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ABSTRACT This paper reports an approach by which laboratory based testing and numerical modelling can be combined to predict the long term performance of a range of concretes exposed to [...]

When protons and neutrons (nucleons) are bound into atomic nuclei, they are close enough to feel significant attraction, or repulsion, from the strong, short-distance part of the nucleon–nucleon interaction. These strong interactions lead to hard collisions between nucleons, generating pairs of highly energetic nucleons referred to as short-range correlations (SRCs). SRCs are an important but relatively poorly understood part of nuclear structure1–3, and mapping out the strength and the isospin structure (neutron–proton (np) versus proton–proton (pp) pairs) of these virtual excitations is thus critical input for modelling a range of nuclear, particle and astrophysics measurements3–5. Two-nucleon knockout or ‘triple coincidence’ reactions have been used to measure the relative contribution of np-SRCs and pp-SRCs by knocking out a proton from the SRC and detecting its partner nucleon (proton or neutron). These measurements6–8have shown that SRCs are almost exclusively np pairs, but they had limited statistics and required large model-dependent final-state interaction corrections. Here we report on measurements using inclusive scattering from the mirror nuclei hydrogen-3 and helium-3 to extract the np/pp ratio of SRCs in systems with a mass number of three. We obtain a measure of the np/pp SRC ratio that is an order of magnitude more precise than previous experiments, and find a marked deviation from the near-total np dominance observed in heavy nuclei. This result implies an unexpected structure in the high-momentum wavefunction for hydrogen-3 and helium-3. Understanding these results will improve our understanding of the short-range part of the nucleon–nucleon interaction.

• An equiatomic medium entropy FeCrNi alloy with excellent strength-ductility balance at 293 and 15 K was presented. • The single-crystal elastic constants and bulk moduli were calculated by neutron diffraction and density functional theory simulation. • The role of severe lattice distortion and dislocations in strengthening the medium entropy alloy was explored and quantified in 293 and 15 K. • Severe lattice distortion made the greatest contribution to the yield strength of the alloy. We investigated the mechanical and microstructural responses of a high-strength equal-molar medium entropy FeCrNi alloy at 293 and 15 K by in situ neutron diffraction testing. At 293 K, the alloy had a very high yield strength of 651 ± 12 MPa, with a total elongation of 48% ± 5%. At 15 K, the yield strength increased to 1092 ± 22 MPa, but the total elongation dropped to 18% ± 1%. Via analyzing the neutron diffraction data, we determined the lattice strain evolution, single-crystal elastic constants, stacking fault probability, and estimated stacking fault energy of the alloy at both temperatures, which are the critical parameters to feed into and compare against our first-principles calculations and dislocation-based slip system modeling. The density functional theory calculations show that the alloy tends to form short-range order at room temperatures. However, atom probe tomography and atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy did not clearly identify the short-range order. Additionally, at 293 K, experimental measured single-crystal elastic constants did not agree with those determined by first-principles calculations with short-range order but agreed well with the values from the calculation with the disordered configuration at 2000 K. This suggests that the alloy is at a metastable state resulted from the fabrication methods. In view of the high yield strength of the alloy, we calculated the strengthening contribution to the yield strength from grain boundaries, dislocations, and lattice distortion. The lattice distortion contribution was based on the Varenne-Luque-Curtine strengthening theory for multi-component alloys, which was found to be 316 MPa at 293 K and increased to 629 MPa at 15 K, making a significant contribution to the high yield strength. Regarding plastic deformation, dislocation movement and multiplication were found to be the dominant hardening mechanism at both temperatures, whereas twinning and phase transformation were not prevalent. This is mainly due to the high stacking fault energy of the alloy as estimated to be 63 mJ m−2 at 293 K and 47 mJ m−2 at 15 K. This work highlights the significance of lattice distortion and dislocations played in this alloy, providing insights into the design of new multi-component alloys with superb mechanical performance for cryogenic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the association between urinary complement proteins and renal outcome in biopsy-proven diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods: Untargeted proteomic and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional analyses and targeted proteomic analysis using parallel reaction-monitoring (PRM)-mass spectrometry was performed to determine the abundance of urinary complement proteins in healthy controls, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, and patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN. The abundance of each urinary complement protein was individually included in Cox proportional hazards models for predicting progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Results: Untargeted proteomic and functional analysis using the KEGG showed that differentially expressed urinary proteins were primarily associated with the complement and coagulation cascades. Subsequent urinary complement proteins quantification using PRM showed that urinary abundances of C3, C9, and complement factor H (CFAH) correlated negatively with annual estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, while urinary abundances of C5, decay-accelerating factor (DAF), and CD59 correlated positively with annual rate of eGFR decline. Furthermore, higher urinary abundance of CFAH and lower urinary abundance of DAF were independently associated with greater risk of progression to ESRD. Urinary abundance of CFAH and DAF had a larger area under the curve (AUC) than that of eGFR, proteinuria, or any pathological parameter. Moreover, the model that included CFAH or DAF had a larger AUC than that with only clinical or pathological parameters. Conclusion: Urinary abundance of complement proteins was significantly associated with ESRD in patients with T2DM and biopsy-proven DN, indicating that therapeutically targeting the complement pathway may alleviate progression of DN.

All-solid-state lithium batteries with lean (ultrathin) lithium anodes and polymer-based electrolytes e.g., polyethylene oxide (PEO), can potentially offer high energy density, reduced processing cost and improved mechanical contact at electrolyte-electrode interfaces. The non-uniform lithium deposition and inadequate mechanical strength of PEO, however, tend to cause deactivated lithium and short-circuiting by Li dendrites over lithium deposition/stripping cycles; these issues become more aggravated with lean Li anodes due to the more severe volume changes. Herein, we construct a more mechanically and chemically stable lithium-electrolyte interface by coupling alloyed lean Li anodes (<50 μm) with PEO electrolytes blended with polymers of intrinsic porosity (PIMs). The lean Li anode is fabricated by a facile and scalable cold-rolling method, which leads to a uniformly alloyed lithium anode permitting epitaxial Li deposition. Meanwhile, PIM reinforces the mechanical strength of the PEO composite electrolyte, reducing the likelihood of dendrite formation/penetration. Importantly, the introduction of both GaInSnZn and the first-generation PIM has been found to reduce the interfacial charge transfer resistance via modifying the composition of solid-electrolyte interphase. The resulting full cells with lithium iron phosphate cathodes exhibit a high specific capacity of ∼160 mAh/g, i.e., ∼0.6 mAh/cm2with excellent retention of 93.1 % at 120 cycles.

The molecular mechanisms of luminal cell differentiation are not understood well enough to determine how differentiation goes awry during oncogenesis. Using RNA-Seq analysis, we discovered that CREB1 plays a central role in maintaining new luminal cell survival and that oncogenesis dramatically changes the CREB1-induced transcriptome. CREB1 is active in luminal cells, but not basal cells. We identified ING4 and its E3 ligase, JFK, as CREB1 transcriptional targets in luminal cells. During luminal cell differentiation, transient induction of ING4 expression is followed by a peak in CREB1 activity, while JFK increases concomitantly with CREB1 activation. Transient expression of ING4 is required for luminal cell induction; however, failure to properly down-regulate ING4 leads to luminal cell death. Consequently, blocking CREB1 increased ING4 expression, suppressed JFK, and led to luminal cell death. Thus, CREB1 is responsible for the suppression of ING4 required for luminal cell survival and maintenance. Oncogenic transformation by suppressing PTEN resulted in constitutive activation of CREB1. However, the tumor cells could no longer fully differentiate into luminal cells, failed to express ING4, and displayed a unique CREB1 transcriptome. Blocking CREB1 in tumorigenic cells suppressed tumor growth in vivo, rescued ING4 expression, and restored luminal cell formation, but ultimately induced luminal cell death. IHC of primary prostate tumors demonstrated a strong correlation between loss of ING4 and loss of PTEN. This is the first study to define a molecular mechanism whereby oncogenic loss of PTEN, leading to aberrant CREB1 activation, suppresses ING4 expression causing disruption of luminal cell differentiation.

Using Cox's proportional hazard modelling methods, the influence of socio-demographic and economic conditions on consumers' purchasing behavior with respect to financial products and the factors to be considered by financial services while marketing their products are analyzed.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been widely studied in recent years due to its unique structure-related properties, such as optical, electrical and optoelectrical properties. GQDs are considered new kind of quantum dots (QDs), as they are chemically and physically stable because of its intrinsic inert carbon property. Furthermore, GQDs are environmentally friendly due to its non-toxic and biologically inert properties, which have attracted worldwide interests from academic and industry. In this review, a number of GQDs preparation methods, such as hydrothermal method, microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, soft-template method, liquid exfoliation method, metal-catalyzed method and electron beam lithography method etc., are summarized. Their structural, morphological, chemical composition, optical, electrical and optoelectrical properties have been characterized and studied. A variety of elemental dopant, such as nitrogen, sulphur, chlorine, fluorine and potassium etc., have been doped into GQDs to diversify the functions of the material. The control of its size and shape has been realized by means of preparation parameters, such as synthesis temperature, growth time, source concentration and catalyst etc. As far as energy level engineering is concerned, the elemental doping has shown an introduction of energy level in GQDs which may tune the optical, electrical and optoelectrical properties of the GQDs. The applications of GQDs in biological imaging, optoelectrical detectors, solar cells, light emitting diodes, fluorescent agent, photocatalysis, and lithium ion battery are described. GQD composites, having optimized contents and properties, are also discussed to extend the applications of GQDs. Basic physical and chemical parameters of GQDs are summarized by tables in this review, which will provide readers useful information.

The safety and efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) have been confirmed by many studies. However, in China, the research on efficacy and safety in young and older children with allergic rhinitis (AR) is still rare.

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the prevalence, severity and possible risk factors of systemic reactions (SRs) to subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT) in children and adolescents with asthma in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province.

The self-incompatibility (SI) gene that is specifically expressed in pistils encodes the SI-associated ribonuclease (S-RNase), functioning as the female-specificity determinant of a gametophytic SI system. Despite extensive surveys in Malus domestica, the S-alleles have not been fully investigated for Malus sieversii, the primary wild ancestor of the domesticated apple. Here we screened the M. sieversii S-alleles via PCR amplification and sequencing, and identified 14 distinct alleles in this species. By contrast, nearly 40 are present in its close wild relative, Malus sylvestris. We further sequenced 8 nuclear genes to provide a neutral reference, and investigated the evolution of S-alleles via genealogical and population genetic analyses. Both shared ancestral polymorphism and an excess of non-synonymous substitution were detected in the S-RNases of the tribe Maleae in Rosaceae, indicating the action of long-term balancing selection. Approximate Bayesian Computations based on the reference neutral loci revealed a severe bottleneck in four of the six studied M. sieversii populations, suggesting that the low number of S-alleles found in this species is mainly the result of diversity loss due to a drastic population contraction. Such a bottleneck may lead to ambiguous footprints of ongoing balancing selection detected at the S-locus. This study not only elucidates the constituents and number of S-alleles in M. sieversii but also illustrates the potential utility of S-allele number shifts in demographic inference for self-incompatible plant species.

Casimir forces are of fundamental interest because they originate from quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. Apart from controlling this force via the optical properties of materials, a number of novel geometries have been proposed to generate repulsive and/or non-monotonic Casimir forces between bodies separated by vacuum gaps. Experimental realization of these geometries, however, is hindered by the difficulties in alignment when the bodies are brought into close proximity. Here, using an on-chip platform with integrated force sensors and actuators, we circumvent the alignment problem and measure the Casimir force between two surfaces with nanoscale protrusions. We demonstrate that the force depends non-monotonically on the displacement. At some displacements, the Casimir force leads to an effective stiffening of the nanomechanical spring. Our findings pave the way for exploiting the Casimir force in nanomechanical systems using structures of complex and non-conventional shapes.

ABSTRACTIt has been hoped that the recent availability of WHO quantitative standards would improve interlaboratory agreement for viral load testing; however, insufficient data are available to evaluate whether this has been the case. Results from 554 laboratories participating in proficiency testing surveys for quantitative PCR assays of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), BK virus (BKV), adenovirus (ADV), and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6) were evaluated to determine overall result variability and then were stratified by assay manufacturer. The impact of calibration to international units/ml (CMV and EBV) on variability was also determined. Viral loads showed a high degree of interlaboratory variability for all tested viruses, with interquartile ranges as high as 1.46 log10copies/ml and the overall range for a given sample up to 5.66 log10copies/ml. Some improvement in result variability was seen when international units were adopted. This was particularly the case for EBV viral load results. Variability in viral load results remains a challenge across all viruses tested here; introduction of international quantitative standards may help reduce variability and does so more or less markedly for certain viruses.

Cell cycle genes are often aberrantly expressed in cancer, but how their misexpression drives tumorigenesis mostly remains unclear. From S phase to early mitosis, EMI1 (also known as FBXO5) inhibits the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome, which controls cell cycle progression through the sequential degradation of various substrates. By analyzing 7403 human tumor samples, we find that EMI1 overexpression is widespread in solid tumors but not in blood cancers. In solid cancers, EMI1 overexpression is a strong prognostic marker for poor patient outcome. To investigate causality, we generated a transgenic mouse model in which we overexpressed Emi1. Emi1-overexpressing animals develop a wide variety of solid tumors, in particular adenomas and carcinomas with inflammation and lymphocyte infiltration, but not blood cancers. These tumors are significantly larger and more penetrant, abundant, proliferative and metastatic than control tumors. In addition, they are highly aneuploid with tumor cells frequently being in early mitosis and showing mitotic abnormalities, including lagging and incorrectly segregating chromosomes. We further demonstrate in vitrothat even though EMI1 overexpression may cause mitotic arrest and cell death, it also promotes chromosome instability (CIN) following delayed chromosome alignment and anaphase onset. In human solid tumors, EMI1 is co-expressed with many markers for CIN and EMI1 overexpression is a stronger marker for CIN than most well-established ones. The fact that Emi1 overexpression promotes CIN and the formation of solid cancers in vivoindicates that Emi1 overexpression actively drives solid tumorigenesis. These novel mechanistic insights have important clinical implications.

ABSTRACTA potential benefit of digital PCR is a reduction in result variability across assays and platforms. Three sets of PCR reagents were tested on two digital PCR systems (Bio-Rad and RainDance), using three different sets of PCR reagents for quantitation of cytomegalovirus (CMV). Both commercial quantitative viral standards and 16 patient samples (n= 16) were tested. Quantitative accuracy (compared to nominal values) and variability were determined based on viral standard testing results. Quantitative correlation and variability were assessed with pairwise comparisons across all reagent-platform combinations for clinical plasma sample results. The three reagent sets, when used to assay quantitative standards on the Bio-Rad system, all showed a high degree of accuracy, low variability, and close agreement with one another. When used on the RainDance system, one of the three reagent sets appeared to have a much better correlation to nominal values than did the other two. Quantitative results for patient samples showed good correlation in most pairwise comparisons, with some showing poorer correlations when testing samples with low viral loads. Digital PCR is a robust method for measuring CMV viral load. Some degree of result variation may be seen, depending on platform and reagents used; this variation appears to be greater in samples with low viral load values.

In this study, the effect of host density, host, and parasitoid ages in choice and no-choice tests on the parasitism performance of Tetrastichus brontispaeFerriere, one of the major parasitoid of Brontispa longissima(Gestro), was investigated in the laboratory. The results revealed that an increased host density resulted in no increased parasitism of B. longissimaby T. brontispae; the optimal host density was three host pupae per parasitoid when considering the costs for mass rearing. Moreover, parasitoid age was quite crucial for effective parasitism and affected the emergence rate. Although 2-h to 4-day-old parasitoids successfully parasitized the host pupae, younger parasitoids (within 2-day-old) presented higher parasitism capacity than older parasitoids. More importantly, both choice and no-choice tests confirmed that all host stages tested from 2-h to 4-day-old were suitable for T. brontispaeparasitization, although 2-h to 2-day-old hosts were preferred. We also demonstrated that sex ratio, emergence rate, and egg to adult developmental time were not influenced by host density, parasitoid, and host age in both choice and no-choice tests. Our data will allow for more accurate prediction and interpretation on the parasitization by T. brontispae, supporting mass-production initiatives and mass release in programs of B. longissima.

Although increasing evidence has documented that microRNA-145 (miR-145) acts as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer, its exact role in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains poorly defined. In this study, the expression of miR-145 in human TNBC cells and samples from 30 patients was analyzed by stem-loop real-time PCR. We found that miR-145 was significantly downregulated in TNBC tissues and cells. Upregulating miR-145 in HCC1937 cells dramatically suppressed cell proliferation and induced G1-phase arrest, whereas MDA-MB-231 cells did not show growth inhibition. MiR-145 exhibited an inhibitory role in cell invasion through the post-transcriptional regulation of the novel targets MMP11and Rab27ain TNBC cells. Additionally, miR-145 silencing could be reversed by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (DAC). These results demonstrated that miR-145 has an inhibitory role in TNBC malignancy by targeting MMP11and Rab27a, which might be potential therapeutic and diagnostic targets for TNBC.

One of the global targets for non-communicable diseases is to halt, by 2025, the rise in the age-standardised adult prevalence of diabetes at its 2010 levels. We aimed to estimate worldwide trends in diabetes, how likely it is for countries to achieve the global target, and how changes in prevalence, together with population growth and ageing, are affecting the number of adults with diabetes.

ABSTRACTGiven recent advances in the development of quantitative standards, particularly WHO international standards, efforts to better understand the commutability of reference materials have been made. Existing approaches in evaluating commutability include prediction intervals and correspondence analysis; however, the results obtained from existing approaches may be ambiguous. We have developed a “deviation-from-ideal” (DFI) approach to evaluate commutability of standards and applied it to the assessment of Epstein-Bar virus (EBV) load testing in four quantitative PCR assays, treating digital PCR as a reference assay. We then discuss advantages and limitations of the DFI approach as well as experimental design to best evaluate the commutability of an assay in practice.

Background:: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a common problem with unclear etiology. Some diet and lifestyle factors were thought to correlate with CP/CPPS, but studies comprehensively investigate this correlation are rarely available. The current study was conducted to determine the potential lifestyle-related risk factors of CP/CPPS and its pain severity in Chinese population. Methods:: Participants were recruited from seven hospitals in Shanghai from July 2012 to August 2013. Demographics, medical history, diet and lifestyle information, and CP/CPPS symptoms were obtained from each participant using a questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify potential lifestyle-related risk factors for CP/CPPS and its pain severity. Results:: A total of 784 men with CP/CPPS and 785 controls were enrolled in this study. Multivariate regression model indicated that age, nightshift work, stress, smoking status, alcohol consumption, less water intake, imbalanced diet, frequent sexual activity, delaying ejaculation and holding urine were identified as potential risk factors for CP/CPPS, whereas sedentary lifestyle, caffeinated drinks and less water intake were associated with severe pain in CP/CPPS patients. Conclusions:: Several diet and lifestyle factors associated with CP/CPPS and pain severity were determined in this study. These modifiable conditions are potential targets for treatment of CP/CPPS. However, further studies are necessary to determine their role in the pathogenesis of CP/CPPS.

Gitelman syndrome (GS) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis in combination with significant hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria which is caused by mutations in the SLC12A3 gene. In this study, we reported a case of GS pedigree and reviewed pertinent literature so as to explore the relationship between clinical characteristics and genotype meanwhile provide recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of GS. This is a pedigree-based genetic study of GS and 11 members from one family were included. We summarized their clinical features, analyzed laboratory parameters related to GS and SLC12A3 gene. The proband experienced intermittent severe symptoms of weakness accompanied by significant hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and hypocalciuria in laboratory test with poor treatments. His mother had more slight symptoms of weakness than him with mild hypokalemia and hypocalciuria. Mild hypomagnesemia was also observed in his sister with occasional weakness. All other pedigree members had normal laboratory test with no GS-related symptoms. A homozygous mutation of SLC12A3 gene (c.488C > T) was detected by genetic testing in three members, and six were carriers of this mutation. Genotype and phenotype vary significantly among GS patients. Male patients tend to experience more severe symptoms and poor treatment effect. Further large-scale population, animal, and molecular biology experiments are required to investigate the complexity of GS and to find a better treatment regimen for this disease.

The bean flower thrips, Megalurothrips usitatus(Bagrall) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is an important pest of legume crops in South China. Yellow, blue, or white sticky traps are currently recommended for monitoring and controlling thrips, but it is not known whether one is more efficient than the other or if selectivity could be optimized by trap color. We investigated the response of thrips and beneficial insects to different-colored sticky traps on cowpea, Vigna unguiculata. More thrips were caught on blue, light blue, white, and purple traps than on yellow, green, pink, gray, red, or black traps. There was a weak correlation on the number of thrips caught on yellow traps and survey from flowers (r= 0.139), whereas a strong correlation was found for blue traps and thrips’ survey on flowers (r= 0.929). On commercially available sticky traps (Jiaduo®), two and five times more thrips were caught on blue traps than on white and yellow traps, respectively. Otherwise, capture of beneficial insects was 1.7 times higher on yellow than on blue traps. The major natural enemies were the predatory ladybird beetles (63%) and pirate bugs Oriusspp. (29%), followed by a number of less representative predators and parasitoids (8%). We conclude the blue sticky trap was the best to monitor thrips on cowpea in South China.

The tubes with high length to diameter ratio over 100:1 were widely used for spline, weapons, aerospace, screw drill stator of oil and gas drilling components, which are impossible to be machined by conventional techniques. However, electrochemical machining (ECM) has the unique advantages of high efficiency, high surface quality, no stress and no cathode wear in machining difficult-to-cut conductive materials and complicated parts and components. So, we adopted the ECM method to research the key technologies for manufacturing high aspect ratio deep spiral tube in this paper. First of all, we established the ECM cathode model, then through the electrical field simulation to optimize the adduction angle of the cathode teeth with COMSOL software. Secondly, the ECM frock clamps were designed and manufactured, which have the function of the conduction, insulation and sealing. Then, we introduced to develop a 20000A horizontal NC ECM machine tool, which can control the electrolyte temperature between 29°C and 31°C, and can keep 24hours continuous and stable machining. Finally, through the L9(34) orthogonal array method to carry out our high aspect ratio deep spiral tube electrochemical machining experiment, we obtained the optimal processing parameters. In the condition of 0.1mm initial machining gap, 10%NaCl electrolyte, 30°C electrolyte temperature, 2.0Mpa electrolyte pressure, 16mm/min cathode feed rate we successfully manufactured a 3.5 meters spiral tube with high surface quality in our self-developed machine tool. The simulation results were consistent with the experiment data. The results show that: using the method of electrical field simulation to optimize cathode teeth adduction angle to design cathode can shorten the cathode design cycle and reduce the experiment cost. It indicates that it is a feasible, stable and high-efficiency machining method for ECM to machining these high aspect ratio spiral tubes.

This paper presents an optimal control based charging strategy for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This work proposes a method to minimize battery capacity degradation incurred during charging by optimizing current profile. A semi-empirical battery aging model is adopted to quantify the capacity loss; a generic control-oriented vehicle cabin thermal model is developed to describe the battery surroundings taking into account solar radiation. Optimal control solution offered by Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle (PMP) is presented. Simulation-based results show that the benefit of this strategy in terms of decreasing battery aging is significant, when compared with the existing strategies, such as the widely accepted constant current constant voltage (CC-CV) protocol.

To increase understanding of the interaction between phenotype and genotype x environment to improve crop performance, large amounts of phenotypic data are needed. Studying plants of a given strain under multiple environments can greatly help to reveal their interactions. To collect the labor-intensive data required to perform experiments in this area, a Mecanum-wheeled, magnetic-tape-following indoor rover has been developed to accurately and autonomously move between and inside growth chambers. Integration of the motor controllers, a robot arm, and a Microsoft Kinect (v2) 3D sensor was achieved in a customized C++ program. Detecting and segmenting plants in a multi-plant environment is a challenging task, which can be aided by integration of depth data into these algorithms. Image-processing functions were implemented to filter the depth image to minimize noise and remove undesired surfaces, reducing the memory requirement and allowing the plant to be reconstructed at a higher resolution in real-time. Three-dimensional meshes representing plants inside the chamber were reconstructed using the Kinect SDK’s KinectFusion. After transforming user-selected points in camera coordinates to robot-arm coordinates, the robot arm is used in conjunction with the rover to probe desired leaves, simulating the future use of sensors such as a fluorimeter and Raman spectrometer. This paper reports the system architecture and some preliminary results of the system.

H7N9 infection has raised serious concerns worldwide. Pregnant women were considered to be at a high risk of influenza infection. Normal pregnancy was dependent on T helper (Th) 2 deviation. However, whether pregnancy influences the immune status of influenza H7N9 patients has not been reported.

ABSTRACTQuantitative detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA has become a standard part of care for many groups of immunocompromised patients; recent development of the first WHO international standard for human CMV DNA has raised hopes of reducing interlaboratory variability of results. Commutability of reference material has been shown to be necessary if such material is to reduce variability among laboratories. Here we evaluated the commutability of the WHO standard using 10 different real-time quantitative CMV PCR assays run by eight different laboratories. Test panels, including aliquots of 50 patient samples (40 positive samples and 10 negative samples) and lyophilized CMV standard, were run, with each testing center using its own quantitative calibrators, reagents, and nucleic acid extraction methods. Commutability was assessed both on a pairwise basis and over the entire group of assays, using linear regression and correspondence analyses. Commutability of the WHO material differed among the tests that were evaluated, and these differences appeared to vary depending on the method of statistical analysis used and the cohort of assays included in the analysis. Depending on the methodology used, the WHO material showed poor or absent commutability with up to 50% of assays. Determination of commutability may require a multifaceted approach; the lack of commutability seen when using the WHO standard with several of the assays here suggests that further work is needed to bring us toward true consensus.

ABSTRACTThe recent development of the 1st WHO International Standard for human cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the introduction of commercially produced secondary standards have raised hopes of improved agreement among laboratories performing quantitative PCR for CMV. However, data to evaluate the trueness and uniformity of secondary standards and the consistency of results achieved when these materials are run on various assays are lacking. Three concentrations of each of the three commercially prepared secondary CMV standards were tested in quadruplicate by three real-time and two digital PCR methods. The mean results were compared in a pairwise fashion with nominal values provided by each manufacturer. The agreement of results among all methods for each sample and for like concentrations of each standard was also assessed. The relationship between the nominal values of standards and the measured values varied, depending upon the assay used and the manufacturer of the standards, with the degree of bias ranging from +0.6 to -1.0 log10IU/ml. The mean digital PCR result differed significantly among the secondary standards, as did the results of the real-time PCRs, particularly when plotted against nominal log10IU values. Commercially available quantitative secondary CMV standards produce variable results when tested by different real-time and digital PCR assays, with various magnitudes of bias compared to nominal values. These findings suggest that the use of such materials may not achieve the intended uniformity among laboratories measuring CMV viral load, as envisioned by adaptation of the WHO standard.

Venous thrombosis (VT) is a worldwide medical problem. In order to identify individuals at high risk early, it is necessary to find more genetic risk factors. Nowadays, the studies on genetic factors of thrombosis are mainly focused on coagulation and anticoagulation factors. The exploration of other proteins involved in thrombosis and hemostasis may lead to a breakthrough.

Biliary epithelial damage is the critical point in the development of nonanastomotic strictures, a serious biliary complication after liver transplantation (LT). Current study focuses on the roles and mechanisms of unbalanced bile acid (BA) transporting of cholangiocytes in biliary epithelial damages following LT. Using rat LT models, we observed that biliary transit time (BTT) of BA was prolonged, and the degree and duration of BTT prolongation were related to the cold ischemia time of donor liver. Moreover, prolonged BTT was correlated with bile duct injury severity. The expression of Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) underwent a dramatic decrease after transplantation, and the decrease in FXR was related to cold ischemic time of donor liver. Negative correlation was observed between FXR expression and BTT. With in vitrocultured human biliary epithelial cells, it was observed that FXR expressions and DNA binding activities were repressed under hypoxic conditions. FXR repression by hypoxia mediated unparallel expressions of BA transporters and intracellular accumulation of BAs, which induced higher cell apoptosis rates and enhanced profibrotic factor expression in cholangiocytes. These findings indicated that FXR repression under ischemic/hypoxic conditions contributed to biliary epithelial damages by disturbing BA transporting of cholangiocytes after LT.

The structure of self-assembled methylthiolate monolayers on Au(111) as a function of surface coverage has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopic imaging, and complete structural phases are obtained. A full layer (1/3 ML) of methylthiolate organizes into a long-range ordered (3 × 4) phase with chiral domains. The domain boundary has a local (3 × 4√3)-rect structure. Gradual removal of methylthiolate by partial thermal desorption leads first to the formation of a local (7 × √3)-rect phase with coverage equal to 0.286 ML. This (7 × √3)-rect phase is found to coexist with the (3 × 4) phase and a disordered phase. As the coverage is reduced to below 0.28 ML, stripes parallel to the ⟨112̅⟩ directions appear. All the phases are made from the basic, CH3S–Au–SCH3, structural motif. Cis–transtransformation of the CH3S–Au–SCH3unit is observed. For an isolated CH3S–Au–SCH3unit, both methyl groups have equal probability of contributing to the cis–transtransformation at 77 K. Within the stripe phase, only one of the methyl groups actively participates in cis–transtransformation while the other group remains as a spectator.