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• Col5a1 +/- corneas heal poorly after incisional injuries with persistence of open wounds and larger scars. • Col5a1 +/− myofibroblasts failed to activate latent TGF-β1 in vitro. • In vivo , after full thickness corneal wounds, Smad4 failed to translocate to the nucleus in Col5a1 +/− cells when compared to Col5a1 +/+. • A disorganized collagen matrix with undulated/wavy fibrils is formed in Col5a1 +/- corneas that contain 50 % collagen V. Patients with classical Ehlers Danlos syndrome (cEDS) suffer impaired wound healing and from scars formed after injuries that are atrophic and difficult to close surgically. Haploinsufficiency in COL5A1 creates systemic morphological and functional alterations in the entire body. We investigated mechanisms that impair wound healing from corneal lacerations (full thickness injuries) in a mouse model of cEDS (Col5a1 +/−). We found that collagen V reexpression in this model is upregulated during corneal tissue repair and that wound healing is delayed, impaired, and results in large atrophic corneal scars. We noted that in a matrix with a 50 % content of collagen V, activation of latent Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) β is dysregulated. Corneal myofibroblasts with a haploinsufficiency of collagen V failed to mechanically activate latent TGF β. Second harmonic imaging microscopy showed a disorganized, undulated, and denser collagen matrix in our Col5a1 +/- model that suggested alterations in the extracellular matrix structure and function. We hypothesize that a regenerated collagen matrix with only 50 % content of collagen V is not resistant enough mechanically to allow adequate activation of latent TGF β by fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Preparation of composite adsorbents for rapid adsorption of gaseous iodine. • The adsorption capacity at 95 °C is 1.29 g g−1. • Adsorption rate increased by 2.3–10.1 times. • The dynamic maximum iodine adsorption capacity reached 1077 mg g−1. • Prediction of adsorption properties using the Levenberg-Marquardt neural network. In addressing the urgent challenge of mitigating gaseous iodine, a highly volatile and hazardous element in nuclear incidents, this study synthesized composite adsorbents with diverse C/Zn molar ratios using MOF and carbon powder. The saturated iodine adsorption at 75 °C exhibited the sequence: CZ-3 (1.15 g g−1) > CZ-2 (1.08 g g−1) > CZ-1 (0.93 g g−1) > C (0.79 g g−1), displaying 2.3–10.1 times increase in adsorption rate compared to carbon powder and Zn-MOF-2. At an elevated temperature of 95 °C, it achieved saturated adsorption of 1.29 g g−1(CZ-3). The adsorbed iodine primarily manifested in the forms of I 2 , I 3 -, and I 5 -. The dynamic maximum iodine adsorption capacity under specific conditions (75 °C, 300 ppm, 100 mL min−1, 0.5 MPa, 4 cm column length, and 6 mm diameter) reached 1077 mg g−1. Leveraging the Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation neural network (LM-BPNN) algorithm, a superior fit was achieved. This research provides a theoretical foundation for the rapid and efficient treatment of gaseous iodine in nuclear scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The dynamic game model of multi-oligarchs in regional power market are established. • The factors of macro policies are considered in the game. • Information asymmetry has different effects on players whereas a depraved impact on the stability. • A partial-shared mitigation mechanism based on signal transmission under macro-control is creatively proposed. • Policy recommendations are given to the management of players. Renewable portfolio standard and tradable green certification have become key policies for China to achieve carbon neutralization, which pose new challenges to strategies of players in the actual power market. A multi-oligarch dynamic electricity sales game model in regional power supply market is established, which consists of a renewable energy power enterprise, a traditional enterprise and an energy storage enterprise. The stability conditions of the system together with the effects of the macro-policies and information asymmetry on the game are further analyzed. According to the strategic interaction of stakeholders, the results demonstrate that, compared with the market transaction price weight, the marginal profit weight of energy storage enterprise has a significant impact on strategies of players, while information asymmetry has a depraved impact on the stability. Further, through the proposition of a partially shared signal transmission mitigation mechanism under macro-control, it is evidenced to effectively cushion the bad impact of information asymmetry on the stability of Nash equilibrium. Finally, the implementation of renewable portfolio standard and tradable green certification in the long run, will improve the stability of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common degenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS) after Alzheimer's disease. In addition to the typical motor symptoms, the clinical manifestations of patients with PD include gastrointestinal symptoms, which even precede the motor symptoms. Recent research has found that the gut microbiota regulates the brain–gut axial interaction through immune, endocrine, and direct neural mechanisms, supporting the hypothesis that the pathological process of PD spreads from the gut to the brain. In this review article, we highlight the landmark findings in the field of PD, with particular attention to the brain–gut–microbiota axis. We summarize the changes and their clinical effects on the gut microbiota and metabolites observed in PD. The intestinal microbiota may contain appropriate targets for the prevention and treatment of PD. Clinical cohort studies suggest that certain intestinal microbes have protective or pathogenic effects on the progression of PD. A better understanding of the interaction between the gut–brain axis, the gut microbiota, and PD has the potential to lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Animal experiments suggest that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is helpful for treating PD, and FMT is expected to be an effective treatment for PD in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conditional Col11a1 mouse models were created and characterized. • Col11a1 mouse models were used to define the regulatory roles of collagen XI in establishing tendon structure and function. • Tendon-targeted knockout of Col11a1 resulted in abnormal in collagen fibril structure and organization. • The principal regulatory function of Col11a1 expression occurs in the developing tendon. • Abnormal tendon structure acquired in the absence of Col11a1 during development influences the structure and function of the mature tendon. • Collagen XI regulates acquisition of fibrillar structure and mechanical properties in the tendon. Collagen XI is a fibril-forming collagen that regulates collagen fibrillogenesis. Collagen XI is normally associated with collagen II-containing tissues such as cartilage, but it also is expressed broadly during development in collagen I-containing tissues, including tendons. The goals of this study are to define the roles of collagen XI in regulation of tendon fibrillar structure and the relationship to function. A conditional Col11a1 -null mouse model was created to permit the spatial and temporal manipulation of Col11a1 expression. We hypothesize that collagen XI functions to regulate fibril assembly, organization and, therefore, tendon function. Previous work using cho mice with ablated Col11a1 alleles supported roles for collagen XI in tendon fibril assembly. Homozygous cho/cho mice have a perinatal lethal phenotype that limited the studies. To circumvent this, a conditional Col11a1flox/flox mouse model was created where exon 3 was flanked with loxP sites. Breeding with Scleraxis-Cre (Scx-Cre) mice yielded a tendon-specific Col11a1 -null mouse line, Col11a1Δten/Δten. Col11a1flox/flox mice had no phenotype compared to wild type C57BL/6 mice and other control mice, e.g., Col11a1flox/flox and Scx-Cre. Col11a1flox/flox mice expressed Col11a1 mRNA at levels comparable to wild type and Scx-Cre mice. In contrast, in Col11a1Δten/Δten mice, Col11a1 mRNA expression decreased to baseline in flexor digitorum longus tendons (FDL). Collagen XI protein expression was absent in Col11a1Δten/Δten FDLs, and at ~50% in Col11a1+/Δten compared to controls. Phenotypically, Col11a1Δten/Δten mice had significantly decreased body weights (p < 0.001), grip strengths (p < 0.001), and with age developed gait impairment becoming hypomobile. In the absence of Col11a1 , the tendon collagen fibrillar matrix was abnormal when analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Reducing Col11a1 and, therefore collagen XI content, resulted in abnormal fibril structure, loss of normal fibril diameter control with a significant shift to small diameters and disrupted parallel alignment of fibrils. These alterations in matrix structure were observed in developing (day 4), maturing (day 30) and mature (day 60) mice. Altering the time of knockdown using inducible I- Col11a1−/− mice indicated that the primary regulatory foci for collagen XI was in development. In mature Col11a1Δten/Δten FDLs a significant decrease in the biomechanical properties was observed. The decrease in maximum stress and modulus suggest that fundamental differences in the material properties in the absence of Col11a1 expression underlie the mechanical deficiencies. These data demonstrate an essential role for collagen XI in regulation of tendon fibril assembly and organization occurring primarily during development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Duopoly providers with bounded rationality are proposed from the grid background. • The providers can trade with each other and have different evolutionary structures. • Information asymmetry has different effects on heterogeneous players. • The information asymmetry increases the stability region of the proposed system. • Policy recommendations are given to the management of providers. In the power market, each entity is not completely rational when generate strategy, and the market information held by each entity is not exactly the same. In this paper, duopoly power providers with different selling adjustment structures are simplified from the actual grid background, where one provider can sell part of its power to another at contract price to store the power. Each provider is trying to maximize its profit by adjusting its power selling strategy. The process of evolutionary game with multi-periods bounded rational is established. One provider adjusts its selling strategy through the multi-periods market price and another through its multi-periods marginal profit. The quantity of power sold by each provider will tend to Nash equilibrium and how information asymmetry affects the stability of Nash equilibrium is analyzed through comparing dynamic power selling with and without information asymmetry. Information asymmetry has a great impact on one provider but not another. The numerical simulations also show that the information asymmetry will increase the stability region of the system. Different adjustment suggestions are proposed for different providers when information asymmetry occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the presence of methods evaluating drug resistance during chemotherapies, techniques, which allow for monitoring the degree of drug resistance in early chemotherapeutic stage from single cells in their native microenvironment, are still absent. Herein, we report an analytical approach that combines single cell mass spectrometry (SCMS) based metabolomics with machine learning (ML) models to address the existing challenges. Metabolomic profiles of live cancer cells (HCT-116) with different levels (i.e., no, low, and high) of chemotherapy-induced drug resistance were measured using the Single-probe SCMS technique. A series of ML models, including random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN), and penalized logistic regression (LR), were constructed to predict the degrees of drug resistance of individual cells. A systematic comparison of performance was conducted among multiple models, and the method validation was carried out experimentally. Our results indicate that these ML models, especially the RF model constructed on the obtained SCMS datasets, can rapidly and accurately predict different degrees of drug resistance of live single cells. With such rapid and reliable assessment of drug resistance demonstrated at the single cell level, our method can be potentially employed to evaluate chemotherapeutic efficacy in the clinic. Image 1 • Single cell metabolomics was incorporated with machine learning models to predict different degrees of drug resistance. • Rapid and reliable predictions were achieved in the testing set and validation set. • Our proof-of-concept research demonstrated potentials towards future point-of-care diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the causal link amid economic growth, fossil fuel energy consumption, carbon emissions and oil price was empirically tested from 1990 to 2015 by using a panel of 22 African countries. The sample of African countries was divided into two subgroups namely; Oil exporters and Non-oil exporters. Using the PMG panel ARDL and panel econometric methods, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence were considered to examine the long and short-term dynamic relationships as well as validity of a proposed model. Findings from the Pesaran-Yamagata homogeneity test, Pesaran CD test, CIPS and CADF panel unit root tests and Westerlund-Edgerton bootstrap panel cointegration indicated, the panel time series data has heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence, analysed variables are stationary and cointegrated respectively. With respect to the PMG panel ARDL estimation method it was evidenced that there exist, (i) a bilateral causal link flanked by fossil fuel energy consumption and economic growth as well as fossil fuel energy consumption and carbon emissions in long and shot-terms for all panels, (ii) a unilateral causality from carbon emissions to economic growth in long-term and short-term for non-oil exporters nonetheless a bilateral causal relationship only in long-term for oil exporting countries, and (iii) a unilateral cause-and-effect link from oil prices to economic growth, energy consumption (fossil fuel) and carbon emission across all country groups in long and short-terms. Policy recommendations are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new facile preparation of furan-2(3 H)-ones and 2,3,5-trisubstituted furans by a sequential O-acylation/Wittig(/O-acylation) reaction has been developed. The easily accessible 2-(triphenylphosphoranylidene)-succinic acid 1-ester 3 reacted with acid chloride produced furan-2(3 H)-ones 4 in good yields in the presence of DMAP via sequential O-acylation and intramolecular Wittig reaction of acid anhydride. Subsequently, the 2,3,5-trisubstituted furans 5 were prepared from furan-2(3 H)-ones 4 and diverse aryl chlorides in presence of triethylamine through further O-acylation. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new compound model to investigate the dynamic linkage mechanism between the natural gas and crude oil markets from the multi-scale perspective. In the proposed model, two main steps are involved: multi-scale analysis and network research. Based on the bivariate empirical mode decomposition (BEMD) and Fine-to-Coarse algorithm, the multi-scale analysis ensures the relationship between price fluctuations can be studied under three different time-scales, which corresponding to market disequilibrium, significant events, and long term trend. By integrating the grey correlation degree and Coarse-Gaining algorithm, the network research reveals the dynamic spillover effects of the two markets at different time-scales. To capture the different linked characteristic in different periods, the sample data of Henry Hub and WTI spot prices from 1997 to 2017 is divided into three periods. We transfer the daily correlations between the price fluctuations with specific time-scale into the correlation patterns and establish the network based on their transmission relations. The crucial correlation patterns and the significant transmission relations are revealed by some network indicators. And the proposed approach in this paper can be applied to other field of research. • A new compound model is proposed based on multi-scale analysis and complex network. • The spillover effects of the two markets under three inner factors are studied. • The linkage mechanisms of the two markets at different time-scales are varying. • The important correlation patterns and transmission relations are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A DR of power credit model was established. • Virtual RTP was introduced based on power credit scheme. • Considering consumer comfort while optimizing cost. • Cost & uncertainty analysis was conducted to prove rationality of the model. Abstract In view of real-time pricing implementation difficulties and certain deficiencies of the time-of-use price in China, a novel virtual real-time electricity pricing scheme is proposed based on power credit incentive program in this paper, which can help to achieve better results for peak load shifting than the conventional time-of-use price-based scheme. In addition, it can also work as virtual real-time pricing mechanism. The aim of this study from the perspective of load scheduling of residential appliance device, focuses on the optimization of cost and willingness to change of the user, and further examining the feasibility and effectiveness of electricity pricing mechanism in detail. Finally, the application prospect of the electricity pricing mechanism in demand response is evaluated and the performance of the model in our study established with illustration from our simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human awareness plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the control of propagation patterns. Exploring the interplay between human awareness and epidemic spreading is a topic that has been receiving increasing attention. Considering the fact, some well-known diseases only spread between different species we propose a theoretical analysis of the Susceptible–Infected–Susceptible (SIS) epidemic spread from the perspective of bipartite network and risk aversion. Using mean field theory, the epidemic threshold is calculated theoretically. Simulation results are consistent with the proposed analytic model. The results show that, the final infection density is negative linear with the value of individuals’ risk awareness. Therefore, the epidemic spread could be effectively suppressed by improving individuals’ risk awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the parametric modified limited penetrable visibility graph (PMLPVG) algorithm for constructing complex networks from time series. We modify the penetrable visibility criterion of limited penetrable visibility graph (LPVG) in order to improve the rationality of the original penetrable visibility and preserve the dynamic characteristics of the time series. The addition of view angle provides a new approach to characterize the dynamic structure of the time series that is invisible in the previous algorithm. The reliability of the PMLPVG algorithm is verified by applying it to three types of artificial data as well as the actual data of natural gas prices in different regions. The empirical results indicate that PMLPVG algorithm can distinguish the different time series from each other. Meanwhile, the analysis results of natural gas prices data using PMLPVG are consistent with the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). The results imply that the PMLPVG algorithm may be a reasonable and significant tool for identifying various time series in different fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the influence of Brent oil price fluctuations on the stock prices of China’s two distinct blocks, namely, the petrochemical block and the electric equipment and new energy block, applying the Shannon entropy of information theory. The co-movement trend of crude oil price and stock prices is divided into different fluctuation patterns with the coarse-graining method. Then, the bivariate time series network model is established for the two blocks stock in five different periods. By joint analysis of the network-oriented metrics, the key modes and underlying evolutionary mechanisms were identified. The results show that the both networks have different fluctuation characteristics in different periods. Their co-movement patterns are clustered in some key modes and conversion intermediaries. The study not only reveals the lag effect of crude oil price fluctuations on the stock in Chinese industry blocks but also verifies the necessity of research on special periods, and suggests that the government should use different energy policies to stabilize market volatility in different periods. A new way is provided to study the unidirectional influence between multiple variables or complex time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitatively ascertaining and analyzing long-term responses of crop yield and nitrate leaching on varying irrigation and fertilization treatments are focal points for guaranteeing crop yield and reducing nitrogen loss. The calibrated agricultural-hydrological RZWQM2 model was used to explore the long-term (2003–2013) transport processes of water and nitrogen and the nitrate leaching amount into groundwater in summer maize and winter wheat rotation field in typical intensive plant area in the North China Plain, Daxing district of Beijing. Simulation results showed that application rates of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer have couple effects on crop yields and nitrogen leaching of root zone. When both the irrigation and fertilizer for summer maize and winter wheat were 400 mm and 400 kg N ha − 1 , respectively, nitrate leaching into groundwater accounted for 47.9% of application amount of nitrogen fertilizer. When application amount of irrigation is 200 mm and fertilization is 200 kg N ha − 1 , NUPE (nitrogen uptake efficiency), NUE (nitrogen use efficiency), NPFP (nitrogen partial factor productivity), and W pi (irrigation water productive efficiency) were in general higher than that under other irrigation and fertilization condition (irrigation from 104–400 mm, fertilizer 104–400 kg N ha − 1 ). Irrigation bigger than 200 mm could shorten the response time of nitrate leaching in deeper soil layer in different irrigation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many current studies on smart grid in electricity market are indicative of the key role it plays in electricity generation, distribution, retailing and end-user management. Demand response programs (DRPs) can be used to lower high energy prices in wholesale electricity markets, and ensure the security of power systems when at risk. The concern of most researchers in this field is to further unearth the potential of smart grid in the direction of demand response (DR) through enhanced demand side management (DSM) centering on the behavior of the end-user. Our model proposes a more effective way in using incentive based demand response program to help residential customers derive more benefits from smart grid. The constrained non-linear programming (CNLP) model optimizes residential consumption of electricity by shaving of load at peak and increasing of load at off-peak to help generators reduce production cost at peak times and increase revenue at of off-peaks. The model uses a credit function to regulate consumption and reward end-users for load shedding and load shifting at peaks and also at off-peaks reward end-users for increasing load. The simulated results show that, high consumption appliances are best used at dawn, midday, and at night, if consumers want to cut down cost. The corresponding effect is that, generating and distribution companies derive the right revenue from their investments by not producing beyond their capacity during peaks at high cost and maintain constant power supply in and environmentally friendly manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs), decorin and biglycan, are key regulators of collagen fibril and matrix assembly. The goal of this work was to elucidate the roles of decorin and biglycan in tendon homeostasis. Our central hypothesis is that decorin and biglycan expression in the mature tendon would be critical for the maintenance of the structural and mechanical properties of healthy tendons. Defining the function(s) of these SLRPs in tendon homeostasis requires that effects in the mature tendon be isolated from their influence on development. Thus, we generated an inducible knockout mouse model that permits genetic ablation of decorin and biglycan expression in the mature tendon, while maintaining normal expression during development. Decorin and biglycan expression were knocked out in the mature patellar tendon with the subsequent turnover of endogenous SLRPs deposited prior to induction. The acute absence of SLRP expression was associated with changes in fibril structure with a general shift to larger diameter fibrils in the compound knockout tendons, together with fibril diameter heterogeneity. In addition, tendon mechanical properties were altered. Compared to wild-type controls, acute ablation of both genes resulted in failure of the tendon at lower loads, decreased stiffness, a trend towards decreased dynamic modulus, as well as a significant increase in percent relaxation and tissue viscosity. Collagen fiber realignment was also increased with a delayed and slower in response to load in the absence of expression. These structural and functional changes in response to an acute loss of decorin and biglycan expression in the mature tendon demonstrate a significant role for these SLRPs in adult tendon homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has become the largest producer and consumer of cement worldwide. In 2011, carbon emissions of China’s cement industries accounted for 60.6% of cement carbon emissions worldwide. In this context, this paper mainly investigates whether eco-efficiency of China’s cement manufacturers has converging tendency or not. First, we evaluated eco-efficiency under directional distance function (DDF) and the directional slack-based measure (DSBM) to compare their biases. Furthermore, we also implement unit root test of panel data to testify convergence analysis upon eco-efficiency in different regions of China in order to overcoming the demerit of conventional convergence approach, which might have invalid inferences. Our empirical analysis revealed that eco-efficiency under DDF has gaps with that under DSBM due to excess input or output shortages. Eco-efficiency in the east, middle and west converged. It is necessary to substitute raw material, increase additive and improve waste use for China’s cement manufacturers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous two-phase micellar system (ATPMS), as an alternative liquid–liquid extraction technique, has been extensively exploited for the precise separation or large-scale concentration of biomolecules. In this article, a novel affinity-based ATPMS composed of mixed micelles was constructed by introducing a Copper-chelated Triton X-114 (TX-Cu(II)) into an aqueous solution of hydrophobically modified ethylene oxide polymer (HM-EO). Phase diagram of the HM-EO/TX-Cu(II) system was measured, and the partitioning behavior of model proteins (YND, BSA, lysozyme) were studied by using this new system. The addition of HM-EO can result in formation of the micellar network in the micelle-rich phase, making the phase separation easier and stabler. In addition, the extractive performance of ATPMS was enhanced due to the existence of the mixed micelles composed by HM-EO and Cu(II)-chelated TX. It was found in the partitioning experiments that the hexahistidine-tagged Yeast 3′,5′-bisphosphate nucleotidase (YND) was selectively extracted into the micelle-rich phase, while the histidine-poor proteins (BSA and lysozyme) remained in the micelle-poor phase. Finally, HM-EO/TX-Cu(II) was used directly to process the fermentation broth. The target protein, YND could be recovered from the cell lysate with a recovery yield of 49.23% and purification factor of 2.63. The results indicated that the new affinity-based HM-EO/TX-Cu(II) system had high partitioning performance which is promising for effectively separation of the histidine-tagged proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A new class of FLT3 inhibitors with pyrido[3,4-b]pyrazin-2(1 H)-one scaffold was discovered. • SARs of pyrido.[3,4-b]pyrazin-2(1 H)-one derivatives were fully explored. • The privileged compound 13 potently inhibited the activities of FLT3 and FLT3-D835Y. • Compound 13 significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of FLT3 and FLT3 mediated signaling pathway. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by fast progression and low survival rates, in which Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) receptor mutations have been identified as driver mutations in a subgroup of AML patients. Herein, we describe the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a novel series of potent pyrido.[3,4-b]pyrazin-2(1 H)-one derivatives as FLT3 inhibitors. The compounds exhibited moderate to potent FLT3 kinase inhibitory potency and excellent antiproliferative activities against MV4-11 cells. Among them, compound 13 demonstrated the most potent kinase activity against FLT3-D835Y (IC 50 = 29.54 ± 4.76 nM) and cellular potency against MV4-11 cells (IC 50 = 15.77 ± 0.15 nM). Compound 13 also efficiently inhibited the growth of multiple mutant BaF3 cells expressing FLT3-D835V/F, FLT3-F691L, and FLT3-ITD/D835Y. Furthermore, compound 13 was metabolically stable in mouse liver microsomes. Moreover, the treatment with compound 13 led to robust inhibition of FLT3 autophosphorylation on Tyr589/591 in MV4-11 cells. In summary, our data demonstrated that 13 was worthy of further study for the treatment of AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sucrose transporters are crucial factor in carbon partitioning and in response to environmental stresses. They coordinate sucrose transport with plant growth and development. In this study, an apple sucrose transporter gene MdSUT2 was ectopically transformed into tomato. Transgenic tomato lines were used for functional characterization. Soluble sugar content was increased in transgenic tomato lines. Esculin uptake assay indicated sucrose transport activity was improved in the roots of transgenic tomato lines. Meanwhile, the MdSUT2 transgenic lines accumulated more anthocyanin in leaves when grew under low temperature conditions than the WT control, and noticeably enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses. The ectopic expression of MdSUT2 resulted in early flowering and fruit-ripening in the transgenic tomatoes. These findings provide evidence for the role of sucrose transporters in promoting fruit ripening and resistance to abiotic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity power is a basic industrial component which plays an important role in the economy of a nation. In this paper, the correlations evolution of electricity prices among 50 states and the District of Columbia are studied based on random matrix theory (RMT) Four regime shifts are identified from January 1990 to August 2014 in the U.S. residential, commercial and industrial electricity markets. Then, the genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to analyze the clusters of evolution. The results show that, the correlations of electricity prices increased continually in the three departments. However, it decreased in 2012 which further confirms its sensitivity to fuel market. Besides, four regime shifts exist in the three departments though the different times of occurrence caused by price level. And, the fluctuation of community evolution is consistent with four regime shifts. The final part is a summary of the research analyzed and results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study aimed to explore the efficacy of vitamin B complex as an adjuvant therapy for the treatment of complicated vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) in vitro and in vivo. Methods One-hundred fifty-eight complicated VVC patients were randomly divided into group A (treated with suppository + oral antifungal agents), group B (treated with suppository + vaginal cream), and group C (treated with suppository + vaginal cream + oral vitamin B complex). A mouse model of VVC was established. Eighty VVC mice were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the dose of vitamin B complex (20 mice in each group): V1 group (injected with 150 μL normal salin), V2 group (injected with 50 μL vitamin B complex solution + 100 μL normal saline), V3 group (injected with 100 μL vitamin B complex solution + 50 μL normal saline), and V4 group (injected with 150 μL vitamin B complex solution). After 4 weeks of treatment, the vaginal secretion was obtained for microscopic smear examination. HE stainning was performed to observe histopathological changes of vaginal tissues. The expressions of inflammatory factors were detected by ELISA. Meanwhile, VVC model of vaginal epithelial cells was established. The effects of different concentrations of vitamin B complex on anti-fungal effect of fluconazole were detected in vitro. Results After the treatment, complicated patients in the group C had significantly higher effective rates than those in the group A and group B. After the intra-gastric administration, the microscopic smear examination found that obvious pseudohypha in cluster with a lot of blastospores can be seen in the vaginal secretions of mice in the V1 group under the microscope. There was significant difference between mice treated with different dosages of vitamin B complex. The inflammatory response of mice in the V1 group was significantly higher than those in other groups and the inflammation response reduced with the increase of vitamin B complex dosage. The vitamin B complex elevated the curative effects of fluconazole on VVC model of vaginal epithelial cells and significantly increased the anti-fungal effect of fluconazole. Conclusions Our findings suggest that vitamin B complex could be an effective adjuvant therapy for complicated VVC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinity is a major limited factor for apple production in saline-alkali land worldwide. Previous studies reported that sodium/proton exchangers (NHXs) play important roles in salt tolerance. Here, we isolated MdNHX1 , a vacuole-localized Na + /H + exchanger, from ‘Gala’ apple ( Malus × domestica Borkh.). Ectopic expression of MdNHX1 in yeast mutant strain YDR456W subsequently rescued the sensitivity of salt stress. qPCR assay demonstrated that MdNHX1 was mainly expressed in the stems and flowers of apple; and it can be induced by NaCl and PEG, but not by KCl and mannitol. Finally, we found that overexpression of MdNHX1 significantly improved salt tolerance in apple calli and Arabidopsis . In a word, our findings provide converging evidence that MdNHX1 is involved in the regulation of salt tolerance in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

γ-Linolenic acid (GLA) has various well-documented beneficial physiological effects and high biological significance. Because the natural supply of GLA is insufficient, microbial GLA production is a promising method for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical purposes. To establish and develop a biotechnological process for GLA production by Yarrowia lipolytica , the codon-optimized △6-desaturase from Mortierella alpina was introduced into this yeast under the control of the strong hp4d promoter. A recombinant Y. lipolytica strain was constructed, which produced 4.6% GLA in total fatty acids. By using a temperature-shift strategy of cultivation, consisting in preliminary growth at 28 °C followed by 6-day culture at 20 °C, optimal levels of dry cell weight (DCW), lipid content and GLA concentration were obtained from the recombinant strain: 18.55 g/L, 1.16 g/L and 71.6 mg/L, respectively. These DCW, lipid and GLA values were respectively 25.7%, 19.6% and 60.9% higher than those obtained in the control cultivation experiment at the standard constant temperature of 28 °C. This work demonstrates the excellent capacity of Y. lipolytica for GLA production, by combining metabolic engineering with a temperature-shift strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cells with the desired phenotype and number are critical for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Uniparental parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells (pESCs) share fundamental properties with embryonic stem cells. This study aims to determine the viability of pESC-based tissue engineering for bone and cartilage reconstruction. The mouse pESCs were cultured in suspension to form embryoid bodies. An adherent cultivation approach was employed to obtain parthenogenetic embryonic mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs) from the embryoid bodies. Then, the pMSCs were cultured in conditional media to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages. The pESC-derived osteoblasts and chondroblasts were seeded into coral and sodium alginate scaffolds, respectively. The cell-seeded scaffolds were implanted into dorsal subcutaneous pockets of nude mice to evaluate ectopic reconstruction of bone and cartilage. We demonstrated that pESCs display the capacity to differentiate into all three germ layers. The generated pMSCs were able to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages, which survived well after seeding into coral and alginate acid scaffolds. Six weeks after cell-scaffold implantation, gross inspection and histological examination revealed that ectopic bone and cartilage tissues had successfully regenerated in the specimen. According to the findings of this study, pESC derivatives have a high potential for bone and cartilage regeneration. Schematic outlines of pESC differentiation and the engineering of bone and cartilage. The pESC could be directed to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages. After cell-seeded scaffolds were implanted into nude mice, the engineering bone graft (EBG) and the engineering cartilage graft (ECG) were successfully fabricated. [Display omitted] • Parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells (pESCs) possess a multi-lineage potential. • A stepwise method directs pESCs to differentiate into osteoblasts and chondroblasts. • The pESCs derivatives facilitate bone and cartilage regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sucrose is not only the primary photosynthetic product but also the major component translocated in the phloem of economically important plant species. Sucrose transporters or carriers (SUTs or SUCs), function as sucrose/H + symporters and play a crucial role in determining the cell-to-cell distribution of sucrose throughout the entire plant. However, whether such genes are involved in responses to abiotic stress and other biological processes is largely unknown. Here, we report that MdSUT2 in apple is a homolog of the Arabidopsis vacuolar sucrose transporter AtSUT2 . Ectopic expression of MdSUT2 in Arabidopsis decreased sucrose sensitivity in germination and seeding stage and increased sucrose transport activity. In addition, our results showed that MdSUT2 impacted on plant growth by accelerating vegetative growth and promoting early flowering in Arabidopsis . Overexpression of MdSUT2 significantly improved abiotic stress tolerance including NaCl, ABA, and mannitol in apple calli and Arabidopsis . Together, these findings provide evidence that the apple sucrose transporter MdSUT2 is involved in abiotic stress resistance and the regulation of plant growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing negative effects of fossil fuel combustion, many countries have paid more attention on supporting environmentally friendly energy generation, particularly renewable and sustainable energy sources (RES). However, renewables still cannot economically compete with fossil-fuels and are facing new challenges. Appropriate electricity pricing mechanism plays a vital role on mitigating the stress of limited fossil fuels and can promote renewable energy consumption. As one major type of renewable energy, wind power has been globally promoted. In order to promote the application of wind power, appropriate wind power prices (WPP) should be established by considering the local conditions. This paper targets such a field and conducts a bibliometric and network analysis based on the data from Scopus. The results show that the numbers of total related publications are gradually increasing, with the US as the leading country. European countries also have outstanding achievements. Moreover, both the most cited articles and keywords distribution offer future research directions. In general, this study provides valuable insights to both wind power researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluctuations in prices of natural gas significantly affect global economy. Therefore, the research on the characteristics of natural gas price fluctuations, turning points and its influencing cycle on the subsequent price series is of great significance. Global natural gas trade concentrates on three regional markets: the North American market, the European market and the Asia-Pacific market, with North America having the most developed natural gas financial market. In addition, perfect legal supervision and coordinated regulations make the North American market more open and more competitive. This paper focuses on the North American natural gas market specifically. The Henry Hub natural gas spot price time series is converted to a visibility graph network which provides a new direction for macro analysis of time series, and several indicators are investigated: degree and degree distribution, the average shortest path length and community structure. The internal mechanisms underlying price fluctuations are explored through the indicators. The results show that the natural gas prices visibility graph network (NGP-VGN) is of small-world and scale-free properties simultaneously. After random rearrangement of original price time series, the degree distribution of network becomes exponential distribution, different from the original ones. This means that, the original price time series is of long-range negative correlation fractal characteristic. In addition, nodes with large degree correspond to significant geopolitical or economic events. Communities correspond to time cycles in visibility graph network. The cycles of time series and the impact scope of hubs can be found by community structure partition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landfills that accept municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S. may also accept a number of sulfur-containing wastes including residues from coal or MSW combustion, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Under anaerobic conditions that dominate landfills, microbially mediated processes can convert sulfate to hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S). The presence of H 2 S in landfill gas is problematic for several reasons including its low odor threshold, human toxicity, and corrosive nature. The objective of this study was to develop and demonstrate a laboratory-scale reactor method to measure the H 2 S production potential of a range of sulfur-containing wastes. The H 2 S production potential was measured in 8-L reactors that were filled with a mixture of the target waste, newsprint as a source of organic carbon required for microbial sulfate reduction, and leachate from decomposed residential MSW as an inoculum. Reactors were operated with and without N 2 sparging through the reactors, which was designed to reduce H 2 S accumulation and toxicity. Both H 2 S and CH 4 yields were consistently higher in reactors that were sparged with N 2 although the magnitude of the effect varied. The laboratory-measured first order decay rate constants for H 2 S and CH 4 production were used to estimate constants that were applicable in landfills. The estimated constants ranged from 0.11 yr −1 for C&D fines to 0.38 yr −1 for a mixed fly ash and bottom ash from MSW combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large volumes of sulfur-containing wastes enter municipal solid waste landfills each year. Under the anaerobic conditions that prevail in landfills, oxidized forms of sulfur, primarily sulfate, are converted to sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is corrosive to landfill gas collection and treatment systems, and its presence in landfill gas often necessitates the installation of expensive removal systems. For landfill operators to understand the cost of managing sulfur-containing wastes, an estimate of the H 2 S production potential is needed. The objective of this study was to develop and demonstrate a biochemical sulfide potential (BSP) test to measure the amount of H 2 S produced by different types of sulfur-containing wastes in a relatively fast (30 days) and inexpensive (125 mL serum bottles) batch assay. This study confirmed the toxic effect of H 2 S on both sulfate reduction and methane production in batch systems, and demonstrated that removing accumulated H 2 S by base adsorption was effective for mitigating inhibition. H 2 S production potentials of coal combustion fly ash, flue gas desulfurization residual, municipal solid waste combustion ash, and construction and demolition waste were determined in BSP assays. After 30 days of incubation, most of the sulfate in the wastes was converted to gaseous or aqueous phase sulfide, with BSPs ranging from 0.8 to 58.8 mL H 2 S/g waste, depending on the chemical composition of the samples. Selected samples contained solid phase sulfide which contributed to the measured H 2 S yield. A 60 day incubation in selected samples resulted in 39–86% additional sulfide production. H 2 S production measured in BSP assays was compared with that measured in simulated landfill reactors and that calculated from chemical analyses. H 2 S production in BSP assays and in reactors was lower than the stoichiometric values calculated from chemical composition for all wastes tested, demonstrating the importance of assays to estimate the microbial sulfide production potential of sulfur-containing wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue-engineered skin (TES) holds great promise for wound healing in the clinic. However, optimized preservation methods remain an obstacle for its wide application. In this experimental work, we developed a novel approach to preserve TES in the desiccated state with trehalose. The uptake of trehalose by fibroblasts under various conditions, including the trehalose concentration, incubation temperature and time, was studied. The cell viability was investigated by the MTT assay and CFSE/PI staining after cryodesiccation and rehydration. TES was then prepared and incubated with trehalose, and the wound healing effect was investigated after desiccated preservation. The results showed that the optimized conditions for trehalose uptake by fibroblasts were incubation in 200 mM trehalose at 37 °C for 8 h. Cryodesiccated cells and TES maintained 37.55% and 28.31% viabilities of controls, respectively. Furthermore, cryodesiccated TES exhibited a similar wound healing effect to normal TES. This novel approach enabled the preservation and transportation of TES at ambient temperature with a prolonged shelf time, which provides great advantages for the application of TES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Quantitatively ascertaining and analyzing the effects of model uncertainty on model reliability is a focal point for agricultural–hydrological models due to more uncertainties of inputs and processes. In this study, the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) method with Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) was used to evaluate the uncertainty of the RZWQM-DSSAT (RZWQM2) model outputs responses and the sensitivity of 25 parameters related to soil properties, nutrient transport and crop genetics. To avoid the one-sided risk of model prediction caused by using a single calibration criterion, the combined likelihood (CL) function integrated information concerning water, nitrogen, and crop production was introduced in GLUE analysis for the predictions of the following four model output responses: the total amount of water content ( T - SWC ) and the nitrate nitrogen ( T - NIT ) within the 1-m soil profile, the seed yields of waxy maize ( Y - Maize ) and winter wheat ( Y - Wheat ). In the process of evaluating RZWQM2, measurements and meteorological data were obtained from a field experiment that involved a winter wheat and waxy maize crop rotation system conducted from 2003 to 2004 in southern Beijing. The calibration and validation results indicated that RZWQM2 model can be used to simulate the crop growth and water–nitrogen migration and transformation in wheat–maize crop rotation planting system. The results of uncertainty analysis using of GLUE method showed T - NIT was sensitive to parameters relative to nitrification coefficient, maize growth characteristics on seedling period, wheat vernalization period, and wheat photoperiod. Parameters on soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, nitrogen nitrification and denitrification, and urea hydrolysis played an important role in crop yield component. The prediction errors for RZWQM2 outputs with CL function were relatively lower and uniform compared with other likelihood functions composed of individual calibration criterion. This new and successful application of the GLUE method for determining the uncertainty and sensitivity of the RZWQM2 could provide a reference for the optimization of model parameters with different emphases according to research interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore an evolutionary vaccination game in the modified activity driven network by considering the closeness. We set a closeness parameter p which is used to describe the way of connection between two individuals. The simulation results show that the closeness p may have an active role in weakening both the spreading of epidemic and the vaccination. Besides, when vaccination is not allowed, the final recovered density increases with the value of the ratio of the infection rate to the recovery rate λ / μ . However, when vaccination is allowed the final density of recovered individual first increases and then decreases with the value of λ / μ . Two variables are designed to identify the relation between the individuals’ activities and their states. The results draw that both recovered and vaccinated frequency increase with the increase of the individuals’ activities. Meanwhile, the immune fee has less impact on the individuals’ vaccination than the closeness. While the λ / μ is in a certain range, with the increase of the value of λ / μ , the recovered frequency of the whole crowds reduces. Our results, therefore, reveal the fact that the best of intentions may lead to backfire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuolar H + -ATPase (V-H + -ATPase) is highly conserved, multisubunit proton pumps that play key roles in adaptation to abiotic stress in plants. Function of apple V-ATPase subunit B1 ( MdVHA-B1 ) has been identified in drought tolerance, however, it remains unclear whether MdVHA-B1 is involved in salt tolerance. In this work, we characterized the function of MdVHA-B1 gene in salt stress response. GUS and Western blotting assays showed that MdVHA-B1 was highly induced by salt stress. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays demonstrated that MdVHA-B1 interacts with MdSOS2L1, a Arabidopsis SOS2-like protein kinase, in apple. Compared with wild-type (WT) apple calli, V-ATPase activities in the transgenic calli were significantly enhanced under salt stress condition. Furthermore, Na + and K + were accumulated much higher in transgenic tomato plants than the WT control. These results suggest that MdVHA-B1 may confer salt tolerance through salt overly sensitive (SOS) signal pathway in apple to regulate the ion balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From June 2014 to January 2015, the slumped price of crude oil mainly be caused by the increasing shale gas in the U.S. The market of crude oil was altered by the variation of natural gas trade patterns. It implies that the international fossil energy trade is a multilayer structure, and each layer is a complex system with numerous countries and complicated relations. In this paper, we build the international fossil energy trade multilayer network (ETMN), and study the evolutionary characteristics of networks during 2002–2013. The generalization of several important indicators, including degree distribution, community, stability of communities and the time-varying evolution of main countries’ importance were discussed. Our conclusions suggest that: Firstly, the ETMN and three energy-specific networks including coal, oil, and natural gas display the scale-free characteristic in un-weighted and weighted networks. However, it shows that even if a few countries have major trading partners, there are not always a few countries that play critical roles in trade intensity. Secondly, the natural gas network has the largest number of communities and stability compared with networks of coal and oil, and the volatility of stability lagged one year than the other two networks for the specific form of pipeline transportation. Thirdly, studying on the stability of networks shows that geopolitical environment is the most important influenced factor, but the status of renewable and new energy increases with its development obviously. Fourthly, the evolutionary characteristics of three major countries’ importance, including United States, China and Japan, are analyzed in detail. At last, some policy suggestions were pointed out according to the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis of CdS nanospheres and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid nanocomposites (CdS@rGO) under hydrothermal conditions. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are employed to confirm the structures and morphologies of sphere-like CdS@rGO nanocomposites. The electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide and chemical stability for CdS@rGO composites are studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Tafel plots. The short-circuit current density ( J sc ), open-circuit voltage ( V oc ) and fill factor ( FF ) are 14.81 mA cm −2 , 0.76 V and 0.656, respectively. Most importantly, these CdS@rGO materials are used as the counter electrode (CE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), and their conversion efficiency of this CE reaches 7.39%, which is comparable to the conventional platinum counter electrode (7.44%) under the same test conditions. Meanwhile, the CdS@rGO CE possesses the robust stability and the cost-effective performance in addition to the high power conversion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the difference of different individuals’ physical quality and antibody, this paper investigates the epidemic spreading model with the virus mutation. By using the mean-field theory, the epidemic threshold with degree-dependent spreading rate can be theoretical drawn. According to the numerical simulations, we can obtain that the average infected virus version in the BA network is less than the ER network. In addition, if the effective spreading rate is either small or large enough, the average virus version of the whole infected individuals will reduce. However, when the spreading rate takes some proper values, the average infected virus version can greatly increase. Finally, we study how the different initial infected nodes influence the average virus version of the whole infected individuals. The numerical results show that the greater of the initial infected degree, the smaller of the average virus version of the whole infected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose two novel models of epidemic spreading by considering the activity-driven and the network modular. Firstly, we consider the susceptible–infected–susceptible ( S I S ) contagion model and derive analytically the epidemic threshold. The results indicate that the epidemic threshold only involves with the value of the spread rate and the recovery rate. In addition, the asymptotic refractory density of infected nodes in the different communities exhibits different trends with the change of the modularity-factor. Then, the infected-driven vaccination model is presented. Simulation results illustrate that the final density of vaccination will increase with the increase of the response strength of vaccination. Moreover, the final infected density in the original-infected-community shows different trends with the change of the response strength of vaccination and the spreading rate. The infected-driven vaccination is a good way to control the epidemic spreading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phoxonic crystal is a kind of artificial periodic structure which can manipulate light and sound in the same time and space domain. It has good application prospect in optical communication system and opto-mechnical sensor. In this paper, a two-dimensional silicon phoxonic crystal slab structure is proposed, which can exhibit large phononic and photonic bandgaps simultaneously. Then a periodic cylindrical structure is introduced on the side surface of the slab. The effects of the height and radius of the cylinder on the side surface wave modes are analyzed. On this basis, a phoxonic crystal hetero-structure cavity composed of cylinders with different radii and heights is constructed, which can simultaneously confine the acoustic and optical modes because of mode gap effect. Seven phononic cavity modes and two photonic cavity modes are obtained. The two photonic cavity modes are called dielectric mode and air mode respectively. Further, the acousto-optical coupling rates between the seven phononic cavity modes and dielectric mode are calculated. Finally, a gap is etched on each cylinder in hetero-structure cavity, which can increase the surface area of the cavity by 23%. Then two phononic cavity modes and photonic dielectric mode with higher coupling rates are considered. The results show that etching the z-direction gap in the center of the cylinder can effectively increase the acousto-optical coupling rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irinotecan (Iri) is a key drug to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, but its clinical activity is often limited by de novo and acquired drug resistance. Studying the underlying mechanisms of drug resistance is necessary for developing novel therapeutic strategies. In this study, we used both regular and irinotecan-resistant (Iri-resistant) colorectal cell lines as models, and performed single cell mass spectrometry (SCMS) metabolomics studies combined with analyses from cytotoxicity assay, western blot, flow cytometry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our SCMS results indicate that Iri-resistant cancer cells possess higher levels of unsaturated lipids compared with the regular cancer cells. In addition, multiple protein biomarkers and their corresponding mRNAs of colon cancer stem cells are overexpressed in Iri-resistance cells. Particularly, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) is upregulated with the development of drug resistance in Iri-resistant cells, whereas inhibiting the activity of SCD1 efficiently increase their sensitivity to Iri treatment. In addition, we demonstrated that SCD1 directly regulates the expression of ALDH1A1, which contributes to the cancer stemness and ROS level in Iri-resistant cell lines. [Display omitted] • Live single cell mass spectrometry was combined with other bioanalytical techniques. • Cells' molecular profiles were correlated to their resistance to anticancer drug. • Metabolomic biomarkers and relevant proteins reflecting cancer cells' drug resistance were proposed. • Drug resistant cancer cells possess molecular features similar to cancer stem cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six new polymeric nitrogen structures (P2 1 /m, C2/c, P2 1 2 1 2 1 -500, Pnnm, P2 1 and Cmc21) are predicted by the USPEX in the pressure ranges of 100–600 GPa and further investigated using the first-principles density functional theory for the first time. The thermodynamic stabilities, mechanical stabilities and dynamical stabilities of these six phases are explored at 100–600 GPa, respectively. The results show Cmc21 is a metastable phase without metallic property at the pressure ranging from 100 to 600 GPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering that memory and conformity could affect the agent’s decision, in this paper, we propose a novel model to describe the vaccination dilemma by entangling the spreading dynamics with an evolutionary framework. Our results indicate that if the individuals make decision mostly depending on their own payoffs and do not believe too much in the celebrity, the final infected number will be significantly reduced. Comparing with the individuals in the BA network, people in the ER network escape from contagion much more easily and could get bigger payoffs. For the countries, strengthening the medical security system and reducing the cost of immunity can curb the spread of viruses effectively. From an individual’s viewpoint, people just remember their own last season’s payoffs can urge them to vaccinate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the mounting pressures of meeting energy and environment needs and reducing its dependence for fossil fuels, China needs to make more effort to develop renewable energy. This paper attempts to use portfolio theory to optimize China's overall energy system with considering the learning curve effect of renewable energy cost and the characteristic of fossil energy cost increasing over time. It also takes into account additional factors such as environmental costs of coal consumption and various growth rates of the cumulative R&D (research and development) capacity for solar power. This research has found that the development of renewable energy in China has tremendous potential but it will not replace fossil energy in the next decades. The sensitivity analysis of this paper indicates that development of solar power is driven not only by the cumulative installed capacity but also by the cumulative R&D capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irinotecan (IRI), a topoisomerase I inhibitor blocking DNA synthesis, is a widely used chemotherapy drug for metastatic colorectal cancer. Despite being an effective chemotherapy drug, its clinical effectiveness is limited by both intrinsic and acquired drug resistance. Previous studies indicate IRI induces cancer stemness in irinotecan-resistant (IRI-resistant) cells. Metformin, an oral antidiabetic drug, was recently reported for anticancer effects, likely due to its selective killing of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Given IRI-resistant cells exhibiting high cancer stemness, we hypothesize metformin can sensitize IRI-resistant cells and rescue the therapeutic effect. In this work, we utilized the Single-probe mass spectrometry technique to analyze live IRI-resistant cells under different treatment conditions. We discovered that metformin treatment was associated with the downregulation of lipids and fatty acids, potentially through the inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN). Importantly, certain species can be only detected from cells in their living status. The level of synergistic effect of metformin and IRI in their co-treatment of IRI-resistant cells was evaluated using Chou-Talalay combinational index. Using enzymatic activity assay, we determined that the co-treatment exhibit the highest FASN inhibition compared with the mono-treatment of IRI or metformin. To our knowledge, this is the first single-cell MS metabolomics study demonstrating metformin-IRI synergistic effect overcoming drug resistance in IRI-resistant cells. [Display omitted] • Ambient single cell mass spectrometry was used to study live cells. • Other analytical techniques (e.g., cytotoxicity assay, enzymatic activity assay, and HPLC/MS) were used to provide complementary information. • Drug-resistant cancer cells' viabilities and molecular profiles were affected by antidiabetic drug metformin. • Unique lipids and metabolites were observed only in live single cells. • Inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a potential mechanism related to metformin treatment of drug-resistant cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable forecasting of crude oil price has received a prodigious attention by both investment companies and governments. Motivated by this issue, this paper seeks to propose a new hybrid forecasting model for crude oil price trend prediction. For this purpose, the crude oil price series is initially decomposed by variational mode decomposition algorithm, and the multi-modal data features are extracted based on the decomposed modes. The volatility of crude oil prices is simultaneously converted into trend symbols through symbolic time series analysis. Machine learning multi-classifier are then trained with multi-modal data features and historical volatility as input and trend symbols as output. The well-trained models are used to predict the trend symbols of West Texas Intermediate crude oil future price. Empirical results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid forecasting model outperforms its counterparts. Among the classifiers used, the hybrid prediction model using support vector machine classifier exhibits superior predictive ability. The accuracy of the proposed model for predicting high volatility of crude oil prices is evidenced to be better than that of low volatility. • A novel hybrid prediction model is proposed based on VMD and ML algorithms. • Five multi-modal data feature indices are established based on IMFs of prices. • The forecasting accuracy is elevated by introducing multi-modal data features. • Trend symbols of prices are predicted by ML multi-classifiers. • Classification performs better than regression in forecasting price trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Endogenous promoters of Y. lipolytica are summarized and reviewed. • Engineering strategies enable developing improved promoters. • Promoter engineering helps to reconstruct the biosynthetic gene clusters. • Promoter engineering is able to improve the CRISPR-Cas efficiency. • Research needs and future directions of promoter engineering are highlighted. Yarrowia lipolytica is recognized as an excellent non-conventional yeast in the field of biomanufacturing, where it is used as a host to produce oleochemicals, terpenes, organic acids, polyols and recombinant proteins. Consequently, metabolic engineering of this yeast is becoming increasingly popular to advance it as a superior biomanufacturing platform, of which promoters are the most basic elements for tuning gene expression. Endogenous promoters of Yarrowia lipolytica were reviewed, which are the basis for promoter engineering. The engineering strategies, such as hybrid promoter engineering, intron enhancement promoter engineering, and transcription factor-based inducible promoter engineering are described. Additionally, the applications of Yarrowia lipolytica promoter engineering to rationally reconstruct biosynthetic gene clusters and improve the genome-editing efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas systems were reviewed. Finally, research needs and future directions for promoter engineering are also discussed in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Defective hydrogen titanate nanowires (HT-NW) have been prepared as SIBs anodes. • The defective HT-NW presents a Na+-solvent co-intercalation behavior at −25 °C. • The defective HT-NW exhibits lower charge transfer activation energy at −25 °C. • At −25 °C, the defective HT-NW//Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 exhibits superior battery performance. Due to the sluggish interfacial kinetics, the energy density and cycle life of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) suffer severely at subzero temperatures. Herein, to accelerate the interfacial charge transfer process and improve the low-temperature SIBs performance, a strategy by triggering Na+-solvent co-intercalation is proposed. Using hydrogen titanate nanowires (HT-NW) as a model, we found that the layer structure regulation with oxygen defects could trigger HT-NW presents a unique Na+-solvent co-intercalation behavior in the ether-based electrolyte at −25 °C according to ex-situ FTIR and XRD. By eliminating the Na+ desolvation process, Na+-solvent co-intercalation could effectively accelerate the Na+ diffusion kinetics and reduce the activation energy to 66.0 meV. Benefit from these ameliorations, the defective HT-NW delivers a high capacity of 238 mAh g−1 at −25 °C, which is equivalent to 89% of that at 25 °C. Besides, the defective HT-NW shows great superiority in cycle stability, maintaining capacity retention of 80.6% after 4200 cycles at 1.0 A g−1 at −25 °C. Moreover, at −25 °C, the defective HT-NW//Na 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 full cell exhibits high energy density (119.1 Wh kg−1) and outstanding stability (94.5% after 1000 cycles at 1.0C). These findings reveal that the ion–solvent co-intercalation is highly feasible to improve the battery performance at low temperatures by accelerating charge transfer kinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]