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Rapid and efficient analysis of fluoride ion is crucial to providing key information for fluoride ion hazard assessment and pollution management. In this study, we synthesized one symmetrical structure called 1,4-bis(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzene (1a) and two asymmetrical structures, namely 2-(4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl)-1H-phenanthro(9,10-d)imidazole (1b) and 2-(4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl)-1H-imidazo(4,5-f)(1,10)phenanthroline (1c), which served as an efficient anion sensor for fluoride ion over a wide range of other anions (Cl-, Br-, I-, NO3-, ClO4-, HSO4-, BF4-, and PF6-) owing to imidazole group in the main backbone. The absorption intensity of compound 1a at λmax 358 nm slightly decreased; however, a new band at λmax 414 nm appeared upon the addition of fluoride ion, while no evident change occurred upon the addition of eight other anions. The photoluminescence intensity of compound 1a at λmax 426 nm was nearly quenched and fluorescence emission spectra were broadened when fluoride ion was added into dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution of compound 1a. Compared with the optical behaviors of the DMSO solution of compound 1a in the presence of Bu4N+F-, compounds 1b and 1c exhibited considerable sensitivity to fluoride ion due to the increase in coplanarity. Furthermore, compared with the fluorescence emission behaviors of the DMSO solutions of compounds 1a and 1b in the presence of Bu4N+F-, compound 1c exhibited the most significant sensitivity to fluoride ion due to the charge transfer enhancement. Consequently, the detection limits of compounds 1a--1c increased from 5.47 x 10-6 M to 4.21 x 10-6 M to 9.12 x 10-7 M. Furthermore, the largest red shift (75 nm) of the DMSO solution compound 1c in the presence of fluoride ion can be observed. Our results suggest that the increase in coplanarity and the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups to the imidazole backbone can improve the performance in detecting fluoride ion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbons (NDMCs) was prepared using p-phenylenediamine and glyoxal as a carbon source and mesoporous silica as a hard template. N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms indicated that mesopores with a wider distribution exist in NDMCs. Elemental analysis showed that the N content on the surface of NDMC-800 was 9.9at.%, with a result close to 8.4at.% from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The adsorption capacity of NDMCs for crystal violet (CV) in aqueous solution was investigated. Static equilibrium data were well described by the Langmuir isotherm model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 243.9 mg g-1. Adsorption kinetics data suggested that the adsorption control process follows the pseudo first-order kinetics model. The results showed that this carbon material has the potential for application in adsorption of CV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrazoline and its derivatives often exhibit strong emissions in dilute solutions, but their emission intensity is often dramatically reduced in the solid state due to strong intermolecular interactions between neighboring molecules. In this report, we successfully synthesized a new pyrazoline 4-(3-(4-(decyloxy)phenyl)-1-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)-N,N-diethylaniline (PPDPD), into which seven fluorine (F) atoms were incorporated. In the solid state, PPDPD emits a strong blue light at λmax 430 nm with a fluorescence quantum yield of up to 41.3%. Single-crystal analysis showed the presence of intra/intermolecular C-H ... F bonds that may impede molecular motion and block the non-radiative decay channel. Compound PPDPD therefore shows high emission efficiency in the solid state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large amounts of quarry wastes are produced during quarrying. Though quarry wastes are commonly used in pavement construction and concrete production, in-situ utilization during ecological restoration of abandoned quarries has its advantage of simplicity. In this paper, rock fragments of 2 ~ 3 cm in size were mixed with landfill stabilized waste (LSW) in different proportions (LSW: gravel, RL), which was called LGM. The water content, runoff and plant growth under natural precipitation were monitored for two years using a runoff plot experiment. LGM with a low fraction of LSW was compacted in different degrees to achieve an appropriate porosity; water dynamic and plant growth of compacted LGM were studied in a field experiment. The results showed that, (1) LGM can be used during restoration in abandoned quarries as growing material for plants. (2) RL had a significant effect on infiltration and water holding capacity of LGM, and thus influenced retention of precipitation, water condition and plant growth. LGM with RL ranging from 8 : 1 to 3 : 7 was suitable for plant growth, but the target species grew best when RL was intermediate. (3) Compaction significantly enhanced water content of LGM with a low RL of 2 : 8, but leaf water content of plants was lower or unchanged in the more compacted plots. Moderate compaction was beneficial to the survival and growth of Robinia pseudoacacia. Platycladus orientalis and Medicago sativa were not significantly affected by compaction, and they grew better under high degree of compaction which was disadvantageous for the uppermost layer of vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Withaferin-A (WF-A) is a well-known dietary compound isolated from Withania sominifera. It has tremendous pharmacological potential and has been shown to exhibit antiproliferative activity against several types of cancerous cells. Currently, the main focus of anti-cancer therapeutic development is to identify apoptosis inducing drug-like molecules. Osteosarcoma is a rare type of osteocancer, affecting human. The present study therefore focused on the evaluation of antitumor potential of WF-A against several osteosarcoma cell lines. Materials and Methods: MTT assay was used to evaluate WF-A against osteosarcoma cell lines and to calculate the IC50. DAPI staining was used to confirm the apoptosis inducing potential of WF-A. Mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, and Western blotting were used to confirm the basis of apoptosis. Results: The results revealed that that WF-A exhibited strong antiproliferative activity against all the cells lines, with IC50 ranging from 0.32 to 7.6 μM. The lowest IC50 (0.32 μM) was observed against U2OS cell line and therefore it was selected for further analysis. DAPI staining indicated that WF-A exhibited antiproliferative activity via induction of apoptosis. Moreover, WF-A induced ROS-mediated reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential ΔΨm) in a dose-dependent manner and activation of caspase-3 in osteosarcoma cells. Conclusion: We propose that WF-A may prove a potent therapeutic agent for inducing apoptosis in osteosarcoma cell lines via generation of ROS and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effect of edge relaxation in nanotubes (NTs) with two kinds of surfaces has been of central importance in the exploration thermal transportation properties for their applications in thermoelectric energy harvesting and heat management in nanoelectronics. In order to pursue a quantitative description of thermal transportation of SiNTs, we propose a theoretical model to deal with the lattice thermal conductivity by taking into account the sandwiched configurations based on the atomic-bondrelaxation correlation mechanism. It is found that the lattice thermal conductivity can be effectively tuned by different types of surface effect in Si nanostructures. As comparable to the Si nanowires and nanofilms, the SiNTs have the lowest thermal conductivity under identical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method of evaluating the performance of natural gas reciprocating compressor. The analytical formulas of various energy and efficiencies for integral engine compressor and separable compressor are presented on basis of their energy balance equations. The experiment setup and required parameters for calculating the energy efficiencies are stated. Experimental tests on integral engine compressor and separable compressor under various operating conditions were conducted to verify the correctness of the method. According to the 4D rule and the principal of average, the minimum allowable efficiencies of natural gas reciprocating compressor are recommended by testing thirty-one integral engine compressors and twenty separable compressors selected randomly. The results show that both the direct procedure and indirect procedure are applicable to obtaining the various efficiencies of integral engine compressor owing to their slight relative errors. Integral engine compressor efficiency is low due to large exhaust loss and heat rejection on gas engine, separable compressor efficiency is high owing to an efficient electric motor. The minimum allowable efficiency of gas engine is 25%, compressor unit 85%, electric motor 60%, integral engine compressor 16% and separable compressor 45% [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For enhancing the partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) process, the effects of granule fraction on system performance were investigated in this study. Two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were inoculated with PN/A biomass with a floc mass fraction of 53%. In SBR1, when the nitrogen removal rate (NRR) was stable, flocculent sludge was gradually discharged from the reactor using a screen, and the granule fraction was therefore increased. However, nitrogen removal was not improved and finally deteriorated due to the loss of nitritation activity. In SBR2, most flocculent sludge was eliminated and granular proportion was maintained at over 90% by controlling a short settling and decanting time. NRR was low initially but gradually improved to 1.23 kg N/(M³⋅d), which was 54% higher than SBR1. Ammonium oxidation activities of flocs and granules were respectively measured. Results suggested that the increase of nitritation activity in the granules was the main reason for the improvement of nitrogen removal in SBR2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-chamber air spring is an important vibration absorber. The shape and number of damping orifices directly influence the damping characteristics of dual-chamber air springs. The study investigates the application of damping characteristics of gas-liquid coupling dual-chamber air springs to mitigate the motion of a marine floating platform. An experimental method is used to analyze the influence of changes in the orifice number and shape on the damping characteristics of dual-chamber air springs given the same opening area. To analyze the effect of various orifice shapes, the study adopts a non-dimensional number to measure the image complexity, namely area/perimeter2 ratio. Additionally, two non-dimensional numbers are considered simultaneously, namely the orifice number and tightness factor, and the influence of changes in the orifice number and orifice position layout on damping characteristics of circular and square orifices is investigated, given the same opening area. The damping cloud map and a formula to calculate the damping for the gas-liquid coupling dual-chamber air springs are obtained by analyzing the experimental data. The proposed formula can be used to quickly calculate the damping coefficients of the dual-chamber air springs when the number and position layout of the orifices are known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the purpose of improving the properties of the Sn-58Bi lead-free solder, micro-CuZnAl particles ranging from 0 to 0.4 wt % were added into the low temperature eutectic Sn-58Bi lead-free solder. After the experimental testing of micro-CuZnAl particles on the properties and microstructure of the Sn-58Bi solders, it was found that the wettability of the Sn-58Bi solders was obviously improved with addition of CuZnAl particles. When the addition of CuZnAl particles was 0.2 wt %, the wettability of the Sn-58Bi solder performed best. At the same time, excessive addition of CuZnAl particles led to poor wettability. However, the results showed that CuZnAl particles changed the melting point of the Sn-58Bi solder slightly. The microstructure of the Sn-58Bi solder was refined by adding CuZnAl particles. When the content of CuZnAl addition was between 0.1 and 0.2 wt %, the refinement was great. In addition, the interfacial IMC layer between new composite solder and Cu substrate was thinner than that between the Sn-58Bi solder and Cu substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic obstructive lesions of the subclavian artery (SCA) often result in subclavian steal syndrome, which leads to arm claudication, transient cerebral ischemia, and other serious complications. The lesions are classified as stenosis and occlusion, according to the degree of obstruction. Unlike totally occlusive lesions, including ostial occlusions, stenotic lesions have an excellent technical success rate. In the present study, ostial occlusions were classified into 4 types according to their angiographic appearance. A total of 8 patients (6 male, 2 female) with SCA occlusions were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting over a 4-year period. Mean patient age was 65.6 years (range, 60-72 years). In total, 9 self-expanding and 1 balloon-expandable stent were implanted at the ostia of the SCA in 7 of the patients. One female patient did not undergo stenting. Bleeding at the access site was noted in 2 patients and was controlled by gauze pressure. The patient that did not undergo stenting was lost to follow-up with symptoms of a transient ischemic attack at 3 months. The mean follow-up time for the remaining 7 patients was 15.7 months (range, 1-36 months). No ischemic symptoms, neointimal hyperplasia, or restenosis was observed in these patients. The transfemoral artery operation approach is preferred for rat-tail and peak type occlusions, whereas the dual approach involving both femoral and radial arteries is preferred for hilly and plain type occlusions. The angiographic morphology typing used in the present study may serve as a reference to decide upon the interventional operation strategy to be used for improving the technical success rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stomata are microscopic openings that allow for the exchange of gases between plants and the environment. In Arabidopsis, stomatal patterning is specified by the ERECTA family (ERf) receptor kinases (RKs), the receptor-like protein (RLP) TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM), and EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR (EPF) peptides. Here we show that TMM and ER or ER-LIKE1 (ERL1) form constitutive complexes, which recognize EPF1 and EPF2, but the single ERfs do not. TMM interaction with ERL1 creates a binding pocket for recognition of EPF1 and EPF2, indicating that the constitutive TMM-ERf complexes function as the receptors of EPF1 and EPF2. EPFL9 competes with EPF1 and EPF2 for binding to the ERf-TMM complex. EPFL4 and EPFL6, however, are recognized by the single ERfs without the requirement of TMM. In contrast to EPF1,2, the interaction of EPFL4,6 with an ERf is greatly reduced in the presence of TMM. Taken together, our data demonstrate that TMM dictates the specificity of ERfs for the perception of different EPFs, thus functioning as a specificity switch for the regulation of the activities of ERfs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a non-contact and non-destructive method to detect Curie point ( T C ) in Er 3+ doped Ba 0.77 Ca 0.23 TiO 3 (BCT) ferroelectric ceramic. Through investigating the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Er 3+ doped BCT ceramic we found that PL characteristics in ferroelectrics demonstrates critical behavior around T C . Both intensity and peak positions of the Stark sub-peaks originating from 4 S 3/2 to 4 I 15/2 transition change dramatically, and can be fitted with two different lines below and above T C . The inflection points of the PL characteristics are at the same temperature of 381(1) K, and coincident with the T C (381 K) determined by the dielectric temperature spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the startup process, the evolution of voltage output, energy gain and output, active biomass, and electrochemical performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) started up under different external resistances (10, 50, 250, and 1000 Ω) was investigated. In addition, the influences of external resistance and mass transfer on the anodic biofilm distribution of MFCs were also investigated. The results showed that MFCs with a decreased external resistance during startup had an increased evolution rate of energy gain, energy output, active biomass, and maximum power density but a reduced voltage evolution rate. A low external resistance for startup resulted in a thick and compact biofilm. As the flow field induced mass transfer, the biofilm was mainly distributed on the carbon cloth against the flow channel, and the biomass decreased along the flow direction. The compact biofilm on the surface resulted in a poor mass transfer and limited biofilm development inside the electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu6Sn5 whiskers precipitated in Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu/Cu interconnection in concentrator silicon solar cells solder layer were found and investigated after reflow soldering and during aging. Ag3Sn fibers can be observed around Cu6Sn5 whiskers in the matrix microstructure, which can play an active effect on the reliability of interconnection. Different morphologies of Cu6Sn5 whiskers can be observed, and hexagonal rod structure is the main morphology of Cu6Sn5 whiskers. A hollow structure can be observed in hexagonal Cu6Sn5 whiskers, and a screw dislocation mechanism was used to represent the Cu6Sn5 growth. Based on mechanical property testing and finite element simulation, Cu6Sn5 whiskers were regarded as having a negative effect on the durability of Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu/Cu interconnection in concentrator silicon solar cells solder layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dyslipidemia is an important independent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to explore the current prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of dyslipidemia and its associated influence factors in northeast China. Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study, we adopted a multi-stage, stratified sampling method to obtain a representative sample of 4052 permanent residents aged 40 years and over from different urban and rural regions in Dehui City of Jilin Province. All subjects completed a questionnaire and were examined for risk factors. Continuous data were presented as means ± standard deviations (SD) and compared using the Student’s t-test. Categorical variables were presented as proportions and compared using the Rao-Scott-χ2 test in different subgroups. The associated influence factors for the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of dyslipidemia were evaluated through multivariate logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 62.1% overall, with 33.5, 43.9, 0.6, and 8.8% for high total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, respectively. Among those with dyslipidemia, the proportion of subjects who were aware, treated, and controlled was 14.4, 33.9, and 19.9%, respectively. Overweight or obesity (OR = 2.156; 95% CI: 1.863, 2.533), hypertension (OR = 1.643; 95% CI: 1.425, 1.893), or diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.173; 95% CI: 1.661, 2.844) increased the prevalence of dyslipidemia, also these participants were more likely to be aware of their condition, however, this did not increase the likelihood of treatment and control. Living in urban areas and higher education level also increased the awareness of dyslipidemia. Personal history of coronary heart disease was the strongest influence factors associated with better awareness, treatment and control of dyslipidemia. Overweight or obesity (OR = 0.404; 95% CI: 0.235, 0.695) and lack of exercise (OR = 0.423; 95% CI: 0.215, 0. 830) were associated with poor control of dyslipidemia. Conclusion: The prevalence of dyslipidemia among adults aged 40 years and over in northeast China was high, however, the awareness, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia was measured at far from desirable levels. Renewed efforts taking influence factors into account are needed to improve the current unsatisfactory condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants, extracellular signals are primarily sensed by plasma membrane-localized receptor-like kinases (RLKs). ERECTA is a leucine-rich repeat RLK that together with its paralogs ERECTA-like 1 (ERL1) and ERL2 regulates multiple aspects of plant development. ERECTA forms complexes with a range of co-receptors and senses secreted cysteine-rich small proteins from the EPF/EPFL family. Currently the mechanism of the cytoplasmic domain activation and transmission of the signal by ERECTA is unclear. To gain a better understanding we performed a structure-function analysis by introducing altered ERECTA genes into erecta and erecta erl1 erl2 mutants. These experiments indicated that ERECTA's ability to phosphorylate is functionally significant, and that while the cytoplasmic juxtamembrane domain is important for ERECTA function, the C-terminal tail is not. An analysis of multiple putative phosphorylation sites identified four amino acids in the activation segment of the kinase domain as functionally important. Homology of those residues to functionally significant amino acids in multiple other plant RLKs emphasizes similarities in RLK function. Specifically, our data predicts Thr812 as a primary site of phosphor-activation and potential inhibitory phosphorylation of Tyr815 and Tyr820. In addition, our experiments suggest that there are differences in the molecular mechanism of ERECTA function during regulation of stomata development and in elongation of above-ground organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To compare the efficacy of sorafenib and sunitinib with regard to overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) in Chinese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).Methods: A multicenter, retrospective study was performed to elucidate the relationship between clinical variables and prognosis comparing sorafenib and sunitinib as first-line treatment agents in Chinese patients with mRCC. Between September 2006 and December 2014, 845 patients received either sorafenib (400 mg bid; n = 483) or sunitinib (50 mg q.d; n = 362). The primary end point was OS and PFS.Results: The percentage of patients with low and moderate risk according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) score was significantly higher in sunitinib group, and that with high risk was significantly higher in sorafenib group (15.1 vs. 5.2%; p < 0.001). Median OS was similar in sorafenib and sunitinib group (24 vs. 24 months; p = 0.298). Sorafenib group exhibited higher mPFS compared to sunitinib group (11.1 vs. 10.0 months; p = 0.028). Treatment (sorafenib vs sunitinib), pathology, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, MSKCC scores, Heng's criteria of risk, and number of metastases were identified as significant predictors for OS and along with liver metastasis for PFS. Clinical outcomes in terms of mOS was significantly better with sorafenib in patients ≥65 years of age (p = .041), ECOG 0 (p = 0.0001), and median MSKCC risk score (p = 0.008).Conclusions: Sorafenib and sunitinib are both effective in treating mRCC. However, sorafenib might be more effective in elderly patients (≥65 years) and in patients with an ECOG status of 0, classified under MSKCC moderate risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Er 3+ doped ferroelectric Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 –0.25PbTiO 3 (PMN–PT) ceramic was grown by using a two-stage sintering method. The sample shows relatively strong upconversion (UC) visible fluorescence under a 980 nm diode laser excitation and the fluorescence spectra were recorded in the temperature ( T ) range of 300–600 K. The fluorescence intensity ratios (FIR) of different energy levels, like 2 H 11/2 , 4 S 3/2 , 4 F 9/2 , and its stark sublevels, were studied as functions of temperature. The responses of FIR adopted here have a linear response to temperature in certain temperature range, and the resolutions achieved for temperature sensing using this material can be 0.5 K with the sensitivity as high as 2.9% K −1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a time-periodic and delayed reaction-diffusion system with quiescent stage in both unbounded and bounded habitat domains. In unbounded habitat domain R, we first prove the existence of the asymptotic spreading speed and then show that it coincides with the minimal wave speed for monotone periodic traveling waves. In a bounded habitat domain Ω - RN (N ⩾ 1), we obtain the threshold result on the global attractivity of either the zero solution or the unique positive timeperiodic solution of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-antenna synchronized receiver (using a common clock) is widely applied in GNSS-based attitude determination (AD) or terrain deformations monitoring, and many other applications, since the high-accuracy single-differenced carrier phase can be used to improve the positioning or AD accuracy. Thus, the line bias (LB) parameter (fractional bias isolating) should be calibrated in the single-differenced phase equations. In the past decades, all researchers estimated the LB as a constant parameter in advance and compensated it in real time. However, the constant LB assumption is inappropriate in practical applications because of the physical length and permittivity changes of the cables, caused by the environmental temperature variation and the instability of receiver-self inner circuit transmitting delay. Considering the LB drift (or colored LB) in practical circumstances, this paper initiates a real-time estimator using auto regressive moving average-based (ARMA) prediction/whitening filter model or Moving average-based (MA) constant calibration model. In the ARMA-based filter model, four cases namely AR(1), ARMA(1, 1), AR(2) and ARMA(2, 1) are applied for the LB prediction. The real-time relative positioning model using the ARMA-based predicting LB is derived and it is theoretically proved that the positioning accuracy is better than the traditional double difference carrier phase (DDCP) model. The drifting LB is defined with a phase temperature changing rate integral function, which is a random walk process if the phase temperature changing rate is white noise, and is validated by the analysis of the AR model coefficient. The auto covariance function shows that the LB is indeed varying in time and estimating it as a constant is not safe, which is also demonstrated by the analysis on LB variation of each visible satellite during a zero and short baseline BDS/GPS experiment. Compared to the DDCP approach, in the zero-baseline experiment, the LB constant calibration (LBCC) and MA approaches improved the positioning accuracy of the vertical component, while slightly degrading the accuracy of the horizontal components. The ARMA(1, 0) model, however, improved the positioning accuracy of all three components, with 40 and 50 % improvement of the vertical component for BDS and GPS, respectively. In the short baseline experiment, compared to the DDCP approach, the LBCC approach yielded bad positioning solutions and degraded the AD accuracy; both MA and ARMA-based filter approaches improved the AD accuracy. Moreover, the ARMA(1, 0) and ARMA(1, 1) models have relatively better performance, improving to 55 % and 48 % the elevation angle in ARMA(1, 1) and MA model for GPS, respectively. Furthermore, the drifting LB variation is found to be continuous and slowly cumulative; the variation magnitudes in the unit of length are almost identical on different frequency carrier phases, so the LB variation does not show obvious correlation between different frequencies. Consequently, the wide-lane LB in the unit of cycle is very stable, while the narrow-lane LB varies largely in time. This reasoning probably also explains the phenomenon that the wide-lane LB originating in the satellites is stable, while the narrow-lane LB varies. The results of ARMA-based filters are better than the MA model, which probably implies that the modeling for drifting LB can further improve the precise point positioning accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead-trihalide perovskite solar cells are an important photovoltaic technology. We investigate the effect of light induced degradation on perovskite solar cells. During exposure, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of the device increases, whereas the short-circuit current (Isc) shows a decrease. The degradation can be completely recovered using thermal annealing in dark. We develop a model based on light induced generation of ions and migration of these ions inside the material to explain the changes in Isc, Voc, capacitance and dark current upon light exposure and post-exposure recovery. There was no change in defect density in the material upon exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic asymmetric Michael addition-lactonization of arylacetyl phosphonates to β,γ-unsaturated α-keto esters by a chiral bifunctional thiourea-tertiary amine was established. Using the developed protocol, a range of optically pure syn-3,4-dihydropyranones were generated in good yields with good to excellent stereoselectivities (up to >20:1 dr and 99% ee). Meanwhile, when stoichiometric diisopropylethylamine and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene were used as the base for the same reaction, a series of 5,6-dihydropyranones could be obtained in moderate to good yields (53-75% yield). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to compare the gene expression profiles in aortic dissection (AD) and healthy human aortic tissue samples by DNA microarray analysis in order to screen the differential genes. In total, five AD and four healthy aortic specimens were selected; the total RNA was extracted and reverse transcribed into cDNA and in vitro transcribed into aRNA, followed by microarray hybridization for analysis. Thereafter, the transcription levels of six differential genes, myosin light chain kinase (MYLK), polycystin 1, transient receptor potential channel interacting (PKD-1), myosin heavy chain 11 (MYH11), superoxide dismutase 3, extracellular (SOD3), filamin A (FLNA), and transgelin (TAGLN), screened from the expression profiles were quantitatively verified. Compared with the healthy aortic specimens, a total of 1,661 genes in the AD group demonstrated more than 2-fold differential expression, of which 997 genes were upregulated and 664 genes were downregulated. Thereafter, six AD-associated genes that showed downregulation in the microarray assay were selected for quantitatively verifying the gene transcription level using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), which confirmed their downregulation compared with the healthy aortic tissue genes; of the six genes, the expression levels of MYLK, PKD-1, MYH11, SOD3 and TAGLN were significantly downregulated (P<0.05), while the expression of FLNA was not significantly downregulated (P>0.05). Thus, whole genome microarray may be used to screen differentially expressed genes between AD and healthy aortic tissues. When used in combination with RT-qPCR validation, this method may provide novel strategies for investigating AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mode-selective microwave reflector with periodic rectangular corrugations in the inner surface of a circular metallic waveguide is studied in this paper. The relations between the bandwidth and reflection coefficient for different numbers of corrugation sections were studied through a global optimization method. Two types of reflectors were investigated. One does not consider the phase response and the other does. Both types of broadband reflectors operating at W-band were machined and measured to verify the numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integrative strategy of health services delivery has been proven to be effective in economically developed countries, where the healthcare systems have enough qualified primary care providers. However rural China lacks such providers to act as gatekeeper, besides, Chinese rural hypertensive patients are usually of old age, more likely to be exposed to health risk factors and they experience a greater socio-economic burden. All these Chinese rural setting specific features make the effectiveness of integrative strategy of health services in improving health related quality of life among Chinese rural hypertensive patients uncertain. Methods: In order to assess the impact of integrative strategy of health services delivery on health related quality of life among Chinese rural hypertensive patients, a two-year quasi-experimental trial was conducted in Chongqing, China. At baseline the sample enrolled 1006 hypertensive patients into intervention group and 420 hypertensive patients into control group. Physicians from village clinics, town hospitals and county hospitals worked collaboratively to deliver multidisciplinary health services for the intervention group, while physicians in the control group provided services without cooperation. The quality of life was studied by SF-36 Scale. Blood pressures were reported by town hospitals. The Difference-in-Differences model was used to estimate the differences in SF-36 score and blood pressure of both groups to assess the impact. Results: The study showed that at baseline there was no statistical difference in SF-36 scores between both groups. While at follow-up the intervention group scored higher in overall SF-36, Role Physical, Body Pain, Social Functioning and Role Emotional than the control group. The Difference-in-Differences result demonstrated that there were statistical differences in SF-36 total score (p = 0.011), Role Physical (p = 0.027), Social Functioning (p = 0.000), Role Emotional (p = 0.002) between both groups. Integrative services delivery improved the score of SF-36 by 4.591 ± 1.794, and also improved the score in domains of Role Physical, Social Functioning and Role Emotional by 8.289 ± 3.753, 9. 762 ± 2.019 and 12.534 ± 4.083, respectively. Conclusion: Patients in the intervention group obtained lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Integrative strategy of health services delivery improved health related quality of life and blood pressure control among rural Chinese hypertensive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we characterize the frequent hypercyclicity of weighted com- position operators on some classical Banach spaces, such as the weighted Dirichlet space Sv. Besides, we also discuss the frequent hypercyclicity of the weighted composition operators on the weighted Bergman space Ap α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern cities are dense with very tall buildings, which often leads to features of interest (FOIs, e.g., relevant roads and associated landmarks) being occluded by clusters of buildings. Thus, from any given point of view, users can see only a small area of the city. However, it is currently an important technical problem to maintain the visibility of FOIs while preserving the urban shapes and spatial relationships between features. In this paper, we present a novel automatic visualization method to generate occlusion-free views for FOIs in real time. Our method integrates with three effective cartographic schemes: route broadening, building displacement, and building scaling, using an optimization framework A series of distortion energies are presented to preserve the urban resemblance, considering the view position and the urban features based on spatial cognition to maintain spatial and temporal coherence. Our approach can be used to visualize large urban environments at interactive framerates in which the visibility of the occluded FOIs is maximized while the deformation of the landscape's shape is minimized. Using this approach, the visual readability of such 3D urban maps can be much improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies confirmed that ground-glass nodules (GGNs) with certain CT manifestations had a higher probability of malignancy. However, differentiating patchy ground-glass opacities (GGOs) and GGNs has not been discussed solely. This study aimed to investigate the differences between the CT features of benign and malignant patchy GGOs to improve the differential diagnosis.Methods: From January 2016 to September 2021, 226 patients with 247 patchy GGOs (103 benign and 144 malignant) confirmed by postoperative pathological examination or follow-up were retrospectively enrolled. Their clinical and CT data were reviewed, and their CT features were compared. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to reveal the predictors of malignancy.Results: Compared to patients with benign patchy GGOs, malignant cases were older (P <  0.001), had a lower incidence of malignant tumor history (P = 0.003), and more commonly occurred in females (P = 0.012). Based on CT images, there were significant differences in the location, distribution, density pattern, internal bronchial changes, and boundary between malignant and benign GGOs (P <  0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the independent predictors of malignant GGOs were the following: patient age ≥ 58 years [odds ratio (OR), 2.175; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.135-6.496; P = 0.025], locating in the upper lobe (OR, 5.481; 95%CI, 2.027-14.818; P = 0.001), distributing along the bronchovascular bundles (OR, 12.770; 95%CI, 4.062-40.145; P < 0.001), centrally distributed solid component (OR, 3.024; 95%CI, 1.124-8.133; P = 0.028), and well-defined boundary (OR, 5.094; 95%CI, 2.079-12.482; P < 0.001).Conclusions: In older patients (≥58 years), well-defined patchy GGOs with centric solid component, locating in the upper lobe, and distributing along the bronchovascular bundles should be highly suspected as malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors propose a novel method for significantly reducing antenna measurement time and increasing the efficiency of collecting the data which most is relevant information. They apply methods from compressed sensing which reduce redundancy in the antenna measurement, i.e. a metasurface is added to the antenna near-field, and the unit cell is manipulated by a FPGA to facilitate sparse sampling. In comparison with the traditional sparse sampling method, experimental results demonstrate that their strategy can reduce the measuring time by at least 56% while satisfying measurement error and that it has considerable potential for antenna measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study evaluated the effect of different dietary plant soot supplementation levels on the intestinal health status of American eels (Anguilla rostrata) cultured in concrete tanks. Nine concrete fish tanks were randomly divided into three groups and fed the diets with plant soot (PS) supplementation levels at 0, 3 g/kg, and 5 g/kg, respectively. After a feeding trial for 60 days, the intestinal tissues were sampled to measure health status parameters. The D-lactate level and DAO activity in the serum of the PS5 group were significantly lower than those of the PS0 group (P <0.05). Compared with the PS0 group, the villi length of the intestine in both PS3 group and PS5 group increased significantly (P<0.05). The muscular thickness of the intestine of the PS5 group was significantly higher than the PS0 group (P<0.05). The microvillus density of the intestine of the American eel was increased obviously in the PS5 group. The intestinal microbiota composition of plant soot groups was beneficially regulated with certain probiotics' higher relative abundances and some pathogenic bacteria' lower relative abundance. In conclusion, dietary 5 g/kg plant soot supplementation could benefit the intestinal health of farmed American eels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-rated health among old adults (SHOA) indicates individuals' subjective assessments and evaluations of their overall health based on objective physical circumstances. The purpose of this study was to analyze the current state and influencing factors of the subjective perception-based self-rated health (SH) by qualifying selected older adults with similar objective physical conditions, as well as to explore the equality and changing trends of SHOA based on influencing factors. Methods: This study designed a cross-sectional study, conducted in three provinces in east, central and west China, and included 1,153 older adults (> = 60 years) with intact physical condition (IPC). The current state of SHOA and its influencing factors were analyzed using mean comparisons and Logistic regression (LR) models. The equality level and trend of SHOA's effect on health literacy, health habits, and access to health care were determined using the Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, and Vector Autoregression (VAR) model. Results: The mean SHOA with IPC was 74.37 ± 13.22. Findings from LR modeling indicated that SHOA with IPC was mainly influenced by age and communication methods (P < 0.05). It was also observed that the total Gini coefficient of the allocation of SHOA with IPC based on communication methods was equal to 0.0188, and the VAR results showed that the total effect of change in SHOA on health literacy among older adults was negative and its duration of the effect exceeded 50. Conclusions: The SHOA with IPC was shown to be better and was primarily influenced by age and communication methods. The observed effect of SHOA on health literacy was negative and lasting. To improve SHOA with IPC even further, policymakers could consider promoting the use of modern and convenient communication methods (such as smartphones) through training and purchasing subsidies, as well as focusing on increasing sustained attention and promoting health literacy and behavior among older adults with improved SH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of spikemoss, Selaginella densiciliata in S. subg. Heterostachys sect. Tetragonostachyae, China, is described from southeastern Xizang, based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic data. Morphologically, S. densiciliata is similar to S. repanda, S. subvaginata and S. vaginata, but the new species can be easily distinguished from them by having sterile leaves margins densely ciliate, symmetrical axillary leaves oblong ovate to ovate-triangular, and ovate dorsal leaves obviously carinate. Molecular phylogenetic analysis resolves S. densiciliata as sister to the clade comprised with S. vaginata and S. xipholepis, which confirms the recognition of the new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti is regarded as one of the promising grain refiners in cast Al-Li-Cu alloys, but few research works have been done on its independent role. In this study, the effect of Ti on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of cast Al-2Li-2Cu-0.5Mg base alloy was investigated. The results revealed that the grains can be prominently refined with the increase of Ti addition. After adding Ti, high density TiB2-Al3Ti composite particles with a low lattice misfit form as heterogeneous nucleation sites for the α-Al matrix. δ'(Al3Li) and T1(Al2CuLi) precipitates that provide enhanced strength are dominated in the alloys after T6 aging treatment. The average size of both δ' and half-width of δ'-precipitation free zone (PFZ) decreases gradually with the increase of Ti content. This is because the higher binding energy between Ti atoms and vacancies limits the diffusion efficiency of Li atoms, and thus results in a higher ductility. Additionally, no nano-sized Al3Ti or core-shell structure of Al3(Li, Ti) particles are found. The tensile property test results indicate that the Al-2Li-2Cu-0.5Mg alloy achieves optimal properties after aging at 175 °C for 32 h when 0.15wt.% Ti is added. It exhibits a yield strength of 352±5 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 423±6 MPa, and an elongation of (3±0.4)%. These findings are expected to offer a reliable theoretical guidance for the industrial composition design of the Al-Li-Cu series cast alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we characterize the frequent hypercyclicity of weighted composition operators on some classical Banach spaces, such as the weighted Dirichlet space SV. Besides, we also discuss the frequent hypercyclicity of the weighted composition operators on the weighted Bergman space APa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance It is vital for astronauts to develop effective countermeasures to prevent their decline of cognitive performance in microgravity to make space-flight missions successful. The traditional Chinese herbal formula Kai Xin San (KXS) has been used to treat amnesia for thousands years. It is a traditional complex prescription comprising of ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer), hoelen (Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf), polygala (Polygala tenaifolia Willd), and acorus (Acorus tatarinowii Schott). Previous study showed KXS could improve CMS-induced memory impairment in rats. Material and methods In this paper, a unique environmental factor—microgravity (weightlessness) was simulated as hindlimb suspension (HLS) by tail in rats for two weeks as the HLS animal model. The KXS at the doses of 0.3 or 0.6 g/kg p.o. daily was administrated to HLS rats for two weeks at the same time of HLS, the memory behavior tests were investigated with Morris water maze (MWM) and Shuttle Box (SB) test. The levels of ROS, 8-OHdG and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) in the serum, and AChE and ChAT activity in the brain of rats were determined by ELISA or biochemical analysis. Results After HLS for two weeks, the escape latency and the swimming distance were significantly increased in the MWM test in rats in the HLS group, compared with control group. The percent of swimming distance in target quadrant and the number of target crossing was significantly decreased in rats in the HLS group compared with the control group. Performance in the SB test showed, the numbers and the distance of active avoidance was decreased from day 4 to day 7, the time spent in electric area was increased in rats in the HLS group compared with the control group. Administration of KXS 0.3 or 0.6 g/kg to the HLS rats for two weeks significantly reduced the escape latency and the swimming distance, increased the percentage of swimming distance in target quadrant and the number of target crossings (P<0.01, compared with the HLS group) in the MWM test. Similar treatment with KXS increased the numbers and the distance of active avoidance (P<0.01, compared with the HLS group) and reduced the time spent in electric area after training 3 days in the SB test (P<0.01, compared with the HLS group). The HLS induced the increase of the ROS, 8-OHdG and 3-NT in the serum of rats, but has little influence on the AChE, ChAT activity in the brain. Only the AChE activity in the cortex and the ChAT activity in the hippocampus had some changes in rats in the HLS model group. After administration of KXS 0.6 g/kg for two weeks, the abnormal levels of ROS, 8-OHdG, 3-NT were found reversed in the serum of rats (P<0.05, compared with HLS model group). And KXS 0.3 g/kg was found reversed the increased AChE activity in the cortex. Conclusions Experimental results from this study show that KXS may improve memory deficiency induced by HLS, its mechanisms are major related to antioxidant activities, rather than the central cholinergic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on the best management practices (BMPs) perspectives as pollution control systems to improve the water environment in the U.S. An analysis of research trends through traditional bibliometric methods of certain fields mainly from publication output, geographical distribution and performance is outlined. The use of geographical information systems (GIS) in BMPs research with a stable frequency from 1994 to 2013 is also tackled.

Grassbur is a destructive and invasive weed in pastures, and its burs can cause gastric damage to animals. The strong adaptability and reproductive potential of grassbur are partly due to a unique germination mechanism whereby twin seeds develop in a single bur: one seed germinates, but the other remains dormant. To investigate the molecular mechanism of seed germination in twin seeds, we used isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) to perform a dynamic proteomic analysis of germination and dormancy. A total of 1,984 proteins were identified, 161 of which were considered to be differentially accumulated. The differentially accumulated proteins comprised 102 up-regulated and 59 down-regulated proteins. These proteins were grouped into seven functional categories, ribosomal proteins being the predominant group. The authenticity and accuracy of the results were confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qPCR). A dynamic proteomic analysis revealed that ribosome synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism affect seed germination possibly through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. As the PI3K pathway is generally activated by insulin, analyses of seeds treated with exogenous insulin by qPCR, ELISA and iTRAQ confirmed that the PI3K pathway can be activated, which suppresses dormancy and promotes germination in twin grassbur seeds. Together, these results show that the PI3K pathway may play roles in stimulating seed germination in grassbur by modulating ribosomal synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional NiO nanorods were synthesized as anode material by electrospinning method. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the product sintered at 400 °C had impure metallic nickel phase which, however, became pure NiO phase as the sintering temperature rose. Nevertheless, the nanorods sintered at 400, 500 and 600 °C had similar diameters (∼200 nm).The NiO nanorod material sintered at 500 °C was chip-shaped with a diameter of 200 nm and it exhibited a porous 3D structure. The nanorod sintered at 500 °C had the optimal electrochemical performance. Its discharge specific capacity was 1127 mAh·g−1 initially and remained as high as 400 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 55 mA·g−1 after 50 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous triphenylmethoxysilane-derived silica membranes were prepared by chemical vapor deposition to demonstrate excellent hydrogen separation performance from gaseous mixtures containing methylcyclohexane (MCH) and toluene (TOL). Pure H2 permeances were on the order of 10-6 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1, while the single gas permeances of SF6, TOL, and MCH were all on the order of 10-11 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1, regardless of the ranges of pressure difference and temperature (0.1-0.5 MPa and 373-573 K). This agrees with the order of kinetic diameters for these gaseous molecules, showing high selectivity of hydrogen over the hydrocarbons. The influence of the coexisting MCH and TOL on H2 separation performance through the same membrane was investigated in the gaseous mixtures after eliminating the effect of water molecules. Similar negative effects were observed for MCH and TOL on the H2 separation properties, with the influence of TOL being slightly higher than that of MCH for H2-X (X = MCH, TOL) binary mixtures. Moreover, such the silica membrane exhibited high hydrogen separation performance and good stability in the H2-MCH-TOL ternary gaseous mixtures under operating conditions, which would have potential application to extract high purity hydrogen over 99.99% in membrane reactors. The membrane underwent eight mixtures exposure-regeneration cycles and exhibited stable medium-term running for over 25 days including gas-exchanging cycles and temperature cycles at 573-373 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal characteristics of Paulownia sawdust (PS), bamboo sawdust (BS), rice lemma (RL), and corncob (CC) in an oxidizing atmosphere were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the reaction of biomass oxidative decomposition took place in two main phases: devolatilization and char oxidation. Among various types of biomass, BS was found to possess the highest oxidative decomposition reactivity followed by PS, CC, and RL. Additionally, an increase in heating rate led to a significant improvement of the reactivity. The kinetic modeling of the oxidation reaction with the direct fitting method using the DRPM model showed a satisfied match with the experimental data, and the activation energy of biomass during the devolatilization process was higher than that of the char oxidation process. The activation energy of devolatilization was in the range of 80.7 to 133.8 kJ/mol, while that value of char oxidation fluctuated between 41.7 and 67.5 kJ/mol. In addition, with an increase in the heating rate, a marked compensation effect between the activation energy and pre-exponential factors was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process has been applied to ammonium-rich wastewater treatment, but the operational boundary has not been well determined for long-term stability. This pilot-scale study was targeted at a single-stage PN/A process using a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) (volume: 53 m3) and granulated activated sludge. The maximum nitrogen removal rate reached 0.83 kg N/(m3.d). Microbial analysis suggested that ammonium oxidizing bacteria were mainly present in small sludge flocs while anammox bacteria were prone to grow in large sludge granules. The PN/A performance was enhanced when dissolved oxygen (DO) was increased from 0.25 to 0.76 mg/L, and deteriorated at DO higher than 1.15 mg/L. The PN/A was inhibited at free ammonia (FA) over 77.0 mg/L. High DO or FA concentrations inhibited anammox activity and further induced high and inhibitory nitrite concentrations. Therefore, appropriate DO and FA concentrations should be controlled to achieve single-stage PN/A in SBRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) of the musculoskeletal system is a rare clinical condition. Multifocal bone involvement is extremely rare and difficult to recognize. Thus, due to the diverse and atypical clinical manifestations of multifocal skeletal TB, the disease is easy to misdiagnose. In the present study, a rare case of atypical disseminated multifocal skeletal TB was reported, which exhibited uncommon findings in radiological images that were more suggestive of a hematological malignancy or metastatic disease. In conclusion, the diagnosis of this condition by conventional diagnostic methods is challenging. The importance of CT-guided needle biopsy and open biopsy in the diagnosis of skeletal TB was emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Can cell survival of dissociated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) be increased during culture?Summary Answer: A protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, H89, can significantly enhance survival and clonogenicity of dissociated hESCs without affecting their pluripotency.What Is Known Already: hESCs are vulnerable to massive cell death upon cellular detachment and dissociation.Study Design, Size, Duration: hESCs were dissociated into single cells and then cultured in feeder-dependent and -independent manners. H89 was added to the culture medium at different concentrations for 1 day. The statistical results were obtained from at least three independent experiments (n ≥ 4). The group without treatment was used as the negative control.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: 4 µM H89 was added in the culture medium to promote cell survival and colony formation of dissociated hESCs. MTT method and propidium iodide (PI) staining were used to determine cell proliferation, cell death and cell cycle, respectively. To count colony formation, alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining was carried out. Western blot was performed to determine protein expression. Except AP staining, immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and karyotype analysis were used to confirm the pluripotent state of H89 treated hESCs.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: H89 inhibits the dissociation-induced phosphorylation of PKA and two substrates of Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase (ROCK), myosin light chain (MLC2) and myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1), significantly increases cell survival and colony formation, and strongly depresses dissociation-induced cell death and cell blebbing without affecting the pluripotency of hESCs and their differentiation in vitro.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Appropriate H89 concentration should be used and 1 day of H89 treatment is sufficient for promoting survival and colony formation of dissociated hESCs.Wider Implications Of the Findings: These results provide an alternative for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture, broaden the scope of participants in the cell death of single hES cells after dissociation and further enlighten clues to understand the mechanism of dissociation-induced cell death.Study Funding/competing Interests: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21176238, 21576266), and Chinese Academy of Sciences. There is no conflict of interest to declare.Trial Registration Number: Nil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using new algebraic techniques, two Casorati inequalities are established for submanifolds in a Riemannian manifold of quasi-constant curvature with a semi-symmetric metric connection, which generalize inequalities obtained by Lee et al. J. Inequal. Appl. 2014, 2014, 327. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p125 is one of four subunits of human DNA polymerases - DNA Pol d as well as one of p53 target protein encoded by POLD1. However, the function and significance of p125 and the role that p53 plays in regulating p125 expression are not fully understood in breast cancer. Tissue sections of human breast cancer obtained from 70 patients whose median age was 47.6 years (range: 38-69 years) with stage II-III breast cancer were studied with normal breast tissue from the same patients and two human breast cell lines (MCF-7 and MCF-10A). p53 expression levels were reduced, while p125 protein expression was increased in human breast cancer tissues and cell line detected by Western blot and quantitative reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction. The methylation level of the POLD1 gene promoter was greater in breast cancer tissues and cells when compared with normal tissues and cells. In MCF-7 cell model, p53 overexpression caused a decrease in the level of p125 protein, while the methylation level of the p125 gene promoter was also inhibited by p53 overexpression. To further investigate the regulating mechanism of p53 on p125 expression, our study focused on DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and transcription factor Sp1. Both DNMT1 and Sp1 protein expression were reduced when p53 was overexpressed in MCF-7 cells. The Sp1 binding site appears to be important for DNMT1 gene transcription; Sp1 and p53 can bind together, which means that DNMT1 gene expression may be downregulated by p53 through binding to Sp1. Because DNMT1 methylation level of the p125 gene promoter can affect p125 gene transcription, we propose that p53 may indirectly regulate p125 gene promoter expression through the control of DNMT1 gene transcription. In conclusion, the data from this preliminary study have shown that p53 inhibits the methylation of p125 gene promoter by downregulating the activities of Sp1 and DNMT1 in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optical temperature sensor (OTS) based on the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) method of Eu 3+ in LiNbO 3 (LN) single crystal has been developed, and this OTS can effectively avoid the fluorescence measurement disturbance due to the low scattering factor of the host LN single crystal. The sensitivity achieved here is as high as 3916/ T 2 (4% K −1 at 303 K) in the temperature range of 303–723 K by using FIRs between 5 D 0 - 7 F 2 (625 nm) and 5 D 1 - 7 F 1 (541 nm), and it is significantly superior compared with using the FIRs between 5 D 1 - 7 F 1 and 5 D 0 - 7 F 1 of traditional thermally coupled levels (TCLs). Because of the high fluorescence efficiency of this sample, strong fluorescence intensity with high signal to noise ratio (SNR) is achieved under a low excitation power density of only 0.2 W/cm 2 . In our OTS system the average acquisition time of temperature is less than 2 s and the resolution is as high as 0.3 K at 573 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous human action recognition (CHAR) is more practical in human-robot interactions. In this paper, an online CHAR algorithm is proposed based on skeletal data extracted from RGB-D images captured by Kinect sensors. Each human action is modeled by a sequence of key poses and atomic motions in a particular order. In order to extract key poses and atomic motions, feature sequences are divided into pose feature segments and motion feature segments, by use of the online segmentation method based on potential differences of features. Likelihood probabilities that each feature segment can be labeled as the extracted key poses or atomic motions, are computed in the onlinemodelmatching process. An online classification method with variable-length maximal entropy Markov model (MEMM) is performed based on the likelihood probabilities, for recognizing continuous human actions. The variable-length MEMM method ensures the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed CHAR method. Compared with the published CHAR methods, the proposed algorithm does not need to detect the start and end points of each human action in advance. The experimental results on public datasets show that the proposed algorithm is effective and highly-efficient for recognizing continuous human actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal catalysis plays a central role in contemporary organic synthesis. Considering the tremendously broad array of transition metal-catalyzed transformations, it is remarkable that the underlying elementary reaction steps are relatively few in number. Here, we describe an alternative to the organometallic transmetallation step that is common in many metal-catalyzed reactions, such as Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. Specifically, we demonstrate that vinyl boronic ester ate complexes, prepared by combining organoboronates and organolithium reagents, engage in palladium-induced metallate rearrangement wherein 1,2-migration of an alkyl or aryl group from boron to the vinyl a-carbon occurs concomitantly with C-Pd s-bond formation. This elementary reaction enables a powerful cross-coupling reaction in which a chiral Pd catalyst merges three simple starting materials--an organolithium, an organoboronic ester, and an organotriflate--into chiral organoboronic esters with high enantioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]