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Background: Based upon experimental literatures to simulate many newly developed systems and analyzed and compared the physical properties and NIR absorption of the materials for supplying future research reference into military camouflage clothing. Aims: This project aimed to explore composite fiber/cotton/colorant materials that possess the characteristic of anti‐near‐infrared radiation (NIR) reflectance and their further application in military combat uniforms to achieve the aim of personnel camouflage and concealment. Materials and Methods: Materials Studio (MS06 version), Gaussian 09 software, and the GULP program were adopted for simulation and computation in this study. Results and Discussion: The physical absorption of the dyes and nylon 66/ cotton exhibited the same trend from large to small in the order NCIBu > NCD > NCIG > NCT > NCA. All systems had good colorfastness except for the NCA, NCD, and NCT systems. The colorfastness of the dual‐dye systems was better than that of the single‐dye systems; in particular, the colorfastness of the NCIG‐138T and NCIBu‐12D systems. The six layered NCT, NCIBu, NCIBu‐12D, NCIG‐138T systems exhibited excellent reflectivity in the NIR region. Conclusions: The NCIBu‐12D and NCIBu‐138D systems, with a weight percentage of 2/49/49%, exhibited the best performance in our simulation. These achievements could be helpful in terms of informing actual experiments in order to perfect the design of military clothing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis for postinjury peripheral nerve regeneration remains suboptimal. Although transplantation of exogenous Schwann cells (SCs) has been considered a promising treatment to promote nerve repair, this strategy has been hampered in practice by the limited availability of SC sources and an insufficient postengraftment cell retention rate. In this study, to address these challenges, SCs were aggregated into spheroids before being delivered to an injured rat sciatic nerve. We found that the three-dimensional aggregation of SCs induced their acquisition of a repair phenotype, as indicated by enhanced levels of c-Jun expression/activation and decreased expression of myelin sheath protein. Furthermore, our in vitro results demonstrated the superior potential of the SC spheroid-derived secretome in promoting neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion neurons, enhancing the proliferation and migration of endogenous SCs, and recruiting macrophages. Moreover, transplantation of SC spheroids into rats after sciatic nerve transection effectively increased the postinjury nerve structure restoration and motor functional recovery rates, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of SC spheroids. In summary, transplantation of preassembled SC spheroids may hold great potential for enhancing the cell delivery efficiency and the resultant therapeutic outcome, thereby improving SC-based transplantation approaches for promoting peripheral nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of positive copy number variations (CNVs) results by non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) without fetal ultrasonography‐identified structural anomalies, especially with several known CNVs results. Methods: A total of 135,981 results of NIPT performed between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2020, enrolled in the free NIPT service program implemented by the local government were retrospectively analyzed. Of these, 87 cases with positive NIPT screens for CNVs and no fetal ultrasonography‐identified anomalies were recalled and provided genetic counseling. After obtaining full informed consent, these cases were provided invasive prenatal diagnosis by karyotyping and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA)/copy number variation sequencing (CNV‐seq) with follow‐up. One case was lost, while 86 cases were successfully followed up. Results: A total of 44 (50.6%) cases underwent invasive prenatal diagnosis, of which six cases were detected with abnormal karyotype. CMA/CNV‐Seq revealed 11 fetuses with positive results for CNVs, among whom eight were consistent with NIPT results, two were partially consistent, one was inconsistent, and positive predictive value (PPV) was 22.7% (10/44). For known CNVs, PPVs were 20% (15q11.2‐q13 microdeletion) and 33.3% (5p end deletions). Among 11 pregnant women with positive prenatal diagnosis, seven were confirmed to have pathogenic CNVs in their fetuses; four had CNVs of unknown clinical significance. Conclusions: Even in pregnancies without ultrasonography‐identified anomalies, a positive NIPT screen for CNVs must be interpreted with caution and validated by additional diagnostic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to provide a new effective carrier for rescuing the sensitivity of drug‐resistant in breast cancer cells. Nano‐gold micelles loaded with Dox and Elacridar (FP‐ssD@A‐E) were chemically synthesised. With the increase in the amount of Dox and Elacridar, the encapsulation rate of FP‐ssD@A‐E gradually increased, and the drug loading rate gradually decreased. FP‐ss@A‐E had a sustained‐release effect. Dox, Elacridar, FP‐ss@AuNPs, and FP‐ssD@A‐E significantly improved cell apoptosis, in which, FP‐ssD@A‐E was the most significant. FP‐ssD@A‐E significantly decreased the cell viability and improved the Dox uptake. The levels of VEGFR‐1, P‐gp, IL‐6, and i‐NOS were significantly decreased after Dox, Dox + Elacridar, FP‐ss@AuNPs, and FP‐ssD@A‐E treatment. It was worth noting that FP‐ssD@A‐E had the most significant effects. The prepared FP‐ssD@A‐E micelles, which were spherical in shape, uniform in particle size distribution, and had good drug loading performance and encapsulation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceptance sampling plans are preferably used when sample testing becomes destructive or costly to make reliable lot determination from a reasonable size of samples. Previous decades have seen various sampling strategies developed for specific purposes and the evolution of samplingmethods continue to ensure that lot sentencing becomes more efficient and economic. In this study, we proposed a modified variables repetitive group sampling (VRGS) plan integrated with a critical-value-adjusted switching mechanism. Such a design provides an adaptive assessment of the varied submitted quality level. The operating characteristic function is derived from the sampling distribution of process yield index Spk, which possesses a one-to-one transformation to process yield. By solving the developed nonlinear minimization model, the plan parameters of the proposed method are satisfied with tolerable sampling risks and desirable quality levels simultaneously. Furthermore, by comparing the average sample number (ASN) reduction and discriminatory power with other approaches, the proposed method outperforms conventional methods. Numerical illustrations are provided to show its practicability in real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N,O‐bidentate BF2 complexes with five‐ and six‐membered core rings have been thoroughly investigated. However, the development of seven‐membered N,O‐boron complexes is still an area to be explored. We have developed BF3 ⋅ OEt2‐induced self‐condensation and coordination reactions based on a single starting material, which had been elucidated by experiment and calculation. This parent asymmetric core‐expanded borondifluoride‐(Z)‐1,3‐di(1H‐pyrrol‐2‐yl)but‐2‐en‐1‐one (BOPYO) showed reactivity with a wide range of aldehydes, thus providing a series of conjugation BOPYOs. Moreover, a BOPYO derivative with a dimethylamino group was developed as a new NIR dye that responds to acid with favorable photophysical properties based on intramolecular charge transfer effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies currently. Despite advances in drug development, the survival and response rates in CRC patients are still poor. In our previous study, a library comprised of 1056 bioactive compounds was used for screening of drugs that could suppress CRC. Lomerizine 2HCl, which is an approved prophylactic drug for migraines, was selected for our studies. The results of in vitro and in vivo assays suggested that lomerizine 2HCl suppresses cell growth and promotes apoptosis in CRC cells. Moreover, lomerizine 2HCl inhibits cellmigration and invasion of CRC. RNA sequencing analysis and Western blotting confirmed that lomerizine 2HCl can inhibit cell growth, migration, and invasion through PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and induces protective autophagy in CRC. Meanwhile, autophagy inhibition by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) increases lomerizine 2HCl-induced cell apoptosis. Taken together, these results imply that lomerizine 2HCl is a potential anticancer agent, and the combination of lomerizine 2HCl and autophagy inhibitors may serve as a novel strategy to increase the antitumor efficacy of agents in the treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel pyrrolizinone‐fused BOPYINs (DAB−M and DAB−U) were prepared in one‐step through the oxidative and/or oxidative nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen (ONSH) reaction. Selective methoxyl substitution of α‐unsubstituted BOPYIN was developed, in which C−O and C=O bonds were formed and demonstrated by the single crystal structure of DAB−M. The absorption and emission spectra of both compounds showed red shift and large Stokes Shift compared with starting material DAB. Based on the TD‐DFT calculation, the electron transfer direction is totally different from DAB due to the carbonyl group on pyrrolizinone unit. Besides, a reasonable mechanism has been proposed and evidenced by quantum calculation in which the relative free energy has been exhibited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic changes have played an important role in societal reorganizations. Particularly, the late 16th and early 17th century coincided with severely cold condition, extremely weak summer monsoon and widespread population decline in China. Here we present new speleothem oxygen isotope records across North and South China, which in concert with historical documents, allow us to characterize the "Late Ming Weak Monsoon Periods" (LMWMP) at an unprecedented annual temporal resolution. Our analysis suggests that as a weak summer monsoon event not seen for nearly 500 years in China, the LMWMP spatiotemporally coincided with the late Ming Dynasty peasant uprising (1627-1658 CE), and thus the transition from Ming to Qing Dynasty. This suggests a plausible role of climate change in shaping the important chapters of the Chinese history. In addition, both speleothem and historical documents reveal that the LMWMP appears to be a north to south time-transgressive event on decadal-timescale. Plain Language Summary This study presents two new speleothem paleoclimate records across northern and southern China, which in concert with the historical documents, allow us to characterize the Late Ming Weak Monsoon Periods (LMWMP) (1580-1660 CE). The records offer that the unprecedented, long-lasting aridity/weakening monsoon period was spatiotemporally synchronized with the late Ming peasantry uprising (1627-1658 CE) and the fall of the Ming Dynasty. The comparisons with many regional paleoclimate records show that the severest drought during the LMWMP was timetransgressive on decadal-timescale: from northern China to the Jiang-Huai region. Mechanistically, solar activity may provide a centennial scale background of precipitation decreases for LMWMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dots (CDs) as a novel type of nanomaterials have attracted significant attention in various scientific communities because of their excellent fluorescence. Herein, green fluorescent CDs (G-CDs) were obtained using one-pot hydrothermal treatment of Lonicera maackii fruit and exhibited excellent fluorescence characteristic and good bio-compatibility. The assynthesized G-CDs displayed strong green fluorescence, which was specifically quenched by Fe3+. And we develop a method for excellent sensitive and selective detection of Fe3+ with a linear range of 0.1-10 μM and a limit of detection of 0.08 μM. The method was further extended to measure the concentration of Fe3+ in actual water samples which the result is satisfactory. The synthesized G-CDs were applied for drawing fluorescent patterns, which may be used for anti-counterfeit. Finally, the prepared G-CDs were used in cell imaging and detection of Fe3+ in live cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmission electron microscopy indicated that FOLR3 SNP+ K562 cells exhibited rich amounts of lipid droplets, which were not observed in SNP+ CD34+ cells (Figure 3D). Thecolonyforming capacity of FOLR3 SNP+ CD34 + cells remarkably decreased compared to that of siFOLR3 and FOLR3 SNP- cells (Figure 2I). [Extracted from the article]

Among the various thermochemical biomass conversion pathways, chemical looping gasification and chemical looping reforming, collectively known as chemical looping biomass processing (CLBP), offers numerous advantages, including the generation of renewable hydrogen, high exergy efficiency, inherent carbon capture, and process intensification. Like all other chemical looping applications, oxygen carriers play key roles in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of CLBP. In addition to the requirement for high oxygen transfer capacity, the chemical activity of the lattice oxygen also needs to be modulated to steer the selectivity of CLBP toward syngas. Furthermore, it is desirable for the CLBP oxygen carriers to possess catalytic activities that accelerate the conversion of biomass-based feedstocks. However, despite the large volume of relevant research publications, the diversity in oxygen carrier formulations, biomass compositions, and test conditions used leads to mixed views regarding the structural--functional relationships between oxygen carriers and their performance during CLBP. To address the above knowledge gap, this review presents a systematic, but non-exhaustive summary of the development and evaluation of oxygen carriers for CLBP applications, with an aim to elucidate the rational design principles and operation parameters toward optimal process efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two‐step, one‐flask synthesis of central seven‐membered borondifluoride‐3,3‐dimethyl‐2‐[2‐(2‐pyrrolyl)ethenyl] indole (BOPYIN) ligands has been developed by using the unexplored 3,3‐dimethyl‐2‐[2‐(2‐pyrrolyl)ethenyl] indole. The simple synthetic approach has enabled modification of the electronic structure by changing the substituents on the indole unit. X‐ray analysis indicated that conformations of the seven‐membered BF2 complex including BOPYIN and diazaborepin differ from that of the five‐ and six‐membered organoboron complexes. Interestingly, the bond angle of the N⋅⋅⋅B−N bond increases with the number of atoms in the core ring, based on Baeyer strain theory. These unsymmetric BOPYIN derivatives have excellent photophysical properties, including high fluorescence quantum yields, except for BOPYIN‐4 in the solution state, large Stokes shifts, and good molar absorptivity. The dipole moment of BOPYIN‐3 in the first excited singlet state and ground state was demonstrated by a linear Lippert–Mataga plot. The absorption and emission spectra were not mirror images for BOPYIN‐1–3 and 5, in contradiction to Kasha's rule, as determined by TDDFT. The synthesized BOPYINs have been shown to be biocompatible fluorophores in cell bioimaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel class of backbone-hydrolyzable LCST-type polyesters of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) bis(glycidyl ether)-alt-ketoglutaric acid)s (PEmKs) with numerous reactive sites is presented in this study. The target polyesters are prepared with commercially available hexa(ethylene glycol) bis(glycidyl ether) (E6BG), ethylene glycol bis(glycidyl ether) (E1BG), and 2-ketoglutaric acid (KGA). By varying the initial feed ratio of E6BG and E1BG and the polymer concentration, a tunable thermal responsiveness with excellent repeatability is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecticide resistance is inevitable if an insecticide is widely used to control insect pests. Fortunately, the resistance-associated fitness costs often give chances to manage resistances. In most cases, the fitness cost in resistant insects is often evaluated under laboratory conditions for insect development, which limits its practical application in pest control in the field. In a laboratory population R9 with 253-fold resistance to chlorpyrifos after nine-generation selection with chlorpyrifos, the relative fitness was only 0.206 under laboratory conditions (25°C, humidity 70%-80% and 16 h light/8 h dark photoperiod), when compared to S9, a susceptible counterpart (resistance ratio = 2.25- fold) from the same origin as R9 but without any selection with insecticides. Temperatures varied the resistance-associated fitness costs, with enhanced costs at high temperatures and reduced costs at low temperatures, such as 0.174 at 32°C and 0.527 at 18°C. The copulation rate and fecundity were two key factors for the reduced costs at low temperatures. Another finding was that R9 individuals needed much more time to recover from heat shock than that of S9, but R9 and S9 individuals were similarly sensitive to cold shock. The low fitness cost at low temperatures would increase the overwintering population, which might further increase risks of rapid development and widespread distribution of chlorpyrifos resistance in Nilaparvata lugens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multiplicative noise removal problem has received considerable attention recently. To solve this problem, various variational models have been proposed, which minimise an energy functional composed of the data term and the regularisation term. Regarding the regularisation term, a first-order model is frequently used to remove multiplicative noise, which may cause staircase effect and loss of contrast in the output image. In this study, the authors use a second-order model, the total curvature (TC), to solve the above problem. The TC model has the benefit of removing the staircase effect and maintaining image edges, contrasts and corners. The augmented Lagrange method is utilised to solve the proposed TC model by introducing auxiliary variables, Lagrange multipliers and using alternating optimisation strategy. In each loop of optimisation, the fast Fourier transform, generalised soft threshold formulas, projection method and gradient descent method are integrated effectively. The experimental results show that the TC model can effectively remove staircase effect and preserve smoothness, via comparison with the first-order model (total variation regularisation and Perona-Malik regularisation). Furthermore, the TC model is better than another second-order model based on bounded Hessian regularisation in preserving contrast and corner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparison of biological characteristics between diapausing and non-diapausing strains of insects provides some insights into the mechanisms regulating diapause. In this study, biological characteristics, especially diapause characteristics and life-history traits, of a non-photoperiodic-diapause (NPD) strain of the cabbage beetle Colaphellus bowringi were compared with those of a normal, high-diapause (HD) strain that enters diapause in response to either long day length or low temperature. The NPD strain did not enter diapause at any photoperiod at 22°C or higher, but still had a capacity to enter diapause at low temperatures. Although diapause could be induced in both strains by exposure to 20°C, the proportion of individuals having shorter diapause duration was greater in the NPD strain compared to the HD strain. The NPD strain had significantly lower hatching and larval survival rates, longer developmental duration of immature stages, smaller body size and lower longevity and female fecundity compared to the HD strain. The NPD strain of this species is a promising model for investigating diapause regulation in insects in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fîr Lithiumionenakkumulatoren mit hohen Energiedichten gibt es eine überaus große Nachfrage im Bereich tragbarer elektronischer Geräte und Elektrofahrzeuge. Weil die Energiedichten der Lithiumionenakkumulatoren vor allem vom verwendeten Kathodenmaterial abhängen, wird nach alternativen Kathodenmaterialien mit besserer Lithiumnutzung und höherer spezifischer Energiedichte intensiv geforscht. Insbesondere Ni-reiche Lithium-Übergangsmetalloxid-Schichtverbindungen können höhere Kapazitäten als das klassische LiCoO2 bei geringeren Kosten bereitstellen. Sie gelten als besonders vielversprechend, aber sie bergen noch große Herausforderungen bezäglich Lebensdauer, Wärmestabilität und Sicherheit. Hier wird umfassend beschrieben, wie gezielte Veränderungen an der Struktur oder an den Grenzflächen in einer Leistungssteigerung von Ni-reichen Kathodenmaterialien resultieren. Die zugrundeliegenden Mechanismen und die noch zu bewältigenden Herausforderungen werden ebenfalls diskutiert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fabrication process of silicon hierarchical nanopillar arrays (NPAs) based on the self-assembled colloid particle monolayer is presented. Using colloid particles assembled by the evaporation-induced method as masks, well-ordered silicon NPAs were fabricated by assessing the deep reactive ion etching process. After the optimisation of the cycles of etching and passivation steps, double-layer hierarchical NPAs were achieved simultaneously. Systematic analysis and experiments were conducted to investigate the transition from well-ordered silicon NPAs to silicon hierarchical NPAs. An explanation of this transition is provided based on the collapsing phenomenon discovered in the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress is an important molecular mechanism underlying lung fibrosis. The mitochondrion is a major organelle for oxidative stress in cells. Therefore, blocking the mitochondrial signalling pathway may be the best therapeutic manoeuver to ameliorate lung fibrosis. Astaxanthin (AST) is an excellent antioxidant, but no study has addressed the pathway of AST against pulmonary oxidative stress and free radicals by the mitochondrion-mediated signalling pathway. In this study, we investigated the antioxidative effects of AST against H2O2- or bleomycin (BLM)-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in alveolar epithelial cells type II (AECs-II) in vivo and in vitro. Our data show that AST blocks H2O2- or BLM-induced ROS generation and dose-dependent apoptosis in AECs-II, as characterized by changes in cell and mitochondria morphology, translocation of apoptotic proteins, inhibition of cytochrome c (Cyt c) release, and the activation of caspase- 9, caspase-3, Nrf-2 and other cytoprotective genes. These data suggest that AST inhibits apoptosis in AECs-II cells through the ROS-dependent mitochondrial signalling pathway and may be of potential therapeutic value in lung fibrosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]