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Similar to surfaces of three-dimensional (3D) bulk materials, edges are inevitable in 2D materials and have been studied a lot (e.g., for MoS2). In the current work, taking the ambient-stable MoSi2N4as an example, nonpolar and polar edges as well as polar-edge reconstructions are studied based on first-principles calculations. We demonstrate that a combination of the “local” electron counting model (ECM) at edges and “nonlocal” charge polarity analysis (CPA) across the ribbon is essential for a unified understanding of the “local” edge properties and edge reconstructions in the following aspects. For pristine edges, the semiconducting (metallic) property of nonpolar armchair (polar zigzag) edges is related to CPA, and the spin-paired (spin-polarized) electronic structure of nonpolar (polar) edges is related to the ECM. For polar-edge reconstructions: (1) the polar edges become semiconducting when the reversed dipole from edge-reconstruction partially cancels the accumulated electric dipole within the ribbon; (2) the polar edges can further be spin-paired when edge-reconstruction fulfills the ECM for both the double cation (Mo, Si)-edge and the anion N-edge; and (3) ECM and CPA give the same conclusion for edge-reconstruction. Our analysis of combining ECM and CPA not only gives the general guidance for obtaining spin-paired and semiconducting polar edges but also potentially helps deepen the understanding of edges of other 2D layered materials.

Cerebral stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of death and disability in the world, and more than half of these patients have hand dysfunction, making hand rehabilitation an urgent challenge. In this study, a system for hand rehabilitation therapy for stroke patients was designed using novel human-computer interaction technology. The system combines a brain-computer interface, a deep learning algorithm and a rehabilitation glove, and designs an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal acquisition card and a rehabilitation glove to realise the application of motor imagery therapy to the active rehabilitation of patients' hands. On the brain-computer interface-based motor imagery experiments, the Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network algorithm designed in this study achieves an average accuracy of 95.78% for the classification accuracy of mental tasks in seven motor imagery modes, which is important for the active rehabilitation of patients with hand function based on motor imagery-driven rehabilitation.

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD, EC 1.13.11.27) is one of the most promising herbicide targets for the development of agricultural chemicals owing to its unique mechanism of action in plants. We previously reported on the co-crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana(At) HPPD complexed with methylbenquitrione (MBQ), an inhibitor of HPPD that we previously discovered. Based on this crystal structure, and in an attempt to discover even more effective HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, we designed a family of triketone-quinazoline-2,4-dione derivatives featuring a phenylalkyl group through increasing the interaction between the substituent at the R1position and the amino acid residues at the active site entrance of AtHPPD. Among the derivatives, 6-(2-hydroxy-6-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonyl)-1,5-dimethyl-3-(1-phenylethyl)quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (23) was identified as a promising compound. The co-crystal structure of compound 23with AtHPPD revealed that hydrophobic interactions with Phe392 and Met335, and effective blocking of the conformational deflection of Gln293, as compared with that of the lead compound MBQ, afforded a molecular basis for structural modification. 3-(1-(3-Fluorophenyl)ethyl)-6-(2-hydroxy-6-oxocyclohex-1-ene-1-carbonyl)-1,5-dimethylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (31) was confirmed to be the best subnanomolar-range AtHPPD inhibitor (IC50= 39 nM), making it approximately seven times more potent than MBQ. In addition, the greenhouse experiment showed favorable herbicidal potency for compound 23with a broad spectrum and acceptable crop selectivity against cotton at the dosage of 30–120 g ai/ha. Thus, compound 23possessed a promising prospect as a novel HPPD-inhibiting herbicide candidate for cotton fields.

Although N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) modification affects the stability and translation of mRNA, it is unknown whether it exists in noncoding RNAs, and its biological function is unclear. Here, nucleotide-resolution method for profiling CTC-490G23.2 ac4C sites and gain- and loss-of-function experiments revealed that N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) is responsible for ac4C modification of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). NAT10-mediated ac4C modification leads to the stabilization and overexpression of lncRNA CTC-490G23.2 in primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its further upregulation in metastatic tissues. CTC-490G23.2 significantly promotes cancer invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, CTC-490G23.2 acts as a scaffold to increase the binding of CD44 pre-mRNA to polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1 (PTBP1), resulting in a oncogenic splicing switch from the standard isoform CD44s to the variant isoform CD44v(8-10). CD44v(8-10), but not CD44s, binds to and increases the protein stability of vimentin. Expression levels of CTC-490G23.2 and CD44v(8-10) can predict poor prognosis in cancer patients. Furthermore, the antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)/SV40-LAH4-L1 peptide self-assembled nanocomplexes targeting CTC490G23.2 exerts a significantly suppressive effect on cancer metastasis. The outcome of this study will provide new mechanistic insight into the ac4C modification of lncRNAs and useful clues for the development of novel systemic therapies and prognostic biomarkers.

Five new furanobutenolide-derived C19-norcembranoid diterpenes, sinudenoids A–E (1–5, respectively), were isolated from the soft coral Sinularia densa. Sinudenoid A (1) possesses an uncommon 5/5/11-fused tricyclic ring system. Sinudenoids B–D (2–4, respectively) share the same tetracyclic 5/5/6/6 ring system but represent two kinds of new skeletons. Sinudenoid E (5) is the second compound with the rare 8/8 bicyclic carbon core. A plausible biosynthesis pathway for compounds 1–6is proposed. Compound 5exhibits strong anti-inflammatory activity in the zebrafish model.

ABSTRACT: Experimental work in building science/physics involves various kinds of measurements. Uncertainties associated with these measurements are essential for evaluating the accuracy and quality of the experimental work and more [...]

Pylephlebitis, which is a type of septic thrombophlebitis of the portal vein, is a rare and life-threatening complication that commonly occurs following appendicitis. However, nonspecific abdominal complaints and fever can impede the diagnosis of pylephlebitis. Timely use of appropriate antibiotics and anticoagulants is paramount for treating this condition. We present a case of pylephlebitis and septic shock caused by acute nonperforated appendicitis. A 32-year-old man presented with migratory right lower abdominal pain. Blood cultures showed the presence of Escherichia coli. Blood test results showed increased bilirubin concentrations and coagulation factor abnormalities. A computed tomographic abdominal scan showed that the portal vein had a widened intrinsic diameter. After intensive care treatment with antibiotics, antishock therapy, anticoagulants, and other supportive treatments, the infection was monitored, the abdominal pain disappeared, and the jaundice subsided. Laparoscopic appendectomy was performed. Histopathology showed acute suppurative appendicitis, and no abnormalities were observed during the follow-up period after discharge. A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the decision-making process in the presence of pylephlebitis caused by appendicitis to obtain a correct diagnosis and prompt treatment. Similarly, the timing of appendectomy is important for minimizing intra- and postoperative complications.

In the pond culture of Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis), high stocking densities usually increase the frequency of agonistic behavior, which can directly impact crab integrity, survival, and growth and result in economic losses. We hoped to reduce agonistic behavior by adding additives to feed. In this study, we first observed the agonistic behavior of E. sinensisin 5 molting periods (from first molting to puberty molting) during the adult grow-out stage. Then, we assessed the effects of L-TRP as a feed additive on the agonistic behavior of juvenile, precocious, subadult, and adult crabs. Finally, we performed 106 days of cage culture to assess the effects of L-TRP on feeding behavior, animal vitality, growth performance, and nutritional composition. The results showed that the intensity of agonistic behavior was significantly higher after puberty molting than in other molting periods during the adult grow-out stage. Moreover, L-TRP supplementation inhibited the agonistic behavior of juvenile, subadult, and adult crabs, but it did not affect the precocious crabs. During cage culture, L-TRP significantly improved crab vitality after 3 weeks but not after 6 and 9 weeks, but it reduced the ingestion rate after 9 weeks. Moreover, the L-TRP group showed a significant increase in the weight gain rate and specific growth rate after the fourth molting. After 106 days of culture, the content of proline and fatty acids in the muscle decreased significantly after L-TRP diet supplementation. Some long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids also decreased significantly in the hepatopancreas. However, we must focus on the adverse effects of L-TRP on Pro and fatty acid composition. Further research is required on the balance between inhibition of agonistic behavior and effects of L-TRP on the nutritional quality of E. sinensis.

Direct laser deposition (DLD), as a popular metal additive manufacturing process, shows advantages of technical flexibility and high efficiency to gain a high-performance alloy steel component. However, during the processing of DLD, the deposited steel layer is affected by the subsequent layer depositing. The DLD block shows different microstructure and mechanical properties at the bottom, middle and top of the deposited parts. To date, there are few research works about the effects of inter-layer interval time and laser power on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the deposited layers. In this study, the idle time and laser power layer by layer during DLD of 12CrNi2 steel were controlled to cause the deposited layers to maintain a high cooling rate, while the bottom deposited layer was subjected to a weak tempering effect. Results show that a high proportion of martensite is produced, which improves the strength of the deposited layer. Under the laser scanning strategy of laser power 2,500 W, scanning velocity 5 mm·s−1, powder feeding rate 11 g·min−1, overlap rate 50%, and a laser power difference of 50 W and a 2 min interval, the tensile strength of the deposited layer of 12CrNi2 steel is in the range of 873–1,022 MPa, and the elongation is in the range of 16.2%–18.9%. This study provides a method to reduce the tempering effect of the subsequent deposition layers on the bottom layers, which can increase the proportion of martensite in the low-alloy high-strength steel, so as to improve the yield strength of the alloy steel.

Abnormal expression of miR‐409‐3p has been found in several neurodevelopmental disorders, but whether it is dysregulated in the patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI) has not been evaluated. The current study mainly focused on the clinical significance and the underlying mechanism of plasma miR‐409‐3p in the progression of ACI. The level of plasma miR‐409‐3p was determined in ACI patients (n = 80) and healthy controls (n = 30). Pearson correlation assay was performed to evaluate the association and cardiovascular risk factors. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of plasma miR‐409‐3p levels in patients with ACI. Dual luciferase reporter assay and western blot were performed to determine the possible target gene of miR‐409‐3p. Our data showed that the expression of plasma miR‐409‐3p in the ACI group was higher than that in the healthy controls. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between plasma miR‐409‐3p and the NIHSS score. ROC analysis indicated that plasma miR‐409‐3p could differentiate plasma miR‐409‐3p in ACI patients from healthy controls. Then, we explored the possible target genes of miR‐409‐3p. Interestingly, C1q and TNF‐related 3 (CTRP3), a novel adipose tissue‐derived secreted factor, was found to be a target gene of miR‐409‐3p. We found that knockdown of CTRP3 significantly induced PC12 cell apoptosis, even in PC12 cells transfected with miR‐409‐3p inhibitor. These data suggested that miR‐409‐3p induced PC12 cell apoptosis by targeting CTRP3. Altogether, elevated plasma miR‐409‐3p is correlated with disease severity and may be efficient for the early diagnosis of ACI.

Designing safer chemicals is an integral part of green chemistry that supports good health and well-being. The teaching of molecule design through relevant courses has important implications for the education of sustainable chemists. In these courses, training in toxicology and hazard assessment is essential for students to study benign chemical design that promotes social and environmental justices. However, toxicology training has been rarely included in the course of molecular design, and education of green molecular design at the postgraduate level has been less involved. In this study, we developed an online classroom for toxicology training as a new component of our chemical molecular design course. This class was designed to provide students with a toxicity perspective for viewing chemicals by integrating our three web-based tools. The average score of students’ attitude evaluation toward the web-based class was 4.0/5.0, indicating that the toxicology class achieved the expected effects and provided a good experience for students to learn about designing safer chemicals. This work may facilitate the education of green molecular design and inspire students to seriously consider chemically toxic side effects.

Four new diterpenoid alkaloids, nagaconitines A-D (1–4), were isolated from the roots of Aconitum nagarumvar. heterotrichum, one tranditional Chinese medicinal plan.

A new method was developed to optimize the microwave heating thickness of the spent automobile catalyst in order to improve the uniform distribution of the temperature field. The average penetration depth and the microwave heating thickness of the spent automobile catalyst were calculated by Gauss model and numerical calculation based on dielectric loss tangent and reflection loss. The results showed that the spent automobile catalyst was a medium loss material. The average penetration depth was 1.11 m from room temperature to 800 °C. The optimum microwave heating thickness of the spent automobile catalyst was about 0.83 m or 0.75 times of the average penetration depth. Industrial application analysis indicated that the optimization of heating thickness could improve the uniform distribution of the temperature field and reduce energy consumption.

Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) is a promising methodology to find quality drug leads. It is important in the curriculum of a drug design course due to its impact on drug discovery. However, teaching FBDD and its use by students remain challenging in most cases. A web-based laboratory class to teach FBDD in the form of our copyrighted workshops is described. The students’ feedback and a quantitative evaluation of the results show that the web-based laboratory class is popular with students and facilitates students’ learning of FBDD for design of possible drug-like molecules.

RtcB, a highly conserved RNA ligase, is found in all three domains of life, and demonstrated to be an essential tRNA splicing component in archaea and metazoans. However, the biological functions of RtcB in bacteria, where there is no splicing, remains to be clarified. We first performed bioinformatics analysis which revealed highly conserved structures and presumably conserved functions of RtcB in bacteria. However, its orthologs only occur in ∼ 0.5% of bacterial species across diverse phyla with significant signals of frequent horizontal transfer, highlighting its non-essential role in bacteria. Next, by constructing an rtcB-knockout strain, we find that the removal of antibiotic stress induces a significant impact on rtcBexpression in wild-type strain, and furthermore the depletion of RtcB (ARtcB strain) delays the recovery process. Our transcriptomic analysis, comprising the 3′-end labeling of RNAs, highlights a significant increase in unmapped reads and cleaved rRNAs in the Δ RtcB strain, particularly during recovery. Our observations suggest that the conserved RNA ligase RtcB, repairs damaged rRNAs following stress, which potentially saves energy and accelerates recovery of its host. We propose that acquisition of RtcB by diverse bacterial taxa provides a competitive advantage under stressful conditions.

The lethal chronic airway infection of the cystic fibrosis(CF) patients is predisposed by colonization of specific CF-philic pathogens or the CF microbiomes, but key processes and reasons of the microbiome settlement in the patients are yet to be fully understood, especially their survival and metabolic dynamics from normal to diseased status under treatment. Here, we report our meta-analysisresults on CF airway microbiomesbased on metabolic networks reconstructed from genome information at species level. The microbiomes of CF patients appear to engage much more redox-related activities than those of controls, and by constructing a large dataset of anti-oxidative stress (anti-OS) genes, our quantitative evaluation of the anti-OS capacity of each bacterial species in the CF microbiomes confirms strong conservation of the anti-OS responses within genera and also shows that the CF pathogens have significantly higher anti-OS capacity than commensals and other typical respiratory pathogens. In addition, the anti-OS capacity of a relevant species correlates with its relative fitness for the airways of CF patients over that for the airways of controls. Moreover, the total anti-OS capacity of the respiratory microbiome of CF patients is collectively higher than that of controls, which increases with disease progression, especially after episodes of acute exacerbation and antibiotic treatment. According to these results, we propose that the increased OS in the airways of CF patients may play an important role in reshaping airway microbiomes to a more resistant status that favors the pre-infection colonization of the CF pathogens for a higher anti-OS capacity.

Charge transfer is of particular importance in manipulating the interface physics in transition-metal oxide heterostructures. In this work, we have fabricated epitaxial bilayers composed of polar 3d LaMnO3and nonpolar 5d SrIrO3. Systematic magnetic measurements reveal an unexpectedly large exchange bias effect in the bilayer, together with a dramatic enhancement of the coercivity of LaMnO3. Based on first-principle calculations and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements, such a strong interfacial magnetic coupling is found closely associated with the polar nature of LaMnO3and the strong spin–orbit interaction in SrIrO3, which collectively drive an asymmetric interfacial charge transfer and lead to the emergence of an interfacial reentrant spin/superspin glass state. Our study provides a new insight into the charge transfer in transition-metal oxide heterostructures and offers a novel means to tune the interfacial exchange coupling for a variety of device applications.

The phenomenon of knowledge modularity exists in the executing process of enterprise business, and the performance of business execution depends on the ability of knowledge modules. Therefore, it is of great theoretical value to study the evolution of knowledge modules and their integrated contexts. In order to help enterprises to optimize their configuration of knowledge contexts, a method of dynamic knowledge context modeling was proposed in the article. The dynamic evolution process of the knowledge modules context from the perspective of context was discussed, and the dynamic evolution characteristics of the context based on business problems was studied. Also the contextual evolution model was established, which could effectively improve the cooperative efficiency of knowledge resources and enhance the performance of enterprise business process execution.

The conventional layered-growth modes of atom/small molecule self-assembly on solid surfaces are usually obtained from the “mean field approximation” description of adsorbate–substrate interactions, which neglected the differences in kinetic parameters between different adsorption configurations. Here, through a multiscale computational method, we showed a novel mixed layered self-assembly growth of C60molecules on an oxygen-passivated Fe(001)-p(1 × 1)O substrate through considering differences in kinetic parameters between adsorption configurations in detail. The simulated mixed growth is consistent with the experimental observation (Picone, et al. Appl. Mater. Interfaces2016, 8, 26418) in which regions of large C60islands that have been nucleated coexist with areas of well-separated C60molecules. With a simple general model, the mixed layered-growth mode can be applied for other large molecules’ self-assembly, provided that the multidegrees of freedom in adsorption configurations give distinct growth parameters and the molecule is weakly chemisorbed on the substrate. Our study demonstrates the existence of a novel layered-growth mode, the mixed layered-growth mode, in addition to the conventional layered-growth modes.

Cancer cells associated with radioresistance are likely to give rise to local recurrence and distant metastatic relapse. However, it remains unclear whether specific miRNAs have direct roles in radioresistance and/or prognosis. In this study, we find that miR-339-5p promotes radiosensitivity, and is downregulated in radioresistant subpopulations of esophageal cancer cells. Notably, miR-339-5p was selectively secreted into blood via exosomes, and that higher serum miR-339-5p levels were positively associated with radiotherapy sensitivity and good survival. Moreover, miR-339-5p expression was downregulated in the T3/T4 stage compared with T1/T2 stage in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients (P= 0.04), and low miR-339-5p expression in tissue was significantly associated with poor overall survival (P= 0.036) and disease-free survival (P= 0.037). Overexpression of miR-339-5p enhanced radiosensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, miR-339-5p enhances radiosensitivity by targeting Cdc25A, and is transcriptionally regulated by Runx3. Correlations were observed between miR-339-5p levels and Cdc25A/Runx3 levels in tissue samples. Intriguingly, combined analysis of miR-339-5p expression with Runx3 increased the separation of the survival curves obtained for either gene alone in the TCGA datasets (P= 0.009). Overall, exosome-derived miR-339-5p mediates radiosensitivity through downregulation of Cdc25A, and predicts pathological response to preoperative radiotherapy in locally advanced ESCC, suggesting it could be a promising non-invasive biomarker for facilitating personalized treatments.

Over the past two decades, intramuscular lipids have been viewed as a cause of insulin resistance due to their ability to suppress insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. Zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is an adipokine involved in lipolysis of white adipose tissue (WAT). To investigate the action of ZAG on insulin resistance induced by a high-fat diet (HFD), which affects the intramuscular fat, mice were divided into three groups, normal diet, HFD, and ZAG treatment under HFD (HFZ). The results showed that the insulin sensitivity of ZAG-treated mice was significantly improved. The body weight, WAT weight, and intramuscular fat were significantly decreased in the HFZ group compared with the HFD group. The lipolytic enzymes, including phosphorylation of hormone-sensitive lipase and adipose triglyceride lipase, were significantly upregulated in the skeletal muscle of mice that received the ZAG treatment compared with the HFD group. Insulin signaling proteins, such as phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1 and cell membrane glucose transporter type 4, were also significantly increased in the skeletal muscle of the ZAG-treated group. Furthermore, a metabolic rate study showed that ZAG overexpression increases the respiratory exchange ratio and heat production. In vitro, ZAG treatment promotes glucose uptake and decreases intracellular lipids in C2C12 myotubes. Taken together, these data showed that overexpression of ZAG alleviates HFD-induced insulin resistance in mice, along with decreasing the lipid content of skeletal muscle.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly infectious pathogen that can cause severe diseases in pigs and result in enormous economic losses in the worldwide swine industry. Previous studies revealed that PEDV exhibits an obvious capacity for modulating interferon (IFN) signaling or expression. The newly discovered type III IFN, which plays a crucial role in antiviral immunity, has strong antiviral activity against PEDV proliferation in IPEC-J2 cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of PEDV nucleocapsid (N) protein on type III IFN-λ. We found that the N proteins of ten PEDV strains isolated between 2013 and 2017 from different local farms shared high nucleotide identities, while the N protein of the CV777 vaccine strain formed a monophyletic branch in the phylogenetic tree. The N protein of the epidemic strain could antagonize type III IFN, but not type I or type II IFN expression induced by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) in IPEC-J2 cells. Subsequently, we demonstrated that the inhibition of poly(I:C)- induced IFN-λ3 production by PEDV N protein was dependent on the blocking of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) nuclear translocation. These findings might help increase understanding of the pathogenesis of PEDV and its mechanisms for evading the host immune response.

Monoclinic wolframite Ni1-xCoxWO4(x = 0 and 0.15) nanosheets are synthesized successfully through chemical co-precipitation. The specific surface area increases appreciably with reduced pore radius when Co2+ions are incorporated into the NiWO4lattice. In comparison with NiWO4, the band gap of Ni0.85Co0.15WO4reduces with the electrical conductivity increased threefold. The electrochemical properties and the device performance of supercapacitors with Ni1-xCoxWO4as electrodes are characterized via the potentiostatic and galvanostatic cycle measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The Ni0.85Co0.15WO4electrode exhibits an obvious increase in specific capacitance, six-fold higher than that of NiWO4electrode at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. Ni0.85Co0.15WO4electrode also shows excellent rate performance with ~78% capacitive retention while the current density is enhanced fivefold. The possible mechanism for the improved electrical conductivity and capacitive performance due to the incorporation of Co2+to NiWO4lattice has been discussed.

Difficulties in emotion regulation are commonly reported among individuals with alcohol and drug addictions and contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Alterations in neural processing of negative affective stimuli have further been demonstrated among individuals with addictions. However, it is unclear whether these alterations are a general feature of addictions or are a result of prolonged exposure to drugs of abuse. To test the hypothesis of altered negative affect processing independent of drug effects, this study assessed neural function among drug-naïve youth with a behavioral addiction—Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Fifty-six young adults (28 with IGD, 28 matched controls) participated in fMRI scanning during performance of a well-validated emotion regulation task. Between-group differences in neural activity during task performance were assessed using a whole-brain, mixed-effects ANOVA with correction for multiple comparisons at currently recommended thresholds (voxel-level p<0.001, pFWE<0.05). Compared to controls, youth with IGD exhibited significantly blunted neural responses within distributed subcortical and cortical regions including the striatum, insula, lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate in response to negative affective cues, as well as during emotion regulation. Independent component analysis (ICA) further identified between-group differences in engagement of a fronto-cingulo-parietal network, involving decreased engagement in IGD youth relative to controls. Study findings are largely consistent with those from prior neuroimaging studies in substance-use disorders, thus raising the possibility that neural processing of negative affect may be blunted across drug and behavioral addictions independent of acute or chronic drug effects.

Low-temperature plasma (LTP) has shown great promise in wound healing, although the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. In the present study, an argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet was employed to treat L929 murine fibroblasts cultured in vitroand skin wounds in BALB/c mice. The in vitroanalysis revealed that treatment of fibroblasts with LTP for 15 s resulted in a significant increase in cell proliferation, secretion of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-βi (TGF-βi), production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the percentage of cells in S phase, protein expression of phosphorylated p65 (P-p65) and cyclinD1, but a noted decrease in the protein expression of inhibitor kappa B (IκB). The in vitroexperiments demonstrated that 30-s LTP treatment enhanced the number of fibroblasts and the ability of collagen synthesis, while 50-s treatment led to the opposite outcomes. These results suggested that LTP treatment promotes the fibroblast proliferation in wound healing by inducing the generation of ROS, upregulating the expression of P-p65, downregulating the expression of IκB, and activating the NF-κB signaling pathway and consequently altering cell cycle progression (increased DNA synthesis in S phage).

Information of solid-state and solution structures is crucial in the characterization of molecular clusters and in advancing the understanding of their diverse properties. [Et3NH]2[Zn14(hmq)8(OH)4X10] [X = Cl and Br; H2hmq = 2-(hydroxymethyl)quinolin-8-ol] consist of a peanut-shaped Zn10O12core, in which the Zn atoms occupy the faces and corners of an octahedron and are protected by bonded halogen atoms and bulky organic ligands. Observation of the [Zn14(hmq)8(OH)4X10]2–fragment in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) suggests that the cluster is stable in solution. ESI-MS analyses from dissolved crystals and mother liquors reveal that Zn(hmq) self-assembles to Zn5(hmq)4Cl, then dimerizes through four [OH]−bridges to Zn10(hmq)8(OH)4Cl2, and progressively captures four ZnCl2one-by-one to [Zn14(hmq)8(OH)4Cl10]2–. Because the supramolecular interactions between the anion and cation in the solid suppress the rotation/vibration of the halogen atoms and confine the movable organic ligands on the rigid Zn–O core, both crystal phases exhibit intense photoluminescence, much stronger than that in solution. This is the first coordination cluster to exhibit “aggregation-induced enhanced emission”. In addition, preliminary tests indicate that these coordination clusters are promising for organic-light-emitting-diode applications.

Very recently, in spite of various efforts in searching for two-dimensional topological Dirac semimetals (2D TDSMs) in phosphorene, there remains a lack of experimentally efficient way to activate such phase transition and the underlying mechanism for the topological phase acquisition is still controversial. Here, from first-principles calculations in combination with a band-sorting technique based on k·ptheory, a layer-pressure topological phase diagram is obtained and some of the controversies are clarified. We demonstrate that, compared with tuning by external electric-fields, strain or doping by adsorption, hydrostatic pressure can be an experimentally more feasible way to activate the topological phase transition for 2D TDSM acquisition in phosphorene. More importantly, the resultant TDSM state is a pristine phase possessing a single pair of symmetry-protected Dirac cones rightat the Fermi level, in startling contrast to the pressured bulkblack phosphorus where only a carrier-mixed Dirac state can be obtained. We corroborate that the Dirac points are robust under external perturbation as long as the glide-plane symmetry preserves. Our findings provide a means to realize 2D pristine TDSM in a more achievable manner, which could be crucial in the realization of controllable TDSM states in phosphorene and related 2D materials.

Aspirin (ASA) is a cardioprotective drug with anti-cardiac fibrosis action in vivo. This study was aimed to clarify the anti-cardiac fibrosis action of ASA and the underlying mechanisms. Two heart injury models (injection of isoproterenol and ligation of the left anterior descending branch) were used in mice to induce cardiac fibrosis. The animals were treated with ASA (10 mg·kg−1·d−1, ig) for 21 and 14 d, respectively. ASA administration significantly improved cardiac function, and ameliorated heart damage and fibrosis in the mice. The mechanisms underlying ASA's anti-fibrotic effect were further analyzed in neonatal cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) exposed to hypoxia in vitro. ASA (0.5–5 mmol/L) dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation and Akt phosphorylation in the CFs. In addition, ASA significantly inhibited CF apoptosis, and decreased the levels of apoptosis markers (cleaved caspase 3 and Parp1), which might serve as a side effect of anti-fibrotic effect of ASA. Furthermore, ASA dose-dependently inhibited the autophagy in the CFs, as evidenced by the reduced levels of autophagy marker LC3-II. The autophagy inhibitor Pepstatin A (PepA) promoted the inhibitory effect of ASA on CF proliferation, whereas the autophagy inducer rapamycin rescued ASA-caused inhibition of CF proliferation, suggesting an autophagy-dependent anti-proliferative effect of ASA. Both p38 inhibitor SB203580 and ROS scavenger N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) significantly decreased Akt phosphorylation in CFs in the basal and hypoxic situations, but they both significantly increased LC3-II levels in the CFs. Our results suggest that an autophagy- and p38/ROS-dependent pathway mediates the anti-cardiac fibrosis effect of ASA in CFs. As PepA and SB203580 did not affect ASA-caused inhibition of CF apoptosis, the drug combination will enhance ASA's therapeutic effects.

Two types of air conditioning (AC) systems generally exist, namely, centralized and decentralized AC systems. This study focuses on three actual engineering projects of residential communities where centralized AC systems are adopted. The applicability of centralized AC systems in residential buildings is discussed and analyzed. In addition, the key elements that lead to different building energy consumptions and system efficiencies between centralized and decentralized AC systems in residential buildings are investigated. This study shows that in residential buildings, at the point where the centralized feature of the system meets the decentralized feature of users’ load, the problems of high energy consumption and low energy efficiency could easily occur.

Nuclear security usually requires the simultaneous detection of neutrons and gamma rays. With the development of crystalline materials in recent years, Cs2LiLaBr6(CLLB) dual-readout detectors have attracted extensive attention from researchers, where real-time neutron/gamma pulse discrimination is the critical factor among detector performance parameters. This study investigated the discrimination performance of the charge comparison, amplitude comparison, time comparison, and pulse gradient methods and the effects of a Sallen–Key filter on their performance. Experimental results show that the figure of merit (FOM) of all four methods is improved by proper filtering. Among them, the charge comparison method exhibits excellent noise resistance; moreover, it is the most suitable method of real-time discrimination for CLLB detectors. However, its discrimination performance depends on the parameters ts, tm, and te. When tscorresponds to the moment at which the pulse is at 10% of its peak value, terequires a delay of only 640–740 ns compared to ts, at which time the potentially optimal FOM of the charge comparison method at 3.1–3.3 MeV is greater than 1.46. The FOM obtained using the tmvalue calculated by a proposed maximized discrimination difference model (MDDM) and the potentially optimal FOM differ by less than 3.9%, indicating that the model can provide good guidance for parameter selection in the charge comparison method.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is heterogeneous in many facets. The patients suffered from type 1 diabetes present several levels of islet function as well as variable number and type of islet-specific autoantibodies. This study was to investigate prevalence and heterogeneity of the islet autoantibodies and clinical phenotypes of type 1 diabetes mellitus; and also discussed the process of islet failure and its risk factors in Chinese type 1 diabetic patients. A total of 1,291 type 1 diabetic patients were enrolled in this study. Demographic information was collected. Laboratory tests including mixed-meal tolerance test, human leukocyte antigen alleles, hemoglobinA1c, lipids, thyroid function and islet autoantibodies were conducted. The frequency of islet-specific autoantibody in newly diagnosed T1DM patients (duration shorter than half year) was 73% in East China. According to binary logistic regressions, autoantibody positivity, longer duration and lower Body Mass Index were the risk factors of islet failure. As the disease developed, autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase declined as well as the other two autoantibodies against zinc transporter 8 and islet antigen 2. The decrease of autoantibodies was positively correlated with aggressive beta cell destruction. Autoantibodies can facilitate the identification of classic T1DM from other subtypes and predict the progression of islet failure. As there were obvious heterogeneity in autoantibodies and clinical manifestation in different phenotypes of the disease, we should take more factors into consideration when identifying type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Aquaponics is a system coordinating fish production and vegetable cultivation in a sustainable way. In order to study the differences in the fish intestinal microbiota between the aquaponic pattern and the traditional farming pattern, this work crossly coupled crucian carps (Carassius auratus auratus) or goldfish (Carassius auratusvar. Japonicus simplex) with lettuce (Lactuca sativaL.) or water spinach (Ipomoea aquaticaForsk) to set up four types of aquaponic systems based on hydroponic floating bed. The corresponding traditional farming systems of each fish species were also built as control groups. After six weeks of culturing, the intestinal microbiota of each system was investigated through 16 S sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis methods. The most abundant bacterial phylum was Proteobacteria, and its abundance in aquaponics was higher in the aquaponic groups than in the corresponding traditional farming groups (P = 0.019 in goldfish; ANOVA). Lactobacillaceaewere enriched in traditional farming samples compared with aquaponic samples. The probiotics like Streptomycesand Rhizobiumwere identified as biomarkers in the water spinach aquaponic samples, and Buttiauxellawas significantly more abundant in the lettuce aquaponic samples. A certain number of plant growth promoting bacteria were found in the intestinal microbiota under aquaponics. Aquaponics may improve some probiotics in the fish gut by regulating the water quality; functional prediction of microbiota revealed that aquaponics affected the catabolism and environmental information processing capabilities of fish. There was no growth performance difference between the three farming patterns, neither in goldfish nor in crucian carps. However, the survival rate of goldfish in two types of aquaponics was higher than that in traditional patterns (P = 0.027; ANOVA). In conclusion, the aquaponic systems could change the structure and function of the fish intestinal microbiota, and could make contributions to enhancing the survival rate, which should receive more attention.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of the camber on gliding and hovering performance of two-dimensional corrugated airfoils. While the flying mechanism of natural flyers remains a myth up to nowadays, the simulation serves as a minor step toward understanding the steady and unsteady aerodynamics of the dragonfly flight. Design/methodology/approach – The lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate the flow past the cambered corrugated dragonfly airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. For gliding flight, the maximum camber, the distance of the location of maximum camber point from the leading edge and Reynolds number are regarded as control variables; for hovering flight, the maximum camber, the flapping amplitude and trajectory are considered as control variables. Then corresponding simulations are performed to evaluate the implications of these factors. Findings – Greater gliding ratio can be reached by increasing the maximum camber of the dragonfly wing section. When the location of the maximum camber moves backward along the wing chord, large scale flow separation can be delayed. These two effects result in better gliding performances. For hovering performances, it is found that for different flapping amplitudes along an inclined plane, the horizontal force exerted on the airfoils increases with the camber, and the drag growths first but then drops. It is also found that the elliptic flapping trajectory is most sensitive to the camber of the cambered corrugated dragonfly wing section. Originality/value – The effects of the camber on gliding and hovering performance of the cambered dragonfly wing section are explored in detail. The data obtained can be helpful when designing micro aerial vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LQR controller is designed to control magnetorheological damper through controlling the output damping force of magnetorheological damper. Simulation models of LQR controller is built. The results of LQR models and simulation model of landing gear is compared that LQR have a good control effect.

For characteristics of nonlinearity and time-varying volatility of landing gear based on MR damper, a BP neural network PID controller with a momentum was designed on basis of established dynamic mathematical model. BP neural network would adjust three parameters of PID online in time. The controller was inputted the energy which was combined by the feedback of acceleration and displacement of the control system, which greatly reduced the computation time of controller and the control effect was more obvious. After compared with PID, the simulation and experiment have showed that BP neural network PID has a better effect. The arithmetic can be put into practice through experimental testing.

The semi-active control of MR damper is established, using a simplified model of landing gear system and DSP2812 as the code control board. The fuzzy control system is created based on software fuzzyTECH and simulation mode was established in matlab\simulink. Compared with passive control, the fuzzy control damping effect of the aircraft body vertical acceleration, body relative displacement and wheel dynamic load at different moments in the process of plane's taking off and landing. Software fuzzyTECH platform can generate the corresponding code for the DSP controller, applied directly to the fuzzy control system design and debugging, and shorten the development cycle of fuzzy algorithm control. Passive control and fuzzy control test are carried out on the landing gear vibration test platform. The results show that the application of fuzzy algorithm controller has higher adaptability and more real-time control effect, fuzzy control is better than passive control.

Large magnetoresistance has been reported for C60-based vertical spin valves. But for the underlying organic–ferromagnetic interfacial atomistic structures, both experimental and theoretical works have assumed unreconstructed atomic structures for the magneticsurfaces, although organic molecule (e.g., fullerene and thiolate) adsorption frequently induces nonmagneticsurfaces reconstruction. Here we report that C60adsorption can induce a prototype ferromagnetic surface, Fe(001), reconstruction, via thorough structural search from first-principles calculations. We propose that Fe(001) surface reconstruction should already occur under the reported annealing temperature in literature. Reconstruction solidifies C60/Fe interface bonding and enhances C60spin-polarization. More importantly, only our reconstructed structure can explain the experimental observation of an inversion of C60spin-polarization around Fermi-level relative to that of Fe substrate, which is attributed to the C60lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals LUMO-derived states are shifted to Fermi level by charge transfer and to the strong coupling in the reconstructed structure. One could expect that surface reconstruction occur not only at the C60/Fe(001) interface, but also at interfaces of other molecule-magnetic metals. Hence our work offers a new pathway to interface engineering, that is, via surface reconstruction to manipulate spintronic properties and promote the field of interface-assisted spintronics.

Dental implant made of pure titanium (Ti) has become one important option to restore the function of lost tooth. However, because of insufficient hardness, it is always scratched during oral hygieneprocedures. To improve its surface hardness,titanium nitride (TiN) coating was prepared. Soft tissue - implant interface is important for blocking bacteria invasion, therefore surface modification is necessary to improve biocompatibility of TiN for fibroblasts.In the present study, TiN coating was modified by hydrothermal treatment incalcium acetate (CaAc) solution and effect of hydrothermal treatment temperature was studied. After treatment,calcium (Ca) wassuccessfully combined into TiN surface and the surface morphology, roughness and hardness were not changed below 140 °C. It is expected that, surface modification with Ca by hydrothermal treatment could made TiN a promising dental implant coating.

nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was prepared from micro-crystalline cellulose (MCC) by strong acid hydrolysis. The characteristics of such particle were studied by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Electro-rheological fluids (ERF) were prepared by dispersing NCC and MCC in methyl-silicone oil, and their ER effects were measured. Experimental results indicated that NCC ERF exhibited a remarkable ER effect. The highest static shearing stress of NCC ERF (3.5 g/ml) was 5.1 kPa at the room temperature under a 4 .2 kV/mm electric field, increased about 5.5 times compared to MCC ERF, and sedimentation of NCC ERF was not observed even after 60 days.

At present, manual method for acquiring discontinuity 2D density is inefficient and error-prone. This paper proposes a digital method based on 3D digital traces model. And Mauldon method has been chosen to estimate 2D density comparing with Kulatilake and Wu method. It makes study on 2D density much more convenient. The results of study with this method show feasibility and efficiency of the new method and Mauldon method for estimating has been tested to be accurate in this paper.

Microwave was applied to roasting the zinc oxide fume obtained from fuming furnace for the removal of F and Cl. The effects of important parameters, such as roasting temperature, holding time and stirring speed, were investigated and the process conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The results show that the effects of roasting temperature and holding time on the removal rate of F and Cl are the most significant, and the effect of stirring speed is the second. The defluorination rate reaches 92.6% while the dechlorination rate reaches 90.2%, under the process conditions of roasting temperature of 700 °C, holding time of 80 min and stirring speed of 120 r/min. The results indicate that the removal of F and Cl from fuming furnace production of zinc oxide fumes using microwave roasting process is feasible and reliable.

The separation and enrichment of mercury and the recovery of elemental sulfur from flotation sulfur concentrate in zinc pressure leaching process were carried out by sodium sulfide leaching and carbon dioxide precipitating. The results show that the leaching rate of elemental sulfur is more than 98%, and 98.13% of mercury is enriched in the residue, under the optimized conditions of sodium sulfide concentration 1.5 mol/L, liquid/solid ratio 6:1 and leaching time 30 min at room temperature. In addition, the content of mercury is enriched 5.23 times that in the leaching residue. The elemental sulfur is precipitated from leaching solution under conditions of carbon dioxide flow rate 200 mL/min and blowing time 150 min, while solution is stirred adequately. The recovery efficiency of elemental sulfur reaches 97.67%, and the purity of elemental sulfur is 99.75%, meeting the requirements of industrial first-rate product standard according to the national standard of GB/T 2449–2006 (PRC).

Design of a new magnetorheological damper gap structure, combined with viscous lag model, analyzed the damper structural parameters, Design the damping devices with different sizes. Comparison of the structure of the damper with different sizes after experiment, finding that the structure parameters has a significant effect on the performance of the damper. Designing a reasonable clearance structure is very important for improving the performance of MRF damper． The experimental results and the model fit have a good fitting accuracy.

Ubiquitin-specific protease 22 (USP22) is closely related with poor prognosis of cancer patients. However, the role of USP22 expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been determined. The main aim of this study was to determine the role of USP22 in the pathologic processes of NPC. Immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot (WB), and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to measure the expression of USP22 in cell lines and tissues of NPC in comparison with expression in non-cancerous cells and tissues. USP22-specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to knock down USP22 expression in the NPC cell line CNE-1 and CNE-2. Furthermore, the impact of USP22 in cellular proliferation, growth, and cell cycle were detected respectively. WB was used to determine the role of USP22 in the AKT/GSK-3/Cyclin signaling pathway. The expression levels of USP22 were remarkably higher in NPC cell lines and tissues. With cell counting and the MTS assay, cellular growth and proliferation progression of USP22 knockdown cell line was shown to be effectively restrained. The USP22 silencing both in CNE-1 and CNE-2 cells caused them to accumulate in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. USP22 knockdown was also found to modulate the AKT/GSK-3/Cyclin pathway, resulting in downregulation of p-AKT, p-GSK-3β, and cyclinD1. This study suggests that USP22 plays a critical regulatory role in the pathologic processes of NPC, and that it may be a potential biological treatment target in the future.

The recovery time of traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula-induced oculomotor nerve paresis (ONP) after endovascular embolization with detachable balloons has not yet been adequately evaluated. This study was performed to make a deep analysis of the factors, which affect the prognosis of ONP after endovascular treatment of traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula (TCCF).

AbstractExperimental observations show that a strong magnetic field has a dramatic influence on the sedimentation of RBCs, which motivates us to model the sedimentation of red blood cell (RBC) under strong external magnetic body force. To model the sedimentation of a RBC in a square duct and a circular pipe, a recently developed technique derived from the lattice Boltzmann and the distributed Lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain methods (LBM-DLM/FD) is extended to employ the mesoscopic network model for simulations of the sedimentation of a RBC in flow. The flow is simulated by the LBM with a strong magnetic body force, while the network model is used for modeling RBC deformation. The fluid-RBC interactions are enforced by the Lagrange multiplier. The sedimentation of RBC in a square duct and a circular pipe is simulated, which demonstrates the developed method's capability to model the sedimentation of RBCs in various flows. Numerical results illustrate that the terminal settling velocity increases incrementally with the exerted body force. The deformation of RBC has a significant effect on the terminal settling velocity due to the change in the frontal area. The larger the exerted force, the smaller the frontal area and the larger the RBC deformation become. Additionally, the wall effect on the motion and deformation of RBC is also investigated.

The structure of a shock absorber based on magnetorheological (MR) damper with a metering pin is proposed, and structure of the magnetic circuit of MR damper is optimized. By drop tests, the damping characteristics of the shock absorber and damping effect are tested. The experimental results show that the shock absorber has the characteristic of a wide damping force adjustment range and lower energy dissipation. The maximum vertical load and shock absorber piston displacement can be changed at same drop height by changing the current. It has also been proved that shock absorber based on MR damper is better than conventional oleo-pneumatic shock absorber on adjustment of damping force.

Based on measurement data acquired by GPS-RTK (Real Time Kinematic) technology, this paper established a three-dimensional traces model on digital terrain. Then Zhang and Einstein method and H-H method were chosen to estimate the mean trace length of discontinuities. The results using these two methods are both very close to the reference value. It shows the feasibility of these methods and the rules for setting digital windows in this case.

To discover novel cell division cycle 25 (CDC25) B inhibitors and elucidate the mechanisms of inhibition in cancer cells. Nineteen 2'-hydroxy-4'-isoprenyloxychalcone derivatives (a-s) were evaluated the inhibition CDC25B activity. The enzymatic activities of the CDC25B catalytic domain were determined by monitoring the dephosphorylation of OMFP. Cell growth inhibition was detected by MTT assay. The results showed that sixteen compounds significantly inhibited cycle 25B phosphatase in vitro. Among, three compounds k, rand shad the best inhibition activity and significantly inhibited CDC25B with inhibition rates against CDC25B of 99.95%, 99.75%, and 97.77%, respectively, which is similar to the reference drugs Na3VO4(98%). Cytotoxic activity assays showed compounds kand rare the potent against HCT116, HeLa, and A549 cells, moreover, compound kdelayed the potent tumor inhibitory activity in a colo205 xenograft model in vivo.

xBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3 (x=0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) solid solution ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure and dielectric properties of xBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3 ceramics have been investigated. The result indicates that the crystal structure of solid solution ceramics changes from rhobohedral to pseudocubic structure with the increase of barium zirconate titanate content. The room temperature dielectric constant of all samples decreases with the increasing of frequency. When the temperature is in the range of 30oC~150oC, the dielectric constant of all samples increases as temperature rises. In the same temperature range, the dielectric loss of BiFeO3 ceramics increases with the rise of temperature and the dielectric loss of xBaZr0.2Ti0.8O3-(1-x)BiFeO3 (x=0.3~0.7) changes a little. The addition of barium zirconate titanate leads to the decrease of dielectric loss and leakage current for BiFeO3 ceramics.