Search

The cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a crucial role in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Understanding the precise mechanism of IL-6 interaction at the amino acid level is essential to develop IL-6-inhibiting compounds. In this study, we employed computer-guided drug design tools to predict the key residues that are involved in the interaction between IL-6 and its receptor IL-6R. Subsequently, we generated IL-6 mutants and evaluated their binding affinity to IL-6R and the IL-6R − gp130 complex, as well as monitoring their biological activities. Our findings revealed that the R167A mutant exhibited increased affinity for IL-6R, leading to enhanced binding to IL-6R − gp130 complex and subsequently elevated intracellular phosphorylation of STAT3 in effector cells. On the other hand, although E171A reduced its affinity for IL-6R, it displayed stronger binding to the IL-6R − gp130 complex, thereby enhancing its biological activity. Furthermore, we identified the importance of R178 and R181 for the precise recognition of IL-6 by IL-6R. Mutants R181A/V failed to bind to IL-6R, while maintaining an affinity for the IL-6 − gp130 complex. Additionally, deletion of the D helix resulted in complete loss of IL-6 binding affinity for IL-6R. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the binding mechanism of IL-6 and establishes a solid foundation for future design of novel IL-6 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the deformation and damage characteristics of the surrounding rock along the top return mining roadway of an isolated island working face at different stages and reveals its damage mechanism and evolution law. Utilizing a mine in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, China, as the engineering background, this research employs FLAC 3D numerical simulation and on-site measurements. The findings suggest that the evolution of the plastic zone along the top roadway of the 15,106 island face is largely similar during both the excavation and mining periods. The plastic zones on either side of the roadway are expanding asymmetrically and gradually merging into the plastic zone of the coal pillar. In the destructive stage, the sub-gangs of the roadway are penetrated, indicating the progression into the plastic zone. The investigation points to extensive damage on the larger side of the roadway, the development of fissures, and the significant depth of damage as primary causes of roadway deformation. Moreover, the extent of the plastic zones on both sides of the roadway correlates positively with their relative distance. Continuous monitoring reveals an ongoing increase in roadway displacement, consistent with general observations in coal mining. The results provide valuable insights for optimizing support structures in similar mining environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of Bufei Jiedu (BFJD) ranules as adjuvant therapy for patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-PTB). Methods: A large-scale, multi-center, double-blinded, and randomized controlled trial was conducted in 18 sentinel hospitals in China from December 2012 to December 2016. A total of 312 MDR-PTB patients were randomly assigned to BFJD Granules or placebo groups (1:1) using a stratified randomization method, which both received the long-course chemotherapy regimen for 18 months (6 Am-Lfx-P-Z-Pto, 12 Lfx-P-Z-Pto). Meanwhile, patients in both groups also received BFJD Granules or placebo twice a day for a total of 18 months, respectively. The primary outcome was cure rate. The secondary outcomes included time to sputum-culture conversion, changes in lung cavities and quality of life (QoL) of patients. Adverse reactions were monitored during and after the trial. Results: A total of 216 cases completed the trial, 111 in the BFJD Granules group and 105 in the placebo group. BFJD Granules, as an adjuvant treatment, increased the cure rate by 13.6% at the end of treatment, compared with the placebo (58.4% vs. 44.8%, P=0.02), and accelerated the median time to sputum-culture conversion (5 months vs. 11 months). The cavity closure rate of the BFJD Granules group (50.6%, 43/85) was higher than that of the placebo group (32.1%, 26/81; P=0.02) in patients who completed the treatment. At the end of the intensive treatment, according to the 36-item Short Form, the BFJD Granules significantly improved physical functioning, general health, and vitality of patients relative to the placebo group (all P<0.01). Overall, the death rates in the two groups were not significantly different; 5.1% (8/156) in the BFJD Granules group and 2.6% (4/156) in the placebo group. Conclusions: Supplementing BFJD Granules with the long-course chemotherapy regimen significantly increased the cure rate and cavity closure rates, and rapidly improved QoL of patients with MDR-PTB (Registration No. ChiCTR-TRC-12002850) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, cellulose-based hydrogels have been widely used in biomedical applications. However, obtaining hydrogels with integrated tissue adhesion, sensing, haemostatic and wound healing capabilities remains challenging. In this study, we created a catechol-functionalised hydrogel based on multiple hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking using dopamine-modified dialdehyde carboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC-DA) and polyacrylic acid (PAA). The DCMC-DA/PAA hydrogel exhibited strong tissue adhesion, excellent biocompatibility, high sensing performance, effective haemostatic and wound-healing-inducive properties. The abundant aldehyde and catechol moieties of the hydrogels enhanced their adhesion to various substrates. The ions formed by catechol and carboxyl groups endowed the hydrogels with the ability to detect physiological activity signals. Furthermore, the hydrogel demonstrated haemostatic capability, reducing blood loss by 61.1% due to its remarkable adhesion and water absorption capacity. Based on this design strategy of excellent tissue adhesion and biocompatibility, the DCMC-DA/PAA hydrogel considerably accelerated wound healing by accelerating epithelial cell regeneration and collagen deposition. Hydrogels with tissue adhesion, sensing and haemostatic properties exhibit promise for wound healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma membrane lysis is an effective anticancer strategy, which mostly relying on soluble molecular membranolytic agents. However, nanomaterial-based membranolytic agents has been largely unexplored. Herein, we introduce a mesoporous membranolytic nanoperforators (MLNPs) via a nano and molecular-scale multi-patterning strategy, featuring a spiky surface topography (nanoscale patterning) and molecular-level periodicity in the spikes with a benzene-bridged organosilica composition (molecular-scale patterning), which cooperatively endow an intrinsic membranolytic activity. Computational modelling reveals a nanospike-mediated multivalent perforation behaviour, i.e., multiple spikes induce nonlinearly enlarged membrane pores compared to a single spike, and that benzene groups aligned parallelly to a phospholipid molecule show considerably higher binding energy than other alignments, underpinning the importance of molecular ordering in phospholipid extraction for membranolysis. Finally, the antitumour activity of MLNPs is demonstrated in female Balb/c mouse models. This work demonstrates assembly of organosilica based bioactive nanostructures, enabling new understandings on nano-/molecular patterns co-governed nano-bio interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of burnt rocks in some open-pit mines in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia have a great influence on the blasting effect. For this kind of rock, through the analysis of physical and chemical changes, combined with ANSYS/LS-DYNA and PFC 2D numerical simulation software, a burnt rock model with multiple joint cracks and irregular distribution is constructed to simulate the blasting process of burnt rock under the combined action of stress wave and detonation gas. The results show that the fracture of rock mass affects the propagation of blasting cracks in the fracture area, resulting in stress concentration and stress hindrance. The action time of stress wave is reduced, and the energy of blasting gas is partially absorbed by the fracture, resulting in uneven stress on the burnt rock bench and seriously affecting the bench blasting effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the risk of aristolochic acid (AA)-associated cancer in patients with AA nephropathy (AAN). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with AAN at Peking University First Hospital from January 1997 to December 2014. Long-term surveillance and follow-up data were analyzed to investigate the influence of different factors on the prevalence of cancer. The primary endpoint was the incidence of liver cancer, and the secondary endpoint was the incidence of urinary cancer during 1 year after taking AA-containing medication to 2014. Results: A total of 337 patients diagnosed with AAN were included in this study. From the initiation of taking AA to the termination of follow-up, 39 patients were diagnosed with cancer. No cases of liver cancer were observed throughout the entire follow-up period, with urinary cancer being the predominant type (34/39, 87.17%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, follow-up period, and diabetes were potential risk factors, however, the dosage of the drug was not significantly associated with urinary cancer. Conclusions: No cases of liver cancer were observed at the end of follow-up. However, a high prevalence of urinary cancer was observed in AAN patients. Establishing a direct causality between AA and HCC is challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purposes: Highly concentrated monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations for subcutaneous administration are becoming increasingly preferred within the biopharmaceutical industry for ease of use and improved patient compliance. A common phenomenon observed in the industry is that osmolality detected via freezing-point depression (FPD) in high-concentration mAb formulations is much higher than the theoretical concentrations, yet the occurrence of this phenomenon and its possible safety issues have been rarely reported. Methods: The current study summarized theoretical osmolality of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved high-concentration mAb formulations and evaluated effects of high osmolality on safety using hemolysis experiments for the first time. Two mAbs formulated at 150 mg/mL were used as models and configured into two isotonic solutions: a, a theoretically calculated molarity in the isotonic range (H) and b, an osmolality value measured via the FPD in the isotonic range (I). The H and I formulations of each mAb were individually subjected to hemolysis experiments, and the hemolysis rates of the two formulations of the same mAb were compared. Besides, the effect of mAb concentration on osmolality detected by FPD was explored as well. Results: The results indicated that the hemolysis rates were similar between the H and I formulations of mAbs at the same sample addition volume, and the osmolality values increased approximately linearly with the increase in mAb concentration. Conclusions: High osmolality for high-concentration mAb formulations would not affect product safety and the excipients could be added at relatively high levels to maintain product stability, especially for labile products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil bodies (OB) are unique organelles for storing oil in oil seeds, which have unique physicochemical stability and are considered potential nanocarriers. In this study, we extracted Camellia oleifera oil bodies (COOB) from Camellia oleifera seeds (COS) and evaluated the function of COOB in delivering lipophilic bioactive compounds. The delivery system was prepared by loading curcumin into COOB by pH-shift method to form Curcumin-Camellia oleifera oil body emulsion (COB). Through characterization of COB with different mass fractions of curcumin, it was found that when the addition of curcumin was 1%, COB had the best encapsulation efficiency (83.53%), droplet size (2.17 μm). The COB at this concentration has physical stability against environmental stresses, showing good stability at NaCl concentrations of 100 to 500 mmol/L and pH values of 3 and 5 to 9, also after treatment at temperatures ranging from 30 to 90 °C for 20 min. Based on in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of COB, a sustained release of curcumin and free fatty acids was observed during simulated intestinal digestion, reaching 81.51% and 77.46%, respectively, after 120 min. Findings in this study indicate that COOB has potential as a delivery system for lipophilic bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research delineates the energy dissipation characteristics in coal crushing under impact loads, leveraging the capabilities of Separated Hopkinson Pressure Bar experimental system. A meticulous examination of both burst-prone and non-burst-prone coal samples during destruction processes was undertaken to decipher the dynamic compression mechanical attributes from perspectives of energy and fragmentatio's fractal dimensions. Burst-prone coal showcases a more pronounced escalation in fragmentation work in comparison to non-burst-prone samples, thereby illustrating a perceptible strain-rate dependent effect correlating with enhanced strain rates. Additionally, it was observed that incident, reflected, and transmitted energy trajectories for both sample categories follow an approximately linear ascendancy, albeit exhibiting diverse magnitudes. Burst-prone coal manifests a more rapid and focused energy growth compared to its non-burst-prone counterpart. When subjected to impact loads, a notable trend was discerned where the fragmentation's fractional dimension escalated persistently with both the incident energy and the crushing work, portraying a prominent growth effect. The insights garnered from this study pave the way for distinguishing between impacted and unimpacted coal samples using energy perspectives and fragmentation's fractal dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the diverse roles of tripartite motif (Trim)-containing proteins in the regulation of autophagy, the innate immune response, and cell differentiation, their roles in skeletal diseases are largely unknown. We recently demonstrated that Trim21 plays a crucial role in regulating osteoblast (OB) differentiation in osteosarcoma. However, how Trim21 contributes to skeletal degenerative disorders, including osteoporosis, remains unknown. First, human and mouse bone specimens were evaluated, and the results showed that Trim21 expression was significantly elevated in bone tissues obtained from osteoporosis patients. Next, we found that global knockout of the Trim21 gene (KO, Trim21−/−) resulted in higher bone mass compared to that of the control littermates. We further demonstrated that loss of Trim21 promoted bone formation by enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and elevating the activity of OBs; moreover, Trim21 depletion suppressed osteoclast (OC) formation of RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the differentiation of OCs from bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) isolated from Trim21−/− and Ctsk-cre; Trim21f/f mice was largely compromised compared to that of the littermate control mice. Mechanistically, YAP1/β-catenin signaling was identified and demonstrated to be required for the Trim21-mediated osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. More importantly, the loss of Trim21 prevented ovariectomy (OVX)- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced bone loss in vivo by orchestrating the coupling of OBs and OCs through YAP1 signaling. Our current study demonstrated that Trim21 is crucial for regulating OB-mediated bone formation and OC-mediated bone resorption, thereby providing a basis for exploring Trim21 as a novel dual-targeting approach for treating osteoporosis and pathological bone loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Chromosome-specific painting probes were developed to identify the individual chromosomes from 1 to 7E in Thinopyrum species and detect alien genetic material of the E genome in a wheat background. The E genome of Thinopyrum is closely related to the ABD genome of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and harbors genes conferring beneficial traits to wheat, including high yield, disease resistance, and unique end-use quality. Species of Thinopyrum vary from diploid (2n = 2x = 14) to decaploid (2n = 10x = 70), and chromosome structural variation and differentiation have arisen during polyploidization. To investigate the variation and evolution of the E genome, we developed a complete set of E genome-specific painting probes for identification of the individual chromosomes 1E to 7E based on the genome sequences of Th. elongatum (Host) D. R. Dewey and wheat. By using these new probes in oligonucleotide-based chromosome painting, we showed that Th. bessarabicum (PI 531711, EbEb) has a close genetic relationship with diploid Th. elongatum (EeEe), with five chromosomes (1E, 2E, 3E, 6E, and 7E) maintaining complete synteny in the two species except for a reciprocal translocation between 4 and 5Eb. All 14 pairs of chromosomes of tetraploid Th. elongatum have maintained complete synteny with those of diploid Th. elongatum (Thy14), but the two sets of E genomes have diverged. This study also demonstrated that the E genome-specific painting probes are useful for rapid and effective detection of the alien genetic material of E genome in wheat–Thinopyrum derived lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing high-activity and low-cost catalysts is the key to eliminate the limitation of sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during electrocatalytic overall water splitting. Herein, Ni–Fe/black phosphorous (BP) composites are synthesized using a simple three-electrode system, where exfoliation of bulky BP and synthesis of NiFe composites are simultaneously achieved. Under light illumination, the optimized Ni–Fe/BP composite exhibits excellent photoelectrocatalytic OER performance (e.g., the overpotential is 58 mV lower than a commercial RuO2 electrocatalyst at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2). The electron transfer on this composite is proved to follow a Ni–BP–Fe pathway. The electronic structure of this Ni–Fe/BP composite is effectively regulated, leading to optimized adsorption strength of the intermediate OH* and improved intrinsic activity for the OER. Together with active sites on the support, this Ni–Fe/BP composite possesses abundant electrochemical active sites and a bug surface area for the OER. The introduction of light further accelerates the electrocatalytic OER. This work provides a novel and facile method to synthesize high-performance metal/BP composites as well as the approaches to reveal their OER mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly active, stable, and cut-price (photo-)electrocatalysts are desired to overwhelm high energy barriers for anodic oxygen evolution reaction processes. Herein, a heterostructure of cobalt-iron oxide/black phosphorus nanosheets is in-situ synthesized via a facile and novel three-electrode electrolysis method. Bulky black phosphorus is exfoliated into its nanosheets at the cathode while the CoFe oxide is derived directly from the metal wire anode during the electrolysis process. This heterostructure exhibits excellent electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance, and the overpotential at 10 mA·cm−2 is 51 mV lower than that of the commercial RuO2 catalyst. Its superior OER performance stems from the favorable adsorption behavior and an enlarged electrochemical active surface area of the catalyst. To reveal the origin of excellent OER performance from the point of adsorption strength of OH*, methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) test is applied under the identified OER operating conditions. Further introduction of light illumination enhances the OER activity of this heterostructure. The overpotential drops down to 280 mV, benefiting from pronounced photochemical response of black phosphorus nanosheets and iron oxide inside the heterostructure. This work develops a new electrochemical method to construct high performance and light-sensitive heterostructures from black phosphorus nanosheets for the OER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to expound on the present situation and potential risk of road dust heavy metals in major cities, a total of 114 literatures mainly over the past two decades, involving more than 5000 sampling sites in 61 cities of 21 countries, were screened through the collection and analysis of research papers. The concentration, sources, distribution, health risk, sample collection, and analytical methods of heavy metal research on road dust in cities around the world are summarized. The results show that Cd, Zn, and Cu in many urban road dusts in the world are higher than the grade II of the Chinese maximum allowable concentration of potentially toxic elements in the soil. Geo-accumulation index values show that Pb > Cd > Zn > Cu had the highest contamination levels. Hazard index assessment indicates Pb and Cr had the highest potential health risk, especially for children in which ingestion was found as the main exposure pathway. Moreover, through comparative analysis, it is found that some pollutants are higher in developed and industrialized cities and transport (53%) followed by industrial emissions (35%) provide the major contributions to the sources of heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dachang mining area in China is known as "paradise for mineralogists" due to its most reserves of Sn, Sb, Pb, and Zn non-ferrous metal resources; thus, its evaluation for heavy metal assessment and consequent health risk is unavoidable. Sixty road dust samples were collected from study area to explore pollution level, ecological, and health risks from heavy metals and were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer and atomic fluorescence spectrometer. The results showed that average concentration of all the heavy metals in road dust in both mining and residential areas were remarkable higher than its corresponding background values, the former being more severe, except for Cr and Co. The morphological investigation showed that most of the particles were much less than 100 μm illustrating fine part of the road dust samples. Based on integrated pollution indices, Cd, Sb, As, Zn, and Pb were extremely contaminated and exceeded hundred times of the maximum risk value. The health risk assessment revealed substantially higher carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to children and adult. Highest non-carcinogenic risk resulted from arsenic in mining and residential area with HQing of 644.56 and 267.94 respectively (standard HQ ≥ 1) while carcinogenic risk to children (1.94E + 00) which greatly exceeded from the threshold value of (1.0E-4). Sb, Cd, and Pb also posed carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk in road dust which is caused by excessive mining activities and heavy vehicle movement in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme mining activities can risk human life and the environment via potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in road dust, thus making their quantification and assessment unavoidable. For this purpose, we collected 50 fine road dust samples from the Chehe mining area, China, to quantify the level of contamination and ecological and health risks of PTEs comprising As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn, and their quantitative source apportionment using the positive matrix factorization model (PMF). Results indicated that the average values of Cd, Sb, As, Zn, Pb, and Cu in road dust were 1555.21, 586.78, 429.68, 429.43, 72.88, and 26.61 times higher than their background values. Pollution indices of PTEs revealed a strong level of contamination by Cd, Sb, As, Zn, and Pb, which were extremely polluted in the study area. The average values of the Nemerow integrated risk index (NIRI) and potential ecological risk index (RI) were 104.09 and 86.49 times the highest risk limit, respectively, which are extremely high ecological risks. Based on PMF for quantitative source identification, mining activities and fuel combustion were the main sources of PTEs in road dust contributing 57.25% and 35.95%, respectively. Furthermore, the health risk assessment indicated that Sb, As, Cr, Cd, and Pb in the Chehe road dust could lead to significantly serious carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to both children and adults. The results of this study could be used to opt for strategies to mitigate the ecological and human health risk in the mining area of Hechi, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing accurate perception of urban boundary changes is conducive to the formulation of regional development planning and researches of urban sustainable development. In this paper, an improved fully convolution neural network was provided for perceiving large-scale urban change, by modifying network structure and updating network strategy to extract richer feature information, and to meet the requirement of urban construction land extraction under the background of large-scale low-resolution image. This paper takes the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China as an empirical object to verify the practicability of the network, the results show the extraction results of the improved fully convolutional neural network model reached a precision of kappa coefficient of 0.88, which is better than traditional fully convolutional neural networks, it performs well in the construction land extraction at the scale of small and medium-sized cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate risk factors of urinary calculi in men with gout. Method: A study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Beijing from October 2016 to January 2020. Male gouty patients were included. Logistic regression was used to establish the association between patients' characteristics and urinary stone disease. A cluster analysis was performed to identify distinct phenotypes of gout based on nine common comorbidities. Result: The prevalence of calculi was 23.6% among 454 patients. Longer disease courses and comorbid dyslipidemia were associated with an increased risk of urinary calculi, with an OR of 2.76 (95% CI 1.40–5.64) (p = 0.004) for patients with a disease course of 10 years or longer compared with those with a disease course of gout shorter than 1 year, and an OR of 1.71 (95% CI 1.04–2.88) (p = 0.039) for patients with dyslipidemia. Three clinical phenotypes were recognized. Cluster C1 consists of patients with large body mass index, dyslipidemia, and abnormal liver function. The prevalence of stone was 23.2%. Patients in cluster C2 had fewer comorbidities and the lowest stone risk (13.5%). Cluster C3 had more cardiovascular comorbidities and the highest prevalence of stone (47.1%). Conclusion: Longer disease course and dyslipidemia contribute to stone risk in men with gout. Three distinct phenotypes represent distinct pathophysiological mechanisms underlying stone occurrence, which would help us to optimize gout management. Key points • Patients with gout have higher risks for urinary stones. This study found that longer disease courses and comorbid dyslipidemia were associated with an increased risk of urinary calculi in largely untreated young men with uncontrolled gout. • This study reveals three distinct phenotypes of gout based on comorbidities. Among all, the group with more cardiovascular comorbidities has the highest prevalence of stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give a concrete description of complex symmetric monomial Toeplitz operators T z p z ¯ q on the weighted Bergman space A2(Ω), where Ω denotes the unit ball or the unit polydisk. We provide a necessary condition for T z p z ¯ q to be complex symmetric. When p,q ∈ ℕ2, we prove that T z p z ¯ q is complex symmetric on A2(Ω) if and only if p1 = q2 and P2 = q1. Moreover, we completely characterize when monomial Toeplitz operators T z p z ¯ q on A 2 (D n) are JU-symmetric with the n × n symmetric unitary matrix U. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop rotations can make use of plant-soil feedback (PSF) effect to improve the sustainability of crop production. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-Summer maize (Zea mays L.) double-cropping (WM) has the largest planted area in the North China Plain. To explore sustainable planting patterns, four crop rotation modes were implemented in 2002. (1) RS: Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)-forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and WM rotation; (2) P: Spring peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and WM rotation; (3) RCP: Ryegrass–cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), peanut, WM rotation; and (4) SCS: sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.), cotton, sweet potato, WM rotation. After 15 years of crop rotation, the soil legacy effects on wheat and maize production were evaluated through field and pot experiments. Results show that yields and soil properties (soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, NO3−, pH, EC, and aggregate stability) were significantly influenced by different crop rotation systems prior to the same wheat planting. In 2018, compared to WM treatment, SCS, RCP, and P produced a higher total grain yield of wheat and maize at 27.7%, 25.1%, and 24.8%, respectively. RS produced a 6.7% lower total grain yield than WM. The crop rotational difference of wheat and maize yield was not reflected in these soil properties. The pot experiment demonstrated that soil from different cropping systems had dissimilar biotic and abiotic properties that influence crop growth. Our results show that enhanced crop rotations based on double cropping (wheat–maize) can affect wheat and maize production, and the effects were related to their specific soil legacies affected by plant-soil feedback. Including more diverse crop species in the rotation has beneficial soil legacy effects for the yield and resource utilization in agriculture systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the impact of deficiency of LIG4 gene on site-specific integration in CHO cells. Results: CHO cells are considered the most valuable mammalian cells in the manufacture of biological medicines, and genetic engineering of CHO cells can improve product yield and stability. The traditional method of inserting foreign genes by random integration (RI) requires multiple rounds of screening and selection, which may lead to location effects and gene silencing, making it difficult to obtain stable, high-yielding cell lines. Although site-specific integration (SSI) techniques may overcome the challenges with RI, its feasibility is limited by the very low efficiency of the technique. Recently, SSI efficiency has been enhanced in other mammalian cell types by inhibiting DNA ligase IV (Lig4) activity, which is indispensable in DNA double-strand break repair by NHEJ. However, this approach has not been evaluated in CHO cells. In this study, the LIG4 gene was knocked out of CHO cells using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. Efficiency of gene targeting in LIG4−/−-CHO cell lines was estimated by a green fluorescence protein promoterless reporter system. Notably, the RI efficiency, most likely mediated by NHEJ in CHO, was inhibited by LIG4 knockout, whereas SSI efficiency strongly increased 9.2-fold under the precise control of the promoter in the ROSA26 site in LIG4−/−-CHO cells. Moreover, deletion of LIG4 had no obvious side effects on CHO cell proliferation. Conclusions: Deficiency of LIG4 represents a feasible strategy to improve SSI efficiency and suggests it can be applied to develop and engineer CHO cell lines in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the protective effects of Schisandra chinensis oil (SCEO) against aristolochic acid I (AA I)-induced nephrotoxicity in vivo and in vitro and elucidate the underlying mechanism. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups according to a random number table, including control group, AA I group, and AA I +SCEO (0.25, 0.5 and 1 g/kg) groups (n=5 per group). Pretreatment with SCEO was done for 2 days by oral administration, while the control and AA I groups were treated with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. Mice of all groups except for the control group were injected intraperitoneally with AA I (5 mg/kg) from day 3 until day 7. Histopathological examination and apoptosis of kidney tissue were observed by hematoxylin and eosin and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining, respectively. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (SCr), as well as renal malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione, r-glutamyl cysteingl+glycine (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expressions of hepatic cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), CYP1A2, and nad(p)hquinonedehydrogenase1 (NQO1) were analyzed using ELISA, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. In vitro, SCEO (40 µ g/mL) was added 12 h before treatment with AA I (40 µ mol/mL for 48 h) in human renal proximal tubule cell line (HK-2), then apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: SCEO 0.5 and 1 g/kg ameliorated histopathological changes and TUNEL+ staining in the kidney tissues of mice with AA I-induced nephrotoxicity, and reduced serum levels of ALT, AST, BUN and SCr (P<0.01 or P<0.05). SCEO 0.5 and 1 g/kg alleviated the ROS generation in kidney, containing MDA, GSH and SOD (P<0.01 or P<0.05). SCEO 1 g/kg increased the expressions of CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 and decreased NQO1 level in the liver tissues (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Besides, in vitro studies also demonstrated that SCEO 40 µ g/mL inhibited apoptosis and ROS generation (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: SCEO can alleviate AA I-induced kidney damage both in vivo and in vitro. The protective mechanism may be closely related to the regulation of metabolic enzymes, thereby inhibiting apoptosis and ROS production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing highly efficient and durable semiconductor photoelectrodes has become a great significance for the synthesis of clean fuels and valuable chemical products via photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell. Herein, TiO2 nanotube array–supported amorphous cocatalyst NiFe oxyhydroxides (NiFe-OOH/TiO2 NTs) were constructed by the electrodeposition method. Surprisingly, the prepared amorphous NiFe oxyhydroxides were uniformly decorated on the surface of TiO2 nanotubes without the agglomeration, which were conducive to the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers. These nanoarchitectonics of NiFe-OOH/TiO2 NTs were favorable for promoting both the water oxidation and the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BA). NiFe-OOH/TiO2 NTs demonstrated admirable stability for the water oxidation, reaching the photocurrent density of 0.49 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE. Furthermore, the conversion efficiency and the selectivity of BA to benzaldehyde under neutral conditions were as high as 67.7% and 84.7%, respectively. This work may provide a simple method for preparing efficient and durable photoelectric electrodes to improve the oxidation performance of PEC cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many mothers' interest in establishing romantic relationships following divorce, some worry about the impacts of dating transitions, such as starting or ending a dating relationship, for their children's adjustment. The literature illustrates that transitions in and out of relationships could hinder children's post-divorce adjustment, but a supportive relationship between children and mothers could buffer the damaging effects. Prior research mostly focused on repartnering (i.e., cohabitation and remarriage) whereas a comparative form of romantic experience, post-divorce dating, is understudied. Post-divorce dating, a critical precondition for cohabitation and remarriage, is assumed to have the power to shape family stability and functioning. The goal of this study is to examine the impact of mothers' post-divorce dating transitions for children's adjustment. Additionally, we test child-mother rapport as a moderator for the relationship between dating transitions and children's adjustment. Longitudinal data for this study comes from mothers of elementary-aged children who were within three months of filing for divorce (N = 316). Results from hierarchical linear models show that mothers' dating transitions exert little direct effect on children's adjustment. However, child-mother rapport moderated the relationships between the time in mothers' dating relationships and children's prosocial behaviors, and between mothers' romantic breakups and children's externalizing behaviors. This adds further support that high child-mother rapport benefits children's adjustment within the context of divorce. Overall, the results suggest that the post-divorce dating relationship transitions may influence children's well-being via indirect pathways and the moderation effect of child-mother rapport on children's behavior are inconsistent across dating transitions. Implications for family adjustment and future research are discussed. Highlights: Prior to cohabitation and remarriage, divorced parents are likely to go through multiple post-divorce dating transitions, which are assumed to be able to shape family adjustment. Results reveal that child-mother rapport moderated the relationship between children's externalizing behaviors and the breakup of a dating relationship after divorce, and the relationship between children's prosocial behavior and the time of a dating relationship. Other post-divorce dating transitions did not predict changes in children's behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian and Pacific Oceans surround the Maritime Continent (MC). Major modes of sea surface temperature variability in both oceans, including the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), can strongly affect precipitation on the MC. The prevalence of fires in the MC is closely associated with precipitation amount and terrestrial water storage in September and October. Precipitation and terrestrial water storage, which is a measurement of hydrological drought conditions, are significantly modulated by Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño events. We utilize long-term datasets to study the combined effects of ENSO and the IOD on MC precipitation during the past 100 years (1900–2019) and find that the reductions in MC precipitation and terrestrial water storage are more pronounced during years when El Niño and a positive phase of the IOD (pIOD) coincided. The combined negative effects are produced mainly through an enhanced reduction of upward motion over the MC. Coincident El Niño-pIOD events have occurred more frequently after 1965. However, climate models do not project a higher occurrence of coincident El Niño-pIOD events in a severely warming condition, implying that not the global warming but the natural variability might be the leading cause of this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes an elastic finite difference (FD) time domain method with variable grids in three-dimensional cylindrical coordinates. The calculations will diverge and become less accurate by conventional cylindrical FD as the grid size gradually becomes more extensive with the increasing radius. To prevent grids from being too coarse in far fields, we compensate for the grid cell inflation by refining the grid step in the azimuthal direction. The variable grid FD in the cylindrical coordinate systems has a higher efficiency in solving acoustic logging while drilling (LWD) problems because the grid boundaries are consistent with those of the drill collar and the borehole. The proposed algorithm saves approximately 94% of the FD grids, 80% of the computation time, and memory with a higher calculation accuracy than the FD on rectangular grids for the same models. We also calculate the acoustic LWD responses of the fluid-filled borehole intersecting with fractures. Reflections are generated at the fractures, which can be equivalent to an additional scattering source. The mode conversions between the collar and the Stoneley waves are revealed. The Stoneley spectra are more sensitive to the fracture. Finally, the logs in a heterogeneous formation with two reflectors far from the borehole are modeled, and a means of estimating the azimuth of geological interfaces from reflections is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of oropharyngeal mother's milk administration on salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels in preterm infants fed by gastric tube. Infants (n = 130) with birth weight < 1500 g were randomly allocated into two groups which both received breast milk for enteral nutrition. The experimental group (n = 65) accepted oropharyngeal mother's milk administration before gastric tube feeding for 14 days after birth. The control group (n = 65) accepted oropharyngeal 0.9% normal saline administration. Saliva concentration of sIgA were assessed at the 2 h, 7th and 14th day after birth. The level of salivary sIgA in experimental group were significantly higher than those in control group on the 7th day after birth (p < 0.05), but there were no differences in salivary sIgA levels on the 14th day between the two groups. The results of quantile regression analysis showed that oropharyngeal mother's milk administration, delivery mode and gestational age had significant effects on the increase of sIgA. SIgA in experimental group and the total number of intervention had a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05). Oropharyngeal mother's milk administration can improve salivary sIgA levels of preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lijiang River is an essential drinking water source and natural scenery in the Guilin City. For the first time, implications of rainstorm were taken into consideration by investigating spatial and temporal variation of dissolved heavy metals (HMs) in the Lijiang River water. A total of 68 water samples were collected during low flow (normal) season and high flow (rainstorm) season from 34 sampling sites. Dissolved HMs including Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, and Pb were found to meet the respective drinking water standards, while comparatively higher concentration was observed after the rainstorm season, except for Cr. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that Co, Cu, Cr, Zn, Sb, and Pb in normal season were mainly controlled by anthropogenic sources. Furthermore, higher concentrations of Mn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Co, and Zn during the high flow season were attributed to rainstorm. The water quality index (WQI) showed good grades and comparatively lower in rainstorm season. The results of health risk assessment revealed that HMs in Lijiang River posed limited health risk; however, As posed potential health risk specially in rainstorm season. It is suggested to adopt preventive measures for mining activities and industrial waste-water discharge at the river's upstream and downstream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a prognostic model for metastasis-free survival (MFS) based on genes that may functionally interact with cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and M2 macrophages in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. Methods: The transcriptional and phenotypic profiles of TNBC and other breast cancer subtypes were downloaded from gene expression omnibus (GEO). The abundance of infiltrated immune cells was evaluated through CIBERSORTx or MCP-counter. A weighted linear model, the score for MFS (SMFS), was developed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) in GSE58812 and validated in GSE2034 and GSE12276. The biological implication of the SMFS was explored by evaluating its associations with TNBC molecular subtypes and other radiosensitivity- or immune-related signatures. Results: A model consisting of the PCDH12/ELP3, PCDH12/MSRA, and FAM160B2/MSRA gene expression ratios with non-zero coefficients finally selected by LASSO was developed using GSE58812. In GSE2034 (treatment with adjuvant radiotherapy), the SMFS was significantly associated with MFS in TNBC patients (hazard ratio (HR) = 8.767, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.856–41.408, P = 0.006) and, to a lesser extent, in non-TNBC patients (HR = 2.888, 95% CI 1.076–7.750, P = 0.035). However, the interaction of subtype (TNBC vs non-TNBC) and the SMFS tended to be significant (Pinteraction = 0.081). In contrast, the SMFS was not significantly associated with MFS in either TNBC patients (P = 0.499) or non-TNBC patients (P = 0.536) in GSE12276 (treatment without radiotherapy). Among the four TNBC molecular subtypes, the c1 and c4 subtypes exhibited higher CTL infiltration and lower SMFS values than the c2 and c3 subtypes. In addition, the SMFS was positively correlated with the abundance of endothelial cells (r = 0.413, P < 0.001). Conclusion: The proposed model has the potential to predict MFS in TNBC patients after adjuvant radiotherapy, and the SMFS may represent a measurement of tumor immune suppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze clinical feature and information of medication to explore the risk signals of preparations containing Psoraleae Fructus (BGZP) related with hepatobiliary adverse drug reactions (ADR), in order to reinforce pharmacovigilance. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted based on hepatobiliary ADR related with BGZP from the China Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring System in years from January 2012 to December 2016. Serious and general ADRs were analyzed and assessed. Results: There were 355 cases of hepatobiliary ADR related to BGZP. Both the amount of cases and the proportion of serious ADR showed an increasing growth by years (P<0.05). It was found that 10.43% of 355 cases may be involved with irrational drug use, including overdose, repeated medication, and combination of multiple drugs. There were 190 cases which used BGZP (non-combination), and they were mainly for common in diseases caused by abnormal immune activation (accounting for 40.53% of the total cases). Especially at the age group with the most cases with age of 41–50 years, the cases associated with immunological diseases of female were obviously more than that of male (P<0.05). The latency of hepatobiliary ADR related to BGZP ranged from 1 to 386 days, and the median latency was 27.5 days, along with the range of cumulative dose (0.45–520.02 g) as well as the daily dose (0.09–2.64 g/d) after the conversion. Conclusions: Cases of hepatobiliary ADR related to BGZP showed significant individual differences, and there was no correlation between drug usage duration and dosage and the occurrence of hepatobiliary ADR. It may be similar with idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury, and recommended that BGZP should be used with more caution under monitoring liver function, especially in female patients with immunological diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a debilitating manifestation in Parkinson's disease (PD). We sought to investigate predictors of PD-CI (PD with cognitive impairment). Methods: We systematically searched PubMed and Cochrane Library for prospective cohort studies and pooled estimates via random-effects models. Primary analyses for all types of cognitive impairments and subgroup analyses by separate outcomes were conducted. Results: A total of 28,009 studies were identified, of which 57 studies with 31 factors were included in the meta-analysis. In the primary analysis, 13 factors were associated with PD-CI, comprising advanced age [relative risk (RR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03–1.12], age at onset (RR = 4.43, 95% CI = 1.87–10.54), postural-instability-gait disorder (RR = 3.76, 95% CI = 1.36–10.40), higher Hoehn and Yahr stage (RR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.35–2.47), higher UPDRS III score (RR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01–1.08), rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RR = 3.72, 95% CI = 1.20–11.54), hallucinations (RR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.61–5.93), orthostatic hypotension (RR = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.41–6.28), anxiety (RR = 2.59, 95% CI = 1.18–5.68), APOE ε2 (RR = 6.47, 95% CI = 1.29–32.53), APOE ε4 (RR = 3.04, 95% CI = 1.88–4.91), electroencephalogram theta power > median (RR = 2.93, 95% CI = 1.61–5.33), and alpha power < median (RR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.07–2.92). In the subgroup analysis, MAPT H1/H1 genotype increased the risk of dementia in PD. Sixty-four studies were included in the systematic review, of which 12 factors were additionally correlated with PD-CI using single studies. Conclusions: Advanced age, genetic variation in APOE and MAPT, gait disturbance, motor assessments, non-motor symptoms, and electroencephalogram may be promising predictors for PD-CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship between serum calcium and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear. The aim of this study is to test whether serum calcium is associated with other AD-associated biomarkers and could predict clinical progression in nondemented elders. This was a longitudinal population-based study. The sample was derived from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort, which included 1224 nondemented elders: 413 cognitively normal (CN) and 811 mild cognition impairment (MCI). Associations were investigated between serum calcium and longitudinal changes in Aβ/tau pathologic features, brain structure, cognitive function, and disease progression. Serum calcium concentrations increased with disease severity. Serum calcium predicted longitudinal cognitive decline and conversion from nondemented status to AD dementia (adjusted HR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.13–1.76). Furthermore, serum calcium levels were negatively correlated with CSF-Aβ42 (β = − 0.558, P = 0.008), FDG-PET (β = − 0.292, P < 0.001), whole brain volume (β = − 0.148, P = 0.001), and middle temporal volume (β = − 0.216, P = 0.042). Similar results were obtained in CN and MCI groups. Higher serum calcium status (even if not hypercalcemia) may increase the risk of AD in elders. Serum calcium is a useful biomarker in predicting clinical progression in nondemented elders. More researches are needed in the future to explore the underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the levels and clinical relevance of serum β-amyloid (Aβ) in age-related cataract (ARC) patients. In the present study, an overall of 402 ARC patients and 450 normal controls were recruited between June 2018 and December 2019. Serum Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 concentrations were assessed by Elisa. The ARC patients were further grouped into several subgroups according to gender, age, types of ARC, and degree of lens opacity. The association of Aβ levels with ARC was determined using logistic regression models. ARC patients had significantly higher serum Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 levels than normal control. A similar finding was observed in subjects aged over 60 years. Serum Aβ concentrations were significant correlated with the degrees of lens opacity in C-ARC and N-ARC subjects. Logistic regression analyses revealed that serum Aβ1-40 (ORs = 1.202, 95% CI 1.077 to 1.341) and Aβ1-42 (ORs = 1.686, 95% CI 1.351 to 2.103) levels were potential risk factors for ARC. ARC patients have higher serum Aβ1-40, as well as Aβ1-42 levels, which may reflect an association between Aβ and ARC pathogenesis. Serum Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-40 levels are potential risk factors for ARC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New ambient sound absorption material, lightweight isocyanate-based polyimide foam (IBPIF), was fabricated by operable combination between different distinctive acoustic IBPIF. Cellular structure of IBPIF was facilely and obviously adjusted by increased slurry temperature corresponding to change in distinctive acoustic properties. Moreover, density of all IBPIF kept at only 12–17 kg/m3. With increasing slurry temperature from 0 °C to 40 °C, cell size and window opening rate gradually increased from 553 µm to 791 µm and from 6.85% to 58.46%, respectively. In this study, IBPIF generated by slurries at 0 °C (marked as PIF-2) and 40 °C (marked as PIF-6) showed best and distinctive acoustic behavior in 315–800 Hz and 800–6300 Hz regions, respectively. After acoustic behavior study of combined IBPIF prepared by stitching combination between two distinctive acoustic IBPIFs, results showed that only when PIF-6 sheet used as sound receiving surface even though with thickness of only 10 mm could the combined IBPIF possess the best acoustic level in 800–6300 Hz region as PIF-6. Furtherly, acoustic behavior in 315–800 Hz region could be significantly enhanced by increasing thickness of PIF-2 and could reach or close to the best acoustic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiation therapies with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) have been successful in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia, a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, their efficacy is limited in the case of other AML subtypes. Here, we show that the combination of ATRA with salt-inducible kinase (SIK) inhibition significantly enhances ATRA-mediated AML differentiation. SIK inhibition augmented the ability of ATRA to induce growth inhibition and G1 cell cycle arrest of AML cells. Moreover, combining ATRA and SIK inhibition synergistically activated the Akt signaling pathway but not the MAPK pathway. Pharmacological blockade of Akt activity suppressed the combination-induced differentiation, indicating an essential role for Akt in the action of the combination treatment. Taken together, our study reveals a novel role for SIK in the regulation of ATRA-mediated AML differentiation, implicating the combination of ATRA and SIK inhibition as a promising approach for future differentiation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels are attractive due to their various applications in the fields of biomedical materials, cosmetics, and biosensors. To enhance UV protection and prevent skin penetration behaviors, inspired by the mussel adhesive proteins, the functional polydopamine (PDA) is employed herein to fabricate polydopamine/carboxymethyl cellulose/polyacrylic acid (PDA/CMC/PAA) adhesive hydrogels. To disperse PDA nanoparticles well in the PAA matrix, dopamine was self-polymerized in CMC solution to form PDA/CMC complex. Acrylic acid was polymerized in PDA/CMC complex solution and cross-linked to construct UV-resistant PDA/CMC/PAA hydrogel. The morphology, rheological behavior, mechanical properties and adhesion strength of PDA/CMC/PAA hydrogels were studied by scanning electron microscopy, rotational rheometer, universal test machine. Owing to the hydrogen bonding interaction between the PDA/CMC complex and PAA, the PDA/CMC/PAA hydrogels showed high resilience and compressive strength to withstand large deformation. The hydrogels exhibited strong adhesion to various substrate surfaces, such as stainless steel, aluminum, glass and porcine skin. The biocompatibility and UV-shielding properties were investigated through culture of cells and UV irradiation test. The adhesiveness of PDA promoted cell adhesion and provided the PDA/CMC/PAA hydrogels good biocompatibility with 96% of relative cell viability. The hydrogels possessed excellent UV-shielding ability to prevent collagen fibers from being destroyed during UV irradiation, which has promising potential in the practical applications for UV filtration membrane and skin care products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to achieve energy-efficient transmission in radio frequency energy harvesting cognitive radio network (RF-CRN) is of great importance when nodes in CRN are self-maintained. This paper presents a radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting hardware-based underlay cognitive radio network (RH-CRN) structure, where a secondary transmitter (ST) first harvests energy from RF signals source originating from the primary network, and then communicates with a secondary receiver (SR) in underlay mode by using the harvested energy. The total consumed energy by the secondary user (SU) must be equal to or less than the total harvested energy referred to as energy causality constraint, In addition, the ST possesses some initial energy which may be the residual energy from the former transmission blocks, and we consider the energy loss of energy harvesting circuit as a systematic factor as well. Our goal is to achieve the maximum energy efficiency (EE) of the secondary network by jointly optimizing transmitting time and power. To guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of secondary transceiver, a minimum requirement of throughput constraint is imposed on the ST in the process of EE maximization. As the EE maximization is a nonlinear fractional programming problem, a quick iterative algorithm based on Dinkelbach's method is proposed to achieve the optimal resource allocation. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy has fast convergence and can improve the system EE greatly while ensuring the QoS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To investigate the influence of chemical weathering on CO2 consumption, an analysis was performed of water chemistry by applying water chemistry equilibria methods in the Bishuiyan subterranean basin, SW China. The average value of total ion concentrations (TZ+) was 1,854.97 μEq/L, which was significantly higher than the global average value (TZ+ = 1,250 μEq/L). Ca2+ and HCO3− were the main ionic constituents in the waters. SO42− and NO3− concentrations were relatively higher than other anion concentrations, and Cl− concentrations were consistently the lowest. Dissolved load balance models result showed that carbonate weathering, silicate weathering, and atmospheric input were the primary ionic contributors, wherein the effects of carbonate weathering > silicate weathering > atmospheric input for the whole catchment, with the exception of Taiping, where silicate weathering was prominent over carbonate weathering. In addition, these analyses indicated that the erosion via rock weathering was also affected by atmospherically derived CO2 and allogenic acids. The estimated yield by quantitative calculation for the carbonate weathering rate was 59.7 t/(km2 year), which was 4.40 times higher than that of silicate weathering rate. Further, the carbonate and silicate weathering components of the carbon sink accounted for 71.2% and 28.8%, respectively, of the total basin rock weathering carbon sink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, but the role of SUA in intracranial atherosclerosis remains unclear. To investigate the association between SUA and intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS), we evaluated 1522 subjects (305 with ICAS, 1217 without ICAS) with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Subjects were classified into ten groups according to the deciles of the SUA level. The rate of ICAS reached a minimum in the seventh decile (6.0–6.3 mg/dL; reference group). After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that both low SUA level (≤ 3.8 mg/dL; OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.29–4.39; p = 0.006) and high SUA level (≥ 7.8 mg/dL; OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.15–3.92; p = 0.017) conferred greater risk for ICAS. In multivariable analysis with a quadratic model which used SUA as a continuous variable, a U-shaped association between SUA and the rate of ICAS was confirmed (α > 0; p < 0.001). The estimated SUA level associated with the lowest rate of ICAS was 6.2 mg/dL. In conclusion, our findings suggest a U-shaped association between ICAS and SUA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correlation between the level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the incidence of intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is unclear. We aim to investigate the relationship between hs-CRP levels and ICAS. A total of 1458 patients aged ≥ 40 years were enrolled in this study. All the participants had a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) examination for the evaluation of ICAS. Participants were classified into four groups according to stroke and ICAS. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship of hs-CRP levels and ICAS status. A total of 432 (29.63%) subjects had ICAS. The levels of hs-CRP in stroke group were significantly higher than those in non-stroke group (p < 0.001). Patients with ICAS tend to have higher hs-CRP levels (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, the fourth hs-CRP quartile had the strongest association with ICAS in both stroke group and non-stroke group (OR 2.512, 95% CI 1.651–3.853, p < 0.001 for stroke group, and OR 2.534, 95% CI 1.435–4.595, p = 0.002 for non-stroke group) among the four quartiles of hs-CRP levels. Our study suggests that elevated serum hs-CRP levels are associated with higher risk of ICAS, in both stroke patients and non-stroke participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (IDILI) is a rare but potentially severe adverse drug reaction. To date, identifying individuals at risk for IDILI remains challenging. This is a prospective study, where a nested case–control (1:5) design was adopted. For six patients who had abnormalities in liver function test after Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (PM) ingestion (susceptible group), 30 patients with normal liver function were matched (tolerant group). Based on liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, metabolomics analysis was done on serum samples prior to PM ingestion, to screen the differential metabolites and characterize metabolomic profiles of patient serum in the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that there were remarkable separations between susceptible and tolerant groups. A total of 25 major differential metabolites were screened out, involving glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, histidine metabolism and aromatic amino acid metabolism. Wherein, the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curves of metabolites PE 22:6, crotonoyl-CoA, 2E-tetradecenoyl-CoA, phenyllactic acid, indole-5,6-quinone, phosphoribosyl-ATP were all greater than 0.9. The overall serum metabolic profile comprising of 25 metabolites could clearly distinguish susceptible and tolerant groups. This proof-of-concept study used metabolomics to characterize the metabolic profile of IDILI risk individuals before drug ingestion for the first time. The metabolome characteristics in patient serum before PM ingestion may predict the risk of liver injury after PM ingestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A type of millimeter-wave antenna array with flexible design is proposed for a variety of applications at 60 GHz. The antenna array can be adjusted to be linearly or circularly polarized by simply changing the radiation part of the antenna array. High gain, wideband, and high radiation efficiency characteristics can be achieved by adopting a low insertion loss feeding network and broadband antenna elements. For the linearly polarized antenna array, simulation results show that the impedance bandwidth of the 2×2 antenna subarray reaches 21.6%, while the maximum gain achieves 15.1 dBi and has a fluctuation of less than 0.4 dBi within the working bandwidth. Simulation results of the 8×8 linearly polarized antenna array show a bandwidth of 21.6% and a gain of (26.1±1) dBi with an antenna efficiency of more than 80%. For the 8×8 circularly polarized antenna array, simulation results show that an impedance bandwidth of 18.2% and an axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 13.3% are obtained. Gain and efficiency of up to 27.6 dBi and 80% are achieved, respectively. A prototype of antenna array is fabricated, and results are compared and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]