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A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) method was developed for determination of protein kinase A (PKA) ultra-sensitively based on amidated nano-titanium (NH2-TiO2) embellished carbon dots (Mg@N-CDs) fluorescent probe, which integrated the target recognition and ECL signal enhancement. The Cys-labeled kemptides were employed to build a serine-rich synthetic substrate-heptapeptide (Cys-kemptide) on the Au-electrode surface. Then, the PKA-induced biosensor was triggered as a signal switch to introduce the large amounts of TiO2 decorated Mg@N-CD nanohybrid (Ti@NMg-CDs) into AuE/Cys-phosphopeptides for signal output. In particular, the presence of PKA could induce the formation of Cys-phosphopeptides by the catalytic reaction between specific substrate (kemptide) and PKA, which acts as an initiator to link the Ti@NMg-CDs according to the bridge interactions Ti–O-P. In this way, multiple Cys-phosphopeptides were adsorbed onto a single Ti@NMg-CDs, and the Ti@NMg-CDs not only provided high specific selectivity but also large surface area, as well as unprecedented high ECL efficiency. Using this PKA-induced enhanced sensor, the limit of detection of the PKA was 4.89 × 10−4 U/mL (S/N = 3). The proposed ECL biosensor was also universally applicable for the screening of PKA inhibitors and determining of other kinases activity. Our sensing system has excellent performance of specificity and the screening of kinase inhibitors, as well as it will inspire future effort in clinical diagnostics and new drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maintenance of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) functional integrity is essential for effective hematopoietic regeneration when suffering from injuries. Studies have shown that the innate immune pathways play crucial roles in the stress response of HSCs, whereas how to precisely modulate these pathways is not well characterized. Here, we identify the E3 ubiquitin ligase tripartite motif-containing 47 (Trim47) as a negative regulator of the mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS)-mediated innate immune pathway in HSCs. We find that Trim47 is predominantly enriched in HSCs, and its deficiency impairs the function and survival of HSCs after exposure to 5-flurouracil (5-FU) and irradiation (IR). Mechanistically, Trim47 impedes the excessive activation of the innate immune signaling and inflammatory response via K48-linked ubiquitination and degradation of MAVS. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a role of Trim47 in preventing stress-induced hematopoietic failure and thus provide a promising avenue for treatment of related diseases in the clinic. During periods of stress, it is required to maintain the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pool. Here the authors show that Trim47 is important in the survival and function of HSCs after exposure to stress, and prevents haematopoietic failure by inhibiting MAVS-mediated excessive activation of the innate immune pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Seroma formation is the most common cause of morbidity associated with laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the thickness of subcutaneous fat (TSF) and the risk of postoperative seroma. Methods: We reviewed data from a prospective cohort of 229 male patients who underwent laparoscopic total extra-peritoneal (TEP) hernioplasty for indirect inguinal hernia between August 2018 and July 2021. The TSF was assessed using preoperative ultrasound images. The risk factors for postoperative seroma were determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: Postoperative seromas occurred in 26 patients (11.4%). The factors associated with postoperative seroma included longer hernia duration, larger hernia defects, extension into the scrotum, and greater TSF (P < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, a greater TSF was independently associated with a greater risk of postoperative seroma (per 1 mm: odd ratio [OR] 1.105, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.048–1.165, P < 0.001; TSF ≥ 26.0 mm: OR 7.033, 95% CI 2.485–19.901, P < 0.001). Similar results were obtained in the subgroup analysis. The area under the curve of TSF for predicting seroma formation was 0.703 (95% CI 0.601–0.806). Conclusion: Ultrasound-derived TSF may be a promising prognostic factor for postoperative seroma in patients undergoing laparoscopic TEP repair. Further validation is required and then this parameter can be used to improve decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends a recently developed superconvergence result for weak Galerkin (WG) approximations for modeling partial differential equations from constant coefficients to variable coefficients. This superconvergence features a rate that is two-order higher than the optimal-order error estimates in the usual energy and L2 norms. The extension from constant to variable coefficients for the modeling equations is highly non-trivial. The underlying technical analysis is based on the use of a sequence of projections and decompositions. Numerical results are presented to confirm the superconvergence theory for second-order elliptic problems with variable coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the growth of mangoes is often affected by pests and diseases, the application of object detection technology can effectively solve this problem. However, deploying object detection models on mobile devices is challenging due to resource constraints and high-efficiency requirements. To address this issue, we reduced the parameters in the target detection model, facilitating its deployment on mobile devices to detect mango pests and diseases. This study introduced the improved lightweight target detection model GAS-YOLOv8. The model's performance was improved through the following three modifications. First, the model backbone was replaced with GhostHGNetv2, significantly reducing the model parameters. Second, the lightweight detection head AsDDet was adopted to further decrease the parameters. Finally, to increase the detection accuracy of the lightweight model without significantly increasing parameters, the C2f module was replaced with the C2f-SE module. Validation with a publicly available dataset of mango pests and diseases showed that the accuracy for insect pests increased from 97.1 to 98.6%, the accuracy for diseases increased from 91.4 to 91.7%, and the model parameters decreased by 33%. This demonstrates that the GAS-YOLOv8 model effectively addresses the issues of large computational volume and challenging deployment for the detection of mango pests and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an extension of the well-known Morley element for the biharmonic equation, extending its application from triangular elements to general polytopal elements using the weak Galerkin finite element methods. By leveraging the Schur complement of the weak Galerkin method, this extension not only preserves the same degrees of freedom as the Morley element on triangular elements but also expands its applicability to general polytopal elements. The numerical scheme is devised by locally constructing weak tangential derivatives and weak second-order partial derivatives. Error estimates for the numerical approximation are established in both the energy norm and the L 2 norm. A series of numerical experiments are conducted to validate the theoretical developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop and validate a prediction model based on imaging data for the prognosis of mild chronic subdural hematoma undergoing atorvastatin treatment. Methods: We developed the prediction model utilizing data from patients diagnosed with CSDH between February 2019 and November 2021. Demographic characteristics, medical history, and hematoma characteristics in non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) were extracted upon admission to the hospital. To reduce data dimensionality, a backward stepwise regression model was implemented to build a prognostic prediction model. We calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the prognostic prediction model by a tenfold cross-validation procedure. Results: Maximum thickness, volume, mean density, morphology, and kurtosis of the hematoma were identified as the most significant predictors of good hematoma dissolution in mild CSDH patients undergoing atorvastatin treatment. The prediction model exhibited good discrimination, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.90) and good calibration (p = 0.613). The validation analysis showed the AUC of the final prognostic prediction model is 0.80 (95% CI 0.71–0.86) and it has good prediction performance. Conclusion: The imaging data-based prediction model has demonstrated great prediction accuracy for good hematoma dissolution in mild CSDH patients undergoing atorvastatin treatment. The study results emphasize the importance of imaging data evaluation in the management of CSDH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the escalating social pressures, there has been a continuous rise in the prevalence of depression among the population, leading to substantial healthcare burdens. Moreover, conventional pharmacological interventions still exhibit certain limitations. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of depression. Methods: Randomized controlled trials of probiotics in treating depressive symptoms were retrieved from Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wan Fang database, and CNKI between the establishment of the database and March 2022. The primary outcome was Beck's depression rating scale (BDI) scores, while the secondary outcomes were depression scores on the DASS-21 scale, biochemical indicators (IL-6, NO, and TNF-α levels), and adverse events. In addition, Revman 5.3 was used for Meta-analysis and quality evaluation, and Stata 17 was used for the Egger test and Begg's test. A total of 776 patients, including 397 and 379 patients in the experimental and control groups, respectively, were included. Results: The total BDI score of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group (MD = − 1.98, 95%CI − 3.14 to − 0.82), and the score of DASS (MD = 0.90, 95%CI − 1.17 to 2.98), the IL-6 level (SMD = − 0.55, 95%CI − 0.88 to − 0.23), the NO level (MD = 5.27, 95% CI 2.51 to 8.03), and the TNF-α level (SMD = 0.19, 95% CI − 0.25 to 0.63). Conclusion: The findings substantiate the therapeutic potential of probiotics in mitigating depressive symptoms by significantly reducing Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) scores and alleviating the overall manifestation of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioorthogonal reactions involving transition metals have diversified applications in imaging, drug development, chemical catalysis and other fields. Transition metals used to catalyze the bioorthogonal reaction mainly include ruthenium, palladium, copper, and gold. However, the great potential for translational applications of bioorthogonal reaction needs to be further expanded and their reaction efficiency should be improved. Therefore, it is an urgent need for the development of this field to find more suitable catalysts to efficiently catalyze existing biological orthogonal reactions and expand the types of biological orthogonal reactions. Thus, this review not only summarizes those transition metal complexes-based catalysts participating in bioorthogonal reaction and some bioorthogonal reactions involving transition metals inside the cells, but also sheds light into the discovery of new transition metal complexes and their future development in applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to explore whether craniocervical manual lymphatic drainage (cMLD) can promote hematoma absorption and increase the efficiency of atorvastatin-based conservative treatment in chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) patients. All CSDH patients treated with atorvastatin-based therapy between October 2020 and February 2022 in our department were retrospectively screened for enrollment. The patients were divided into the control and cMLD groups according to whether cMLD was performed. Head CT or MR images in both groups were obtained before the treatment and 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the treatment. MR images of the deep cervical lymphatic nodes (dCLNs) in 23 patients were obtained in the cMLD group before and approximately 2 weeks after treatment. The volumes of the dCLNs and hematoma were calculated. The primary outcomes are the differences in hematoma volume reduction after 4 weeks of treatment. The secondary outcomes were (1) the differences in hematoma volume reduction between the patients in these two groups in the 2nd week, (2) the dCLN volume change in the cMLD group before and after 2 weeks of treatment, and (3) the percentage of patients who transitioned to surgery because of failure to the conservative treatment. A total of 106 consecutive patients were enrolled in this study for analysis; 54 patients received atorvastatin-based treatment (control group), and 52 were treated with both atorvastatin-based treatment and cMLD (cMLD group). At baseline, the mean hematoma volume was 76.53 ± 42.97 ml in the control group and 88.57 ± 49.01 ml in the cMLD group (p = 0.181). In the 4th week, the absolute number of hematoma reductions (20.79 ± 34.73 ml vs. 37.28 ± 28.24 ml, p = 0.009) and percentage of hematoma reductions (22.58% ± 60.01% vs. 46.43% ± 30.12%, p = 0.012) in the cMLD group were greater than those in the control group. After 2 weeks of treatment, the absolute number of hematoma reductions showed no difference in the two groups, while the percentage of hematoma reduction was higher in the cMLD group (18.18% ± 24.61% vs. 2.08% ± 25.72%, p = 0.001). One patient in cMLD and 8 patients in the control group were transitioned to receive surgical treatment. The dCLN volumes in 23 experimental patients increased significantly after 2 weeks of treatment in the cMLD group (p = 0.032). There were no severe side effects that needed to be reported. Combined with atorvastatin-based therapy, cMLD can promote hematoma absorption and decrease the surgery rate, which provides a new therapeutic strategy for CSDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first-principles was employed to calculate the adsorption of Cs on (2 × 2) Al(Mg)0.5Ga0.5N and Al0.5 Ga(Mg)0.5N surfaces using density-functional theory within a plane-wave ultrasoft pseudopotential scheme. Then, the surface morphology, stability, work functions and Cs adsorptions of Al(Mg)0.5Ga0.5N and Al0.5 Ga(Mg)0.5N surfaces were investigated. The results reveal that Al(Mg)0.5Ga0.5N surface with Mg in the first layer was more suitable for ultraviolet cathode. The most stable adsorption site for adsorption of Cs on the Al(Mg)0.5Ga0.5N surface was found on N top. With the increase of Cs coverage, the interaction between Cs and atoms in the first layer of surface and that between Cs and Cs was enhanced, the surface dipole moment increased, the work function decreased, the carrier concentration and the absorption in visible light increased. When Cs coverage was greater than 0.5ML, the adsorption of Cs reached saturation, the deformation of surface structure appeared, the adsorption in visible light was greater than that in UV, and the surface was no longer suitable for UV detection. The results show that 0.5ML is the turning point of Cs coverage for the surface doped with Mg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy is one of the main therapeutic methods for cancers; however, nonselective killing of normal cells and tumor cells by X-ray inevitably results in toxicity and side effects. Developing low-toxicity and high-efficiency radiosensitizers to reduce the practical dose of X-ray is a promising approach to overcoming these side effects. Here, we report the use of carboxylate-containing organic ligands to construct one-dimensional high-Z lanthanide chains for efficient response to X-ray. The one-dimensional lanthanide chains are stacked through weak interactions to form coordination nanoframeworks in the presence of polyethylenimine (PEI). The morphology and activity of the synthesized nanoframeworks can be regulated through selenium atom engineering. This study presents a promising approach for effective radiotherapy through selenium-engineering stable lanthanide nanoframeworks with precise coordination structures as radiosensitizers to mitigate X-ray side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain death (BD), the irreversible cessation of function in the whole brain, is a well-known condition in most countries. The criteria and practical guidelines for brain death determination (BDD) in China were issued by the Brain Injury Evaluation Quality Control Center (BQCC) of the National Health and Family Planning Commission in 2013. Thereafter, we proposed a plan called the three-step quality control plan (three-step QCP) to ensure the safety and consistency of the clinical judgments regarding BD. By retrospectively reviewing this plan, we aimed to identify problems during its implementation and to provide suggestions for future work on quality control for BDD. Methods: Data were retrieved from the BQCC database. The characteristics and test results of physicians undergoing a BDD training course and the BD case records submitted by hospitals before and after receiving accreditation were analyzed. Results: In the first step of the plan, the error rate for physicians undergoing the BDD paper test was highest for limb movement discrimination (26.29%); this error rate was correlated with age (per 10-year increase) (odds ratio = 1.262, 95% confidence interval 1.067–1.491, P = 0.007) but was nonsignificantly associated with sex, specialty category, professional level, and hospital level (P > 0.05). During the second step of the plan, the highest percentage of problems was associated with apnea testing (22.75%), followed by ancillary testing of BDD (16.17%). In the last step, the highest percentage of problems in the case records was associated with apnea testing (41.73%). Conclusions: The three-step QCP is of significant utility for ensuring accuracy and appropriateness in BDD. Simultaneously, this study provides important evidence for advancing quality control for BDD in the next stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search of highly efficient drugs for overcoming cancer drug resistance continues to be a challenge for scientists. Constructing a metal drug based in situ oxidation-state transition system to disturb the redox balance in cancer cells is a promising approach for overcoming cancer drug resistance. Inspired by natural redox-active copper enzyme centers, we developed a Cu(I)-Cu(II) in situ transition system in this work. Through atom engineering, we fine-tuned the thermodynamic stability of this system to investigate its anticancer activity The results indicated that the synthetic Cu(I)-Cu(II) system could under-go in situ transition in vitro and in vivo, to disrupt the intracellular redox balance and trigger mitochondrial dysfunction and G2/M arrest, leading to apoptosis and overcoming cancer drug resistance This study presents a feasible way to overcome cancer drug resistance by designing an in situ oxidation-state transition metal drug system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide for almost 2 years. It starts from viral adherence to host cells through an interaction between spike glycoprotein 1 (S1) containing a receptor-binding domain (RBD) and human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2). One of the useful strategies to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection is to inhibit the attachment of RBD to ACE2. Therefore, the current work proposed potent peptides against SARS-CoV-2 infection by carrying out MM-PBSA calculation based on the binding of 52 antiviral peptides (AVPs) to RBD. Considering the binding free energies of AVPs to RBD, cyanovirin-N (CV-N) showed the strongest RBD binding affinity among 52 AVPs. Upon structural analysis of RBD complex with CV-N, it was observed that 12 of the 13 key residues of RBD binding to ACE2 were hijacked by CV-N. CV-N bound to RBD at a smaller affinity of 14.9 nM than that of ACE2 and inhibited the recruitment of S1 to human alveolar epithelial cells. Further analysis revealed that CV-N suppressed SARS-CoV-2 S pseudovirion infection with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 18.52 μg/mL. This study demonstrated a drug screening for AVPs against SARS-CoV-2 and discovered a peptide with inspiring antiviral properties, which provided a promising strategy for the COVID-19 therapeutic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folic acid (FA) is a vitamin essential for human physiology; thus, rapid, accurate, and sensitive methods for its detection and quantification in different biological samples are necessary. A fluorescent ratiometric nanoprobe (the complex composed of quantum dots and carbon dots) based on carboxyl-modified quantum dots (QDs) and amino-modified graphene-based carbon dots (CDs) has been developed for the visual determination of folic acid (FA). The nanoprobe is the composition in which QDs were covalently bonded with CDs. Red and blue fluorescence of nanoprobe can be selectively quenched and enhanced by FA, respectively. Thus, the nanoprobe is capable to generate clearly visible fluorescence color change from pink to blue upon exposure to UV light. Depending on the color change and its intensity, FA can be identified, and their concentrations can be determined. The sensor prepared based on the nanoprobe demonstrated good selectivity and sensitivity toward FA with exceptionally low detection limit equal to 0.039 μM. We also prepared a paper-based sensor to demonstrate convenient and simple approach to visually detect FA. Thus, the nanoprobe demonstrated feasibility of rapid real-time quantitative FA detection; considering its simple, effective, and practicality, expectedly it can be used for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saxitoxin (STX) as one of the most harmful and typical paralytic shellfish toxins, is posing a serious threat to environmental and human health, thus it is essential to develop a sensitive and reliable analytical method for STX detection. Herein, we proposed a strategy for rapid and sensitive detection of STX with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), by employing cysteine modified gold nanoparticles (Cys-AuNPs) as SERS probe to capture STX molecules through electrostatic interactions and multiple hydrogen bonds between Cys and STX molecules. Moreover, the XPS and zeta potential results indicated that Cys could bond to AuNPs through Au-S bonds and the addition of STX could induce the efficient aggregation of Cys-AuNPs owing to the presence of electrostatic interactions and multiple hydrogen bonds between Cys and STX molecules. Furthermore, considering the high sensitivity and stability of the dynamic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (D-SERS) strategy with the formation of a 3D hotspot matrix, the highly sensitive detection of STX was realized to a level of 1 × 10−7 M by using the D-SERS strategy. Consequently, Cys-AuNPs as high affinity substrates can provide high sensitivity for the detection of STX through the D-SERS strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common variant (rs53576, G/A) in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene is associated with individual differences in social behavior and may increase the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by social impairment, especially autism. Although recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have identified functional connectivity alteration in some brain regions in risk A allele carriers, it is currently unknown whether this dysfunctional connectivity causes disruption of the topological properties of brain functional networks. We applied a graph-theoretical analysis to investigate the topological properties of brain networks derived from resting-state fMRI in relation to AA homozygotes versus G allele carriers in 290 cognitive normal young adults. We found both AA homozygotes and G allele carriers demonstrated small-world properties; however, male AA homozygotes showed lower normalized clustering coefficient, small-worldness, and local efficiency compared with male G allele carriers, no differences survived after Bonferroni correction; and the inter-group differences of all three metrics exhibited an allele-load-dependent trend (AA < AG < GG), indicating a randomization shift of their brain functional networks. No significant results were observed in any global measures in female AA homozygotes as compared to female G allele carriers. Our results suggested that the topological patterns of brain functional networks were altered in OXTR rs53576 male homozygotes for the risk A allele compared with male G allele carriers, providing evidence for the disruption of integrity in large-scale intrinsic brain networks in a sex-dimorphic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanide (C≡N) can lead to blood, cardiovascular system, and nervous system disorders owing to the acute and chronic toxicity; thus, aiming at the group or individual poisoning incidents, it is necessary to develop the sensitive and credible method for rapid on-site detection of poisons cyanide. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with the advantages of providing fingerprint information of target molecules and single-molecules sensitivity has been widely used in on-site analysis; however, the SERS measurements always suffer from the problem of the stability of substrates. Here, the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized Au NPs (PVP-Au NPs) have been assembled through the simple, convenient evaporation-induced strategy with the large-scale hotspots substrates. The presence of PVP can not only facilitate the assembly of Au NPs but also prevent the corrosion of CN− towards the Au NPs with the formation of [Au (CN)2]−1, providing high stable and reproducible SERS signals. Moreover, the PVP-Au NPs have been assembled on the Si wafer to fabricate the portable SERS chip for rapid on-site detection of CN− with an RSD of 5.8% and limitation of 100 ppb. Furthermore, by coupling a portable Raman spectrometer, the SERS spectra of CN− spiked into different specimens to simulate the poison samples have been collected and analyzed on SERS chips with the recovery of 89–103% and RSD not higher than 11.3%. Consequently, the fabricated SERS chip with assembled PVP-Au NPs can provide sensitive and credible detection for CN− in different specimens, and then would satisfy the rapid on-site evaluation of CN− in poisoning incidents with the portable Raman spectrometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel fluorescent "turn-on" aptasensor was developed for sensitive and rapid detection of tetracycline (TC) in animal-derived food. It is based on aptamer-functionalized nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs-aptamer) coupled with cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) nanoflakes. The CoOOH nanoflakes are efficient fluorescence quenchers in homogeneous solutions, and this is due to their advantages of excellent optical properties, superior flexibility, and water dispersibility. The proposed method's mechanism is driven by quenching based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the donor (N-GQDs) and the acceptor (CoOOH nanoflakes). On the other hand, fluorescence recovery is caused by the structure switching behavior of the aptamer. Compared with previous methods, our developed method exhibits better behavior in terms of being easy to fabricate and being simple in detection procedure and maintains the detection limit low enough in TC determination: a linear range from 1 to 100 ng mL−1 and a detection limit of 0.95 ng mL−1 (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the proposed method was applied to five animal-derived food samples (milk, honey, fish, eggs, and chicken muscle) and demonstrated practical applicability. As well, the method has the advantages of simplicity in pre-treatment and convenience in instruments, saves times, and is cost-effective. Finally, the proposed method demonstrates significant potential for sensitive and rapid detection of specific components in real samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To avoid the destruction of the colour topology of image and the loss of details caused by the existing morphological operators, new colour morphological operators are proposed based on formal concept analysis (FCA). The main idea is to define a set of structuring elements (SEs) for morphological operators, one for each pixel of the image, which can be adapted to the image content. FCA tools, which have good performance in structuring information, are used to find similar pixels that can form SEs. Then, the new operators are defined and applied to different colour spaces. Experimental results show that the proposed operators outperform other kind of operators in preserving detail information and the structures within colour images, which improve the precision of image processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A colorimetric microplate assay for determination of Staphylococcus aureus DNA is described. Linear padlock probes were designed to recognize target sequences. After DNA binding, the linear padlock probes were circularized by ligation and then hybridize with biotin-labeled capture probes. Biotin-labeled capture probes act as primers to initiate the RCA. The biotin-labeled RCA products hybridize with digoxin-labeled signal probes fixed on streptavidin-functionalized wells of a 96-well plate. To enhance sensitivity, an AuNP-anti-digoxigenin-POx-HRP conjugate was added to the wells and then bound to digoxin-labeled signalling probes. The oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by H2O2 produces a color change from colorless to blue via HRP catalysis. After the reaction was terminated, absorbance is measured at 450 nm. For target sequences of Staphylococcus aureus, the detection limit is 1.2 pM. For genomic DNA, the detection limit is 7.4 pg.μL−1. The potential application of the method was verified by analyzing spiked food samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folic acid (FA) is an essential vitamin in humans, and thus, rapid, accurate, and sensitive methods for its quantification in different biological samples are needed. This work describes a novel, simple, and effective dual-emission fluorescence nanoprobe for FA detection and quantification. The probe was covalently linked to amino-modified orange quantum dots (QDs) and carboxyl-modified blue graphene quantum dots (GQDs). The resulting material exhibited two emission peaks at 401 and 605 nm upon excitation at 310 nm. The probe had good selectivity and sensitivity toward FA with an exceptionally low detection limit (LOD = 0.09 nM). This probe was effectively used to quantify FA in animal serum samples. The method has potential utility for FA analysis in different types of biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosuppression chip was developed for the reproducible and label-free detection of amantadine (AM) in animal-derived foods. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed SPR immunochip presented a good signal response to AM in the concentration range of 0.05–25.0 ng mL−1, exhibiting high sensitivity (IC50 4.0 ng mL−1) and a low detection limit (IC15 1.3 ng mL−1) and cross-reactivity (rimantadine 16%; others < 1%). Each chip could be reused for 60 times with good stability. Further, sample loading/chip regeneration/baseline recovery was completed within 6 min. The spiked and recovery experiments presented acceptable recoveries, 80.2–102.9% with good precision (relative standard deviation [RSD, n = 3] ≤ 5.2%) in the selected matrix samples, being confirmed using an HPLC–MS/MS method with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.98. This proposed SPR immunochip provides a reliable, fast, and cost-effective analytical strategy, with superior potential for extension to the qualitative and quantitative analyses of other analytes in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) have the ability to differentiate into intestinal epithelial cells after transplantation and participate in the regeneration process of damaged epithelium.Aims: To investigate whether BMDCs could differentiate into intestinal epithelium long term in chimeric mice after transplantation and without special treatment.Methods: Forty irradiated C57BL/6 mice were used. Thirty of them (group A) received transplantation of BMDCs from GFP transgenic mice, and ten (group B) received PBS. The chimeric percentage at the 14th month was examined by flow cytometry. Engraftment of BMDCs was detected by immunohistochemistry in intestinal epithelium. Immunofluorescence observation was used to detect coexpression of PCK, CD45 and Chromogranin A with GFP. BMDCs in the epithelium were observed by an immune electron microscope. The percent of GFP(+) epithelial cells was also determined by flow cytometry.Results: Mice in group A had a survival rate of 93.3% 1 week after transplantation. BMDCs could engraft into recipients' intestinal epithelium. These cells expressed epithelial cell marker PCK, but could not express CD45. Some of them differentiated into enteroendocrine cells expressing Chromogranin A. GFP(+) villous epithelial cells ranged from 9.41 to 16.07% in different subgroups of group A. BMDCs in epithelium developed the characteristics of enterocytes and goblet cells. GFP(+)/PCK(+) epithelial cells at the 6th month made up a proportion of 16.11% among all the isolated epithelial cells.Conclusions: Long term, BMDCs could repopulate recipient's intestinal epithelium even without any special treatment, which suggests a novel insight into the maintenance of the intestinal epithelial constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical defects have always played an important role in integrated circuit (IC) yields, and the design sensitivity to these physical elements has continued to increase in today’s nanometer technologies. The modeling of defect outlines that exhibit a great variety of defect shapes is usually modeled as a circle, which causes the errors of critical area estimation. Since the outlines of 70% defects approximate to elliptical shapes, a novel yield model associated with elliptical outlines of defects is presented. This model is more general than the circular defects model as the latter is only an instance of the proposed model. Comparisons of the new and circular models in the experiment show that the new model can predict yield caused by real defects more accurately than what the circular model does, which is of significance for the prediction and improvement of the yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new finite element method is developed for the Reissner-Mindlin equations in its primary form by using the weak Galerkin approach. Like other weak Galerkin finite element methods, this one is highly flexible and robust by allowing the use of discontinuous approximating functions on arbitrary shape of polygons and, at the same time, is parameter independent on its stability and convergence. Error estimates of optimal order in mesh size h are established for the corresponding weak Galerkin approximations. Numerical experiments are conducted for verifying the convergence theory, as well as suggesting some superconvergence and a uniform convergence of the method with respect to the plate thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study firstly analyzed the antibiotic resistance, biochemical typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing of 45 Bifidobacterium strains commonly used in health foods. Most strains were resistant to antibiotics but their antibiotic resistance rates were not high: Fos (56.52%), TET (43.48%), CRO (21.74%), AMC (15.22%), GEN (13.04%), RIF (10.87%), CHL (8.7%), CTX (6.52%), VAN (4.35%), and ERY (4.35%). The 45 strains could be divided into 14 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types, of which the strain numbers of six pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types were more than one. All the Bifidobacterium strains could be divided into nine types by API50CHL biochemical identification. The same species displayed same biochemical typings, expect for B. animalis. Furthermore, the results confirmed that the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis-type strains had closer antibiotic resistance patterns, and the same biochemical-type strain also had similar antibiotic resistance patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a systematic study for the weak Galerkin (WG) finite element method for second order elliptic problems by exploring polynomial approximations with various degrees for each local element. A typical local WG element is of the form Pk(T)×Pj(∂T)‖Pℓ(T)2, where k≥1 is the degree of polynomials in the interior of the element T, j≥0 is the degree of polynomials on the boundary of T, and ℓ≥0 is the degree of polynomials employed in the computation of weak gradients or weak first order partial derivatives. A general framework of stability and error estimate is developed for the corresponding numerical solutions. Numerical results are presented to confirm the theoretical results. The work reveals some previously undiscovered strengths of the WG method for second order elliptic problems, and the results are expected to be generalizable to other type of partial differential equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the development of a novel reproducible molecularly imprinted quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor for the accurate and sensitive analysis of the residue of enrofloxacin (ENRO) in animal-derived foods. This proposed sensor was easily fabricated by directly immobilizing molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) of ENRO on the surface of a QCM Au chip, which combined the advantages of selective recognition from the MIP with the high sensitivity and portability of a QCM sensor. The parameters in the fabrication and measurement process were optimized and discussed in detail. It was verified that the MIP-modified QCM Au chip performed favorably for the detection of ENRO residue in common animal-derived food products and demonstrated acceptable accuracy (recovery: pure milk 77.2-84.2%, egg 77.3-85.6%, chicken muscle 73.5-89.1%, pork 74.7-85.8%), precision (relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 3), pure milk 2.9-8.0%, egg 2.9-6.4%, chicken muscle 3.4-6.8%, pork 2.2-4.7%), and sensitivity (limit of detection, pure milk 0.31 μg L, egg 0.44 μg kg, chicken muscle 0.54 μg kg, pork 0.57 μg kg). The MIP-modified QCM Au chip for sensing ENRO was portable, could be stored for an extended period of time, and reused for more than 30 analysis cycles with a response attenuation of 7.8%. These results have demonstrated that the proposed MIP QCM sensor presents an accurate, sensitive, rapid, and low-cost methodology for ENRO residue detection in animal foods. This research is very promising for the development of novel effective devices applied to the detection of various contaminants in the field of food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors describe two kinds of immunochromatographic assays. The first is based on the use of dyed polymer microspheres (MICA), the another on the use of quantum dots (QICA). Both enable visual detection of enrofloxacin (ENR) in animal tissue and milk. Both the MICA and the QICA have visual limits of detection of 1 μg·L when working in buffer, of 5 μg·kg in case of animal tissue, and of 10 μg·L in case of milk. Other quinolones do not interfere. The MICA and QICA described here are convenient and fairly rapid in that the detection process (including sample pretreatment and assay) takes 20 min only which is far less than the commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit which requires 120 min. The MICA and QICA are more sensitive than the immunochromatographic assay using colloidal gold labels and the same polyclonal antibody. The results of analysis of spiked samples via MICA and QICA are in good agreement with those obtained by the commercial ELISA test kit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

dTMP-GH is a chimeric protein containing a tandem dimer of thrombopoietin mimetic peptide (dTMP) fused to human growth hormone (hGH) prepared previously by our team. It shows significant bioactivity in promoting thrombocytopoiesis, but detection of intact dTMP-GH in plasma is still a challenge due to the presence of endogenous hGH. In this study, a rabbit polyclonal antibody with high affinity to dTMP was obtained with a BSA-conjugated immunogen composed of 20 amino acids sequence spanning two TMP and the linker. A monoclonal antibody termed as 3B2 was screened out by using immunizing mice with whole dTMP-GH, which was proved to simultaneously interact with rhGH, TMP-GH, and dTMP-GH, respectively. In this study, we developed a specific and sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with two antibodies (one polyclonal and one HRP-conjugated monoclonal) to quantify dTMP-GH. The polyclonal antibody and HRP-conjugated monoclonal antibody 3B2 were applied as the capture antibody and detection antibody, respectively. A good correlation between ELISA and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay in the quantification of diluted dTMP-GH was observed (r = 0.996). Meanwhile, the standard curve of this ELISA method was found in a linear relationship between 0.2 and 10 ng/mL in the presence of rabbit plasma. In vivo experiments demonstrate that the newly developed method is effective to detect dTMP-GH in rabbits, which paves the way for further pharmacokinetic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a reproducible surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor based on inhibition format was fabricated for stable and sensitive detection of four sulfonamides (SAs) in animal-derived foods. The parameters in the fabrication and measurement process were optimized and discussed in details. The method using the proposed SPR immunosensor was validated and exhibited favorable performance for SAs residues detection in common animal-derived food products, as well as acceptable accuracy (pure milk 88.5-106.2%; egg 89.0-91.5%; chicken muscle 87.2-94.7%; beef 84.8-96.9%; fish 87.8-95.0%), precision (relative standard deviation ( n = 3), pure milk 3.2-5.2%; egg 1.1-5.4%; chicken muscle 1.1-5.9%; beef 2.5-7.1%; fish 4.6-5.3%), and sensitivity (IC, pure milk 59.6 ng mL, egg 56.1 ng mL, chicken muscle 66.9 ng mL, beef 63.3 ng mL, fish 62.7 ng mL ). Each detection cycle could finish in less than 5 min, and each SPR chip could reuse 300 analysis cycles with response attenuation of 3.7%. These results have demonstrated that the proposed SPR immunosensor has offered an effective, accurate, sensitive, rapid, and low-cost methodology for SAs residue detection in food sample, and this method has great potential for the routine analysis of large numbers of samples on measuring different kinds of compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii offers a great promise for large-scale production of multiple recombinant proteins of pharmaceutical and industrial interest. However, the nuclear-encoding transgenes usually are expressed at a low level, which severely hampers the use of this alga in molecular farming. In this study, the promoter of the endogenous intraflagellar transport 25 (IFT25) gene of C. reinhardtii was tested for its ability to drive the expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP), which functions as a readout for target gene expression . IFT25 promoter (IFT25P) alone was not able to drive GFP expression to a detectable level. IFT25P, however, can drive robust IFT25-GFP fusion protein expression when the intron-containing IFT25 gene was inserted between IFT25P and GFP cDNA. When an extended version of foot-and-mouth virus 2A protease (2A) sequence was further inserted between the intron-containing IFT25 gene and the GFP cDNA, discrete GFP protein was observed to release from the IFT25-2A-GFP polyprotein via 2A self-cleaving with a cleavage efficacy of approximately 99%. The monomer GFP was accumulated to a level of as high as 0.68% of total soluble proteins. To test whether the newly developed bicistronic IFT25P-IFT25-2A expression system can be used to overexpress heterologous proteins of different origins and sizes, we inserted codon-optimized cDNAs encoding a Trichoderma reesei xylanase1 (25 kDa) and a Lachnospiraceae bacterium ND2006 type V CRISPR-Cas protein LbCpf1 (147 kDa) to the vector and found that the production of xylanase1 and LbCpf1 was as high as 0.69 and 0.49% of total soluble protein. Our result showed that IFT25P-IFT25-2A system is more efficient to drive nuclear gene expression in C. reinhardtii than other conventionally used promoters, thus representing a novel efficient recombinant protein expression tool and has the potential to be scaled for commercial production of nuclear-encoded recombinant proteins of different sizes and origins in C. reinhardtii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renal interstitial fibrosis is a major pathologic feature of diabetic nephropathy, while the pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions of diabetic renal interstitial fibrosis are not well established. In this study, we first demonstrated that high glucose could induce renal fibroblast (NRK-49F) cell proliferation and activation to myofibroblasts, accompanied by a significant increase in the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4). ROS-mediated ERK1/2 activation was found to play a crucial role in high glucose-induced fibroblast proliferation and activation. Resveratrol, like the NOX4-targeting small interfering RNA (siRNA), markedly inhibited high glucose-induced fibroblast proliferation and activation by reducing NOX4-derived ROS production. It was then revealed that the increase in the expression of NOX4 induced by high glucose was due to the inactivation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which could be reversed by resveratrol. Further in vivo investigation demonstrated that resveratrol treatment significantly attenuated renal fibrosis in db/db mice, accompanied by an evident increase in phospho-AMPK and decrease in NOX4. In summary, our results suggest that high glucose can directly promote renal fibroblasts proliferation and activation in a ROS-dependent manner, and resveratrol is a potential therapeutic agent against diabetic renal fibrosis via regulation of AMPK/NOX4/ROS signaling. Key message: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the authors present a new discretization scheme for div-curl systems defined in connected domains with heterogeneous media by using the weak Galerkin finite element method. Two types of boundary value problems are considered in this study: (1) normal boundary condition, and (2) tangential boundary condition. A new variational formulation is developed for the normal boundary value problem by using the Helmholtz decomposition which avoids the computation of functions in the harmonic fields. Both boundary value problems are reduced to a general saddle-point problem involving the curl and divergence operators, for which the weak Galerkin finite element method is employed and analyzed. The novelty of the numerical technique lies in the discretization of the divergence operator applied to vector fields in heterogeneous media. Error estimates of optimal order are established for the corresponding finite element approximations in various discrete Sobolev norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: A targeted amplicon-based genotyping-by-sequencing approach has permitted cost-effective and accurate discrimination between ryegrass species (perennial, Italian and inter-species hybrid), and identification of cultivars based on bulked samples. Abstract: Perennial ryegrass and Italian ryegrass are the most important temperate forage species for global agriculture, and are represented in the commercial pasture seed market by numerous cultivars each composed of multiple highly heterozygous individuals. Previous studies have identified difficulties in the use of morphophysiological criteria to discriminate between these two closely related taxa. Recently, a highly multiplexed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based genotyping assay has been developed that permits accurate differentiation between both species and cultivars of ryegrasses at the genetic level. This assay has since been further developed into an amplicon-based genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach implemented on a second-generation sequencing platform, allowing accelerated throughput and ca. sixfold reduction in cost. Using the GBS approach, 63 cultivars of perennial, Italian and interspecific hybrid ryegrasses, as well as intergeneric Festulolium hybrids, were genotyped. The genetic relationships between cultivars were interpreted in terms of known breeding histories and indistinct species boundaries within the Lolium genus, as well as suitability of current cultivar registration methodologies. An example of applicability to quality assurance and control (QA/QC) of seed purity is also described. Rapid, low-cost genotypic assays provide new opportunities for breeders to more fully explore genetic diversity within breeding programs, allowing the combination of novel unique genetic backgrounds. Such tools also offer the potential to more accurately define cultivar identities, allowing protection of varieties in the commercial market and supporting processes of cultivar accreditation and quality assurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a weak Galerkin (WG) finite element method for the Stokes equations in the primal velocity-pressure formulation. This WG method is equipped with stable finite elements consisting of usual polynomials of degree k≥1 for the velocity and polynomials of degree k−1 for the pressure, both are discontinuous. The velocity element is enhanced by polynomials of degree k−1 on the interface of the finite element partition. All the finite element functions are discontinuous for which the usual gradient and divergence operators are implemented as distributions in properly-defined spaces. Optimal-order error estimates are established for the corresponding numerical approximation in various norms. It must be emphasized that the WG finite element method is designed on finite element partitions consisting of arbitrary shape of polygons or polyhedra which are shape regular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online anomaly detection has been propounded as the key idea of monitoring fault of large-scale sensor nodes in Internet of Things. Now, the exciting progresses of research have been made in online anomaly detection area. However, the highly dynamic distributing character of Internet of Things makes the anomaly detection scheme difficult to be used in online manner. This paper presents a new online anomaly learning and detection mechanism for large-scale service of Internet of Thing. Firstly, our model uses the reversible-jump MCMC learning to online learn anomaly-free of dynamics network and service data. Next, we perform a structural analysis of IoT-based service topology by network utility maximization theory. The results of experiment demonstrate the method accuracy in forecasting dynamics network and service structures from synthetic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated learning is importance of technique for cooperative multi-objects system in large-scale Internet of Things . The coordinated learning has attracted a lot of attention for its applications in Internet of Things. However, the self-adaptive makes the coordinated learning difficult to be used in IoT. This paper proposes multi-objects scalable coordinated learning algorithm based on the maximum potential loss of coordination. The algorithm defines an interaction measure that allows objects to dynamically estimate the potential utility loss of coordination with any cluster of objects. The interaction mechanism makes each object compute their beneficial coordination set in different situations and makes the best use of their limited communication resource in Internet of Things. As a result of experiments, our algorithm adapts policy learning of object and their coordination network for different context. Finally, the experiments with the smart agriculture data set demonstrate that the proposed scheme is effective and robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD151 is a member of the tetraspanin family, which is involved in diverse cellular processes, including proliferation, motility, and invasion. However, the role of CD151 in breast cancer especially luminal and basal-like subtype breast cancer remains obscure. Here, we report the role of CD151 in the biological behaviors of luminal and basal-like subtype cell lines and the underlying molecular mechanism. A eukaryotic expression vector expressing both CD151 shRNA and GFP was transfected into MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells. The CD151 gene-silencing effect is authenticated by real-time PCR and Western blot. Our data show that the capacity for proliferation, migration, and invasion of two kinds of cells is diminished after Knockdown of CD151 via lentivirus-mediated CD151 specific shRNA. Tumor cells are arrested in G0/G1 phase. Apoptosis is increased. Moreover, we also demonstrate that the expressions of mmp26 and CD147 are inhibited by knockdown of CD151. But the inhibition depends on the cell type. We can conclude that silencing gene CD151 inhibits expression of properties that are associated with the malignant phenotype of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells. It may become a potential target in breast cancer therapy especially for luminal and basal subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Puerperal breast abscess after polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAAG) augmentation mammoplasty can induce breast auto-inflation resulting in serious consequences. Mammography, ultrasound, and conventional MRI are poor at detecting related PAAG abnormality histologically. We evaluated the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the quantitative analysis of puerperal PAAG abscess after augmentation mammoplasty. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study, and a waiver for informed consent was granted. Sixteen puerperal women with breast discomfort underwent conventional breast non-enhanced MRI and axial DWI using a 3T MR scanner. Qualitative analysis of the signal intensity on DWI and conventional sequences was performed. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the affected and contralateral normal PAAG cysts were measured quantitatively. Paired t test was used to evaluate whether there was significant difference. Results: Both affected and normal PAAG cysts showed equal signal intensity on conventional T1WI and fat saturation T2WI, which were not helpful in detecting puerperal PAAG abscess. However, the affected PAAG cysts had a significantly decreased ADC value of 1.477 ± 0.332 × 10mm/s and showed obvious hypo-intensity on the ADC map and increased signal intensity on DWI compared with the ADC value of 2.775 ± 0.233 × 10mm/s of the contralateral normal PAAG cysts. Conclusion: DWI and quantitative measurement of ADC values are of great value for the diagnosis of puerperal PAAG abscess. Standardized MRI should be suggested to these puerperal women with breast discomfort or just for the purpose of check up. DWI should be selected as the essential MRI sequence. Level of Evidence III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common variant (rs53576) of the OXTR gene has been implicated in a number of socio-emotional phenotypes, such as anxiety-related behavior. Previous studies have demonstrated that A-allele carriers have higher levels of physiological and dispositional stress reactivity and depressive symptomatology compared to those with the GG genotype, but the mediating neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We combined voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity analyses in a large cohort of healthy young Chinese Han individuals to test the hypothesis that the OXTR gene polymorphism influences an anxiety-related temperamental trait, as assessed by the harm avoidance subscale from the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire via modulating the gray matter volume and resting-state functional connectivity of the brain, especially the limbic system. We revealed that female subjects with the AA genotype showed increased harm avoidance scores relative to G-carrier females. We also found that, compared to female individuals with the GG/GA genotype, female individuals with the AA genotype exhibited significantly smaller amygdala volumes bilaterally (especially the centromedial subregion), with a trend of allele-load-dependence. Compared to female individuals with the GG/GA genotype, female subjects with the AA genotype demonstrated reduced resting-state functional coupling between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala bilaterally, also with an allele-load-dependent trend. Furthermore, the magnitude of prefrontal-amygdala coupling in the left hemisphere was positively correlated with harm avoidance scores in female subjects. Our findings highlight a possible neural pathway by which a naturally occurring variation of the OXTR gene may affect an anxiety-related temperamental trait in female subjects by modulating prefrontal-amygdala functional connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]