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This paper introduces FEMemAE-Jigsaw, a hybrid detection framework that leverages a fusion of reconstruction and jigsaw puzzle detection for video anomaly detection. Initially, we developed a new reconstruction model, FEMemAE, which utilizes an expanded memory module to more effectively retain the original input data’s information. By incorporating a Large Kernel selection module, the model can attend to more feature information. Furthermore, through the integration of a Fast Channel Attention mechanism, the model can more efficiently filter out useful features, thereby producing images with greater discriminability. Under the reconstruction condition, this study employs a further detection method using jigsaw puzzles, which, by training on the spatial information of video frames, can determine whether the input video frames are anomalous. Since the quality of the reconstructed data fundamentally influences the jigsaw puzzle detection, clearer and more discriminative data will be more beneficial for the model to detect normal and abnormal events. Experimental results demonstrate that this method outperforms existing methods on various standard datasets in terms of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valsartan (VST) is an angiotensin II receptor antagonist with low oral bioavailability. The present study developed a solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (S-SNEDDS) to enhance the oral absorption and bioavailability of VST. VST-loaded liquid SNEDDS (VST@L-SNEDDS) was prepared by investigating the solubility of VST and constructing the pseudo-ternary phase diagrams. The formulation of VST@S-SNEDDS was obtained by adsorbing VST@L-SNEDDS onto a solid carrier. In vitro studies including drug dissolution, stability, cytotoxicity, and Caco-2 uptake of VST@S-SNEDDS were assessed. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study of VST@S-SNEDDS was employed to evaluate the oral bioavailability of VST. VST@L-SNEDDS, with an average particle size of 19.90 nm and zeta potential of -20.57 mV, consisted of 12.37% VST (drug loading), 21.91% ethyl oleate, 45.50% RH 40, and 20.22% Transcutol HP. VST@S-SNEDDS was prepared using Neusilin® UFL2 as a solid adsorbent, which contained VST@L-SNEDDS at 2.28 ± 0.15 g/g. The in vitro release study demonstrated that VST@S-SNEDDS exhibited rapid release characteristic without affecting by the pH of the media, and dissolution rates exceeded 90% within 60 min in different media. The long-term stability of VST@S-SNEDDS was better than that of VST@L-SNEDDS. These two formulations increased the Caco-2 uptake significantly. The area under the drug concentration–time curve (AUC0-24h) and peak drug concentration in plasma (Cmax) of VST@S-SNEDDS increased by 2.28-fold and 4.86-fold compared to raw VST, respectively. The proposed VST@S-SNEDDS represents a novel approach to enhance the oral absorption and bioavailability of VST, providing a promising avenue for hypertension treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the special way an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) acquires aerial photography, UAV images have the characteristics of large coverage area, complex background, and a large proportion of small targets, which exacerbate the difficulty of object detection. Additionally, UAV-based aerial image detection needs to meet lightweight and real-time capabilities. To address these issues, this paper proposes a lightweight model YOLOv7-P that is based on YOLOv7 but has a stronger detection capability for small targets. First, partial convolution (PConv) is used to reduce redundant parameters and computation in YOLOv7. Second, an optimal combination of detection heads is determined that can significantly improve the detection performance of small objects. Third, a novel lightweight convolution called PConv-wide is proposed to replace RepConv in the network, thus simplifying the network without affecting detection accuracy. Finally, the normalized wasserstein distance loss is reasonably combined with the complete intersection over union loss to further improve the sensitivity of the network to small targets. The proposed YOLOv7-P model strikes a delicate balance between precision and parameter count. Compared with the baseline YOLOv7 network, it reduces parameter count by 47.1% without increasing computational complexity and boosts AP50 by 8% and mAP by 5.4% on the VisDrone dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-dimensional negative thermal expansion material has important applications in thermal expansion control and fiber toughened composite. Orthorhombic Al1.6Sc0.4Mo3O12 nanofibers have been prepared by electrospinning. The phase composition, microstructure, morphology, and thermal expansion performance of the samples prepared at various temperatures were investigated. Results show that as-prepared Al1.6Sc0.4Mo3O12 nanofibers are smooth and homogeneous with a fiber diameter of about 370.00 nm, but they show an amorphous structure. Orthorhombic Al1.6Sc0.4Mo3O12 nanofibers can be obtained at 550 ℃ with a diameter of around 140.00 nm. With the increase of post-annealing temperatures, the crystallization of the samples was improved. However, higher post-annealing temperatures will destroy the nanofiber structure of the samples. HTXRD reveals that orthorhombic Al1.6Sc0.4Mo3O12 nanofibers show anisotropic NTE in 25–700 °C. The expansion coefficients αa, αb, and αc of Al1.6Sc0.4Mo3O12 nanofibers are −5.05 × 10–6 °C−1, 4.41 × 10–6 °C−1, and −3.18 × 10–6 °C−1, respectively. The αv is −3.83 × 10–6 °C−1, and the corresponding αl is −1.28 × 10–6 °C−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strip crown directly affects the quality of strip steel. To enhance online crown control and product quality, an accurate and efficient strip crown prediction model is crucial. The accuracy of the prediction model is determined by the algorithm and dataset used in the modeling process. The accuracy can be enhanced by increasing algorithm complexity but it does not meet the requirements of online applications. Besides, the datasets collected for strip crown prediction are usually imbalanced, which impacts the modeling accuracy. In this paper, an enhanced strip crown prediction model based on KCGAN-ELM is established. A new hybrid algorithm KCGAN is proposed to deal with the imbalanced datasets. ELM is used to establish the strip crown prediction model. To meet the requirements of online applications, incremental learning is introduced, enabling the prediction model to update in real-time based on new production data. On this basis, an update strategy is devised to ensure the prediction model can maintain qualified prediction ability during the updating process. The experiment results indicate that the model trained with the dataset processed by KCGAN demonstrates a significantly enhanced prediction accuracy, achieving an RMSE of 2.86 μm and an R2 value of 0.97. The proposed update strategy enhances the stability of prediction capability during the model updating process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The copper metabolism MURR1 domain 10 (COMMD10) plays a role in a variety of tumors. Here, we investigated its role in gastric cancer (GC). Methods: Online prediction tools, quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the expression of COMMD10 in GC. The effect of COMMD10 knockdown was investigated in the GC cell lines and in in vivo xenograft tumor experiments. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to explore the relationships between COMMD10 and DNA damage. Results: The expression of COMMD10 was upregulated in GC compared to that in para-cancerous tissue and correlated with a higher clinical TNM stage (P = 0.044) and tumor size (P = 0.0366). High COMMD10 expression predicted poor prognosis in GC. Knockdown of COMMD10 resulted in the suppression of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, accompanied by cell cycle arrest and an elevation in apoptosis rate. Moreover, the protein expression of COMMD10 was decreased in cisplatin-induced DNA-damaged GC cells. Suppression of COMMD10 impeded DNA damage repair, intensified DNA damage, and activated ATM–p53 signaling pathway in GC. Conversely, restoration of COMMD10 levels suppressed DNA damage and activation of the ATM-p53 signaling cascade. Additionally, knockdown of COMMD10 significantly restrained the growth of GC xenograft tumors while inhibiting DNA repair, augmenting DNA damage, and activating the ATM–p53 signaling pathway in xenograft tumor tissue. Conclusion: COMMD10 is involved in DNA damage repair and maintains genomic stability in GC; knockdown of COMMD10 impedes the development of GC by exacerbating DNA damage, suggesting that COMMD10 may be new target for GC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coinciding with the rising development of emerging markets, sustainable consumption practices in these markets are increasingly under scrutiny. In this context, we compare empirical results from consumers in four countries (three emerging markets and one developed market) in an experimental study to uncover patterns of preferences for sustainable luxury products (i.e., products that combine sustainability and luxury characteristics). Our findings illustrate that consumers' quality, emotional, price, and social value perceptions, as well as purchase and electronic word-of-mouth intentions, are consistently higher in all three emerging markets compared to the developed market. We find that sustainability (vs. conventional) product features increase consumers' product value perceptions and behavioral intentions, although this effect is partially stronger for the developed compared to the emerging market(s). We further show a positive sustainability effect for luxury products, this effect is stronger for mass-market products. Combining sustainability and luxury signals leads to similar effects in emerging and developed markets. Thus, emerging markets have promise in terms of scope for incorporating sustainability characteristics into luxury products. Sustainable luxury consumption can therefore be understood as a manifestation of global consumer culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the hot rolling process, the work rolls suffer severe wear, resulting in a relatively short lifespan. Severe roll wear can adversely affect the strip shape while introducing roll wear into the crown calculation model can enhance the model accuracy. Therefore, it is crucial to quantify roll wear during the rolling process. Roll wear is a nonlinear time series and the accuracy of the existing work roll wear mechanistic models is not high. In this paper, a novel prediction model for work roll wear based on TCN-LSTM-Attention is developed. TCN utilizes convolutional structures of local and global information to extract data features, while LSTM focuses on capturing long-term and more complex sequence patterns, effectively handling nonlinear characteristics in data. With the incorporation of attention mechanisms, the model becomes more adept at effectively capturing relationships among different segments within the input sequence, which significantly improves predictive performance and reduces the risk of overfitting. Firstly, outlier cleaning and feature selection are performed using Boruta to construct the data set. Then, the predicted results of the proposed model are compared with the existing time series prediction models. The results indicate that the TCN-LSTM-Attention has the highest prediction accuracy, with an R2 of 0.989 and an RMSE of 0.0082 μm. Finally, the predicted results of work roll wear are combined with the mechanism to correct the strip crown pre-calculation model, which significantly improves the calculation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Ni-containing steels with excellent cryogenic toughness is limited by the high price of Ni resources. This study aims to explore the optimal process for quenching-intercritical annealing-tempering (QLT) treatment of newly designed low-cost Nb-bearing 7Ni steel. The effect of Nb microalloying on the strength-toughness combination and reversed austenite nucleation characteristics was investigated. The results show that the optimal comprehensive mechanical properties are obtained after intercritical annealing at 670 °C, and the cryogenic toughness is even better than that of 9Ni steel. The extra yield strength (~32 MPa) is attributed to the synergism of the refined martensite microstructure units for various strengthening mechanisms, caused by the addition of 0.04 pct Nb. The increased toughness is associated with the high proportion of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) produced by the close-packeted plane (CP) group-dominated transformation. Such transformation provides more efficient nucleation sites, which preferentially locate at the lath boundaries and block boundaries, exhibiting film-like morphology. Although NbC precipitation attracts C atoms, which, on the other hand, induce nucleation and stabilize the reversed austenite. These results provide a novel design strategy for nickel-saving steel alloys towards liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to enhance and manipulate light absorption is critical in many applications of optoelectronic devices. In order to achieve this purpose in the THz region, we design a THz absorber made up of graphene-based Fabry Perot resonator. We demonstrate that the proposed structure achieves multichannel perfect absorption because of Fabry Perot resonance leading to strong localization of light field. The absorber is polarization-insensitive and exhibits tolerance in a wide range of incident angles for both TE and TM waves. The number of absorption bands can be controlled by appropriately setting the thickness of the dielectric spacer between the graphene and the metal reflector. Moreover, the absorber is stable to the magnetic field, left-handed circularly polarized light, right-handed circularly polarized light and environment refractive index. This work may promote the development and applications in optoelectronic devices such as sensors, photodetectors and absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a disk laser welding was developed to join 3-mm thin-Sect. 30Cr3 ultra-high-strength steel which was widely used in aerospace. The microstructure and mechanical properties of welded joint were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the recommended laser linear energy range were between 150 and 165 J/mm to guarantee that the melting width was up to 1 mm as well as less oxidation, spatter, and depression on the weld. Meanwhile, for the as-welded (AW) condition, the base metal (BM) consisted of ferrite matrix with distributing small spherical carbides, also known as spherical pearlite. While, the fine grained region, coarse grained region, and weld metal were all composed of martensite. However, the partially transformed region mainly consisted martensite with a little of spherical pearlite. Meanwhile, the average grain sizes of weld metal, HAZ, and base metal were 1.3 μm, 1.5 μm, and 1.8 μm, respectively. However, for the post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) condition, the whole welded joint was all composed of tempered martensite, and the average grain size of welded joint was about 1.7 μm. The tensile strength of the welded joint was higher than that of the base metal both in the AW and PWHT condition as all the fracture with shrinkage occurred in the BM of the specimens. Additionally, the average yield strength of the AW and PWHT are about 600 MPa and 1700 MPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a dynamically tunable ultra-broadband metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) containing vanadium dioxide (VO2) is proposed and verified. The simulation results show that the MPA designed by us can not only achieve more than 90% absorption in the ultra-wideband range of 4.5–10 THz, but also achieve more than 99% perfect absorption in the wideband range of 5.5–8.3 THz. And the high absorption rate is caused by electric dipole resonance, which can be demonstrated by the distribution of the electric field. By adjusting the conductivity of VO2 from 200 to 4 × 104 S/m through changing the temperature to induce the phase transition of VO2, one can continuously adjust the absorption of the proposed MPA from 16 to 100%. Furthermore, the proposed structure can achieve perfect absorption in a wide range of angles with TE polarization within 60°and TM polarization within 50°, which can effectively promote the development of THz devices, such as optical switches and modulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CrCoFeNiMn is a well-known high-entropy alloy (HEA) that has been extensively investigated in both bulk and millimeter-thick layer structures using various methods. In this study, we present the thermal hydrogen reduction synthesis and structural characterization of submicron thick CrCoFeNiMnx (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) HEA thin films. Crystallographic analysis revealed the coexistence of Cr2O3 and γ-phase HEA at x = 0. As the value of x was increased to 0.25, both Cr2O3 and (CryMn1-y)3O4 were synthesized alongside the γ-phase HEA in the thin films. When x was further increased to ≥ 0.5, the Cr2O3 crystallites disappeared, and the thin films consisted of (CryMn1-y)3O4 and γ-phase HEA. We observed the presence of mudcracks and particle domains (PDs), with their area densities increasing with higher Mn compositions. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Co-, Fe-, and Ni-rich elements in the PDs, while the flat domains (FDs) surrounding the PDs exhibited higher concentrations of Cr, Mn, and O. Chemical etching in HCl solution (10%) revealed that the γ-phase HEA exhibited a tendency to dissolve, and its dissolution rate was faster than that of the oxide. The structural and phase evolutions observed and provide valuable insights into the thermal reduction synthesis of HEA thin films, offering potential for advanced functional applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past half-century, plastic consumption has grown rapidly due to its versatility, low cost, and unrivaled functional properties. Among the different implemented strategies for recycling waste plastics, pyrolysis is deemed the most economical option. Currently, the wax obtained from the pyrolysis of waste plastics is mainly used as a feedstock to manufacture chemicals and fuels or added to asphalt for pavement construction, with no other applications of wax being reported. Herein, the thermal pyrolysis of three common waste polyolefin plastics: high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polypropylene (PP), was conducted at 450 °C. The waste plastics-derived waxes were characterized and studied for a potential new application: phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage (TES). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed that paraffin makes up most of the composition of HDPE and LDPE waxes, whereas PP wax contains a mixture of naphthene, isoparaffin, olefin, and paraffin. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicated that HDPE and LDPE waxes have a peak melting temperature of 33.8 °C and 40.3 °C, with a relatively high latent heat of 103.2 J/g and 88.3 J/g, respectively, whereas the PP wax was found to have almost negligible latent heat. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and DSC results revealed good chemical and thermal stability of HDPE and LDPE waxes after 100 cycles of thermal cycling. Performance evaluation of the waxes was also conducted using a thermal storage pad to understand their thermoregulation characteristics for TES applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a perfect absorption structure of graphene-based one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPC) with tunable absorption channels and absorptivity is proposed. The proposed structure can achieve four perfect absorption peaks with the absorptivity of 99.31%, 99.88%, 99.74% and 99.32% at the same time, and the absorptivity of all absorption peaks is more than 95%. By adjusting the period number of 1DPC, the number of absorption peaks and absorption efficiency can be changed. By changing the chemical potential and relaxation rate of graphene, the absorption of the proposed structure can be dynamically tuned. And the influence of structural layer thickness on absorption property is also explored. In addition, we use this structure to design two different bidirectional absorbers. The designed bidirectional absorber can tailor the perfect absorption frequency with the absorptivity of more than 99.51%, and can change the absorption channel from single channel to double channel and double channel to multi-channel under the forward and backward incidence. This work not only fills the gap in the design of bidirectional perfect absorbers for 1DPC, but also provides a scheme for the design of multifunctional devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategies to generate high-valence metal species capable of oxidizing water often employ composition and coordination tuning of oxide-based catalysts, where strong covalent interactions with metal sites are crucial. However, it remains unexplored whether a relatively weak “non-bonding” interaction between ligands and oxides can mediate the electronic states of metal sites in oxides. Here we present an unusual non-covalent phenanthroline-CoO2 interaction that substantially elevates the population of Co4+ sites for improved water oxidation. We find that phenanthroline only coordinates with Co2+ forming soluble Co(phenanthroline)2(OH)2 complex in alkaline electrolytes, which can be deposited as amorphous CoOxHy film containing non-bonding phenanthroline upon oxidation of Co2+ to Co3+/4+. This in situ deposited catalyst demonstrates a low overpotential of 216 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and sustainable activity over 1600 h with Faradaic efficiency above 97%. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the presence of phenanthroline can stabilize CoO2 through the non-covalent interaction and generate polaron-like electronic states at the Co-Co center.If and how non-bonding ligands mediate the electronic states of metal sites is interesting yet remains to be explored. Here the authors show that a non-covalent phenanthroline can promote the population of Co4+ and induce polaron-like Co sites for improved water oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natriuretic peptide receptor 1 (NPR1) is conventionally known as a regulator of vascular homeostasis. Here, we generated an Npr1 knockout mouse model with CRISPR/Cas9 technology and found that homozygous mice (Npr1−/−) exhibited weight loss and poor survival rate during early postnatal stage. Careful examination revealed unexpectedly that Npr1−/− mice developed colitis characterized by shortened colon, evident colonic mucosal damage, increased histopathological score, and higher colonic expression of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1B (IL1B) and -6 (IL6). RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes were prominently enriched in the biological pathways related to immune response in both spleen and colon of Npr1−/− mice. Cytofluorimetric analysis demonstrated that leukocytes in the spleen were significantly increased, particularly, the populations of neutrophil and CD3+ T cell were elevated but CD4+ T cells were decreased in Npr1−/− mice. Administration of 8-Br-cGMP, a downstream activator of NPR1, restored these immune-cell populations disturbed in Npr1−/− mice and lessened the colitis-related phenotypes. To validate the involvement of Npr1 in colitis, we examined another mouse model induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) and found a decreased Npr1 expression and shifted immune-cell populations as well. Importantly, 8-Br-cGMP treatment exhibited a similar effect in the restoration of immune-cell populations and attenuation of colonic inflammation in DSS mice. Our data indicate that loss of Npr1 possibly interrupts immune response, which is critical to the pathogenesis of colitis in the early life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Majority of the modern electronics are made up of Si owing to a confluence of beneficial properties such as Earth-abundance, non-toxicity, light-weightedness, and versatile dopability. Yet, the thermoelectric performance of Si is not widely explored, due to the relatively high thermal conductivity of undoped Si. In this work, we devised a strategy combining light Ge alloying and B doping to simultaneously enhance the electronic properties and drastically reduce the thermal conductivity of Si. The phonon scattering brought about by Ge atoms, and optimal carrier concentration brought about by B dopant optimizes the thermal and electronic properties. Consequently, zT of 0.14 was achieved at 873 K for Si0.97Ge0.01B0.02, corresponding to 230% enhancement compared to pristine Si. The strategy reported in this work can be extended to the design of high thermoelectric performance in other Si-based compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films were fabricated on quartz substrates via facile sol–gel spin coating technique. Effects of process parameters on the phase composition, morphology, thermal expansion behavior and optical property of the Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films were investigated. XRD analysis reveals that as-deposited Sc2Mo3O12 thin films show amorphous phase. Orthorhombic Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films were prepared after annealing in 500–780 °C for 1 h, the crystalline quality of the post-annealed Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films gradually improved, and the grain size also increased as annealing temperature rises. Both as-deposited and post-annealed Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films show a smooth and compact surface. Low heating and cooling rates have contributed to the improvement of quality of the Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films. Orthorhombic Sc2(MoO4)3 thin films show anisotropic NTE. Its coefficient of thermal expansion is − 1.86 × 10−6 °C−1 in 25–700 °C. The transmittance of orthorhombic Sc2(MoO4)3 thin film post-annealed at 780 °C is measured as well and which is about 82% in the visible light range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the THz absorption properties of Fibonacci photonic crystals with graphene by using characteristics matrix method based on conductivity. We demonstrate that the structure can lead to perfect THz absorption because of strong photon localization in the defect layer of Fibonacci photonic crystals with graphene. By adjusting the incident angle, chemical potential, relaxation rate or the period number of Fibonacci photonic crystals, the maximum THz absorptivity can be tailored, and the absorptivity may be tuned continuously from 0 to 100%. The position of the THz absorption peaks can be tuned by changing the center wavelength or the thicknesses of structure layers. Moreover, the position of the THz absorption peaks can be tuned by changing the center wavelength or the thicknesses of structure layers. The proposed structure is easy to implement and has potential application in optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is a malignant tumor with the highest mortality rate worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately half of all lung cancer cases. Inhibin beta A (INHBA) is a ligand of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. This study aimed to analyze the function of INHBA in NSCLC resistance cells. Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NSCLC resistance cells and patients. DEGs were further analyzed by gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. A colony formation assay was performed to determine cell growth. Cell migration and invasion were tested by Transwell assay. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes were analyzed using qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Using bioinformatics tools, INHBA was demonstrated to be overexpressed in NSCLC resistant cells and patients. Gefitinib treatment affected NSCLC resistant cells. Additionally, INHBA silencing or X-ray treatment suppressed the growth and metastasis of NSCLC resistant cells. Moreover, the combined application of INHBA silencing and X-ray treatment enhances the therapeutic effects. Moreover, EMT has been confirmed to occur in NSCLC resistant cell lines. Both INHBA silencing and X-ray treatment inhibited EMT development. This study demonstrated that INHBA silencing ameliorates EGFR-TKI resistance and enhances the therapeutic effect of radiotherapy in NSCLC.Graphical Abstract: Lung cancer is a malignant tumor with the highest mortality rate worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately half of all lung cancer cases. Inhibin beta A (INHBA) is a ligand of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. This study aimed to analyze the function of INHBA in NSCLC resistance cells. Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in NSCLC resistance cells and patients. DEGs were further analyzed by gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis. A colony formation assay was performed to determine cell growth. Cell migration and invasion were tested by Transwell assay. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes were analyzed using qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Using bioinformatics tools, INHBA was demonstrated to be overexpressed in NSCLC resistant cells and patients. Gefitinib treatment affected NSCLC resistant cells. Additionally, INHBA silencing or X-ray treatment suppressed the growth and metastasis of NSCLC resistant cells. Moreover, the combined application of INHBA silencing and X-ray treatment enhances the therapeutic effects. Moreover, EMT has been confirmed to occur in NSCLC resistant cell lines. Both INHBA silencing and X-ray treatment inhibited EMT development. This study demonstrated that INHBA silencing ameliorates EGFR-TKI resistance and enhances the therapeutic effect of radiotherapy in NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant human endostatin (rhES) is a protein drug with poor stability and short in vivo circulation time. The present study was therefore aimed at developing sustained-release lung targeted microspheres drug delivery system and evaluating its targeting efficiency using in vivo imaging techniques with quantum dots (QDs) as the imaging material. The oil-soluble QDs were coated with amphiphilic polymers to obtain a polymer-quantum dots micelle (QDs-M) with the potential to stably disperse in water. The rhES and QDs-M were combined using covalent bonds. The rhES-QDs-M microspheres (rhES-QDs-M-MS) were prepared using electrostatic spray technology and also evaluated via in vivo imaging techniques. The pharmacodynamics was further studied in mice. The rhES-QDs-M-MS (4–8 μm) were stable in an aqueous medium with good optical properties. The in vitro studies showed that the rhES-QDs-M-MS had sustained release which was maintained for at least 15 days (cumulative release >80%) without any burst release. The rhES-QDs-M-MS had a very high safety profile and also effectively inhibited the in vitro proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells by about 70%. The pharmacokinetic results showed that the rhES could still be detected at 72 h in the experimental group which meant that the rhES-QDs-M-MS had a significant sustained-release effect. The rhES-QDs-M-MS had a better lung targeting effect and higher antitumor activity compared with the rhES. The traceable rhES-QDs-M-MS served as a promising drug delivery system for the poorly stable rhES proteins and significantly increased its lung-targeted effect, sustained-release properties, and antitumor activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gelled waxy crude oils can be considered as an elasto-viscoplastic material, exhibiting the transition from linear to nonlinear viscoelasticity. The LAOStress measurements have rarely been applied in the crude oil rheology literature to investigate the nonlinear viscoelasticity. In this study, we present results of the nonlinear viscoelastic characteristics under LAOStress by a series of analytical methods of Fourier transform rheology, Chebyshev strain decomposition, Lissajous curves analysis, energy dissipation calculation, viscoelastic measures quantification, and Pipkin diagram interpretation. Both the elastic and viscous nonlinearities were found to be first strengthened before yielding and subsequently weakened after yielding with the increase in imposed stress amplitude σ0, and a more striking nonlinear response can be captured when using a lower angular frequency ω. However, the defined viscoelastic measures and energy dissipation characteristics continue to keep getting more significant with increasing σ0, even after structural fracture. The results of Lissajous curves analysis reflect that a lower applied ω is more favorable for the structural nonlinear destruction and thus flowability enhancement of interlocking waxy network. The Pipkin diagrams were finally plotted to represent the nonlinear rheological signatures to an oscillatory input, showing a higher measured yield stress under a higher imposed ω. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Al-alloy/carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) joint systems offer exceptionally lightweight, superior fatigue behaviour and impact resistance for aerospace applications. Nevertheless, the galvanic corrosion at the joint interfaces accelerates the adhesive failure and strength damage. In this work, oxidation of Al 7075 alloy was studied by employing plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and thin film sulphuric acid anodizing (TFSAA) methods, addressing their galvanic corrosion (GC) protection performance in contact with CFRP. Structural and electrochemical characterisations were carried out in tandem with varied oxidation process parameters, revealing that high voltage PEO resulted in crystallized compact ceramic coating and thus improved GC protection. A decrease in the GC current by ~ 90% has been achieved by using the PEO coating at 700 V compared with the ~ 12% current reduction of commercial TFSAA coating. Further microstructure studies revealed that the improved GC protection of the crystallized PEO coating was realized by suppressing the initiation and propagation of localized pitting due to the improved electrical isolation between the Al-alloy/CFRP interfaces. A high voltage PEO process provides sufficient energy to produce uniform and crystalline ceramic coating consisting of Al2O3 and mullite, which give rise to improved corrosion protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Extensive studies have demonstrated a significant impact of nitrogen (N) addition on microbial community diversity, composition, and functions in various soils. However, microbial co-occurrence patterns and assembly processes under enhanced N levels is less known, especially with respect to the rhizosphere where microbes are closely linked with plant growth. Methods: In this study, we performed a pot experiment using N addition gradient (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 15 g N·m−2·year−1) and amplicon sequencing and metabolomics to investigate the effect of short-term N addition (2 years) on the co-occurrence patterns and assembly process of bacterial communities as well as their potential drivers in the rhizosphere. Results: Short-term N addition significantly altered bacterial community diversity and composition in the rhizosphere soil but not in the bulk soil; i.e., the rhizosphere bacterial diversity increased with N addition but decreased under high N input (>5 g N·m−2·year−1). The rhizosphere co-occurrence networks showed a more complex topology than the bulk soil, and this complexity could be strengthened by the quantity of N added. The N-induced establishment of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere was mainly dominated by deterministic processes with an increase in the variable selection in response to the increase in the N-addition rate, while the bacterial community in the bulk soil exhibited a transition from stochastic to deterministic processes. N addition stimulated the release of amino acids and short-chain organic acids into the rhizosphere, and these changes in root exudates and the soil NH4+-N level were mainly responsible for the changes in the structure of the rhizosphere bacterial community and co-occurrence networks of keystone species. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the differences in the co-occurrence patterns and assembly processes of bacterial communities between rhizosphere and bulk soils under N addition, which were closely associated with root exudates. These findings improve our understanding of plant–microbial interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant human interferon α-2b (rhINF-α-2b), like most proteins, has several shortcomings such as relatively short half-life, low therapeutic index, high circulating drug fluctuations, and rapid degradation which could hinder its effective delivery. Novel electrostatic spray and ion exchange drug-loading techniques were combined to formulate rhINF-α-2b sodium hyaluronate cross-linked porous sustained-release microspheres (rhINF-α-2b-SHCPM), a protein delivery system. The different properties of rhINF-α-2b-SHCPM including the physicochemical nature, in vitro release behavior, and antitumor activity were evaluated. The loading rate (10.31 ± 0.94%) and encapsulation efficiency (89.09 ± 2.37%) of rhINF-α-2b-SHCPM produced acceptable values. The in vitro cumulative release rate of rhINF-α-2b-SHCPM within 24 h was also 86.26 ± 2.11% with a much better sustained release effect. Thus, the half-life (10.763 h) and retention time (14.067 h) of rhIFNα-2b-SHCPM were significantly prolonged with enhanced bioavailability (43,198.387 ng/L*h) and decreased peak concentration (15,266.4 ngL-1) compared with the free rhIFNα-2b protein (0.912 h, 0.952 h, 34,749.048 ng/L*h, and 48,870.2 ngL-1, respectively). The in vitro anti-proliferative activity and in vivo tumor inhibitory rate of rhIFNα-2b-SHCPM also increased by 90 and 55.86%, respectively, compared with the free rhIFNα-2b solution. The findings significantly supported a well-developed protein delivery system with improved sustained release, acceptable bioavailability, and increased antitumor activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-growth rapid thermal annealing of α-MoO3 layered crystals in Pb-species that were in situ evaporated from PbO coatings has been studied using various techniques. They reveal the occurrence of solid–gas reactions between MoO3 and PbO, which is accompanied by MoO3 sublimations, leading to remarkable morphology and structure evolutions when the annealing temperature (Tann) is increased from 400 to 800 °C. Onset of nucleation and crystal growth of PbMoO4, which initiated at the structural defects of α-MoO3, occurred at 600 °C. The growth of PbMoO4 and the consumption of MoO3 at their boundary areas give rise to materials melting over there at 700 °C, which, in turn, connected the localized grown PbMoO4 via capillary actions. After cooling down to room temperature, the PbMoO4 solidified in crystals, while the MoO3 consisted of both amorphous and crystalline precipitates with regular in-plane orientations. In comparison, spherical domes that appeared at Tann = 800 °C resulted from enhanced localized reactions between the molten PbMoO4/MoO3 and the Al2O3 substrate. These results shed new lights on thermal behavior of α-MoO3 and the temperature-dependent reactions between MoO3 and PbO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst previous studies indicate perceived company ethicality as a driver of job seekers' job-pursuit intentions, it is poorly understood how and why ethical market signals actually affect their application decisions. Perceptions of company ethicality result from market signals that are either within the control of the company (e.g. ethical certifications) and from market signals that are beyond the company's control (e.g. ethical eWoM). Building on communication and information processing theories, this study therefore considers both types of ethical market signals, and examines the psychological mechanisms through which they affect job seekers' intention to apply for a job. The results from a controlled online experiment show that both types of ethical market signals increase job seekers' job-pursuit intentions. These relationships are mediated by applicants' attitude towards the job advertisement, their perceptions of corporate employment image and self-referencing. Consequently, the present study alerts practitioners to consider the effects of company-controlled and non-company-controlled ethical market signals, particularly when aiming to recruit highly-qualified millennial candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the morphological and crystallographic properties of Ni-based single-crystal superalloys, addressing their surface and near-surface structural evolutions upon robotic hammer peening (RHP) by employing surface profiling, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction. By varying the diameter (DHH) of the spherical hammer head and the driving pressure (PRHP), we found that the RHP process with the increased DHH and PRHP tends to improve the surface smoothness and, meanwhile, reduce the RHP-induced step height at the boundary between the peened and unpeened areas, especially on the surface with a deformed layer caused by wire electrical discharge machining (EDM). The surface step height can also be reduced by removing the EDM-deformed layer before the RHP process. Straight and crosshatching DSTs were observed in the transition zones surrounding the peened area, where none or minor crystal reorientations occurred. In comparison, the RHP-induced crystal reorientation is much more significant in the peened area and the reorientation direction is associated with the surface normal direction, i.e., the compression loading axis of the RHP process. The RHP-induced crystal reorientations are discussed and attributed to the non-Schmid behavior associated with multiple cross-slips of superalloys under dynamic compressive loadings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slope aspect is an important topographic factor for a micro-ecosystem environment that may affect macro- and micronutrients in plants and soil. The south-, northwest-, and north-facing slopes were selected to investigate the influence of slope aspect on the concentrations, storage, and allocation of macro- and micronutrients in Artemisia sacrorum on the Loess Plateau in China. The concentrations of available manganese (Mn) in both rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils reached their maximum on the north-facing slope. The concentrations of available iron (Fe) in rhizosphere soil and available copper (Cu) in non-rhizosphere soil reached their maximum on the south-facing slope. Slope aspect significantly affected the total concentrations of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), Cu, and Mn in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils, and all of these elements reached their maximum on the northwest-facing slope. Slope aspect significantly influenced the concentrations of aboveground K, Ca, and Mg, sodium (Na), Mn, and belowground K in A. sacrorum, and the concentrations of aboveground K, Ca, Mg, and Na and belowground Mn, Na, Fe, Ca, and Mg in weed. Most elements in A. sacrorum and the weeds reached their maximum on the south-facing slope. Slope aspect significantly changed the aboveground-to-belowground concentration ratios of K, Ca, and Na in A. sacrorum and weed. Slope aspect significantly affected the storage of macro- and micronutrients in A. sacrorum and weed but not the storage in the plants of the entire plot. Slope aspect predominantly affected the storage allocation of macro- and micronutrients in A. sacrorum but not those in weed. Slope aspect is an important topographic factor that affects the macro- and micronutrients in plants and soil in micro-ecosystem environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Sc-substituted In2Mo3O12 ceramics were synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation method. The results reveal that In3+ can be substituted by Sc3+ and form a single phase with high purity for all In2−xScxMo3O12 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5) samples. The crystal structure of In2−xScxMo3O12 changes from monoclinic to orthorhombic symmetry with increasing Sc3+-content, confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy (Raman). With increasing concentration of A-site Sc3+ cations, the microstructure of In2−xScxMo3O12 becomes denser and the shape and size distribution of grains is more regular and uniform. The monoclinic-to-orthorhombic phase transition temperature of In2Mo3O12 is successfully decreased from 343 °C to room temperature via the substitution of In3+ by Sc3+. When x = 1.5, the occurrence of the monoclinic-to-orthorhombic phase transition for In0.5Sc1.5Mo3O12 solid solution is at around 7 °C. It has an average linear coefficient of thermal expansion of − 5.08 × 10−6 °C−1 in 25–600 °C. The phase transition results obtained by theoretical calculation using the framework of spin-polarized DFT accord well with the experimental evidences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rheological behaviors of yield stress fluids are commonly interpreted from the energy perspective, yet this perspective has rarely been applied for waxy gel. In this study, we calculated the energy dissipated into the waxy gel caused by viscous strain during the deformation process with the aid of a well-tested elasto-viscoplastic thixotropic model. The energy dissipation shows a power-law dependence on the strain regardless of the stress ramping rate. The energy dissipation has been shown to be useful to characterize the ductility of waxy gel, that is, the larger the energy is dissipated during fracture, the more ductile the waxy gel is. When the waxy gel is induced to the same strain by different stress ramping rate, the energy dissipation during the deformation process shows little dependence on the stress ramping rate. However, if during the loading process the stress is increased to the same value by different ramping rate, a higher stress ramping rate causes lower energy dissipation. These findings are helpful to elucidate the widely observed experimental observation for waxy gels that the measured yield stress depends on the stress ramping rate whereas the measured yield strain shows little dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a method involving the use of distributed fiber optic temperature and strain sensors is presented to quantitatively assess the structural performance for buried pipelines by considering both longitudinal bending load and axial thermal load. The monitoring scheme of distributed strain and temperature sensors is proposed based on the pipeline structural analysis, and the assessment approach is formulated using the distributed monitoring data. The time-spatial variation in the bending strain and temperature of the burial pipelines are monitored using distributed fiber optic sensors. The structural performance of the pipeline is then assessed with the monitored data in conjunction with the pipe parameters and internal pressure. A field application was performed on a buried gas pipeline to investigate the availability of the proposed method and the results from the site application demonstrate that the proposed method effectively assesses the structural performance of the burial pipelines with the distributed strain and temperature data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystalline α-MoO belts consisting of nanosheets stacked along their [010] axes were synthesized via thermal vapor transport of MoO powders at elevated temperatures. The MoO belts were millimeters in length along their [001] axes and tens to hundreds of micrometers in width along their [100] axes. Mechanical and aqueous exfoliations of the belts to form two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets were processed via the scotch-tape and bovine serum albumin (BSA) assisted methods, respectively. Upon scotch-tape exfoliation, the Raman features of MoO exhibited monotonic decreases in intensity as the thickness was gradually fell to approach that of a 2D nanosheet. Most Raman features eventually disappeared when a monolayer nanosheet was produced, except for the Mo-O-Mo stretching mode (Ag) at ~818 cm, which was accompanied by mode-softening of up to 5 cm. This mode softening, hitherto not reported for 2D α-MoO nanosheets, can be attributed to lattice relaxations that are validated here via theoretical density functional perturbation theory calculations. The BSA-assisted exfoliation products exhibited a blueshift in the α-MoO nanosheet absorption edge; they also revealed an absorption peak at 3.98 eV that can be attributed to their intrinsic exciton absorptions. These observations, together with the facile synthesis of high-purity α-MoO crystals, illuminate the possibility of further 2D α-MoO nanosheet production and lattice dynamic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The changes in the characteristics of Panicum virgatum, an exotic invasive species, after invading various plant communities on the Loess Plateau in China and the main soil nutrient factors in these communities closely associated with invasion remain unclear. Methods: A pot culture experiment was carried out to simulate the changes in photosynthesis, biomass, and biomass allocation in P. virgatum and to identify the main soil nutrient factors in various soils collected from local plant communities. P. virgatum was grown in soils collected from communities of P. virgatum (PS treatment), Setaria viridis (SS treatment), Bothriochloa ischaemum (BS treatment), and Artemisia sacrorum (AS treatment) and in a mixed soil from the communities of S. viridis, B. ischaemum, and A. sacrorum (MS treatment). Results: Photosynthesis in P. virgatum differed significantly among the soil treatments. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) were highest in PS, whereas single-photon avalanche diode values were highest in PS and SS. The variation of biomass differed significantly in different tissues of P. virgatum in the treatments. Leaf and stem biomasses were highest in PS and SS, and root biomass was highest in PS and MS. Total biomass differed significantly among the treatments, except between BS and MS. Both the leaf to total and stem to total biomass ratios were highest in AS and SS, but the root to total biomass ratio was lowest in these two treatments. A constrained redundancy analysis and a path analysis suggested that the water-soluble nitrate-nitrogen (W-NN) concentration of the soil could significantly affect photosynthesis, biomass, and biomass allocation in P. virgatum. Conclusions: Photosynthesis, biomass, and biomass allocation in P. virgatum differed significantly when grown in soils from different local plant communities on the Loess Plateau. The soil W-NN concentration in these local plant communities likely has a large impact on the invasive success of P. virgatum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent form of arthritis that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone, has been viewed as a chronic condition manifested by persistence of inflammatory responses and infiltration of lymphocytes. Regulation of the inflammatory responses in synovial fibroblasts might be useful to prevent the development and deterioration of osteoarthritis. WY-14643, a potent peroxisome proliferator activator receptor-α (PPAR-α) agonist, has been described to beneficially regulate inflammation in many mammalian cells. Here, we investigate the potential anti-inflammatory role of WY-14643 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced synovial fibroblasts. WY-14643 greatly inhibited the production of NO and PGE induced by LPS. In addition, the mRNA expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and tissue factor (TF) was significantly suppressed by WY-14643, as well as the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1). Furthermore, the transcription activity and nuclear translocation of NF-kB were found to be markedly decreased by WY-14643, while the phosphorylation of IkB was enhanced, indicating that the anti-inflammatory role of WY-14643 was meditated by NF-kB-dependent pathway. The application of WY-14643 failed to carry out its anti-inflammatory function in PPAR-α silenced cells, suggesting the role of PPAR-α. These findings may facilitate further studies investigating the translation of pharmacological PPAR-α activation into clinical therapy of OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Duobuza deposit is the first porphyry-type copper deposit discovered with giant prospect in the Bangongco metallogenic belt. Geochemical data indicates that the ore-bearing Duobuza granodiorite porphyry is high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic and peraluminous composition. The ore-bearing granodiorite porphyry is enriched in large-ion lithophile elements(LILE) such as Rb, K, Th, La, Ce and Sr, and depleted in high-field-strength elements(HFSE) such as Nb, Ta, P, and Ti. The rare-earth element (REE) patterns show enrichment in light REEs relative to heavy REEs. The major, rareearth, and trace elements of the ore-bearing granodiorite porphyry show characteristics of adakites, formed in an island arc setting. The laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U-Pb age of the orebearing granodiorite porphyry is 123.4±1.2 Ma (MSWD = 1.7), which also represents the age of the copper-mineralization. Together with the age data of the early Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the Bangongco-Nujiang suture zone and the middle-northern Gangdese, it indicates that there was bidirectional (northward and southward) subduction of the Bangongco-Nujiang ocean during 120 Ma, and the Duobuza deposit was related to this event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectric-metal-dielectric sandwich structures have been fabricated on top of an InGaAs/GaAs single quantum well (QW) structure to enhance atomic interdiffusion across the QW interfaces at elevated temperature during rapid thermal annealing using a halogen lamp as the heating source. The QW intermixing enhancement is realized during rapid thermal annealing. By placing a properly designed SiO-Ag-SiO structure on top of the QW sample, a blueshift in photoluminescence emission from 920 to 882 nm was observed, larger than that obtained in a SiO-capped QW annealed at the same condition. Finite-difference time-domain simulation and optical reflectance measurements showed that the enhanced QW intermixing is due to the plasmonic resonance-enhanced light absorption and suppressed light reflection from the SiO-Ag-SiO structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their chemical stability in harsh environments. Although Schottky-contacted GaN-based UV PDs have been implemented with better performance than that of ohmic contacts, it remains unknown how the barrier height at local Schottky contacts controls the sensors' performance. In this work, the piezotronic effect was employed to tune the Schottky barrier height (SBH) at local contacts and hence enhance the performances of Schottky-contacted metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structured GaN nanobelt (NB)-based PDs. In general, the response level of the PDs was obviously enhanced by the piezotronic effect when applying a strain on devices. The responsivity of the PD was increased by 18%, and the sensitivity was enhanced by from 22% to 31%, when illuminated by a 325 nm laser with light intensity ranging from 12 to 2 W/cm. Carefully studying the mechanism using band structure diagrams reveals that the observed enhancement of the PD performance resulted from the change in SBH caused by external strain as well as light intensity. Using piezotronic effects thus provides a practical way to enhance the performance of PDs made not only of GaN, but also other wurtzite and zinc blende family materials. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extremely thermophilic anaerobic archaeon strain, HJ21, was isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, could produce hyperthermophilic α-amylase, and later was identified as Thermococcus from morphological, biochemical, and physiological characteristics and the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence. The extracellular thermostable α-amylase produced by strain HJ21 exhibited maximal activity at pH 5.0. The enzyme was stable in a broad pH range from pH 5.0 to 9.0. The optimal temperature of α-amylase was observed at 95°C. The half-life of the enzyme was 5 h at 90°C. Over 40% and 30% of the enzyme activity remained after incubation at 100°C for 2 and 3 h, respectively. The enzyme did not require Ca2+ for thermostability. This α-amylase gene was cloned, and its nucleotide sequence displayed an open reading frame of 1,374 bp, which encodes a protein of 457 amino acids. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed that four homologous regions common in amylases were conserved in the HJ21 α-amylase. The molecular weight of the mature enzyme was calculated to be 51.4 kDa, which correlated well with the size of the purified enzyme as shown by the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important problem in graph embeddings and parallel computing is to embed a rectangular grid into other graphs. We present a novel, general, combinatorial approach to (one-to-one) embedding rectangular grids into their ideal rectangular grids and optimal hypercubes. In contrast to earlier approaches of Aleliunas and Rosenberg, and Ellis, our approach is based on a special kind of doubly stochastic matrix. We prove that any rectangular grid can be embedded into its ideal rectangular grid with dilation equal to the ceiling of the compression ratio, which is both optimal up to a multiplicative constant and a substantial generalization of previous work. We also show that any rectangular grid can be embedded into its nearly ideal square grid with dilation at most 3. Finally, we show that any rectangular grid can be embedded into its optimal hypercube with optimal dilation 2, a result previously obtained, after much research, through an ad hoc approach. Our results also imply optimal simulations of two-dimensional mesh-connected parallel machines by hypercubes and mesh-connected machines, where each processor in the guest machine is simulated by exactly one processor in the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density functional theory calculations were carried out to explore the potential energy surface (PES) associated with the gas-phase reaction of NiL(L=SOCH) with acetone. The geometries and energies of the reactants, intermediates, products and transition states of the triplet ground potential energy surfaces of [Ni, O, C, H] were obtained at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) levels in C,H,O atoms and B3LYP/Lanl2dz in Ni atom. It was found through our calculations that the decabonylation of acetaldehyde contains four steps including encounter complexation, C-C activation, aldehyde H-shift and nonreactive dissociation. The results revealed that C-C activation induced by NiL(L=SOCH) led to the decarbonylation of acetaldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]