Search

We describe a technique for imaging single mRNAs in living cells based on fluorescent protein (FP) complementation. We employ the high affinity interaction between the bacterial phage MS2/PP7 coat proteins and their respective RNA binding motifs as an RNA scaffold to bring two halves of a split-FP together to image single reporter mRNAs without background fluorescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoptive transfer of T cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-T) is a promising strategy for immunotherapy against solid tumors. However, the potential of CD4+ T cells in mediating tumor regression has been neglected. Nasopharyngeal cancer is consistently associated with EBV. Here, to evaluate the therapeutic potential of CD4 TCR-T in nasopharyngeal cancer, we screened for CD4 TCRs recognizing EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) presented by HLA-DP5. Using mass spectrometry, we identified EBNA1567-581, a peptide naturally processed and presented by HLA-DP5. We isolated TCR135, a CD4 TCR with high functional avidity, that can function in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and recognizes HLA-DP5-restricted EBNA1567-581. TCR135- transduced T cells functioned in two ways: directly killing HLA-DP5+EBNA1+ tumor cells after recognizing EBNA1 presented by tumor cells and indirectly killing HLA-DP5-negative tumor cells after recognizing EBNA1 presented by antigen-presenting cells. TCR135-transduced T cells preferentially infiltrated into the tumor microenvironment and significantly inhibited tumor growth in xenograft nasopharyngeal tumor models. Additionally, we found that 62% of nasopharyngeal cancer patients showed 50%-100% expression of HLA-DP on tumor cells, indicating that nasopharyngeal cancer is well suited for CD4 TCR-T therapy. These findings suggest that TCR135 may provide a new strategy for EBV-related nasopharyngeal cancer immunotherapy in HLA-DP5+ patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug‐induced thrombocytopenia (DIT) deserves both clinical and research attention for the serious clinical consequences and high prevalence of the condition. The current study aimed to perform a comprehensive pharmacovigilance analysis of DIT reported in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database, with a particular focus on drugs associated with thrombocytopenia events. A disproportionality analysis of DIT was conducted using reports submitted to FARES from January 2004 to December 2022. Both the information component (IC) and reporting odds ratio (ROR) algorithms were applied to identify an association between target drugs and DIT events. A total of 15,940,383 cases were gathered in FAERS, 168,657 of which were related to DIT events. The top 50 drugs ranked by number of cases and ranked by signal strength were documented. The top 5 drugs ranked by number of cases were lenalidomide (10,601 cases), niraparib (3726 cases), ruxolitinib (3624 cases), eltrombopag (3483 cases), and heparin (3478 cases). The top 5 drugs ranked by signal strength were danaparoid (ROR 37.61, 95%CI 30.46‐46.45), eptifibatide (ROR 34.75, 95%CI 30.65‐39.4), inotersen (ROR 34.00, 95%CI 29.47‐39.23), niraparib (ROR 30.53, 95%CI 29.42‐31.69), and heparin (ROR 28.84, 95%CI 27.76‐29.97). The top 3 involved drug groups were protein kinase inhibitors, antimetabolites, and monoclonal antibodies and antibody‐drug conjugates. The current comprehensive pharmacovigilance study identified more drugs associated with thrombocytopenia. Although the mechanisms of DIT have been elucidated for some drugs, others still require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apicoplast is a four-membrane plastid found in the apicomplexans, which harbors biosynthesis and organelle housekeeping activities in the matrix. However, the mechanism driving the flux of metabolites, in and out, remains unknown. Here, we used TurboID and genome engineering to identify apicoplast transporters in Toxoplasma gondii. Among the many novel transporters, we show that one pair of apicomplexan monocarboxylate transporters (AMTs) appears to have evolved from a putative host cell that engulfed a red alga. Protein depletion showed that AMT1 and AMT2 are critical for parasite growth. Metabolite analyses supported the notion that AMT1 and AMT2 are associated with biosynthesis of isoprenoids and fatty acids. However, stronger phenotypic defects were observed for AMT2, including in the inability to establish T. gondii parasite virulence in mice. This study clarifies, significantly, the mystery of apicoplast transporter composition and reveals the importance of the pair of AMTs in maintaining the apicoplast activity in apicomplexans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess whether earlier administration of antibiotic prophylaxis after prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM) at term would decrease the incidence of maternal and neonatal infections. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study comparing women with term PROM who were initiated antibiotic prophylaxis within or after 6 h, and within or after 12 h from PROM to delivery during January 2019 to December 2021. Women with term PROM receiving cephalosporin and without contraindications to vaginal delivery or confirmed or suspected infection were included in the study. The primary outcome was puerperal infection, which refers to the reproductive tract infection occurring within 42 days of delivery. The type of pharmacoeconomic evaluation was selected based on the results of compared effectiveness between the early group and the late group. Propensity‐score matching (PSM) was used to adjust confounding. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were used to verify the robustness of results. Results: We enrolled 5353 women with term PROM, including 4331 initiated with antibiotic within 6 h, 1022 after 6 h, 5077 within 12 h, and 276 after 12 h. After PSM, no significant difference was observed in the baseline characteristics of the groups. There was no statistical difference between antibiotic use within 6 h and after 6 h, or within 12 h and after 12 h, in puerperal infection (4.6% vs. 4.3%, P = 0.826; 2.9% vs. 4.6%, P = 0.471, respectively), total maternal infection, neonatal sepsis, and total neonatal infection. Cost‐minimization analysis showed there was no significant difference between antibiotic use within 6 h and after 6 h, or within 12 h and after 12 h, in direct medical costs. Conclusion: This study showed that there was no statistical difference in the efficacy and economy of antibiotic prophylaxis used within 6–12 h after rupture of membranes versus after 6–12 h in women with term PROM. Synopsis: Early use of antibiotics after term PROM did not reduce the incidence of maternal and neonatal infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spacecraft with axisymmetric structure is simplified to an effective model based on its cross sections, and a novel reconstruction and relative pose estimation algorithm is presented in this paper. Firstly, features (i.e. line or ellipse) on the image projected by cross sections of axisymmetric structure are obtained based on contour constraint and center constraint. Secondly, the simplified model is reconstructed by calculating the normalized size and distances of cross-section features. In addition, a kind of singular projection is analyzed when a ellipse projected by circular cross section degenerates to a straight line on the image plane. Finally, relative pose between target and camera is calculated by these features. The method is tested on numerous synthetic images, and experimental results indicate that the method perform well in target recognition and reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Premise of the study: A new set of microsatellite primers was developed for Avena sativa and characterized to assess the level of genetic diversity among cultivars and wild genotypes. • Methods and Results: Using an enrichment genomic library, 14 simple sequence repeat markers were identified. The loci of these markers were characterized and found to be polymorphic in size among 48 genotypes of oat from diverse geographical locations. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to eight, while the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.031 to 0.75. • Conclusions: These newly identified microsatellite markers will facilitate genetic diversity studies, fingerprinting, and genetic mapping of oat. Moreover, these new primers for A. sativa will aid future studies of polyploidy and hybridization in other species in this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HopPmaL is a member of the HopAB family of type ifi effectors present in the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Using both X-ray crystallography and solution nuclear magnetic resonance, we demonstrate that HopPmaL contains two structurally homologous yet functionally distinct domains. The N-terminal domain corresponds to the previously described Pto-binding domain, while the previously uncharacterised C-terminal domain spans residues 308-385. While structurally similar, these domains do not share significant sequence similarity and most importantly demonstrate significant -diffirences in key residues involved in host protein recognition, suggesting that each of them targets a different host protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray crystallographic and biochemical investigation of the reaction of cisplatin and oxaliplatin with nucleosome core particle and naked DNA reveals that histone octamer association can modulate DNA platination. Adduct formation also occurs at specific histone methionine residues, which could serve as a nuclear platinum reservoir influencing adduct transfer to DNA. Our findings suggest that the nucleosome center may provide a favorable target for the design of improved platinum anticancer drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type transducer used to excite and receive torsional modes has been developed. It consists of several shear mode piezoelectric elements which are in identical thickness and are made by commercial lead titanate zirconate composition materials. When the top and bottom segments of these elements vibrate in opposite direction, shearing deformation in the circumference direction of a pipe is obtained and thus torsional modes are generated. By an experiment, signals in the frequency ranged from 40 kHz to 230 kHz are excited in a 4 m-long steel pipe with the developed transducer. Comparing with theoretical results, it is shown that the transducer can excite and receive the lowest torsional mode, T(0,1) mode, in pipes. Furthermore, two completely different kinds of artificial defects are detected with T(0,1) mode which is excited by the transducer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperators increase the fitness of others at a cost to themselves. Thus cooperation should not be favored by natural selection in a well-mixed population. It challenges the evolutionists since cooperation is widespread. Information spreading has been revealed to play a key role in the emergence of cooperation. Individuals, however, are typically assumed to be passive in the information spreading. Here we assume that individuals self-recommend themselves to those that are about to have new neighbors. Individuals with higher tendencies of self-recommendation are likely to have more neighbors. In this way, individuals are active to spread the information. We analytically obtain a critical cost-to-benefit ratio, below which cooperation emerges. It reveals quantitatively how eloquent cooperators have to be compared with defectors to ensure that cooperation takes over the population. It also indicates that individuals need to be open enough to the self-recommendation to enhance cooperation level. In addition, the critical cost-to-benefit ratio represents the viscosity of the population, measuring how close cooperators are to each other. Our results highlight the role self-recommendation plays in cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the novel title carboxyl­ate-bridged trinuclear zinc–cerium complex, bis(2,2′-bi­pyridine)­hexakis-μ-methacryl­ato-nitrato­cerium(III)­dizinc(II), [Zn2Ce(C4H5O2)6(NO3)(C10H8N2)2], the Ce and each of two Zn atoms are bridged by three bidentate carboxyl­ate groups. The Ce⋯Zn separations are 4.011 (1) and 3.982 (1) Å. The Ce atom is eight-coordinate in irregular polyhedron. Each Zn atom is five-coordinate, with a distorted pyramidal geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the title complex, a centrosymmetric carboxylate-bridged tetranuclear zinc-cerium derivative, [Zn2Ce2(C4H5O2)10(C5H5N)2(H2O)2], the CeIII and ZnII ions are bridged by two bidentate carboxyl­ato groups [Ce⋯Zn 4.139 (1) Å], while the Ce ions are linked through the three bidentate carboxyl­ate groups [Ce⋯Ce 4.430 (1) Å]. The Ce atoms are nine-coordinate and the coordination polyhedron is a distorted tricapped trigonal prism. The Zn atoms are four-coordinate with a distorted tetrahedral geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

4-Halo-5-hydroxyfuran-2(5H)-ones were synthesized via the efficient sequential halolactonization-hydroxylation reaction of 4-aryl-2,3-allenoic acids with I2 or CuX2 (X = Br or Cl) in moderate to good yields. The structures of the products were established by the X-ray single-crystal diffraction study of 3-methyl-4-iodo-5-phenyl-5-hydroxyl2(5H)-furanone (2a). A rationale for this reaction was discussed based on some brief mechanistic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open-tipped carbon nanotubes with a large amount of subnanopores and open ends on the tube wall were conveniently prepared by an improved anodized aluminum oxide template growth. The hydrogen storage was measured based on a volumetric method. Adsorptions of 6.46 and 1.12 wt % were achieved at 77 K and room temperature, respectively. Compared to hydrogen adsorption of other carbon materials, rough wall surface, opening tips, subnanopores, and opening ends on the wall were attributed to greatly enhanced hydrogen storage. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new lactone compound named cannabifolactone A was isolated from the water extract of the aerial parts of Senecio cannabifolius Less. Its structure was elucidated mainly by 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Trigeminal nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain is a debilitating chronic orofacial pain syndrome but lacks effective treatment. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), especially orphan GPCRs (oGPCRs) are important therapeutic targets in pain medicine. Here, we screened upregulated oGPCRs in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) after partial infraorbital nerve transection (pIONT) and found that Gpr151 was the most significantly upregulated oGPCRs. Gpr151 mRNA was increased from pIONT day 3 and maintained for more than 21 days. Furthermore, GPR151 was expressed in the neurons of the TG after pIONT. Global mutation or knockdown of Gpr151 in the TG attenuated pIONT-induced mechanical allodynia. In addition, the excitability of TG neurons was increased after pIONT in wild-type (WT) mice, but not in Gpr151-/- mice. Notably, GPR151 bound to Gαi protein, but not Gαq, Gα12, or Gα13, and activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) through Gβγ. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase was also activated by pIONT in the TG of WT mice, but not in Gpr151-/- mice. Gene microarray showed that Gpr151 mutation reduced the expression of a large number of neuroinflammation-related genes that were upregulated in WT mice after pIONT, including chemokines CCL5, CCL7, CXCL9, and CXCL10. The mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor (PD98059) attenuated mechanical allodynia and reduced the upregulation of these chemokines after pIONT. Collectively, this study not only revealed the involvement of GPR151 in the maintenance of trigeminal neuropathic pain but also identified GPR151 as a Gαi-coupled receptor to induce ERK-dependent neuroinflammation. Thus, GPR151 may be a potential drug target for the treatment of trigeminal neuropathic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hyperfunction is known to contribute to acute renal failure due to ischemiareperfusion and endotoxemia. D-Serine is a coagonist for NMDAR activation, but whether NMDARs play a role in D-serine-mediated nephrotoxicity remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that NMDAR blockade ameliorated D-serine-induced renal injury. In NMDAR-expressing LLC-PK1 cells, which were used as a proximal tubule model, D-serine but not L-serine induced cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner, which was abrogated by the selective NMDAR blockers MK-801 and AP-5. Time-dependent oxidative stress, evidenced by gradually increased superoxide and H2O2 production, was associated with D-serine-mediated cytotoxicity; these reactive oxygen species could be alleviated not only after NMDAR inhibition but also by NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibition. Activation of protein kinase C (PKC)-δ and PKC-ζ is a downstream signal for NMDAR-mediated NOX activation because PKC inhibition diminishes the NOX activity that is induced by D-serine. Renal injury was further confirmed in male Wistar rats that intraperitoneally received D-serine but not L-serine. Peak changes in glucosuria, proteinuria, and urinary excretion of lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde were found after 24 h of treatment. Persistent tubular damage was observed after 7 days of treatment. Cotreatment with the NMDAR blocker MK-801 for 24 h abolished D-serine-induced functional insufficiency and tubular damage. MK-801 attenuated renal superoxide formation by lowering NOX activity and protein upregulation of NOX4 but not NOX2. These results reveal that NMDAR hyperfunction underlies D-serine-induced renal injury via the effects of NOX4 on triggering oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid-liquid equilibrium data of allantoin were determined by gravimetric method in four binary solvents (methanol-water, ethanol-water, ethylene glycol-water and methanolethylene glycol) at temperatures ranging from 288.15 to 333.15 K. The allantoin exhibited high solubility in ethylene glycol-water solvents. The solubility increased and then decreased with the increasing ratio of ethanol to water above 318.15 K. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that allantoin would be decomposed above 505 K (T5%). X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that no crystalline transformation occurred in the investigated system. In the meanwhile, the experimental data were correlated by four thermodynamic models including modified Apelblat equation, Van't Hoff equation, Jouyban-Acree model, and kh equation. All the models fitted well with the experimental data. This study can help the industrial crystallization of allantoin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harvesting sunlight into cost-effective electricity presents an enticing prospect for self-powered wearable applications. The photothermal materials with an extensive absorption are fundamental to achieve optical and thermal concentration of the sunlight for efficiency output electricity of wearable solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs). Here, we synthesize an organic charge-transfer (CT) cocrystal with a flat absorption from ultraviolet to second near-infrared region (200 to 1950 nanometers) and a high photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) of 80.5%, which is introduced into polyurethane toward large-area nanofiber membrane by electrospinning technology. These corresponding membranes demonstrate a high PCE of 73.7% under the strain more than 80%. Sandwiched with carbon nanotube-based thermoelectric fibers, the membranes as stretchable solar absorbers of STEGs could supply a notably increase temperature gradient, processing a maximum output voltage density of 23.4 volts per square meter at 1:00 p.m. under sunlight. This strategy presents an important insight in heat management for wearable STEGs with a desired electricity output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but its clinical benefit is limited in advanced gastric cancer (GC). Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been reported to be associated with ICB resistance, but the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Our previous single-cell RNA-seq analysis of GC revealed that POSTN+FAP+ extracellular matrix CAFs (eCAFs) communicate with macrophages. Here, we evaluated the correlation between eCAFs and ICB response in TCGA-STAD and real-world cohorts. Immune infiltration analysis and correlation analysis were performed to assess the relationship between eCAFs and macrophages. We first confirmed a negative correlation between the abundance of eCAFs and the overall response rate (ORR) to anti-PD-1 treatment in TCGA-STAD and real-world GC cohorts. Overexpression of POSTN in CAFs enhanced macrophage chemotaxis, while POSTN interference showed the opposite effect in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the cell density of POSTN+ CAFs was positively correlated with the infiltration level of CD163+ macrophages in GC patient tissues. The results demonstrated that POSTN secreted by CAFs enhances macrophage chemotaxis by activating the Akt signaling pathway in macrophages. Additionally, we found that POSTN+FAP+ eCAFs may exist in multiple solid tumors and are associated with ICB resistance. eCAFs promote macrophage chemotaxis through the secretion of POSTN, thereby leading to ICB resistance. High expression of POSTN is likely to predict a poor response to ICB. POSTN downregulation may be considered as a candidate therapeutic strategy to improve ICB efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the theory and methods to determine the geocenter variations by space geodetic techniques in China. Terrestrial reference frame; Description on the techniques.

Examines the occurrence of distributive microwave effects in semiconductor lasers. Implications of directly modulating semiconductor lasers at high frequencies; Degradation of modulation bandwidth in electrical current injection; Results of optical modulation responses.

Industrial WLAN devices suffer from interface delay and poor CPU performance, which would incur an inevitable cost of throughput for aggregation schemes. An enhanced aggregation scheduler is proposed. In this proposed method, the originator's behaviour in both the upper media access control (MAC) and the lower MAC layer is modified. The originator pre-stores subframes of the next aggregated data units despite that the block Ack is not received. Through utilising the modified method, the hardware delay overhead was minimised. Implementation on own chipset indicates that with this aggregation scheduler, higher throughput can be achieved than conventional scheduler, especially when using high rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the evolution and distribution of the transient particle and heat fluxes during the edge-localized modes (ELMs) burst on the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), the BOUT++ six-field two-fluid model with sheath boundary conditions (SBCs) and magnetic flutter terms in the parallel thermal conduction is used to simulate the evolution of the profiles and growing process of the fluxes at divertor targets. Although SBCs hardly play a role in the linear phase, in the nonlinear phase both SBCs and magnetic flutter can change the dominant toroidal mode. SBCs are able to broaden the frequency distribution of the turbulence. The magnetic flutter increases the ELM size from 2.8% to 8.4%, and it doubles the amplitudes of the radial heat and particle transport coefficients at outer midplane (OMP), at around 1.0m2s−1. It is then able to increase the particle and heat flux at the divertor targets and to broaden the radial distribution of the parallel heat flux towards the targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the majority of fuel oxidation reactions require high-temperature conditions, those involving ozone (O3) and unsaturated hydrocarbons, e.g. ethylene (C2H4), occur very rapidly at low temperatures, even at room temperature. The subsequent radical production and heat release could induce further fuel oxidation and even autoignition in a fuel/oxidizer mixture. The autoignition events activated by ozonolysis reactions were investigated in a non-premixed coflow burner using C2H4 as the fuel. Both gas chromatography samples and chemiluminescence images indicated ongoing low-temperature reactions before autoignition occurred, which confirmed that ozonolysis reactions initiated autoignition. As expected, the autoignition time decreased with the increase of O3 concentration in the mixture. Moreover, the autoignition time decreased as the fuel jet Reynolds number (Re) increased. At lower Re, this trend was explained by the inverse relation between the mixing timescale and flow velocity. At higher Re, this trend was attributed to the mixing promoted by turbulence. Owing to the ozonolysis reactions, fuel can be ‘preprocessed’ and therefore the reactivity of the fuel-oxidizer mixture increased. As a result, the flame propagation speed increased significantly after autoignition in a stratified environment owing to the existence of ozonolysis reactions. This enhancement, owing to ‘in situ fuel preprocessing’, plays an important role in flame stabilization and propagation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis. Among hundreds of millions of people who have contracted with or are being infected with COVID-19, the question of whether COVID-19 infection may cause long-term health concern, even being completely recovered from the disease clinically, especially immune system damage, needs to be addressed. Here, we performed seven-chain adaptome immune repertoire analyses on convalescent COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from hospitals for at least 6 months. Surprisingly, we discovered lymphopenia, reduced number of unique CDR3s, and reduced diversity of the TCR/BCR immune repertoire in convalescent COVID-19 patients. In addition, the BCR repertoire appears to be activated, which is consistent with the protective antibody titres, but serological experiments reveal significantly lower IL-4 and IL-7 levels in convalescent patients compared to those in healthy controls. Finally, in comparison with convalescent patients who did not receive post-hospitalization rehabilitation, the convalescent patients who received post-hospitalization rehabilitation had attenuated immune repertoire abnormality, almost back to the level of healthy control, despite no detectable clinic demographic difference. Overall, we report the potential long-term immunological impairment for COVID-19 infection, and correction of this impairment via post-hospitalization rehabilitation may offer a new prospect for COVID-19 recovery strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature of a forming region has a gradient distribution characteristic in the belt heating incremental sheet forming process, in which the relation between the heating power and the temperature distribution is ambiguous in the pre-heating stage. The setup of the heating power is therefore challenging, and the whole forming efficiency might decrease due to the above issue. Therefore, this paper proposes a belt heating method for electric conduction heating and presents a temperature calculation model for the forming region of the plate in the preheating state based on the heat conduction model. The calculated accuracy of the model is analysed through physical experiments, and the thermal transfer efficiency of heating tubes is analysed in detail. Based on the result, the thermal transfer efficiency value for heating tubes is determined to improve the accuracy of the suggested model. In addition, the effect of the model slope on the calculated result is further analysed, and the setting method of the slope value for the model is proposed according to different accuracy requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic foot ulcers (DBFU) are one of the main complications of diabetes. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment is a commonly used treatment option. Tibial transverse transport (TTT) also has a therapeutic effect on DBFU. Some studies have found that the TTT combined with PRP (TTT&PRP) has a significant effect on DBFU. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases were used to find literature on the treatment of DBFUs using the TTT and PRP treatment according to the inclusion criteria. The specific inclusion criteria are as follows: (1) research type: clinical controlled trials, including retrospective cohort and randomized controlled studies; (2) diagnosis of DBFUs that does not include a definitively diagnosed traumatic ulcer; (3) original materials of Chinese and English literature published in full text. The exclusion criteria are: (1) the research group was not defined or grouped; (2) nonrandomized controlled trials, non-cohort studies, non-case-control studies, retrospective studies, and case reports; (3) repetitive research and animal experimentation; (4) ulcers caused by other diseases; (5) conservative treatment or no use of invasive treatment methods. Review Manager software (version 5.3) was used to conduct a meta-analysis of the included results. Result: The literature included 6 randomized controlled studies, including 508 patients, 254 patients in the PRP treatment group, and 254 patients in the TTT&PRP group. The meta-analysis results showed that in terms of treatment efficacy, the TTT&PRP combined treatment group had a higher efficacy than the PRP group. After treatment, the TTT&PRP group had better treatment effects in psychological function, physiological function, and social function compared to the PRP group. After treatment, the TTT&PRP group showed a significant increase in serum epidermal growth factor (EGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) levels compared to the PRP group. In terms of wound healing after treatment, the TTT&PRP group performed better than the PRP group in terms of postoperative wound reduction rate, bacterial clearance rate, granulation tissue coverage rate, and granulation tissue growth thickness. Conclusion: TTT combined with PRP was more effective than PRP alone in treating DBFUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lightning protection design of "Feilongzaitian" roller coaster of Fangte in Zigong was discussed, and the lightning protection measures of "Feilongzaitian" roller coaster were analyzed from the aspects of direct lightning protection, grounding and lightning electromagnetic impulse protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-1 full-length RNA (HIV-1 RNA) plays a central role in viral replication, serving as a template for Gag/Gag-Pol translation and as a genome for the progeny virion. To gain a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of HIV-1 replication, we adapted a recently described system to visualize and track translation from individual HIV-1 RNA molecules in living cells. We found that, on average, half of the cytoplasmic HIV-1 RNAs are being actively translated at a given time. Furthermore, translating and nontranslating RNAs are well mixed in the cytoplasm; thus, Gag biogenesis occurs throughout the cytoplasm without being constrained to particular subcellular locations. Gag is an RNA binding protein that selects and packages HIV-1 RNA during virus assembly. A longstanding question in HIV-1 gene expression is whether Gag modulates HIV-1 RNA translation. We observed that despite its RNAbinding ability, Gag expression does not alter the proportion of translating HIV-1 RNA. Using single-molecule tracking, we found that both translating and nontranslating RNAs exhibit dynamic cytoplasmicmovement and can reach the plasma membrane, the major HIV-1 assembly site. However, Gag selectively packages nontranslating RNA into the assembly complex. These studies illustrate that although HIV-1 RNA serves two functions, as a translation template and as a viral genome, individual RNA molecules carry out only one function at a time. These studies shed light on previously unknown aspects of HIV-1 gene expression and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicene is a promising 2D Dirac material as a building block for van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs). Here we investigate the electronic properties of hexagonal boron nitride/silicene (BN/Si) vdWHs using first-principles calculations. We calculate the energy band structures of BN/Si/BN heterostructures with different rotation angles and find that the electronic properties of silicene are retained and protected robustly by the BN layers. In BN/Si/BN/Si/BN heterostructure, we find that the band structure near the Fermi energy is sensitive to the stacking configurations of the silicene layers due to interlayer coupling. The coupling is reduced by increasing the number of BN layers between the silicene layers and becomes negligible in BN/Si/(BN)3/Si/BN. In (BN)n/Si superlattices, the band structure undergoes a conversion from Dirac lines to Dirac points by increasing the number of BN layers between the silicene layers. Calculations of silicene sandwiched by other 2D materials reveal that silicene sandwiched by low-carbon-doped boron nitride or HfO2 is semiconducting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The de Gennes narrowing phenomenon is frequently observed by neutron or x-ray scattering measurements of the dynamics of complex systems, such as liquids, proteins, colloids, and polymers. The characteristic slowing down of dynamics in the vicinity of the maximum of the total scattering intensity is commonly attributed to enhanced cooperativity. In this Letter, we present an alternative view on its origin through the examination of the time-dependent pair correlation function, the van Hove correlation function, for a model liquid in two, three, and four dimensions. We find that the relaxation time increases monotonically with distance and the dependence on distance varies with dimension. We propose a heuristic explanation of this dependence based on a simple geometrical model. This finding sheds new light on the interpretation of the de Gennes narrowing phenomenon and the α-relaxation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular rearrangements of most fluids under flow and deformation do not directly follow the macroscopic strain field. In this work, we describe a phenomenological method for characterizing such nonaffine deformation via the anisotropic pair distribution function (PDF). We demonstrate how the microscopic strain can be calculated in both simple shear and uniaxial extension, by perturbation expansion of anisotropic PDF in terms of real spherical harmonics. Our results, given in the real as well as the reciprocal space, can be applied in spectrum analysis of small-angle scattering experiments and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of soft matter under flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining ultrahigh sensitivity, spatial resolution, and the capability to resolve chemical information, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a powerful tool to study molecules or nanoscale objects. Here we show that TERS can also be a powerful tool in studying two-dimensional materials. We have achieved a 109 Raman signal enhancement and a 0.5 nm spatial resolution using monolayer silicene on Ag(111) as a prototypical 2D material system. Because of the selective enhancement on Raman modes with vertical vibrational components in TERS, our experiment provides direct evidence of the origination of Raman modes in silicene. Furthermore, the ultrahigh sensitivity of TERS allows us to identify different vibrational properties of silicene phases, which differ only in the bucking direction of the Si-Si bonds. Local vibrational features from defects and domain boundaries in silicene can also be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical emission spectroscopy (OES), as a simple in situ method without disturbing the plasma, has been performed for the plasma diagnosis of a 2.45 GHz permanent magnet electron cyclotron resonance (PMECR) ion source at Peking University (PKU). A spectrum measurement platform has been set up with the quartz-chamber electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source [Patent Number: ZL 201110026605.4] and experiments were carried out recently. The electron temperature and electron density inside the ECR plasma chamber have been measured with the method of line intensity ratio of noble gas. Hydrogen plasma processes inside the discharge chamber are discussed based on the diagnostic results. What is more, the superiority of the method of line intensity ratio of noble gas is indicated with a comparison to line intensity ratio of hydrogen. Details will be presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chinese medicine is widely applied in Asian and Western countries for its outstanding therapeutic effect, but there are still unsolved problems such as unclear active ingredients and pharmacological effects. The application of nano/microparticle technology in Chinese medicine may become a promising strategy to solve this problem in the near future (provided that more efforts are made to in-depth exploration). In this work, a comprehensive analysis of the field was carried out from a bibliometrics perspective, and further the publishing trends and research hotspots were figured out. Methods: The articles or reviews from 2000 to 2020 were retrieved in the database of Web of Science Core Collection. The documents were processed by Clarivate Analytic, Visualization of Similarities viewer, Statistical Analysis Toolkit for Informetrics and bibliometric online platform, and the data were visualized. Finally, a bibliometric summary, citation analysis results and research trends were described. Results: A bibliometric analysis of 773 articles of interest showed that research in this field had continued to grow in recent years, with a high degree of interdisciplinary integration. Secondly, this field attached great importance to the quantitative analysis of Chinese medicine combined with nano/micro particle technology. Chinese medicine, nanoparticles and liposomes were the most accessed keywords. China was the main contributing country, and the top-10 contributing organizations were all located in China. Co-authorship was a common phenomenon in this field. Conclusion: The published literature on the application of nano/micro particle technology in Chinese medicine was summarized. The results suggested that bibliometric analysis could predict possible directions for future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A layered material grown between a substrate and the upper layer involves complex interactions and a confined reaction space, representing an unusual growth mode. Here, we show multi-layer graphene domains grown on liquid or solid Cu by the chemical vapor deposition method via this ‘double-substrate’ mode. We demonstrate the interlayer-induced coupling effect on the twist angle in bi- and multi-layer graphene. We discover dramatic growth disunity for different graphene layers, which is explained by the ideas of a chemical ‘gate’ and a material transport process within a confined space. These key results lead to a consistent framework for understanding the dynamic evolution of multi-layered graphene flakes and tailoring the layer-to-layer growth for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutral beam injection is a major auxiliary heating method in the EAST experimental campaign. This paper gives detailed calculations of beam loss with different plasma equilibria using the guiding center code ORBIT and NUBEAM/TRANSP. Increasing plasma current can dramatically lower the beam ion prompt loss and ripple loss. Countercurrent beam injection gives a much larger prompt loss fraction than co-injection, and ripple-induced collisionless stochastic diffusion is the dominant loss channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemic control is of great importance for human society. Adjusting interacting partners is an effective individualized control strategy. Intuitively, it is done either by shortening the interaction time between susceptible and infected individuals or by increasing the opportunities for contact between susceptible individuals. Here, we provide a comparative study on these two control strategies by establishing an epidemic model with nonuniform stochastic interactions. It seems that the two strategies should be similar, since shortening the interaction time between susceptible and infected individuals somehow increases the chances for contact between susceptible individuals. However, analytical results indicate that the effectiveness of the former strategy sensitively depends on the infectious intensity and the combinations of different interaction rates, whereas the latter one is quite robust and efficient. Simulations are shown to verify our analytical predictions. Our work may shed light on the strategic choice of disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Li+ and Na+ ions scattered from high work function metal surfaces, efficient neutralization is observed, and it cannot be explained by the conventional free electron model. In order to explain these experimental data, we investigate the velocity-dependent neutral fraction with the modified Brako–Newns (BN) model. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental data. We find that the parallel velocity effect plays an important role in neutralizing the Li+ and Na+ ions for large angle scattering. The nonmonotonic velocity behavior of neutral fraction is strongly related to the distance-dependent coupling strength between the atomic level and metal states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Irrigation and débridement are frequently utilized in the management of surgical infections, but even with aggressive débridement, it is difficult to remove all the suture material from the tissues and retained suture material may harbor bacteria and/or biofilm. The degree to which barbed or braided sutures may differentially influence the risk of infection has not been defined in a well-controlled animal model.Questions/purposes: We compared braided and barbed monofilament sutures after irrigation of an infected mouse air pouch model to determine whether the suture type influenced the effectiveness of the irrigation. After irrigation of infected pouches, sutures were compared for (1) bacterial adherence and bacterial retention; (2) qualitative and quantitative pouch thickness and cellular density; and (3) quantitative biofilm formation.Methods: Soft tissue air pouches were created on the backs of 60 female, mature 10-week-old BALB/cJ mice by sequentially introducing air into the subcutaneous tissue and allowing the pouch to mature. The pouches were inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus and braided or barbed monofilament sutures were implanted. Pouch irrigation was performed Day 7 after suture implantation. Suture segments were collected before and after irrigation. After euthanasia on Day 14, pouch tissues with residual suture segments were collected for analysis: microbiologic analysis done using optical density as a measure of the concentration of bacteria in the culture (the larger concentration indicates higher number of bacteria) and histologic evaluation of the pouch tissues were semiquantitative, whereas environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and confocal analyses of the biofilm and bacteria on the sutures were qualitative.Results: Histologic evaluation of pouch tissue showed all groups had inflammatory responses. Quantitatively microbiology showed no difference in bacterial number calculated from the optical density (OD) values between the two suture materials at any time point in the irrigation group. In the no-irrigation group, for the Day 7 time point, mean (± SD) OD was greater in the barbed than the OD in the braided sutures (0.52 ± 0.12 versus 0.37 ± 0.16, mean difference 0.43 [95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.13]; p = 0.007). Qualitatively, ESEM showed more bacterial retention by braided sutures before and after irrigation. Confocal imaging of the sutures demonstrated penetration of biofilm into the interstices of braided sutures and less adhesion in barbed monofilament sutures. The quantification of the biomass showed no differences between groups at all time points (before-irrigation biomass was 11.2 ± 9.3 for braided versus 5.2 ± 4.7 for barbed sutures, p = 0.196; and after-irrigation biomass was 7.2 ± 7.5 for braided versus 3.3 ± 4.3 for barbed suture, p = 0.259).Conclusions: All sutures can retain bacteria and biofilm, but it is rarely possible to remove all suture material at the time of irrigation to treat infection. After an irrigation procedure, qualitatively braided sutures appeared to harbor more bacteria and to retain more biofilm than barbed monofilaments.Clinical Relevance: When saline irrigation was used to simulate infection treatment in an infected mouse air pouch model, bacteria/biofilm was not completely eliminated from either braided or barbed monofilament sutures. The irrigation appeared to clear more bacteria and biofilm from the monofilament despite having barbs. Unfortunately, current technologies do not allow direct quantitative comparisons of biofilm retention. Clinicians should be aware that in the face of infection, any retained sutures may harbor bacteria despite irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the designed As2Se3 and As2S3 chalcogenide glass photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and the scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the effects of pump power and wavelength on modulation instability (MI) gain are comprehensively studied in the abnormal dispersion regime of chalcogenide glass PCF. Owing to high Raman effect and high nonlinearity, ultra-broadband MI gain is obtained in chalcogenide glass PCF. By choosing the appropriate pump parameter, the MI gain bandwidth reaches 2738 nm for the As2Se3 glass PCF in the abnormal-dispersion region, while it is 1961 nm for the As2S3 glass PCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO samples with a double-layer structure and top nanorod arrays on the bottom film layer were grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition at a temperature range from 340 to 400 °C. The ZnO nanorods show excellent optical quality and no obvious defect related emission can be detected below 40 K except for I6 line and the surface bound exciton emission. The free exciton emission and its phonon replicas dominate the near band edge emission between 40 and 295 K. For the film layer, the temperature-dependent Hall measurements showed that the conduction region is degenerate. In the conduction region, the carrier mobility is mainly limited by the grain boundary effect, which can be weakened by thermal annealing. The conduction mechanism in this region before and after annealing can be fitted by a uniform and a non-uniform conduction model, respectively. The results indicate that grain boundary effects strongly limit the mobility and consume large amounts of carriers by the trap states. Furthermore, we propose a qualitative model to explain the expansion of the conduction regions by annealing. It reveals a mechanism for the improvement of electrical properties of polycrystalline thin films by annealing treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the construction of structure preserving algorithms for Birkhoffian systems, based on existing symplectic schemes for the Hamiltonian equations. The key of the method is to seek an invertible transformation which drives the Birkhoffian equations reduce to the Hamiltonian equations. When there exists such a transformation, applying the corresponding inverse map to symplectic discretization of the Hamiltonian equations, then resulting difference schemes are verified to be Birkhoffian symplectic for the original Birkhoffian equations. To illustrate the operation process of the method, we construct several desirable algorithms for the linear damped oscillator and the single pendulum with linear dissipation respectively. All of them exhibit excellent numerical behavior, especially in preserving conserved quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two kinds of generalized gradient systems are proposed and the characteristics of the two systems are studied. The conditions under which a holonomic mechanical system can be considered as one of the two generalized gradient systems are obtained. The characteristics of the generalized gradient systems can be used to study the stability of the holonomic system. Some examples are given to illustrate the application of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]