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Ultrasound (US)-mediated piezocatalytic tumor therapy has attracted much attention due to its notable tissue-penetration capabilities, noninvasiveness, and low oxygen dependency. Nevertheless, the efficiency of piezocatalytic therapy is limited due to an inadequate piezoelectric response, low separation of electron–hole (e––h+) pairs, and complex tumor microenvironment (TME). Herein, an ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) sulfur-vacancy-engineered (Sv-engineered) Cu@SnS2–xnanosheet (NS) with an enhanced piezoelectric effect was constructed via the heterovalent substitution strategy of Sn4+by Cu2+. The introduction of Cu2+ion not only causes changes in the crystal structure to increase polarization but also generates rich Svto decrease band gap from 2.16 to 1.62 eV and inhibit e––h+pairs recombination, collectively leading to the highly efficient generation of reactive oxygen species under US irradiation. Moreover, Cu@SnS2–xshows US-enhanced TME-responsive Fenton-like catalytic activity and glutathione depletion ability, further aggravating the oxidative stress. Both in vitro and in vivo results prove that the Sv-engineered Cu@SnS2–xNSs can significantly kill tumor cells and achieve high-efficiency piezocatalytic tumor therapy in a biocompatible manner. Overall, this study provides a new avenue for sonocatalytic therapy and broadens the application of 2D piezoelectric materials.

Often, trace impurities in a feed stream will cause failures in industrial applications. The efficient removal of such a trace impurity from industrial steams, however, is a daunting challenge due to the extremely small driving force for mass transfer. The issue lies in an activity–stability dilemma, that is, an ultrafine adsorbent that offers a high exposure of active sites is favorable for capturing species of a low concentration, but free-standing adsorptive species are susceptible to rapidly aggregating in working conditions, thus losing their intrinsic high activity. Confining ultrafine adsorbents in a porous matrix is a feasible solution to address this activity–stability dilemma. We herein demonstrate a proof of concept by encapsulating ZnO nanoclusters into a pure-silica MFI zeolite (ZnO@silicalite-1) for the ultradeep removal of H2S, a critical need in the purification of hydrogen for fuel cells. The Zn species and their interaction with silicalite-1 were thoroughly investigated by a collection of characterization techniques such as HADDF-STEM, UV–visible spectroscopy, DRIFTS, and 1H MAS NMR. The results show that the zeolite offers rich silanol defects, which enable the guest nanoclusters to be highly dispersed and anchored in the silicious matrix. The nanoclusters are present in two forms, Zn(OH)+and ZnO, depending on the varying degrees of interaction with the silanol defects. The ultrafine nanoclusters exhibit an excellent desulfurization performance in terms of the adsorption rate and utilization. Furthermore, the ZnO@silicalite-1 adsorbents are remarkably stable against sintering at high temperatures, thus maintaining a high activity in multiple adsorption–regeneration cycles. The results demonstrate that the encapsulation of active metal oxide species into zeolite is a promising strategy to develop fast responsive and highly stable adsorbents for the ultradeep removal of trace impurities.

In railway signalling systems, trackside equipment and signalling devices are controlled by wayside object controllers (OC). With the application of radio communication to wirelessly transmit command control and signals, the cost of cabling and installation has been significantly reduced. However, for non-electrified regional lines in rural areas, dedicated cables are still installed along the track to drive the wayside object controllers, which increases both capital and operational costs. With the development of renewable energy sources (RES) and wayside energy storage systems (ESS), a concept of smart wayside object controllers (SWOC) is proposed, which are autonomous, off-grid and powered by local renewable energy sources to reduce the related costs. To assist future system development, this work develops methods to not only calculate power and energy demand for system configuration but also estimate the life cycle cost in long-term operation. A case study based on a railway test site in Sweden is performed. This study shows that it is sufficient to use 100% local renewable energy sources to power the SWOC, trackside equipment and signalling devices. Compared with the existing system, the SWOC shows a significant cost saving in long-term operation by removing cabling and installation, reducing trackside maintenance and replacing the power supply with renewable energy power sources for decarbonisation. Therefore, the SWOC shows its significant benefits over the existing system from both economical and environmental aspects. In the end, some suggestions for future development and implementation of SWOC are given.

The Space Advanced Technology demonstration satellite (SATech-01), a mission for low-cost space science and new technology experiments, organized by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was successfully launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of ∼500 km on July 27, 2022, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Serving as an experimental platform for space science exploration and the demonstration of advanced common technologies in orbit, SATech-01 is equipped with 16 experimental payloads, including the solar upper transition region imager (SUTRI), the lobster eye imager for astronomy (LEIA), the high energy burst searcher (HEBS), and a High Precision Magnetic Field Measurement System based on a CPT Magnetometer (CPT). It also incorporates an imager with freeform optics, an integrated thermal imaging sensor, and a multi-functional integrated imager, etc. This paper provides an overview of SATech-01, including a technical description of the satellite and its scientific payloads, along with their on-orbit performance.

A piezoresistive material consisting of internal vertically aligned carbon nanotubes acting in concert with an external microdome structure is prepared to obtain a flexible piezoresistive sensor with high anisotropy. Here, we first obtained flexible piezoresistive composites (VCP) with anisotropic properties by inducing the vertical alignment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the pressure direction under a weak magnetic field of 0.6 T. Then, the composite with a microdome structure on the surface (m-VCP) was fabricated by a mold with a microstructure to further increase the anisotropy of the composite. The m-VCP microstructure was docked with VCP and placed between two layers of copper foil. With the synergistic effect of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes and the microdome structure, the sensitivity of the flexible sensor in the pressure direction was dramatically increased. In the low-strain range (0–6%), the sensitivity of m-VCP (GF = 9.208) is improved by 49% compared to m-CP and by 86% compared to VCP. The sensor has high anisotropy in the piezoresistive direction and retains good fatigue resistance under fatigue testing for 2000 cycles. This means that the sensor can be used in emerging fields such as human health monitoring, wearable electronics, and intelligent human–computer interaction.

Aiming at the problem that Harris hawks optimizer (HHO) has poor population diversity and is easy to fall into local optimum when solving complex optimization problems, a multi-leader Harris Hawks optimizer with adaptive mutation (MLHHO-AM) is proposed, in which multiple leaders are used to guide the Harris hawks to improve the population diversity. An adaptive mutation is introduced to enhance the ability of the algorithm to jump out of the local optimum. The key feature of the strategy is that Gaussian mutation occurs in some dimensions of the optimal solution, and the number of mutation dimensions is adaptively changed. To verify the numerical optimization performance of MLHHO-AM, the parameter sensitivity, the role of two improved mechanisms, and population diversity are analyzed based on 23 classical test functions. Then, MLHHO-AM is compared with 12 state-of-the-art variants and 11 basic metaheuristic algorithms on IEEE CEC2017 and IEEE CEC2022 benchmark suites. The above test results show that the proposed MLHHO-AM is an effective algorithm with better numerical optimization performance than most competitors. In order to verify ability of MLHHO-AM to handle the practical problem, the parameters of the Elman neural network (ENN) used to build the prediction model of silicon content in liquid iron of blast furnace are optimized by MLHHO-AM. The simulation results based on actual data show that the ENN prediction model based on MLHHO-AM has higher prediction accuracy with R 2 = 0. 7563 and R M S E = 0. 0598. Therefore, the proposed MLHHO-AM has excellent numerical optimization performance and can be used to predict the silicon content in liquid iron of blast furnace. [Display omitted] • A multi-leader Harris Hawks optimizer with adaptive mutation (MLHHO-AM) is proposed. • The performance of proposed MLHHO-AM is validated on several benchmark functions. • The MLHHO-AM is applied to solve the prediction of silicon content in liquid iron of blast furnace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of longitudinal forces on extreme-long heavy-haul trains, providing new insights and methods for their design and operation, thereby enhancing safety, operational efficiency and track system design. Design/methodology/approach: A longitudinal dynamics simulation model of the super long heavy haul train was established and verified by the braking test data of 30,000 t heavy-haul combination train on the long and steep down grade of Daqing Line. The simulation model was used to analyze the influence of factors on the longitudinal force of super long heavy haul train. Findings: Under normal conditions, the formation length of extreme-long heavy-haul combined train has a small effect on the maximum longitudinal coupler force under full service braking and emergency braking on the straight line. The slope difference of the long and steep down grade has a great impact on the maximum longitudinal coupler force of the extreme-long heavy-haul trains. Under the condition that the longitudinal force does not exceed the safety limit of 2,250 kN under full service braking at the speed of 60 km/h the maximum allowable slope difference of long and steep down grade for 40,000 t super long heavy-haul combined trains is 13‰, and that of 100,000 t is only 5‰. Originality/value: The results will provide important theoretical basis and practical guidance for further improving the transportation efficiency and safety of extreme-long heavy-haul trains.

In winter, some freight trains with composite brake blocks experience unexpected long braking distances, which seriously jeopardizes running safety. The reasons for the long braking distances are still not completely understood, and therefore it is difficult to suggest preventive measures. Up to now, it has not really been studied how a layer of ice that is often found between the brake block and the wheel influences the braking process. To investigate whether ice influences the braking distance, a numerical model is built. Ice thickness, ambient temperature, initial speed, and axle load/brake pressure are parameters that can be varied in the model. Results are checked against available on-track tests. The simulation results show that ice significantly influences the braking distance. The impact of ice on the braking distance increases when the ambient temperature, initial speed, and brake pressure are low, which is consistent with available field test reports. The results also show that a conditioning brake, a high brake pressure and a small clearance between the wheel and brake block can efficiently reduce the impact of ice on the braking distance of freight trains with composite brake blocks in winter.

Purpose: For billing purposes, heavy-haul locomotives in Sweden are equipped with on-board energy meters, which can record several parameters, e.g., used energy, regenerated energy, speed and position. Since there is a strong demand for improving energy efficiency in Sweden, data from the energy meters can be used to obtain a better understanding of the detailed energy usage of heavy-haul trains and identify potential for future improvements. Design/methodology/approach: To monitor energy efficiency, the present study, therefore, develops key performance indicators (KPIs), which can be calculated with energy meter data to reflect the energy efficiency of heavy-haul trains in operation. Energy meter data of IORE class locomotives, hauling highly uniform 30-tonne axle load trains with 68 wagons, together with additional data sources, are analysed to identify significant parameters for describing driver influence on energy usage. Findings: Results show that driver behaviour varies significantly and has the single largest influence on energy usage. Furthermore, parametric studies are performed with help of simulation to identify the influence of different operational and rolling stock conditions, e.g., axle loads and number of wagons, on energy usage. Originality/value: Based on the parametric studies, some operational parameters which have significant impact on energy efficiency are found and then the KPIs are derived. In the end, some possible measures for improving energy performance in heavy-haul operations are given.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) are rare malignant tumors, but the mortality rate of the patients is extremely high. The aim of this study was to identify the hub genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of PNET and to screen the potential small molecule drugs for PNET. We extracted gene expression profiles from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through Limma package in R. Two expression profiles (GSE14295 and GSE74195) were downloaded, including 33 and 5 cases separately. Four hundred sixty-eight DEGs (161 upregulated; 307 downregulated) were identified. Functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment of the DEGs were performed using DAVID and Kobas. Gene Ontology analysis showed the significantly enriched Gene Ontology terms included but not limited to mitosis, nuclear division, cytoskeleton, synaptic vesicle, syntaxin binding, and GABA A receptor activity. Cancer-related signaling pathways, such as DNA replication, cell cycle, and synaptic vesicle cycle, were found to be associated with these genes. Subsequently, the STRING database and Cytoscape were utilized to construct a protein-protein interaction and screen the hub genes, and we identified 5 hub genes (including CCNB1, CDC20, KIF11, KIF2C, and MAD2L1) as the key biomarkers for PNET. Finally, we identified potential small molecule drugs through CMap. Seven small molecule compounds, including trichostatin A, luteolin, repaglinide, clomipramine, lorglumide, vorinostat, and resveratrol may become potential candidates for PNET drugs.

Out-of-round (OOR) wheel often happens to trains, which can cause abnormal vibration. To develop effective countermeasures to minimize the abnormal vibration, it is necessary to study how the wheel OOR wear affects the vehicle vibration. This paper performs an experimental study on the abnormal vibration characteristics of metro trains with out-of-round wheels. The vibration characteristics is identified by the general survey of wheel roughness from special tests. The statistic wheel wear values of all the vehicles in an operating metro lines are studied to investigate the relationship between the wheel wear and the operating mileage. Several re-profiling strategies are implemented to eliminate the abnormal vibration caused by wheel OOR. The results show that the root cause of the abnormal vibration and deterioration of ride comfort is the car-body flexible resonance excited by the wheel OOR wear. Wheel re-profiling is the most effective measure for reducing the vehicle abnormal vibration. By re-profiling all the wheels of a tested metro vehicle, the ride comfort can be improved by 35% ∼ 40% and the axle-box acceleration can be reduced by 40%.

As an emerging anti-tumor strategy, chemodynamic therapy (CDT) utilizes a Fenton/Fenton-like reaction to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radicals to kill tumor cells. However, the efficiency of CDT is still hindered by the low Fenton/Fenton-like reaction rate. Herein, we report the combination of ion interference therapy (IIT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) viaan amorphous iron oxide (AIO) nanomedicine with encapsulated EDTA-2Na (EDTA). Iron ions and EDTA are released from the nanomedicine in acidic tumors and chelate to form iron ion-EDTA, which improves the efficiency of CDT and promotes the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, EDTA can disrupt the homeostasis of Ca2+in tumor cells by chelating with Ca2+ions, which induces the separation of tumor cells and affects normal physiological activities. Both in vitroand in vivoexperiments show that the nano chelating drugs exhibit significant improvement in Fenton reaction performance and excellent anti-tumor activity. This study based on chelation provides a new idea for designing efficient catalysts to enhance the Fenton reaction and provides more revelations on future research on CDT.

Energy and maintenance costs constitute a large part of the recurring cost for railway operation. The vehicle weight impacts both energy consumption and the need for tamping of the track, while curving performance impacts the curving resistance and the wear on wheels and rails. In the project RUN2Rail and further in NextGear, both parts of the EU-funded initiative Shift2Rail, a single axle running gear with composite frame and active wheelset guidance was proposed for metro vehicles.

ABSTRACTHOXA4is a novel oncogene that has been observed in many kinds of tumors, but its role during glioma carcinogenesis and its clinical significance in diagnosing and prognosis human glioma remains unknown. In the present study, the Chinese Glioma Atlas (CGGA)-RNA sequencing database, CGGA microarray, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-RNA seq data from 1674 glioma patients were obtained from online databases and analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect changes in the expression level of HOXA4and characterize the relationship between HOXA4and the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with glioma. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to reveal how HOXA4regulates tumor-related pathways. HOXA4mRNA levels in glioma tissue were higher than those in adjacent brain tissue. HOXA4expression was also closely related to the clinical and molecular characteristics of gliomas, such as tumor grade and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that HOXA4could regulate cancer-related signal pathways, such as Cell cycle, Cell adhesion molecules cams, and JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Results of in vitroexperiments confirmed that knockdown of HOXA4 blocks the cell cycle pathway and inhibits the proliferation, invasion and chemotherapy resistance in gliomas. We concluded that HOXA4was an independent risk factor for glioma and may have clinical diagnostic potential. Meanwhile, our findings revealed that HOXA4could be used as a biomarker for glioma diagnosis and treatment.

The layer-by-layer process of fused deposition modeling (FDM) is well-known for introducing anisotropy in 3D printed parts due to weak interlayer adhesion. Moreover, the existing physical blend modification methods still face the side effects caused by the heavy use of additives, such as high cost, poor biocompatibility and weakening of primary properties. In this study, hyperbranched polymers poly(ester imide)s (HBPEIs) were blended into the poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to enhance the interlayer adhesion of 3D printed parts. The application effect of HBPEIs in different processing modes was discussed. The effect of different amounts of HBPEIs on the mechanical properties of PLA specimens was investigated. Results showed that by adding just 0.1 wt% HBPEIs, the maximum tensile strength for samples printed with a 90° raster orientation increased from 23.1 MPa to 46.6 MPa while maintaining an isotropic behavior at around 95.9 %. Microstructures, rheological behaviors, and thermal properties of the printed specimens were characterized and compared to understand the underlying enhancement mechanism. It suggested that HBPEIs significantly improved interlayer adhesion by promoting chain diffusion and cold-crystallization between layers. This study showed that using ultralow additives can significantly enhance the interlayer adhesion in FDM parts.

In practice, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pollution can exist when refueling due to the properties of the gasoline, low viscosity and high saturated-vapor pressure. A new gasoline vapor recovery system involving frequency conversion technology and machine learning is developed to cope with this problem. In the proposed system, firstly, the pumping capacity of the vacuum pump is evaluated, and test shows an almost linear relationship between suction volume and frequency. Then, the Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) neural network and the support vector regression (SVR) are employed to predict the gas-liquid ratio, and the numerical examples are presented to prove the high prediction accuracy of the MLP and SVR, respectively, where the MLP neural network has better generalization ability. Finally, compared with the two gasoline vapor recovery systems based on the 1: 1 fixed control model and the PID control model, respectively, the gasoline vapor recovery efficiency is improved significantly by the new gasoline vapor recovery system.

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) relying on the transformation of endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into cytotoxic hydroxyl radicals (·OH) based on the catalysis of Fenton/Fenton-type reactions exhibits great potentiality for cancer treatment. However, the inadequate H2O2supply and intricate redox homeostasis in tumor microenvironment (TME) severely impair the efficacy of CDT. Herein, we design self-assembled 1,2-distearoyl-sn‑glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine conjugated polyethylene glycol (DSPE-PEG)-modified Fe(III)-juglone nanoscale coordination polymers (FJP NCPs) as redox homeostasis disruptors for juglone-enhanced CDT. Responding to glutathione (GSH)-rich and acidic TME, the Fe2+/Fe3+-guided CDT and GSH consumption by Fe3+are activated, resulting in ·OH downstream and up-regulation of lipid peroxidation (LPO). In addition, the released juglone not only depletes GSH through Michael addition, but also elevates intracellular H2O2level for achieving ·OH further bursting. With the impressive efficiency of GSH exhaustion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) storm generation, ferroptosis and apoptosis are significantly enhanced by FJP NCPs in vivo. In brief, this facile and efficient design for versatile nanoscale coordination polymers presents a novel paradigm for effectively elevating CDT efficiency and tumor synergistic therapy.

Objectives: The rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in China has soared over the past 20 years. There is a need to study STD prevalence in the general population of the country. Goal: To report the prevalence and patterns of STDs and the relationships between STD status and demographic and behavioral factors. Study Design: A total of 4510 market vendors in a city in eastern China were interviewed and tested for STDs. Results: The prevalence of any STD among participants was 16.55% (women, 21.04%; men, 11.54%). Among those who tested positive for an STD, chlamydia was most common (8.89%), followed by herpes (6.50%). Participants who had no schooling and participants who had college or higher level of schooling had a similarly high STD prevalence (26.19% vs. 24.00%, respectively). Prevalence of all STDs was significantly higher among women, those with more discretionary income, and those with multiple partners. Conclusions: Special considerations are needed for low versus high education groups as well as men versus women to maximize the effects of STD prevention programs and messages in China.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, is currently in a pandemic outbreak and has become a global health issue. In addition to the primarily involvement of the respiratory system, myocarditis is considered an important and fatal lesion in patients with COVID-19. However, effective therapeutic methods are currently lacking. The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) has been demonstrated to suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine production and control inflammation in sepsis and other medical conditions. Therefore, the CAP may be a potential and effective therapeutic method for COVID-19-related myocarditis. This article reviews the relationship between COVID-19-related myocarditis and the CAP and discusses the CAP as a potential therapeutic modality in the treatment of COVID-19-related myocarditis.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has attracted wide attention for its high tissue-penetration depth capacity. However, developing new kinds of sonosensitizers that are capable of generating large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) still remains a challenge. Herein, covalent organic framework–titanium oxide nanoparticles (COF-TiO2NPs) were successfully synthesized by using COF as a template. Under ultrasound (US) irradiation, large quantities of ROS can be generated, and compared with pure TiO2NPs, the SDT performance of COF-TiO2nanoparticles was significantly improved due to the narrower band gap. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated the great tumor inhibitory effect via COF-TiO2-mediated SDT. This work broadens the biomedical applications of COF-based composites.

Improving energy efficiency and reducing CO2emissions are becoming very essential worldwide. To encourage the development and application of energy-efficient and low-emission technologies and to increase people's awareness of energy-saving, many energy labelling systems are developed and utilized in most countries. Since energy labelling systems have a significant impact, more and more sectors are developing their energy labelling systems to have their products included. Globally, the transport sector consumes a great proportion of energy and is responsible for considerable CO2emissions. Although rail vehicles have relatively high energy efficiency, a labelling system has not been developed in the railway sector, whereas other modes of transport have developed energy efficiency indicators or energy labelling systems. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an energy labelling system for rail vehicles to promote rail transport and develop the technology of rail vehicles. First, this paper gives a review of the existing energy labelling systems. Second, it summarizes the rail needs and rail stakeholders’ interests regarding energy efficiency and corresponding labelling. Last but not least, a proposal for an energy labelling system for rail vehicles is given.

Graphical Abstract

Sacubitril/valsartan (S/V) has been shown to be an effective antihypertensive drug combination. However, its therapeutic effects on blood pressure (BP) and hemodynamics as well as left ventricular (LV) remodeling in resistant hypertension (RHTN) remain unclear.

In this study, we investigated the effects of four operating parameters; frequency, power, gas impulse intensity, and regeneration time, on the regeneration of activated carbon. Under gas-impulse conditions, the higher the ultrasonic frequency, the better the adsorption capacity of the regenerated activated carbon for sodium benzoate, which was used as a model pollutant. With no gas impulse, the results were the opposite. The higher the power, the better the adsorption performance of the regenerated activated carbon. With increasing gas impulse strength from 0.1 to 5 L/min, the adsorption capacity of the regenerated activated carbon showed an overall trend of increasing and then leveling off. Low-frequency regeneration was better when the gas impulse strength was lower (0.1–1 L/min), and high frequency ultrasonic regeneration was better for higher impulse strengths (1–5 L/min). The longer the regeneration time, the stronger the adsorption capacity of the regenerated activated carbon, but excessively long regeneration led to pulverization of the activated carbon. Specific surface area analysis showed that the pore structure of the activated carbon is dominated by micropores, and the specific surface area of the carbon after regeneration at 40, 80 and 120 kHz was recovered by 5.19%, 7.33%, and 8.81%.

Berry texture is a noteworthy economic trait for grape; however, the genetic bases and the complex gene expression and regulatory mechanism for the diverse changes in berry texture are still poorly understood. In this study, the results suggest that it is difficult to obtain high-mesocarp firmness (MesF) and high-pericarp puncture hardness (PPH) grape cultivars with high pericarp brittleness (PerB). The high-density linkage map was constructed using whole-genome resequencing based on 151 F1individuals originating from intraspecific hybridization between the firm-flesh cultivar ‘Red Globe’ and soft-flesh cultivar ‘Muscat Hamburg’. The total length of the consensus map was 1613.17 cM, with a mean genetic distance between adjacent bin markers of 0.59 cM. Twenty-seven quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for berry MesF, PPH, and PerB were identified in linkage groups (LGs) 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 17, including twelve QTLs that were firstly detected in LGs 6, 11, and 14. Fourteen promising candidate genes were identified from the stable QTL regions in LGs 10, 11, 14, and 17. In particular, VvWARK2and VvWARK8refer to chromosome 17 and are two promising candidate genes for MesF and PPH, as the VvWARK8gene may increase pectin residue binding with WARK for high berry firmness maintenance and the allele for VvWARK2carrying the ‘CC’ and ‘GA’ genotypes at Chr17:1836764 and Chr17:1836770 may be associated with non-hard texture grape cultivars. In addition, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR) verification revealed that the promising candidate transcription factor genes VvMYB4-like, VvERF113, VvWRKY31, VvWRKY1, and VvNAC83may regulate cell wall metabolism candidate gene expression for grape berry texture changes.

Ultrasound (US)-induced sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is an efficient and precise method against tumor, and the integration of multiple cancer therapies has been proved as a promising strategy for better therapeutic effects. Herein, for the first time, a multifunctional nanoreactor has been fabricated by integrating Fe–MIL-88B–NH2, PFC-1, and glucose oxidase (GOx) to form urchin-like Fe–MIL-88B–NH2@PFC-1-GOx(MPG) nanoparticles as Fenton’s reagent, a sonosensitizer, and a tumor microenvironment (TME) modulator. In detail, MPG can generate •OH for chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and deplete glutathione (GSH) to alleviate the antioxidant ability of cancer cells. Moreover, catalase (CAT)-like MPG can react with H2O2to generate O2for relieving hypoxia in TME, enhancing GOx-catalyzed glucose oxidation to produce H2O2and gluconic acid. Then, the regenerated H2O2can promote the Fenton reaction to achieve GOxcatalysis-enhanced CDT. Owing to its large π-electron conjugated system, MPG also serves as an ideal sonosensitizer, realizing a burst generation of 1O2under US irradiation for efficient SDT. Therefore, the tumor treatment will be notably enhanced by MPG-based synergetic CDT/SDT/starvation therapy via a series of cascade reactions. Overall, this work develops a versatile nanoreactor with improved tumor treatment effectiveness and broadens the application prospects of porous materials in the field of biomedical research.

ABSTRACTIn recent years, studies have revealed HOXA2 as a new oncogene, but its function is unknown in gliomas. We aimed to reveal the relationship between HOXA2 and glioma based on the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas(CGGA) and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). HOXA2 expression data and clinically relevant information of glioma patients were obtained from the CGGA and TCGA containing 1447 glioma tissues and five non-tumor brain tissues. The Wilcox or Kruskal tests were used to detect the correlation between the HOXA2 expression level and clinical data of glioma patients. the Kaplan–Meier method were used to examine the relationship between HOXA2 and overall patient survival. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to indirectly reveal the signaling pathways involved in HOXA2, and RT-PCR was used to detect HOXA2 expression in gliomas and non-tumor brain tissues. High HOXA2 expression was found to be positively correlated with clinical grade, histological type, age, and tumor recurrence, but negatively correlated with 1p19 codeletion and isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation status.RT-PCR results showed that HOXA2 expression levels were significantly higher in tumor tissues than in non-tumor brain tissues. GSEA showed that HOXA2 promoted the activation of the activation of the JAK-STAT-signaling pathway, focal adhesion, cell-adhesion-molecules-CAMS pathway, cytosolic DNA sensing pathway, and natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. This study revealed for the first time that the novel oncogene,HOXA2, leads to poor prognosis in gliomas, and can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas.

We herein report that a copper-ion-exchanged erionite zeolite (Cu-ERI) exhibited a methanol yield as high as 147 μmol/g-zeolite, equaling 0.224 μmol/μmol-Cu, in the direct oxidation of methane to methanol. Moreover, this high methanol yield was achieved using an isothermal chemical looping with both oxygen activation and reaction with methane carried out at 300 °C, in contrast to the conventional stepwise protocol where activation is performed at a high temperature (450 °C and above) and the methane reaction at a lower temperature (typically 200 °C). Under isobaric conditions (1 bar), the Cu-ERI still gave a high yield of 80 μmol/g-zeolite after a single aqueous extraction of methanol. Such improvements indicate that high yields can be obtained over Cu-ERI in the direct conversion of methane to methanol by chemical looping without any temperature or pressure swing.

Zeolites are microporous aluminosilicate materials that have been used as industrial catalysts and adsorbents. The mechanism of formation of crystalline structures during the synthesis and the possible intermediate structures are not completely understood because the structural analysis of amorphous intermediates is significantly difficult. Here we observe the structural evolution of zeolite precursors to form crystalline zeolites using in situ X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. In situ X-ray PDFs showed the local ordering behavior of the aluminosilicate species at the atomic level. Furthermore, the in situ relative PDF analysis allowed the study of the structural evolution of the amorphous precursors before the crystallization started (the crystallization induction period). These results provide a direct and clear visualization of the structural evolution during the crystallization of zeolites, which has not been achieved with other techniques, and may lead to the creation of advanced zeolites and zeolite-based materials.

The prediction of RNA structure with pseudoknots is NP-hard problem. According to minimum free energy models and computational methods, we investigate the RNA pseudoknotted structures and their characteristics. The paper presents an efficient algorithm for predicting RNA structures with pseudoknots, and the algorithm runs in O(n3) time and O(n2) space. The experimental tests in Rfam10.1 and PseudoBase indicate that the algorithm is more effective and precise, and the algorithm can predict arbitrary pseudoknots. And through our research, we can draw that there exists an 1 + ε(ε> 0) polynomial time approximation scheme in searching maximum number of stackings, and we give the proof of the approximation scheme in RNA pseudoknotted structures.

In this study, based on the motion characteristic of the feed system, two kinds of external excitation including harmonic excitation applied on screw nut and fault excitation caused by support bearing are considered. In addition, the stiffness of screw shaft is considered as time-varying. Based on which, a three-degrees-of-freedom dynamic model is proposed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the system. The dynamics of the system are discussed under different system parameters by using amplitude–frequency curves. The results show that the defect induced abnormal resonances exists at some specific frequencies, and the harmonic excitation and bearing fault excitation act synergistically in affecting the dynamic behavior of the feed system. Furthermore, the amplitude of abnormal resonance is related to the geometric parameters of the local defect. The speed of motor determines the appearance of the abnormal resonance. Last, a series of experiments are conducted to obtain the system parameter and validate the proposed model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint degenerative disease that can affect multiple joints. Genetic events may play an important regulatory role in the early stages of the disease, but the specific mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. The main purpose of this study was to screen for disease-causing hub genes and effective small molecule drugs to reveal the pathogenesis of OA and to develop novel drugs for treatment.

Background: The WD40 repeat (WDR) domain provides scaffolds for numerous protein–protein interactions in multiple biological processes. WDR domain 76 (WDR76) has complex functionality owing to its diversified interactions; however, its mechanism in LGG has not yet been reported. Methods: Transcriptomic data from public databases were multifariously analyzed to explore the role of WDR76in LGG pathology and tumor immunity. Laboratory experiments were conducted to confirm these results. Results: The results first confirmed that high expression of WDR76in LGG was not only positively associated with clinical and molecular features of malignant LGG, but also served as an independent prognostic factor that predicted shorter survival in patients with LGG. Furthermore, high expression of WDR76resulted in the upregulation of oncogenes, such as PRC1and NUSAP1, and the activation of oncogenic mechanisms, such as the cell cycle and Notch signaling pathway. Finally, WDR76was shown to be involved in LGG tumor immunity by promoting the infiltration of immune cells, such as M2 macrophages, and the expression of immune checkpoints, such as PDCD1(encoding PD-1). Conclusions: This study shows for the first time the diagnostic and prognostic value of WDR76in LGG and provides a novel personalized biomarker for future targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Thus, WDR76may significantly improve the prognosis of patients with LGG.

Hydrothermal stability and productivity of zeolite are important concerns when considering its industrial applications. In this study, we used 1-butanol as an organic additive for the synthesis of ZSM-5, which resulted in rapid synthesis within 2 h. The fully crystalline product was proved to possess fewer structural defects, and higher hydrothermal stability.We have successfully demonstrated a rapid synthesis route for ZSM-5 zeolite without quaternary ammonium cations, but with 1-butanol as an organic additive. The employment of the alcohol enabled synthesis at higher temperatures, resulting in rapid synthesis within 2 h, as well as high hydrothermal stability of zeolite crystals due to fewer structural defects.

Existing evidence on the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics and cardiovascular disease (CVD) was primarily derived from western populations. We aimed to evaluate the benefits of ideal CVH metrics on preventing incident atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) in Chinese population. This study was conducted among 93,987 adults from the China-PAR project (Prediction for ASCVD Risk in China) who were followed up until 2015. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of CVH metrics for the risk of ASCVD, including coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and ASCVD death. We further estimated the population-attributable risk percentage (PAR%) of these metrics in relation to each outcome. We observed gradient inverse associations between the number of ideal CVH metrics and ASCVD incidence. Compared with participants having ≤2 ideal CVH metrics, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of ASCVD for those with 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 ideal CVH metrics were 0.83 (0.74–0.93), 0.66 (0.59–0.74), 0.55 (0.48–0.61), 0.44 (0.38–0.50) and 0.24 (0.18–0.31), respectively (P for trend <0.0001). Approximately 62.1% of total ASCVD, 38.7% of CHD, 66.4% of stroke, and 60.5% of ASCVD death were attributable to not achieving all the seven ideal CVH metrics. After adjusting effects of ideal health factors, having four ideal health behaviors could independently bring adults health benefits in preventing 17.4% of ASCVD, 18.0% of CHD, 16.7% of stroke, and 10.1% of ASCVD death. Among all the seven CVH metrics, to keep with ideal blood pressure (BP) implied the largest public health gains against various ASCVD events (PAR% between 33.0% and 47.2%), while ideal diet was the metric most difficult to be achieved in the long term. Our study indicates that the more ideal CVH metrics adults have, the less ASCVD burden there is in China. Special efforts of health education and behavior modification should be made on keeping ideal BP and dietary habits in general Chinese population to prevent the epidemic of ASCVD.

ABSTRACTα-Terpineol is one of the main monoterpenes found in the grape berry (Vitis viniferaL.) with its concentrations varying in different varieties. The present study was conducted to identify associations between the α-terpineol synthase (α-TPS) gene, a regulator of α-terpineol metabolism, and α-terpineol content in different grapevine varieties. We used a core collection of 61 grape accessions to identify causal single nucleotide polymorphisms in α-TPS, and evaluated the α-terpineol content in two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Twenty SNPs were detected in the α-TPScoding region and were used in an association analysis. We found that the α-terpineol levels were higher in the varieties with a T/G genotype at S133 than in the varieties with other genotypes at this site. Additionally, we found S1556 (C/T) with a functional effect on α-terpineol content related to the regulation of gene transcription. This study suggests a relationship between α-TPSand α-terpineol content, with the identified polymorphism sites potentially assisting in the molecular breeding of grapevines.

Improving the visible-light absorption is one of the key ways to optimize the photoelectrochemical performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays (NWs). In this study, as-synthesized PbS nanoparticles (NPs), which are adsorbed onto ZnO NWs through a dip-coating method, are used to enhance the photocurrent of the ZnO NW photoelectrochemical anode for water splitting. The morphology crystalline nature and optical properties of the ZnO NWs and PbS nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, XRD, and UV-NIR absorption spectra. The hybrid anode exhibits a significant photocurrent density enhancement which is about ten times larger than that of pristine ZnO NWs. Moreover, we believe through some effective modifications there is ample room for improvement of the photoelectrochemical performance of the PbS NP sensitized ZnO NW photoanode that can be achieved.

Trains operating with several pantographs are used in Sweden and other countries. The more complex operational conditions, however, cause additional difficulties, i.e. low quality of current collection, increased mechanical wear and electromagnetic interference, due to the poor dynamic behaviour of the system. In order to address these problems, a three-dimensional model for the computational analysis of the interaction between catenary and pantograph is presented and validated in this paper, and the dynamic behaviour of the multi-pantograph system, based on Swedish soft pantograph/catenary systems, is analysed. Parametric studies are performed to investigate cases with different distances between pantographs and with up to three pantographs in use. The relationship between dynamic performance and other parameters, i.e. the number of pantographs in use, running speed and the position of the pantographs, is studied. The results show that an appropriate distance between pantographs and a given type of catenary allow operation on the existing infrastructure with up to three pantographs while maintaining an acceptable dynamic performance at the desired speed.

Synthesis of SSZ-24, a pure silica zeolite with AFI framework, usually takes a considerably long hydrothermal period by conventional method. Herein, we report a fast synthesis of the SSZ-24 zeolite in 60 min, which was realized by combining the feature of fast heating in a stainless steel tubular reactor with seeding strategy under higher synthesis temperature. In addition, the fast synthesis method showed an advantage, compared with the conventional method, in inhibiting the concurrent crystal growth of impurity phase.Synthesis of SSZ-24, a pure silica zeolite with AFI framework, usually takes considerably long hydrothermal period by a conventional method. Herein, we report a fast synthesis of the SSZ-24 zeolite in 60 min, which was realized by combining the feature of fast heating in a stainless steel tubular reactor with seeding strategy under higher synthesis temperature.

An F1 population was created by the cross ‘87-1’ × ‘9-22’. The female parent ‘87-1’ was an extremely early maturing cultivar with strong flavour. The male parent was an excellent breeding line producing large berries maturing late. The mapping population included 149 randomly chosen individuals. Molecular genetic map for each parent and the consensus map were constructed using simple sequence repeat and sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers by software JoinMap 3.0. The ‘87-1’ map covers a total length of 1272.9 cM distributed in 21 linkage groups and consists of 163 molecular markers with an average distance between adjacent markers of 8.9 cM. The ‘9-22’ map covers a total length of 1267.4 cM distributed in 20 linkage groups and consists of 158 molecular markers with an average distance between adjacent markers of 9.1 cM. The consensus map covers a total length of 1537.1 cM distributed in 21 linkage groups and one doublet and consists of 217 molecular markers with an average distance of 7.8 cM between adjacent markers. The length of the linkage groups is 69.8 cM on average. The map covers the 19 chromosomes of the Vitisgenome and can lay a solid foundation for further studies such as quantative trait loci (QTL) mapping of correlated traits and marker-assisted selection.

Powerful electric locomotives with high traction performance are foreseen to be used to boost the overall performance of freight transport. However, they would exert extra burden on the power supply system, so the power peak demand would be a bottleneck for future freight transport. To avoid large-scale modifications to the existing systems but ensure operational reliability, this study investigates the formation of power peaks and explores power peak shaving concepts to let the existing systems be more reliable and accommodate more freight traffic. Different from many previous studies which focus on energy saving, this study aims at lowering the power peak demand by “smart train operation”, i.e. altering the train speed profile without compromising running time. This study is mainly performed by simulation based on a standardized freight operation with full regenerative braking used. But this study also shows a real case study based on measurement data of power history from an onboard energy meter. The study shows the formation of power peaks in different conditions and suggests some possible measures to shave the power peak demand. The study also shows that there is a compromise between power peak shaving and energy saving, to which more attention is needed in future studies.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia due to defective insulin secretion or its biological dysfunction. However, frequent subcutaneous injection of insulin often results in discomfort and local tissue infection. Herein, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of a mini-tablet system based on self-propelled micromotors with biocompatibility and biodegradability for oral colon administration of insulin. The insulin layer is first constructed onto the surface of a magnesium based micromotor via electrostatic interactions, followed by a tableting process. The resulting mini-tablets are then coated with esterified starch with colonic degradation capability, thus achieving controlled release of the embedded micromotors in the colon region. In the meantime, autonomous movement of the released micromotors with a speed up to 76.22 μm·s–1further results in enhanced colonic uptake and absorption of insulin, realizing long-term control of blood glucose for more than 5 h. Our micromotor based mini-tablet system can not only broaden the biomedical applications of emerging self-propelled micromotors but also offer an appealing strategy for oral administration of biomacromolecular drugs represented by insulin.

Process-induced deformation is an important limiting factor to the application of high performance composite structures. An alternative method to reduce process-induced deformation is proposed by introducing prestress to a single layer or part of the layers instead of all the applicable layers. In this method, the necessary prestress level that applied to the single layer was in the reasonable range. Two kinds of unsymmetric laminates are manufactured at varying prestress levels. The experimental results described that the curing deformation is changed rapidly with the growing prestress level and flipped after a certain prestress level. Moreover, there is a good linear relationship between prestress level and final curing deformation, which gives a convenient way to calculate the prestress level that can fully counteract the curing deformation. The numerical model to predict the curing deformation was built. A good agreement between the numerical and the experimental results shows the effectiveness of the numerical model. To predict the prestress level that can fully counteract the curing deformation, an analytical model is also proposed. Theoretically, the prestress method can fully counteract the curing deformation of the specimens, while the experimental results show that the prestressing layer reduces more than 80% of the curing deformation.

To study the dynamics of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) and its association with virologic and immunologic failure as well as mortality among patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in China.

BALB/c mice were immunized by highly immunogenic recombinant proteins containing amino acid sequence of integrin antagonist AP25. Antibody against AP25 was prepared and purified by affinity chromatography. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for qualitative analysis of AP25 in rat plasma samples was successfully established. The assay was successfully applied to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of AP25 in SD rats by intravenous administration of AP25 and then the rat plasma protein binding of AP25 were determined in vitro. In order to investigate the specificity of ELISA for detection of prototype AP25 in plasma, the proportion of AP25 prototype drug in the ELISA signal value was validated by HPLC. These results can serve as valuable future clinical trials.

HM-3, An RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)-modified polypeptide derived from endostatin, is a potent angiogenesis inhibitor. Its robust inhibitory effects on endothelial cell migration and tumor growth have been demonstrated by activity assay both in vitro and in vivo. However, HM-3 has relatively short half-life in vivo. In order to prolong its half-life and retain its safety and efficacy, previous studies modified HM-3 with four types of PEG (site-specific N-terminal modification), and the results showed that mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 was the most ideal modification product via activity evaluation in vivo. In the present study, we determined the pharmacokinetic properties, immunogenicity and binding targets of mPEG-SC20k-HM-3. The results showed that mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 had good linear pharmacokinetic properties in SD rats. The half-life of mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 was 43.76-fold longer than that of unmodified HM-3 after intravenous injection in SD rats. The administration frequency of the modified product (mPEG-SC20k-HM-3) was reduced from twice a day to once every 2 days, while the safety and efficacy were retained. The immunogenicity of mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 was significantly lower than that of HM-3 in BALB/c mice. Histochemical and immunohistochemical results showed that mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 could significantly inhibit angiogenesis and tumor growth, induce continuous necrosis, and reduce vessel density within tumor tissues. Furthermore, mPEG-SC20k-HM-3 could bind multi-target v3 and 51 of integrin, and the major binding target was integrin v3. All of these results indicated that PEGylated HM-3 had a good application prospect.

An alkanolamine, N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine, is used as an organic structure-directing agent (OSDA) to synthesize aluminophosphate (AlPO-5) and silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO-5 and -34) molecular sieves. The phase selectivity among them is feasible by optimizing experimental conditions wherein high concentrations of OSDA and silicon source favor the formation of SAPO-34. In addition, the phase selectivity between SAPO-5 and SAPO-34 is examined in detail by altering the chemical compositions of the raw materials.