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This paper is concerned with nonzero-sum discrete-time stochastic games in Borel state and action spaces under the expected discounted payoff criterion. The payoff function can be unbounded. The transition probability is a convex combination of finite probability measures that are dominated by a probability measure on the state space and depend on the state variable. Under suitable conditions, the authors establish the existence of stationary almost Markov ε-equilibria and give an approximation method via some stochastic games with bounded payoffs. Finally, a production game is introduced to illustrate the applications of the main result, which generalizes the bounded payoff case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) treatment effectively prolongs the overall survival of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Mutations in the oncogene PML::RARA were found in patients with ATO-resistant and relapsed APL. However, some relapsed patients do not have such mutations. Here, we performed microarray analysis of samples from newly diagnosed and relapsed APL, and found different microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns between these two groups. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-603 was expressed at the lowest level in relapsed patients. The expression of miR-603 and its predicted target tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) were determined by PCR and Western blot. Proliferation was measured using an MTT assay, while apoptosis, cell cycle and CD11b expression were analyzed using flow cytometry. In APL patients, the expression of miR-603 was negatively correlated with that of TrkB. miR-603 directly targeted TrkB and downregulated TrkB expression in the APL cell line NB4. miR-603 increased cell proliferation by promoting the differentiation and inhibiting the apoptosis of NB4 cells. This study shows that the miR-603/ TrkB axis may be a potent therapeutic target for relapsed APL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansions of short tandem repeats (STRs) have been found to be present in more than 50 diseases and have a close connection with neurodegenerative diseases. Transcriptional silencing and R-LOOP formation, RNA-mediated sequestration of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), gain-of-function (GOF) proteins containing expanded repeats, and repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN) translation of toxic repeat peptides are some potential molecular mechanisms underlying STR expansion disorders. R-LOOP, a byproduct of transcription, is a three-stranded nucleic acid structure with abnormal accumulation that participates in the pathogenesis of STR expansion disorders by inducing DNA damage and genome instability. R-LOOPs can engender a series of DNA damage, such as DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), single-strand breaks (SSBs), DNA recombination, or mutations in the DNA replication, transcription, or repair processes. In this review, we provide an in-depth discussion of recent advancements in R-LOOP and systematically elaborate on its genetic destabilizing effects in several neurodegenerative diseases. These molecular mechanisms will provide novel targets for drug design and therapeutic upgrading of these devastating diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft sensors that can discriminate shear and normal force could help provide machines the fine control desirable for safe and effective physical interactions with people. A capacitive sensor is made for this purpose, composed of patterned elastomer and containing both fixed and sliding pillars that allow the sensor to deform and buckle, much like skin itself. The sensor differentiates between simultaneously applied normal force and shear using summation and differences of signals from four deformable capacitors. Cross talk from shear to normal force is less than 2.5%, and between shear axes is less than 10%. Normal and shear stress sensitivity is 0.49 kPa and 0.31 kPa respectively, with a minimum displacement resolution of 40 μm. In addition, finger proximity is detectable at a range of up to 15 mm. The operation is demonstrated on a simple gripper holding a cup. The combination of features and the straightforward fabrication method make this sensor a candidate for implementation as a sensing skin for humanoid robotics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics can be absorbed by aquatic plants, but they seriously affect the health of aquatic plants and threaten the steady state of aquatic ecosystem. The phytoremediation performance and physiology of floating macrophyte (Eichhornia crassipes) under antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) hydroponic conditions were investigated. It was found that CIP absorption of E. crassipes was up to 84.38% and the root was the main absorption tissue. Hydrolysis and microbial degradation were the second removal pathway of CIP followed the plant absorption. After 7 days of CIP exposure, the photosynthesis efficiency of E. crassipes remained stable, and the presence of CIP did not inhibit the growth of the plant. On the 14th day, the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were increased in response to the CIP stress. However, the tender leaves of E. crassipes turned white and shrivel, attributed to a decrease in chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters after 21 days of CIP exposure. These findings will have significant implications for E. crassipes to absorb CIP on a limited time-scale and provide a phytoremediation technology for antibiotics in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cost-effective approach was applied to prepare hierarchical porous carbons by simple carbonization and NaCl activation of Artemisia argyi rod at different temperatures. The obtained Artemisia argyi rod–based porous carbon (AARC)-700 material possesses high specific surface area of 1141.8 m2 g−1 and has a hierarchical structure with rich micro-, meso-, and macropores. As electrode for supercapacitor, AARC-700 shows an outstanding electrochemical performance of 348.4 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte and a superior capacitance of 140 F g−1 at 100 A g−1. At a wide voltage window of 2.0 V, the energy density of the assembled symmetric supercapacitor (AARC-700//AARC-700) at a power density of 2.0 kW kg−1 in 1.0 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte is as high as 32.06 Wh kg−1. Even at a high power density of 40 kW kg−1, a high energy density of 16.67 Wh kg−1 can be achieved. Moreover, the symmetric supercapacitor shows capacitance retention of 99.7% after 20,000 continual charge/discharge cycles at a high current density of 5 A g−1. The results indicate that AARC-700 has bright prospect for application as an electrode material for energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical strength degradation of recycled paper (RP) caused by the keratinization of recycled fibers is a basic problem to be solved urgently in the waste paper recycling industry. Compensating RP strength in a sustainable pathway is imperative and challenging. Cellulose nanofibrils with a three-dimensional interpenetrating network structure (3DIPN-CNFs) developed as a new family of strength additives for RP were demonstrated herein. The 3DIPN-CNFs were obtained from bagasse in a single bath treatment with H3PO4 and H2O2 under mild aqueous conditions. The tensile index and tear index of the RP with 3DIPN-CNFs were increased by 78% and 39%, respectively. 3DIPN-CNFs are less expensive and easier to obtain than Isolated-CNFs because homogenizing mechanical treatment is not required and are expected to become a sustainable strength additive for RP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Bi6O6(OH)3(NO3)3·1.5H2O (BBN)/Bi2O2CO3 (BOC) heterojunction was designed for the first time via a facile hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic performance of catalysts was evaluated by degrading Rhodamine B (RhB) under simulated solar light irradiation. It was found that the degradation rate of RhB by 25 wt%BBN/BOC was dramatically increased about 1.5 and 4.7 times compared with that of pure BOC and BBN, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic performance migth be attributed to the effective separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs, benefiting from the construction of heterojunction. Furthermore, the mechanism upon BBN/BOC composites photocatalyst was investigated, expecting this work will bring new insight into the theoretical study and application of semiconductors materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowding, a fundamental limit in object recognition, is believed to result from excessive integration of nearby items in peripheral vision. To understand its pooling mechanisms, we measured subjects’ internal response distributions in an orientation crowding task. Contrary to the prediction of an averaging model, we observed a pattern suggesting that the perceptual judgement is made based on choosing the largest response across the noise-perturbed items. A model featuring first-stage averaging and second-stage signed-max operation predicts the diverse errors made by human observers under various signal strength levels. These findings suggest that different rules operate to resolve the bottleneck at early and high-level stages of visual processing, implementing a combination of linear and nonlinear pooling strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]