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Background: The thalamus plays a crucial role in transmitting nociceptive information to various cortical regions involving migraine-related allodynia and photophobia. Abnormal structural and functional alterations related to the thalamus have been well established. However, it is unknown whether the brain structure and function of the thalamic subregions are differentially affected in this disorder. In this study, we aimed to clarify this issue by comparing the structure and function of 16 thalamic subregions between patients with episodic migraine (EM) and healthy controls (HCs). Methods: Twenty-seven patients with EM and 30 sex-, age- and education-matched HCs underwent resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Functional connectivity (rsFC), grey matter volume (GMV), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of each subregion of the thalamus were calculated and compared between the two groups. Furthermore, correlation analyses between neuroimaging changes and clinical features were performed in this study. Results: First, compared with HCs, patients with EM exhibited decreased rsFC between the anterior-medial-posterior subregions of the thalamus and brain regions mainly involved in the medial system of the pain processing pathway and default mode network (DMN). Second, for the whole thalamus and each of its subregions, there were no significant differences in GMV between patients with EM and HCs (P > 0.05, Bonferroni corrected). Third, there was no significant difference in DTI parameters between the two groups (P > 0.05). Finally, decreased rsFC was closely related to scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAMA) and Big Five Inventory (BFI) scales. Conclusion: Selective functional hypoconnectivity in the thalamic subregions provides neuroimaging evidence supporting the important role of thalamocortical pathway dysfunction in episodic migraine, specifically, that it may modulate emotion and different personality traits in migraine patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to comprehensively understand anal canal adenocarcinomas (AA) and develop a nomogram for prognostic prediction of AA. Methods: Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (the year 2004–2015). An external validation set was collected from West China Hospital (WCH) databases. Propensity-score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the demographic characteristic. A novel nomogram was developed to estimate individual survival probability and its performance was validated using the concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and decision curve analyses (DCA). Results: A total of 7901 patients were enrolled including 749 AA patients and 7152 squamous cell carcinomas of the anal canal (ASCC) patients. Before PSM, patients with AA had shorter cancer-specific survival (CSS) and OS than those with ASCC. However, after PSM, patients with AA were related to a favorable OS (p < 0.001), but a comparable CSS (p = 0.140) to those with ASCC. Age, sex, grade, surgery, and M stage were the independent prognostic factors of CSS for AA and were included in the establishment of a novel nomogram. Patients from the WCH database (n = 112) were used as an external validation cohort. The C-index of the nomogram was 0.78 and 0.735 in internal and external validation, respectively, which suggested the good discrimination power of the model. Furthermore, calibration curves and DCA suggested good agreement between the predicted and actual survival. Lastly, a risk classification system based on a nomogram revealed the reliability of the novel model. Conclusion: AA and ASCC had distinct clinical features. AA was associated with a better prognosis than ASCC after PSM. The model of nomogram showed an accurate predictive ability for prognostic factors of AA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) forming process is developed to form a complicated hollow part of GH4169 superalloy. The novel forming process can realize the differential loading of the forming pressure and avoid liquid leaking in the conventional hydraulic forming process. The principle of the MRE forming process can be illustrated as that the MRE will bulge under the effect of the applied magnetic field. Hence, the local forming pressure in the deformation zone of the part will increase during the forming process. To estimate the range of current and the axial displacement of the punch, a power equation based on power approach and electromagnetic theory is established. Numerical simulations and experiments study the deformation process and the die filling of tube blank under different magnetic field intensities. Response surface methodology (RSM) is used to determine the optimal process parameters. RSM also models the predicted equations of the maximum thinning ratio and the average bulging diameter. Besides, the fitted RSM model's accuracy is quantified by a statistical method of analysis of variance. Finally, the predicted equations' reliability and the optimal process parameters obtained by RSM are proved by a validated experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most efficient visible-light-responsive photocatalysts are in the form of powder, leading to the tedious separation from the reaction media. Herein, we developed a versatile method for the general synthesis of free-standing polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/Ag/AgX (X = Br, I) nanofiber mats, where fibrous PAN/Ag precursor was firstly prepared via an electroless plating strategy, followed by a direct elemental halogenation with Br2/H2O or I2/ethanol solution. The as-obtained PAN/Ag/AgX nanofiber mats exhibit exceptional photocatalytic activity toward degradation of organic pollutants. Furthermore, the flexibility enables it to be easily recovered after the reaction was completed. This work provides new insights into the fabrication of membrane-based photocatalysts on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel-rich layered materials, such as LiNiCoAlO (NCA), have been considered as one alternative cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their high capacity and low cost. However, their poor cycle life and low thermal stability, caused by the electrode/electrolyte side reaction, prohibit their prosperity in practical application. Herein, AlPO has been homogeneously coated on the surface of NCA via wet chemical method towards the target of protecting NCA from the attack of electrolyte. Compared with the bare NCA, NCA@AlPO electrode delivers high capacity without sacrificing the discharge capacity and excellent cycling stability. After 150 cycles at 0.5 C between 3.0-4.3 V, the capacity retention of the coated material is 86.9%, much higher than that of bare NCA (66.8%). Furthermore, the thermal stability of cathode is much improved due to the protection of the uniform coating layer on the surface of NCA. These results suggest that AlPO coated NCA materials could act as one promising candidate for next-generation LIBs with high energy density in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By studying mold friction (MDF), we observed that monitoring and controlling of the friction between the strand and the mold is very important for continuous casting to improve lubrication and prevent breakout. However, existing analysis technologies of MDF do not support the continuous casting very well. In addition, we found that the wavelet entropy has multiscale and statistical properties. Informed by these observations, in this article, we use wavelet entropy to judge the lubrication state between the strand and the mold. First, we demonstrate the implementation and superiority of wavelet entropy and how it helps in efficient evaluation of the lubrication state in mold. A study of wavelet entropy of MDF, which is obtained from the abnormal continuous casting production, such as level fluctuation, submerged entry nozzle broken, and breakout, has been performed to achieve relevant conclusions. The results indicate that the information of MDF in time and frequency domains could be obtained simultaneously by the application of wavelet entropy and that the wavelet entropy has a good sensibility for the study of disorder of MDF, which could further reveal the nature of MDF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:Protopanaxtriol (Ppt) is extracted from Panax ginseng Mayer. In the present study, we investigated whether Ppt could protect against 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced oxidative stress in a rat model of Huntington's disease (HD) and explored the mechanisms of action.Methods:Male SD rats were treated with 3-NP (20 mg/kg on d 1, and 15 mg/kg on d 2-5, ip). The rats received Ppt (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, po) daily prior to 3-NP administration. Nimodipine (12 mg/kg, po) or N-acetyl cysteine (NAC, 100 mg/kg, po) was used as positive control drugs. The body weight and behavior were monitored within 5 d. Then the animals were sacrificed, neuronal damage in striatum was estimated using Nissl staining. Hsp70 expression was detected with immunohistochemistry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was measured using dihydroethidium (DHE) staining. The levels of components in the Nrf2 pathway were measured with immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.Results:3-NP resulted in a marked reduction in the body weight and locomotion activity accompanied by progressive striatal dysfunction. In striatum, 3-NP caused ROS generation mainly in neurons rather than in astrocytes and induced Hsp70 expression. Administration of Ppt significantly alleviated 3-NP-induced changes of body weight and behavior, decreased ROS production and restored antioxidant enzymes activities in striatum. Moreover, Ppt directly scavenged free radicals, increased Nrf2 entering nucleus, and the expression of its downstream products heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidase 1 (NQO1) in striatum. Similar effects were obtained with the positive control drugs nimodipine or NAC.Conclusion:Ppt exerts a protective action against 3-NP-induced oxidative stress in the rat model of HD, which is associated with its anti-oxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper puts forward a method on controlling the AM-OLED panel to display image with high gray scale levels. It also gives an ASIC design sample to implement this method. A twenty sub-fields scan scheme has been taken into use in the chip to display 256 gray scale levels on a QVGA resolution AM-OLED display screen. The functions of image scaling and rotating have also been implemented for multiply application. The simulation and chip test result show that the chip design has met the design requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With respect to linguistic multiple attribute group decision making problems with incomplete weight information, a new method is proposed. In the method, the 2-tuple linguistic representation developed in recent years is used to aggregate the linguistic assessment information. In order to get the weight vector of the attribute, we establish an optimization model based on the basic ideal of traditional technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution, by which the attribute weights can be determined. Then, the optimal alternative(s) is determined by calculating the shortest distance from the 2-tuple linguistic positive ideal solution, and on the other side, the farthest distance of the 2-tuple linguistic negative ideal solution. The method has exact characteristic in linguistic information processing. It avoided information distortion and losing, which occur formerly in the linguistic information processing. Finally, a numerical example is used to illustrate the use of the proposed method. The result shows the approach is simple, effective, and easy to calculate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the ecophysiological adaptation mechanisms of Calligonum roborovskii to altitude variation, this study analyzed chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), Chl ( a + b), carotenoid (Car), malondialdehyde (MDA), ascorbate (AsA), proline (Pro), membrane permeability (MP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf nitrogen content based on mass (N), and the activities of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in leaves of plants inhabiting different altitudes (A1: 2100 m, A2: 2350 m, A3: 2600 m) on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains. The results showed that Chl a, Chl b, Chl ( a + b), SLA, N, and the activity of CAT increased with increasing altitude. LMA, MP, MDA, Car, Pro, AsA, O, HO and the activities of SOD, POD, and APX decreased with increasing altitude. The test results also showed that, changes in venvironmental factors along an altitudinal gradient are not obvious. Soil water content is the main ecological factor. With increasing altitude, soil water content increased significantly. More non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants played an important role in eliminating intracellular ROS. They kept the cell membrane in a stable state and ensured the normal growth of C. roborovskii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motion of spiral waves in excitable media driven by a weak pacing around the spiral tip is investigated numerically as well as theoretically. We presented a Bifurcations diagram containing four types of the spiral motion induced by different frequencies of pacing: rigidly rotating, inward-petal meandering, resonant drift, and outward-petal meandering spiral. Simulation shows that the spiral resonantly drifts when the frequency of pacing is close to that of the spiral rotation. We also find that the speed and direction of the drift can be efficiently controlled by means of the strength and phase of the local pacing, which is consistent with analytical results based on the framework of the weak deformation approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]