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Discoveries of tetraquarks not only enrich the hadronic spectrum but also provide more platforms to understand quantum chromodynamics. We study the production processes of hidden-charm and open-charm tetraquarks in B decays by analyzing their topological amplitudes. Relations between different channels are found, which confront tests by experiments to probe the nature of the tetraquarks. Furthermore, promising channels to find more tetraquarks are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroprotection in acute stroke has not been successfully translated from animals to humans. Animal research on promising agents continues largely in rats and mice which are commonly available to researchers. However, controversies continue on the most suitable species to model the human situation. Generally, putative agents seem less effective in mice as compared with rats. We hypothesized that this may be due to inter-species differences in stroke response and that this might be manifest at a genetic level. Here we used whole-genome microarrays to examine the differential gene regulation in the ischemic penumbra of mice and rats at 2 and 6 h after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO; Raw microarray CEL data files are available in the GEO database with an accession number GSE163654). Differentially expressed genes (adj. p ≤ 0.05) were organized by hierarchical clustering, correlation plots, Venn diagrams and pathway analyses in each species and at each time-point. Emphasis was placed on genes already known to be associated with stroke, including validation by RT-PCR. Gene expression patterns in the ischemic penumbra differed strikingly between the species at both 2 h and 6 h. Nearly 90% of significantly regulated genes and most pathways modulated by ischemia differed between mice and rats. These differences were evident globally, among stroke-associated genes, immediate early genes, genes implicated in stress response, inflammation, neuroprotection, ion channels, and signal transduction. The findings of this study may have significant implications for the choice of species for screening putative stroke therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amphiphilic block copolymer consisting of poly(N-acryloyl-glucosamine) (PAGA) and poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA) was designed and grafted on magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4MWCNTs). The resultant Fe3O4MWCNTs@copolymer was proposed as QuEChERS adsorbent for determination of 15 mycotoxins and 25 pesticides in grains via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The adsorbent was characterized by a transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, elemental analysis, and other techniques. The common matrix interferences were efficiently removed by the proposed adsorbent, such as pigment, fatty acids, and the saccharide. PAGA segment played an important role in removing the hydrophilic interferences through hydrogen bonding due to the high density of hydroxyl groups. PtBMA segment removed the fatty residues through its strong hydrophobic carbon moiety. In comparison with the commercially available QuEChERS adsorbents, the proposed adsorbent had higher adsorption capacities towards the typical matrix interferences. To achieve satisfactory recoveries of analytes, various parameters in the QuEChERS procedure were comprehensively investigated. Under the optimal conditions, 95.0% of the analytes showed satisfactory recoveries in the range 70.0–120% as well as negligible matrix effects. The limits of detection (LOD) were in the range 0.00015–1.3 μg kg−1. Compared with previously reported QuEChERS methods, the proposed method had improved sensitivity and benefited from low matrix effects. The recoveries of analytes in various grains were in the range 60.8–108% with relative standard deviations (RSD) less than 13%. Moreover, the Fe3O4MWCNTs@copolymer exhibited good synthetic reproducibility and rapid magnetic separation (less than 10 s). The research provides a versatile platform to develop multi-functional QuEChERS adsorbents based on the amphiphilic block copolymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picking first arrivals is a fundamental but not easy task in the oil seismic exploration, especially in situations where the signal-to-noise ratios are very low. The paper proposed a new picking algorithm with the emerging new graph signal processing technology in the signal processing field. Fundamentally, first arrival picking is actually as a problem to recognize direct seismic waves among background noises. It is apparently that background noises and the direct waves are from different sources, and therefore, there is no connectivity among them, which formulates the fundamentals of the proposed method. With the help of graph signal processing theory, such non-connectivity is fully explored and cast into an optimization problem for picking the first arrivals in oil exploration. From simulations and real measurements results, the proposed method is validated for first arrival picking with good performances, especially in situations with low signal-to-noise ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four truxene-based conjugated microporous polymers (Tr-CMPs) were prepared via different synthetic methods and their structure-property relationships were studied. The polymer networks have high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface areas ranging from 554 m2·g−1 to 1024 m2·g−1. Pore sizes of the CMPs with different linkers are mainly located between 0.60 and 1.96 nm. Among all the Tr-CMPs, Tr-CMP4 has the highest BET surface area of 1024 m2·g−1 and exhibits the highest H2 uptake of 0.88 wt%. Tr-CMP2 prepared by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction has the highest photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 13.06% and CO2 uptake of 6.25 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In oil seismic exploration, automatic picking of first arrivals is very important but difficult for seismic data with low signal-to-noise ratios. In the paper, we proposed a new method based on mutual information in information theory. Mutual information between signals and noises is zero theoretically; thus, random noises have fewer effects on first arrivals pickup with the criterion of mutual information. The paper presents a detailed description of the method based on mutual information. Tests and verification with simulation data and field measurements are carried out. When compared with other well-known methods, the first break picking accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm are verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first generalize Gerstewitz's functions from a single positive vector to a subset of the positive cone. Then, we establish a partial order principle, which is indeed a variant of the pre-order principle [Qiu, J. H.: A pre-order principle and set-valued Ekeland variational principle. J. Math. Anal. Appl., 419, 904-937 (2014)]. By using the generalized Gerstewitz's functions and the partial order principle, we obtain a vector EVP for ε-efficient solutions in the sense of Németh, which essentially improves the earlier results by completely removing a usual assumption for boundedness of the objective function. From this, we also deduce several special vector EVPs, which improve and generalize the related known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of backfill strength and composition are key to the use of staged open stope mining with subsequent filling. The traditional method of determining backfill strength has certain disadvantages, so it is necessary to explore a more scientific approach to obtain reasonable matches between backfill strength and excavated rock mass. Stress-strain curves of backfills with different cement-tailings ratios were obtained from laboratory mechanical tests for Zhongguan Iron Mine. Damage constitutive models prior to peak stress were established from damage mechanics. Using the principle that peak deformation energy corresponds to the energy released from an excavated rock mass, the optimum backfill strength and composition ratio were determined. The study provides a scientific basis for the backfilling design of this mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In my former paper 'A pre-order principle and set-valued Ekeland variational principle' (see [ J. Math. Anal. Appl., 419, 904-937 (2014)]), we established a general pre-order principle. From the pre-order principle, we deduced most of the known set-valued Ekeland variational principles (denoted by EVPs) in set containing forms and their improvements. But the pre-order principle could not imply Khanh and Quy's EVP in [On generalized Ekeland's variational principle and equivalent formulations for set-valued mappings, J. Glob. Optim., 49, 381-396 (2011)], where the perturbation contains a weak τ-function, a certain type of generalized distances. In this paper, we give a revised version of the pre-order principle. This revised version not only implies the original pre-order principle, but also can be applied to obtain the above Khanh and Quy's EVP. In particular, we give several new set-valued EVPs, where the perturbations contain convex subsets of the ordering cone and various types of generalized distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using Gerstewitz functions, we establish a new equilibrium version of Ekeland variational principle, which improves the related results by weakening both the lower boundedness and the lower semi-continuity of the objective bimaps. Applying the new version of Ekeland principle, we obtain some existence theorems on solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems, where the most used assumption on compactness of domains is weakened. In the setting of complete metric spaces ( Z, d), we present an existence result of solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems, which only requires that the domain X ⊂ Z is countably compact in any Hausdorff topology weaker than that induced by d. When ( Z, d) is a Féchet space (i.e., a complete metrizable locally convex space), our existence result only requires that the domain X ⊂ Z is weakly compact. Furthermore, in the setting of non-compact domains, we deduce several existence theorems on solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems, which extend and improve the related known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using sequentially lower complete spaces (see [Zhu, J., Wei, L., Zhu, C. C.: Caristi type coincidence point theorem in topological spaces. J. Applied Math., 2013, ID 902692 (2013)]), we give a new version of vectorial Ekeland's variational principle. In the new version, the objective function is defined on a sequentially lower complete space and taking values in a quasi-ordered locally convex space, and the perturbation consists of a weakly countably compact set and a non-negative function p which only needs to satisfy p( x, y) = 0 iff x = y. Here, the function p need not satisfy the subadditivity. From the new Ekeland's principle, we deduce a vectorial Caristi's fixed point theorem and a vectorial Takahashi's non-convex minimization theorem. Moreover, we show that the above three theorems are equivalent to each other. By considering some particular cases, we obtain a number of corollaries, which include some interesting versions of fixed point theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give a general vectorial Ekeland's variational principle, where the objective function is defined on an F-type topological space and taking values in a pre-ordered real linear space. Being quite different from the previous versions of vectorial Ekeland's variational principle, the perturbation in our version is no longer only dependent on a fixed positive vector or a fixed family of positive vectors. It contains a family of set-valued functions taking values in the positive cone and a family of subadditive functions of topology generating quasi-metrics. Hence, the direction of the perturbation in the new version is a family of variable subsets which are dependent on the objective function values. The general version includes and improves a number of known versions of vectorial Ekeland's variational principle. From the general Ekeland's principle, we deduce the corresponding versions of Caristi-Kirk's fixed point theorem and Takahashi's nonconvex minimization theorem. Finally, we prove that all the three theorems are equivalent to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize clinical features and evaluate the clinical outcome of endovascular embolization treatment intracranial arteriovenous malformations in pediatric patients. Methods: A cohort of children (age ≤ 18 years) with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) from 2000 to 2012 was included. Predictors studied included patient gender, age, and angioarchitectural features, including AVM location, nidus morphology and size, venous drainage, and associated aneurysms. Treatment method, complications and outcomes were recorded. The features of AVMs were evaluated before the treatment. Results: One hundred twenty-seven children (77 males, mean age 13.2 years) were included; 90/127 (70.9 %) children were presented with hemorrhage. AVM size and deep venous drainage were independently associated with hemorrhage; 66/127 patients (52 %) treated with endovascular embolization. Complete obliteration at the end of all endovascular procedures was achieved in 14/66 patients (21.2 %), with an average of 78 % (range, 20-100 %) volume reduction. A mean of 2.9 (range, 1-9) feeding pedicles was embolized per patient. Overall, nine complications occurred in a total of 123 procedures (7.3 %). There was no procedure-related death in this study population. There was no significant difference between patients with and without complications in terms of AVM grade, demographic characteristics, or embolization features. Conclusions: AVM size and deep venous drainage were independently associated with hemorrhage in pediatric patients. Endovascular procedure is feasible and safe for pediatric AVMs, and complete embolization can be achieved in small AVMs, while large AVMs can be adequately reduced in size for additional microsurgery or stereotactic radiosurgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by using p-distances on uniform spaces, we establish a general vectorial Ekeland variational principle (in short EVP), where the objective function is defined on a uniform space and taking values in a pre-ordered real linear space and the perturbation involves a p-distance and a monotone function of the objective function. Since p-distances are very extensive, such a form of the perturbation in deed contains many different forms of perturbations appeared in the previous versions of EVP. Besides, we only require the objective function has a very weak property, as a substitute for lower semi-continuity, and only require the domain space (which is a uniform space) has a very weak type of completeness, i.e., completeness with respect to a certain p-distance. Such very weak type of completeness even includes local completeness when the uniform space is a locally convex topological vector space. From the general vectorial EVP, we deduce a general vectorial Caristi's fixed point theorem and a general vectorial Takahashi's nonconvex minimization theorem. Moreover, we show that the above three theorems are equivalent to each other. We see that the above general vectorial EVP includes many particular versions of EVP, which extend and complement the related known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the concept of cone extensions and Dancs-Hegedus-Medvegyev theorem, Ha [Some variants of the Ekeland variational principle for a set-valued map. J. Optim. Theory Appl., 124, 187-206 (2005)] established a new version of Ekeland's variational principle for set-valued maps, which is expressed by the existence of strict approximate minimizer for a set-valued optimization problem. In this paper, we give an improvement of Ha's version of set-valued Ekeland's variational principle. Our proof is direct and it need not use Dancs-Hegedus-Medvegyev theorem. From the improved Ha's version, we deduce a Caristi-Kirk's fixed point theorem and a Takahashi's nonconvex minimization theorem for set-valued maps. Moreover, we prove that the above three theorems are equivalent to each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we attempt to give a unified approach to the existing several versions of Ekeland's variational principle. In the framework of uniform spaces, we introduce p-distances and more generally, q-distances. Then we introduce a new type of completeness for uniform spaces, i.e., sequential completeness with respect to a q-distance (particularly, a p-distance), which is a very extensive concept of completeness. By using q-distances and the new type of completeness, we prove a generalized Takahashi's nonconvex minimization theorem, a generalized Ekeland's variational principle and a generalized Caristi's fixed point theorem. Moreover, we show that the above three theorems are equivalent to each other. From the generalized Ekeland's variational principle, we deduce a number of particular versions of Ekeland's principle, which include many known versions of the principle and their improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A game theoretic solution for distributed uplink resource allocation in multi-cell OFDMA systems is presented in this paper. Convergence rule and steady state characterization are analyzed with potential game. Simulation results show that the proposed non-cooperative potential game algorithm for dynamic subcarrier and power allocation can converge to Nash Equilibrium (NE) quickly and achieve higher energy efficiency compared with pure iterative water-filling algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of topological vector spaces, we give a characterization of strong Minkowski separation, introduced by Cheng, et al., in terms of convex body separation. From this, several results on strong Minkowski separation are deduced. Using the results, we prove a drop theorem involving weakly countably compact sets in locally convex spaces. Moreover, we introduce the notion of the co-drop property and show that every weakly countably compact set has the co-drop property. If the underlying locally convex space is quasi-complete, then a bounded weakly closed set has the co-drop property if and only if it is weakly countably compact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the damage behaviors of optical mirrors induced by film defects (as film bumps, film pits and film contaminants) in high-power CW laser, a simulation study was carried out, which considered temperature, thermal stress and thermal deformation in results. The results show that the bumps of the film will primarily absorb laser energy, and its temperature, thermal stress and thermal deformation will become extremely high, which is easy to damage the film; similarly, the film pits will also absorb laser energy for its temperature rise, and the pits will expand to the inwards. The larger the size of the pits, the larger the expansion of melting range will be, and eventually damage the film layer; after absorbing the laser energy, the temperature of the film contaminants is very high (for film contaminants size of 150 μm, its maximum temperature reaching 900 K), even exceeding the damage temperature (523 K) that the film can withstand, and finally causing the film to be ablated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new scheme for generating new structured beams via spatially dependent transparency in a three-level atomic system. Due to the joint quantum interference induced by Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) field and constant coupling field, we can achieve different spatially dependent beams by measuring the probe absorption intensity profiles. The proposed scheme may provide potential applications in optics and novel quantum technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By constructing a suitable projection scheme and using the coincidence degree theory of Mawhin, we study the existence of solutions for conjugate boundary value problems with functional boundary conditions at resonance with dim Ker L = 1 . Examples are given to illustrate our main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential abundance of allelic transcripts in a diploid organism, commonly referred to as allele specific expression (ASE), is a biologically significant phenomenon and can be examined using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from RNA-seq. Quantifying ASE aids in our ability to identify and understand cis-regulatory mechanisms that influence gene expression, and thereby assist in identifying causal mutations. This study examines ASE in breast muscle, abdominal fat, and liver of commercial broiler chickens using variants called from a large sub-set of the samples (n = 68). ASE analysis was performed using a custom software called VCF ASE Detection Tool (VADT), which detects ASE of biallelic SNPs using a binomial test. On average ~ 174,000 SNPs in each tissue passed our filtering criteria and were considered informative, of which ~ 24,000 (~ 14%) showed ASE. Of all ASE SNPs, only 3.7% exhibited ASE in all three tissues, with ~ 83% showing ASE specific to a single tissue. When ASE genes (genes containing ASE SNPs) were compared between tissues, the overlap among all three tissues increased to 20.1%. Our results indicate that ASE genes show tissue-specific enrichment patterns, but all three tissues showed enrichment for pathways involved in translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research in the field of neuroscience primarily focuses on the analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) activities associated with movement within the central nervous system. However, there is a dearth of studies investigating the impact of prolonged individual strength training on the resting state of the brain. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the correlation between upper body grip strength and resting-state EEG networks. In this study, coherence analysis was utilized to construct resting-state EEG networks using the available datasets. A multiple linear regression model was established to examine the correlation between the brain network properties of individuals and their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) during gripping tasks. The model was used to predict individual MVC. The beta and gamma frequency bands showed significant correlation between RSN connectivity and MVC (p < 0.05), particularly in left hemisphere frontoparietal and fronto-occipital connectivity. RSN properties were consistently correlated with MVC in both bands, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.60 (p < 0.01). Additionally, predicted MVC positively correlated with actual MVC, with a coefficient of 0.70 and root mean square error of 5.67 (p < 0.01). The results show that the resting-state EEG network is closely related to upper body grip strength, which can indirectly reflect an individual's muscle strength through the resting brain network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle re-identification (ReID) is to find a particular vehicle across different surveillant cameras in city roads. There are two main challenges in vehicle ReID. In one case, pictures of the same vehicle from different camera views often look different, which is called "intra-instance difference" in this paper. In another case, different vehicles of the same model and color often look similar from the same camera view, which is called "inter-instance similarity" in this paper. To deal with these challenges, we design a super-resolution-based part collaboration network (SPCN) for vehicle ReID, which aims to improve the performance of ReID system by paying attention to local features with strong differentiation. First, a fine-grained object detection method is used to find the discriminative local parts in vehicle images, and the image qualities of these local parts are enhanced by a super-resolution model with long skip connections. Then, a part collaboration mechanism is designed to realize the weighted fusion of local features, since different local features show different importance in the process of vehicle ReID task. Finally, the global features are fused with the local features to produce the identification results. Extensive experiments on two public data sets show the effectiveness of our method, which introduces less background noise and achieves state-of-the-art results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fastest route recommendation (FRR) is an important task in urban computing. Despite some efforts are made to integrate A∗ algorithm with neural networks to learn cost functions by a data driven approach, they suffer from inaccuracy of travel time estimation and admissibility of model, resulting sub-optimal results accordingly. In this paper, we propose an ASNN-FRR model that contains two powerful predictors for g(⋅) and h(⋅) functions of A* algorithm respectively. Specifically, an adaptive graph convolutional recurrent network is used to accurately estimate the travel time of the observed path in g(⋅). Toward h(⋅), the model adopts a multi-task representation learning method to support origin-destination (OD) based travel time estimation, which can achieve high accuracy without the actual path information. Besides, we further consider the admissibility of A* algorithm, and utilize a rational setting of the loss function for h(⋅) estimator, which is likely to return a lower bound value without overestimation. At last, the two predictors are fused into the A∗ algorithm in a seamlessly way to help us find the real-time fastest route. We conduct extensive experiments on two real-world large scale trip datasets. The proposed approach clearly outperforms state-of-the-art methods for FRR task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of copper(II) with 2-aminobenzonitrile and 3-(2-oxo-pyrrolidin-yl)-propionitrile were first synthesized and characterized, and the reaction of these nitriles with Cu(OAc)·HO or CuCl·2HO in ethanol resulted in the production of three novel copper complexes, I, II, and III. In addition, we obtained the manganese (II) oxygen complex ( IV) in the process of synthesis of the manganese (II) nitrogen complex, in which o-phenylenediamine was used as the ligands to react with MnCl·4HO. The structure of each complex was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Each complex was also characterized using elemental analysis, H NMR and IR. The complexes were then all used to catalyze the Henry reaction, and moderate catalytic results were achieved. Graphical Abstract: A series of copper(II) with 2-aminobenzonitrile and 3-(2-oxo-pyrrolidin-yl)-propionitrile were first synthesized and characterized, and the reaction of these nitriles with Cu(OAc)·HO or CuCl·2HO in ethanol resulted in the production of three novel copper complexes, I, II, and III. In addition, we obtained the manganese (II) oxygen complex ( IV) in the process of synthesis of the manganese (II) nitrogen complex, in which o-phenylenediamine was used as the ligands to react with MnCl·4HO. The structure of each complex was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Each complex was also characterized using elemental analysis, H NMR and IR. The complexes were then all used to catalyze the Henry reaction, and moderate catalytic results were achieved. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coping with the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many countries have implemented public-health measures and movement restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. However, the strict mobility control also brought about production stagnation and market disruption, resulting in a severe worldwide economic crisis. Quantifying the economic stagnation and predicting post-pandemic recovery are imperative issues. Besides, it is significant to examine how the impact of COVID-19 on economic activities varied with industries. As a reflection of enterprises' production output, high-frequency electricity-consumption data is an intuitive and effective tool for evaluating the economic impact of COVID-19 on different industries. In this paper, we quantify and compare economic impacts on the electricity consumption of different industries in eastern China. In order to address this problem, we conduct causal analysis using a difference-in-difference (DID) estimation model to analyze the effects of multi-phase public-health measures. Our model employs the electricity-consumption data ranging from 2019 to 2020 of 96 counties in the Eastern China region, which covers three main economic sectors and their 53 sub-sectors. The results indicate that electricity demand of all industries (other than information transfer industry) rebounded after the initial shock, and is back to pre-pandemic trends after easing the control measures at the end of May 2020. Emergency response, the combination of all countermeasures to COVID-19 in a certain period, affected all industries, and the higher level of emergency response with stricter movement control resulted in a greater decrease in electricity consumption and production. The pandemic outbreak has a negative-lag effect on industries, and there is greater resilience in industries that are less dependent on human mobility for economic production and activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium is widely used in implant materials, while excessive fluoride may have negative effects on the osseointegration between the titanium and osteoblasts. Although the underlying mechanisms are still not clear, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) or Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling pathways are thought to be involved. This study evaluated the role of Hippo/YAP and MAPK signaling pathway in osteoblast behaviors under excessive fluoride exposure in vitro and in vivo. Commercially pure Ti (cp-Ti) samples were exposed to fluoride (0, 0.1, and 1.0 mM NaF) for 7 days. Cell adhesion was observed using a laser scanning confocal microscope. Cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expressions of osteoblast markers and key molecules in MAPK and YAP pathway were detected by Western blot. In vivo studies were evaluated by histology methods in C57/BL6 mice model. Our results showed that 1.0 mM NaF destroyed the passivation film on cp-Ti surface, which further inhibited the osteoblast adhesion and spreading. Meanwhile, compared to other groups, 1.0 mM NaF led to a remarkable reduction in cell viability (P < 0.05), as well as increased apoptosis (P < 0.05) and downregulation of osteogenesis protein expression (P < 0.05). MAPK and YAP signaling pathways were also activated under 1.0 mM NaF exposure, and JNK seemed to regulate YAP phosphorylation in response to NaF impacts on osteoblasts. In vivo fluorosis mouse model further indicated that 100 ppm NaF group (high fluoride group) increased bone resorption and inhibited the nuclear translocation of YAP. The osteoblast behaviors were negatively altered under excessive fluoride, and MAPK/JNK axis contributed to YAP signaling activation in regulating NaF-induced osteoblast behaviors. Key messages: • Excessive fluoride inhibited osteoblast behaviors and bone formation. • YAP and MAPK signaling pathways were activated in osteoblasts under fluoride exposure. • Fluoride regulated osteoblast behaviors via the cross-talk between YAP and MAPK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive method for simultaneous determination of amantadine and rimantadine in feed was developed using an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Qtrap-MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring information-dependent acquisition-enhanced product ion (MRM-IDA-EPI) mode, and employing the mixed cation exchange (MCX) solid-phase extraction column as sample cleanup and amantadine-d15 and rimantadine-d4 as internal standards, respectively. Compared to traditional MRM mode, for the targeted drugs in feed simultaneously both the secondary mass spectra and MRM information can be obtained using UHPLC-Qtrap-MS with MRM-IDA-EPI mode, and thus more accurate qualitative confirmation results achieved even at lower concentration of 0.2 μg/L in acceptable purity fit values. After optimization of sample preparation, good linearities (R > 0.9994) were obtained over the concentration range from 1 to 200 μg/L for amantadine and rimantadine. The precision was validated by intra-day and inter-day, and the relative standard deviations were all within 9.61%. Mean recoveries ranged from 76.1 to 112% at spiked concentrations of 0.5-100 μg/kg in three types of feed samples, including formula feed and complex concentrated feed for pigs and premix feed for chicken. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were 0.2 and 0.5 μg/kg for both drugs, respectively. The application in real feed samples further proved the accuracy and reliability of the developed method. This method provides an important tool to detect illegal uses of amantadine and rimantadine in feed.Simultaneous quantitation and qualitative confirmation of amantadine and rimantadine in feed by MRM-IDA-EPI [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still controversial whether pre-existing cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) increase the risks of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and poor functional outcome (PFO) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT). Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the impact of CMBs on ICH and PFO of AIS patients with IVT. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception to August 3, 2016, with language restriction in English. We included studies that reported the relationship between CMBs and ICH or PFO after thrombolysis. Two retrospective and nine prospective studies met inclusion criteria (total 2702 patients). The overall prevalence of CMBs on pre-IVT MRI scans was 24.0%. Pre-existing CMBs on MRI scans were not significantly associated with a higher risk of early sICH (OR 1.74; 95% CI 0.91-3.33; I = 44.5%). Subgroup analyses did not substantially influence these associations. The presence of CMBs was associated with the increased risk of 3-month PFO (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.08-2.31; I = 54.2%), PH (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.34-3.42; I = 11.0%) and any ICH (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.04-1.95; I = 0.0%), respectively. This meta-analysis showed that CMBs presence was not significantly associated with the increased risk of early sICH after IVT. However, the results also demonstrated that CMBs presence increased the risks of 3-month PFO, PH and any ICH after IVT. Due to a small number of included studies and methodological limitations, the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted cautiously. CMBs presence should not be a contraindication to IVT for AIS patients based on the existing evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-mediated neuroprotective effects is valuable for the development of therapeutic strategy against neuronal ischemic injury. Here, we report the upregulated expression of metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1), a master chromatin modifier and transcriptional regulator, in the murine middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. Inhibition of MTA1 expression by in vivo short interfering RNA treatment potentiated neuronal apoptosis in a caspase-3-dependent manner and thereafter aggravated MCAO-induced neuronal damage. Mechanistically, the pro-survival effects of MTA1 required the participation of ERα signaling. We also provide in vitro evidence that MTA1 enhances the binding of ERα with the BCL2 promoter upon ischemic insults via recruitment of HDAC2 together with other unidentified coregulators, thus promoting the ERα-mediated transactivation of the BCL2 gene. Collectively, our results suggest that the augmentation of endogenous MTA1 expression during neuronal ischemic injury acts additionally to an endocrinous cascade orchestrating intimate interactions between ERα and BCL2 pathways and operates as an indispensable defensive mechanism in response to neuronal ischemia/reperfusion stress. Future studies in this field will shed light on the modulation of the complicated neuroprotective effects by estrogen signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients whose symptom onset occurs before 16 years of age are termed juvenile-onset ankylosing spondylitis (JAS). Investigations suggested that JAS had worse functional outcome, and abnormality of bone metabolism can appear in early stage of AS. The objectives of this study are to compare changes of serum inflammatory and bone metabolic markers and to explore the relationship between these biomarkers and disease activity in JAS with different HLA-B27 subtypes. Serum matrix metallopeptidase-3 (MMP-3), soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (sRANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were detected by ELISA in 56, 62, and 68 JAS patients, respectively, and 32 healthy individuals were as controls. Serum MMP-3 and sRANKL were significantly higher and OPG in JAS was slightly higher than those in controls. There was no significant difference in the level of MMP-3, sRANKL, and OPG among JAS patients with B27 negativity, B*2704, B*2705, and B*2715, respectively. Serum levels of MMP-3 showed positive correlation with BASDAI and BASFI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index and Functional Index). Serum level of sRANKL showed positive correlation with MMP-3 and negative correlation with disease duration. The significantly higher sRANKL expression suggested the enhanced osteoclast function and imbalance of RANKL/OPG system in the inflammatory process of JAS patients carrying different B27 subtypes. It should be paid attention to the abnormality of bone metabolism during the treatment of JAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a neurotropic parasite which can cause injury to central nervous system and eosinophilic meningitis to human. Natural killer (NK) cells are specialized innate lymphocytes important in early defense against pathogens as in a variety of intracellular bacterial, viral, and protozoan infections. However, the number and function of NK cells in extracellular parasitic infection of A. cantonensis are unclear. In this study, on A. cantonensis infected mice which may mimic the human's infection, we found that the percentage of splenic NK cells and the absolute number of peripheral blood NK cells were decreased at 21-day post infection compared with that of controls. When administrating with albendazole treatment at early stage of the infection, the changes of NK cells could be avoided. Further analysis confirmed that the reduction of NK cells was due to their apoptosis manifested as increased expressions of annexin V and activated caspase-3 after 16-day post infection. Moreover, both activated and inhibitory receptors such as CD16, CD69, NKG2D, and Ly49a on NK cells were down-regulated after 16-day post infection. Interestingly, NK cells isolated from mice of 21-day post infection showed enhanced IFN-γ production when stimulated with IL-12 for 24 h and cytotoxicity to YAC-1 cells, as well as elevated CD107a expression. It is evident that NK cell population and its function were changed in A. cantonensis infected mice, suggesting their involvement in pathogenesis of the infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common and serious problem among mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICU), especially for the newborn. However, limited literatures have been reviewed to synthesize the finding of previous papers to investigate the risk factors for VAP although it has been a serious complication of mechanical ventilation (MV) with a high morbidity and mortality in the newborn. We performed this meta-analysis to extend previous knowledge for developing VAP prevention strategies by identifying the potential risk factors related to VAP in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The relevant literatures published up to July 2013 were searched in the databases of PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and Web of Science. Three reviewers screened those literatures and extracted data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria independently. A total of eight studies including 370 cases and 1,071 controls were identified. Ten risk factors were found to be related to neonatal VAP which were listed as follows in order by odds ratios (ORs): length of stay in NICU (OR 23.45), reintubation (OR 9.18), enteral feeding (OR 5.59), mechanical ventilation (OR 4.04), transfusion (OR 3.32), low birth weight (OR 3.16), premature infants (OR 2.66), parenteral nutrition (OR 2.30), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (OR 2.21), and tracheal intubation (OR 1.12). Conclusion: We identified ten variables as independent risk factors for the development of VAP: length of stay in NICU, reintubation, enteral feeding, mechanical ventilation, transfusion, low birth weight, premature infants, parenteral nutrition, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and tracheal intubation. Due to several limitations in the present study, further large and well-designed studies are needed to confirm the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown associations of fetuin-A (alpha 2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein, AHSG) with various disorders, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. In this study, genotype and allele frequencies of the rs4918 SNP in the AHSG gene were examined in 380 patients with ischemic stroke and 350 healthy controls from a Northern Han Chinese population via the PCR-RFLP technique. Frequencies of the GG genotype and the G allele in AHSG (rs4918) were significantly higher in patients with ischemic stroke or atherosclerotic cerebral infarction than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated the significance of rs4918 in these patients, after adjustment for confounding factors ( P < 0.05). These findings suggest that rs4918 SNPs of the AHSG gene are associated with a risk for ischemic stroke in a Northern Han Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study describes a nose prosthetic rehabilitation using computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology after facial disfigurement because of a total rhinectomy.Methods: A patient with a total rhinectomy was scheduled for a nasal prosthesis. Based on the 3-D model of the patient's face reconstructed with the CT data, a four-piece mould for the nasal prosthesis was prototyped using a CAD-CAM procedure. Conventional silicone was processed with this physical mould to fabricate the definitive nasal prosthesis.Results: A silicone nasal prosthesis was manufactured. The size, shape, and cosmetic look of the prosthesis were satisfactory and matched the nasal defect area well.Conclusions: The protocol presented herein illustrates favorable clinical treatment outcomes in the prosthetic rehabilitation after a total rhinectomy by means of CAD-CAM technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizations’ own personnel now have a greater ability than ever before to misuse their access to critical organizational assets. Insider threat detection is a key component in identifying rare anomalies in context, which is a growing concern for many organizations. Existing perimeter security mechanisms are proving to be ineffective against insider threats. As a prospective filter for the human analysts, a new deep learning based insider threat detection method that uses the Dempster-Shafer theory is proposed to handle both accidental as well as intentional insider threats via organization’s channels of communication in real time. The long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture together with multi-head attention mechanism is applied in this work to detect anomalous network behavior patterns. Furthermore, belief is updated with Dempster’s conditional rule and utilized to fuse evidence to achieve enhanced prediction. The CERT Insider Threat Dataset v6.2 is used to train the behavior model. Through performance evaluation, our proposed method is proven to be effective as an insider threat detection technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe an electrochemical immunoassay for ultrasensitive direct determination of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). A nanocomposite consisting of octahedral Cu2O nanocrystals covered with gold nanoparticles was utilized to modify a glassy carbon electrode which gives a strongly enhanced chronoamperometric signal for H2O2 which is used as an electrochemical probe. The morphology and elemental composition of the the nanocomposite was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In addition, staphylococcal protein A was placed on the electrode for efficient capture of antibody to further enhance the sensitivity of the assay. Under optimal conditions and at a typical working voltage of −0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the response covers the 2 pg·mL−1 to 20 ng·mL−1 CEA concentration range with a 200 fg·mL−1 lower detection limit. The method was successfully applied to the determination of CEA in (spiked) human serum.Schematic of the fabrication of an electrochemical immunosensor for ultrasensitive detection the carcinoembryonic antigen. The sensor is based on the use of a glassy carbon electrode modified with an octahedral Cu2O-gold nanocomposite and staphylococcal protein A for signal amplification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultrasensitive immunosensor for the direct detection of the illegally used livestock feed clebuterol (CLB) is described. It is based on the use of a glassy carbon electrode modified with an MoS2-AuPt nanocomposite and on biotin-streptavidin interaction. The use of MoS2-AuPt accelerates electron transfer, and this leads to a sharp increase in the electrochemical signal for the electrochemical probe hydrogen peroxide. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to record the current signal at a peak potential of −0.18 V (vs SCE). Under optimal conditions, the electrode has a linear response in the 10 pg·mL−1 to 100 ng·mL−1 CLB concentration range and a 6.9 pg·mL−1 detection limit (based on the 3σ criterium). This immunosensor is sensitive, highly specific and acceptably reproducible, and thus represents a valuable tool for the determination of CLB in pork.Schematic of a voltammetric immunosensor for the determination of clenbuterol (CLB) based on the use of a nanocomposite prepared from molybdenum disulfide and a gold-platinum alloy (MoS2-AuPt), and making use of the biotin-streptavidin system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]