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A 3D printed metallized Fabry–Perot cavity antenna centred at 5.8 GHz is presented in this letter. A non‐uniform grid superstrate and a choke groove are employed in the Fabry–Perot cavity antenna to improve the input bandwidth and decrease the side lobes. By using the non‐uniform superstrate, the |S11| ← 10 dB bandwidth is enhanced to approximately 6.4% (from 5.65 to 6.02 GHz). The side lobes decrease to −14.03 and −21.62 dB on E and H planes by the choke groove. The designed antenna is fabricated by using a stereolithography‐based 3D printing technique for verification, whose weight is only 13% of the one fabricated with copper. The measured result agrees well with the simulated one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organic–inorganic perovskite compound [(CH3)4P][Cd(SCN)3] (1) and its fluorine-substituted product [(CH3)3PCH2F][Cd(SCN)3] (2) exhibit ferroelastic phase transitions above room temperature. The very close van der Waals radii of H and F atoms ensure isomorphism of the crystal structures. However, the higher phase transition temperature, stronger ferroelastic spontaneous strain value and dielectric properties of 2 can possibly be explained by differences in the electronegativity between F and H atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although active targeting liposomes with cancer-specific ligands can bind and internalize into cancer cells, only a few high-efficiency liposomes have been developed so far because traditional single branched ligand modified liposomes generally failed to deliver adequate therapeutic payload. In this paper, we broke the traditional design concept and synthesized the double branched biotin modified cholesterol (Bio 2 -Chol) for the first time. On this basis, different biotin density modified liposomes ((Bio-Chol)Lip, (Bio-Chol) 2 Lip and (Bio 2 -Chol)Lip) were successfully prepared and used as active targeting drug delivery systems for the treatment of breast cancer. The in vitro and in vivo breast cancer-targeting ability of these liposomes were systemically studied using paclitaxel (PTX) as the model drug. And the uptake mechanism of (Bio 2 -Chol)Lip was investigated. The results showed that (Bio 2 -Chol)Lip had the best breast cancer-targeting ability compared with naked paclitaxel, unmodified Lip, (Bio-Chol)Lip and (Bio-Chol) 2 Lip. In particular, the relative uptake efficiency (RE) and concentration efficiency (CE) of (Bio 2 -Chol)Lip were respectively enhanced by 5.61- and 5.06-fold compared to that of naked paclitaxel. Both distribution data and pharmacokinetic parameters suggested that the double branched biotin modified liposome ((Bio 2 -Chol)Lip) is a very promising drug delivery carrier for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose the first black phosphorus (BP) – fiber optic biosensor for ultrasensitive diagnosis of human neuron-specific enolase (NSE) cancer biomarkers. A novel optical-nano configuration has been exploited by integrating BP nanosheets with a largely tilted fiber grating (BP-TFG), where the BP is bio-functionalized by the poly-L-lysine acting as a critical cross-linker to facilitate bio-nano-photonic interface with extremely enhanced light-matter interaction. BP nanosheets are synthesized by a liquid ultrasonication-based exfoliation and deposited on fiber device by an in-situ layer-by-layer method. The BP-induced optical modulation effects in terms of thickness-tunable feature, polarization-dependence and enhanced light-matter interaction are experimentally investigated. The anti-NSE immobilized BP-TFG biosensor has been implemented to detect NSE biomarkers demonstrating ultrahigh sensitivity with limit of detection down to 1.0 pg/mL, which is 4 orders magnitude lower than NSE cut-off value of small cell lung cancer. The enhanced sensitivity of BP-TFG is 100-fold higher than graphene oxide or AuNPs based biosensors. We believe that BP-fiber optic configuration opens a new bio-nano-photonic platform for the applications in healthcare, biomedical, food safety and environmental monitoring. • First black phosphorus (BP) – fiber optic biosensor. • Novel photonic-nano-bio configuration. • Successful bio-functionalization of BP. • LOD of 1.0 pg/mL, 4 orders magnitude lower than NSE cut-off value of small cell lung cancer. • Ultrahigh sensitivity, 100-fold higher than GO or AuNPs based biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐dimensional metal oxides have attracted great attention in diverse applications due to their intriguing performances. However, their structural design remains challenging, particularly that based on organic chelation chemistry. Although metal–organic complexes with different architectures have been reported, their structure formation mechanisms are not well understood because of the complex chelation processes. Herein, we introduce a new metal–organic coordination strategy to construct metal‐decorated (Ni, Co, Mn) Mo‐based complexes ranging from 2D nanopetals to 3D microflowers. The chelating process of the metal–organic complex can be tuned by a surfactant, giving rise to different structures, and then a further metal can be appended. Thus, different metal (oxide)‐decorated MoO2/C‐N structures were designed, enabling an extremely high lithium storage capability of 1018 mA h g−1 and rate capacities of up to 10 A g−1 over 1000 cycles. Relationships between electrochemical behavior and structure have been analyzed kinetically. A high‐rate lithium‐ion battery has been assembled from Ni‐MoO2/C‐N and an Ni‐rich layered oxide as the anode and cathode, respectively. We believe that this general metal–organic coordination strategy should be applicable to other multi‐functional materials with superior capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied IFN mRNA/protein expression in MDV-infected hosts for the first time. • MDV inhibited type Ⅰ IFN expression in the thymus and bursa of infected chickens. • Inhibition of type I IFNs by MDV strains of varying pathogenicity differed. Marek's disease virus (MDV), an α -herpesvirus targeting avian species, causes fatal Marek's disease (MD) in chickens. The host interferon (IFN) responses play a key role in resisting viral infection. However, host IFN responses following MDV infection in the chicken central immune organs (thymus and bursa of Fabricius), which contain numerous MDV target cells, is poorly understood. In this study, we performed animal experiments in specific pathogen-free chickens infected with two virulent MDV strains (BS/15 and Md5) or without infection as negative controls. Specifically, the type I IFN (IFN-α and IFN-β) transcriptional and proteomic expression levels at 7, 10, 14, 17, and 21 days post infection (dpi) were detected and analyzed. Our results indicated that the mRNA and protein expression levels of IFN-α and IFN-β in the thymus and bursa of Fabricius were mainly downregulated in cytolytic infection (such as 10 dpi) and reactivation (such as 17 dpi) stages, but not the latent (such as 14 dpi) stage of MDV infection, which was determined by comprehensively analyzing the MDV viral load and immune organ damage caused by MDV infection. These data suggest that MDV could inhibit the expression of host type I IFNs, which may be involved in the MDV-induced host immunosuppression and contribute to the immune escape of MDV from host immunity. Furthermore, we found that the downregulated expression of the host type I IFNs induced by BS/15 and Md5 infection was significantly different, which we speculated may be related to the diverse virulence and pathogenicity of MDV strains. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that MDV mostly inhibited the expression of type I IFNs in infected hosts, which may be associated to its pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional tracking methods rarely consider abrupt motions and easily fail to track the abrupt motion of an object because they are based on the assumption of smooth motion. To assuage this problem, we propose a novel tracking algorithm combining the background subtraction method with the Wang–Landau Monte Carlo (WLMC) sampling method for dealing with abrupt motions effectively. First, the visual background extractor (ViBe), a background subtraction technique, is introduced to detect the object roughly. Second, we integrate the density‐of‐states term and ViBe information into a WLMC‐based tracking framework. By employing the density‐of states term and ViBe information, the Wang–Landau sampling scheme efficiently tracks the target in the whole state space in a short time. Third, in order to obtain good performance in terms of scalability, an independent fast scale estimation method is applied. Experimental results in both quantitative and qualitative measures demonstrate that our algorithm efficiently samples and tracks the target not only in position but also in scale variance accurately and robustly. © 2019 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how Chinese consumers' awareness, knowledge, and attitudes influences their purchasing behavior for organic rice. The aim is to determine whether regional differences in these factors and in the resulting behavior exist and thereby, to provide the organic rice industry with sufficient information to expand its market and improve profitability. Respondents answered a total of 1,371 questionnaires, whereby 406, 539, and 426 responses came from inland, coastal, and northern regions, respectively. A binary logit regression is applied to analyze the survey data and predict purchasing behavior at the national and regional levels. While the results indicate that consumer awareness, product certification, and product availability factors have a positive impact on the likelihood of purchasing organic rice, the price has a negative relationship with organic rice consumption. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that northern consumers are more likely to buy organic rice than those in inland and coastal regions. In particular, awareness and knowledge factors have a greater influence on purchasing behavior in northern regions. These findings suggest that enhancing consumer awareness of organic rice and providing more purchasing channels could contribute to increasing organic rice consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ALPL gene is linked to hypophosphatasia, a rare genetic disease. Owing to the inverse relationships between ALPL expression and both the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages and histological grades assigned to patients with serous ovarian cancer (SOC), this study was designed to explore the role and possible mechanisms of ALPL in cell motility of high grade SOC (HGSOC). The effects of ALPL overexpression on migration and invasion were detected in HGSOC cell lines SKOV3 and HEY. Gene ontology analysis for differential genes with ALPL overexpression identified several biological processes, including EMT, correlated with cell motility. Genes potentially implicated in EMT and associated with ALPL were screened using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The WNT receptor Frizzled2 (FZD2) was identified and its role in HGSOC cell motility and survival was investigated. It was found that forced expression of ALPL could inhibit migration, invasion, and EMT in HGSOC cells. It also reduced the expression of FZD2 and its ligand WNT5A, accompanied by suppressed expression of their downstream target phosphorylated-STAT3 (pSTAT3). These effects were initiated via the FZD2 knockdown using siRNA and reversed by recombinant WNT5A protein. The relationship between FZD2 expression and poor HGSOC patient survival was also investigated. This data supports that ALPL might restrict the function of WNT5A-FZD2-STAT3 axis, a non-canonical WNT pathway for promoting EMT progression, which results in attenuated migration and invasion in HGSOC cells and improves survival in patients with SOC. Image 1 • ALPL inhibited the potential of migration and invasion in HGSOC cell lines. • ALPL interfered epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in HGSOC cell lines. • ALPL suppressed a non-canonical WNT signaling including WNT5A-FZD2-STAT3 axis. • FZD2 expression might be a risk factor for poor survival in patents with SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the common complications of prematurity. Intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR), an antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drug, showed significant benefit for ROP. However, there are concerns about systemic complications of anti-VEGF therapy in preterm infants. Objectives. To evaluate serum VEGF level in the systemic circulation after IVR and the complications associated with IVR for the premature infants with ROP. Methods. This prospective investigation assessed the serum concentrations of VEGF in ROP patients before and after IVR therapy. All the infants had binocular retinopathy and received IVR 0.25 mg per eye as the primary treatment. Serum samples were collected 1 day prior to injection and 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after IVR treatment. Serum VEGF level was measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Fifteen infants (6 girls and 9 boys) were enrolled. The serum concentrations of VEGF 1 day before and 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after a total of 0.5 mg intravitreal injections of ranibizumab were 226.9 (198.4, 272.4), 12.8 (7.0, 22.4), 16 (12.0, 20.8), and 33.7 (24.0, 48.0) pg/ml, respectively. Serum VEGF levels decreased significantly at 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after IVR treatment compared with pretreatment concentration (P<0.05). Compared to days 1 and 3 after IVR, serum VEGF level at 7 days after IVR treatment increased significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion. Serum VEGF levels in patients with ROP were suppressed for at least 7 days after IVR treatment. Although the clinical significance of this phenomenon is uncertain, its safety profile requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new synergistic lithium ion solvation structure effect tailored by mixed organic/inorganic lithium salts is introduced to mitigate the growth of lithium-dendrites. A uniform lithium plating, lower polarization and higher coulombic efficiency are confirmed by lithium plating/stripping. The effect of different solvation structures was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and simulations. Then, a reliable lithium–sulfur full battery with high performance over hundreds of cycles was configured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability and control performances of grid‐connected inverters can be significantly influenced due to the uncertain grid impedance and large grid voltage background harmonics. The system stability and resonance of the grid‐connected inverter were investigated separately. Thus, their relationship needs to be identified further. In this study, the equivalent impedance model and the current control model of the grid‐connected inverter are established. Based on the three resonance cases: positive incomplete resonance, complete resonance, and negative incomplete resonance, the relationship between the system stability and resonance is identified. Moreover, the principle of harmonic amplification of the grid injected current is analysed thoroughly. It is revealed that the harmonic amplification is always accompanied by low stability of the system, and the centre frequency of harmonic distribution is where the system has the lowest stability. In order to alleviate the harmonics of the grid injected current, it is inevitable to ensure that the system maintains a sufficient phase margin to thwart the grid voltage background harmonics and the inverter output voltage harmonics. Finally, the simulation has been accomplished in MATLAB/SIMULINK software, and the hardware platforms are built with a single phase grid‐connected inverter in order to verify the proposed comprehensive analysis further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite‐type multiferroics have attracted considerable research interest owing to their fundamental scientific significance and promising technological applications in sensors and multiple‐state memories. The recent achievements with divalent metal dicyanamide compounds revealed such malleable frameworks as a unique platform for developing novel functional materials. Herein, two 3D organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites [Et3P(CH2)2F][Mn(dca)3] (1) and [Et3P(CH2)2Cl][Mn(dca)3] (2) (dca=dicyanamide, N(CN)2−) are presented. Accompanying the sequential phase transitions, they display a broad range of intriguing physical properties, including above room temperature ferroelastic behavior, switchable dielectricity, and low‐temperature antiferromagnetic ordering (Tc=2.4 K for both 1 and 2). It is also worth noting that the spontaneous strain value of 1 is far beyond that of 2 in the first ferroelastic phase, as a result of the precise halogen substitution. From the point view of molecular design, this work should inspire further exploration of multifunctional molecular materials with desirable properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate-distortion saddle-point problem considered by Lapidoth (1997) consists in finding the minimum rate to compress an arbitrary ergodic source when one is constrained to use a random Gaussian codebook and minimum (Euclidean) distance encoding is employed. We extend Lapidoth’s analysis in several directions in this paper. First, we consider refined asymptotics. In particular, when the source is stationary and memoryless, we establish the second-order, moderate, and large deviation asymptotics of the problem. Second, by random Gaussian codebook, Lapidoth referred to a collection of random codewords, each of which is drawn independently and uniformly from the surface of an $n$ -dimensional sphere. To be more precise, we term this as a spherical codebook. We also consider i.i.d. Gaussian codebooks in which each random codeword is drawn independently from a product Gaussian distribution. We derive the second-order, moderate, and large deviation asymptotics when i.i.d. Gaussian codebooks are employed. In contrast to the recent work on the channel coding counterpart by Scarlett, Tan, and Durisi (2017), the dispersions for spherical and i.i.d. Gaussian codebooks are identical. The ensemble excess-distortion exponents for both spherical and i.i.d. Gaussian codebooks are established for all rates. Furthermore, we show that the i.i.d. Gaussian codebook has a strictly larger excess-distortion exponent than its spherical counterpart for any rate greater than the ensemble rate-distortion function derived by Lapidoth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since solar energy is the ultimate energy resource and a significant amount of global energy utilization goes through heat, there have been persistent efforts for centuries to develop devices and systems for solar–thermal conversion. Most recently, interfacial solar vapor generation, as an emerging concept of solar–thermal conversion, has gained significant attention for its great potentials in various fields such as desalination, sterilization, catalysis, etc. With the advances of rationally designed materials and structures and photon and thermal management at the nanoscale, interfacial solar vapor generation has demonstrated both thermodynamic and kinetical advantages over conventional strategies. In this review, we aim to illustrate the definition, mechanism and figures of merit of interfacial solar vapor generation, and to summarize the development progress of relevant materials and applications, as well as to provide a prospective view of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa), one of the most common cancers in men, accounts for nearly 20% of adult malignant neoplasms. Omentin-1 is synthesized in visceral adipose tissue and its concentration in plasma changes with cancers. However, the association between omentin-1 and PCa was rarely studied. Thus, we investigated the plasma omentin-1 levels in PCa patients in Chinese population. Materials and methods: Ninety cases of PCa and 90 matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. We used ELISA technique to determine the concentration of omentin-1. Results: The concentration of omentin-1 was higher in patients with PCa compared to controls (P<0.001). Additionally, positive correlations were uncovered between omentin-1 with body mass index (r=0.240, P=0.001), waist-hip ratio (r=0.228, P=0.002), and prostate-specific antigen (r=0.589, P<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that plasma omentin-1 differentiated PCa patients from controls with a sensitivity of 85.9% and a specificity of 83.7%. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the levels of plasma omentin-1 were increased in PCa patients. Meanwhile, omentin-1 may be a possible biomarker for diagnosing PCa. For validation, more studies should focus on and elucidate the potential mechanism underlying this change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Different from the distributed photovoltaic (PV) system, large-scale PV cluster is regarded as a weakly connected sending-end system, encountering severe voltage issues. This paper proposes a three-layer voltage/var control (VVC) strategy for the coordination of VVC devices in PV cluster, which considers not only voltage deviation, but also steady-state voltage stability (SVS) of the system. The central approaches are adopted into the former two layers. In the first layer, capacitor banks and on-load tap changer are scheduled based on 30-min interval PV active power forecast. In the second layer, PV inverters and static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) are scheduled based on 10-min interval PV active power forecast. Considering computation effort and communication delay, in the third layer, the PV inverters and STATCOM continue to respond to real-time PV active power via the local approach. For improving the application performance of the centralized approaches, model prediction control is applied in the first control layer for enhancing robustness of the control. The sensitivity analysis is used for reducing optimization time in the second layer. Simulation results indicate that the proposed VVC strategy is effective for PV cluster to ensure the voltage within the safe range and improve SVS of the whole PV cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A new DDES and γ − R e ‾ θ t coupling model for separated transitional flow is proposed. The studies in this paper indicate that the activation of the LES branch in the free stream may lead to an inappropriate decrease in the inflow turbulence intensity and a delayed transition. To address this problem, a new flow-dependent RANS/LES switch function based on identification functions for the boundary layer and wake regions is designed. In this new model, the adoption of the RANS or LES branch is decided by both the local grid density and local flow properties, and the LES branch is only allowed to be active in the wake region. Therefore, the inflow turbulence intensity uncertainties caused by grid dependence of the LES branch in the free stream are largely eliminated. Separated transitional cases including flows over an A-Airfoil (small separation), a DBLN-526 airfoil (moderate separation), and a circular cylinder in subcritical and critical regimes (massive separation) are studied. The performance of two commonly employed boundary layer shielding functions is examined. Good agreements are achieved between the numerical and experimental results, and the accuracy and reliability of the new model are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a joint source channel coding (JSCC) problem in which we desire to transmit an arbitrary memoryless source over an arbitrary additive channel. We propose a mismatched coding architecture that consists of Gaussian codebooks for both the source reproduction sequences and channel codewords. The natural nearest neighbor encoder and decoder, however, need to be judiciously modified to obtain the highest communication rates at finite blocklength. In particular, we consider an unequal error protection scheme in which all sources are partitioned into disjoint power-type classes. We also regularize the nearest neighbor decoder so that an appropriate measure of the size of each power type class is taken into account in the decoding strategy. For such an architecture, we derive ensemble-tight second-order and moderate deviations results. Our first-order (optimal bandwidth expansion ratio) result generalizes the seminal results by Lapidoth (1996 and 1997). The dispersion of our JSCC scheme is a linear combination of the mismatched dispersions for the channel coding saddle-point problem by Scarlett, Tan, and Durisi (2017) and the rate-distortion saddle-point problem by the present authors, thus also generalizing these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose To compare the fixed-beam intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with the volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans for different cancers using the biologically effective dose (BED). Methods Recruited patients were divided into three groups in terms of tumor anatomic site, including head and neck, thoracic, and abdominal cancers. All of plans were generated using the fixed-beam IMRT and the VMAT techniques. The qualities of the plans were assessed using the conformity index (CI) and the homogeneous index (HI) with respect to the dose delivered to the tumors. Some selected organs-at-risk (OARs) were analyzed. For the efficiency of the plan, monitor units (MUs) were compared between the paired plans. All parameters were collected and evaluated based on the conventional dose-volume histogram (DVH) of the paired plans. All BED were calculated from the physical dose. Results For CI and HI, the fixed-beam IMRT and the VMAT gained significant differences (p < 0.05), mainly in the head and neck (HN) group, with the exception of the CI of the plan gross tumor volume (PGTV) in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) site. In the thoracic group, the HI gained significant differences (p < 0.05) in the plans of the lung cancer with the central tumor without lymph node metastasis. The CI gained significant differences (p < 0.05) in the plans of the lung cancer with the surrounding tumor without lymph node metastasis. The MUs were higher in the VMAT plans compared with the fixed-beam IMRT plans in only two types of cancers. Analysis of the statistical significances regarding the BED values between the fixed-beam IMRT and the VMAT plans were the same as the values of the physical doses when the two paired plans were analyzed. Conclusion There is no difference in the data comparison of the paired plans using the BED values compared with the physical doses. Highlights • We use the BED formula to compare IMRT with VMAT plans for different cancers. • There are three anatomic sites recruited in this study. • The statistical significances of BED values are the same as the physical doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MnO2 material has been widely utilized in primary batteries because of its high theoretical capacity, rich resources, and low cost, which, however, does not exhibit satisfactory reversible capacity and cycle life when used as a secondary battery cathode. To upgrade the rechargeability of MnO2 material, we herein fabricated a hierarchical nanocomposite by in‐situ growth of MnO2 nanostructure on carbonized melamine sponge (MnO2/C). The optimized MnO2/C nanostructure consisting of hierarchical nanospikes shows a high reversible capacity of 205 mAh⋅g‐1 at 1 C and retained 96% of its initial capacity after 400 cycles, and even at 5 C (i. e. 1540 mA⋅g‐1), the capacity retention still reaches 90% after 400 cycles, indicative of its remarkable high‐rate cycling stability. This study provides a new avenue for designing high‐rate rechargeable MnO2 cathode and may further advance the development of MnO2‐based secondary batteries. Three‐dimensional hierarchical MnO2/C nanocomposites achieved by in‐situ growth of MnO2 nanostructure on the skeleton of carbonized melamine sponges. Optimized MnO2/GCF consisting of hierarchical MnO2 nanospikes, shows high accessible capacity, superior rate stability and long‐term cyclability when used as the cathode material in alkaline electrolyte, offering great hope for the development of MnO2‐based rechargeable batteries [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The high coercivity of alnico mostly comes from nanoscale-isolated α 1 (FeCo-rich) rods. • The grain boundary phases reverse magnetization direction at lower applied magnetic field. • Porosity, TiS 2 precipitates, and grain misorientation brings difference in magnetic properties. Abstract Magnetic property enhancement of alnico, a rare-earth free permanent magnet, is highly dependent on both the initial microstructure and the evolution of the spinodal decomposition (SD) inside each grain during the heat treatment process. The size, shape and distribution of the magnetic FeCo-rich (α 1) phase embedded in continuous non-magnetic AlNi-rich (α 2) phase as well as a minor Cu-enriched phase residing in between are shown to be crucial in controlling coercivity. Phase and magnetic domain morphology in a commercial alnico 9 alloy was studied using a combination of structural characterization techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and Lorentz microscopy. Our results showed that casting created structural nonuniformity and defects, such as porosity, TiS 2 precipitates and grain misorientation, are heterogeneously distributed, with the center section having the best crystallographic orientation and minimal defects. The optimal spinodal is a "mosaic structure", composed of rod-shape α 1 phase with {1 1 0} or {1 0 0} planar faceting and diameter of ∼30–45 nm. There is also a Cu-enriched phase residing at the corners of two 〈1 1 0〉 facets of the α 1 phase. It was observed that grain boundary phase reverse magnetization direction at lower external magnetic field compared to the SD region inside the grain. Improving grain orientation uniformity, reducing detrimental grain boundary phase volume fraction, and the branching of the α 1 rods, as well as their diameter, are promising routes to improve energy product of alnico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract DNA nanomaterials have been widely used in bioassays due to their promising properties for sensitive and specific detection of biomolecules. Herein, a label-free electrochemical method was developed for quantitative detection of microRNAs by integrating Y-shaped DNA (Y-DNA) structures with non-linear hybridization chain reaction (non-linear HCR). The Y-DNA structures consisting of three sequences (Y1, Y2 and Y3) serve as stable and specific probes for recognizing target miRNAs. In the presence of target miRNA, competitive hybridization occurs between miRNA and Y-DNA, resulting in the release of Y3 and the disintegration of the Y-DNA structure. The triggers, which were blocked by Y3 previously, were exposed and initiated the non-linear HCR. Remarkable electrochemical signal changes were produced after the isothermal amplification reaction. Therefore, the proposed biosensor achieved sensitive detection of microRNAs (miRNAs). Under optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was reduced to 0.3334 fM and linear range was from 1 fM to 10 pM. The special design of Y-DNA helped the biosensor obtain the ability to distinguish between single base mutations. What's more, this biosensor was capable of detecting miRNAs in clinical serum samples. We hope that this developed biosensor would provide a potential application for DNA nanomaterials in the field of microRNAs detection and inspire more interests in the development of DNA nanomaterial biosensors. Highlights • A DNA nanomaterial-based biosensor for microRNA detection was constructed. • The label-free biosensor could achieve microRNAs detection without enzymes. • High sensitivity detection and single base mutation detection could be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance to conventional antibiotics has raised worldwide attention. Notably, Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become one of the most life‐threatening health concerns. Although effective against bacterial infections, conventional antibiotics have also showed a series of side effects such as gut microbiota imbalance. An alternative is in urgent need in order to combat bacterial infections. Antivirulence represents a new approach to circumvent these shortcomings, which focuses on disarming the "weapons" for pathogenicity without much selective pressure on bacterial survival. In this review, we place emphasis on the chemical modulation of biosynthesis, assembly, function and the regulation of some major virulence factors in S. aureus, which we hope will help the development of antivirulence modulators. Virulence factors of S. aureus become a new approach to combat bacterial infections and circumvent the shortcomings of conventional antibiotics. In this review, we place emphasis on the chemical modulation of some major virulence factors in S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Maximum power extraction for PV systems under partial shading conditions (PSCs) relies on the optimal global maximum power point tracking (GMPPT) method used. This paper proposes a novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control method for PV system with reduced steady-state oscillation based on improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and variable step perturb and observe (P&O) method. Firstly, the grouping idea of shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) is introduced in the basic PSO algorithm (PSO–SFLA), ensuring the differences among particles and the searching of global extremum. Furthermore, adaptive speed factor is introduced into the improved PSO to improve the convergence of the PSO–SFLA under PSCs. And then, the variable step P&O (VSP&O) method is used to track the maximum power point (MPP) accurately with the change of environment. Finally, the superiority of the proposed method over the conventional P&O method and the standard PSO method in terms of tracking speed and steady-state oscillations is highlighted by simulation results under fast variable PSCs. Highlights • Output characteristics of PV system under different PSCs. • A hybrid intelligent GMPPT algorithm is proposed. • Simulation experiments on the Simulink platform are conducted. • The proposed algorithm reduces the steady-state oscillations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Phase selection and growth of materials far from equilibrium provides fertile ground for novel phases and morphologies since a multitude of different pathways may be energetically accessible. In this study, a complex metastable devitrification of Al 60 Sm 11 (ε-phase) from its amorphous precursor is discovered using a combination of in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD), providing insight into the average bulk behavior, and in-situ aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, revealing the atomic scale mechanisms of growth and their dynamics. We have found that non-equilibrium chemical partitioning disrupts the nominal planer growth by formation of nanoscale Al enriched regions inhomogeneously segregated at the ε/glass interface, to locally balance the compositionally dependent driving force and the associated diffusional burden imposed on its grain growth. These Al-rich regions form fcc -Al-rich nanocrystallites epitaxially with the ε-phase, modifying ε/glass interface mobility and creating a crenulated growth front. This new mechanism offers a pathway for fabricating alloy structures with nanoprecipitate dispersions through a meta-stable phase transition. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Despite the impact of urbanization on carbon emission has been extensively studied in recent years, the mechanisms by which urbanization, real estate investment affect carbon emissions are still unclear. Different from previous studies focused on direct effect, this paper investigated the impact of urbanization and real estate investment on China's carbon emissions with considering of the provincial contribution and spatial spillover effect. Using the multiplicative logarithmic mean Divisia index (M- LMDI) model, spatial panel data model and panel data of 30 provinces in China over the period 1997–2015, the results suggested that the contributions to carbon emissions and their driving mechanisms were significantly different across provinces. The top five provinces in China that contributed the most to the growths of carbon emissions in China were Shandong, Guangdong, Hebei, Jiangsu, and Henan, with cumulative effects of 10.28%, 10.28%, 5.44%, 5.19%, and 5.09% respectively. The direct impact of urbanization on carbon emissions was significantly negative, but its spatial spillover effect was significantly positive, which suggested that the effect of urbanization on carbon emissions shows significant "pollution transfer effect" after introducing the spillover effect. Due to the characteristics of non-movability and long investment period, the impact of real estate investment on carbon emissions was fixed in the local region, and there was no spillover effect to the adjacent regions. Because of the existence of mutual promotion mechanism between urbanization and real estate investment, the interaction between the two had significant positive direct and spillover effects on carbon emissions, which indicated that the interaction between the two created a reduction effect on both local and adjacent regions. The research can effectively identified the provinces that contribute a lot to China's carbon emissions, and made the decomposition and implementation of the national carbon emission reduction targets more targeted. At the same time, urbanization policies should be combined with real estate policies in the process of carbon emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to characterize the clinical significance of epigenetic loss of death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) gene function through promoter methylation in the development and prognosis of lymphoma. PubMed, Web of Science and ProQuest databases were searched for relevant studies. Twelve studies involving 709 patients with lymphoma were identified. The prognostic value of DAPK methylation was expressed as risk ratio (RR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), while the associations between DAPK methylation and the clinical characteristics of patients with lymphoma were expressed as odd ratios (ORs) and their corresponding 95% CIs. Meta-analysis showed that the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in lymphoma patients with hypermethylated DAPK (RR = 0.85, 95% CI (0.73, 0.98), P = 0.025). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated consistent result. However, no associations were found between DAPK methylation and clinicopathological features of lymphoma, in relation to gender (OR = 1.07, 95% CI (0.72, 1.59), P = 0.751), age (OR = 1.01, 95% CI (0.66, 1.55), P = 0.974), international prognostic index (OR = 1.20, 95% CI (0.63, 2.27), P = 0.575), B symptoms (OR = 0.76, 95% CI (0.38, 1.51), P = 0.452), serum lactate dehydrogenase (OR = 1.13, 95% CI (0.62, 2.05), P = 0.683), and BCL-2 expression (OR = 1.55, 95% CI (0.91, 2.66), P = 0.106). Lymphoma patients with hypermethylated DAPK are at risk for poorer 5-year survival rate. DAPK methylation may serve as a negative prognostic biomarker among lymphoma patients, although it may not be associated with the progression of lymphoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new organic molecule-based compounds, ethyl-trimethyl-phosphonium picrate (1, [ETtmp][picrate]), hydroxymethyl-trimethyl-phosphonium picrate (2, [HMtmp][picrate]), and cyclopentyl-trimethyl-phosphonium picrate (3, [CPtmp][picrate]), have been corroborated as high-temperature phase transition materials possessing switchable dielectric behaviors. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 undergo dielectric anomalies which could be tuned in two pronounced dielectric states and switched by reversible phase transitions at 320.8 K, 393.9 K and 398.1 K, respectively. For compounds 1, 2 and 3, not only the phase transition temperatures but also the magnitudes of the dielectric anomalies presented variations by regulating the guest cations. The respective dielectric constants in the high dielectric states are 1.6, 2.7 and 3.6 times those in the low dielectric states for compounds 1, 2 and 3. And considering the big entropy changes (ΔS) in the three title compounds, we predicted the sensitivities of the phase transition temperatures (Tc) to the applied pressure. And the estimated barocaloric coefficients (δTc/δP) in the three title compounds indicate that they potentially perform barocaloric effects of interest for cooling applications under adequate pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both 3D organic–inorganic perovskites ([Et3P(CH2)2Cl][Cd(dca)3] (1) and [Et3P(CH2)2F][Cd(dca)3] (2) [dca = dicyanamide, N(CN)2−]) display two sequentially reversible high-temperature phase transitions and switchable dielectric properties. Through halogen substitution, 1 shows exceptional switching behaviour of second harmonic generation effects and remarkably 2 represents the first above-room-temperature 3D ferroelastic material characterized by two ferroelastic phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A design strategy of reducing the molecular symmetry was used to obtain a series of picrate-based high-temperature phase transition compounds. Their dielectric switching behaviours accompanied by phase transitions can be attributed to the order–disorder transitions of the cations and the displacements of both cations and anions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emodin has been recognized to be an anti-cancer agent against a number of types of human cancer. It was demonstrated that TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) was correlated with cancer angiogenesis and metastasis. The present study confirmed the association between TRAF6 and the angiogenesis/metastasis of anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). The anti-angiogenesis and metastatic effects of emodin, in addition to its molecular mechanisms in ATC, were investigated. A total of two ATC cell lines, namely 8505c and SW1736, were studied. ATC cells were implanted into nude mice to form xenografts or to establish lung metastasis models. Emodin was used to incubate ATC cells or to treat animals orally. An MTT assay was used to assess cell proliferation. A wound healing assay was employed to evaluate cell migration. ELISA analysis was used to detect the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) content. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression levels. In the in vivo study, cancer angiogenesis was assessed by micro vascular density measurement. The lung metastatic rate was the criterion for cancer metastasis. The results of the present study demonstrated that the proliferation of ATC was inhibited by emodin. The activation of the TRAF6/hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α/VEGF and TRAF6/basigin (CD147)/matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) pathways were associated with the angiogenesis and metastasis of ATC. In a concentration-dependent manner, emodin inhibited the TRAF6/HIF-1α/VEGF and TRAF6/CD147/MMP9 signaling pathways to suppress angiogenesis and metastasis. In conclusion, emodin exerted anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic activities in ATC by affecting TRAF6-mediated pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is the dysregulated host response to an infection which leads to life-threatening organ dysfunction. Metabolomic profiling in bio-fluid or tissue is vital for elucidating the pathogenesis of sepsis and evaluating therapeutic effects of medication. In this study, an untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to study the metabolic changes in lung tissue of septic rats induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and investigate the treatment effects of Xubijing injection (XBJ). Metabolomics analyses were performed on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS) together with multivariate statistical analysis. A total of 26 differential metabolites between CLP and sham-operated group were identified. The altered metabolic pathways included energy metabolism, amino metabolism, lipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and hormone metabolism. Among the 26-varied metabolites, 15 were significantly regulated after XBJ treatment. The metabolic pathway network of sepsis was drawn to interpret the pathological feature of lung damage caused by sepsis and the underlying regulating mechanism of XBJ on the molecular levels. Our findings display that LC-MS-based metabolomics is a useful tool for uncovering the underlying molecular mechanism of sepsis, and XBJ may exert therapeutic effect by regulating multiple metabolic pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models for shock initiation in explosives must consider how energy transfers from products to reactants. This is based on different energy-apportionment assumptions, which affect the results for shock initiation. This study proposes a robust model of shock initiation in explosives using a free choice of energy-apportionment assumptions. The reacting explosive is treated as a mixture of reactants and products under different energy-apportionment assumptions. The equations of state of the mixture are efficiently solved by refining the Cochran–Chan concept of the real volume fraction and introducing a real energy fraction term. The validity, efficiency, and universality of the proposed model are verified in one-dimensional numerical simulations of the shock initiation of homogeneous (nitromethane) and heterogeneous (PBX 9404) explosives. Compared to the conventional Cochran–Chan and Johnson–Tang–Forest models, the proposed model has a better balance of computational efficiency and universality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Isoxazoles experience the 6-endo-dig heteroatom-assisted S E Ar to form an alkenyl Au(I) intermediate. • N-phenylbenzaldimine plays an important role in the hydride transfer process. • The NCI reveals that the π-Au+ interaction between Au+ and the phenyl ring rationalized the deuterium labeling study. A detailed theoretical study on the mechanism and regioselectivity of the Au(I)-catalyzed intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution (S E Ar) in 4-substituted isoxazole derivatives is reported, using two model substrates, 4-(1-methylpropargyloxy)isoxazole (Series A) and 4-(1-methyl propargylamino)isoxazole (Series B). The obtained theoretical data reveal similar energy profiles in both series for the 6-endo-dig heteroatom-assisted S E Ar to form an alkenyl Au(I) intermediate. Then, in the series A, the 1,3-H-shift assisted by the 4-propargyloxyisoxazole leads to a final product and the catalyst regeneration. In contrast, in the series B, the elimination of proton by N-phenylbenzaldimine additive results in an iminium cation and dihydropyridine. In the next step, a hydride from dihydropyridine is accepted by the iminium cation to furnish pyridinium and N-benzylidenebenzenaminium species. Subsequently, protodeauration leads to a final product and N-phenylbenzylamine along with the catalyst regeneration. In the absence of N-phenylbenzaldimine additive, 4-(1-methylpropargylamino)isoxazole accepts the hydride instead of N-phenylbenzylamine and causes the consumption of the reactants, thus accounting for a low product yield. Furthermore, the regioselectivity and its origin as well as the rationalization of the deuterium labeling experiments are also examined and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of increased energy density and longer lifespan lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) is urgently needed to satisfy a dramatically increased demand in the energy market. Currently, metal‐oxide‐based anodes are being intensively studied due to their higher capacities over current graphite anodes. This work introduces a sustainable strategy to construct a metal‐oxide‐based anode with high capacity and an extremely long lifecycle, in which the features of bioinspired architectures and heteroatom doping can contribute greatly to increased performances. In detail, 1D tubelike metal oxide (e.g., MnO) coated on an N‐doped carbon framework (i.e. MnO/N−C) has been designed by using the naturally abundant and renewable Metaplexis japonica fibers (MJFs) as the biotemplate and heteroatom source. Benefiting from the uniqueness of structure and compositions, as‐prepared MnO/N−C demonstrates extremely high rate capacities of 951, 777, 497, and 435 mAh g−1 at the rates of 0.5, 2, 4, and 5 Ag−1, respectively, with a good stability of more than 1000 cycles. It was found that the electrochemical performances are superior to most previous MnO‐based anodes, in which the faster kinetics of conversion due to the advantage of the ion/electron transportation and morphological evolution has been verified. It is hoped that the concept of bioinspired architectures with heteroatom doping can be applied in wider applications for increased capability. A sustainable strategy has been introduced to construct a metal‐oxide‐based anode with high capacity and an extremely long lifecycle, in which the features of bioinspired architectures and heteroatom doping contribute to an increased performance (see figure). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancements in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapies have shown considerable progresses in the comprehension of disease. However, the development of new potential medicines with relative safety and efficacy continues and natural compounds have been considered as alternatives or complementary agents to gain immense attractions. Tubeimoside I (TBMS I), a main triterpenoid saponin isolated from Bolbostemma paniculatum, has been reported to possess antiviral and anticancer effects. However, its effect on RA remains unknown. Here, we investigated the therapeutic effect of TBMS I in collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA) rats and explored its underlying mechanism. Our results showed that TBMS I treatment efficaciously ameliorated inflammation and joint destruction of rats with CIA. In vitro studies revealed that TBMS I suppressed the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines including IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8 and TNFα, and downregulated the expression of MMP‐9. In addition, TBMS I attenuated the destructive phenotypes of FLS of CIA rats including inhibiting proliferation and reducing migration rate. Further mechanistic analysis demonstrated that TBMS I suppressed TNFα‐induced activations of NF‐κB and MAPKs (p38 and JNK) leading to the downregulation of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, which was beneficial to the anti‐proliferative and anti‐migratory activities of FLS cells. Taken together, TBMS I has a great potential to be developed into a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • MS-KF can effectively match target when un-occluded or partially occluded. • KF can more precisely estimate position when severely occluded or occluded. • In process of recurrence, it combines KF with NCC to quickly match target. Abstract Accurately locating the video target in the process of occlusion and recurrence will be very important for effective follow-up of the target. For the problem of poor applicability of Mean Shift and its improved algorithm when the target is heavily occluded, this paper proposes an anti-occlusion video target tracking algorithm based on prediction and re-matching strategy. Firstly, dynamically combining the Mean Shift algorithm with the Kalman filter, this paper achieves stable tracking of un-occluded target. Secondly, when the target is occluded, Kalman filter is combined with the target prior information to predict the position of the occluded target. Finally, in the recurrence process of occluded targets, the target is re-matched through the normalized cross-correlation method to obtain target optimal position, and then the target can be quickly and accurately located. The simulation results show that the proposed method has strong anti-occlusion and reliability tracking in the video target tracking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects middle- and old-age populations, and causes loss of brain weight, degradation of brain functions and memory loss. So the fast and accurate detection of AD related markers is highly important in diagnosis. We report in this work the detection of Cu2+ and dopamine (DA), which are markers related to AD, by direct electrochemistry (DEC) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) using a silica nanochannel membrane modified glassy carbon electrode (SNM/GCE). By DEC, the detection of both Cu2+ and DA in buffer solutions was achieved with a wide linear range and a low limit of detection (LOD). The determination of DA was also achieved in terms of its quenching effect on the ECL of the tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(ii)/tri-n-propylamine co-reactant system in both intensity and image modes, yielding a particularly high sensitivity in the former case. In comparison with a bare GCE, the analytical sensitivity and selectivity of the SNM/GCE were superior, most likely due to the analyte pre-concentration and permselective effects of the SNM. Moreover, given that the SNM consists of perpendicular channels with a negatively charged surface, high channel density (ca. 7.5 × 1012 cm−2) and uniform size (ca. 2.3 nm in diameter), it displays a high molecular permeability and meanwhile a high selectivity in terms of molecular size and charge. So the SNM/GCE exhibited an excellent anti-fouling ability in biofluids, such as human blood and artificial cerebrospinal fluid, suppressing effectively the interference of coexisting substances (such as cells, proteins, and other big and small molecules) and providing excellent signal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical study was performed to investigate the detailed effects of activation energy Ea on the oblique detonation wave surface instability. Numerical simulations were performed using an ideal reactive flow model given by the inviscid Euler equations with one-step irreversible Arrhenius reaction kinetics. The numerical results demonstrate two types of unstable structures following the initial smooth surface after detonation initiation. One exhibits by a "saw-tooth" reactive front and the other exhibits by a "keystone" feature. To quantify the destabilization processes, two characteristic length scales, L1 and L2, are defined statistically to be the length of the smooth detonation surface before the appearance of instabilities and the length of the unstable surface before the first cellular structure with the onset of right-running transverse waves, respectively. Their dependence on Ea was simulated and analyzed. In general, both lengths decrease with increasing Ea, making the surface more unstable. However, with increasing Ea, the high temperature sensitivity of the mixture causes an abrupt explosion in the initiation region, introducing a high overdriven surface and suppressing the instability. With the balance between the destabilizing effect of Ea and the stabilizing effect of increasing overdrive factor, both L1 and L2 are found to approach a near-constant value in the high Ea limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although liver transplantation (LT) lengthens the survival time of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), LT patients exhibit a high recurrence rate; particularly those that had advanced HCC associated with the tumor biological characteristics and long‑term application of immunosuppressants. A consensus on optimal prophylaxis and treatment for recurrent HCC following LT does not currently exist. The present study retrospectively analyzed data from 36 non‑University of California at San Francisco criteria‑eligible patients with advanced HCC who underwent LT, and then treated them with sirolimus (SRL)‑based therapy with thymalfasin and huaier granules (SRL+, n=18), or with tacrolimus‑based therapy (controls; n=18). The SRL+ group had significantly longer recurrence times (P=0.008) and survival times (P<0.0001) (OS, 1‑year: 100%, 3‑year: 94.4%, 5‑year: 77.8%; DFS, 1‑year: 88.9%, 3‑year: 55.6%, 5‑year: 50.0%). Furthermore, compared with pre‑LT values and the control group, the SRL+ group had significantly lower serum α‑fetoprotein (AFP) levels (both P<0.0001) and percentage of Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)+ Treg lymphocytes (P<0.001) during the first year. In the SRL+ group, FoxP3+/cluster of differentiation (CD)8+ Treg lymphocyte percentages decreased significantly following LT (P<0.001); however, CD8+/CD3+ T‑cells significantly increased (P<0.001). Levels of serum AFP and FoxP3+ Treg cells increased when tumors relapsed, and decreased to near‑normal when relapse foci were cured or stabilized. SRL+ therapy may decrease AFP and Treg levels, while increasing CD8+ T cells, indicating an associated mechanism among them. In conclusion, SRL+ therapy appears to be safe and effective in preventing HCC recurrence following LT with no significant adverse events, and warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Periplaneta americana is one of the ancient insect groups with the strongest vitality. Periplaneta americana extract (PAE) has been explored as an alternative remedy for many diseases. Although much progress has been made in the study about PAE, the role of the drug in renal disease is rarely reported, especially in renal fibrosis. This study was designed to evaluate the renoprotective effect of PAE treatment to renal fibrosis. Method: An in vivo, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) mouse model was built. Then the mice were treated with PAE (100 mg/kg body weight) once daily by oral gavage, again starting on the day of UUO and continued for 1 week. At the end of 1 week, the mice were sacrificed; kidney samples were collected for further analysis. In vitro, Boston University mouse proximal tubular cells were plated in 35-mm dishes at a density of 0.3 * 106 cells/dish. Then the cells were treated with 5-ng/mL TGF-β1 in serum-free DMEM medium for an indicated length of time. The experimental groups were pretreated with the indicated concentrations of PAE (0.3125 mg/mL). The cells were further cultured for 24 h, and then cells were monitored morphologically or collected for biochemical analyses. Results: Both in vivo and vitro PAE inhibits the expression of FN and alpha-smooth muscle actin and suppresses renal fibrosis. Importantly, PAE protects against renal fibrosis by inhibiting Janus tyrosine kinase 2 (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT) tyrosine phosphorylation. Conclusion: PAE attenuates renal fibrosis through the suppression of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation characteristics and resistance to heavy metal pollution of six varieties of Agaricus bisporus were studied. The results showed that arsenic, mercury and cadmium content could be detected in the six varieties, and all of the varieties were contaminated by heavy metals, but they did not exceed the limits in the national standards for food safety. These varieties had a low quality risk and can be eaten safely. Varieties 1 and 6 were strongly resistant to the three kinds of heavy metals, while variety 4 was weakly resistant to heavy metal pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the high-dimensional content identification with lossy recovery problem (Tuncel and Gündüz, 2014) and establish an exponential strong converse theorem. As a corollary of the exponential strong converse theorem, we derive an upper bound on the joint identification-error and excess-distortion exponent for the problem. Our main results can be specialized to the biometrical identification problem (Willems, 2003) and the content identification problem (Tuncel, 2009) since these two problems are both special cases of the content identification with lossy recovery problem. We leverage the information spectrum method introduced by Oohama and adapt the strong converse techniques therein to be applicable to the problem at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenol is a typical pollutant which can be degraded by microalgae. Phenol induces formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Tolerance to oxidative damage produced by ROS is critical for phenol degradation by microalgae. An evolved strain, Chlorella sp. L5 was obtained from Chlorella sp. L3 in a previous study. The current study investigated the phenol tolerance mechanism by the dynamic responses of antioxidative enzyme activities of Chlorella sp. L3 and Chlorella sp. L5 in TAP medium with and without 500 mg L−1 phenol. It was shown that the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD) were increased in Chlorella sp. L5 when phenol was added in the medium. They were also significantly higher than those of Chlorella sp. L3 under 500 mg L−1 phenol conditions. There were slight increases of the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of Chlorella sp. L5 in TAP medium with and without 500 mg L−1 phenol while they were significantly lower than the MDA content of Chlorella sp. L3 under 500 mg L−1 phenol conditions. The results indicated that Chlorella sp. L5 had higher tolerance to 500 mg L−1 phenol than Chlorella sp. L3. The antioxidative responses of Chlorella sp. L3 and Chlorella sp. L5 in control and TAP medium + phenol were consisted with the results of the comparative transcriptomic analysis in another published result. The phenol tolerance mechanism was also confirmed by the photosynthetic efficiency under oxidative conditions and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser direct energy deposition (LDED) high strength-ductility matching alloy steel is promising for the manufacturing of anti-deformation and deformation parts. However, there are differences in strength-ductility matching and tensile yield behavior of parts with different deformation requirements. It is essential to understand how to control the microstructure and prepare alloy steel with either continuous or discontinuous yield phenomena to meet manufacturing requirements of the deformation or anti-deformation parts. To address this issue, the microstructure evolution and tensile yield behavior of 24CrNiMoY alloy steel deposited by preheating-ultrasonic dual-field assisted LDED using a multi-factor optimized-design response surface method combined with the experiment is investigated. The experimental results indicate that the relationship between microstructure evolution and strength-ductility of alloy steel prepared by dual-field-assisted LDED was clarified. Interestingly, we found that the various dual-field synergistic parameters help to prepare tensile samples with either continuous or discontinuous yield behavior to meet the requirements applicable to the alloy steel parts with different working conditions. It is discovered that the characteristics of bainite and ferrite, including their quantity, distribution, and morphology, can influence the continuous or discontinuous tensile yield behavior of alloy steel. The advanced technology enabled the preparation of high strength-ductility 24CrNiMoY alloy steel with tensile strength up to 1060 MPa, elongation up to 13.8%, and a strength-plastic product up to 14.6 GPa%. This work breakthrough has overcome the technical bottleneck associated with the strength-ductility trade-off of LDED alloy steel, which makes it possible to directly obtain continuous or discontinuous yield behavior through process control. This study provides a useful theoretical and technical guideline for LDED preparation of high strength-ductility alloy steel parts meeting anti-deformation or deformation requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied a variant of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) arising in last-mile distribution, called the multi-depot two-echelon vehicle routing problem with delivery options (MDTEVRP-DO). The MDTEVRP-DO involves two decision levels: (i) designing routes for a fleet of vehicles located in multiple depots to transport customer demands to a set of satellites and (ii) routing a fleet of vehicles from the satellites to serve the final customers. Nowadays, a relevant feature of the problem characterizing delivery services is that customers can collect their packages at pickup stations near their homes or workplaces. We designed an effectively simulated annealing (SA) heuristic for the problem. The new algorithm was extensively tested on benchmark instances from the literature, and its results were compared with those of start-of-the-art algorithms. The results show that the proposed SA obtains 30 out of the 36 best solutions for the MDTEVRP-DO benchmark instances. Moreover, its computation performance is superior to state-of-the-art algorithms for the MDTEVRP-DO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinesin family member 2C (KIF2C)/mitotic centromere‐associated kinesin (MCAK), is thought to be oncogenic as it is involved in tumour progression and metastasis. Moreover, it also plays a part in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease and psychiatric disorders such as suicidal schizophrenia. Our previous study conducted on mice demonstrated that KIF2C is widely distributed in various regions of the brain, and is localized in synaptic spines. Additionally, it regulates microtubule dynamic properties through its own microtubule depolymerization activity, thereby affecting AMPA receptor transport and cognitive behaviour in mice. In this study, we show that KIF2C regulates the transport of mGlu1 receptors in Purkinje cells by binding to Rab8. KIF2C deficiency in Purkinje cells results in abnormal gait, reduced balance ability and motor incoordination in male mice. These data suggest that KIF2C is essential for maintaining normal transport and synaptic function of mGlu1 and motor coordination in mice. Key points: KIF2C is localized in synaptic spines of hippocampus neurons, and regulates excitatory transmission, synaptic plasticity and cognitive behaviour.KIF2C is extensively expressed in the cerebellum, and we investigated its functions in development and synaptic transmission of cerebellar Purkinje cells.KIF2C deficiency in Purkinje cells alters the expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGlu1) and the AMPA receptor GluA2 subunit at Purkinje cell synapses, and changes excitatory synaptic transmission, but not inhibitory transmission.KIF2C regulates the transport of mGlu1 receptors in Purkinje cells by binding to Rab8. KIF2C deficiency in Purkinje cells affects motor coordination, but not social behaviour in male mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and sodium silicate content on the density and mechanical properties of soft clay mixed with EPS, lime, fly ash, and sodium silicate is investigated in this study using unconfined compressive strength (UCS), cyclic load (CL), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests. It was found that EPS can efficiently decrease the density of mixed soil, whereas sodium silicate has no influence on the density. The UCS, elastic modulus, resilient modulus, and maximum dynamic stress first increased and then decreased with increasing sodium silicate content and decreased with increasing EPS content. When the sodium silicate and EPS contents were 6% and in the range 0.5 to 1%, respectively, the density of the mixed soil could be reduced efficiently, and the mechanical properties could be maintained. Based on this, an EPS content of 0.5 to 1% and a sodium silicate content of 6% can be considered optimal. Subsequently, an empirical model between the UCS, EPS content, and silicate content is proposed, which can provide theoretical support for mixed soil engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]