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The formation of planets in our solar system encompassed various stages of accretion of planetesimals that formed in the protoplanetary disk within the first few million years at different distances to the sun. Their chemical diversity is reflected by compositionally variable meteorite groups from different parent bodies. There is general consensus that their formation location is roughly constrained by a dichotomy of nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies, relating carbonaceous (C) meteorite parent bodies to the outer protoplanetary disk and the non-carbonaceous (NC) parent bodies to an origin closer to the sun. It is a common idea, that in these inner parts of the protoplanetary disks, planetesimal accretion processes were faster. Testing such scenarios requires constraining formation ages of meteorite parent bodies. Although isotopic age dating can yield precise formation ages of individual mineral constituents of meteorites, such ages frequently represent mineral cooling ages that can postdate planetesimal formation by millions or tens of millions of years, depending on the cooling history of individual planetesimals at different depths. Nevertheless, such cooling ages provide a detailed thermal history which can be fitted by thermal evolution models that constrain the formation age of individual parent bodies. Here we apply state-of-the-art thermal evolution models to constrain planetesimal formation times particular in the outer solar system formation region of C meteorites. We infer a temporally distributed accretion of various parent bodies from < 0.6 Ma to ≈ 4 Ma after solar system formation, with 3.7 Ma and 2.5 - 2.75 Ma for the parent bodies of CR1-3 chondrites and the Flensburg carbonaceous chondrite, and < 0.6 and < 0.7 Ma for the parent bodies of differentiated achondrites NWA 6704 and NWA 011, respectively. This implies that accretion processes in the C reservoir started as early as in the NC reservoir and were operating throughout typical protoplanetary disk lifetimes, thereby producing differentiated parent bodies with carbonaceous compositions in addition to undifferentiated C chondrite parent bodies. The accretion times correlate inversely with the degree of the meteorites' alteration, metamorphism, or differentiation. The accretion times for the CM, CI, Ryugu, and Tafassite parent bodies of 3.8 Ma, 3.8 Ma, 1 - 3 Ma, and 1.1 Ma, respectively, fit well into this correlation in agreement with the thermal and alteration conditions suggested by these meteorites. Our results indicate that individual planetesimals formed rapidly (i.e., within < 1 Ma), however, distinct planetesimals formed recurrently throughout the total lifetime of the protoplanetary disk. Rapid individual formation is consistent with streaming instabilities assisted by gravitational collapse. However, obviously not the total dust inventory was consumed at early disk evolution stages, so there must have been some delay mechanisms, e.g. collisional destruction of precursor aggregates due to high impact velocities induced by radial drift phenomena. This counterbalance enabled late ( > 2 - 3 Ma) accretion of C planetesimals beyond the snow line which escaped severe planetesimal heating and volatile loss, hence, preserving their volatiles, especially water. Only this delayed formation of water-rich planetesimals allowed Earth to accrete sufficient water to become a habitable planet, preventing it from being a bone dry planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a chronic neurodegenerative disorder, is the leading cause of dementia. Over-activated microglia is related to amyloid-beta (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (phospho-tau) accumulation in the AD brain. Taurine is an amino acid with multiple physiological functions including anti-inflammatory effects, and has been reported to be neuroprotective in AD. However, the role of taurine in microglia-mediated AD remains unclear. Here, we examined the effects of taurine on the brains of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice by comparing those administered 1% taurine water with those administered distilled water (DW). We observed increased levels of taurine and taurine transporter (TAUT) in the brains of the taurine-treated mice compared with those of control mice. Immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses revealed that taurine significantly reduced the number of activated microglia, levels of phospho-tau and Aβ deposit in the hippocampus and cortex. Triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2) are known to protect against AD pathogenesis. Taurine upregulated TREM2 expression in the hippocampus and cortex. In conclusion, the present study suggests that taurine treatment may upregulate TREM2 to protect against microglia over-activation by decreasing the accumulation of phospho-tau and Aβ; providing an insight into a novel preventive strategy in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-segregation of Cu and Mg solutes at grain boundaries (GBs) in Al alloys is widely observed in experiments, but this segregation pattern is much less understood. Herein, the Cu, Mg co-segregation behaviors and their effects on Al Σ5 (210) GB properties were systematically studied via first-principles calculations. The segregation order of Cu and Mg atoms was firstly determined wherein the segregation tendency of Cu is comparatively stronger than Mg. Calculations demonstrate that Cu and Mg atoms exhibit attractive interaction, which would promote synergistic co-segregation of both dopants at the GB. It is revealed that Cu, Mg co-segregation not only improves GB thermodynamic stability, but also enhances the GB fracture strength. Detailed analysis of charge density, bonding characteristics, etc., suggests that the newly formed Al–Cu bonds upon Cu segregation are the primary contribution to the increased GB cohesion. The further Mg doping at the Al GB with Cu segregation results in charge depletion and meanwhile decreases Al–Cu bonding length, the net results of which increase GB cohesion, suggesting a synergistically enhanced GB strength with Mg and Cu co-segregation. This work is supposed to provide fundamental insights into the effect of Cu, Mg co-segregation on the strength of Al GBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silica hollow tube (SHT) nanofillers were fine distributed in poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK) to serve decently as sixth generation (6G) substrate films. Distinctly lower dielectric and thermal expansion characteristics were detected for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence filled with proper amounts of SHT nanofillers. The dielectric characteristics detected for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence diminished to a minimum, as SHT loads came near an optimal value of 8wt%. The LCTE evaluated for each PEKKaxSHTy film sequence reduced distinctly with increasing SHT loads. Suitable dielectric constant (εr) (2.26 at 1 MHz), and/or dielectric loss (tan δ) (0.0027 at 1 MHz) and/or Linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE) (30.5 × 10−6/ °C) for 6G rapid-speed communication were detected for PEKKP700092SHT8 substrate film having 8wt% load of SHT nanofillers. Meanwhile, the beginning degradation temperatures estimated for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence increased distinctly with increasing SHT loads. All free-volume-cavity characteristics estimated for all PEKKaxSHTy film sequence approached a highest value, as SHT loads came near an optimal value of 8wt%. Distinctly lower εr and tan δ were detected for PEKKa and PEKKaxSHTy having higher free-volume-cavity characteristics. Possible interpretations for the distinctly diminished dielectric and/or heat-resistant characteristics acquired for PEKKaxSHTy films are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of cervical central lymph-node metastasis (CLNM) is high in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). There is considerable controversy surrounding the benefits of prophylactic central lymph-node dissection (pCLND) in patients with clinically negative central compartment lymph nodes (cN0). Therefore, it is crucial to accurately predict the likelihood of cervical CLNM before surgery to make informed surgical decisions. Methods: Date from 214 PTC patients (cN0) who underwent partial or total thyroidectomy and pCLND at the Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital were collected and retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups in accordance with cervical CLNM or not. Their information, including clinical characteristics, ultrasound (US) features, pathological results of fine-needle aspirations biopsy (FNAB), and other characteristics of the groups, was analyzed and compared using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: A total of 214 patients were eligible in this study. Among them, 43.5% (93/214) of PTC patients had cervical CLNM, and 56.5% (121/214) did not. The two groups were compared using a univariate analyses, and there were no significant differences between the two groups in aspect ratio, boundary, morphology, component, and BRAFV600E (P > 0.05), and there were significant differences between gender, age, maximum tumor size, tumor location, capsule contact, microcalcifications, color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI), and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) (P < 0.05). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to further clarify the correlation of these indices. However, only age (OR = 2.455, P = 0.009), maximum tumor size (OR = 2.586, P = 0.010), capsule contact (OR = 3.208, P = 0.001), and CDFI (OR = 2.225, P = 0.022) were independent predictors of cervical CLNM. Combining these four factors, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the joint diagnosis is 0.8160 (95% 0.7596–0.8725). Univariate analysis indicated that capsule contact (P = 0.001) was a possible predictive factor of BRAFV600E mutation. Conclusions: In conclusion, four independent predictors of cervical CLNM, including age < 45 years, tumor size > 1.0 cm, capsule contact, and rich blood flow, were screened out. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of these risk factors should be conducted when designing individualized treatment regimens for PTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marked Mg segregation at grain boundaries (GBs) in nanocrystalline Al alloys usually contributes additional GB segregation strengthening. To gain a further understanding of this phenomenon, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to reveal the Mg segregation behavior at Al Σ9 (221)[ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] symmetric tilt grain boundary (STGB) and its effects on the GB stability and strength. Results reveal that Mg dopants have a large driving force to segregate at Al GBs. Such Mg segregation not only enhances the strength of Σ9 (221) STGB but also improves GB stability. It is found that the Mg segregation turns to enlarge and narrow the strain intervals of stable and thickening stages of Σ9 (221) STGB during tensile test, indicative of the Mg-induced stabilizing effect on the GB structural integrity. Calculations further elucidate that the segregated Mg dopants increase the critical stress for dislocation nucleation, which accounts for the remarkably increased tensile strength of Σ9 (221) STGB with Mg segregation. Such retarded dislocation nucleation is ascribed to the decrement in boundary free volume by Mg segregation. This work will provide important atomic-scale insights into the extra GB strengthening in Al alloys deriving from Mg segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the ship speed exceeds a certain level in shallow water, ship-bank interaction induces great influence on the ship's manoeurability with some special hydrodynamic characteristics, but the mechanism is not totally understood. This paper presents a numerical prediction of the ship-bank interaction for the model of the KRISO Container Ship. An unsteady Reynold-Averaged Navier Stokes solver is applied to simulate the viscous flows. A grid convergence study is performed and the numerical results are compared with the experimental data. The hydrodynamic forces and moments and the squat are computed for different water depths and ship-to-bank distances. Results show that the sway force changes into a repulsive force with respect to the bank under the condition of h = 1.15T or Frh > 0.528 at h = 1.3T, which is due to the change of sway force distribution. The comparison of the results with and without free-surface modelling shows that the wave elevation affects the sway force distribution along the ship significantly. The detailed sway force distributions and wave elevations explain that the wave action between the ship and the bank is the key enabler of the occurrence of the repulsive sway force under the extreme conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lidocaine plays an anticancer role in hepatocellular carcinoma. Nevertheless, the mechanism of lidocaine in hepatocellular carcinoma remains largely unclear. Aims: This study aims to assess the function of lidocaine and explore the potential regulatory mechanism. Methods: Hepatocellular carcinoma cells were challenged via lidocaine. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were detected via colony formation, 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide, flow cytometry, Western blot, and transwell analyses. Circular RNA itchy E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (circ_ITCH), microRNA-421 (miR-421), and cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein 3 (CPEB3) abundances were detected via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or Western blot. The relationship between miR-421 and circ_ITCH or CPEB3 was tested via dual-luciferase reporter analysis. The role of circ_ITCH in lidocaine-challenged cell growth in vivo was assessed via xenograft model. Results: Lidocaine inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation by decreasing colony formation and cell viability. Lidocaine suppressed hepatocellular carcinoma cell migration and invasion and promoted apoptosis. circ_ITCH and CPEB3 levels were decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and cells, and were restored in cells via lidocaine treatment. circ_ITCH knockdown weakened the suppressive effect of lidocaine on hepatocellular carcinoma development, which was abolished via CPEB3 overexpression. circ_ITCH could modulate CPEB3 by competitively binding with miR-421. miR-421 knockdown mitigated the effect of circ_ITCH silence in lidocaine-challenged cells. circ_ITCH knockdown increased xenograft tumor growth. Conclusions: Lidocaine represses hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and promotes apoptosis via regulating circ_ITCH/miR-421/CPEB3 axis, indicating a new insight into the mechanism of lidocaine in hepatocellular carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the uncertainty in the selection of geometric tolerance items, a qualitative method for top-down transfer of geometric tolerance items is proposed. The assembly joint which is composed of two mating surfaces with functional requirements or structural constraints is acted as the basis of geometric tolerance items transmission. According to the structural characteristics, the assembly joints are divided into meta-assembly joints and composite assembly joints, and the priority rules for assembly joints are proposed. The transfer path of part-level geometric tolerance items is established according to the functional requirements and structural constraints among parts. On this basis, by adding information about the composition and constraint types of assembly joints between parts and the position constraint relationship of the general structure surface in the part, the transfer path of part-level geometric tolerance items is extended to the transfer path of geometric feature surface-level. With the development of product design, the initial functional requirements will be transformed into structural constraints between parts and geometric feature surfaces, and the structural transformation model of functional requirements is constructed. The generation specifications of geometric tolerance items based on structural constraints and the transfer specifications of datums are established. And based on the above specifications, the mapping relationship between functional requirements, structural constraints, and geometric tolerance items is defined. The synchronous transmission of geometric tolerance items along with the product design process are realized which provides an effective analysis tool for the top-down design of geometric tolerance items. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified by taking the transmission parts and connection parts in the crankshaft-piston mechanism as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Urethrocutaneous fistula is the most prevalent complication after hypospadias repair. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether incised urethral diversion was superior to traditional transurethral diversion in minimizing complications. Patients and methods: We retrospectively collected and analyzed 113 cases with proximal penile or penoscrotal hypospadias that were repaired by one-stage transverse preputial island flap urethroplasty between January 2016 and January 2020. Of those cases, 60 used incised urethral diversion (group A), whereas the remaining 53 were managed by transurethral diversion (group B) for urinary drainage after surgery. Postoperative complications in both groups were assessed for fistula, urethral diverticulum, meatal stenosis, wound infection, and distal urethral breakdown. Results: Fistula was reported in 2 patients (3.3%) in group A, while it was observed in 15 patients (28.3%) in group B (p < 0.001). Wound infection occurred in one patient (1.7%) in group A, compared with six patients (11.3%) in group B (p < 0.05). The incidence rates of distal urethral breakdown were 1.7% (1/60) and 11.3% (6/53) for group A and group B, respectively (p < 0.05). One patient (1.7%) in group A and three patients (5.7%) in group B had a meatal stenosis (p > 0.05). There were two patients who developed urethral diverticulum in either group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The use of incised urethral diversion for urinary drainage had an advantage over transurethral diversion in one-stage hypospadias repair with respect to the post-operational fistula occurrence, wound infection, and distal urethral breakdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an aerosol injection technique (AIT) to accelerate the consolidation of soft soils for ground improvement. We employ high-pressure aerosol injections at different depths to enhance the drainage in soft soils for faster consolidation. The technique is briefly described. A well-instrumented field test is carried out to demonstrate its performance. Compared to the traditional methods, our approach gives rise to faster dissipation of excess pore pressure and larger ground settlement. This method is particularly attractive for the improvement in soft ground in medium depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional NiCoTi metal oxide catalysts (denoted herein as NiCoTi-x, where x is the molar ratio Ni + Co:Ti) were successfully prepared by thermal treatment of NiCoTi layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors. The NiCoTi-x catalysts were then applied to the hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF). The Ni:Co:Ti molar ratio in the catalysts was found to strongly influence both catalyst activity and product selectivity. A NiCoTi-8 catalyst, containing Ni, Co and Ti in a 4:4:1 molar ratio (i.e. Ni + Co/Ti = 8), displayed outstanding performance for HMF hydrogenation at 200 °C and 1.5 MPa, evidenced by a 90.7% HMF conversion and 95.8% selectivity to DMF. A ternary metal oxide catalyst derived from a layered double hydroxide was proposed for the efficient and selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-methylfuran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blue mold caused by Penicillium expansum infection results in severe postharvest deterioration of apples. Salicylic acid (SA) is an effective elicitor of fruit resistance. However, the metabolic mechanism of P. expansum infection of apples and the SA-mediated metabolic responses are still unknown. In this study, the metabolite changes during P. expansum infection of apples and SA-mediated disease resistance were explored by performing ultra-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A total of 472 different metabolites were identified between the five groups of sample comparisons, and the correlated metabolic pathways were revealed by bioinformatics analysis. The upregulation of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, galactose metabolism, and starch and sucrose metabolism reflected energy conversion for P. expansum invasion and fruit disease resistance. Changes in glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism and carbapenem biosynthesis reflected the biosynthesis of virulence factors and secondary metabolites for fungal infection. Metabolic pathways related to apple natural disease resistance mainly included the upregulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis and sphingolipid metabolism. SA promoted the TCA cycle, reactive oxygen metabolism, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis of apples for disease resistance. This study revealed the metabolic pathways of P. expansum infection of apples and SA-mediated disease resistance, which helps to improve the understanding of the pathogenic mechanism and disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aroma-active compounds of three Xi baijiu samples (Xijiulan, Y1, Xijiuyinxiangguizhou, Y2 and Xijiuyinzhi, Y3) were analyzed by gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O), GC–flame photometric detection (FPD) and odor activity value (OAV). The results indicated that a total of 92 aroma compounds were determined, including 16 sulfur compounds. Furthermore, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol (OAV: 31–220), 3-mercapohexyl acetate (OAV: 1870), dimethyl trisulfide (OAV: 333–400), 3-mercaptohexanol (OAV: 34–36), β-damascenone (OAV: 1317–1342), 2-butylfuran (OAV: 629–672), ethyl 3-methylbutanoate (OAV: 655–899), ethyl hexanoate (OAV: 687–729), and ethyl octanoate (OAV: 1164–1362) exhibited much higher OAVs and aroma intensities (AIs) than other compounds. Finally, the perceptual interactions between five sulfur compounds and six esters were studied using Feller's additive model in Y2. Among the 30 binary mixtures, 12 groups showed an additive effect, 4 groups exhibited a synergistic effect, and 14 groups exerted a masking effect. These data indicated that dimethyl disulfide and 2-methyl-3-furanthiol had masking and additive effects on the aroma of esters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate understanding of snow cover phenology and its changes is important to hydrological processes and climate system. Having recognized the potential uncertainties in remote sensing snow cover products, we used daily snow depth observations from 514 meteorological stations across China to investigate the spatiotemporal variations in snow cover phenology during 1970–2014. Climatologically, the snow cover onset date (Do) and end date (De) as well as the number of snow cover days (Ds) depended on latitude at most stations outside of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). For the high-elevation stations, which were mainly in the TP, multiple snow-free breaks (SFBs) during the cold season made Ds insensitive to Do and De. Furthermore, the number of SFBs (Db) increased significantly with the rise in elevation, explaining why higher altitudes in TP did not necessarily have greater Ds values despite the earlier Do and later De values. From 1970 to 2014, most stations in China exhibited delayed Do and advanced De due mainly to the increased temperature, but such trends were significant at only 10.5% and 15.4% of the stations, respectively. During the same period, shortened Ds primarily occurred south of ~ 40° N, whereas the opposite ones dominated north of ~ 40° N. Most stations (except those in Hexi Corridor) with significant growth in Ds were characterized by delayed Do and advanced De. Such a phenomenon of "increased snow cover days during shortened cold season" was due to the significant shrinkage in Db values. The spatial pattern of the trends in annual total snow depth overall follows that of Ds, suggesting that the Ds, when takes SFBs into consideration, could be an indicator of variations of snow water resources in China. The trends in Do, De and Ds were not elevation dependent in TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of the graphene-containing fibers is an important step in the fabrication of advanced materials. However, using conventional techniques, e.g., wet or dry spinning, requires sophisticated recipes for fabricating the graphene oxide (GO) fibers because the GO dispersion has a low viscosity and it cannot be directly used for spinning. In this work, a simple and reliable procedure, injection spinning (IS), for a direct spinning of GO is reported. According to IS, the thin flow which is squeezed-out from a nozzle forms a flat fiber and provides the spinning drawing force to break the weak spinning thin flow of the GO water–ethanol suspension. The GO flat fiber is finally obtained by drying at a low temperature of 50 °C. The GO flat fiber is twisted and reduced by HI resulting in a production of the reduced GO (rGO) yarn. After passing the relevant characterization test, we show that varying the spinning speed changes the morphology of the rGO yarns on microscale without the appearance of appreciable changes on the nanoscale. The rGO yarns are characterized by high values of Young's modulus about 1.5 GPa. An application is demonstrated using IS for flexible and wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying high-risk regions and turning points of influenza with a precise spatiotemporal scale may provide effective prevention strategies. In this study, epidemiological characteristics and spatiotemporal clustering analysis at the township level were performed. A descriptive study and a Joinpoint regression analysis were used to explore the epidemiological characteristics and the time trend of influenza. Spatiotemporal autocorrelation and clustering analyses were carried out to explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and aggregation. Furthermore, the hotspot regions were analyzed by spatiotemporal scan analysis. A total of 4025 influenza cases were reported in Yinchuan showing an overall increasing trend. The tendency of influenza in Yinchuan consisted of three stages: increased from 2012 to the first peak in 2019 (32.62/100,000) with a slight decrease in 2016; during 2019 and 2020, the trend was downwards; then it increased sharply again and reached another peak in 2022. The Joinpoint regression analysis found that there were three turning points from January 2012 to December 2022, namely January 2020, April 2020, and February 2022. The children under ten displayed an upward trend and were statistically significant. The trend surface analysis indicated that there was a shifting trend from northern to central and southern. A significant positive spatial auto-correlation was observed at the township level and four high-incidence clusters of influenza were detected. These results suggested that children under 10 years old deserve more attention and the spatiotemporal distribution of high-risk regions of influenza in Yinchuan varies every year at the township level. Thus, more monitoring and resource allocation should be prone to the four high-incidence clusters, which may benefit the public health authorities to carry out the vaccination and health promotion timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistical evaluations on the numerical and experimental parametric roll time series in long-crest irregular heading waves are conducted. In the time series of parametric roll under irregular seas, strong "grouping phenomenon" or "cluster structures" can be observed. A pick-out procedure based on parametric roll detection scheme is applied to get the clusters with large roll amplitudes to form the truncated realizations. The statistical properties of the truncated realizations are investigated and compared with those of the original realizations. It is found that the confidence bands of variances of the truncated realizations are significantly larger than those of the original realizations, which indicates that the truncated realizations, i.e. the clusters with large roll amplitudes, are more dependent and narrow-banded than the original realizations. The distribution of the truncated realization is close to normal distribution with the kurtosis slightly larger than the normal distribution, while the distribution of the original realization is leptokurtic with sharp peak and thick tail. The kurtosis of the truncated realizations can be viewed as the lower limit of kurtosis for the possible distribution of the parametric roll. The estimated lower limit of kurtosis with 95% confidence interval can be given approximately as 3.650 ± 0.127. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctive type of head and neck malignancy with a high incidence in southern China. Previous studies have confirmed that taurine shows an anti-cancer effect on a variety of human tumors by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of its anti-cancer effect on NPC is not well understood. To clarify these anti-cancer mechanisms, we performed cell viability and colony formation assays. Apoptotic cells were quantified by flow cytometry. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were evaluated by Western blot. The results showed that taurine markedly inhibited cell proliferation in NPC cells, but only slightly in an immortalized normal nasopharyngeal cell line. Taurine suppressed colony formation and induced apoptosis of NPC cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, taurine increased the active form of caspase-9/3 in a dose-dependent manner. Taurine down-regulated the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xL and up-regulated the pro-apoptotic protein Bax and GRP78, a major endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone. These results suggest the involvement of mitochondrial and ER stress signaling in apoptosis. In addition, taurine increased the levels of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) and p53, and reduced phosphorylated Akt (protein kinase B). In conclusion, taurine may inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in NPC through PTEN activation with concomitant Akt inactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe how mechanical strain is able to control the flow of heat on a graphene sheet, since this material can either absorb or expel heat from/to a thermal reservoir, depending on the strain energy. In a similar fashion as the magneto- and electro-caloric effects, the present case considers the fact that a mechanical strain produces a pseudo-magnetic field that, on its turn, is responsible for the barocaloric effect. This result pushes graphene to the list of multicaloric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) have been reported to have a wide range of beneficial effects including neuroprotection, anti -aging and anticancer. However, the anti -inflammation mechanism of LBP on primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons injured by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/RP) is incompletely understood. We investigate the neuroprotective effects of LBP on neonatal rat primary cultured hippocampal neurons injured by OGD/RP with different approaches: MTT assay was used to detect cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase leakage was used to detect neuronal damage, formation of reactive oxygen species was determined by using fluorescent probe DCFH-DA. Hoechst 33,342 staining and TUNEL staining were used to determine the cell apoptosis. JC-1 was used to evaluate loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The fluorescence intensity of [Ca] in hippocampal neurons was determined by laser scanning confocal microscopy. The expression of various apoptotic markers such as TLR4, IκB, IL-6 and NF-κB were investigated by RT-PCR and western blot analysis. Results from each approach demonstrated that LBP increased the cell abilities and decreased the cell morphologic impairment. Furthermore, LBP increased MMP but inhibited [Ca] elevation and significantly suppressed overexpression of NF-κB, IL-6 TLR4 and increased IκB expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six novel chiral coordination compounds, namely [Cd(acty)(phen)](ClO)·3HO 1, {[Cd(acty)(bpp)(HO)](NO)·2HO} 2, {[Cd(acty)(bpp)(HO)](ClO)·2HO} 3, {[Zn(acty)(bpp)(O)]·3.5HO} 4, {[Ag(acty)(bpp)](NO)·8HO} 5, {[Ag(acty)(4,4'-bipy)]·2HO} 6 have been synthesized in the presence of N-donor ligands (Hacty = N-acetyl- L-tyrosine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, bpp = 1,3-di(4-pyridyl)propane, 4,4'-bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine). Compound 1 shows a 0D structure in the presence of phen. Compounds 2 and 3 are isostructural 1D right-hand helical chains via flexible bpp ligand. Compound 4 features a 1D double-chain structure and 5 displays a 2D (6,6)-connected grid network also by bpp ligand. Compound 6 displays a 1D single-chain structure by rigid 4,4'-bipy ligand. Compound 1, 2 and 5 are further extended into 3D supramolecular architectures through hydrogen-bonding interactions. Compounds 4 and 6 are further linked by hydrogen-bonding interactions into a 2D supramolecular layer. Circular dichroism and luminescent properties of compounds 1− 6 were investigated at room temperature. Our results highlight the frameworks and luminescent properties can be controlled via adjusting ancillary N-donor ligands and metal centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks can provide analgesia postoperatively for a range of surgeries. Abundant clinical trials have assessed TAP block showing positive analgesic effects. This systematic review assesses safety and effectiveness outcomes of TAP block in all clinical settings, comparing with both active (standard care) and inactive (placebo) comparators. PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library and the University of York CRD databases were searched. RCTs were screened for their eligibility and assessed for risk of bias. Meta-analyses were performed on available data. TAP block showed an equivalent safety profile to all comparators in the incidence of nausea (OR = 1.07) and vomiting (OR = 0.81). TAP block was more effective in reducing morphine consumption [MD = 13.05, 95% CI (8.33, 51.23)] and in delaying time to first analgesic request [MD = 123.49, 95% CI (48.59, 198.39)]. Postoperative pain within 24 h was reduced or at least equivalent in TAP block compared to its comparators. Therefore, TAP block is a safe and effective procedure compared to standard care, placebo and other analgesic techniques. Further research is warranted to investigate whether the TAP block technique can be improved by optimizing dose and technique-related factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a facile one-step method combining the pore expansion and the enlargement of the hollow cavity of hollow periodic mesoporous organosilica spheres (HPMOSs) into one step was proposed. Moreover, the whole process for the formation just needs 1 h and involves reaction just under normal pressure and temperature. We further investigate the influence of different expanders and the amount of expanders on pore size and hollow cavity size. The obtained HPMOSs using tridecane as expander possess excellent properties, including good spherical morphology, large hollow structures, radially oriented mesochannels (3.44 nm), uniform particle size (115 nm), high BET surface area (1298 m/g), and large pore volume (1.96 cm/g). In addition, the hollow cavity size and the mesoporous size can be controlled via the modulation of tridecane amount. This method also provides a basis for synthesizing both large pore and the hollow cavity of functionalized, monodispersed HPMOSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bexarotene is an FDA approved retinoid X-receptor (RXR) agonist for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and its use in other cancers and Alzheimer's disease is being investigated. The drug causes serious side effects, which might be reduced by chemical modifications of the molecule. To rationalize known agonists and to help identify sites for potential substitutions we present molecular simulations in which the RXR ligand-binding domain was flooded with a large number of drug-like molecules, and molecular dynamics simulations of a series of bexarotene-like ligands bound to the RXR ligand-binding domain. Based on the flooding simulations, two regions of interest for ligand modifications were identified: a hydrophobic area near the bridgehead and another near the fused ring. In addition, positional fluctuations of the phenyl ring were generally smaller than fluctuations of the fused ring of the ligands. Together, these observations suggest that the fused ring might be a good target for the design of higher affinity bexarotene-like ligands, while the phenyl ring is already optimized. In addition, notable differences in ligand position and interactions between the RXRα and RXRβ were observed, as well as differences in hydrogen bonding and solvation, which might be exploited in the development of subspecies-specific ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This systematic review evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and impact on patient management of hepatocyte-specific gadoxetic acid enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (GA-MRI) compared to contrast enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) in patients with liver metastases. Method: Four biomedical databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, York CRD) were searched from January 1991 to February 2016. Studies investigating the accuracy or management impact of GA-MRI compared to CE-CT in patients with known or suspected liver metastases were included. Bias was evaluated using QUADAS-II. Univariate meta-analysis of sensitivity ratios (RR) were conducted in the absence of heterogeneity, calculated using I , Tau values ( τ) and prediction intervals. Results: Nine diagnostic accuracy studies (537 patients with 1216 lesions) and four change in management studies (488 patients with 281 lesions) were included. Per-lesion sensitivity and specificity estimates for GA-MRI ranged from 86.9-100.0 % and 80.2-98.0 %, respectively, compared to 51.8-84.6 % and 77.2-98.0 % for CE-CT. Meta-analysis found GA-MRI to be significantly more sensitive than CE-CT (RR = 1.29, 95 % CI = 1.18-1.40, P < 0.001), with equivalent specificity (RR = 0.97, 95 % CI 0.910-1.042, P = 0.44). The largest difference was observed for lesions smaller than 10 mm for which GA-MRI was significantly more sensitive (RR = 2.21, 95 % CI = 1.47-3.32, P < 0.001) but less specific (RR = 0.92, 95 % CI 0.87-0.98, P = 0.008). GA-MRI affected clinical management in 26 of 155 patients (16.8 %) who had a prior CE-CT; however, no studies investigated the consequences of using GA-MRI instead of CE-CT. Conclusion: GA-MRI is significantly more sensitive than CE-CT for detecting liver metastases, which leads to a modest impact on patient management in the context of an equivocal CE-CT result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turbine blades of aero engines often require small-size and high depth-diameter ratio holes, which have been a promising method for film cooling under harsh working conditions of both high temperature and pressure. However, for the film cooling holes with different spatial angles, existing methods are difficult to eliminate sharp corners that might be damaged easily due to stress concentration and thus reduce the strength of turbine blades. Herein, electrochemical machining (ECM) method based on insulated electrodes was proposed to round the sharp corners of film cooling holes on the GH4169 plate. Electrochemical rounding theory was analyzed in detail. Tube electrodes were insulated by polyimide capillary tube to reduce the stray corrosion and improve the precision and strength of turbine blades. In addition, the size of rounded corners could be adjusted by changing the processing parameters including processing voltage, processing time, processing gap, electrode descent position, and electrode exposure length. This electrochemical rounding process can round the film cooling holes efficiently, and is expected to be applied in the field of aviation manufacturing widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel tetracyclic terpanes X and Y namely C-des-A-oleanane and C tetracyclic terpane were detected in crude oils and source rock extracts in Zhu 1 depression in Pearl River Mouth Basin by GC-MS analysis technology. These compounds are similar to oleanane in the structure, and their relative abundance in m/z 191 partial mass chromatogram has a good correlation with oleanane. Here compounds X and Y are considered to be derived from the des-A degradation of oleanoid precursor. The ratio of X/(X+C) and Y/(Y+C) increase with the increasing inputs of terrigenous organic matter in crude oils. Wenchang Formation middle-deep lacustrine source rocks with planktonic algae organic matter inputs and oil generating from it contain low abundance of compounds X and Y, while Enping Formation coal measures source rocks with terrigenous higher plants organic matter inputs and oil generating from it usually have higher compounds X and Y. In general when two terrigenous compounds C tricyclic terpane and bicadinane-T are high in crude oils, there are also a corresponding high abundant compounds X and Y. Relative abundance of compounds X and Y is closely related to the source of organic matter and it can indicate the input of terrigenous organic matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We investigated nimotuzumab (h-R3), a humanized monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor, when combined with irradiation or chemoradiation for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the esophagus. The aim of this study was to evaluate its safety and efficacy. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 66 patients with esophageal SCC treated with a combination of h-R3 and radiation or chemoradiation between December 2008 and September 2011 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Fifty-two of the 66 patients received h-R3 combined with chemoradiation and 14 received h-R3 plus radiation. The median total irradiation dose was 61 Gy given by conventional fractionation. The h-R3 weekly dosage was 100 mg (6/66), 200 mg (54/66), or 400 mg (6/66) given concurrently during the irradiation period. Results: Patients tolerated the treatment well. Grade 3-4 adverse events and toxicities occurred in 50 % of the patients. h-R3-related toxicities manifested as Grade 1 skin rash in 1 case and Grade 2 infusion-related reaction in 2 cases. The median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 26.0 months and 16.7 months, respectively. OS, PFS and locoregional control (LC) at 2 years were 54, 37 and 80 %, respectively. Conclusions: h-R3 in combination with irradiation or chemoradiation was safe and tolerable, and yielded encouraging OS, PFS and LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation mechanisms of the mega-dunes and lakes in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert, China, is the focus of extensive academic research in the field of geoscience, and an often debated topic is whether atmospheric precipitation on the mega-dune can infiltrate to recharge groundwater. In the present study, the probability distribution functions and the return period analysis of extreme daily precipitation based on long-term precipitation records for the southern margin of Badain Jaran Desert and 2-year observation of hinterland precipitation were used to classify precipitation in the desert region. The data of automatic weather station and eddy covariance system in the desert hinterland were used to analyze evaporation on the mega-dune surface after various rain events. The results showed that the rain events in the desert could be divided into three categories. The first is conventional precipitation (CP), which is below 5 mm, accounting for roughly 90 % of all rain events in the desert. The second and third categories are ordinary annual maximum (OAM) and extreme precipitation (EP), in which precipitation is roughly 20 mm and more than 40 mm, respectively. The atmospheric precipitation of CP and OAM evaporated from the mega-dune surface in 1-3 days and 3-4 weeks, respectively. Following an EP event, the mega-dune evaporation was negatively influenced by the upper dry sand layer, and a lengthy period was required for its complete removal. The accumulative evaporation and accumulative precipitation of all three types of rain events indicated that local atmospheric precipitation had no significant contribution to recharging the groundwater system in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert. This research will benefit comprehensive elucidation of the formation mechanism of lakes in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell–cell communication and physical interactions play a vital role in cancer initiation, homeostasis, progression, and immune response. Here, we report a system that combines live capture of different cell types, co-incubation, time-lapse imaging, and gene expression profiling of doublets using a microfluidic integrated fluidic circuit that enables measurement of physical distances between cells and the associated transcriptional profiles due to cell–cell interactions. We track the temporal variations in natural killer—triple-negative breast cancer cell distances and compare them with terminal cellular transcriptome profiles. The results show the time-bound activities of regulatory modules and allude to the existence of transcriptional memory. Our experimental and bioinformatic approaches serve as a proof of concept for interrogating live-cell interactions at doublet resolution. Together, our findings highlight the use of our approach across different cancers and cell types. A microfluidic system combines the capture, co-incubation, time-lapse imaging, and gene expression profiling of doublets to measure the distances between cells and associated transcriptional profiles due to cell–cell interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel metal-organic framework {[Cu(Hbptc)(cbpy)(HO)]·(HO)} ( 1) has been hydrothermally synthesized through reaction of 1,1′-biphenyl-2,2′,3,3′-tetracarboxylic acid (Hbptc) with Cu(II) salt in the presence of ancillary nitrogen ligand 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine (cbpy), and its structure was determined by X-ray diffraction and characterized by elemental analysis, and IR spectrum. The title compound crystallizes in monoclinic space group P2/ c. Both right- and left-handed helices are detected in the structure. In the ab-plane, adjacent chains are homochiral and parallel to each other, which are connected together by hydrogen bonds to form a 2D supramolecular structure. The supramolecular layers with opposite chirality are arranged alternatively along the c-axis to form a 3D mesomeric supramolecular structure through π···π interactions. The thermal stability of the complex 1 was studied by thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gears with a complex curve tooth, such as spiral bevel and hypoid gears, lack an ideal technique for the final finishing process. Pulse electrochemical finishing (PECF) is considered a promising method for surface finishing due to its micro-removal characteristics. A PECF system for spiral bevel gear (SBG) is established according to the generation of SBG tooth surfaces. An SBG (module, 12 mm; number of teeth, 38) is selected as the processing test piece, and mathematical models are developed for analyzing the characteristics of PECF. The influence of the experimental variables, including applied voltage, interelectrode gap, and finishing time, on the total removal thickness and surface roughness is discussed. The calculated values are found to be approximately consistent with the experimental values. The other parameters, including the concentration of electrolyte, tool rotational speed, flow rate of electrolyte, and pulse period, are also studied. Results show that the roughness of the SBG tooth surface is reduced from Rz 7.13 to 4.32 μm. The precision of the SBG is also improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

d-Serine is a novel candidate for an intrinsic ligand for the glycine site of N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in mammalian brain. d-Serine and serine racemase, which produces d-serine from l-serine, have long been presumed to be localized in astrocytes. However, we have reported that d-serine immunoreactivity was observed in neurons in rats. In the present study, the distributions of d-serine and serine racemase were investigated in combination with marker proteins for neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in mice. Immunoreactivities for d-serine and serine racemase were found in neurons and oligodendrocytes. These results suggest that d-serine can be produced in neurons as well as glias and used as a neurotransmitter, which control the synaptic function of NMDA receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of density of hydrogen-bonding donor (HBD) on the formation of layer-by-layer assemblies of poly(4-vinylpyridine) and poly(4-vinylphenol) was investigated. For this purpose, a series of ethyl-substituted poly(4-vinylphenol) (EsPVPhf) with variable ethyl substitute percentage was synthesized by grafting the phenol moiety along the poly(4-vinylphenol) backbone with 1-bromoethane. UV-vis spectroscopy revealed a uniform deposition process of the hydrogen-bonded multilayer consisting of poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVPy) and EsPVPhf with variable density of HBD. Notably, it was found that increasing the HBD density of EsPVPhf resulted in a marked decrease of both amount of polymers adsorbed and film thickness, which should be related to the EsPVPhf conformation change from coiled state to extended conformation in ethanol solution. Compared with the effect of charge density in polyelectrolyte multilayer, however, there does not exist a critical density of HBD in our case of hydrogen-bonded multilayer assembly. In addition, surface structures of PVPy/EsPVPhf multilayer films also can be tailored controllably by adjusting HBD density of EsPVPhf. As a result, a new method for tuning the structure of hydrogen-bonding-directed multilayer films was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

l-Aspartate (l-Asp) is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. In the present study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the presence ofl-Asp in a particular neuronal cell class in the enteric nervous system (ENS). Scatteredl-Asp-immunoreactive neuronal cell bodies and nerve fibers were found extensively in both the myenteric and submucosal plexus throughout the small and large intestines. Manyl-Asp-immunoreactive nerve fibers, which originated from intrinsic nerve cell bodies, were found in the ganglia and interconnecting nerve bundles. Electron microscopy revealed thatl-Asp-immunoreactive terminals frequently formed synaptic contacts with intrinsic nerve cells, suggesting that somel-Asp-immunoreactive neurons might function as interneurons. These results suggest thatl-Asp-immunoreactive neurons play a significant role within the ENS to control intestinal functions. The presence of entericl-Asp-immunoreactive neurons provides strong support for the proposal thatl-Asp is a neuromodulator in the rat ENS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination chemistry of the organotin(IV) compounds is dominated by nitrogen and oxygen donor ligands. Some of these complexes have found prominent applications in the fields of biomedicine such as anticancer and antibacterial agents. These complexes represent important building blocks in polymer and supramolecular assembly. This review aims to summarize the recent literature on the chemistry of organotin complexes with imine and polypyridyl ligands such as bipyridine, phenanthroline and terpyridine ligands as well as oxygen donor ligands and O, N donor ligands. Given that many organotin(IV) chlorides are inexpensive, widely available, and can be easily converted to the other corresponding halides and pseudo-halides, numerous innovative ideas could be generated through application of these compounds. Polymer-containing tin moieties were also highlighted and their biological activities in combatting diseases such as cancer and inflammatory and infectious diseases were described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Toeplitz fourth-order cumulant (FOC) orthonormal propagator rooting method (TFOC ‐ OPRM) of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation for uniform linear array (ULA) is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the modified (i.e., reduced-dimension) FOC (MFOC) matrix is achieved at first via removing the redundant information encompassed in the primary FOC matrix; then, the TFOC matrix which possesses Toeplitz structure can be recovered by utilizing the Toeplitz approximation method. To reduce the computational complexity, an effective method based on the polynomial rooting technology is adopted. Finally, the DOAs of incident signals can be estimated by exploiting orthonormal propagator rooting method. The theoretical analysis coupled with simulation results show that the proposed resultant algorithm can reduce the computational complexity significantly, as well as improve the estimation performance in both spatially white noise environment and spatially color noise environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding sex disparities in stroke can identify gaps in clinical care. The objective of this study was to investigate whether sex differences could influence clinical outcomes of patients with acute vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO) who underwent endovascular therapy (EVT). Methods: Patients were selected from the ANGEL-ACT Registry. The primary outcome was favorable functional outcome (90-day modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 0–3). Secondary outcomes included 90-day mRS distribution, excellent outcome (mRS 0–1), functional independence (mRS 0–2), early neurological improvement, recanalization, intracranial hemorrhage, and mortality within 90 days. The above outcomes were compared by two adjustment models, including (1) multivariable logistics analysis adjusting for all baseline and procedural variables with a P < 0.05; (2) adjusting for the propensity score. Results: There were 347 acute VBAO patients treated with EVT included, of whom 72 (20.7%) were women and 275 (79.3%) were men. Women were older (72[63–76] vs. 62[53–69], P < 0.001) and had a higher rate of atrial fibrillation (31.9% vs. 8.7%, P < 0.001), lower rates of underlying intracranial atherosclerotic disease (30.6% vs. 51.3%, P = 0.007), and tandem occlusion (8.3% vs. 21.8%, P = 0.009) than men. The rate of favorable outcome (mRS 0–3) was similar between women and men (41.7% vs. 51.3%, adjusted odds ratio 1.56, 95%CI: 0.83–2.95, P = 0.171). There were no sex differences in other clinical outcomes (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: In the ANGEL-ACT registry, the percentage of men with acute VBAO undergoing EVT was approximately fourfold higher than that of women with acute VBAO undergoing EVT. Sex differences did not modify the outcomes of acute VBAO after EVT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical efficacy and safety of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment for COVID-19 remain controversial. This study aimed to map the current status and gaps of available evidence, and conduct a meta-analysis to further investigate the benefit of IVIg in COVID-19 patients. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SR/MAs), primary studies with control groups, reporting on the use of IVIg in patients with COVID-19. A random-effects meta-analysis with subgroup analyses regarding study design and patient disease severity was performed. Our outcomes of interest determined by the evidence mapping, were mortality, length of hospitalization (days), length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay (days), number of patients requiring mechanical ventilation, and adverse events. Results: We included 34 studies (12 SR/MAs, 8 prospective and 14 retrospective studies). A total of 5571 hospitalized patients were involved in 22 primary studies. Random-effects meta-analyses of very low to moderate evidence showed that there was little or no difference between IVIg and standard care or placebo in reducing mortality (relative risk [RR] 0.91; 95% CI 0.78–1.06; risk difference [RD] 3.3% fewer), length of hospital (mean difference [MD] 0.37; 95% CI − 2.56, 3.31) and ICU (MD 0.36; 95% CI − 0.81, 1.53) stays, mechanical ventilation use (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.68–1.24; RD 2.8% fewer), and adverse events (RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.84–1.14; RD 0.5% fewer) of patients with COVID-19. Sensitivity analysis using a fixed-effects model indicated that IVIg may reduce mortality (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.60–0.97), and increase length of hospital stay (MD 0.68; 95% CI 0.09–1.28). Conclusion: Very low to moderate certainty of evidence indicated IVIg may not improve the clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Given the discrepancy between the random- and fixed-effects model results, further large-scale and well-designed RCTs are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of multimedia data has enriched people's lives and work and has penetrated into education, finance, medical, military, communications, and other industries. The text data takes up a small space, and the network transmission speed is fast. However, due to its richness, the multimedia data makes it occupy an ample space. Some high-definition multimedia information even reaches the GB level, and the multimedia data network transmission is relatively slow. Compared with the traditional scalar data, the multimedia data better describes the characteristics of the transaction, but at the same time, the multimedia data itself has a large capacity and must be compressed. Nodes of wireless multimedia sensor networks have limited ability to process data. Traditional data compression schemes require high processing power of nodes and are not suitable for sensor networks. Therefore, distributed video codec scheme in recent years becomes one of the hot multimedia sensor network technologies, which is a simple coding scheme, coding complexity of decoding performance. In this paper, distributed video codec and its associated knowledge based on the study present a distributed video coding scheme and its improvements. Aiming at the problem that the traditional distributed video coding scheme cannot accurately decode the motion severe region and the boundary region, a distributed video coding algorithm based on gradient-domain ROI is proposed, which can enhance the coding efficiency of the severe motion region and improve the decoded image while reducing the code rate and quality, ultimately reducing sensor node energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of quantitative, safe and rapid techniques for assessing embryo quality provides significant advances in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Instead of assessing the embryo quality by the standard morphologic evaluation, we apply the phasor-FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy) method to capture endogenous fluorescent biomarkers of pre-implantation embryos as a non-morphological caliber for embryo quality. Here, we identify, under hypoxic and non-hypoxic conditions, the unique spectroscopic trajectories at different stages of mouse pre-implantation development, which is referred to as the developmental, or "D-trajectory", that consists of fluorescence lifetime from different stages of mouse pre-implantation embryos. The D-trajectory correlates with intrinsic fluorescent species from a distinctive energy metabolism and oxidized lipids, as seen with Third Harmonic Generation (THG) that changes over time. In addition, we have defined a non-morphological Embryo Viability Index (EVI) to distinguish pre-implantation embryo quality using the Distance Analysis (DA), a machine learning algorithm to process the fluorescence lifetime distribution patterns. We show, under our experimental conditions, that the phasor-FLIM approach provides a much-needed non-invasive quantitative technology for identifying healthy embryos at the early compaction stage with 86% accuracy. The DA and phasor-FLIM method may provide the opportunity to improve implantation success rates for in vitro fertilization clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphene sheet is able to either heat up or cool down due to a mechanical strain: this is the adiabatic barocaloric effect. In order to understand the physical mechanism behind this effect, we have explored the adiabatic temperature change of the graphene and, for this purpose, we considered two contributions to the total entropy: a lattice entropy (depending on the transversal, longitudinal and anomalous out-of-plane acoustic phonons) and a strain entropy. We found that the adiabatic barocaloric effect only depends on the strain energy and the anomalous acoustic phonons, without terms due to the transversal and longitudinal acoustic phonons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-order fractional step finite volume solver is developed with a fractional step method along with an explicit fourth-order Runge–Kutta scheme in solving Navier–Stokes equations. And then the solver is applied to the prediction of the longitudinal distribution of cross-sectional ship roll hydrodynamics. The present development ameliorates the previous high-order finite volume solver [Ocean Eng 180:119–129] in solving the pressure–velocity coupled equation to further enhance its robustness on roll simulation. Firstly, accuracy of the solver is validated by shear-driven cavity flows and a series of roll motions with the available published numerical or experimental results. And its convergency is verified with a grid- and time step-dependence study. Then, a roll simulation on the mid-section of a KVLCC2 is performed; it embodies that the present solver can suppress the force oscillation than the previous one [Ocean Eng 180:119–129]. Finally, harmonic excited roll motions for several cross sections of a KVLCC2 are systematically investigated for cases of different roll amplitudes and frequencies. And longitudinal distributions of roll hydrodynamics and flow structures near the ship hull are analyzed. In results, the present solver enhances the robustness on roll simulation compared with the previous one [Ocean Eng 180:119–129]. Roll hydrodynamic coefficients culminate at sections of the parallel middle body, and decrease gradually towards fore and aft, and then they increase at the bow and stern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most large-scale evapotranspiration (ET) estimation methods require detailed information of land use, land cover, and/or soil type on top of various atmospheric measurements. The complementary relationship of evaporation (CR) takes advantage of the inherent dynamic feedback mechanisms found in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface for its estimation of ET rates without the need of such biogeophysical data. ET estimates over the conterminous United States by a new, globally calibrated, static scaling (GCR-stat) of the generalized complementary relationship (GCR) of evaporation were compared to similar estimates of an existing, calibration-free version (GCR-dyn) of the GCR that employs a temporally varying dynamic scaling. Simplified annual water balances of 327 medium and 18 large watersheds served as ground-truth ET values. With long-term monthly mean forcing, GCR-stat (also utilizing precipitation measurements) outperforms GCR-dyn as the latter cannot fully take advantage of its dynamic scaling with such data of reduced temporal variability. However, in a continuous monthly simulation, GCR-dyn is on a par with GCR-stat, and especially excels in reproducing long-term tendencies in annual catchment ET rates even though it does not require precipitation information. The same GCR-dyn estimates were also compared to similar estimates of eight other popular ET products and they generally outperform all of them. For this reason, a dynamic scaling of the GCR is recommended over a static one for modeling long-term behavior of terrestrial ET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with a kind of first-order quasilinear parabolic partial differential equations associated with a class of ordinary differential equations with two-point boundary value problems. We prove that the function given by the solution of an ordinary differential equation is the unique solution of a first-order quasilinear parabolic partial differential equation in both classical and weak senses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exist inconsistent findings about the relation between cosleeping and sleep problems in children. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess these relations and compared their cross-cultural differences. We searched the EMBASE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases. A random effect model was used, and subgroup analysis by culture group was performed. By including fifteen qualified studies, this meta-analysis revealed that increased bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, night waking, and parasomnia were shown from children cosleeping with others. Cosleeping children from the West performed more bedtime resistance and night waking, while those children from the East showed more parasomnia. In general, cosleeping is associated with several sleep disturbances for children, including bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, night waking, and parasomnia, and the cultural differences do exist between the West and East. The findings provide initial evidence of the influence of cosleeping on children's sleep problems. More studies on the related topic are needed from diverse cultures in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effects of random errors on the oscillating behaviors have been studied theoretically and numerically in a prototypical coupled nonlinear oscillator. Two kinds of noises have been employed respectively to represent the measurement errors accompanied with the parameter specifying the distance from a Hopf bifurcation in the Stuart-Landau model. It has been demonstrated that when the random errors are uniform random noise, the change of the noise intensity can effectively increase the robustness of the system. While the random errors are normal random noise, the increasing of variance can also enhance the robustness of the system under certain conditions that the probability of aging transition occurs reaches a certain threshold. The opposite conclusion is obtained when the probability is less than the threshold. These findings provide an alternative candidate to control the critical value of aging transition in coupled oscillator system, which is composed of the active oscillators and inactive oscillators in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed that a trait code is mainly represented in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). However, those studies only investigated the neural code of warmth traits. According to the 'Big Two' model of impression formation, competence traits are the other major dimension when we judge others. The current study explored the neural representation of competence traits by using an fMRI repetition suppression paradigm, which is a rapid reduction of neuronal responses upon repeated presentation of the same implied trait. Participants had to infer an agent's trait from brief behavioral descriptions that implied a competence trait. In each trial, the critical target sentence was preceded by a prime sentence that implied the same or opposite competence-related trait, or no trait. The results revealed robust repetition suppression from prime to target in the vmPFC and precuneus during trait conditions. Critically, the suppression effect was much stronger after being primed with a similar and opposite competence trait compared with a trait-irrelevant prime. This suppression pattern was found nowhere else in the brain. Consistent with previous fMRI studies, we suggest that the neural code of competence traits is represented in these two brain areas with different levels of abstraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]