Search

Approximately 80% of kidney stone diseases contain calcium. Inherited genetic factors are among the variables that influence the development of calcium-containing kidney stone diseases (CKSD). Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on stone diseases have been reported worldwide; however, these are not focused on calcium-containing stones. We conducted a GWAS to identify germline genetic polymorphisms associated with CKSD in a Medical Center in Taiwan; hence, this study was based primarily on a hospital-based database. CKSD was diagnosed using the chart records. Patients infected with urea-splitting-microorganisms and those with at least two urinary pH value below 5.5 were excluded. None of the patients had cystic stones based on stone analysis. Those over 40 years of age with no history of CKSD and no microscopic hematuria on urinalysis were considered as controls. The DNA isolated from the blood of 14,934 patients (63.7% male and 36.3% female) with CKSD and 29,868 controls (10,830 men and 19,038 women) at a medical center was genotyped for approximately 714,457 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with minor allele frequency of ≥ 0.05. We used PLINK 1.9 to calculate the polygenic risk score (PRS) to investigate the association between CKSD and controls. The accuracy of the PRS was verified by dividing it into the training and testing groups. The statistical analyses were calculated with the area under the curve (AUC) using IBM SPSS version 22. We identified 432 susceptibility loci that reached a genome-wide threshold of P < 1.0 × 10− 5. A total of 132 SNPs reached a threshold of P < 5 × 10− 8 using a stricter definition of significance on chromosomes 4, 13, 16, 17, and 18. At the top locus of our study, SNPs in DGKH, PDILT, BCAS3, and ABCG2 have been previously reported. RN7SKP27, HDAC4, PCDH15, AP003068.2, and NFATC1 were novel findings in this study. PRS was adjusted for sex and age, resulting in an AUC of 0.65. The number of patients in the top quartile of PRS was 1.39 folds in the risk of CKSD than patients in the bottom quartile. Our data identified the significance of GWAS for patients with CKSD in a hospital-based study. The PRS also had a high AUC for discriminating patients with CKSD from controls. A total of 132 SNP loci of SNPs significantly associated with the development of CKSD. This first survey, which focused on patients with CKSD, will provide novel insights specific to CKSD and its potential clinical biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH), as a self-power device that can convert ambient vibration energy into electric energy, has extensive application prospects in power supply for microsensors used in Internet of Things (IoT). How to match the ambient vibration frequencies, which are always random and broadband, is a key point to design a PVEH. In this study, a tuning fork-shaped PVEH with pendulum impact-driven enhancement is proposed for energy harvesting from broadband low-frequency vibration. Methods: The impact-driven tuning fork-shaped PVEH with adjustable mechanisms is first designed, and the working principle is introduced in detail. Dynamic equations are established, and the vibration characteristics are analyzed by comparing the results of the finite element analysis (FEA) and numerical simulation, where the natural frequencies and modes are studied, and the effects of pendulum impact-driven enhancement on the energy harvesting performance are analyzed in detail. Results: The results show that the proposed PVEH can obtain 0.6 mW and 6.4 mW output powers when the excitation frequencies are 5 Hz and 34 Hz with 0.5 g excitation amplitude and the optimum load resistance, respectively. Finally, experimental investigations are carried out to verify the energy harvesting performance, and 19 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are lit up to assess the prospective applications of the proposed impact-driven PVEH. Conclusions: The investigation demonstrates that the pendulum impact-driven could enhance the low-frequency responses, which helps the PVEH achieve the energy harvesting from broadband low-frequency ambient vibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endeavor to enhance utility of organic molecular cages involves the evolution of them into higher-level chiral superstructures with self-similar, presenting a meaningful yet challenging. In this work, 2D tri-bladed propeller-shaped triphenylbenzene serves as building blocks to synthesize a racemic 3D tri-bladed propeller-shaped helical molecular cage. This cage, in turn, acts as a building block for a pair of higher-level 3D tri-bladed chiral helical molecular cages, featuring multilayer sandwich structures and displaying elegant characteristics with self-similarity in discrete superstructures at different levels. The evolutionary procession of higher-level cages reveals intramolecular self-shielding effects and exclusive chiral narcissistic self-sorting behaviors. Enantiomers higher-level cages can be interconverted by introducing an excess of corresponding chiral cyclohexanediamine. In the solid state, higher-level cages self-assemble into supramolecular architectures of L-helical or D-helical nanofibers, achieving the scale transformation of chiral characteristics from chiral atoms to microscopic and then to mesoscopic levels.To enhance the utility of organic molecular cages (OMCs), the evolution of OMCs into higher-level chiral OMCs with self-similar superstructures is meaningful yet challenging. Here, the authors report a pair of higher-level 3D tri-bladed chiral helical molecular cages, displaying self-similarity in a discrete self-similar superstructure at different levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The association between hepatitis B and concomitant diseases, such as fatty liver, T2DM, MetS, and Hp infection, remains unclear. Aim: The present study was to illustrate the association and explore the co-contribution on abnormal transaminase and progression of liver stiffness. Methods: A total of 95,998 participants underwent HBsAg screening in West China Hospital from 2014 to 2017. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the adjusted odds ratios. Results: The prevalence of HBsAg-positive rate was 8.30% of our included study population. HBsAg positive was associated with negative risk of fatty liver (odds ratio [OR] 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65–0.78, p < 0.001) and MetS (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.67–0.84, p < 0.001), and with positive risk of Hp infection (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02–1.17, p = 0.012) and T2DM (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01–1.40, p = 0.043). Besides, HBsAg-positive patients with T2DM had higher risk of elevated ALT (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.69–2.83, p < 0.001 vs OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.51–1.68, p < 0.001), AST (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.98–3.65, p < 0.001 vs OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.76–2.02, p < 0.001) than HBV alone. In addition to HBV, T2DM also can increase the risk of liver fibrosis (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.35–7.71, p = 0.008) and cirrhosis (OR 4.31, 95% CI 1.41–13.20, p = 0.010). Conclusion: Hepatitis B patients have a lower risk of fatty liver and MetS, and a higher risk of T2DM and Hp infection. Besides, T2DM might be possibly associated with abnormal liver transaminase and fibrosis progression in HBsAg-positive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate keyhole status prediction is critical for realizing the closed-loop control of the keyhole plasma arc welding (K-PAW) processes for acquiring full-penetration weld joints with high efficiency. Visually captured weld pool images from topside provide sufficient information of the liquid metal as well as keyhole behaviors. Weld pool, plasma arc, and keyhole entrance could be clearly recognized reflecting the different features during different keyholing stages. It was proposed to extract the image features automatically based on a deep learning algorithm rather than manually selecting characteristic parameters. Since directly training the deep CNN (convolutional neural network) model using the acquired data led to convergence failure, a well-trained generalized model was employed and fine-tuned accordingly to more easily extract the K-PAW image features. Model training was conducted using obtained dataset, which took weld pool images as input and penetration/keyhole status (partial penetration with a blind keyhole or full penetration with a through keyhole) as output. Underlying correlations between the penetration/keyhole status and topside weld pool images were established. For further verifying the effectiveness and reliability of the trained model, experiments were designed acquiring typical slow keyholing under constant welding current and rapid keyhole switching under pulse welding current. Based on the given data, the verified 90% accuracy was achieved for correctly predicting the keyhole/penetration status. Finally, the visualization of the convolutional layers was carried out, and displayed the features clearly, which is of great significance for understanding the internal mechanism of the neural network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the thermal analysis of many energetic compounds, there is a phenomenon of melting before decomposition, and the melting endothermic process is masked by the subsequent rapid exothermic decomposition, which has affected the research of separation in melting and thermal decomposition processes. 2-oximemalononitrile, an energetic intermediate whose melting and decomposition processes had the overlapping, was used as the research object in this paper, and the complete melting and decomposition processes were acquired by MATLAB software, separately. In addition, the kinetics and mechanism of thermal decomposition of 2-oximemalononitrile were investigated by Málek method, which was used as guidance for the safe application in handling, processing, and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019–2020 COVID-19 pandemic has caused an economic turndown and high volatility in the global financial markets. Determining the factors that influence services to high-net-worth customers who typically have large investments in the financial markets is important for wealth management banks. This study constructs a hybrid approach by integrating the fuzzy logic and Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods to identify the most influential criteria affecting the performance of wealth management banks in Taiwan during the 2019–2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys and interviews are designed using four dimensions (bank performance, service quality, customer relationship, and COVID-19) and 16 criteria for 10 banking executives using fuzzy linguistic scales, to obtain their expert opinions. The results show the order of influence as being service quality, customer relationships, bank performance, and COVID-19. The most important criteria are customized investment information (in-service quality), switching behavior (in-customer relationship), fee income (in-bank performance), and the number of confirmed cases in the top five countries affected by COVID-19. The managerial implication is that wealth management banks should focus on improving their service quality. Banks may strive to provide a wide range of customized investment information and increase customers' usage of personalized financial products and services. The results of this study will benefit bank managers in serving high-net-worth individuals during the crisis period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, human activity recognition (HAR) has grown in popularity due to its applications in security and entertainment. As recent years have witnessed the emergence of health care and exoskeleton robotics which make use of wearable suits, human–machine interaction based on action recognition performs an important role in multimedia applications. Considering the limitations of the application scenario, the surface electromyography (sEMG) signal stands out in many wearable data collection devices for HAR. That is because: (1) timely feedback; (2) no damage to the human body; and (3) the wide range of recognizable actions. However, existing public datasets of sEMG contained relatively few activities, and several large-scale datasets only collected the action of the hand. In addition, the processing of sEMG signals is a new field with no effective evaluation system for it. To tackle these problems, we establish a novel dataset for HAR on lower-limb sEMG named "HAR-sEMG," using 6 sEMG signal sensors attached to the left leg. A benchmark summarizing experiments with many combinations of existing high-dimensional signal processing algorithms-based manifold learning on our dataset is also provided for a performance analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method combined with chemometrics was developed for differentiating geographical origins of Chinese red wines. Phenolic compounds were firstly detected and quantified by direct injection HPLC-DAD method in thirty red wines originated from two famous wine-growing regions in China. Given the high complexity of the wine samples and the co-elution problems during chromatographic separation, multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) was utilized to extract pure chromatographic and spectral profiles of each co-eluted compound. Quantification of phenolic compounds was thus achieved even in the presence of overlapping peaks and uncalibrated interferents. The quantitative data of the phenolic compounds in wines provided by the MCR-ALS algorithm were afterwards analyzed by unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) methods and supervised orthogonal partial least squares-discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) method. Both PCA and HCA results showed that the thirty red wines from different geographical origins could be obviously distinguished, and the OPLS-DA could successfully predict the geographical origins of red wines. This study demonstrated that the HPLC-DAD method combined with chemometrics can be used as an effective tool for differentiating geographical origins of Chinese red wines on the basis of phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of Artificial liver support system (ALSS) for hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) is hard to be expected, which results in multiple operations of ALSS and excessive consumption of plasma, increase in clinical cost. A total of 375 HBV-ACLF patients receiving ALSS treatment were randomly divided a train set and an independent test set. Logistic regression analysis was conducted and a decision tree was built based on 3-month survival as outcome. The ratio of total bilirubin before and after the first time of ALSS treatment was the most significant prognostic factor, we named it RPTB. Further, a decision tree based on the multivariate logistic regression model using CTP score and the RPTB was built, dividing patients into 3 main groups such as favorable prognosis group, moderate prognosis group and poor prognosis group. A clearly-presented and easily-understood decision tree was built with a good predictive value of prognosis in HBV-related ACLF patients after first-time ALSS treatment. It will help maximal the therapeutic value of ALSS treatment and may play an important role in organ allocation for liver transplantation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fragile X-related protein 1 (FXR1) is a member of the fragile X family of RNA-binding proteins, which regulates a number of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as fragile X syndrome, and is expected as a novel therapeutic target for some psychiatric diseases. However, it is unknown how FXR1 changes and functions in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a common mental disorder related to trauma and stressor. In this study, we characterized the expression pattern of FXR1 in the pathophysiological process of PTSD and further investigated the possible mechanism underlying these changes by finding an upstream regulator, namely miRNA-132 (miR-132). Furthermore, we verified whether miR-132 silence had an effect on the PTSD-like behaviors of single prolonged stress (SPS) rats through open field test, forced swimming test, and water maze test. At last, we examined the expression levels of PSD95 and synapsin I in the hippocampus, which was one of the key brain regions associated with PTSD. We showed that the levels of FXR1 and fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an autosomal homolog of FXR1, were decreased in the hippocampus of PTSD rats, but the levels of PSD95 and synapsin I were increased, which could be reversed by downregulation of miR-132. The results revealed that miR-132 could modulate PTSD-like behaviors in rats following SPS through regulating FXR1 and FMRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel efficient adaptive central-upwind WENO-CU6 scheme (named as EWENO-CU6) to maximize the order of accuracy, minimize dissipation and improve numerical robustness. Unlike WENO-CU6 scheme, the present paper introduces a switch formula based on our new shock sensor to adaptively diminish numerical dissipation in a rational manner when departing from discontinuities. Based on the above improvements, the performances of several schemes are characterized in scalar equations, which indicate new scheme's high order of accuracy, robustness with a reasonable computational efficiency in wavenumber space. A variety of benchmark cases of Euler equations are tested to further verify the new scheme's performance. From multi-dimensional tests, EWENO-CU6 scheme shows a greater resolving power in practical flow cases involving both shocks and complex features. We emphasize that this method can be applied more broadly for any algorithm which contains the similar reference smoothness indicator in WENO-CU class schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with well-distributed sizes were prepared by magnetron sputtering on slides and crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell following by annealing at different temperatures. The morphologies, optical and photovoltaic performance were investigated in detail. The spectroscopic result shows that two resonance peaks resulting from coupling effect among neighboring particles are difficult to obtain by other chemical methods. The photovoltaic performances reveal that the solar cells decorated with AgNPs significantly are degraded, including a maximal decrease of 20.4 % in short-circuit density and 53.9 % in energy conversion efficiency. The lowest efficiency achieved is 5.85 % for c-Si solar cells with AgNPs annealed at 500 °C. The deterioration should result from the synergetic effect of the intrinsic absorption of single particle and coupling absorption between neighboring particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two ternary cobalt(II) coordination polymers (CPs), namely [Co(L1)(npht)] ( 1) and {[Co(L2)(npht)(HO)]·HO} ( 2) (L1 = 4,4′-bis(benzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl, L2 = 1,2-bis(5,6-dimethylbenzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, and Hnpht = 4-nitrophthalic acid) have been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Both CPs feature similar 1D infinite chains containing two distinct loops. CP 1 further forms a 3D supramolecular network via weak C-H···O hydrogen bond interactions. CP 2 shows a 1D two-layer chain structure, assembled through π- π stacking interactions. The electrochemical, luminescence, and photocatalytic activities of the two CPs for the removal of methylene blue under visible or UV light were investigated. Possible photocatalytic mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Upper Tropospheric Quasi-Biweekly Oscillation (UQBW) of the South Asian monsoon is studied using the potential vorticity field on the 370 K isentrope. The UQBW is shown to be a common occurrence in the upper troposphere during the monsoon, and its typical evolution is described. We suggest that the UQBW is a phenomenon of both the middle and tropical latitudes, owing its existence to the presence of the planetary-scale upper-tropospheric monsoon anticyclone. The UQBW is first identified as Rossby waves originating in the northern flank of the monsoon anticyclone. These Rossby waves break when reaching the Pacific Ocean, and their associated cyclonic PV anomalies move southward to the east of Asia and then westward across the Indian Ocean and Africa advected by the monsoon anticyclone. A strong correlation, or co-evolution, between the UQBW and quasi-biweekly oscillations in the lower troposphere (QBW) is also found. In particular, analysis of vertically-integrated horizontal moisture transport, 850 hPa geopotential, and outgoing long-wave radiation show that the UQBW is usually observed at the same time as, and co-evolves with, the lower tropospheric QBW over South Asia. We discuss the nature of the UQBW, and its possible physical link with the QBW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2D cobalt(II) chiral coordination polymer (CP), namely [Co(bimb)(tbip)]n (1) (bimb = 4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl and Htbip = 5-tert-butylisophthalic acid) containing tri-flexural helix structures has been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. CP 1 features a 2D (4,4) layer, which is further extended into a 3D supramolecular framework through weak hydrogen bonding interactions. Intermolecular interactions in the crystal framework have been analyzed by Hirshfeld surface and fingerprint plots in detail. The thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), luminescence, and electrochemical properties of CP 1 have been investigated. Furthermore, CP 1 exhibits promising photocatalytic activities for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation with the degradation efficiency is up to 96.7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two silver(I)-mixed ligand coordination polymers (CPs), {[Ag(L)(Hmip)]·HO} ( 1) and {[Ag(L)]·0.5(DCTP)·HO]} ( 2) (Hmip = 5-methylisophthalic acid, HDCTP = 2,5-dichloroterephthalic acid, and L = 4,4′-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl) have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Two CPs display 1D zigzag chain and linear chain structures, respectively. Furthermore, these 1D chains are extended into 2D supramolecular networks through hydrogen bonding interactions. The luminescence properties and photocatalytic behaviors of both CPs are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid-liquid method was used to prepare the continuous casting of copper cladding aluminium by liquid aluminum alloy and solid copper, and the interfacial phase formation of Al-Cu bimetal at different pouring temperatures (700, 750, 800 °C) was investigated by means of metallograph, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) methods. The results showed that the pouring temperature of aluminum melt had an important influence on the element diffusion of Cu from the solid Cu to Al alloy melt and the reactions between Al and Cu, as well as the morphology of the Al-Cu interface. When the pouring temperature was 800 °C, there were abundant Al-Cu intermetallic compounds (IMCs) near the interface. However, a lower pouring temperature (700 °C) resulted in the formation of cavities which was detrimental to the bonding and mechanical properties. Under the conditions in this study, the good metallurgical bonding of Al-Cu was achieved at a pouring temperature of 750 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three supramolecular coordination polymers, namely [Ni(L1)(DCTP)(HO)] (1), [Cu(L2)(DCTP)] (2), [Co(L3)(DCTP)] (3) (L1 = 1,5-bis(5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole)pentane, L2 = 1,4-bis(5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole)butane, L3 = 1,4-bis(benzimidazole)-2-butylene) have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray structure determination, FT-IR, elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XPD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). CP 1 exhibits 2D 6 honeycombed network structure, which is further extended into a 3D Moganite ( mog) supramolecular framework by classical O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding interaction. CPs 2 -3 present 2D (4,4) layers, and 3D supramolecular frameworks that are formed by π- π stacking interactions. Furthermore, the catalytic activities of CPs 1-3 for the degradation of methyl orange in a Fenton-like process has been investigated, and CPs 1-3 show strong photoluminescence properties at room temperature in solid state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven antialgal compounds ( 1- 7) were successfully isolated from the red alga Gracilaria lemaneiformis through a combination of silica gel column chromatography and repeated preparative thin-layer chromatography. On the basis of the spectral data, the compounds were identified as gossonorol ( 1), 7,10-epoxy-ar-bisabol-11-ol ( 2), glycerol monopalmitate ( 3), stigmasterol ( 4), 15-hydroxymethyl-2, 6, 10, 18, 22, 26, 30-heptamethyl-14-methylene-17-hentriacontene ( 5), 4-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol ( 6), and margaric acid ( 7). These seven compounds were isolated from G. lemaneiformis for the first time, while the compounds 4, 6, and 7 were isolated from marine macroalgae for the first time. Furthermore, a quantitative relationship between the inhibition of algal growth and the concentration of each antialgal compound was determined and important parameters for future practical HAB control, e.g., EC, were also obtained. The results indicated that isolated compounds 1-7 possess selective antialgal activity against the growth of several red tide microalgae (including Amphidinium carterae, Heterosigma akashiwo, Karenia mikimitoi, Phaeocystis globsa, Prorocentrum donghaiense, and Skeletonema costatum). Their antialgal activity against test red tide microalgae has not been previously reported. Furthermore, the EC of one or more of the compounds towards the tested red microalgae was not only significantly less than 10 μg/mL but also was smaller than that of the characteristic antialgal agent potassium dichromate. The study demonstrates that compounds 1-7 possess significant application potential as antialgal agents against several harmful red tide microalgae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong aftershocks have the potential to induce greater structural damage for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) structures. In order to ensure the safety and integrity of Reinforced Concrete Containment (RCC) buildings, the base isolation technique is proposed to reduce the effects of earthquake shaking on the building and avoid damage of the structure under earthquakes. However, none of the studies have focused on evaluating the seismic performance of RCC buildings with isolation for mainshock-aftershock seismic sequences. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly investigate the structural damage of RCC buildings with Lead Rubber Bearing (LRB) isolators under seismic sequences. A suite of twenty-eight artificial sequential ground motions is developed to investigate the influence of considering aftershocks on the performance of RCC buildings with isolators for both design-basis and beyond-designbasis earthquake shaking. The results reveal that strong aftershocks would induce greater damage for the RCC without isolators under beyond-design-basis earthquake. While, base isolation can protect the RCC building under seismic sequences being damaged even for beyond-design-basis earthquake shaking. The IDA results of base-isolated RCC demonstrate that isolators also increase the structural reserve capacity significantly under both mainshocks and seismic sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In combination with non-corrosive and low-toxic boric acid, AlCl3 ·6H2O was found to be effective for the synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from glucose. In this work, a 5-HMF yield of ≈ 60 % was obtained at 170°C for 40 min in a H2O/THF biphasic solvent mixture. An addition of NaCl not only improved the partition coefficients but also inhibited by-product formation. THF was identified as an ideal extraction solvent in biphasic systems containing C4 solvents. However, low concentration of ZnCl2, CoCl2 ·6H2O, MnCl2 ·4H2O, NiCl2 ·6H2O, FeCl3 ·6H2O were not suitable for the catalyst system, while ZrOCl2 ·8H2O, InCl3 ·4H2O showed high activity for the reaction. Boric acid increased the amount of Lewis acid sites in the reactive phase and enhanced the isomerization of glucose to fructose. A mechanism of the AlCl3 ·6H2O and boric acid catalyzed glucose dehydration reaction was proposed to proceed through the isomerization of glucose to fructose followed by the transformation of fructose to 5-HMF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple one-pot method was developed to prepare PtNi alloy nanoparticles, which can be self-decorated on multiwalled carbon nanotubes in [BMIm][BF] ionic liquid. The nanohybrids are targeting stable nanocatalysts for fuel cell applications. The sizes of the supported PtNi nanoparticles are uniform and as small as 1-2 nm. Pt-to-Ni ratio was controllable by simply selecting a PtNi alloy target. The alloy nanoparticles with Pt-to-Ni ratio of 1:1 show high catalytic activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation. The performance is much higher compared with those of both Pt-only nanoparticles and commercial Pt/C catalyst. The electronic structure characterization on the PtNi nanoparticles demonstrates that the electrons are transferred from Ni to Pt, which can suppress the CO poisoning effect. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two coordination polymers (CPs), namely [Ni(L)(chdc)] (1) and [Mn(L)(ndc)(HO)] (2) (L = 4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)biphenyl, Hchdc = 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, Hndc = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid), have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods and also by single-crystal diffraction. Both CPs feature 3D-diamond-like networks with point symbol of 6; CP-1 displays a 2-fold interpenetrated net, while CP-2 presents a non-interpenetrated framework. The thermal stabilities, solid-state luminescence properties and catalytic activities of both CPs for degradation of methyl orange in a Fenton-like process were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to reveal the relation among villin 2, Wnt/β-catenin, and adipogenesis by adding appropriate lithium chloride (LiCl). The study comprises three parts: the selection of LiCl concentration, the effect of LiCl on adipocyte differentiation during and after differentiation induction. By comprehensively analyzing the results of the experiments, we proved that LiCl can inhibit adipocyte differentiation and enhance villin 2 and β-catenin expressions not only during differentiation induction but also after it. Moreover, villin 2 has a significant impact on β-catenin. We suggest that villin 2 may participate in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive and semi-intensive sea cucumber aquaculture produces effluents that impact the quality of the local aquatic environment and sea cucumber growth; such effluents are an important cause of coastal water eutrophication. Integrated aquaculture has been shown to efficiently reduce the release of nutrients during aquaculture and to provide economic benefits. In this study, we report our investigation of a polyculture system utilizing Styela clava (stalked sea squirt) and Stichopus japonicus (Japanese sea cucumber) under two feeding modes. To examine purification of the water in the system, nutrients in the water and the sediment, attached heterotrophic bacteria, and the survival rates and growth rates of S. clava and S. japonicus were determined. Tank cultivation trials showed that, under the same feeding modes, the concentration of nutrients in the polyculture system was approximately 50-60 % of the sum of the nutrients in the S. japonicus mixture and S. clava monoculture systems. The abundance of attached heterotrophic bacteria in the polyculture system was remarkably lower than that of the mixed culture system under the same feeding mode. S. japonicus in the polyculture system grew better than those in the mixed culture system under the same feeding mode. These results demonstrate that the S. clava- S. japonicus integrated culture system offers a means of constraining or reversing the pollutive impacts of coastal sea cucumber aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Ni(II) coordination polymers, namely {[Ni(L1)(2,6-ndc)(HO)]·0.5(2,6-ndc)·2HO} ( 1) and [Ni(L2)(1,4-ndc)(HO)] ( 2) (L1 = 1,3-bis(5,6-dimethylbenzimidazol-1-yl)-2-propanol, L2 = 1,3-bis(5,6-dimethylbenzimidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene, 2,6-Hndc = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid and 1,4-Hndc = 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid) have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analysis, IR spectra, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. CP- 1 presents a 1D zigzag chain, and CP- 2 features a 1D tube-like chain. Both one-dimensional coordination polymers are further extended into 3D and 2D supramolecular framework via classical O-H···O hydrogen bondings, respectively. Moreover, the catalytic properties of the two complexes for the degradation of Methyl orange in a Fenton-like reaction are discussed. Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel structured La2O3/AAO solid base catalyst was prepared by supporting lanthanum oxide (La2O3) on the surface of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) under hydrothermal conditions. Catalytic activity of the catalyst was tested using self-condensation of acetone to diacetone alcohol as a probe reaction. The conversion of acetone reached 4.14 % with the diacetone alcohol selectivity of 98 %. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), N2 adsorption- desorption (BET), and temperature programmed desorption (CO2-TPD). XRD patterns and SEM images indicated that La2O3 nanoscale particles with high crystallinity were uniformly distributed over the AAO surface. The results of CO2-TPD showed that the calcination temperature led to the formation of medium-strength basic sites, strong basic sites, and to an increase of the basic strength. The strong basic sites and large basic strength are an important factor that influences the catalytic activity in the self-condensation of acetone to diacetone alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten compounds (1~10) were successfully isolated from green algae Ulva prolifera through the combination of silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and repeated preparative thin-layer chromatography. These ten compounds showed antialgal activity against red tide microalgae. Among them, compounds 3, 6, and 7 showed stronger antialgal activity against red tide microalgae. Furthermore, their structure was identified on the basis of spectroscopic data. There are three glycoglycerolipids: 1- O-octadecanoic acid-3- O-β- d-galactopyranosyl glycerol (2), 1- O-palmitoyl-3- O-β- d-galactopyranosyl glycerol (4), and 1- O-palmitoyl-2- O-oleoyl-3- O-β- d-galactopyranosyl glycerol (5); two monoglycerides: glycerol monopalmitate (1), 9-hexadecenoic acid, 2,3-dihydroxypropyl ester (3); two terpenoids: loliolide (6) and lsololiolide (7); one lipid-soluble pigments: zeaxanthin (8); one sterol: cholest-5-en-3-ol (9); and one alkaloid: pyrrolopiperazine-2,5-dione (10). These compounds were isolated from U. prolifera for the first time, and compounds 2, 3, 5, and 8 were isolated from marine macroalgae for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organic copper ink with 9.6 wt% of Cu content derived from a short carbon chain organic copper precursor was successfully applied on a modified PI substrate and easily formed a favorable conductive copper film by self-reduction in the sintering process, which showed excellent conductivity. The effects of sintering temperature and time on the microstructure and conductivity action of the copper films were studied by XRD, EDS and SEM and electrical measurements, respectively. The sheet resistance and resistivity were determined to be as low as 0.11 Ω/□ and 2.2 × 10 Ω·cm. The conduction mechanism is discussed in terms of the percolation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript investigates the strength reduction factor of single degree of freedom system with constant ductility performance subjected to the mainshock-aftershock sequence-type ground motions. The recorded and artificial sequence-type ground motions are used. The aftershock ground motions in sequence are scaled to have different relative intensity levels. Four hysteretic models are used to simulate the different type of structures. The effects of period, ductility factor, site condition, aftershock, hysteretic behavior and damping are studied statistically. The results indicate that the strong aftershock ground motion has more obvious influences on strength reduction factors in short period region than on those in long period region. The degrading behavior would decrease the strength reduction factor of structure with short period at a magnitude of <20 %, while it would increase that of structure with medium-long period at a maximum level of 20 %. Finally, a predictive model, incorporating the effect of aftershock, is proposed to determine the strength reduction factor in the seismic design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO-supported PdAu bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) with small size and good dispersity were prepared by the room-temperature ionic liquid-assisted bimetal sputtering, which is simple, environmentally friendly, and free of additives and byproducts. Pd/Au atomic ratio can be tuned by controlling the sputtering conditions simply. High catalytic activity was found in PdAu-NPs-TiO hybrids for solvent-free selective oxidation of 1-phenylethanol using O as the oxidant at the low temperature of 50 °C and low pressure of 1 atm. It was found that Pd/Au ratio strongly affected the catalytical activity, and the highest conversion of about 35 % and turnover frequency of about 421 h were achieved at 1:1 of Pd/Au atomic ratio. The synergistic effect in PdAu NPs was also discussed based on the comprehensive characterization results. The present approach may offer an alternative platform for future development of green-chemistry compatible bimetallic nanocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA damage is the dominant source of mutation, which is the driving force of evolution. Therefore, it is important to quantitatively analyze the DNA damage caused by different mutagenesis methods, the subsequent mutation rates, and their relationship. Atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis has been used for the mutation breeding of more than 40 microorganisms. However, ARTP mutagenesis has not been quantitatively compared with conventional mutation methods. In this study, the umu test using a flow-cytometric analysis was developed to quantify the DNA damage in individual viable cells using Salmonella typhimurium NM2009 as the model strain and to determine the mutation rate. The newly developed method was used to evaluate four different mutagenesis systems: a new ARTP tool, ultraviolet radiation, 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO), and N-methyl- N'-nitro- N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) mutagenesis. The mutation rate was proportional to the corresponding SOS response induced by DNA damage. ARTP caused greater DNA damage to individual living cells than the other conventional mutagenesis methods, and the mutation rate was also higher. By quantitatively comparing the DNA damage and consequent mutation rate after different types of mutagenesis, we have shown that ARTP is a potentially powerful mutagenesis tool with which to improve the characteristics of microbial cell factories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the effects of solvent fractions (F, F, F, and F), which partitioned by liquid-liquid extraction from the methanol extract of Ulva pertusa, on the growth of red tide microalgae ( Karenia mikimitoi, Skeletonema costatum, Alexandrium tamarense, Heterosigma akashiwo, Prorocentrum donghaiense), and F, F, and F exhibited significantly antialgal activity. The chemical constituent analysis showed the existence of bioactive compounds such as phenols and alkaloids. Further, four solvent fractions were applied to silica gel column and repeated preparative TLC to produce 13 samples and their purity qualified as thin-layer chromatographic grade. Among these purified samples, F, F F, F, and F exhibited stronger antialgal activity. Furthermore, their functional groups were analyzed by colorimetric methods and UV spectra data. F and F were temptatively identified as alkaloids; the others were initially identified as phenolic acids. This is a preliminary study and the structure identification of these purified samples requires further investigation. While concentration of these purified samples in this algae was very small, they showed excellent effects against red tide microalgae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dilong is an earthworm extract with a dense nutritional content, widely used in Chinese herbal medicine to remove stasis and stimulate wound healing. Earthworm extracts are traditionally used by indigenous people throughout the world. How this Dilong inhibits Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cardiomyoblast cell apoptosis is still unclear. This study investigates the Dilong extract effect on LPS-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells. LPS (1 μg/ml) administration for 24 h induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells. Cell apoptosis was detected using MTT, LDH, TUNEL assay and JC-1 staining. Western blot analysis was used to detect pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins. Dilong extract totally blocked the LPS impact, leading to the activation of anti-apoptotic proteins, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, stabilized the mitochondria membrane and down-regulated the extrinsic and intrinsic pro-apoptotic proteins, TNF-α, active caspase-8, t-Bid, Bax, active caspase-9 and active caspase-3. Dilong could potentially serve as a cardio protective agent against LPS-induced H9c2 cardiomyoblast cell apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solvent-free microwave-assisted method for the synthesis of 2-substituted-4,5-di(2-furyl)-1H-imidazoles was developed. Imidazoles with moderate to good yields were produced by condensation of furil with aldehydes over acidic alumina impregnated with ammonium acetate, and they were characterized by FT-IR, HRMS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Crystal structure of 2,4,5- tri-2-furyl-1H-imidazole (I ) in the orthorhombic space group Pbca was reported, which showed more coplanarity than the reported crystal structure of I in the monoclinic space group Cc. Moreover, their luminescent properties were investigated. It was found that the organic small molecule compounds synthesized possess higher fluorescence quantum efficiency (up to 0.508) in a 0.1 M H2SO4 aqueous solution dissolved in 0.5 mL of CH3OH; along with higher stability; also the emission of some compounds synthesized in the solution was sensitive to the polarity of the solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An impurity was detected in the roflumilast product which was supposed to be N-(3,5-dichloropyridin-4-yl)-4-difluoromethoxy-3-methoxybenzamide. To further verify the impurity structure, this compound was synthesized from 4-difluoromethoxy-3-hydroxybenzaldehyde through O-alkylation, oxidation, chlorination, and amidation reaction and characterized by H NMR, C NMR, and HPLC-MS. Comparison of the HPLC-MS spectrum of the impurity and the synthesized compound confirmed that they were the same compound. The generation of the impurity was found to be attributed to acetone and iodine in the O-alkylation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy is an adaptive response of the heart to various types of stress. During the period of stress accumulation, the transition from physiological hypertrophy to pathological hypertrophy results in the promotion of heart failure. Gelsolin (GSN) is a member of the actin-binding proteins, which regulate dynamic actin filament organization by severing and capping. Moreover, GSN also regulates cell morphology, differentiation, movement, and apoptosis. In this study, we used H9c2 and H9c2-GSN stable clones in an attempt to understand the mechanisms of GSN overexpression in cardiomyocytes. These data showed that the overexpression of GSN in H9c2-induced cardiac hypertrophy and increased the pathological hypertrophy markers atrial natriuretic peptide brain natriuretic peptide. Furthermore, we found that E-cadherin expression decreased with the overexpression of GSN in H9c2, but β-catenin expression increased. These data presume that the cytoskeleton is loose. Further, previous studies show that the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway can induce cardiac hypertrophy. Our data showed that p-p38 expression increased with the overexpression of GSN in H9c2, and the transcription factor p-GATA4 expression also increased, suggesting that the overexpression of GSN in H9c2-induced cardiac hypertrophy seemed to be regulated by the p38/GATA4 pathway. Moreover, we used both the p38 inhibitor (SB203580) and GSN siRNA to confirm our conjecture. We found that both of these factors significantly suppressed gelsolin-induced cardiac hypertrophy through p38/GATA4 signaling pathway. Therefore, we predict that the gene silencing of GSN and/or the downstream blocking of GSN along the p38 pathway could be applied to ameliorate pathological cardiac hypertrophy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA) on highly oriented high-density polyethylene (PE) substrate both from solution and isotropic melt was studied by means of optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscopy and electron diffraction. The results show that the PE influences the crystallization of PEA strongly, which results in an epitaxial growth of PEA with well ordered structure. At the boundary of the PE substrate, a transcrystalline PEA layer is observed. Fine structural observation illustrates that the PEA grows on the PE substrate in edgeon lamellae with fixed orientation. Electron diffraction demonstrates that the epitaxial organization of PEA on PE occurs with both polymer chains parallel, which leads to the (00 l) PEA diffractions inclined ±23.5° to the chain direction of PE crystals. Combining the real space morphological observation and electron diffraction results, it is concluded that the epitaxial PEA edge-on lamellae are folded in the {00 l} lattice planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of multilayered thin steel plates subjected to close-range air blasts has been experimentally studied and compared with that of monolithic plates made of the same material and having equal mass. In present experiments, multilayered plates are in-contact four-layered thin steel plates and two types of deformation/failure modes were observed for them. Comparisons concerning deformation/failure modes, strain distributions and energy absorptions between the multilayered plate and its monolithic counterpart were conducted. It is found that the multilayered plate is much superior to its monolithic counterpart in the ability to deform against blast loading. Furthermore, under intense airblast loading, the multilayered plate can not only absorb much more energy but also effectively reduce the secondary destruction ability of structural fragments in comparison with its monolithic counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the design of a multiple maneuvering targets tracking algorithm under the framework of Gaussian mixture probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter. First, a variation of the generalized pseudo-Bayesian estimator of first order (VGPB1) is designed to adapt to the Gaussian mixture PHD filter for jump Markov system models (JMS-PHD). The probability of each kinematic model, which is used in the JMS-PHD filter, is updated with VGPB1. The weighted sum of state, associated covariance, and weights for Gaussian components are then calculated. Pruning and merging techniques are also adopted in this algorithm to increase efficiency. Performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with that of the JMS-PHD filter. Monte-Carlo simulation results demonstrate that the optimal subpattern assignment (OSPA) distances of the proposed algorithm are lower than those of the JMS-PHD filter for maneuvering targets tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine whether toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) gene polymorphisms were markers of susceptibility to or severity of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Taiwanese patients. The study included 211 healthy individuals and 167 Chinese patients with SLE. Polymorphisms of TLR9 [rs2066807 and rs187084 (−1486 T/C)] were typed from genomic DNA. The genotypes, allelic frequencies, and carriage rates were compared between patients with SLE and control subjects. The relationship between allelic frequencies and clinical manifestations of 167 patients with SLE was evaluated. There was no statistically significant difference in TLR9 (rs2066807) gene polymorphism, allelic frequency, and carriage rate between the SLE and control groups. However, for the genotype of TLR9 −1486 T/C (rs187084) polymorphism, there was a statistically significant difference between the SLE and the control groups ( P < 0.001, χ = 15.9). Moreover, there was a significant association between the two groups in allelic frequency and carriage rate of the T allele ( P < 0.001, χ = 18.5 and P < 0.01, χ = 8.06, respectively). We did not detect any association between the TLR9 genotype and the clinical or laboratory profiles in patients with SLE. The results suggest that the TLR9 −1486 T/C (rs187084), but not TLR9 (rs2066807), polymorphism is related to SLE in Taiwanese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large and deep-seated landslide at Hungtsaiping was triggered by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake with the magnitude of 7.3. Extensive site investigations for the landslide were conducted including field reconnaissance, geophysical exploration, borehole logs, and laboratory experiments. Thick colluvium was found around the landslide area and indicated the occurrence of a large ancient landslide. The Hungtsaiping area involves at least two large landslides events, an ancient rockslide and the 1999 colluvium slide. With the consideration of a source collapse mass, the two landslides in sequence are reasonably reproduced by the distinct element modeling. The modeling is calibrated by rock mass strength behavior through a procedure with the Hoek-Brown failure criterion, statistical experimental design, and optimization techniques. The mechanism of the 1999 landslide that cannot be revealed by the underground exploration data alone is clarified. The proposed procedure enables a rational and efficient way to determine micro-parameters for the distinct element modeling of landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease and can lead to deformities and severe disabilities, due to irreversible damage of tendons, joints, and bones. Previous study indicated that DNA repair system was involved in the pathology of RA. In this study, we investigated the association of two 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 ( OGG1) gene polymorphisms (rs159153 and rs3219008) with the susceptibility to RA in 384 Taiwanese individuals (192 patients with RA and 192 controls). Our data showed that statistically significant difference in genotype frequency distributions was found at rs3219008 SNP between patients with RA and control groups ( P = 5.6E-0.5). Our data also indicated that individuals with the AG genotype at rs3219008 SNP may have a higher risk of developing RA. We did not observe any statistically significant association of OGG1 haplotype frequencies (rs159153 and rs3219008) with RA progression. The study suggested that OGG1 polymorphisms (rs159153 and rs3219008) are associated with RA progression and that these may be used as molecular markers of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]