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Wind power input to oceanic near‐inertial oscillations (NIOs) plays a crucial role in sustaining the global ocean conveyor belt. However, the impact of tropical cyclones (TCs) on wind power input to NIOs, despite being the most vigorous atmospheric dynamics capable of exciting NIOs, is often overlooked in global estimations due to their transient nature and a lack of observations. Utilizing hourly wind and ocean current records, we quantified the wind power on NIOs induced by TCs from 1990 to 2019. Our findings reveal that the wind power on NIOs due to TCs is estimated to be between 0.028 and 0.065 TW, which accounts for a significant proportion, that is, 8%–17%, of that over the globe. This study highlights the importance of incorporating the wind power induced by TCs when estimating the global wind power on NIOs, as its impact is non‐negligible. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the global energy balance by improving the estimation of wind power on NIOs. Plain Language Summary: Wind power input to oceanic near‐inertial oscillations (NIOs) is important for sustaining the global ocean conveyor belt. However, the influence of tropical cyclones (TCs) on wind power input to NIOs, despite being the most intense atmospheric dynamics that could easily excite NIOs, is often overlooked in global estimations due to their transient nature and a lack of observations. By analyzing wind and ocean current records from 1990 to 2019, the wind power on NIOs induced by TCs was quantified. We found that wind power on NIOs due to TCs is non‐negligible and accounts for a significant portion of that over the globe. This study highlights the importance of considering the wind power induced by TCs when estimating the global wind power on NIOs, which helps to achieve a more accurate estimation of wind power on NIOs, leading to an improved understanding of the global energy balance. Key Points: Observed data shows tropical cyclones contribute 8%–17% of global wind power on near‐inertial oscillationsTropical cyclones could contribute up to 90% of wind power on near‐inertial oscillations in their prone regionsAccounting for tropical cyclones is essential when estimating wind power on near‐inertial oscillations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This multi‐center study was aimed at retrospectively evaluating the feasibility, safety, clinical outcomes, and surgical learning curve of an optimized procedure for right upper lobectomy (RUL), which is challenging because of the anatomical structures and features of this lobe. Methods: This study included 45 RUL cases of robot‐assisted thoracoscopy (RATS) in a pilot cohort and 187 RUL cases of video‐assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) in three cohorts. A total of 121 and 111 patients underwent traditional and optimized RUL, respectively. The optimized surgical procedure was performed to consecutively transect the superior arterial trunk and bronchus, and finally disconnect the pulmonary vein and posterior ascending artery with interlobar fissures. Clinical and radiological data were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Optimized RUL can be performed successfully by RATS or VATS. The optimized procedure yielded better clinical outcomes than the traditional procedure, including shorter operation times, less blood loss, fewer complications, shorter hospital times, lower costs, and a lower likelihood of postoperative intermedius bronchial kinking. Additionally, for calcified interlobar lymph nodes, the optimized VATS group was less likely to be converted to thoracotomy than the traditional group. The skills required to perform optimized VATS RUL can be gained by surgeons after 12 to 15 cases. The two RUL procedures in the pilot cohort showed similar disease‐free survival. Conclusions: The optimized RUL was safe, economical, and feasible, with a short learning curve and satisfactory disease‐free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male‐specific wing spots are usually associated with wing displays in the courtship behavior of Drosophila and may play important roles in sexual selection. Two closely related species, D. nepalensis and D. trilutea, differ in wing spots and scissoring behavior. Here, we compare male morphological characters, pigmentation intensity of male wing spots, wing‐scissoring behavior, courtship songs, and reproductive isolation between 2 species. F1 fertile females and sterile males result from the cross between females of D. nepalensis and males of D. trilutea. The pigmentation of wing spots is significantly weaker in D. trilutea than in D. nepalensis and the F1 hybrid. Males scissor both wings in front of the female during courtship, with a posture spreading wings more widely, and at a faster frequency in D. nepalensis than in D. trilutea and the F1s. Males of D. trilutea vibrate wings to produce 2 types (A and B) of pulse songs, whereas D. nepalensis and the F1s sing only type B songs. The incidence of wing vibration and scissoring during courtship suggests that wing vibration is essential but scissoring is a facultative courtship element for successful mating in both species. The association between the darker wing spots with more elaborate scissoring might be the consequence of correlated evolution of these traits in D. nepalensis; however, D. trilutea retains wing scissoring during courtship despite having weaker pigmentation of wing spots. The genetic architecture of 2 traits differs in the F1s, consistent with maternal or sex‐linked effects for spots but nonadditive effects for scissoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has gradually increased, including new drugs and surgical methods, the mortality rate of PAH patients has significantly decreased, and the average survival rate has significantly improved. However, there was no obvious improvement in sexual health, mental health, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with PAH. Although an important dimension of QoL, little is known about sexual health and sexual health-related QoL of patients with PAH in China. In this study, the female sexual function index (FSFI) scale, the Symptom Checklist- 90 (SCL-90), and emPHasis-10 were used to evaluate PAH associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PAH) patients' sexual function, mental health, and QoL. The score of sexual function in female CHD-PAH patients ranged from 4.40 to 34.80 points, and the average score was 26.80 (19.00--27.80) points. The detection rate of sexual dysfunction was 48.30%. The FSFI score of all dimensions of the sexual dysfunction group was significantly lower than that of the nonsexual dysfunction group. In addition, the scores of SCL-90 and emPHasis-10 were significantly higher than that of the nonsexual dysfunction group (p < 0.01). The sexual function was negatively correlated with mental health (r = --0.58, p < 0.01) and QoL (r = --0.62, p < 0.01) in female CHD-PAH patients. The sexual function of female patients with CHD-PAH is not optimistic. Sexual health may impact mental health and overall QoL in female PAH patients. Reasonable intervention measures should be taken to improve their sexual health, so as to improve their overall QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUD: Chinese Luzhou-flavor baijiu (LFB) was fermented in an underground cellar, and the bottom and side of the cellar were covered with pit muds (PMs), where the metabolic activity of the microorganisms had a significant effect on the LFB quality. PMs can be divided into aged pit mud (AP) and degenerated pit mud (DP), thus, the qualities of LFB generated from AP and DP were different. In this essay, metatranscriptomics method was applied to illustrate the differences of the two PMs, as well as to search out the pivotal microorganisms and genes influencing the quality of LFB. RESULTS: Archaea, Clostridium and some thermophilic microorganisms might bring significant effect in AP, while the active eukaryota and Anaeromyxobacter would cause degeneration in PM. Also, the metabolism of carbohydrate and amino acid were more active in AP. What is more, carbohydrate, amino acid and their derivant can produce important organic acids via the activity of the microorganisms in PMs. There were eight critical enzymes noticed in the organic acids metabolic pathway, which were more actively expressed in AP, demonstrating active expression of the critical genes related to organic acid metabolism could have a positive effect on LFB quality. CONCLUSION: This study identified specific differences in active microorganisms, active expressed genes and the expression levels of key genes in vital metabolic pathway between AP and DP. Which may be the actual reason for the differences in the quality of LFB made from different PMs. Mastering these results will provide assistance to improve the quality of LFB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To discuss whether the dome or anterior wall of bladder adenocarcinoma (BAC) should be classified into urachal carcinoma (UrC) and the relationship of primary tumor location (PTL) as well as treatment with survival. Methods: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 database was examined for eligible patients from 1975 to 2016. Patients were classified into adenocarcinoma originating from the urachus (UAC), the dome (D-BAC), the anterior wall (A-BAC), and the other sites adenocarcinoma of the bladder (O-BAC). The clinicopathological features, treatment, and survival were compared among the groups. Results: Comparable clinicopathologic features were obtained between UAC and DBAC, which were different from those of A-BAC and O-BAC; otherwise, the latter two had similar clinicopathologic features. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses indicated that PTL was an independent predictor for survival. OBAC conferred the worst prognosis then followed by A-BAC, D-BAC, and UAC. For non-metastatic UAC or D-BAC, partial cystectomy (with an en bloc resection of the urachus and umbilicus) is optimal for survival. However, the worse survival of non-metastatic D-BAC (compared with UAC) suggested different modalities, maybe more intensive surgery approaches, should be considered for D-BAC. Conclusion: This study illustrates that PTL of UAC and BAC was an independent predictor for survival. A-BAC had comparable characters and prognosis with O-BAC and should not be classified into and treated as UrC. For non-metastatic disease, nonmetastatic D-BAC may need more intensive modality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous materials have been investigated as efficient photochromic platforms for detecting hazardous radiation, while the utilization of hydrogen bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) in this field has remained intact. Herein, two HOFs were synthesized through self‐assembly of tetratopic viologen ligand and formic acid (PFC‐25, PFC‐26), as a new class of "all‐organic" radiochromic smart material, opening a gate for HOFs in this field. PFC‐26 is active upon both X‐ray and UV irradiation, while PFC‐25 is only active upon X‐ray irradiation. The same building block yet different radiochromic behaviors of PFC‐25 and PFC‐26 allow us to gain a deep mechanistic understanding of the factors that control the detection specificity. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal that the degree of π‐conjugation of viologen ligand is highly related to the threshold energy of triggering a charge transfer, therefore being a vital factor for the particularity of radiochromic materials. Thanks to its convenient processibility, nanoparticle size, and UV silence, PFC‐25 can be further fabricated into a portable naked‐eye sensor for X‐ray detection, which shows obvious color change with the merits of high transmittance contrast, good sensitivity (reproducible dose threshold of 3.5 Gy), and excellent stability. The work exhibits the promising practical potentials of HOF materials in photochromic technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mefunidone (MFD) is a promising anti‐fibrotic candidate molecule with greater anti‐fibrotic activity than pirfenidone (PFD). However, there has been no report on the methodology used for the quantification of MFD or on any investigation of its pharmacokinetics. In this study, an efficient and reliable liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was developed to assay MFD in monkey plasma. This assay method was validated and applied to a pharmacokinetics study in monkeys. The lower limit of quantification of this assay was 0.1 μg·mL−1, and the linear calibration curve was acquired with R2 > 0.99 between 0.1 and 60 μg·mL−1. The intra‐day and inter‐day precision were evaluated with coefficient of variations of 1.5%–5.8%, whereas the mean accuracy ranged from 91.7% to 106.9%. A negligible matrix effect and good recovery were obtained using this assay, with average extraction recoveries of MFD and the internal standard (IS) in the range of 85.5%–124.8% and 84.1%–94.0%, respectively. The precision of the absolute matrix effect of MFD and the IS was 1.2–3.0% and 1.2–7.3%, respectively. The samples were stable under all experimental conditions. Linear pharmacokinetics were observed for MFD in monkeys, where the exposures of MFD increased proportionally with increasing MFD doses at the range of 10–90 mg·kg−1. Moderate elimination of MFD from the body was observed, with t1/2 of 5–7 h, and the elimination rate of MFD was stable during multiple dosing. In conclusion, this method provides an reliable analytical approach for quantification of MFD in plasma and was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetics study in monkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Mefunidone (MFD), a novel derivation of pirfenidone (PFD), exhibits promising anti‐renal fibrosis activity. To avoid early development failures and attrition in clinical phase 1, an evaluation of the preclinical pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of MFD was conducted in this study. The absolute bioavailability was evaluated in Sprague Dawley rats and cynomolgus monkeys, who received an intragastric or intravenous administration at the dose of 31.25 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively. Tissue distribution and plasma protein binding studies were performed to evaluate the distribution characteristics of MFD. The enzymes involved in the metabolism of MFD were assayed by calculating the inhibition rate using the in vitro incubation system of human liver microsomes. The metabolic pathway of MFD was also examined in the in vitro incubation system as well as in rats in vivo. The results revealed satisfactory absorption of MFD in vivo, with an absolute bioavailability of MFD in rats and monkeys of approximately 77.2% and 70.0%, respectively. MFD was rapidly distributed to all tissues and was highly concentrated in the kidney, which was the target organ of MFD. The plasma protein binding rates in rat, monkey, and human plasma were 36.40%–41.68%, 30.88%–63.92%, and 37.75%–57.77%, respectively. MFD was primarily metabolized by the enzymes CYP3A4, CYP2C9, and CYP2C8. The metabolic pathway of MFD is nitrogen demethylation of the pyridine ring of the MFD nucleus, hydroxylation of the aromatic ring, and demethylation of the piperazine ring. In conclusion, MFD exhibited good PK properties in the initial preclinical PK study. The results strongly support further research to investigate the potential of MFD as a clinical anti‐renal fibrosis drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations from two Bio‐Argo floats deployed in the northern and central South China Sea (SCS) show distinct seasonal patterns of vertical chlorophyll distribution. There is a permanent subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) located between 60 and 80 m throughout the year and a weak seasonality of surface chlorophyll in the central SCS. In the northern SCS, the SCM shoals to the upper mixed layer in winter and surface phytoplankton shows a clear winter bloom pattern. The mechanism driving the spatial and seasonal differences in phytoplankton dynamics in the euphotic zone remains unclear. Here a coupled physical‐biological model is developed and applied to the northern and central SCS. With model and satellite data, we show that the contrasting patterns in chlorophyll are induced by the spatial variability in winter mixing dynamics. In the northern SCS, the buoyancy flux‐induced mixing plays a dominant role in controlling the seasonal variability of vertical nutrient transport and phytoplankton production, which leads to the peak of surface chlorophyll and the significant shoaling of the SCM in winter. In the central SCS, the intensity of the buoyancy flux is reduced and both buoyancy flux‐ and wind‐induced mixing control the winter mixing dynamics. However, the combination of these two mixing processes is weaker than in the northern SCS and the vertical nutrient transport is limited to the layer above the SCM, resulting in the reduced seasonality of surface chlorophyll and the relatively stable SCM all year round in the central SCS. Plain Language Summary: Both satellite and Bio‐Argo floats show a significant increase of surface chlorophyll concentration in winter in the northern South China Sea (SCS) but a very weak seasonal change in the central SCS. We used a coupled physical‐biological model to systematically study the mechanism driving these spatial and seasonal differences. The model can reasonably simulate the different chlorophyll distribution patterns identified by observations. We found that the buoyancy flux‐induced mixing plays a dominant role in controlling the seasonal change of chlorophyll in the northern SCS. In the central SCS, both buoyancy flux‐ and wind‐induced mixing control the winter mixing dynamics. However, the combination of these two mixing dynamics is not as strong as that in the northern SCS and the vertical nutrient transport is only limited to the layer above the SCM, resulting in the reduced seasonality of surface chlorophyll and the relatively stable SCM all year round in the central SCS. Key Points: There is a stable SCM and a weak seasonality of surface CHL in the central SCS, while there is a shoaling SCM and a clear winter bloom in the northIn the northern SCS, buoyancy flux‐induced mixing plays a dominant role in controlling winter mixing and seasonal phytoplankton dynamicsIn the central SCS, both buoyancy flux‐ and wind‐induced mixing control the winter mixing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the association between the UGT2B7 tagSNPs (rs12233719, rs4356975, rs7435335 and rs7441774) and breast cancer in Chinese females. Blood samples were collected from 672 patients with breast cancer and 670 healthy controls for DNA extraction. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) was used to analyze UGT2B7 polymorphisms. Dual‐luciferase reporter assays were further performed to investigate the regulatory function of UGT2B7 tagSNPs. The frequency of rs7441774 G allele in the breast cancer cases was statistically significantly higher than in the controls (0.412 vs 0.358, P = .006; odds ratio [OR] = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.08‐1.48). After adjusting for conventional risk factors, individuals with the GG genotype had a higher breast cancer risk than those with the AA genotype (adjusted OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.18‐2.26; P = .008). The GCGG haplotype of UGT2B7 was also associated with breast cancer (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.04‐1.45; P = .027). Meanwhile, the rs7441774 G allele could significantly decrease the transcriptional activity of the UGT2B7 gene. This study indicates that UGT2B7 polymorphisms may play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of breast cancer in the Han Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of novel selective probes with high sensitivity for the detection of Al3+ is widely considered an important research goal due to the importance of such probes in medicine, living systems and the environment. Here, we describe a new fluorescent probe, N′-(4-diethylamino-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide ( 1), for Al3+. Probe 1 was evaluated in a solution of acetonitrile/water (1:1 v/ v). Compared with previously reported probes for Al3+, probe 1 can be synthesized easily and in high yield. A Job plot confirmed that probe 1 is able to complex Al3+ in a 1:1 ratio, and the binding constant was determined to be 4.25×108 m−1. Moreover, the detection limit was as low as 6.7×10−9 m, suggesting that probe 1 has a high sensitivity. Common coexistent metal ions, such as K+, Co2+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Ce2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Fe3+, showed little or no interference in the detection of Al3+ in solution, demonstrating the high selectivity of the probe. Finally, the ability of probe 1 to act as a fluorescent probe for Al3+ in living systems was evaluated in Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, and confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed its utility. The results of this study suggest that 1 has appropriate properties to be developed for application as a fluorescent probe of Al3+ for use in biological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usually, instantaneous channel information is required by the transmitter for the precoding in multi-input multi-output interference channels. In the case of fast fading channels, the resultant additional overhead of the system will be high. Against this, this study considers the scenario where the channel is spatially correlated and the transmitter only has the covariance information of the channel so that the system overhead can be reduced. On the basis of maximum signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) criterion, the author proposes two precoding methods, including the iterative precoding and bisection search precoding methods. The first method solves the optimal precoder of a given user provided that others' precoders are known, so that the SINR can be increased gradually. Whereas the second method introduces an auxiliary variable, transforms the original non-convex problem into a convex one, and solves it by convex optimisation softwares. Both the proposed methods are provedtobeconvergentand their computation complexity and overheads are also analysed. Under various system settings, the proposed two methods are compared with a few existing precoding or joint transceiver methods by numerical method and computer simulation, and the superiority of the proposed methods is also shown in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Text information contained in scene images is very helpful for high-level image understanding. In this study, the authors propose to learn co-occurrence of local strokes for scene text recognition by using a spatiality embedded dictionary (SED). Unlike spatial pyramid partitioning images into grids to incorporate spatial information, the authors SED associates every codeword with a particular response region and introduces more precise spatial information for robust character recognition. After localised soft coding and max pooling of the first layer, a sparse dictionary is learned to model cooccurrence of several local strokes, which further improves classification performance. Experimental results on two scene character recognition datasets ICDAR2003 and CHARS74 K demonstrate that their character recognition method outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Besides, competitive word recognition results are also reported for four benchmark word recognition datasets ICDAR2003, ICDAR2011, ICDAR2013 and street view text when combining their character recognition method with a conditional random field language model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, more and more rhodamine derivatives have been used as fluorophores to construct sensors due to their excellent spectroscopic properties. A rhodamine-based fluorescent and colorimetric Fe3+ chemosensor 3',6'-bis(ethylamino)-2-acetoxyl-2',7'-dimethyl-spiro[1 H-isoindole-1,9'-[9 H]xanthen]-3(2 H)-one ( RAE) was designed and synthesized. Upon the addition of Fe3+, the dramatic enhancement of both fluorescence and absorbance intensity, as well as the color change of the solution, could be observed. The detection limit of RAE for Fe3+ was around 7.98 ppb. Common coexistent metal ions showed little or no interference in the detection of Fe3+. Moreover, the addition of CN− could quench the fluorescence of the acetonitrile solution of RAE and Fe3+, indicating the regeneration of the chemosensor RAE. The robust nature of the sensor was shown by the detection of Fe3+ even after repeated rounds of quenching. As iron is a ubiquitous metal in cells and plays vital roles in many biological processes, this chemosensor could be developed to have applications in biological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pooling strategies, such as max pooling and sum pooling, have been widely used to obtain the global representations for action videos. However, these pooling strategies have several disadvantages. First, they are easily affected by unwanted background local features, the absence of discriminative local features and the times of actions periodically performed by actors. Second, most pooling strategies only use local features to build the global representation that captures little mid-level features for action representation. In this study, the authors propose a novel weighted pooling strategy based on actionlets representation for action recognition. The actionlets are defined as the movements of large bodies such as legs, arms and head, which capture rich mid-level features for action representation. Besides, the authors' method also incorporates the distribution information of actionlets into pooling procedure. Specifically, a pooling weight, which determines the importance of actionlet on the final video representation, is assigned to each actionlet. To learn the weight, they propose a novel discriminative learning algorithm to capture the discriminative information for pooling operation. They evaluate their weighted pooling on three datasets: KTH actions dataset, UCF sports dataset and Youtube actions dataset. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium (NVM) is exceedingly rare and associated with a high morbidity and mortality. This pathology has been associated with other congenital heart diseases (CHDs). The efficacy of surgical treatment of patients with NVM and other CHDs is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to describe surgical outcomes of 16 patients., Methods and Results: Between April 2009 and October 2011, 16 patients with NVM and CHD were admitted to our hospital. Through a clinical chart review, we analyzed results of surgical treatment of NVM with other CHDs retrospectively. The median age was 3.9 years (range 2 m-11 y). The follow-up time was 23.93 months (range 3 m-36 m). Two patients (12.5%) died after the surgery, the remaining patients (87.5%) had an uneventful postoperative course. An additional patient died due to sudden death three months after surgery. Two patients developed recurrent heart failure after surgery. Congestive heart failure, severe arrhythmias, and the range of NVM may be risk factors for death. At 6 months after the operation, the NYHA functional class was significantly improved (2.38 ± 0.89 vs. 1.62 ± 0.65, p = 0.009). The cardiothoracic ratio was significantly reduced when compared to before the operation (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Surgery in patients with NVM and other CHDs can be effective in relieving heart failure, improving heart function, and decreasing heart size., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)