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Estimation of the proportional-odds failure-time regression model with interval censoring is considered. Conditions that allow for positive information for the regression parameter are discussed. The efficient score is characterized by a Fredholm equation of the second kind. The sieve maximum likelihood estimator for the finite-dimensional regression parameter is shown to be asymptotically normal with n convergence rate and to achieve the information bound. Data analysis and simulations assist in clarifying our thoughts regarding the choice of sieve for finite-sample problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication between insects and plants relies on the exchange of bioactive molecules that traverse the species interface. Although proteinic effectors have been extensively studied, our knowledge of other molecules involved in this process remains limited. In this study, we investigate the role of salivary microRNAs (miRNAs) from the rice planthopper Nilaparvata lugens in suppressing plant immunity. A total of three miRNAs were confirmed to be secreted into host plants during insect feeding. Notably, the sequence-conserved miR-7-5P is specifically expressed in the salivary glands of N. lugens and is secreted into saliva, distinguishing it significantly from homologues found in other insects. Silencing miR-7-5P negatively affects N. lugens feeding on rice plants, but not on artificial diets. The impaired feeding performance of miR-7-5P-silenced insects can be rescued by transgenic plants overexpressing miR-7-5P. Through target prediction and experimental testing, we demonstrate that miR-7-5P targets multiple plant genes, including the immune-associated bZIP transcription factor 43 (OsbZIP43). Infestation of rice plants by miR-7-5P-silenced insects leads to the increased expression of OsbZIP43, while the presence of miR-7-5P counteracts this upregulation effect. Furthermore, overexpressing OsbZIP43 confers plant resistance against insects which can be subverted by miR-7-5P. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which herbivorous insects have evolved salivary miRNAs to suppress plant immunity, expanding our understanding of cross-kingdom RNA interference between interacting organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout evolution, arboviruses have developed various strategies to counteract the host's innate immune defenses to maintain persistent transmission. Recent studies have shown that, in addition to bacteria and fungi, the innate Toll-Dorsal immune system also plays an essential role in preventing viral infections in invertebrates. However, whether the classical Toll immune pathway is involved in maintaining the homeostatic process to ensure the persistent and propagative transmission of arboviruses in insect vectors remain unclear. In this study, we revealed that the transcription factor Dorsal is actively involved in the antiviral defense of an insect vector (Laodelphax striatellus) by regulating the target gene, zinc finger protein 708 (LsZN708), which mediates downstream immune-related effectors against infection with the plant virus (Rice stripe virus, RSV). In contrast, an antidefense strategy involving the use of the nonstructural-protein (NS4) to antagonize host antiviral defense through competitive binding to Dorsal from the MSK2 kinase was employed by RSV; this competitive binding inhibited Dorsal phosphorylation and reduced the antiviral response of the host insect. Our study revealed the molecular mechanism through which Toll-Dorsal-ZN708 mediates the maintenance of an arbovirus homeostasis in insect vectors. Specifically, ZN708 is a newly documented zinc finger protein targeted by Dorsal that mediates the downstream antiviral response. This study will contribute to our understanding of the successful transmission and spread of arboviruses in plant or invertebrate hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA modifications add another layer of complexity to the eukaryotic genome to regulate gene expression, playing critical roles as epigenetic marks. In eukaryotes, the study of DNA epigenetic modifications has been confined to 5mC and its derivatives for decades. However, rapid developing approaches have witnessed the expansion of DNA modification reservoirs during the past several years, including the identification of 6mA, 5gmC, 4mC, and 4acC in diverse organisms. However, whether these DNA modifications function as epigenetic marks requires careful consideration. In this review, we try to present a panorama of all the DNA epigenetic modifications in eukaryotes, emphasizing recent breakthroughs in the identification of novel DNA modifications. The characterization of their roles in transcriptional regulation as potential epigenetic marks is summarized. More importantly, the pathways for generating or eliminating these DNA modifications, as well as the proteins involved are comprehensively dissected. Furthermore, we briefly discuss the potential challenges and perspectives, which should be taken into account while investigating novel DNA modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of simple and highly controllable fabrication methods for the β-Ga2O3, especially for the nanowire structure, has been a challenge. The slanted Ga2O3 nanowires are favorable for increasing the optical contact area and improving photon flux through nanoparticle scattering, leading to an increase in the photogenerated carrier yield. Herein, obliquely oriented and uniformly distributed β-Ga2O3 nanowires are fabricated on Si substrates by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering using the strategy of Au nanoparticles as an intermediate catalyst. By depositing Ti and Au electrodes, the metal-semiconductor-metal Ga2O3-based photodetectors are fabricated with a simple structure. Remarkably, the photodetector based on the β-Ga2O3 nanowires outperforms the one based on the β-Ga2O3 film, demonstrating higher responsivity and an exceptional photocurrent-to-dark current ratio (Iphoto/Idark) of 1.43 x 104 @5 V. This work presents a promising approach to enhance the utilization of incident light and maximize the generation of photoinduced carriers in the Ga2O3-based photodetectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Luteolin is a flavone that provides defense against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, this compound is subjected to methylation mediated by catechol-Omethyltransferase (COMT), thus influencing its pharmacological effect. To synthesize a new flavone from luteolin that avoids COMT-catalyzed methylation and find out the protective mechanism of LUA in myocardial I/R injury. Materials and Methods: Luteolin and 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) were used to synthesize the new flavone known as LUAAPH-1 (LUA). Then, the myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury cell model was established using H9c2 cells to detect the effect in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion regulation and to identify the underlying mechanism. Results: Pretreatment with LUA (20 µmol/l) substantially increased cell viability while reducing cell apoptosis rate and caspase-3 expression induced by I/R, and the protective effect of LUA on cell viability was stronger than diosmetin, which is the major methylated metabolite of luteolin. In addition, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and calcium accumulation were both inhibited by LUA. Furthermore, we identified that LUA markedly relieved the promotive effects of I/R stimulation upon JNK and p38 phosphorylation. Conclusion: LUT pretreatment conveys significant cardioprotective effects after myocardial I/R injury, and JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathway may be involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrically pumped nitrogen doped p-type ZnO nanowires/undoped n-type ZnO thin film homojunction random laser with a 10-period SiO2/SiNx distributed Bragg reflector is demonstrated. The formation of p-n homojunction is confirmed by the current-voltage and photocurrent characteristics. The random lasing behaviors with a low threshold of around 3mA are observed. The output power is measured to be 220 nW at a drive current of 16 mA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of autonomy capability for an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). The development mainly focuses on the high-level autonomy on perception, path planning, guidance and control to achieve real sea applications of the USV. First, visual recognition and point cloud data processing techniques are utilized to achieve a real-time perception of the object in the sea environment. Second, detailed path planning strategies are illustrated to plan the easily reachable path for different missions, and the classic guidance and heading controller are adopted to implement the path following algorithm. Subsequently, these autonomy algorithms run in the high-level computer and render the actuator commands for the low-level embedded control system. Finally, sea trials of the USV are conducted by attending the 2020 Zhuhai Wanshan International Intelligent Vessel Competition (IIVC) in Dong Ao Island of South China Sea. The USV accomplish three missions: 1) path following, 2) navigating around the obstacle, and 3) rescuing the drowning. Sea trial results verify the autonomy of the USV in terms of the achieved performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the probability density function (PDF) for the residual wavefront variance of an adaptive optics system that includes control error, the fitting error of a deformable mirror, and Hartmann sensor detecting noise. The PDF is directly connected to adaptive optics system parameters and the spatiotemporal strength parameters of atmospheric turbulence, and it can be described as a generalized Chi square distribution. Our results provide a more precise theory for adaptive optics systems compared to the current theory based on the ensemble average. Thus, this study can contribute to the development of high-resolution and high-stability adaptive optics systems for astronomy and optical communications in the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on chiral lewis acid catlaysed highly enantioselective cycloaddition reactions of nitrogen stabilized oxyallyl cations derived from allenamides. Nitrogen stabilized chiral oxyaly cations 2b, generated in situ via epoxidations of allenamides 1, which can undergo highly diastereoselective inter and intramolecular cycloadditions with dienes. Although the model provides a distinct goal, it was not readily clear how researchers could establish the feasibility of this asymmetric cycloaddition.

Fire blight, caused by Erwinia amylovora, is an economically important disease in apples and pears worldwide. This pathogen relies on the type III secretion system (T3SS) to cause disease. Compounds that inhibit the function of the T3SS (T3SS inhibitors) have emerged as alternative strategies for bacterial plant disease management, as they block bacterial virulence without affecting growth, unlike traditional antibiotics. In this study, we investigated the mode of action of a T3SS inhibitor named TS 108, a plant phenolic acid derivative, in E. amylovora. We showed that adding TS 108 to an in vitro culture of E. amylovora repressed the expression of several T3SS regulon genes, including the master regulator gene hrpL. Further studies demonsttated that TS 108 negatively regulates CsrB, a global regulatory small RNA, at the posttranscriptional level, resulting in a repression of hrpS, which encodes a key activator of hrpL. Additionally, TS 108 has no impact on the expression of T3SS in Dickeya dadantii or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, suggesting that its inhibition of the E. amylovora T3SS is likely species specific. To better evaluate the performance of T3SS inhibitors in fire blight management, we conducted five independent field experiments in four states (Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Connecticut) from 2015 to 2022 and observed reductions in blossom blight incidence as high as 96.7% compared with unseated trees. In summary, the T3SS inhibitors exhibited good efficacy against fire blight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermodynamic equilibrium of deoxidation reactions between molten slag and steel was calculated using a slag-steel coupling thermodynamic model and the mass conservation model based on the ion-molecular coexistence theory. The study focused on the effects of slag composition and deoxidizer type on the oxygen content of low alloy steel during the electroslag remelting (ESR) process. The measured and predicted values of the oxygen content in remelted ingots, and the contents of FeO and MnO in slags were compared and analyzed. Results show that the measured content of total oxygen has a certain correlation with the trend of dissolved oxygen predicted by the model when using Ca-Si alloys as deoxidizer, but it is not correlated with the trend of dissolved oxygen predicted by the model when using Al as deoxidizer. The deoxidation mechanisms of Ca-Si and Al are different. Ca-Si alloy directly reacts with FeO and MnO in slag to reduce the oxygen potential of slag, hence it can inhibit the transfer of oxygen from the slag to molten steel. While, when Al deoxidizer is used, the oxygen content in steel is mainly reduced through floating up the alumina inclusions. Compared to Al, utilizing Ca-Si alloy as a deoxidizer is more effective in reducing the oxygen content and the amount of inclusions in ESR ingot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its seemingly simple composition and structure, the pairing mechanism of FeSe remains an open problem due to several striking phenomena. Among them are nematic order without magnetic order, nodeless gap and unusual inelastic neutron spectra with a broad continuum, and gap anisotropy consistent with orbital selection of unknown origin. Here we propose a microscopic description of a nematic quantum spin liquid that reproduces key features of neutron spectra. We then study how the spin fluctuations of the local moments lead to pairing within a spin-fermion model. We find the resulting superconducting order parameter to be nodeless s ± d wave within each domain. Further we show that orbital dependent Kondo-like coupling can readily capture observed gap anisotropy. Our prediction calls for inelastic neutron scattering in a detwinned sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To analyze the expression of cluster of differentiation 80 (CD80)/cluster of differentiation 163 (CD163) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and their correlation with the syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine, pathology and prognosis. Methods: (1) The correlation between the pathological characteristics of 232 postoperative CRC patients and the deficiency and excess syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine was analyzed using the chi-square test, Spearman’s correlation, and Cox regression methods. (2) Immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR were used to detect the expression of CD80 and CD163 in cancer and para cancer tissues of CRC patients. (3) The relationships between the changes of CD80 and CD163 and the prognosis of CRC patients with deficiency syndrome. Patient survival were analyzed using cardinality and Cox regression proportional-hazards model regression. Results: (1) The degree of differentiation and tumor node metastasis stage of CRC were statistically different between patients with deficiency and excess syndromes (P < 0.05); carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen19-9were highly expressed in the excess syndrome group, and both were significantly correlated with the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes (P <0.001); deficiency and excess syndromes, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 were all independent factors affecting the postoperative survival of CRC patients. (2) The distribution of post-operative survival in CRC patients was significantly correlated with the distribution of the disease type (P<0.001). (3) The expression levels of CD163 protein and message RNA were significantly higher in CRC cancer tissues than in paraneoplastic tissues (P <0.001); whereas the expression of CD80 was significantly higher in paraneoplastic tissues than in cancer tissues(P < 0.001). (4) The expression levels of CD80/CD163 were significantly different indifferent parts of the tissues of patients with deficiency and excess syndromes (P <0.001). (5) CRC patients with high CD80 expression and low CD163 expression had longer survival cycles (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The malignant progression of CRC patients with deficiency syndrome is faster than that with excess syndrome. The correlation between deficiency and excess syndromes and the expression levels of CD80 and CD163 could be an independent risk factor for the survival prognosis of patients with CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal macrophages are essential players in intestinal inflammation and intestinal immune homeostasis. Intestinal macrophages have the ability to polarize into two distinct phenotypes based on various environmental signals. These phenotypes include the typically activated pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype and the alternatively activated anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Under normal circumstances, intestinal macrophages prevent inflammatory damage to the gut. However, when genetic and environmental factors influence the polarization of intestinal macrophages, it can lead to an imbalance in M1/M2 macrophage activation and subsequently an imbalance in the control of intestinal inflammation. It transforms physiological inflammation into pathological intestinal damage. In patients with ulcerative colitis-associated cancer (UC-CRC), intestinal inflammatory disorders are closely associated with intestinal M1/M2 macrophage polarization imbalance. Consequently, restoring the polarization equilibrium of M1/M2 macrophages might be an effective measure to prevent and treat UC-CRC. This paper aims to examine the clinical evidence of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of UC-CRC, the pivotal role of macrophage polarization in UC-CRC pathogenesis, and the potential mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine in regulating macrophage polarization to treat UC-CRC. Our goal is to provide novel insights into the clinical practice, basic research, and drug development of UC-CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the present study was to analyze the efficacy and feasibility of surgical management for patients with monosegmental lumbar or lumbosacral pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis (PVO) by using one stage posterior debridement, interbody graft using titanium mesh cage, posterior monosegmental instrumentation, and fusion. From February 2014 to May 2016, 27 patients with lumbar or lumbosacral PVO were treated by posterior debridement, interbody graft using titanium mesh cage, posterior monosegmental instrumentation, and fusion. The degree of damage to the patients' vertebral bodies was one third to one half height. There were 16 male and 11 female, with a mean age of 43.5 years (range, 32–56 years) at the time of surgery. The mean follow-up time was 35.7 months (range, 26–53 months). The clinical efficacy was evaluated on average operation time, blood loss, visual analog scale, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, and neurologic function recovery. PVO was completely cured and the grafted bone was fused in all 27 patients. There was no recurrent vertebral osteomyelitis infection. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein level achieved normal limits within 3 months in all patients. The American Spinal Injury Association neurologic classification was improved in all cases. Pain relief was obtained in all patients. Our results showed that one stage posterior debridement, interbody graft using titanium mesh cage, posterior monosegmental instrumentation, and fusion was an effective treatment for patients with one third to one half height of vertebral body damaged in monosegmental lumbar or lumbosacral PVO. The surgical method is characterized as minimum surgical trauma, good pain relief, good neurologic recovery, and good reconstruction of spinal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a crossed molecular-beam apparatus, we reacted atomic O in states 3P and 1D with ethene (C2H4) at collision energy 3 kcal mol-1. Employing two mixtures, 20% O2+80% He and 3% O2+12.5% Ar+84.5% He, as discharge media allowed us to generate two sources of oxygen atoms that have the same mean velocity but different ratios of 1D/3P populations, 0.0017 and 0.035. We identified six reactions and recorded time-of-flight spectra of products CH2CHO, CH2CO, and CH3 as a function of laboratory angle. Reaction O(3P)+C2H4→CH2CHO+H has a fraction ft=0.43 of energy release in translation, and product CH2CHO has a maximal probability at scattering angle of 140°. For reaction O(1D)+C2H4→CH2CO+2H, ft=0.26, and the angular distribution of product CH2CO shows a backward preference. For reaction O(3P)+C2H4→CH2CO+H2, ft=0.35, and the angular distribution of product CH2CO has a slight preference for a sideways direction. In contrast, reaction O(1D)+C2H4→CH2CO+H2 has ft=0.26 and an angular distribution with forward and backward peaking and symmetry. Reactions O(3P and 1D)+C2H4→CH3+HCO have ft=0.09 and 0.08, respectively, and angular distributions with forward and backward peaking and nearly symmetric. The reactivity of O 1D with ethene is ca. 38 and 90 times that of O 3P for channels to eliminate H2 and CH3, respectively. For reactions of O 1D, the branching ratio for elimination of 2H is ca. 3.3 times that for elimination of H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted the reaction C(3P)+SiH4 at a collision energy of 4.0 kcal mol-1 in a crossed molecular-beam apparatus measuring time-of-flight mass spectra and selective photoionization. Product ions with m/z=41–43 are associated with two product channels, H2SiCH/HSiCH2/SiCH3+H and H2SiC/HSiCH/SiCH2+H2. Apart from daughter ions and isotopic variants of reaction products, the species observed at m/z=43 is assigned to product H2SiCH/HSiCH2/SiCH3 and that at m/z=42 to product H2SiC/HSiCH/SiCH2. The signals observed at m/z=41 are due to dissociative ionization of silicon-carbon hydrides of these two types. We report time-of-flight spectra of products at specific laboratory angles and theoretical simulations, from which both kinetic-energy and angular distributions of products in the center-of-mass frame were derived. The release of kinetic energy is weakly dependent on the scattering angle for these two reactions. The channels for loss of H and H2 release average translational energies of 10.5 and 16.7 kcal mol-1, respectively. As hydrogen transfer before decomposition is facile, products H2SiCH/HSiCH2/SiCH3 and H2SiC/HSiCH/SiCH2 exhibit mildly forward/backward preferred and isotropic angular distributions, respectively. We estimate the branching ratios of these channels for loss of H and H2 to be roughly 6:4. The measurements of release of kinetic energy and ionization thresholds of products indicate that SiCH3(2A″) and SiCH2(3A2) are dominant among isomeric products. To explore the reaction mechanism, we computed the potential-energy surfaces for the reaction C(3P)+SiH4. The most likely mechanism is that atom C 3P inserts into bond Si–H of SiH4 in the entrance channel, and the reaction complex H3SiCH subsequently isomerizes to HSiCH3 followed by decomposition to SiCH3(2A″)+H and SiCH2(3A2)+H2. We observed no significant evidence for the reaction C(1D)+SiH4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research being done on diabetes in older adults in the U.S. It references the study "Relation Between BMI and Diabetes Mellitus and Its Complications among US Older Adults," by N. Gray et al. published in the 2014 issue. Topics include the effect of baseline body mass index (BMI) on diabetics, the level of BMI and its role in diabetes complication and waist circumference as a reflection of metabolic abnormalities.

Docynia has been treated as a separate genus or merged into Cydonia or Docyniopsis. Our phylogenomic evidence from 797 single-copy nuclear genes and plastomes confirmed the sister relationship between Docynia and Docyniopsis. By integrating the phylogenomic and morphological evidence, we propose to accept a broad generic concept of Malus and merge Docynia into Malus. Three new combinations are also made here: Malus delavayi (Franch.) B.B.Liu, M. indica (Wall.) B.B.Liu and M. longiunguis (Q.Luo & J.L.Liu) B.B.Liu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal action detection is an important yet challenging task in video understanding task. Temporal action proposals generation is a common module in action detection, and it effects the performance of action detection greatly. The module requires methods not only generating proposals with accurate temporal boundaries, but also retrieving proposals to cover action instances with high recall using relative fewer proposals. To address these difficulties, we propose an Actionness Score Optimization Model to improve the accuracy of generated proposals by capturing global contextual information of untrimmed videos. Firstly, a deconvolution layer is utilized to learn a nonlinear upsampling for the extracted features, in both spatial and temporal domains. In order to reveal the contextual information, then we introduce the bidirectional gated recurrent unit to the network. Moreover, an attention mechanism is applied to the network so that it can focus on the most relevant parts of the information to obtain more reliable actionness scores. Finally, we validate the effectiveness of our proposed network on three challenging benchmark datasets, ActivityNet v1.2, ActivityNet v1.3, and THUMOS'14. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational ghost imaging has attracted wide attention from researchers in many fields over the last two decades. Multispectral imaging as one application of computational ghost imaging possesses spatial and spectral resolving abilities, and is very useful for surveying scenes and extracting detailed information. Existing multispectral imagers mostly utilize narrow band filters or dispersive optical devices to separate light of different wavelengths, and then use multiple bucket detectors or an array detector to record them separately. Here, we propose a novel multispectral ghost imaging method that uses one single bucket detector with multiplexed illumination to produce a colored image. The multiplexed illumination patterns are produced by three binary encoded matrices (corresponding to the red, green and blue colored information, respectively) and random patterns. The results of the simulation and experiment have verified that our method can be effective in recovering the colored object. Multispectral images are produced simultaneously by one single-pixel detector, which significantly reduces the amount of data acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We study superconductivity in quantum critical metals. [•] We take an approach different from the conventional Hertz-Millis theory. [•] The quantum critical states are regarded as high dimensional generalizations of the one dimensional Luttinger liquid. [•] We find such states to be more susceptible to pairing than Fermi liquids. [•] Even a weak glue can lead to substantial pairing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2017, surveillance for tickborne diseases in China led to the identification of a patient who presented to a hospital in Inner Mongolia with a febrile illness that had an unknown cause. The clinical manifestation of the illness was similar to that of tickborne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection, but neither TBEV RNA nor antibodies against the virus were detected.Methods: We obtained a blood specimen from the index patient and attempted to isolate and identify a causative pathogen, using genome sequence analysis and electron microscopy. We also initiated a heightened surveillance program in the same hospital to screen for other patients who presented with fever, headache, and a history of tick bites. We used reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) and cell-culture assays to detect the pathogen and immunofluorescence and neutralization assays to determine the levels of virus-specific antibodies in serum specimens from the patients.Results: We found that the index patient was infected with a previously unknown segmented RNA virus, which we designated Alongshan virus (ALSV) and which belongs to the jingmenvirus group of the family Flaviviridae. ALSV infection was confirmed by RT-PCR assay in 86 patients from Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang who presented with fever, headache, and a history of tick bites. Serologic assays showed that seroconversion had occurred in all 19 patients for whom specimens were available from the acute phase and the convalescent phase of the illness.Conclusions: A newly discovered segmented virus was found to be associated with a febrile illness in northeastern China. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature selection is very important for pattern recognition to reduce the dimensions of data and to improve the efficiency of learning algorithms. Recent research on new approaches has focused mostly on improving accuracy and reducing computing time. This paper presents a flexible feature-selection method based on an optimized kernel mutual information (OKMI) approach. Mutual information (MI) has been applied successfully in decision trees to rank variables; its aim is to connect class labels with the distribution of experimental data. The use of MI removes irrelevant features and decreases redundant features. However, MI is usually less robust when the data distribution is not centralized. To overcome this problem, we propose to use the OKMI approach, which combines MI and a kernel function. This approach may be used for feature selection with nonlinear models by defining kernels for feature vectors and class-label vectors. By optimizing the objection equations, we develop a new feature-selection algorithm that combines both MI and kernel learning, we discuss the relationship among various kernel-selection methods. Experiments were conducted to compare the new technique applied to various data sets with other methods, and in each case the OKMI approach performs better than the other methods in terms of feature-classification accuracy and computing time. OKMI method solves the problem of computation complexity in the probability of distribution, and avoids this problem by finding the optimal features at very low computational cost. As a result, the OKMI method with the proposed algorithm is effective and robust over a wide range of real applications on expert systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our current understanding of strongly correlated electron systems is based on a homogeneous framework. Here we take a step going beyond this paradigm by incorporating inhomogeneity from the beginning. Specifying to systems near the Mott metal-insulator transition, we propose a real-space picture of itinerant electrons functioning in the fluctuating geometries bounded by interfaces between metallic and insulating regions. In 2+1 dimensions, the interfaces are closed bosonic strings, and we have a system of strings coupled to itinerant electrons. When the interface tension vanishes, the geometric fluctuations become critical, which gives rise to non-Fermi-liquid behavior for the itinerant electrons. In particular, the poles of the fermion Green's function can be converted to zeros, indicating the absence of propagating quasiparticles. Furthermore, the quantum geometric fluctuations mediate Cooper pairing among the itinerant electrons, indicating the intrinsic instability of electronic systems near the Mott transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials have attracted broad interest due to their unique structures and physical properties. The stability of the 2D-material-based devices plays a key role in their practical applications. Here, we report the promising stable electrical performance in the large-scale monolayer WSe2(1−x)S2x with a tunable band gap. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was utilized to verify the tunable band gap in the as-grown monolayer with a tuning capability of 120 meV. Gated field effect transistor (FET) performance confirmed the p-type transport behavior in monolayer WSe2(1−x)S2x with a high on/off ratio (>104). Top-gated FET configuration improves the carrier mobility with two orders larger than that in the back-gated FET device. After exposure to air for three months, the device performance manifested excellent stability with no source-drain current drop observed. P-type WSe2(1−x)S2x with a tunable band gap is the ideal complement to n-type tunable monolayers in the application of pn junction-related flexible nanodevices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compound was isolated from Tubercularia sp., an endophytic fungus of Taxus mairei, and crystallizes as a methanol solvate, C28H44O3·CH3OH. The crystal structure shows that the OH group complexes with the methanol solvent mol­ecule via intermolecular hydrogen bonds, and that the peroxy unit has an O—O bond length of 1.482 (5) Å and a C—O—O—C torsion angle of −6.0 (6)°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the stereoselective tntramolecular [4+33] cycloadditions of nitrogen-stabilized chiral oxyallyl cations via epoxidation of N-tethered allenamides. Account of approaches followed to explore the intramolecular variants of cycloaddition; Feasibility of the approach N-tethered 4 ↠ 5 used to explore the intramolecular variants of cycloaddition; Overview of the scope and ateroselectivity of this intramolecular [4 + 3] cycloaddition of nitrogen-stabilized oxyallul cations.

Near infrared spectroscopy and interval partial least-squares (iPLS) were applied to rapid quantitative analysis of thepoly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyphosphate (Poly-P), and glycogen (Gly) during denitrifying phosphorus removal. Wavelet denoising was used to pretreat the raw near infrared spectroscopy, and the quantitative analysis models (iPLS models) of PHB, Poly-P, and GLY were established with interval partial least-squares (iPLS). The iPLS was used to select the optimal spectral interval for modeling. The total phosphorus decreased from 7.9 mg/L to 0.67 ma/L during denitrifying phosphorus removal. The region from 4,320 to 4,640 cm-1 was selected to establish the iPLS model of intracellular PHB. The region from 4,000 to 4,320 cm-1 was selected to establish the iPLS model of intracellular Poly-P. Finally, the region from 5,103 to 5,379 cm-1 was chosen to establish the iPLS model of intracellular GLY. Statistical tests of these iPLS models of PHB, Poly-P, and GLY show that the correlation coefficients (rc) between the correction values and the chemical values are 0.9637, 0.9582, and 0.9437, with the root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) being 0.0069, 0.0039, and 0.0025. Test results of iPLS models show that the correlation coefficients (rp) between the prediction value (by iPLS model) and the chemical value were 0.9430, 0.9389, and 0.9133, with the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) being 0.0523, 0.0040, and 0.0058. These research results show that the proposed models may provide a rapid and effective quantitatively analysis of intracellular PHB, Poly-P, and GLY, and that the effect of the denitrifying phosphorus removal process can be quickly judged from the cell metabolism perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel technique for polarization-multiplexing ghost imaging is proposed to simultaneously obtain multiple polarimetric information by a single detector. Here, polarization-division multiplexing speckles are employed for object illumination. The light reflected from the objects is detected by a single-pixel detector. An iterative reconstruction method is used to restore the fused image containing the different polarimetric information by using the weighted sum of the multiplexed speckles based on the correlation coefficients obtained from the detected intensities. Next, clear images of the different polarimetric information are recovered by demultiplexing the fused image. The results clearly demonstrate that the proposed method is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A homogeneous and enzyme-free fluorometric assay is described for the determination of microRNA-182. It is based on the use of DNA circuits and DNAzyme. The DNA circuits warrant strong signal amplification by virtue of catalytic hairpin assembly, a system that consists of two hairpin substrates. A part of the DNAzyme sequence is programmed to sequester into one of the two hairpin substrates. In the presence of target microRNA-182, the two hairpin substrates undergo catalytic assembling. This results in the formation of a DNA duplex and the release of the DNAzyme from the hairpin structure. Upon cyclic amplification, one target catalyzes the formation of Mg (II)-dependent DNAzymes. These bind to, and hydrolyze, the fluorescently labeled substrates for signal amplification and transduction. Based on nucleic acid programmability, this engineered assay has a limit of detection as low as 6.8 f. and a dynamic range that covers the 10 f. to10 nM microRNA-182 concentration range. Detection can be performed within 60 min. The assay is simple, rapid, homogenous, cost-effective, and enzyme-free. These features make the method an attractive tool in routine microRNA diagnosis and, conceivably, in point of care uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's economic development pattern is marked by an excessive consumption of fossil fuels, environmental pollution problems in China are getting increasingly serious and threatening resident's fundamental demands for a high quality of life. It has become a handicap to sustainable economic development and social well-being. In this paper, the happiness index method were used and models depicting the relationship between resident's sense of happiness and environmental pollution factors and between the willingness to pay taxes and environmental pollution factors have been established. The results show that environmental pollution, especially air pollution, significantly affects the resident's sense of happiness. To improve residential environment quality and reduce pollution, residents are willing to pay the relevant taxes. If pollution control is considered a public policy, there exists a substantive weight of government between resident's income and environmental quality. This will influence the choice of environmental public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among human malignancies. Four and a half LIM domains 1 (FHL1), as a tumor suppressor gene, is frequently downregulated in multiple types of human cancer. However, the role and specific mechanisms of FHL1 as a tumor suppressor in liver cancer are poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the role and associated mechanisms of FHL1 in human liver cancer. The level of FHL1 mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue specimens and cell lines derived from the human liver was determined using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. The association between FHL1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with liver cancer was analyzed. Western blotting, small interfering RNA (siRNA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation were used to study the expression association of FHL1 and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) in human liver cancer and to explore the regulatory mechanism of FHL1 downregulation. Colony formation and migration assays were performed while FHL1 was overexpressed in Hep3B cells. The results showed that the expression of FHL1 mRNA in tumor tissue decreased, exhibiting a significant difference compared with the adjacent non-cancerous tissue (P<0.05). However, the downregulation of FHL1 was not significantly associated with the sex, age, hepatitis B virus infection status, tumor size, distant metastasis status or level of tumor differentiation of the patients. FHL1 was synergistically silenced by DNA methylation and histone modification, and 3-deanzaneplanocin A (DZNep), an inhibitor of EZH2, which is a histone methyltransferase of the polycomb repressive complex 2, which catalyzes histone H3 lysine 27 tri-methylation (H3K27me3). A significant association between FHL1 and EZH2 expression was identified in the female hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples, but was not in the male HCC samples. FHL1 overexpression and DZNep treatment significantly suppressed the growth and migration of Hep3B cells by restoring FHL1 expression. H3K27me3 was significantly enriched at the FHL1 promoter region, as indicated by a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, and associated with the epigenetic repression of the FHL1 tumor suppressor gene in HCC cell lines. In conclusion, the present study provides an insight into DNA methylation and EZH2-H3K27me3 epigenetic repression of FHL1 in human liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of intercostal nerve block combined with general anesthesia on the stress response and postoperative recovery in patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS). A total of 30 patients scheduled for MIMVS were randomly divided into two groups (n=15 each): Group A, which received intercostal nerve block combined with general anesthesia and group B, which received general anesthesia alone. Intercostal nerve block in group A was performed with 0.5% ropivacaine from T3 to T7 prior to anesthesia induction. In each group, general anesthesia was induced using midazolam, sufentanil, propofol and vecuronium. Central venous blood samples were collected to determine the concentrations of cortisol, glucose, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) at the following time points: During central venous catheterization (T1), 5 min prior to cardiopulmonary bypass (T2), perioperative (T3) and 24 h following surgery (T4). Clinical data, including parameters of opioid (sufentanil) consumption, time of mechanical ventilation, duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, visual analog scale scores and any complications arising from intercostal nerve block, were recorded. Levels of cortisol, glucose, IL-6 and TNF-α in group A were significantly lower than those in group B at T2 (all P<0.001; cortisol, P<0.05), T3 (all P<0.001) and T4 (all P<0.001; glucose, P<0.05), suggesting that intercostal nerve block combined with general anesthesia may inhibit the stress response to MIMVS. Additionally, intercostal nerve block combined with general anesthesia may significantly reduce sufentanil consumption (P<0.001), promote early tracheal extubation (P<0.001), shorten the duration of ICU stay (P<0.01) and attenuate postoperative pain (P<0.001), compared with general anesthesia alone. Thus, these results suggest that intercostal nerve block combined with general anesthesia conforms to the concept of rapid rehabilitation surgery and may be suitable for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatic transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), a minimally invasive procedure to block the blood supply of tumors and release of cytotoxic agents, is preferentially applied to patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are not able to receive radical treatments. However, the long-term effects of TACE are unsatisfactory, as the microenvironment following procedure stimulates tumor angiogenesis, which promotes recurrence and metastasis of residual tumors. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) have been revealed to stimulate tumor growth and angiogenesis associated with poor prognosis in HCC. The present study focused on the changes in TAMs following TACE, and explored the effects of TACE in combination with the TAM inhibitor zoledronic acid (ZA) in rat HCC models. Orthotropic HCC rats were divided into three groups: Sham TACE, TACE alone and TACE combined with ZA treatment. At 7 or 14 days following TACE, tumor growth was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Infiltration of TAMs was assessed by histological analysis and flow cytometry. Tumor angiogenesis was measured as the mean vessel density, and initial slope was calculated from dynamic contrast enhancement MRI. Local and systemic levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were determined by western blotting or an ELISA, respectively. The results revealed that TACE inhibited tumor growth at 7 days following the procedure, but this inhibition was attenuated at 14 days following the procedure compared with the sham TACE control. If combined with ZA treatment, TACE exhibited a stable inhibition effect on tumor growth until the end of observation. Investigation of the underlying mechanisms demonstrated that TACE combined with ZA treatment inhibited infiltration of F4/80 positive TAMs and tumor angiogenesis compared with the TACE alone group at 14 days following the procedure. Additionally, the combination treatment significantly inhibited secretion of VEGF in the present models. In conclusion, ZA treatment enhanced the effects of TACE through inhibiting TAM infiltration and tumor angiogenesis in rat HCC models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person reidentification, which matches person images of the same identity across nonoverlapping camera views, becomes an important component for cross-camera-view activity analysis. Most (if not all) person reidentification algorithms are designed based on appearance features. However, appearance features are not stable across nonoverlapping camera views under dramatic lighting change, and those algorithms assume that two cross-view images of the same person can be well represented either by exploring robust and invariant features or by learning matching distance. Such an assumption ignores the nature that images are captured under different camera views with different camera characteristics and environments, and thus, mostly there exists large discrepancy between the extracted features under different views. To solve this problem, we formulate an asymmetric distance model for learning camera-specific projections to transform the unmatched features of each view into a common space where discriminative features across view space are extracted. A cross-view consistency regularization is further introduced to model the correlation between view-specific feature transformations of different camera views, which reflects their nature relations and plays a significant role in avoiding overfitting. A kernel cross-view discriminant component analysis is also presented. Extensive experiments have been conducted to show that asymmetric distance modeling is important for person reidentification, which matches the concerns on cross-disjoint-view matching, reporting superior performance compared with related distance learning methods on six publically available data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent findings of anomalous superlinear scaling of low-temperature (T) penetration depth (PD) in several nodal superconductors near putative quantum critical points suggest that the low-temperature PD can be a useful probe of quantum critical fluctuations in a superconductor. On the other hand, cuprates, which are poster child nodal superconductors, have not shown any such anomalous scaling of PD, despite growing evidence of quantum critical points (QCP). Then it is natural to ask when and how can quantum critical fluctuations cause anomalous scaling of PD? Carrying out the renormalization group calculation for the problem of two-dimensional superconductors with point nodes, we show that quantum critical fluctuations associated with a point group symmetry reduction result in nonuniversal logarithmic corrections to the T dependence of the PD. The resulting apparent power law depends on the bare velocity anisotropy ratio. We then compare our results to data sets from two distinct nodal superconductors: YBa2Cu3O6.95 and CeCoIn5. Considering all symmetry-lowering possibilities of the point group of interest, C4v, we find our results to be remarkably consistent with YBa2Cu3O6.95 being near a vertical nematic QCP and CeCoIn5 being near a diagonal nematic QCP. Our results motivate a search for diagonal nematic fluctuations in CeCoIn5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the current and future demand for energy, unconventional energy has gradually attracted the attention of scholars around the world. Oil shale has become one of the most important members of the unconventional energy family because of its rich resource reserves and considerable comprehensive utilization value. The traditional mining method can only mine the shallow oil shale resources, and there are problems such as high cost and low efficiency. For this reason, the researchers have proposed electromagnetic heating technology, which is used to thermally crack oil shale underground by electromagnetic heating. It has the advantages of high oil production rate and low environmental pollution. This paper reviewed the electromagnetic heating technology, electromagnetic heating device and oil shale cracking research to provide a reference for future oil shale mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Virtual reality (VR) can be used to build many different scenes aimed at reducing study-related stress. However, only few academic experiments on university students for preference testing have been performed. Objective: This study aims to assess the preference of VR games for stress and depression treatment using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Methods: A total of 5 different attributes were selected based on the depression therapy parameters and attributes related to VR: (1) treatment modality; (2) therapy duration; (3) perceived remission rate; (4) probability of adverse events; and the (5) monthly cost of adding treatment to a discrete choice experiment. By comparing different attributes and levels, we could draw some conclusions about the depression therapy testing preference for university students; 1 university student was responsible for VR scene development and 1 for participant recruitment. Results: The utility value of different attributes for "0% Probability of adverse events" was higher than others (99.22), and the utility value of VR treatment as the most popular treatment method compared with counseling and medicine treatment was 80.95. Three parameter aspects (different treatments for depression) were statistically significant (P<.001), including "0%" and "50%" of "Probability of adverse events" and "¥500" (a currency exchange rate of ¥1 [Chinese yuan]=US $0.15 is applicable) of "The monthly cost of treatment." Most individuals preferred 12 months as the therapy duration, and the odds ratio of "12 months" was 1.095 (95% CI 0.945-1.270) when compared with the reference level (6 months). Meanwhile, the cheapest price (¥500) of depression therapy was the optimum choice for most students. Conclusions: People placed great preference on VR technology psychological intervention methods, which indicates that VR may have a potential market in the treatment of psychological problems. However, adverse events and treatment costs need to be considered. This study can be used to guide policies that are relevant to the development of the application of VR technology in the field of psychological pressure and depression treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effect of Nε-lauroyl lysine (LL) on stabilizing W/O Pickering emulsions was investigated, and the effect of crystallization temperature on the particle size of LL was explored. The Pickering emulsion was prepared with LL as particle emulsifier, and the effects of homogenization rate, emulsification temperature, particle concentration, oil-water volume ratio and other factors on the preparation of emulsion were discussed. The results showed that the LL particles were the smallest for a crystallization temperature of 30 °C with a size of (1.3 ± 0.2) μm. The oil-water-LL contact angle was 142.9° ± 1.6°, and the prepared emulsion was of W/O type. The most stable emulsions were obtained under the following conditions: homogenization rate = 11,000 r min-1, emulsification temperature = 20 °C, particle concentration = 2 wt%, oilwater volume ratio = 1:1. In addition, LL showed good tolerance to the aqueous phases with different pH values. The LL-stabilized emulsion system proved to be stable over the long term in the stand tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the role of myxoma virus (MYXV) as an oncolytic agent against experimental human gliomas in vitro, and analyze the effect of MYXV on malignant glioma cells at different incubation periods and infected at different multiplicities of infection. Neuroglioma cell lines U251 and A172 were cultured with various infective doses of myxoma virus at different time points (0-3 days) and cellular survival rates were evaluated using an MTT assay. Cell viability and cell death rates were assessed using Annexin V/propidium iodide and applying flow cytometry. Furthermore, the expression levels of phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) in malignant gliomas were detected by western blot analysis to investigate the possible cell signaling targets in the pathway. MYXV exhibited a dose and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on neuroglioma cells, and there was increased expression of p-AKT in malignant gliomas. The present study confirms that MYXV induces oncolysis of malignant gliomas through regulating the activation of AKT. As such, MYXV is a potential therapeutic agent against human malignant gliomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person re-identification (re-id) aims to match people across non-overlapping camera views. So far the RGB-based appearance is widely used in most existing works. However, when people appeared in extreme illumination or changed clothes, the RGB appearance-based re-id methods tended to fail. To overcome this problem, we propose to exploit depth information to provide more invariant body shape and skeleton information regardless of illumination and color change. More specifically, we exploit depth voxel covariance descriptor and further propose a locally rotation invariant depth shape descriptor called Eigen-depth feature to describe pedestrian body shape. We prove that the distance between any two covariance matrices on the Riemannian manifold is equivalent to the Euclidean distance between the corresponding Eigen-depth features. Furthermore, we propose a kernelized implicit feature transfer scheme to estimate Eigen-depth feature implicitly from RGB image when depth information is not available. We find that combining the estimated depth features with RGB-based appearance features can sometimes help to better reduce visual ambiguities of appearance features caused by illumination and similar clothes. The effectiveness of our models was validated on publicly available depth pedestrian datasets as compared to related methods for re-id. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paradoxical benefit of obesity, the ‘obesity paradox’, has been recently identified in surgical populations. Our goal was to evaluate by a systematic review with meta-analysis the prognostic role of body mass index (BMI) and to identify whether the ‘obesity paradox’ exists in lung cancer surgery. Comprehensive literature retrieval was conducted in PubMed to identify the eligible articles. The odds ratios (OR) and hazard ratios (HR) with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to synthesize in-hospital and long-term survival outcomes, respectively. The heterogeneity level and publication bias between studies were also estimated. Finally, 25 observational studies with 78 143 patients were included in this review. The pooled analyses showed a significantly better long-term survival rate in patients with higher BMI, but no significant benefit of increased BMI was found for in-hospital morbidity. The pooled analyses also showed that overall morbidity (OR: 0.84; 95Lung cancer surgery% CI: 0.73–0.98; P = 0.025) and in-hospital mortality (OR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.63–0.98; P = 0.031) were significantly decreased in obese patients. Obesity could be a strong predictor of the favourable long-term prognosis of lung cancer patients (HR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.56–0.86; P = 0.001). The robustness of these pooled estimates was strong. No publication bias was detected. In summary, obesity has favourable effects on in-hospital outcomes and long-term survival of surgical patients with lung cancer. The ‘obesity paradox’ does have the potential to exist in lung cancer surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterotrimeric G protein signaling cascades are one of the primary metazoan sensing mechanisms linking a cell to environment. However, the number of experimentally identified effectors of G protein in plant is limited. We have therefore studied which tools are best suited for predicting G protein effectors in rice. Here, we compared the predicting performance of four classifiers with eight different encoding schemes on the effectors of G proteins by using 10-fold cross-validation. Four methods were evaluated: random forest, naive Bayes, K-nearest neighbors and support vector machine. We applied these methods to experimentally identified effectors of G proteins and randomly selected non-effector proteins, and tested their sensitivity and specificity. The result showed that random forest classifier with composition of K-spaced amino acid pairs and composition of motif or domain (CKSAAP_PROSITE_200) combination method yielded the best performance, with accuracy and the Mathew's correlation coefficient reaching 74.62% and 0.49, respectively. We have developed G-Effector, an online predictor, which outperforms BLAST, PSI-BLAST and HMMER on predicting the effectors of G proteins. This provided valuable guidance for the researchers to select classifiers combined with different feature selection encoding schemes. We used G-Effector to screen the effectors of G protein in rice, and confirmed the candidate effectors by gene co-expression data. Interestingly, one of the top 15 candidates, which did not appear in the training data set, was validated in a previous research work. Therefore, the candidate effectors list in this article provides both a clue for researchers as to their function and a framework of validation for future experimental work. It is accessible at http://bioinformatics.fafu.edu.cn/geffector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]