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Vitamin C (VC), also known as ascorbic acid, plays a crucial role as a water-soluble nutrient within the human body, contributing to a variety of metabolic processes. Research findings suggest that increased doses of VC demonstrate potential anti-tumor capabilities. This review delves into the mechanisms of VC absorption and its implications for cancer management. Building upon these foundational insights, we explore modern delivery systems for VC, evaluating its use in diverse cancer treatment methods. These include starvation therapy, chemodynamic therapy (CDT), photothermal/photodynamic therapy (PTT/PDT), electrothermal therapy, immunotherapy, cellular reprogramming, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and various combination therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing size and complexity of power systems, it is crucial to have an effective protection system in place to ensure its reliability. One of the important components of the protection system are relays. It is important for a relay to operate dependably and securely so that any fault can be cleared in time to minimize damages to the power network. However, it is important to test a relay in a realistic environment before commissioning it to the network. Testing a relay in the actual network can be expensive with limited fault scenarios. Hence, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing is an efficient method to perform closed-loop testing of a relay since numerous fault cases can be simulated to provide a realistic operating environment for the relay under test. This paper sheds light on the HIL testing done for protective relays using a sample distribution system using RTDS. Two SEL-351 relays have been used in this experiment, and proper settings for the relays are calculated for coordination. The paper also describes the procedure of configuring the relay and other RTDS components crucial for interfacing of the relay with RTDS. After test setup, a pre-fault, fault, and post-fault analysis was done for the system. The results obtained from these analyses are cross-checked with the event history of the two SEL-351 relays, obtained with AcSELerator Quickset software. This paper provides thorough information for researchers to replicate the presented study or to develop new HIL experiments. It can also help in developing a fundamental understanding of the HIL testing setup that can be further applied to a more complex power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation through voltage reduction (CVR) aims to reduce the peak load and energy savings in electric power systems and is being deployed at various utilities. The effectiveness of the CVR program depends on the load characteristics, i.e., the sensitivity of the load to voltage variation, and voltage regulation device settings. In the current literature, there is a lack of discussion on the CVR factor calculation using different measurements, and there is a lack of method for active power loss estimation using substation measurements. This paper provides insights into CVR factor calculation based on the measurements captured at the substation and those at the load location. This paper also proposes a new method based on curve fitting and artificial neural network to estimate the active power loss using input active power, input reactive power and input voltage at the substation. The CVR comparison study conducted in this paper helps in understanding the factors affecting CVR factor and may provide guidance in CVR implementation and impact assessment. The proposed loss estimation method sheds light on the impacts of CVR in terms of load and loss reduction. The results based on simulation studies using the IEEE 13-bus and 34-bus systems are reported in this paper, noting that the proposed methods are applicable to larger systems, as long as the required measurements at the substation are available. Future research includes testing and refining the methods using large IEEE and utility distribution systems and considering the stochastic nature of the CVR factor with changing load and voltage regulator control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a significant global public health issue with increasing morbidity and mortality rates. To address this challenge, novel drug carriers such as nano-materials, liposomes, hydrogels, fibers, and microspheres have been extensively researched and utilized in oncology. Among them, polymer microspheres are gaining popularity due to their ease of preparation, excellent performance, biocompatibility, and drug-release capabilities. This paper categorizes commonly used materials for polymer microsphere preparation, summarizes various preparation methods (emulsification, phase separation, spray drying, electrospray, microfluidics, and membrane emulsification), and reviews the applications of polymer microspheres in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and postoperative care. The current status and future development directions of polymer microspheres in cancer treatment are analyzed, highlighting their importance and potential for improving patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to avoid erroneous braking responses when vehicle drivers are faced with a stressful setting, a K-order propagation number algorithm–Feature selection–Classification System (KFCS) is developed in this paper to detect emergency braking intentions in simulated driving scenarios using electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Two approaches are employed in KFCS to extract EEG features and to improve classification performance: the K-Order Propagation Number Algorithm is the former, calculating the node importance from the perspective of brain networks as a novel approach; the latter uses a set of feature extraction algorithms to adjust the thresholds. Working with the data collected from seven subjects, the highest classification accuracy of a single trial can reach over 90%, with an overall accuracy of 83%. Furthermore, this paper attempts to investigate the mechanisms of brain activeness under two scenarios by using a topography technique at the sensor-data level. The results suggest that the active regions at two states is different, which leaves further exploration for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: 'Chujv', 'Fubai jv', 'Hangbai jv', 'Jinsi huangjv', and 'Nannong jinjv' are the five most popular tea chrysanthemum cultivars in China. Sustained monoculture often leads to plant growth inhibition and quality deterioration, causing significant economic losses to farmers. Endophytic microbes play pivotal roles in plant growth, development, and diversification. However, the effects of endophytes in various tea chrysanthemum cultivars under field conditions remain unknown. In the present study, the community composition and diversity of endophytic bacteria and fungi in five commercially popular tea chrysanthemums were characterized using high-throughput sequencing and culture-dependent methods. The endophytic microbiomes significantly differed across tea chrysanthemum cultivars and organs (stems and leaves). Importantly, it was indicated by the field study that 4 of 42 isolated endophytes could significantly promote tea chrysanthemum yield. These findings offer novel insights into the endophytic microbiomes of tea chrysanthemums and their potential applications in sustainable cultivation. The endophytic microbiomes significantly differed across tea chrysanthemum cultivars and organs (stems and leaves). The most abundant endophytic bacterial genera were Pseudomonas, Masillia, and Enterobacter in the leaves and Sphingomonas and Curtobacterium in the stems of the five cultivars. Meanwhile, the most abundant endophytic fungal genera in the leaves and stems of the five tea chrysanthemums were Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Sporobolomyces. Specifically, Rhodotorula was dominant in the leaves of 'Jinsi huangjv' and Paraphoma was dominant in the stems of 'Jinsi huangjv'. In all cultivars, the diversity and richness of endophytic bacteria were higher in leaves than in stems (p < 0.05). The highest diversity and richness of endophytic bacteria were recorded in 'Chujv', followed by 'Jinsi huangjv', 'Fubai jv', 'Nannong jinjv', and 'Hangbai jv'. Meanwhile, endophytic fungi were less pronounced. Twenty-seven and 15 cultivable endophytic bacteria and fungi were isolated, four isolated endophytic bacteria, namely, CJY1 (Bacillus oryzaecorticis), CY2 (Pseudomonas psychrotolerans), JSJ7, and JSJ17 (Enterobacter cloacae) showed higher indole acetic acid production ability. Further field studies indicated that inoculation of these four endophytic bacteria not only promoted plant growth and yield but also increased total flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, luteolin, and 3,5-dicoffeylquinic acid levels in the dry flowers of tea chrysanthemums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garden chrysanthemums are a group of chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium) that are mostly used in garden landscape collocations. Because most garden chrysanthemum varieties have low plants and poor space effects, they have certain limitations in garden landscape applications. In this study, we selected seven garden chrysanthemum varieties with excellent characteristics for artificial hybridization and intercross parentage to obtain new varieties with good traits we need. The phenotypic characteristics of the F1 offspring in terms of plant height, crown width, crown height ratio, number of main branches, branching intensity, plant form, inflorescence diameter, number of flowers per plant, number of ray florets, flower color, and days from planting period to coloring period were analyzed and systematically evaluated. Subsequently, a comprehensive evaluation system was established using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and k-means clustering method. We built a comprehensive analysis model, calculated the weighting of each evaluation factor, and multiplied the weight value by the score of the evaluation index standard of each factor to obtain the comprehensive score of each plant. All F1 plants were divided into four grades: excellent grade accounting for 13%, good grade accounting for 28%, medium grade accounting for 36%, and poor grade accounting for 23%. Then, we analyzed the differences of some quantitative traits between Group E (hybrids in excellent grade) and Group O (hybrids in good, medium, and poor grades). There were significant differences in plant height, crown height ratio, and the number of main branches but no significant difference in crown width. Combining with comprehensive score showed that Group E performed well overall. Finally, we selected five hybrid offspring with the highest overall scores in Group E as excellent variety materials of garden chrysanthemum for hedgerow. They were CH22, YQ73, HY08, CQ80, and HY07, respectively. We also found that plant height, lodging resistance, crown height ratio, plant form, crown width, and the number of main branches could be the main indicators in the AHP, which can be effectively applied to the comprehensive evaluation and breeding of garden chrysanthemums for hedgerows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is an excellent cytogenetic marker owing to its tandem arrangement and high copy numbers. However, comparative studies have focused more on the number of rDNA site variations within the Chrysanthemum genus, and studies on the types of rDNA sites with the same experimental procedures at the species levels are lacking. To further explore the number and types of rDNA site variations, we combined related data to draw ideograms of the rDNA sites of Chrysanthemum accessions using oligonucleotide fluorescence in situ hybridization (Oligo-FISH). Latent variations (such as polymorphisms of 45S rDNA sites and co-localized 5S-45S rDNA) also occurred among the investigated accessions. Meanwhile, a significant correlation was observed between the number of 5S rDNA sites and chromosome number. Additionally, the clumped and concentrated geographical distribution of different ploidy Chrysanthemum accessions may significantly promote the karyotype evolution. Based on the results above, we identified the formation mechanism of rDNA variations. Furthermore, these findings may provide a reliable method to examine the sites and number of rDNA variations among Chrysanthemum and its related accessions and allow researchers to further understand the evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships of the Chrysanthemum genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in a diversity of biological processes. It is known that differential expression of thousands of lncRNAs occurs in host during influenza A virus (IAV) infection. However, only few of them have been well characterized. Here, we identified a lncRNA, named as interferon (IFN)-stimulated lncRNA (ISR), which can be significantly upregulated in response to IAV infection in a mouse model. A sequence alignment revealed that lncRNA ISR is present in mice and human beings, and indeed, we found that it was expressed in several human and mouse cell lines and tissues. Silencing lncRNA ISR in A549 cells resulted in a significant increase in IAV replication, whereas ectopic expression of lncRNA ISR reduced the viral replication. Interestingly, interferon-β (IFN-β) treatment was able to induce lncRNA ISR expression, and induction of lncRNA ISR by viral infection was nearly abolished in host deficient of IFNAR1, a type I IFN receptor. Furthermore, the level of IAV-induced lncRNA ISR expression was decreased either in retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) knockout A549 cells and mice or by nuclear factor κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) inhibitor treatment. Together, these data elucidate that lncRNA ISR is regulated by RIG-I-dependent signaling that governs IFN-β production during IAV infection, and has an inhibitory capacity in viral replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyoxometalates (POMs) has proved its advantage in constructing high-performance nanocomposite membranes such as catalytic membranes, adsorptive membranes, and forward osmosis membranes. However, it is challenging or tedious to characterize its distribution and effect on the membrane structures due to the equipment resolution limitation, discrete nano-scaled structures of POMs, and limited doping amount compared to the polymeric membrane matrix. In this paper, POMs-functionalized polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were fabricated by phase inversion combined with the sol-gel method, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was utilized to analyze the nanocomposite membrane intrinsic properties. Through adjusting the additives in the sol-forming process, a set of membranes with varied intrinsic properties were developed accordingly. The wetting degree of the membranes related to the hydrophilic nature of the membrane surfaces had a crucial influence on the impedance measurements at the early stage. Through EIS analysis, it was demonstrated that the amination of the membrane matrix through (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS) treatment and the immobilization of POMs through electrostatic attraction would not generate new pore structures into the membrane and only alter the membrane surface roughness and composition. To my knowledge, it is the first time that EIS was utilized to characterize the hydrophilicity of the membranes and pore structures of the POMs-modified membranes. Our findings indicate that EIS can provide valuable information for probing the structures of other nano-materials-incorporated membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitination is one of several post-transcriptional modifications of histone 2B (H2B) which affect the chromatin structure and, hence, influence gene transcription. This study focuses on Alternaria alternata, a fungal pathogen responsible for leaf spot in many plant species. The experiments show that the product of AaBRE1, a gene which encodes H2B monoubiquitination E3 ligase, regulates hyphal growth, conidial formation and pathogenicity. Knockout of AaBRE1 by the homologous recombination strategy leads to the loss of H2B monoubiquitination (H2Bub1), as well as a remarkable decrease in the enrichment of trimethylated lysine 4 on histone 3 (H3K4me3). RNA sequencing assays elucidated that the transcription of genes encoding certain C2H2 zinc-finger family transcription factors, cell wall-degrading enzymes and chitin-binding proteins was suppressed in the AaBRE1 knockout cells. GO enrichment analysis showed that these proteins encoded by the set of genes differentially transcribed between the deletion mutant and wild type were enriched in the functional categories "macramolecular complex", "cellular metabolic process", etc. A major conclusion was that the AaBRE1 product, through its effect on histone 2B monoubiquitination and histone 3 lysine 4 trimethylation, makes an important contribution to the fungus's hyphal growth, conidial formation and pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partial discharge (PD) localization in substations based on the ultra-high frequency (UHF) method can be used to efficiently assess insulation conditions. Localization accuracy is affected by the accuracy of the time delay (TD) estimation, which is critical for PD localization in substations. A review of existing TD estimation methods indicates that there is a need to develop methods that are both accurate and computationally efficient. In this paper, a novel TD estimation method is proposed to improve both accuracy and efficiency. The TD is calculated using an improved cross-correlation algorithm based on full-wavefronts of array UHF signals, which are extracted using the minimum cumulative energy method and zero-crossing points searching methods. The cross-correlation algorithm effectively suppresses the TD error caused by differences between full-wavefronts. To verify the method, a simulated PD source test in a laboratory and a field test in a 220 kV substation were carried out. The results show that the proposed method is accurate even in case of low signal-to-noise ratio, but with greatly improved computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]