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Background: The BEAN1 gene, primarily studied in neurodegenerative diseases, has been scarcely studied in the context of cancers. Our research examines BEAN1 expression specifically in rectal adenocarcinoma (READ) and its association with prognosis, immune evasion, and chemotherapy resistance. Methods: Data from TCGA and GEO were analyzed to assess BEAN1 levels across various cancer types, with particular emphasis on READ. Functional enrichment, immune infiltration, and treatment response analyses were conducted, followed by validation using patient tissue samples. Results: READ tissues exhibited a marked increase in BEAN1 expression compared to normal tissues. Elevated BEAN1 levels were associated with reduced overall survival and increased immune suppression, characterized by elevated M2 macrophage infiltration and reduced CD8+ T cell presence. BEAN1 expression was also linked to higher immune checkpoint genes expression and resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors and 5-fluorouracil. Conclusion: This research offers initial evidence that BEAN1 is linked to unfavorable prognosis, immune escape, and resistance to chemotherapy in READ. BEAN1 appears to be a promising new biomarker and potential therapeutic target, warranting further investigation into its potential clinical applications in improving treatment outcomes for READ patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The initial therapeutic approach for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) entails a rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) regimen. However, 40% of patients exhibit suboptimal responses, with some experiencing relapse and refractory conditions. This study aimed to explore novel therapeutic strategies and elucidate their underlying mechanisms in DLBCL. Methods: Bioinformatics techniques were employed to scrutinize correlations between the HDAC1, HDAC2, HDAC3, HDAC10, BTK, MYC, TP53, and BCL2 genes in DLBCL. In vitro experiments were conducted using DB and SU-DHL-4 cells treated with chidamide, orelabrutinib, and a combination of both. Cell viability was assessed by cell counting kit-8. Cell apoptosis and the cell cycle were determined using flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial function were assessed through ROS and JC-1 staining. RNA sequencing and western blot analyses were conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the combined action of chidamide and orelabrutinib in DLBCL cells. Results: This investigation revealed markedly enhanced antiproliferative effects when chidamide was combined with orelabrutinib. Compusyn software analysis indicated a synergistic effect of chidamide and orelabrutinib in inhibiting DLBCL cell proliferation, with a combination index (CI) < 1. This synergy further manifested as augmented cell cycle arrest, apoptosis induction, the downregulation of cell cycle-associated and antiapoptotic proteins, and the upregulation of proapoptotic proteins. Furthermore, the western blot and RNA-Seq findings suggested that combining chidamide and orelabrutinib modulated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby promoting DLBCL cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide a compelling justification for the clinical utilization of chidamide and orelabrutinib to treat relapsed/refractory DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of portable and wearable electronic devices is responding to the urgent demand for high-efficiency flexible energy storage devices. Flexible supercapacitors, showing long cycle life, high power density, and good safety, are considered ideal candidates. Nevertheless, the relatively low energy density restricts their practical applications. With a large dielectric constant of 18–46, Ta2O5-based materials typically exhibit excellent electron-binding ability, which is critical for enhancing the energy density of supercapacitors. In this work, the free-standing β-Ta2O5/single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) composite film was prepared, with a high β-Ta2O5 loading of over 70%. By anchoring β-Ta2O5 nanoparticles onto the surface of SWCNTs, the system's flexibility and conductivity were significantly enhanced, which also facilitated the intercalation electrodynamics of metal cations. As a result, the flexible β-Ta2O5/SWCNTs film exhibits excellent Li-ion storage performance, with a high volumetric specific capacitance of 392.3 F cm−3 at the scan rate of 10 mV s−1 and 198.9 F cm−3 at 500 mV s−1. In addition, the asymmetric device, assembled by the β-Ta2O5/SWCNTs and activated carbon films, shows a high energy density of 45.5 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 10.8 kW kg−1. This technique opens up a new avenue for improving the energy density and rate performance of flexible supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation is a series of reactions caused by the body's resistance to external biological stimuli. Inflammation affects the occurrence and development of many diseases. Anti-inflammatory drugs have been used widely to treat inflammatory diseases, but long-term use can cause toxic side-effects and affect human functions. As immunomodulators with long-term conditioning effects and no drug residues, natural products are being investigated increasingly for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In this review, we focus on the inflammatory process and cellular mechanisms in the development of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, and coronavirus disease-2019. Also, we focus on three signaling pathways (Nuclear factor-kappa B, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) to explain the anti-inflammatory effect of natural products. In addition, we also classified common natural products based on secondary metabolites and explained the association between current bidirectional prediction progress of natural product targets and inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neonate with low birth weight (LBW) resulted from intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) exists a substantial risk of postpartum death. Placental insufficiency is responsible for inadequate fetal growth; however, the pathological mechanisms of placental dysfunction-induced IUGR in pigs remain unclear. In this study, the characteristics of placental morphology, placental transcriptome, and cord serum metabolome were explored between the Kele piglets with LBW and the ones with normal birth weight (NBW). Results showed that LBW was a common occurrence in Kele piglets. The LBW placentas showed inferior villus development and lower villi density compared to NBW placentas. There were 1024 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified by transcriptome analysis between the LBW and NBW placentas, of which 218 and 806 genes were up- and down-regulated in the LBW placentas, respectively. PPI network analysis showed that ITGB2, CD4, IL6, ITGB3, LCK, RAC2, CD8A, JAK3, TYROBP, and CXCR4 were hub genes in all DEGs. From GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, DEGs were primarily enriched in immunological response, cell adhesion, immune response, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. By using metabolomic analysis, a total of 115 differential metabolites in the cord serum of LBW and NBW piglets were found, mostly linked to amino acid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism. In comparison to NBW piglets, LBW piglets had lower levels of arginine, isoleucine, and aspartic acid in the cord. Taken together, these data revealed dysplasia of the placental villus, insufficient supply of nutrients, and abnormal immune function of the placenta may be associated with the occurrence and development of LBW in Kele pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is suitable for growing in heavy metal-polluted soil for non-food purposes and can be used as a potential crop to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil. The main objective of this study was to investigate kenaf phytoextraction of cadmium (Cd), including uptake, translocation, and accumulation differences in tissues among kenaf cultivars. A field experiment was conducted in a Cd contaminated paddy field in southern China area with 13 kenaf cultivars in 2015 and 2016. Agronomic performance, Cd concentrations in plant tissues (root, xylem, and phloem), and biomass of different tissues of each cultivar were measured and evaluated. Significant differences in Cd concentrations and accumulation among tissues and cultivars were observed. The phloem had the highest Cd accumulation and transfer capability compared with the roots and xylem. Approximately 35 ~ 65 g of Cd could be taken up by the aerial parts of different kenaf cultivars within every hectare of soil. The percentage of Cd uptake by the phloem ranged from 47 to 61% and by the xylem ranged from 38 to 53%. By evaluating the agronomic traits and Cd bioaccumulation capacity, Fuhong 952, Fuhong 992, and Fuhong R1 were regarded as Cd accumulators for the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil. Our study clearly demonstrated that a significant level of Cd in the soil was taken up through the phytoremediation with kenaf. In addition, harmless utilization of kenaf planting in Cd-contaminated paddy soil was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the investigations of the tension-softening constitutive relation of concrete and the numerical method for mode I fatigue crack propagation in concrete. Firstly, the static loading, fatigue loading, and fatigue–static loading were carried out on 191 notched three-point bending (TPB) beams. With the experimental results, the tension-softening constitutive relation of concrete under fatigue loading was proposed from the view of energy conservation, where the equilibrium relation between the energy dissipated by crack propagation and the external work was established. Secondly, by combining the constitutive relation with the stress intensity factor (SIF)-based crack propagation criterion, the numerical method for mode I fatigue crack propagation in concrete was developed. Finally, the applicability of the numerical method was validated by comparing the numerically derived fatigue life, fatigue crack propagation length, crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD), and SIF with the experimental results. It is concluded that the numerical method proposed in this paper is significantly helpful in evaluating the fatigue performance of concrete structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study fracture properties and establish a shear–softening constitutive law for rock–concrete interfaces, direct tension, three-point bending, and single shear push-out tests were conducted on composite rock–concrete specimens with different degrees of interface roughness. The relationships between tensile strength (ft), average shear strength (τav), initial fracture toughness (Kini 1C), mode I fracture energy (GIf) and interfacial roughness were determined based on experimental results. A shear–softening constitutive law for rock–concrete interface was developed by measuring strain variations on rock surfaces under loading stages during single shear push-out tests and defined based on shear strength (τmax) and mode II fracture energy (GIIf). For practical applications, the relationships between τmax and ft and between GIf and GIIf were determined by statistically fitting the experimental data in such a way that shear–softening constitutive law could be conveniently determined simply by measuring ft and GIf parameters of rock–concrete interface. Also, numerical simulations were carried out to investigate crack propagation in rock–concrete interfaces under mixed mode I–II fractures. Predicted load versus crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) curves agreed well with experimental findings and verified the shear–softening constitutive law for rock–concrete interfaces obtained in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometritis is a common inflammatory disease in uterine tissues that leads to animal infertility. Among the causes, Escherichia coli infection is one of the main reasons. Interferon-tau (IFN-τ) is the initial pregnancy signal for ruminant embryos and can induce immune tolerance in humans and other species. However, there are scarce reports on whether IFN-τ has a regulatory effect on endometrial inflammatory damage through HMGB1-NF-κB signalling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory mechanism of IFN-τ in HMGB1-NF-κB signalling in LPS-induced endometritis. ELISA and qPCR were used to detect the expression of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines in bovine endometrial epithelial cells (bEECs or BEND) under IFN-τ intervention, and the levels of HMGB1, p-IKK and p-p65 were detected by Western blotting. The nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 was determined through immunofluorescence. In addition, bEECs were transfected with si-HMGB1 to elucidate the key role of HMGB1 and IFN-τ in the endometrial inflammatory cascade. The results indicated that IFN-τ inhibits the expression of related pro-inflammatory cytokines in an inflammatory injury model of bovine endometrial epithelial cells induced by LPS. Furthermore, experiments have proven that IFN-τ has protective effects on E. coli endotoxin-induced endometritis in mice in vivo. IFN-τ inhibited the HMGB1-NF-κB axis and significantly reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the expression of HMGB1 protein and the levels of IKK and NF-κB p65 phosphorylation. In summary, our results showed that IFN-τ resists E. coli endotoxin-induced endometritis by attenuating HMGB1/NF-κB signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The combined application of organic amendments and chemical fertilizers is beneficial for the sustainable development of agriculture. Assessing the impact of this integrative approach on rhizospheric soil quality and crop yield, along with their determining factors, is essential for devising appropriate fertilization strategies.The long-term field trial, spanning 33 years, includes four treatments: control with no fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer only (NPK), chemical fertilizer combined with straw (NPKS), and chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure (NPKM). Assessments were conducted on rhizospheric soil properties, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activity.The results indicate that the application of organic amendments significantly enhanced the soil quality index (SQI) by modifying the soil microbial communities. The co-application of straw or organic manure with inorganic fertilizers improved the SQI by 161.9% and 285.7%, respectively, compared to the control. Soybean yields increased by 11.6% with the co-application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers compared to the use of chemical fertilizers alone. Enzyme stoichiometry scatter plots revealed that all treatments were limited by microbial resource carbon and phosphorus. β-glucosidase (BG), microbial biomass carbon, and soil organic carbon played pivotal roles in enhancing rhizospheric soil quality. Furthermore, BG, available nitrogen, and microbial biomass phosphorus were critical in determining soybean yield. The nutrient content, biomass, and diversities of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere were significantly higher with the combination of organic manure and chemical fertilizers than with conventional fertilization, thereby alleviating the limitations on microbial metabolic carbon and phosphorus.This study demonstrates that the combined application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers effectively increases nutrient content and improves microbial community structure in the rhizospheric soil. This combination alleviates constraints on microbial carbon and phosphorus metabolism, thereby enhancing soil quality and increasing soybean yield.Methods: The combined application of organic amendments and chemical fertilizers is beneficial for the sustainable development of agriculture. Assessing the impact of this integrative approach on rhizospheric soil quality and crop yield, along with their determining factors, is essential for devising appropriate fertilization strategies.The long-term field trial, spanning 33 years, includes four treatments: control with no fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer only (NPK), chemical fertilizer combined with straw (NPKS), and chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure (NPKM). Assessments were conducted on rhizospheric soil properties, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activity.The results indicate that the application of organic amendments significantly enhanced the soil quality index (SQI) by modifying the soil microbial communities. The co-application of straw or organic manure with inorganic fertilizers improved the SQI by 161.9% and 285.7%, respectively, compared to the control. Soybean yields increased by 11.6% with the co-application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers compared to the use of chemical fertilizers alone. Enzyme stoichiometry scatter plots revealed that all treatments were limited by microbial resource carbon and phosphorus. β-glucosidase (BG), microbial biomass carbon, and soil organic carbon played pivotal roles in enhancing rhizospheric soil quality. Furthermore, BG, available nitrogen, and microbial biomass phosphorus were critical in determining soybean yield. The nutrient content, biomass, and diversities of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere were significantly higher with the combination of organic manure and chemical fertilizers than with conventional fertilization, thereby alleviating the limitations on microbial metabolic carbon and phosphorus.This study demonstrates that the combined application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers effectively increases nutrient content and improves microbial community structure in the rhizospheric soil. This combination alleviates constraints on microbial carbon and phosphorus metabolism, thereby enhancing soil quality and increasing soybean yield.Results: The combined application of organic amendments and chemical fertilizers is beneficial for the sustainable development of agriculture. Assessing the impact of this integrative approach on rhizospheric soil quality and crop yield, along with their determining factors, is essential for devising appropriate fertilization strategies.The long-term field trial, spanning 33 years, includes four treatments: control with no fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer only (NPK), chemical fertilizer combined with straw (NPKS), and chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure (NPKM). Assessments were conducted on rhizospheric soil properties, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activity.The results indicate that the application of organic amendments significantly enhanced the soil quality index (SQI) by modifying the soil microbial communities. The co-application of straw or organic manure with inorganic fertilizers improved the SQI by 161.9% and 285.7%, respectively, compared to the control. Soybean yields increased by 11.6% with the co-application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers compared to the use of chemical fertilizers alone. Enzyme stoichiometry scatter plots revealed that all treatments were limited by microbial resource carbon and phosphorus. β-glucosidase (BG), microbial biomass carbon, and soil organic carbon played pivotal roles in enhancing rhizospheric soil quality. Furthermore, BG, available nitrogen, and microbial biomass phosphorus were critical in determining soybean yield. The nutrient content, biomass, and diversities of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere were significantly higher with the combination of organic manure and chemical fertilizers than with conventional fertilization, thereby alleviating the limitations on microbial metabolic carbon and phosphorus.This study demonstrates that the combined application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers effectively increases nutrient content and improves microbial community structure in the rhizospheric soil. This combination alleviates constraints on microbial carbon and phosphorus metabolism, thereby enhancing soil quality and increasing soybean yield.Conclusions: The combined application of organic amendments and chemical fertilizers is beneficial for the sustainable development of agriculture. Assessing the impact of this integrative approach on rhizospheric soil quality and crop yield, along with their determining factors, is essential for devising appropriate fertilization strategies.The long-term field trial, spanning 33 years, includes four treatments: control with no fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilizer only (NPK), chemical fertilizer combined with straw (NPKS), and chemical fertilizer combined with organic manure (NPKM). Assessments were conducted on rhizospheric soil properties, microbial community structure, and extracellular enzyme activity.The results indicate that the application of organic amendments significantly enhanced the soil quality index (SQI) by modifying the soil microbial communities. The co-application of straw or organic manure with inorganic fertilizers improved the SQI by 161.9% and 285.7%, respectively, compared to the control. Soybean yields increased by 11.6% with the co-application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers compared to the use of chemical fertilizers alone. Enzyme stoichiometry scatter plots revealed that all treatments were limited by microbial resource carbon and phosphorus. β-glucosidase (BG), microbial biomass carbon, and soil organic carbon played pivotal roles in enhancing rhizospheric soil quality. Furthermore, BG, available nitrogen, and microbial biomass phosphorus were critical in determining soybean yield. The nutrient content, biomass, and diversities of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere were significantly higher with the combination of organic manure and chemical fertilizers than with conventional fertilization, thereby alleviating the limitations on microbial metabolic carbon and phosphorus.This study demonstrates that the combined application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers effectively increases nutrient content and improves microbial community structure in the rhizospheric soil. This combination alleviates constraints on microbial carbon and phosphorus metabolism, thereby enhancing soil quality and increasing soybean yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image fusion integrates information from multiple images (of the same scene) to generate a (more informative) composite image suitable for human and computer vision perception. The method based on multiscale decomposition is one of the commonly fusion methods. In this study, a new fusion framework based on the octave Gaussian pyramid principle is proposed. In comparison with conventional multiscale decomposition, the proposed octave Gaussian pyramid framework retrieves more information by decomposing an image into two scale spaces (octave and interval spaces). Different from traditional multiscale decomposition with one set of detail and base layers, the proposed method decomposes an image into multiple sets of detail and base layers, and it efficiently retains high- and low-frequency information from the original image. The qualitative and quantitative comparison with five existing methods (on publicly available image databases) demonstrate that the proposed method has better visual effects and scores the highest in objective evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of amphiphilic four-arm star polymers poly(e-caprolactone)-b-poly(2-(diethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) (4AS-PCL-b-PDMAEMA) were developed by a combination of ring opening polymerization (ROP) and continuous activators regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP). The molecular structures of the copolymers were confirmed with 1H NMR, FT-IR and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values of the star polymers in aqueous solution were extremely low (3.0–4.1 mg/L).In aqueous solution, the copolymers self-assemble into blank and doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded micelles with an average size of 56–150 nm measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), which consist of outer shell with blocks PDMAEMA and inner core with blocks PCL. The core block PCL was used to contain drug molecules and shell block PDMAEMA could protonize responding to acidic condition. The in vitro release behavior showed that the micelle structure remains basically unchanged, and the drug cumulative release was only 24.5% at pH 7.4, and at pH 5.0, PDMAEMA is protonated and the micelles swell, which accelerates the release rate of DOX and the cumulative release is higher than pH 7.4. Through the semi-empirical model, the mechanism of drug release process was analyzed, and the mechanism of drug release from polymer micelles was further explored. The in vitro cytotoxicity indicated that the 4AS-PCL-b-PDMAEMA materials had low toxicity, but the DOX-loaded micelles had an obvious inhibitory effect on the HepG2 cells. The results indicate the four-arm star polymers 4AS-PCL-b-PDMAEMA may be a potential drug carriers for pH-triggered DOX release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of experimental studies in bond behavior between deformed bar and concrete under complex stress conditions in the last 2 decades is significantly affecting the concrete design specification. This article presents a rib-scale finite element model (FEM) to study the bond behavior of deformed bar in concrete under lateral tensions. In this model, detailed modeling including the reinforcing bar ribs and the concrete keys in contact region is realized with real geometric parameters. At the concrete–bar interface, surface-to-surface contacts with tie constraints are used and relative sliding or separation between contact surfaces are inhibited; adhesion between concrete and deformed bar is ignored. A user-defined subroutine named VUSDFLD in ABAQUS software was incorporated into the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) model to acquire more accurate concrete constitutive relations. The FEM is calibrated using pullout test data from published papers. The simulation results show that all specimens failed in splitting mode. The lateral tension is an adverse factor on the bond property between steel bar and concrete, both the ultimate bond strength and the slip at the peak bond stress decrease with the increase of the lateral tensions. Comparison of computational simulation with the experimental data indicates that the proposed model gives a reasonable prediction of the bond stress–slip curves as well as the concrete crack patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We examined differences in soil metabolites from the rice root rhizosphere of long-term rice-rice-fallow (RRF) and rice-rice-rape (RRR) rotations, and examined the effects of 1,2-benzenediol on nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) and rice growth. Methods: The metabolite composition of rice rhizospheres was analyzed using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A range of 0.2, 2.0 and 200 μmol L−1 concentrations of external 1,2-benzenediol were applied to examine their effects on rice growth, nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities, and physiological nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE). Results: The metabolite composition of rhizospheres differed significantly between RRR and RRF. Soil total N and 1,2-benzenediol concentrations during the early rice season were significantly lower under RRR than RRF. Rice growth and NUE significantly enhanced at 0.20 μmol 1,2-benzenediol L−1, but inhibited at 2.0 μmol L−1 or higher. Changes in root morphology and uptake associated with 1,2-benzenediol possibly had contributed to a higher NUE of the early season rice under RRR. The NR and GS activities in rice roots were significantly higher with 0.2 μmol L−1 1,2-benzenediol than without 1,2-benzenediol treatment. Conclusions: Crop rotation significantly affected rice rhizosphere metabolites. An optimal soil 1,2-benzenediol concentration under long-term RRR rotation may be associated with an enhanced NUE and root N uptake and assimilation, resulting in an increased rice growth and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond behaviour of steel bars is greatly influenced by the lateral stresses in surrounding concrete and the loading rate. However, information on the dynamic bond behavior of steel bars in concrete still remains limited. In this paper, a total of 180 pull-out specimens with different strengths of concrete and bar diameters are tested to investigate the effect of the loading rate on the bond behaviour of deformed steel bars in concrete subjected to lateral pressure. Based on the experimental results, the effects of various factors on the ultimate bond strength, the residual bond strength, and the slip at the peak bond stress are evaluated in a quantitative manner. Finally, a bond stress-slip relationship of deformed steel bars considering the loading rate, lateral pressure, the strength of concrete, and the bar diameter is proposed and verified with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond behavior of steel bars embedded in concrete, including the anchorage capacity and bond stress-slip relationship, is highly concerned owing to its importance in the design and checking calculation of reinforced concrete structures. The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental study on the bond behavior of deformed bars embedded in concrete subjected to lateral tension. In the experiment, a total of 237 pull-out specimens are tested. It is shown that the failure mode is influenced by the strength of concrete, ratio of the cover depth to bar diameter, and unfavorable lateral tension. The bond strength and the slip at the peak stress decreases with the increase of the unfavorable lateral tension for specimens in pull-out and splitting failures, but the ratio of the residual to ultimate bond strength almost keeps constant for specimens in pull-out failure. Based on the experimental results, an empirical formula for the bond stress-slip relationship is proposed. The empirical formula is in good agreement with the experimental results for specimens with different strengths of concrete, bar diameters, and combinations of lateral tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate the seismic behavior of confined RC column-composite beam joints, five interior joints were tested under low cyclic reversed load. The weakening extent of flanges, the number of studs, and whether to reinforce weakened flanges were used as parameters in designing these five joints. Failure characteristics, hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, ductility, energy dissipation, strength degradation, and stiffness degradation were analyzed. The test results revealed that the steel beam flanges in the joints were equivalent to the tie rod. Weakened flanges resulted in poor seismic behavior; however, the seismic behavior could be improved by increasing studs and reinforcing weakened flanges. The joint steel plate hoops, equivalent to stirrups, did not yield when the maximum load was reached, but yielded when the failure load was reached for the joints with shear failure. Increasing stud-type joints and reinforcing flange-type joints ensured good seismic behavior and met project requirements. Based on the experimental results, the failure mechanism of the joints was discussed, and the shear capacity equations of the joints was presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNRAs) were grown on coated indium tin oxide coated glass substrates from aqueous solutions at low temperature. Morphologies, crystalline structure and optical transmission were investigated by a scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and UV-Visible transmission spectra, respectively. The results showed that ZNRAs grew vertically from the substrates, having uniform thickness and length distribution, ZnO nanorods were wurtzite-structured (hexagonal) ZnO. The high optical transmission in the visible region was also achieved. Furthermore, a hybrid solar cell was be constructured using ZNRAs as inorganic layer, and a power conversion efficiency of 0.47 % was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) tendons have been widely used for ground anchors in civil engineering. Although various pull-out tests of FRP rods from grout-filled steel tubes have been conducted to simulate ground anchors in rock, there are relatively few theoretical studies reported in the literature for this type of bonded anchorages. The intention of this paper is to present an analytical solution for predicting the maximum pull-out load of FRP rods embedded in steel tubes filled with cement grout. First, the expression of the shear stress along the thickness direction of the grout layer is obtained analytically. The tensile stress in the rod and the interfacial shear stress at the rod–grout interface are formulated at different loading stages. By modeling interfacial debonding as an interfacial shear crack, the pull-out load is then expressed as a function of the interfacial crack length. Finally, based on the Lagrange multiplier method, the maximum pull-out load and the critical crack length are determined. The validity of the proposed analytical solution is verified with the experimental results obtained from literature. It can be concluded that the proposed analytical solution can predict the maximum pull-out load of spiral wound and indented rods embedded in steel tubes filled with cement grout with reasonable accuracy. The proposed solution can be also applied in predicting the pull-out capacity of steel bars from concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the clinical and radiological factors that affect the recurrence of the meningioma patient so as to effectively prevent and cure recurrence of meningioma patients more earlier. Methods: The clinical features and radiological aspects in 145 cases of meningiomas undergoing operation during 1993--1997 were retrospectively studied. The data of only 83 cases of all 145 cases were available. The factors were evaluated with univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: With univariate analysis, 7 factors showed highly significance to recurrence of meningiomas: tumor size, tumor location, tumor shape, edema, extent of resection, pathological grade, CT enhancement. With multivariate analysis, 4 factors showed significant danger to recurrence of meningiomas: pathological grade, extent of resection, tumor shape and CT enhancement. Conclusion: The main factors that affect the recurrence of meningioma patients are pathological grade, extent of resection, tumor shape and CT enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the expressions of FAK and Pyk2 in human astrocytic tumors and their relationship with angiogenesis. The S-P immunohistochemical method was used to measure the expressions of FAK, Pyk2 and VEGF proteins in 58 human brain astrocytic tumors, and microvessel density (MVD) was detected by CD31 staining. In astrocytic tumors with I, II, III and IV grades, the positive rates of FAK were 20.00%, 26.67%, 44.44% and 50.00%, respectively, those of Pyk2 were 40.00%, 60.00%, 77.78% and 85.00%, respectively. FAK and Pyk2 expressions, especially Pyk2, correlated positively with VEGF expression and MVD. FAK and Pyk2 plays the important role in astrocytic tumor angiogenesis through regulation to VEGF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical stability is one of critical characteristics of liposome, especially to its clinical application. Vesicle fusion was one of the common physical stability phenomena that occurred during the long storage period. Because vesicle fusion could be easily checked by the change of vesicle size, it was widely applied in the evaluation of liposome physical stability. However, since the method requires the liposome to be placed under certain conditions for long-term observation, a liposome physical stability test usually takes several weeks, which greatly hinders the research efficiency. In this study, to speed up the research efficiency, coarse-grained molecular dynamics was first applied in the study of liposome physical stability. By analyzing the microprocess of vesicle fusion, two parameters including diffusion constant and the total time of the vesicle morphology transition process were employed to study the liposome physical stability. Then, in order to verify the applicability of two parameters, the physical stability of elastic liposomes and conventional liposomes was compared at 3 different temperatures. It was found that the fusion probability and speed of elastic liposomes were higher than those of conventional liposomes. Thus, elastic liposomes showed a worse physical stability compared with that of conventional liposomes, which was consistent with former research. Through this research, a new efficient method based on coarse-grained molecular dynamics was proposed for the study of liposome physical stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastic liposoxy1mes (ELs) are biocompatible bilayer vesicular systems commonly used in the transdermal delivery of drugs. Compared with conventional liposomes (CLs), the strong deformation ability conferred by edge activators (EAs) is one of the most critical properties of ELs. However, due to limited research methods, little is known about the effect of EAs on the deformation abilities of vesicles. In this study, taking sodium cholate as an example, a multiscale study was carried to study the effect of EAs on the deformability of ELs, including in vitro diffusion experiment at macroscale, "vesicle-pore" model experiment at the microscale and flat patch model experiment at the molecular scale. As a result, it was found that sodium cholate could decrease the kc of DPPC bilayer, which enabled it to remain morphologically intact during a strong deformation process. Such kind of differences on deformation ability made pogostone ELs (contain sodium cholate) present a better permeation effect compared with that of pogostone CLs. All of these provide a multiscale and thorough understanding of the effect of sodium cholate on the deformation ability of ELs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond behavior of deformed bar in concrete is important for the design and analysis of concrete structures, especially with insufficient concrete cover or confinement. This paper presents an analytical solution for the bond strength of deformed bar in concrete due to the splitting failure of concrete cover. A hypothesis of the equivalent elastic deformation field is proposed to approximate the deformation within the inner cracked concrete, while a linear crack profile is assumed to formulate the width of fictitious cracks. In conjunction with a realistic softening relationship, the analytical solutions of the internal pressure and bond strength are then derived for the splitting failure. The comparisons between the analytical predictions and the extensive experimental results demonstrate that the presented analytical model is capable of predicting the bond capacity with good accuracy. Finally, the influences of geometric and material parameters on the prediction results are examined, and an expression for the required bonded or splice length is suggested for design applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]