Search

Rare earth orthocobaltates nanofibers (PrCoO3, EuCoO3, and GdCoO3) were prepared by a simple electrospinning method coupled with calcination. The PrCoO3, EuCoO3, and GdCoO3 nanofibers have orthorhombic perovskite structure. The fabricated electrodes presented the typical pseudocapacitive characteristics, which originated from the reversible redox reactions of Co2+/Co3+ and Fe(CN)63−/Fe(CN)64−. At 1 A g−1, the specific capacitances of the PrCoO3, EuCoO3, and GdCoO3 nanofibers were 119, 133, and 196 F g−1, respectively. The electrochemical characteristics of the PrCoO3, EuCoO3, and GdCoO3 nanofibers exhibited favorable specific capacitance, good long-term cycling stability, and high coulombic efficiency, proving the possible application into energy storage devices. PrCoO3 and EuCoO3 nanofibers exhibited a magnetic state transition from paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic state. GdCoO3 nanofibers showed a paramagnetic ordering at high temperature. The cooperation of the R3+ ions and the Co2+ ions contributed to the magnetism of rare earth orthocobaltates nanofibers. The antiferromagnetic behaviors of the fabricated samples confirm the potential application into spin-electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniform rare earth orthoferrites (PrFeO3 and EuFeO3) nanofibers have been synthesized. The fabricated samples possessed an orthorhombic perovskite structure. The average diameters of PrFeO3 and EuFeO3 samples were approximately 233 and 176 nm, respectively, and the morphologies were uniform and continuous nanofibrous structures. The pseudocapacitive performances of PrFeO3/EuFeO3 were attributable to the oxidation-reduction reactions of Fe3+/Fe4+ and Fe(CN)63−/ Fe(CN)64−. PrFeO3 and EuFeO3 nanofibers showed the specific capacitances of 123 and 143 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, respectively. The magnetic properties of PrFeO3 and EuFeO3 nanofibers were investigated. PrFeO3 nanofibers presented stable magnetic behaviors. EuFeO3 nanofibers showed a spin-glass state transition phenomenon. This research suggested that PrFeO3 and EuFeO3 nanofibers could be effectively and feasibly applied in supercapacitors and condensed matter physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AliCPT-1 is the first Chinese cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiment aiming for the high-precision measurement of CMB B-mode polarization. The telescope, currently under deployment in Tibet, will observe in two frequency bands centered at 90 and 150 GHz. We forecast the CMB lensing reconstruction, lensing-galaxy, and lensing-cosmic infrared background (CIB) cross-correlation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for AliCPT-1. We consider two stages with different integrated observation times, namely "4 module*yr" (first stage) and "48 module*yr" (final stage). For lensing reconstruction, we use three different quadratic estimators, namely temperature-only, polarization-only and minimum-variance (MV) estimators, using curved sky geometry. We take into account the impacts of inhomogeneous hit counts and mean-field bias due to incomplete sky coverage. In the first stage, our results show that the 150 GHz channel can measure the lensing signals at 15cr significance with the MV estimator. In the final stage, the measurement significance will increase to 31σ. We also combine the two frequency data in the harmonic domain to optimize the SNR. Our results show that the coadding procedure can significantly reduce the reconstruction bias in the high multiple range. Owning to the high quality of the polarization data in the final stage of AliCPT-1, the EB estimator will dominate the lensing reconstruction in this stage. We also estimate the SNR of cross-correlations between AliCPT-1 CMB lensing and other tracers of the large scale structure of the universe. For its cross-correlation with Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) galaxies/quasars, we report the cross-correlation SNR = 10–20 for the four redshift bins at 0.05 < z < 2.1. In the first stage, the total SNR is approximately 32. In the final stage, the lensing-galaxy cross-correlation can reach SNR = 52. For lensing-CTB cross-correlation, in the first stage, the cross-correlations between AliCPT-1 lensing and Planck CIB 353, 545 and 857 GHz channels are approximately SNR =18,19, and 23, respectively. In the final stage, the cross-correlations can reach SNR = 25,33 and 42. Due to the strong correlations between frequency bands, the total lensing-CIB cross-correlations by combining the three frequencies in Planck CIBs are SNR = 23 and 43 for the AliCPT-1 first and final stages, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerium-based CeMO3 (M = Co, Ni, Cu) perovskites were efficiently synthesized by electrospinning process. The structures, morphologies, elemental compositions, and valence states of CeMO3 perovskites were manifested in detail using X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopic analysis, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The tolerance factor (t) was accurately calculated to confirm the perovskite structure stability. The electrochemical properties of CeMO3 perovskites were investigated, and the specific capacitances of CeCoO3, CeNiO3, and CeCuO3 perovskites are 128, 189, and 117 F g−1 at the current density of 0.5 A g−1, respectively. This study could provide an efficient and potential applications of the cerium-based perovskites into the supercapacitor electrode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis-zinc on growth rates of the body and organs, nutrient utilization, microbial diversity in caecum, and contents of zinc (Zn) in organs of rats fed a Zn-deficient diet. In trial 1, 72 female pregnant SD rats were allocated to two groups and respectively fed the basal diet containing 13 mg Zn/kg, or the control diet containing 38 mg Zn/kg by supplementing ZnSO4 from day 10 of pregnancy until the offspring rats 24 days old. In trial 2, 18 offspring rats from the control group were fed the control diet. Ninety offspring from the Zn deficiency group were allocated to 5 groups and were fed the basal diet drenched with ZnSO4 solution (the total Zn 38 mg/kg), the basal diet only, or the basal diet drenched with Bacillus subtilis-Zn at doses of 2, 17, and 32 mg/kg Zn respectively. Each group had 3 replicates of 6 rats. The experiment lasted for 5 weeks. We found feeding young rats the Zn-deficient diet reduced feed intake, growth rate, unitization efficiencies of nitrogen (N), and Zn content in the organs. Administration of Bacillus subtilis-Zn to rats increased feed intake and the growth rates of the body and liver, kidney and heart, increased N utilization efficiency, and the contents of Zn in heart and brain but not in liver, regulated microbial diversity in the cecal content. The optimal amount of Bacillus subtilis-Zn ranged 15~20 mg Zn/kg, with the corresponding total Zn level at 28~33 mg/kg diet, the effects of which were superior to these by adding ZnSO4 at 38 mg/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 108 pregnant and lactation SD rats were divided into six groups, daily and orally dosed with Bacillus subtilis-copper (CuBs) and CuSO4 (CuS) both at three doses equivalent to 1.5 mg (Cu deficiency), 3 mg, and 6 mg Cu per kg diet, and the effects of the Cu source and dosage on the growth rate, immune status, duodenal development, and cecal microbial diversity were examined on 24-day-old offspring rats. The six offspring rats from each group were randomly selected for measuring the body weight gain and taking blood samples, and three rats were sacrificed for taking duodenum and cecum content samples. We found CuBs increased the body weight gain, development of duodenal villi, and survival rate of the offspring; increased the IgM content and lysozyme activity in serum; reduced the intestinal permeability; and increased the abundances of Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Intestinibacter in the cecal content, when compared with CuS. We also found that Cu deficiency showed detrimental effects on the body weight gain and length, the survival rate of the offspring, and the immune indices in serum, as well as the increased intestinal permeability. We concluded that CuBs is better Cu source than CuSO4 for reproductive rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a congenital gut motility disorder of infants, and if left untreated, it is fatal to the affected infants. This study aimed to identify key microRNAs (miRNAs), signaling pathways and genes involved in the pathogenesis of HSCR. Methods: The miRNA microarray dataset GSE77296 was downloaded. Nine colon tissue samples were available: six from HSCR patients and three matched control samples. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified after data preprocessing. Target genes of the selected upregulated and downregulated DEMs were predicted. In addition, functional enrichment analyses for the selected DEMs and target genes were conducted. Finally, interaction networks between the DEMs and target genes were constructed. Results: A total of 162 DEMs (73 upregulated and 89 downregulated) were obtained. A total of 2511 DEM-target gene pairs for the 40 selected DEMs were identified, including 1645 pairs for the upregulated DEMs and 866 pairs for the downregulated DEMs. The upregulated DEM miR-141-3p and down-regulated DEM miR-30a-3p were identified as key miRNAs by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment and network analyses. Besides, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that pathways in cancer and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway were key pathways. The key genes frizzled class receptor 3 ( FZD3) and docking protein 6 ( DOK6) were obtained through the DEM-target gene interaction networks. Conclusion: Two key miRNAs (miR-141-3p and miR-30a-3p), the MAPK signaling pathway and two key genes ( FZD3 and DOK6) were implicated in the pathogenesis of HSCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several clinical reports have been published on complications resulting from swallowing multiple magnetic foreign bodies. This study aimed to summarize the clinical experience of managing children who swallowed multiple magnetic foreign bodies. Methods: We reviewed the clinical records of five children who swallowed multiple magnetic foreign bodies and were admitted to our hospital during June 2012 to June 2014. Details of the patients' presentation, imaging studies, complications and treatment were recorded. Results: All five children suffered from gastrointestinal perforation and intestinal obstruction. The magnetic foreign bodies caused local bowel wall tissue ischemia necrosis and perforation as well as other complications associated with fistula formation. The magnets were finally removed by laparotomy surgery. Conclusion: If magnetic foreign bodies cannot be removed by endoscopy, an operation is suggested as soon as possible to avoid serious complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Port address hopping (PAH) communication is a powerful network moving target defense (MTD) mechanism. It was inspired by frequency hopping in wireless communications. One of the critical and difficult issues with PAH is synchronization. Existing schemes usually provide hops for each session lasting only a few seconds/minutes, making them easily influenced by network events such as transmission delays, traffic jams, packet dropouts, reordering, and retransmission. To address these problems, in this paper we propose a novel self-synchronization scheme, called 'keyed-hashing based self-synchronization (KHSS)'. The proposed method generates the message authentication code (MAC) based on the hash based MAC (HMAC), which is then further used as the synchronization information for port address encoding and decoding. Providing the PAH communication system with one-packet-one-hopping and invisible message authentication abilities enables both clients and servers to constantly change their identities as well as perform message authentication over unreliable communication mediums without synchronization and authentication information transmissions. Theoretical analysis and simulation and experiment results show that the proposed method is effective in defending against man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and network scanning. It significantly outperforms existing schemes in terms of both security and hopping efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quasi-2D model, taking into account the axial velocity profile in the cross section and neglecting the convective term in the 2-D equation, can more accurately simulate the water hammer than the 1-D model using the cross-sectional mean velocity. However, as compared with the 1-D model, the quasi-2D model bears a higher computational burden. In order to improve the computational efficiency, the 1-D method is proposed to be used to solve directly the pressure head and the discharge in the quasi-2D model in this paper, based on the fact that the pressure head obtained as the solution of the two-dimensional characteristic equation is identical to that solved by the 1-D characteristic equations. The proposed scheme solves directly the 1-D characteristic equations for the pressure head and the discharge using the MOC and solves the 2-D characteristic equation for the axial velocities in order to calculate the wall shear stress. If the radial velocity is needed, it can be evaluated easily by an explicit equation derived from the explicit 2-D characteristic equation. In the numerical test, the accuracy and the efficiency of the proposed scheme are compared with two existing quasi-two-dimensional models using the MOC. It is shown that the proposed scheme has the same accuracy as the two quasi-2D models, but requires less computational time. Therefore, it is efficient to use the proposed scheme to simulate the 2-D water hammer flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between natural defoliation rate and endogenous ethylene, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in four sugarcane cultivars possessing different defoliation traits was investigated. Leaf sheath, leaf scar, and leaf blade samples were collected from the 10th leaf position below the fully expanded leaves during sugarcane maturation stage. Ethylene, IAA, and ABA levels were measured using gas chromatograph, liquid chromatograph, and external standard methods. The results showed that during sugarcane maturation, the highest natural defoliation rate was observed in CYZ03-194, followed by CYZ01-1413, CMT02-467, and CYA99-91. Ethylene production and IAA levels in the leaf scars, leaf sheaths, and leaf blades were the highest during the early-to-mid-maturation stage and decreased afterwards. The ABA levels showed a mono-peak curve change and peaked at the late-to-mid-maturation stage. Ethylene production in leaf scars during the early-to-mid- and mid-maturation stages as well as ABA levels in leaf scars at the late-to-mid-maturation stage significantly differed among the cultivars, with the highest levels in CYZ03-194, followed by CYZ01-1413, CMT02-467, and CYA99-91. On the other hand, the IAA levels in leaf scars and leaf sheaths at the early-to-mid-maturation stage were highest in CYA99-91, followed by CMT02-467, CYZ01-1413, and CYZ03-194. Correlation analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the natural defoliation rate and ethylene production, ABA level, ethylene/IAA ratios, and ABA/IAA ratios, whereas a negative correlation was observed with IAA level during the early-to-mid- and mid-maturation stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prognosis of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) is extremely poor.Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nucleoside analogue treatment of patients with HBV-associated ACLF.Methods: We used a retrospective review of eligible patients from April 2006 to December 2008. Eligible subjects received 0.5 mg entecavir daily until October 2009 (group A), 100 mg lamivudine daily until October 2009 (group B), or no nucleoside analogue (group C). The primary endpoints were three-month survival and the rate of recurrence of HBV-associated ACLF. The secondary endpoints were HBV DNA levels, liver function, the model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, and adverse events.Results: A total of 104 consecutive patients were recruited, and 33, 34, and 37 patients were randomly allocated to groups A, B, and C, respectively. Although no significant difference in three-month survival was observed, levels of HBV DNA and rates of recurrence of HBV-associated ACLF were lower. Liver function and MELD score were not significantly improved despite significantly reduced HBV DNA levels.Conclusions: These data indicated that nucleoside analogue treatment did not improve the short-term prognosis of patients with HBV-associated ACLF although it was efficacious and safe in the management of HBV DNA levels. Intriguingly and importantly, continuous nucleoside analogue treatment can significantly reduce the rate of recurrence, which might be indicative of the further benefit of long-term survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artemisia argyi leaf is a well-known species in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the anti-inflammatory and activating blood stasis activities of its essential oil (AAEO) have not been explored in vivo. The present study measured the contents of three chemical components by gas chromatography (GC). The anti-acute inflammatory effects of AAEO were investigated in dimethyl benzene, glacial acetic acid and carrageenan-induced animals through skin administration or by oral gavage, respectively. The effects of AAEO on haemorheology were studied in a rat acute blood stasis model. The contents of eucalyptol, camphor and borneol in AAEO were 254.4, 51.6 and 58.7 mg/g, respectively. All dosages of AAEO by skin administration significantly decreased the swelling in dimethyl benzene-induced ear oedema and carrageenan-induced paw oedema, and reduced the permeability in glacial acetic acid-induced abdominal blood capillary ( p < 0.01). Meanwhile, haemorheology indexes such as whole blood viscosity and the erythrocyte aggregation index significantly decreased only in the high dosage group. In addition, the effects of AAEO by oral gavage were weaker than skin administration at the medium dose in the experiments. It suggests that AAEO has better absorption bioavailability and pharmacological effects through skin administration due to the better skin permeability of essential oil than gastrointestinal absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Acute paraplegia due to thoracic intervertebral disc protrusion and calcification is rare. The purpose of this study was to report two cases with acute paraplegia due to a calcified thoracic disc prolapse, and discuss its clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment with literature reviews.Methods: These two cases were verified by patient history, physical examination, laboratory examination, CT and MRI studies, and pathological findings.Results: CT scan revealed disc calcification and protrusion at the T11-12 level in case 1 and at the T10-11 level in case 2, respectively. MRI images revealed severe spinal cord compression with a hyperintense central core and surrounding hypointense area in two cases, which were directly connected to the calcified intervertebral nucleus pulposus. Pathological examination revealed calcium deposition. Patients underwent discectomy followed by interbody fusion, and satisfactory therapeutic outcomes were obtained.Conclusions: We suggest that decompression surgery should be carried out as early as possible for patients with early spinal myelopathy or paraplegia caused by a calcified protruded disc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs) play vital roles in a variety of physiological processes. Transmembrane protein 16A (TMEM16A) has been confirmed as the molecular counterpart of CaCCs which greatly pushes the molecular insights of CaCCs forward. However, the detailed mechanism of Ca binding and activating the channel is still obscure. Here, we utilized a combination of computational and electrophysiological approaches to discern the molecular mechanism by which Ca regulates the gating of TMEM16A channels. The simulation results show that the first intracellular loop serves as a Ca binding site including D439, E444 and E447. The experimental results indicate that a novel residue, E447, plays key role in Ca binding. Compared with WT TMEM16A, E447Y produces a 30-fold increase in EC of Ca activation and leads to a 100-fold increase in Ca concentrations that is needed to fully activate the channel. The following steered molecular dynamic (SMD) simulation data suggests that the mutations at 447 reduce the Ca dissociation energy. Our results indicated that both the electrical property and the size of the side-chain at residue 447 have significant effects on Ca dependent gating of TMEM16A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activated ceria (CeO/γ-AlO) prepared by impregnation was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). The desulfurization of the activated ceria was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The results showed that ceria could be highly dispersed or crystallized on the surface of γ-alumina. The reduction temperatures of 0.1CeO/γ-AlO, 0.45CeO/γ-AlO, and CeO ranged from 250°C to 470°C, 330°C to 550°C, and 350°C to 550°C, respectively. The reduction peak temperature of 0.45CeO/γ-AlO was higher than that of 0.1CeO/γ-AlO, which was consistent with the reduction temperature of CeO. O participated in the reaction between ceria and sulfur dioxide. The desulfurization product was cerium(III) sulfate. The intensity of the hydroxyl band decreased with the formation of sulfate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desulfurization experiments of CuO, γ-AlO and CuO/ γ-AlO were made in simulated flue gas by means of thermogravimetric analysis. It is found that reaction activities of CuO supported on γ-AlO could be highly improved. Desulfurization kinetics of CuO/ γ-AlO was studied in the temperature range of 250 °C-400 °C and SO2 concentration of 0.1%-0.9%. The experimental data were tested and compared with kinetics models of volume reaction model (VRM), grain size model (GSM), random pore model (RPM) and pore-blocking model (PBM). Correlation analysis shows that VRM and RPM models do not fit experimental data well. GSM contradicts with the changes in the physical and chemical properties of CuO/ γ-AlO as the desulfurization proceeds. It is found that PBM is consistent with the change of pore structure of CuO/ γ-AlO sorbent during desulfurization process and predicts the conversion-time curves of the sorbent well. Meanwhile, kinetics parameters are obtained and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Ce-promoted 6.7% Ni-containing mesoporous silica (Ce-Ni-SiO) with varying Ce content (0.5%-4.8%) was prepared using the evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The characterization results showed that Ce and Ni species were homogeneously incorporated into the mesoporous silica matrix. The catalytic properties of these samples in the dry reforming of methane reaction revealed that the catalysts (e.g., 1.2% Ce-Ni-SiO) containing highly dispersed small Ni particles exhibited excellent catalytic activity and long-term stability, which is attributed to the anchoring effect of the Ce and its ability to increase surface oxygen species concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid, sensitive, and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of lycorine and galanthamine, two major constituents in Lycoris radiata extract, in rat plasma. Liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl ether was carried out using diphenhydramine as the internal standard. The two bioactive alkaloids were separated on a Zorbax SB-C reserved-phase column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, i.d., 5 μm) by gradient elution using a mobile phase consisting of methanol with 0.1% formic acid (A) and water with 0.1% formic acid (B) at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. All analytes showed good linearity over a wide concentration range ( r>0.99) and the lower limit of quantification was 3.00 ng/mL for each analyte. The average extraction recovery of the analytes from rat plasma was more than 82.15%, and the intra-day and inter-day accuracy and precision of the assay were less than 12.6%. The validated method was successfully applied to monitoring the concentrations and pharmacokinetic studies of two Amaryllidaceous alkaloids in rat plasma after an oral administration of Lycoris radiata extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) have inherently dynamic topologies and heterogeneous network environments. Due to the distributed, multi-hop nature of these networks, as well as limited network resource, wireless capacity and random mobility of nodes, Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning faces severe challenges, especially in multicast scenarios. Resource admission control is one of the most effective methods for resource utilization and QoS guaranteed. In this paper, we combine resource admission control technologies and intelligent methods, propose a fuzzy decision-based resource admission control mechanism for MANETs (FAST), which can fast respond to dynamic topology changes and unstable link status. FAST also supports multicast and destination heterogeneity. Users can choose multiple evaluation parameters with different weights of services in fuzzy decision. Simulation results have proved the efficiency of the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoporous Ni-P amorphous alloy nanospheres with controllable sizes and compositions were synthesized by chemical reduction of Ni(OH) colloidal particles co-assembling with surfactant hexadecyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide in liquid crystal mesophase using hypophosphite as reductant. The effects of the synthesis conditions on the particle size, composition and mesostructure of the mesoporous Ni-P nanospheres were systematically studied. It was found that the size of the mesoporous Ni-P nanospheres could be tuned from 35 to 90 nm by changing the reduction temperature, and the phosphorus content of the Ni-P products could be adjusted in the range of 20.1 to 27.6 % by changing the molar ratio of HPO/Ni. The active surface area and the thermal stability of the mesoporous Ni-P nanosphere catalyst are much higher than those for the conventional nonporous Ni-P amorphous alloy. In the liquid phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, the typical mesoporous Ni-P nanosphere catalyst exhibits much higher activity and better selectivity than the conventional nonporous Ni-P. The correlation between the catalytic performance and the structural properties is discussed based on the results of detailed characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the effects of topographic heterogeneity and stem density on species composition between grains of different sizes (20 × 20, 50 × 50, and 100 × 100 m), based on partial Mantel tests. Similarity in species composition was measured by the abundance-based Jaccard index (C_J) and by an index that incorporates phylogenetic information into C_J (pC_J). Plants were divided into five groups, arbor, subarbor, and shrub according to life form and two other groups: species that produce dry fruits (PDF) and that produce fleshy fruits (PFF). C_J and pC_J between any two grains at each grain size were calculated separately for these groups and for all species combined. In order to examine what influences C_J and pC_J, we analyzed their correlations with topographic heterogeneity variables and two dispersal limitation-related variables (stem and topographic resistance). Our data indicate that at all three grain sizes, C_J and pC_J decrease with increasing distance for all plant groups. Dispersal limitation and topographic heterogeneity were both important at 20 × 20 and 50 × 50 m grain sizes for C_J and pC_J of all plant groups; and at 100 × 100 m grain size, topographic heterogeneity dominates over dispersal limitation for some plant groups. C_J and pC_J of PDFs are less negatively correlated with stem resistance than those of PFFs. We conclude that both beta diversity and phylobetadiversity are dependent on plant groups and grain sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene glycol was prepared by hydration of ethylene oxide over highly efficient supported niobia catalyst prepared by chemical vapor deposition. The catalyst showed much better hydration performance in activity and selectivity than other solid acid catalysts. An ethylene glycol yield of 91% was achieved at optimal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the mutation of the ED1 gene in two Chinese Han families with X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. Prevalence of anhydrotic or hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia; Significance of mutation analysis in making a distinct diagnosis and during genetic counseling; Abnormalities found in the patients whose disease history was identical.

Polyoxometalates substituted by noble metal cations (PdII, RuIII, IrIV) of general formula (Bu4N)n[P2W17M(OH2)O61] are prepared by refilling the vacant site of the lacunary precursor α2-K10P2W17O61. Both 31P- and 183W-n.m.r. studies provide convincing evidence for the above structural assignment. The u.v.-vis and i.r. spectra are consistent with the first row transition metal substituted homologues. Electrochemical investigations by cyclic voltammetry in MeCN revealed four reversible one-electron redox couples, which are ascribed to the tungsten(VI→V) process of the tungsten-oxo framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study examined the association between healthy lifestyle score (HLS), which contained 7 items (smoking, BMI, physical activity, diet, alcohol, sleep and anxiety) and BMD. Results showed HLS was positively associated with BMD at all studied sites, suggesting that healthier lifestyle patterns might be beneficial to bone health. Purpose: Previous studies have reported favourable associations of individual healthy lifestyle factors with bone mineral density (BMD), but limited evidence showed the relationship of a combined healthy lifestyle score (HLS) with BMD. This study examined the association between the HLS and BMD. Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study included 3051 participants aged 40–75 years. The HLS contained 7 items (smoking, BMI, physical activity, diet quality, alcohol intake, sleep and anxiety). BMD values of whole body (WB), lumbar spine 1–4 (L1–4), total hip (TH) and femur neck (FN) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results: After adjusting for potential covariates, HLS was positively associated with BMD at all studied sites (P-trend < 0.01). The mean BMDs were 2.69% (WB), 5.62% (L1–4), 6.13% (TH) and 5.71% (FN) higher in participants with HLS of 6–7 points than in those with HLS of 0–2 points. The per 1 of 7 unit increase in the HLS was associated with increases of 7.63 (WB)–13.4 (TH) mg/cm2 BMD levels at all sites. These favourable associations tended to be more pronounced in men than in women. Among the 7 items, physical activity contributed most to the favourable associations, followed by BMI, non-smoking and diet; the other three items played little roles. Sensitivity analyses showed that the significant associations remained after excluding any one of the 7 components or excluding fracture subjects at all sites. Conclusion: Higher HLS was associated with greater BMD in middle-aged and elderly Chinese, suggesting that healthier lifestyle patterns might be beneficial to bone health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the potential of different quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced (qDCE)-MRI tracer kinetic (TK) models and qDCE parameters in discriminating benign from malignant soft tissue tumors (STTs)., Methods: This research included 92 patients (41females, 51 males; age range 16-86 years, mean age 51.24 years) with STTs. The qDCE parameters (K trans , K ep , V e , V p , F, PS, MTT and E) for regions of interest of STTs were estimated by using the following TK models: Tofts (TOFTS), Extended Tofts (EXTOFTS), adiabatic tissue homogeneity (ATH), conventional compartmental (CC), and distributed parameter (DP). We established a comprehensive model combining the morphologic features, time-signal intensity curve shape, and optimal qDCE parameters. The capacities to identify benign and malignant STTs was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC), degree of accuracy, and the analysis of the decision curve., Results: TOFTS-K trans , EXTOFTS-K trans , EXTOFTS-V p , CC-V p and DP-V p demonstrated good diagnostic performance among the qDCE parameters. Compared with the other TK models, the DP model has a higher AUC and a greater level of accuracy. The comprehensive model (AUC, 0.936, 0.884-0.988) demonstrated superiority in discriminating benign and malignant STTs, outperforming the qDCE models (AUC, 0.899-0.915) and the traditional imaging model (AUC, 0.802, 0.712-0.891) alone., Conclusions: Various TK models successfully distinguish benign from malignant STTs. The comprehensive model is a noninvasive approach incorporating morphological imaging aspects and qDCE parameters, and shows significant potential for further development., (© 2024. The Author(s).)