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In order to effectively improve the impact resistance performance of the roadway anti-impact hydraulic support and reduce the loss caused by rock burst to a certain extent, a torsion plate energy-absorbing member was designed for using with the hydraulic column. By using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation methods and combining them with the parameters of the energy-absorbing characteristics evaluation index, single-factor tests were designed. Under the premise of constant impact velocity, the influence law of torsion angle, plate thickness, and fillet radius of the pressure plate on the energy-absorbing and anti-impact characteristics of energy-absorbing members were analysed. The results show that the deformation process and resistance trend of the torsion plate correspond to energy absorption. The resistance stability is high in the reaction force platform stage, and the energy increases linearly. With the increase of the torsion angle, the mean value of the reaction force increases, the fluctuation of the reaction force platform stage becomes more obvious, the specific energy absorption increases linearly, and the standard deviation reaches the minimum at 480°. Both the tensile length and the length of the reaction force platform stage increase continuously. With the increase of the plate thickness, the flatness of the torsion plate shows a trend of bad-good-bad, the mean value of the reaction force gradually increases, the specific energy absorption grows faster and then slower, and the tensile length and the length of the reaction force platform stage increase accordingly. With the increase of the fillet radius, the flatness of the torsion plate is better and the reaction force has a small improvement. The fluctuation of reaction force is most significant when the fillet radius is 2 mm, and the energy-absorbing member has the largest swing. The specific energy absorption is highest when the fillet radius is 2.5 mm, the standard deviation shows a tendency to develop firstly decreasing and then stabilising, the tensile length of the torsion plate decreases slightly, and the length of the reaction force platform firstly increases and then tends to stabilise. The torsion plate energy-absorbing member is a more ideal energy-absorbing and anti-impact member, which plays a positive role in the energy-absorbing and anti-impact of the hydraulic support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the underlying mechanisms and exploring effective therapies for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are urgently needed. Here, we aim to elucidate the potential roles and underlying mechanisms of Buyang Huanwu decoction (BYHWD) in ICH. In the first set of experiments, rats were randomly divided into five groups: Sham, ICH, ICH + sodium oxamate (OXA), ICH + BYHWD, and ICH + BYHWD + OXA. The lactate level around the hematoma was evaluated. PCNA+/vWF+ nuclei were observed. Additionally, an online bioinformatics analysis tool was used to predict the BYHWD druggable targets related to angiogenesis. Then, we validated these predictions. In the second set, exogenous sodium L-lactate (Lac) was infused into the intact brains of rats. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham, Lac, and Lac + YC-1. The numbers of PCNA+/vWF+ nuclei and the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF were evaluated. In the first set of experiments, compared with the ICH group, the BYHWD group exhibited significantly increased numbers of PCNA+/vWF+ nuclei, and neurological dysfunction was markedly improved. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the improvements caused by BYHWD indicated a role for the HIF-1α pathway. The HIF-1α and VEGF protein levels were upregulated after BYHWD administration. Moreover, we verified that lactate was involved in the predicted mechanisms. In the second set, lactate facilitated angiogenesis and HIF-1α and VEGF expression. Co-infusion with a HIF-1α inhibitor, YC-1, significantly inhibited these effects. Our data suggest that the pharmacological effects of BYHWD involve lactate-induced angiogenesis, these data may provide new evidence for its use in ICH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the influence of magnetic field on electrochemical machining, a research method of the influence of rotating magnetic field on hydrogen production from electrolytic water is proposed in this paper. Firstly, taking pure water as electrolyte, this paper selects rigid SPCE water molecular model, constructs the molecular dynamics model under the action of magnetic field, and simulates it. In this paper, the thermodynamics, electric power principle, and electrolytic reaction of hydrogen production from electrolytic water are analyzed, and the working processes of alkaline electrolytic cell, solid oxide electrolytic cell, and solid polymer electrolytic cell are analyzed. Based on solid polymer electrolytic cell, the effects of membrane electrode performance, diffusion layer material, contact electrode plate, electrolytic temperature, and electrolyte types on hydrogen production are analyzed. The experimental results show that the heteroions in the lake electrolyte significantly affect the performance of the membrane electrode, and the number of heteroions in the electrolyte should be controlled during the experiment. The hydrogen production capacity and energy efficiency ratio of the unit are basically not affected by different water flow dispersion. When dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte is selected in the experiment, the concentration should be 0.1%–0.2%; After the proton exchange membrane enters the stable period after the activation period, with the increase of the electrolysis time of tap water, (24 h) the membrane electrode will weaken the catalyst activity and reduce the electrolysis efficiency in the electrolysis process. Furthermore, the correctness of rotating magnetic field on hydrogen production from electrolytic water is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By analyzing the feasibility of the digital twin technology in the assembly of construction machinery, the assembly process of the construction manipulator in the engineering environment is discussed. According to the application criteria and modeling requirements of digital twin, the overall framework of digital twin engineering manipulator assembly modeling and simulation is constructed from three aspects: model layer, data layer, and application layer. According to the operation task characteristics of space engineering manipulator, the feasibility of the control method based on joint angular velocity is analyzed, and the task environment of space engineering manipulator based on Markov model is defined. Aiming at the application of the algorithm in the control task of the space engineering manipulator, a reward function with the addition of the angular velocity soft bound term is designed, which improves the strategy optimization process of the algorithm and obtains a better control effect of the engineering manipulator. The motion trajectory of the end of the engineering manipulator is directly given on the simulation platform, and the expected motion of each joint of the engineering manipulator is calculated through the kinematics of the engineering manipulator. It can be seen from the simulation results that the controllers designed in this study can achieve ideal control effects. With the help of Baxter robot platform, the control algorithm designed in this study is applied to the actual engineering manipulator control, and the effectiveness of the control algorithm is further proved by the actual control effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible articulated manipulators are often used for the task of tracking reference trajectories in space and have attracted much attention. Aiming at the uncertainty of the robot system, based on random matrix and screw theory, this paper constructs a trajectory control model of a flexible joint manipulator. In order to reduce the steady-state tracking error, a random matrix variable structure control method is introduced into the model, and a nonlinear spinor-like random matrix function is designed to improve the traditional random matrix surface. In the simulation process, the dynamic model of the series robot is firstly obtained according to the screw and random matrix equation, and the dynamic characteristics are analyzed. Combined with dynamic surface control technology, a neural network controller is designed to solve the problem of dimensional explosion and ensure that the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of zero. The experimental results show that by using the observation value to replace the unmeasurable state of the system, combining it with the random matrix network to identify the unknown dynamics of the system, and designing the random matrix network controller, the tracking control of the system can be realized, and the tracking error can be ensured to converge to a small neighborhood of zero. The control system has a better control effect than traditional PID, the peak time is shortened by 45.83%, the adjustment time is shortened by 46.91%, the maximum overshoot is reduced by 51.35%, and the steady-state error after filtering is only 0.049, which is reduced by 47.31%. Effective interference signal and measurement noise are suppressed, and the quantitative observation performance of the flexible joint manipulator system is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous progress of the times, the reform of physical education teaching in colleges and universities has to be promoted day by day. The most important task in the process of reform is how to improve the quality of physical education teaching. Only by reforming colleges and universities can we transport outstanding talents into the society. It is very important to improve the teaching quality by improving the physical education quality evaluation system. As artificial intelligence technology has been more and more widely used in different fields, various educational administration systems based on information management have been established in various colleges and universities. On the one hand, it has brought great convenience to the management of physical education in colleges and universities and improvement of the efficiency of sports education management, but on the other hand, there are many shortcomings in the process of practical application. For example, the application of the database does not fully reflect its function and convenience, and it is only used at the level of query and statistics. Therefore, a better evaluation system of physical education teaching quality has become the common expectation of all colleges and universities. This paper makes a powerful analysis of the current quality evaluation of physical education in colleges and universities and proposes a method of establishing a basic framework through expert systems, filling in details with the idea of knowledge base and fuzzy sets, and further using a three-layer B/S framework model to design universal teaching quality assessment system. When discussing the requirements, functional framework, and actual development of the teaching evaluation system, the characteristics of the traditional physical education evaluation model are deeply analyzed, and the system's interactivity, flexibility, accuracy, and fairness are emphasized in the implementation process. Object-oriented design and analysis are carried out on the requirements of the system, and finally, black-box testing is carried out to ensure the reliability and correctness of the system logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) was introduced into asphalt-based sealant as a plasticizer in this work. Four kinds of sealants with different DOP content were prepared, and thermal stability and low-temperature performance of five samples with asphalt as a control group were evaluated by fluidity test, softening point test, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), low-temperature tensile test, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), respectively. Furthermore, the mechanism of DOP on sealant properties was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and fluorescence microscope. Results show that DOP can significantly improve the low-temperature performance of sealant, but slightly deteriorate the high-temperature performance. This is because DOP can supplement the light component of sealant and enhance the fluidity of the internal components. On the one hand, DOP reduces the apparent activation energy of sealant and lowers the barrier to chemical reactions, indicating that DOP is slightly detrimental to the thermal stability of sealant. On the other hand, DOP greatly reduces the glass transition temperature of sealant and improves its low-temperature performance. However, there is no evident chemical reaction between DOP and sealant, and physical effects play a major role in the effects of DOP on sealant properties. In addition, DOP can promote the expansion and cross-linking of the polymer in the sealant and ultimately enhance the compatibility between asphalt and polymer molecules. In short, DOP is recommended as a plasticizer to prepare asphalt sealants with excellent properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of computer technology, people have begun to combine virtual reality and other technologies to achieve scientific sports auxiliary training, to get rid of the state of traditional sports training purely relying on experience. The article proposes a deep learning BP neural network human body posture recognition algorithm and briefly introduces the human body motion posture. The purpose of this research was to use the powerful data processing, mining, and analysis functions of deep learning to train the massive data generated in competitive sports training and apply it to competitive sports training. It is committed to promoting the accuracy and analysis of competitive sports training. Refinement provides technical guidance for athletes' training, promotes the scientific and informatized development of competitive sports training in China, and provides some reference methods for the research and application of deep learning in competitive sports training. The article's research results show that (1) taking a rural area as an example, we recorded the exercise postures of rural athletes in five different states: static, upstairs, downstairs, walking, and running. Comparing the recognition rate and training time of The BP neural network algorithm, ABC-BP algorithm, AFS-BP algorithm, and ABC-AFS-BP algorithm, it can be found that in terms of recognition rate, ABC-AFS-BP algorithm, AFS-BP algorithm, and ABC-BP algorithm are better than traditional BP algorithm. Among them, the recognition rate of the ABC-AFS-BP algorithm is higher than that of the ABC-BP algorithm, but it takes slightly more time than the ABC-BP algorithm. In terms of training time, the ABC-BP algorithm takes less time, but the accuracy is lower than the ABC-AFS-BP algorithm; the ABC-AFS-BP algorithm has a greater improvement in time consumption than the AFS-BP model and can guarantee the recognition rate and accuracy, and the error rate curves of the four algorithms show that after 500 iterations of the training part, the iteration error value of the ABC-AFS-BP algorithm is the smallest. (2) We evaluated sports postures of athletes from a certain rural team and concluded that bad postures will have a certain impact on the body. Among them, more than 85% of athletes in football and basketball have pelvic rotation. The problem is that football players have reached 90% of the test sample. 60% of football players and basketball players have the problem of collapsed foot. The main problem of aerobic athletes is flat back and collapsed foot. More than 90% of badminton players have high and low shoulder problems, and more than 80% of them have neck problems, which is a very serious body posture problem. (3) Detecting the flexibility experiment of the BP posture detection algorithm, compared with the traditional motion posture recording method, we tested from the three aspects of recording motion accuracy, missed detection rate, and recording time. The result shows BP posture detection. The missing detection rate of the algorithm is low, basically maintained at about 2.0, the accuracy of recording actions is relatively high, generally maintained above 98%, and the highest is 99.15%, and the recording time is short, maintained at 3–4 minutes; comparing traditional posture detection with the BP attitude detection algorithm, the missed detection rate of the algorithm is relatively high, kept at 4–6, the action accuracy is lower than that of the BP attitude detection algorithm, generally kept at about 95%, and the recording time is kept at 5–6 minutes. The posture detection algorithm is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the overload limitation of the converters, the main protection for DC lines of High Voltage Direct Current based on Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC‐HVDC) requires ultra high speed for fault detection. The protection principles of single‐terminal traveling‐wave can meet this requirement. Such protection principles which are usually constructed by transmission theory of fault traveling‐wave have a clear physical concept and do not depend on boundary components. Almost all of these principles are dependent on accurately detecting the arrival time of the traveling‐waves. Thus, it is urgent to research a new time‐frequency analysis method with a high time resolution to identify the arrival time of traveling‐wave. This paper introduces Transient‐Extracting Transform (TET) to detect traveling‐wave and improves it fully considering the fault traveling‐wave characteristics of DC lines. The time resolution of improved TET is greatly increased and the arrival time of traveling‐wave is detected more accurately. Using the improved TET, a protection scheme for single‐pole fault based on the arrival time difference between aerial‐mode traveling‐wave and zero‐mode traveling‐wave is studied. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the performance of detecting traveling‐wave arrival time by the improved TET is higher than wavelet transform. Under the same fault condition, the time resolution of wavelet transform is only tens microsecond level. However, the time resolution of the improved TET increases to several microseconds. The accuracy of traveling‐wave detection by the improved TET is 95% higher than existing works. The simulation results also indicate that the single‐pole protection scheme using the improved TET can accurately distinguish between internal faults and external faults. There is a better ability to resist fault resistance for the protection scheme, and it is not affected by DC boundary elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent frequent "thunderstorm incidents" of the internet financial platforms (IFPs) have caused the panic of investors. In order to measure and reduce the investment risk of IFPs, the focus of this study is to evaluate the reputation of IFPs regarding investment risk. First, the reputation evaluation indicator system of IFPs is constructed from two dimensions of direct and indirect reputations. Then, based on this system, an improved fuzzy evaluation approach (IFEA) integrating the method of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and the factor analysis (FA) are proposed for evaluating the reputation of IFPs. Finally, a case study based on the data of 20 peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms from "Home of Online Loans" (HOL) in China is used to illustrate the IFEA. Results show that the IFEA can reduce uncertainty and randomness in the determination process of indicator weight and membership degree and therefore accurately obtain the reputation level of IFPs and help investors make better decisions. Meanwhile, the key factors in determining the reputation of IFPs are identified, thereby improving the reputation level of the IFPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Hypoxia closely relates to malignant progression and appears to be prognostic for outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our research is aimed at mining the hypoxic-related genes (HRGs) and constructing a prognostic predictor (PP) model on clinical prognosis in HCC patients. Methods. RNA-sequencing data about HRGs and clinical data of patients with HCC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database portal. Differentially expressed HRGs between HCC and para-carcinoma tissue samples were obtained by applying the Wilcox analysis in R statistical software. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used for gene functional enrichment analyses. Then, the patients who were asked to follow up for at least one month were enrolled in the following study. Cox proportional risk regression model was applied to obtain key HRGs which related to overall survival (OS) in HCC. PP was constructed and defined, and the accuracy of PP was validated by constructing the signature in a training set and validation set. Connectivity map (CMap) was used to find potential drugs, and gene set cancer analysis (GSCA) was also performed to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results. Thirty-seven differentially expressed HRGs were obtained. It contained 28 upregulated and 9 downregulated genes. After the univariate Cox regression model analysis, we obtained 27 prognosis-related HRGs. Of these, 25 genes were risk factors for cancer, and 2 genes were protective factors. The PP was composed by 12 key genes (HDLBP, SAP30, PFKP, DPYSL4, SLC2A1, HMOX1, PGK1, ERO1A, LDHA, ENO2, SLC6A6, and TPI1). GSCA results showed the overall activity of these 12 key genes in 10 cancer-related pathways. Besides, CMap identified deferoxamine, crotamiton, talampicillin, and lycorine might have effects with HCC. Conclusions. This study firstly reported 12 prognostic HRGs and constructed the model of the PP. This comprehensive research of multiple databases helps us gain insight into the biological properties of HCC and provides deferoxamine, crotamiton, talampicillin, and lycorine as potential drugs to fight against HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical treatment of electro‐thermally induced passive intermodulation (PIM) is developed for printed dipole antennas, yielding an expression of third‐order intermodulation distortion based on the surface current distribution. The simulation procedure of third‐order PIM products with the full‐wave frequency‐domain method was given to evaluate the PIM level. In particular, the PIM dependencies on input power, two‐tone frequency separation, and substrate parameters are analyzed leading to design guidelines for low distortion antennas. It is shown in this paper that the thermal factors have a noticeable impact on the PIM power generated by printed dipole antennas. Finally, two antenna samples are fabricated on different substrates, Rogers 5880 and FR4, and a two‐tone test at 2‐GHz band using a reflective PIM test system is reported. The PIM evaluation method and the design guidelines to reduce the PIM on printed antennas proposed in this paper are of great significance for telecommunication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, functional brain network topological features have been widely used as classification features. Previous studies have found that network node scale differences caused by different network parcellation definitions significantly affect the structure of the constructed network and its topological properties. However, we still do not know how network scale differences affect the classification accuracy, performance of classification features, and effectiveness of the feature selection strategy using P values in terms of the machine learning method. This study used five scale parcellations, involving 90, 256, 497, 1003, and 1501 nodes. Three local properties of resting-state functional brain networks were selected (degree, betweenness centrality, and nodal efficiency), and the support vector machine method was used to construct classifiers to identify patients with major depressive disorder. We analyzed the impact of the five scales on classification accuracy. In addition, the effectiveness and redundancy of features obtained by the different scale parcellations were compared. Finally, traditional statistical significance (P value) was verified as a feature selection criterion. The results showed that the feature effectiveness of different scales was similar; in other words, parcellation with more regions did not provide more effective discriminative features. Nevertheless, parcellation with more regions did provide a greater quantity of discriminative features, which led to an improvement in the accuracy of the classification. However, due to the close distance between brain regions, the redundancy of parcellation with more regions was also greater. The traditional P value feature selection strategy is feasible with different scales, but our analysis showed that the traditional P<0.05 threshold was too strict for feature selection. This study provides an important reference for the selection of network scales when applying topological properties of brain networks to machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To assess the changes and the diurnal variation of visual quality after orthokeratology in myopic children. Methods. Forty-four eyes of 22 subjects with a mean age of 10.55 ± 1.53 years (8 to 14 years) were enrolled in this prospective study. Their spherical equivalent ranged from −1.25 to −4.25 diopters (D) and astigmatism was less than 1.00 D. Parameters including corneal curvature, ocular objective scatter index (OSI), the modulation transfer function (MTF), root mean square of ocular and corneal wavefront aberrations, and contrast sensitivity function (CSF) were measured before and at two time points during the same day after 1 month of orthokeratology. Results. After orthokeratology, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and spherical equivalent were significantly improved from baseline (P<0.001), and their diurnal variation was not significant (P=0.083,0.568). OSI increased from 0.29 ± 0.15 to 0.65 ± 0.31 (P<0.001). MTF decreased significantly (P<0.01). Corneal curvature and ocular total aberration decreased (P<0.001), while the ocular and corneal higher-order aberration increased significantly (P<0.01). The CSF under photopic condition decreased at 3 cpd (P=0.006) and increased at 18 cpd (P=0.012). The diurnal variation of CSF at 18 cpd under mesopic and high glare conditions and at 12 cpd under photopic condition was significant (P=0.002,0.01,0.017). Conclusions. Orthokeratology can effectively improve UCVA and high spatial frequency CSF by decreasing the low-order aberrations. However, MTF and CSF at low spatial frequency decreased because of the increase of intraocular scattering and high-order aberrations. Meanwhile, CSF at high spatial frequency fluctuates significantly at two times during the same day after 1 month orthokeratology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of Pd electrocatalysts for formic acid electrooxidation was improved by application of metal oxide-multiwall carbon nanotubes composites as a catalyst support. Hybrid oxides/MWCNTs were synthesized by two different methods: chemical reduction method and impregnation method. Pd based catalysts were synthesized by polyol method on the MWCNTs or oxide/MWCNTs composites. The In2O3 was deposited on MWCNTs by impregnation method (In2O3/MWCNTs-IM support) and in the presence of NaBH4 (In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4 support). The physical properties of the Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-IM, Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4, Pd/SnO2/MWCNTs, and Pd/MWCNTs catalysts were characterized and their electrocatalytical performance in formic acid oxidation was compared. During Pd deposition on In2O3/MWCNTs-NaBH4 support, InPd2 structure was formed as observed by XRD. The electrochemical tests indicate that the two Pd/ In2O3/MWCNTs electrocatalysts have higher electrocatalytic activity than those of Pd/SnO2/MWCNTs and Pd/MWCNTs. The best performance was observed for the catalyst obtained by In2O3 impregnation of MWCNTs denoted by Pd/In2O3/MWCNTs-IM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of complete genome sequences makes it important to develop different approaches for classification of large-scale data sets and to make extraction of biological insights easier. Here, we propose an approach for classification of complete proteomes/protein sets based on protein distributions on some basic attributes. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by determining protein distributions in terms of two attributes: protein lengths and protein intrinsic disorder contents (ID). The protein distributions based on L and ID are surveyed for representative proteome organisms and protein sets from the three domains of life. The two-dimensional maps (designated as fingerprints here) from the protein distribution densities in the LD space defined by ln(L) and ID are then constructed. The fingerprints for different organisms and protein sets are found to be distinct with each other, and they can therefore be used for comparative studies. As a test case, phylogenetic trees have been constructed based on the protein distribution densities in the fingerprints of proteomes of organisms without performing any protein sequence comparison and alignments. The phylogenetic trees generated are biologically meaningful, demonstrating that the protein distributions in the LD space may serve as unique phylogenetic signals of the organisms at the proteome level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-order functional connectivity networks are rich in time information that can reflect dynamic changes in functional connectivity between brain regions. Accordingly, such networks are widely used to classify brain diseases. However, traditional methods for processing high-order functional connectivity networks generally include the clustering method, which reduces data dimensionality. As a result, such networks cannot be effectively interpreted in the context of neurology. Additionally, due to the large scale of high-order functional connectivity networks, it can be computationally very expensive to use complex network or graph theory to calculate certain topological properties. Here, we propose a novel method of generating a high-order minimum spanning tree functional connectivity network. This method increases the neurological significance of the high-order functional connectivity network, reduces network computing consumption, and produces a network scale that is conducive to subsequent network analysis. To ensure the quality of the topological information in the network structure, we used frequent subgraph mining technology to capture the discriminative subnetworks as features and combined this with quantifiable local network features. Then we applied a multikernel learning technique to the corresponding selected features to obtain the final classification results. We evaluated our proposed method using a data set containing 38 patients with major depressive disorder and 28 healthy controls. The experimental results showed a classification accuracy of up to 97.54%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the critical illness. Multiple immune inflammatory processes take part in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Defensins are endogenous antimicrobial peptides with three disulphide bonds created by six cysteine residues. Besides the intrinsic microbicidal properties, defensins are active players which modulate both innate and adaptive immunity against various infections. Defensins can recruit neutrophils, enhance phagocytosis, chemoattract T cells and dendritic cells, promote complement activation, and induce IL-1β production and pyrotosis. Previous publications have documented that defensins play important roles in a series of immune inflammatory diseases including sepsis. This review aims to briefly summarize in vitro, in vivo, and genetic studies on defensins' effects as well as corresponding mechanisms within sepsis and highlights their promising findings which may be potential targets in future therapies of sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the equity incentive system has a certain role in promoting the development of the company, but at present, there are relatively few studies on the equity incentive methods of listed companies under the balanced scorecard theory. This paper analyzes the role of equity incentive method of D listed company in enterprise performance management through the balanced scorecard theory and constructs an enterprise financial management evaluation system with qualitative and quantitative characteristics. The evaluation system includes five target layers, two dimensions, and 27 evaluation indicators. The results show that the number of researchers, the number of graduate students, market share, management fee rate, the number of chip patent applications and other internal business processes, customers, and learning and growth are better. Before the implementation of equity incentive method, the evaluation value range of primary indicators is 6–8 points. After the implementation of equity incentive method, the evaluation value range of primary indicators is 2–6 points. This study analyzes the impact of equity incentive methods on performance management through the balanced integral method, which has high application value in subsequent enterprise financial management and risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porokeratosis is a group of hereditary or acquired disorders of epidermal keratinization, characterized by keratotic lesions with an atrophic center and a prominent peripheral ridge. At least seven clinical variants have been identified: the plaque type, disseminated superficial porokeratosis, disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis, linear porokeratosis, giant porokeratosis, porokeratosis plantaris palmaris et disseminate, and punctuate porokeratosis. Genital porokeratosis is a rare condition even in disseminated forms. We described two male patients who had porokeratosis only affecting the scrotum. The patients were treated by surgical excision under local anesthesia. One-year follow-up revealed no sign of recurrences and malignant changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is urgent to identify novel biomarkers for prostate cancer (PCa) prognosis and to understand the mechanisms regulating the tumorigenesis for PCa treatment. In this study, GSE17951 and TCGA were used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Our study demonstrated that 1533 genes with increased expression and 2301 genes with decreased expression in PCa. Bioinformatics analysis data indicated that these up-regulated genes had an association with the modulation of mitotic nuclear division, sister chromatid cohesion, cell division, and cell cycle. Additionally, our results revealed downregulated genes took part in modulating extracellular matrix organization, angiogenesis, signal transduction, and Ras signaling pathway. Hub upregulated and downregulated PPI networks were identified by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and MCODE analysis. Of note, 12 cell cycle regulators, comprising CCNB1, CCNB2, PLK1, TTK, AURKA, CDC20, BUB1, PTTG1, CDC45, CDC25C, CCNA2, and BUB1B, were demonstrated to function crucially in PCa development. By detecting their expression in PCa cell lines, we confirmed that these cell cycle regulator expressions were heightened in PCa cells. GEPIA databases analysis showed that higher expression of these cell cycle regulators was correlated to shorter disease-free survival (DFS) time in PCa samples. Our findings collectively suggested targeting cell cycle pathways may offer novel prognosis and treatment biomarkers for PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. This study investigated the chemosensitivity-enhancing effects of Erteng-Sanjie capsule (ETSJC) in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on gastric cancer and its possible underlying mechanisms. The study established a subcutaneous xenograft model of human gastric cancer. The animals were divided into five groups: the control group, the 5-FU group, the 5-FU + ETSJC low-dose group, the 5-FU + ETSJC medium-dose group, and the 5-FU + ETSJC high-dose group. The tumor volume and tumor weight were calculated. TUNEL staining was used to evaluate cell apoptosis. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the expression of Ki67+ cells and the CD31+ microvessel density in tumors. Simultaneously, western blot analysis was applied to detect the expression of caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, Notch1, and Hes1 proteins. Compared with the control group, tumor volume and weight in the 5-FU and 5-FU + ETSJC groups were inhibited. Moreover, compared with the 5-FU group, tumor volume and weight were significantly inhibited in the 5-FU + ETSJC groups. The numbers of Ki67+ cells, CD31+ microvessel density, and the expression of Bcl-2, Notch1, and Hes1 proteins were markedly decreased in the combination group when compared with the chemotherapy alone group. The numbers of TUNEL+ cells and the expression of Bax and caspase-3 proteins were significantly increased in the 5-FU + ETSJC groups when compared with the 5-FU group. The therapeutic effects were demonstrated to be dose dependent. In conclusion, the findings of the study showed that ETSJC improved the chemosensitivity of 5-FU by blocking Notch1/Hes1 signaling pathway in gastric cancer-bearing mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the potential protective effects of alpha-mangostin (α-MG) on ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced damage in HaCaT cells. The results showed that α-MG less than 10 μM had no significant cytotoxicity and exposure to UVB (50 mJ/cm2) reduced cell viability by approximately 50% compared with the control. The 2 μM α-MG upregulated cell viability and downregulated the expression of metal matrix proteases (MMPs). The results of flow cytometry, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and immunoblotting manifested that α-MG relieved the extent of apoptosis and reduced the levels of apoptosis-associated mRNAs and proteins, respectively. The results of RT-qPCR and ELISA indicated that α-MG suppressed the generation of IL-6 and TNF-α. Furthermore, α-MG effectively downregulated activation of the UVB-induced nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. Finally, lipidomics profiling demonstrated that α-MG significantly reduced UVB radiation-increased ceramide. Overall, these results demonstrated that α-MG has beneficial effects against photoaging by reducing the ceramide content and inhibiting MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain organoids have been considered as an advanced platform for in vitro disease modeling and drug screening, but numerous roadblocks exist, such as lack of large-scale production technology and lengthy protocols with multiple manipulation steps, impeding the industrial translation of brain organoid technology. Here, we describe the high-speed and large-scale production of midbrain organoids using a high-throughput screening-compatible platform within 30 days. Micro midbrain organoids (µMOs) exhibit a highly uniform morphology and gene expression pattern with minimal variability. Notably, µMOs show dramatically accelerated maturation, resulting in the generation of functional µMOs within only 30 days of differentiation. Furthermore, individual µMOs display highly consistent responsiveness to neurotoxin, suggesting their usefulness as an in vitro high-throughput drug toxicity screening platform. Collectively, our data indicate that µMO technology could represent an advanced and robust platform for in vitro disease modeling and drug screening for human neuronal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effects of different concentrations of sulfate on the strength of fly ash-based coal mine filling paste, using variable control, mechanical analysis, and other means, the changes in the uniaxial compressive strengths of filling paste blocks soaked in different concentrations of sodium sulfate solution for different durations are studied, and their stress-strain curves are discussed. The hydrated products of each block are analyzed at different stages by XRD, and the results indicate that different concentrations of sodium sulfate solution have different effects on the strength of the filling paste after soaking for different durations. A sodium sulfate solution with a concentration of 5% had an activator effect on the fly ash-based filling paste and enhanced the strength of the filling paste. A sodium sulfate solution with a concentration of 10% and 15% increased the early strength of the paste test block faster, but after 60 d, the strength decreased. The stress-strain curves for these blocks show that the elastic moduli of the filling paste test blocks change irregularly, and it was found that with the increase in soaking time, the blocks soaked in the 10% and 15% sodium sulfate solutions developed fissures in the later stage that adversely affected the strength of the filling paste. The XRD results show that the filling paste test block hydration products are hydrated calcium silicate (C-S-H) based and that ettringite (AFt), beneficial to strength of the filling paste in proper quantities, appeared in the main product of the filling paste test blocks that were soaked in the sodium sulfate solution. With the increase in the concentration of the sodium sulfate solution, the AFt is generated in larger quantities, and gypsum crystals begin to appear, which is not conducive to the filling paste block strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general methodology for ensuring the geometric accuracy of a 6-DOF polishing hybrid robot having a 3UPS and UP parallel mechanism and a 3-DOF wrist is presented. The process is implemented in three steps: formulation of the error model containing complete source errors such as offset errors of the actuated joints and structural errors of the joints and links utilizing product of exponentials formula and screw theory. Measurement of the full pose error twist with a specially designed measurement tool having three reference points was undertaken. Identification of the source errors by a stepwise identification strategy to overcome the ill-conditioned problem arising from the multicollinearity and development of a linearized error compensator was completed. An experiment has been carried out on the prototype, and the results show that, after calibration, a position volumetric error of 0.07 mm and an orientation error of 0.07 degrees can be achieved over the cubic task workspace with repeatability of 0.016 mm and 0.010 degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing machine is a general equipment for dynamic balance verification of rotating parts, whether it breaks down or does not determine the accuracy of dynamic balance verification. In order to solve the problem of insufficient fault diagnosis accuracy of balancing machine, a fault diagnosis method of balancing machine based on the Improved Sparrow Search Algorithm (ISSA) optimized Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) was proposed. Firstly, iterative chaos mapping and Fuch chaos mapping were introduced to initialize the population and increase the population diversity. Secondly, the adaptive dynamic factor and Levy flight strategy were also introduced to update the individual positions and improve the model convergence speed. Finally, the fault feature vector was input to the ISSA-ELM model with the fault type as the output. The experiment showed that the fault diagnosis accuracy of ISSA-ELM is as high as 99.17%, which is 1.67%, 2.50%, 7.50%, and 17.50% higher than that of SSA-ELM, HHO-ELM, PSO-ELM, and ELM, respectively, further improving the prediction accuracy of the operation state of the balancing machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most frequent internal modification in eukaryotic mRNA is N6-methyladenosine (m6A). However, what we know about the m6A regulators in Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is still limited. In our study, eight distinct m6A regulators were selected utilizing Differentially Expressed Gene (DEG) analysis of the Gene Expression Omnibus GSE73754 dataset for making comparisons between AS (Ankylosing spondylitis) and non-AS patients. The random forest model and the nomogram model were used to screen the eight candidate m6A regulators and evaluate their prediction accuracy for the occurrence of AS. Furthermore, based on the selected m6A regulators, the AS patients were divided into two subgroups, and we applied principal component analysis algorithms to calculate their m6A score and evaluate the m6A patterns. Our findings revealed that patients in cluster A were linked to activated CD4 T cell immunity and activated CD8 T cell immunity. With its major contributions in the area of immunology, our research in m6A patterns may benefit the future diagnosis and treatment strategies of AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Radiotherapy is one of the major strategies for treating tumors, and it inevitably causes damage to relevant tissues and organs during treatment. Radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) refers to radiation-induced cardiovascular adverse effects caused by thoracic radiotherapy. Currently, there is no uniform standard in the treatment of RIHD. Methods. In our group study, by administering a dose of 4 Gy radiation, we established a radiation injured cardiomyocyte model and explored the regulatory relationship between tanshinone IIA and p38 MAPK in cardiomyocyte injury. We assessed cell damage and proliferation using clonogenic assay and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. The measures of antioxidant activity and oxidative stress were conducted using superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The apoptosis rate and the relative expression of apoptotic proteins were conducted using flow cytometry and western blot. To assess p38 and p53 expressions and phosphorylation levels, western blot was performed. Results. Experimental results suggested that tanshinone IIA restored cell proliferation in radiation-induced cardiomyocyte injury (∗ ∗ P < 0.01), and the level of LDH release decreased (∗ P < 0.05). Meanwhile, tanshinone IIA could decrease the ROS generation induced by radiation (∗ ∗ P < 0.01) and upregulate the SOD level (∗ ∗ P < 0.01). Again, tanshinone IIA reduced radiation-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis (∗ ∗ P < 0.01). Finally, tanshinone IIA downregulated radiation-induced p38/p53 overexpression (∗ ∗ ∗ P < 0.001). Conclusions. The treatment effects of tanshinone IIA against radiation-induced myocardial injury may be through the regulation of the p38/p53 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of materials research, scanning microwave microscopy imaging has already become a vital research tool due to its high sensitivity and nondestructive testing of samples. In this article, we review the main theoretical and fundamental components of microwave imaging, in addition to the wide range of applications of microwave imaging. Rather than the indirect determination of material properties by measuring dielectric constants and conductivity, microwave microscopy now permits the direct investigation of semiconductor devices, electromagnetic fields, and ferroelectric domains. This paper reviews recent advances in scanning microwave microscopy in the areas of resolution and operating frequency and presents a discussion of possible future industrial and academic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a closed-loop location-inventory-routing problem model considering both quality defect returns and nondefect returns in e-commerce supply chain system. The objective is to minimize the total cost produced in both forward and reverse logistics networks. We propose a combined optimization algorithm named hybrid ant colony optimization algorithm (HACO) to address this model that is an NP-hard problem. Our experimental results show that the proposed HACO is considerably efficient and effective in solving this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, increased studies have shown the important regulatory role of circular RNA (circRNA) in cancer progression and development, including glioblastoma (GBM). However, the function of circRNAs in glioblastoma is still largely unclear. Here, we state that circFGFR1 is elevated in glioma cells, resulting in aggravated glioma aggravated malignancy. The upregulation of circFGFR1 also promotes glioma growth in mouse xenograft models. Furthermore, CXCR4 level in glioma cells is positively correlated with circFGFR1 level, and higher CXCR4 expression is found in circFGFR1 overexpression groups. The effect of circFGFR1 on glioma malignancy is abolished in CXCR4 knockout cells. Then, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assay results showed that hsa-miR-224-5p directly binds to circFGFR1 and CXCR4 mRNA. The CXCR4 3 ′ -untranslated region (UTR) activated luciferase activity was reduced with hsa-miR-224-5p transfection, while it is reversed when cotransfected with circFGFR1, indicating that circFGFR1 acts as a hsa-miR-244-5p sponge to increase CXCR4 expression. The hsa-miR-224-5p expression is negatively corrected with the glioma malignancy through inhibiting CXCR4 level. Besides, the circFGFR1-induced regulation in glioma malignancy is also abrogated in hsa-miR-224-5p knockout cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that circFGFR1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenic behaviors in glioma cells by upregulating CXCR4 expression via sponging to hsa-miR-224-5p. These findings provide a new perspective on circRNAs during GBM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, increased studies have shown the important regulatory role of circular RNA (circRNA) in cancer progression and development, including glioblastoma (GBM). However, the function of circRNAs in glioblastoma is still largely unclear. Here, we state that circFGFR1 is elevated in glioma cells, resulting in aggravated glioma aggravated malignancy. The upregulation of circFGFR1 also promotes glioma growth in mouse xenograft models. Furthermore, CXCR4 level in glioma cells is positively correlated with circFGFR1 level, and higher CXCR4 expression is found in circFGFR1 overexpression groups. The effect of circFGFR1 on glioma malignancy is abolished in CXCR4 knockout cells. Then, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assay results showed that hsa-miR-224-5p directly binds to circFGFR1 and CXCR4 mRNA. The CXCR4 3 ′ -untranslated region (UTR) activated luciferase activity was reduced with hsa-miR-224-5p transfection, while it is reversed when cotransfected with circFGFR1, indicating that circFGFR1 acts as a hsa-miR-244-5p sponge to increase CXCR4 expression. The hsa-miR-224-5p expression is negatively corrected with the glioma malignancy through inhibiting CXCR4 level. Besides, the circFGFR1-induced regulation in glioma malignancy is also abrogated in hsa-miR-224-5p knockout cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that circFGFR1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenic behaviors in glioma cells by upregulating CXCR4 expression via sponging to hsa-miR-224-5p. These findings provide a new perspective on circRNAs during GBM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, increased studies have shown the important regulatory role of circular RNA (circRNA) in cancer progression and development, including glioblastoma (GBM). However, the function of circRNAs in glioblastoma is still largely unclear. Here, we state that circFGFR1 is elevated in glioma cells, resulting in aggravated glioma aggravated malignancy. The upregulation of circFGFR1 also promotes glioma growth in mouse xenograft models. Furthermore, CXCR4 level in glioma cells is positively correlated with circFGFR1 level, and higher CXCR4 expression is found in circFGFR1 overexpression groups. The effect of circFGFR1 on glioma malignancy is abolished in CXCR4 knockout cells. Then, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assay results showed that hsa-miR-224-5p directly binds to circFGFR1 and CXCR4 mRNA. The CXCR4 3 ′ -untranslated region (UTR) activated luciferase activity was reduced with hsa-miR-224-5p transfection, while it is reversed when cotransfected with circFGFR1, indicating that circFGFR1 acts as a hsa-miR-244-5p sponge to increase CXCR4 expression. The hsa-miR-224-5p expression is negatively corrected with the glioma malignancy through inhibiting CXCR4 level. Besides, the circFGFR1-induced regulation in glioma malignancy is also abrogated in hsa-miR-224-5p knockout cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that circFGFR1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenic behaviors in glioma cells by upregulating CXCR4 expression via sponging to hsa-miR-224-5p. These findings provide a new perspective on circRNAs during GBM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, increased studies have shown the important regulatory role of circular RNA (circRNA) in cancer progression and development, including glioblastoma (GBM). However, the function of circRNAs in glioblastoma is still largely unclear. Here, we state that circFGFR1 is elevated in glioma cells, resulting in aggravated glioma aggravated malignancy. The upregulation of circFGFR1 also promotes glioma growth in mouse xenograft models. Furthermore, CXCR4 level in glioma cells is positively correlated with circFGFR1 level, and higher CXCR4 expression is found in circFGFR1 overexpression groups. The effect of circFGFR1 on glioma malignancy is abolished in CXCR4 knockout cells. Then, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assay results showed that hsa-miR-224-5p directly binds to circFGFR1 and CXCR4 mRNA. The CXCR4 3 ′ -untranslated region (UTR) activated luciferase activity was reduced with hsa-miR-224-5p transfection, while it is reversed when cotransfected with circFGFR1, indicating that circFGFR1 acts as a hsa-miR-244-5p sponge to increase CXCR4 expression. The hsa-miR-224-5p expression is negatively corrected with the glioma malignancy through inhibiting CXCR4 level. Besides, the circFGFR1-induced regulation in glioma malignancy is also abrogated in hsa-miR-224-5p knockout cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that circFGFR1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenic behaviors in glioma cells by upregulating CXCR4 expression via sponging to hsa-miR-224-5p. These findings provide a new perspective on circRNAs during GBM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, increased studies have shown the important regulatory role of circular RNA (circRNA) in cancer progression and development, including glioblastoma (GBM). However, the function of circRNAs in glioblastoma is still largely unclear. Here, we state that circFGFR1 is elevated in glioma cells, resulting in aggravated glioma aggravated malignancy. The upregulation of circFGFR1 also promotes glioma growth in mouse xenograft models. Furthermore, CXCR4 level in glioma cells is positively correlated with circFGFR1 level, and higher CXCR4 expression is found in circFGFR1 overexpression groups. The effect of circFGFR1 on glioma malignancy is abolished in CXCR4 knockout cells. Then, RIP, RNA pull-down, and luciferase reporter assay results showed that hsa-miR-224-5p directly binds to circFGFR1 and CXCR4 mRNA. The CXCR4 3'-untranslated region (UTR) activated luciferase activity was reduced with hsa-miR-224-5p transfection, while it is reversed when cotransfected with circFGFR1, indicating that circFGFR1 acts as a hsa-miR-244-5p sponge to increase CXCR4 expression. The hsa-miR-224-5p expression is negatively corrected with the glioma malignancy through inhibiting CXCR4 level. Besides, the circFGFR1-induced regulation in glioma malignancy is also abrogated in hsa-miR-224-5p knockout cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that circFGFR1 plays a critical role in the tumorigenic behaviors in glioma cells by upregulating CXCR4 expression via sponging to hsa-miR-224-5p. These findings provide a new perspective on circRNAs during GBM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early orthodontic correction of skeletal malocclusion takes advantage of mechanical force to stimulate unclosed suture remodeling and to promote bone reconstruction; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Gli1+ cells in maxillofacial sutures have been shown to participate in maxillofacial bone development and damage repair. Nevertheless, it remains to be investigated whether these cells participate in mechanical force-induced bone remodeling during orthodontic treatment of skeletal malocclusion. In this study, rapid maxillary expansion (RME) mouse models and mechanical stretch loading cell models were established using two types of transgenic mice which are able to label Gli1+ cells, and we found that Gli1+ cells participated in mechanical force-induced osteogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Besides, we found mechanical force-induced osteogenesis through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), and we observed for the first time that inhibition of Gli1 suppressed an increase in mechanical force-induced IP3R overexpression, suggesting that Gli1+ cells participate in mechanical force-induced osteogenesis through IP3R. Taken together, this study is the first to demonstrate that Gli1+ cells in maxillofacial sutures are involved in mechanical force-induced bone formation through IP3R during orthodontic treatment of skeletal malocclusion. Furthermore, our results provide novel insights regarding the mechanism of orthodontic treatments of skeletal malocclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early orthodontic correction of skeletal malocclusion takes advantage of mechanical force to stimulate unclosed suture remodeling and to promote bone reconstruction; however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Gli1+ cells in maxillofacial sutures have been shown to participate in maxillofacial bone development and damage repair. Nevertheless, it remains to be investigated whether these cells participate in mechanical force-induced bone remodeling during orthodontic treatment of skeletal malocclusion. In this study, rapid maxillary expansion (RME) mouse models and mechanical stretch loading cell models were established using two types of transgenic mice which are able to label Gli1+ cells, and we found that Gli1+ cells participated in mechanical force-induced osteogenesis both in vivo and in vitro. Besides, we found mechanical force-induced osteogenesis through inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), and we observed for the first time that inhibition of Gli1 suppressed an increase in mechanical force-induced IP3R overexpression, suggesting that Gli1+ cells participate in mechanical force-induced osteogenesis through IP3R. Taken together, this study is the first to demonstrate that Gli1+ cells in maxillofacial sutures are involved in mechanical force-induced bone formation through IP3R during orthodontic treatment of skeletal malocclusion. Furthermore, our results provide novel insights regarding the mechanism of orthodontic treatments of skeletal malocclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic cognitive impairment is one of the common complications of type 2 diabetes, which can cause neurological and microvascular damage in the brain. Bushen Huoxue prescription (BSHX), a compound Chinese medicine, has been used clinically to treat diabetes-induced cognitive impairment. However, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, KK-Ay diabetic model mouse was administered BSHX daily for 12 weeks. Bodyweight, random blood glucose (RBG), and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were measured every 4 weeks. Triglycerides (TG), cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting serum insulin (FINS), and Morris water maze were tested after 12 weeks of administration. On the day of sacrifice, the hippocampus was collected for pathological staining and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) analysis to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of BSHX. Our results showed that BSHX treatment significantly ameliorated the T2DM related insults, including the increased bodyweight, blood glucose, TG, insulin levels, AGEs, the reduced HDL-C, the impaired spatial memory, and the neurological impairment. Moreover, Western blot analysis showed that increased expression of receptors of AGEs (RAGEs), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in the hippocampus were significantly inhibited by BSHX treatment. These results indicate that BSHX can significantly ameliorate glucose and lipid metabolism dysfunction, reduce the morphological changes in hippocampus tissues, and improve the cognitive function of KK-Ay mice. These protective effects of BSHX may involve regulation of the AGEs/RAGE/NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the High-G MEMS accelerometer (HGMA) has been used in navigation, mechanical property detection, consumer electronics, and other fields widely. As the core component of a measuring system, it is very crucial to enhance the calibration accuracy of the accelerometer. In order to remove the noises in the accelerometer output signals to enhance its calibration accuracy, a combined denoising method which combines variational mode decomposition (VMD) with permutation entropy (PE) and wavelet threshold is given in this article. For the sake of overcoming the defect of signal distortion caused by the traditional denoising methods, this joint denoising method combines the good decomposition characteristics of VMD and the good denoising ability of wavelet threshold and introduces PE as a judgment criterion to achieve a good balance between denoising effect and signal fidelity. The combination of PE and VMD not only avoids the phenomenon of mode aliasing but also improves the ability to identify the noise components, which makes the wavelet threshold denoising more specific. Firstly, some intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) are obtained by using VMD to decompose the complex signal containing noise which is outputted from the accelerometer. Secondly, the IMF components can be divided into noise IMF components, mixed IMF components, and useful IMF components by PE algorithm. Thirdly, the noise IMF components can be discarded directly, and then the mixed IMF components can be denoised by wavelet threshold to obtain the noiseless IMF components; in addition, the useful IMF components need to be retained. Finally, the final denoising signal can be obtained by reconstructing the IMF components which have been denoised by the wavelet threshold and the useful IMF components retained before denoising. The experimental results prove that the combined denoising algorithm combines the merits of VMD, PE, and wavelet threshold, and this new algorithm has a good performance in the calibration denoising of accelerometer. Compared with the serious signal distortion caused by using only EMD or wavelet threshold, this method not only has a good denoising effect (the noises in the static part are eliminated by 99.97% and the SNR of the dynamic part is raised to 18.56) but also can maintain a good signal fidelity (the error of shock peak amplitude is 3.4%, the error of vibration peak amplitude is 0.4%, and the correlation coefficient between the denoising signals and dynamic part is as high as 0.982). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a bike repositioning problem with stochastic demand is studied. The problem is formulated as a two-stage stochastic programming model to optimize the routing and loading/unloading decisions of the repositioning truck at each station and depot under stochastic demands. The goal of the model is to minimize the expected total sum of the transportation costs, the expected penalty costs at all stations, and the holding cost of the depot. A simulated annealing algorithm is developed to solve the model. Numerical experiments are conducted on a set of instances from 20 to 90 stations to demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution algorithm and the accuracy of the proposed two-stage stochastic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical p-type semiconductor MnOx codoped with n-type semiconductors such as CeO2 and V2O5 was reported to achieve high efficiency in catalytic NOx removal by NH3. In this paper, we present novel Mn-Ce codoped V2O5/TiO2 catalyst which exhibited an excellent NO conversion efficiency of 90% at 140°C. By using this codoped catalyst, the best low-temperature activity was greatly decreased when compared with single Mn- or Ce-doped catalyst. According to the characterization results from BET, XRD, and XPS, the codoped catalyst was composed of both CeO2 and amorphous Mn. The electron circulation formed between doping elements is believed to promote the electron transfer, which may be one of the reasons for excellent low-temperature denitration performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article titled, "Gli1+ Cells Residing in Bone Sutures Respond to Mechanical Force via IP3R to Mediate Osteogenesis" [[1]], there is an error in Figure 3(d) which was introduced during production process. Graph: Figure 3 REFERENCES 1 Huang X., Li Z., Liu P., Wu M., Liu A.-q., Hu C., Liu X., Guo H., Yang X., Guo X., Li B., He X., Xuan K., Jin Y. Gli1+ cells residing in bone sutures respond to mechanical force via IP3R to mediate osteogenesis. [Extracted from the article]

Shuangshen Ningxin capsule (SSNX), a modern Chinese formula, has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in Eastern Asia. Our study focuses on the autophagy regulation of SSNX against coronary artery injuries. Myocardial infarction model was established in Chinese miniswines (CMS) by coronary artery balloon injury. SSNX was administered to the CMS for 8 weeks with 4 mg/kg or 16 mg/kg. Myocardial cells were incubated with 20% SSNX medicated serum for 2 hours. Assays were performed to detect the effects of SSNX on (i) coronary artery diameter by angiography, (ii) hemodynamics by noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring system, (iii) plaque burden and plaque volume by intravenous ultrasound (iv) coronary artery histology by H&E staining, (v) autophagosome by transmission electron microscopy, (vi) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, and (vii) Beclin-1 and LC3-I/II expressions by Western blot. The results showed that CMS treated with SSNX exhibited the correction for the disturbed cardiac hemodynamics, increase of coronary artery diameter, reduction of high plaque burden and plaque volume, and decrease of LDH. The inhibitory effect of SSNX on CMS autophagy was demonstrated by the reduction of autophagosome and the downregulation of beclin-1 and LC3-I/II. SSNX may protect coronary artery and increase the stability of plaque through the suppression of myocardial cellular autophagy, which suggests the potentially therapeutic effect of SSNX on ischemic cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Studies on the effect of intensive insulin therapy (IIT) in septic patients with hyperglycemia have given inconsistent results. The primary purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate whether it is effective in reducing mortality. Methods. We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, clinicaltrials.gov, and relevant reference lists up to September 2013 and including randomized controlled trials that compared IIT with conventional glucose management in septic patients. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. And our primary outcome measure was pooled in the random effects model. Results. We identified twelve randomized controlled trials involving 4100 patients. Meta-analysis showed that IIT did not reduce any of the outcomes: overall mortality (risk ratio [RR] = 0.98, 95% CI [0.85, 1.15], P = 0.84), 28-day mortality (RR = 0.66, 95% CI [0.40, 1.10], P = 0.11), 90-day mortality (RR = 1.10, 95% CI [0.97, 1.26], P = 0.13), ICU mortality (RR = 0.94, 95% CI [0.77, 1.14], P = 0.52), hospital mortality (RR = 0.98, 95% CI [0.86, 1.11], P = 0.71), severity of illness, and length of ICU stay. Conversely, the incidence of hypoglycemia was markedly higher in the IIT (RR = 2.93, 95% CI [1.69, 5.06], P = 0.0001). Conclusions. For patients with sepsis, IIT and conservative glucose management show similar efficacy, but ITT is associated with a higher incidence of hypoglycemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]