family, affecting the sodium/potassium affinity of NKA in the kidney. Based on DNA microarray analysis, the expression levels of fxyd2 gene are markedly increased upon hypertonic challenge. Combined with bioinformatic analysis using the NCBI database, we identified an unnamed protein with 145 amino acids, of which the N-terminus involved the FXYD sequence similar to FXYD2a and FXYD2b, and thus, named as FXYD2c. However, the role of FXYD2c protein in the regulation of NKA expression in the kidney has not been elucidated. In this study, we found that the mRNA and protein levels of FXYD2c were significantly increased upon hypertonic challenge. Immunoprecipitation data revealed that FXYD2c interacts with the NKA α1 subunit. Subsequently, the functional inhibition of fxyd2c using short hairpin RNA abrogated NKA activity. Taken together, our study offers novel insight into the potential function of FXYD2c in promoting NKA activity upon hypertonic challenge in HK-2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the combined technologies of dual-layer photoresist complimentary lithography (DPCL), inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching and laser direct-write lithography are applied to produce the submicron patterns on sapphire substrates. The inorganic photoresist has almost no resistance for chlorine containing plasma and aqueous acid etching solution. However, the organic photoresist has high resistance for chlorine containing plasma and aqueous acid etching solution. Moreover, the inorganic photoresist is less etched by oxygen plasma etching process. The organic and inorganic photoresist deposit sequentially into a composite photoresist on a substrate. The DPCL takes advantages of the complementary chemical properties of organic and inorganic photoresist. We fabricated two structures with platform and non-platform structure. The non-platform structure featured structural openings, the top and bottom diameters and the depth are approximately 780, 500 and 233 nm, respectively. The platform structure featured structural openings, the top and bottom diameters and the depth are approximately 487, 288 and 203 nm, respectively. The precision submicron or nanoscale patterns of large etched area and patterns with high aspect ratio can be quickly produced by this technique. This technology features a low cost but high yield production technology. It has the potential applications in fabrication of micro-/nanostructures and devices for the optoelectronic industry, semiconductor industry and energy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]