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Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic drug, but its use can lead to cardiomyopathy, which is the leading cause of mortality among cancer patients. Macrophages play a role in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy (DCM), but the mechanisms undlerlying this relationship remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate how IKKα regulates macrophage activation and contributes to DCM in a mouse model. Specifically, the role of macrophage IKKα was evaluated in macrophage-specific IKKα knockout mice that received DOX injections. The findings revealed increased expression of IKKα in heart tissues after DOX administration. In mice lacking macrophage IKKα, myocardial injury, ventricular remodeling, inflammation, and proinflammatory macrophage activation worsened in response to DOX administration. Bone marrow transplant studies confirmed that IKKα deficiency exacerbated cardiac dysfunction. Macrophage IKKα knockout also led to mitochondrial damage and metabolic dysfunction in macrophages, thereby resulting in increased cardiomyocyte injury and oxidative stress. Single-cell sequencing analysis revealed that IKKα directly binds to STAT3, leading to the activation of STAT3 phosphorylation at S727. Interestingly, the inhibition of STAT3-S727 phosphorylation suppressed both DCM and cardiomyocyte injury. In conclusion, the IKKα-STAT3-S727 signaling pathway was found to play a crucial role in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. Targeting this pathway could be a promising therapeutic strategy for treating DOX-related heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weathering features of sandstone heritage can be recognized by using artificial intelligence (AI) based surrogate models, and most models perform classification tasks for types based on precise labels. But there are lack of prior validated knowledge of the weathering or untagged historical data for complex weathering conditions in many cases. To this aim, a unsupervised graph neural network (GNN) based on the statistical features of the acoustic emission (AE) signals is constructed. Firstly, taking unweathered sandstone as a reference, we define 4 weathering levels of sandstone ranging from I to IV based on pore indicators. We selected 11 statistical features that are high correlated with pore of sandstone. Then, this GNN is constructed and trained by 2880 sets of statistical measured AE signals. Compared with AEs, LOF and IF models, GNN achieves the best identification performance among the four evaluation criteria. Each iteration of the GNN network is fitting the feature information of the signals and their neighbors. By data dimensionality reduction techniques, when the GNN stops iterating, it will be easy to distinguish unweathered AE signals from weathered one by comparing the reconstruction error of each signal. Furthermore, when the nearest neighbor's k gradually increases, the AUC of GNN also gradually increases and then tend to stable when k equals to 50–100. While the hidden layers of the network aggregates less information about the neighborhood features of the signals and cannot distinguish significantly between unweathered and weathered signals when the value of k is small. As the depth of the network deepens, the feature values between signals become more and more similar, their reconstruction errors in the output layer of the network to become more similar, making it difficult to distinguish unweathered AE signals from weathered AE signals via GNN. Meanwhile, GNN adopts more AE features and considers the similarity between each features. This can greatly eliminate various errors caused by wave velocity measurement, greatly improving the robustness of AE detection. Hence, the GNN model presented addresses the limitations of relying solely on P-wave velocity measurements to assess the degree of sandstone weathering at stone cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The series tuned inerter dampers (STID) with distributed inerters are proposed in this paper to suppress seismic response for ground motion excited structures with broadband characteristics. In order to reveal the mechanism of the STID for vibration mitigation, the dimensionless displacement objective function of a single degree of freedom structure equipped with an STID under random Gaussian white noise base excitations is thereupon derived. Based on the principle of the reasonable distribution of inertance, the analytical optimal design parameters of STID are obtained under constraint for total inerter-mass ratio. The vibration mitigation performance of the STID is evaluated and further compared with the tuned inerter damper (TID), tuned mass damper (TMD) and typical series dampers using same mass ratio or inerter-mass ratio when structure is subjected to harmonic and random excitation. Results demonstrate that the performance of structural vibration control and broadband characteristics of STID outperform both the TMD and TID. On the condition of same inerter-mass ratio, the deformation enhancement of damping element can be further increased compared with TID because of dual-tuning effect of series inerters. The higher vibration control performance of STID is realized by using very small nominal damping ratio compared with the TMD and TID. Meanwhile, there exist two grounded inerters in STID compared to other series dampers, and both two subsystems are not affected by base random acceleration excitation which also brings STID a wider VSB and better seismic response mitigation effect. Substantially, due to STID is a type of dual-grounded inerter-based device, for force and base acceleration excited main system, the optimal expressions are identical. Hence, STID can adapt to more complex practical engineering and random and diverse excitations. Hence, the STID can be deemed to be a broadband, high effectiveness and high-performance inerter system. Meanwhile, considering low damping, lightweight and flexible install of STID, it is easier for implementation in practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Tuned viscous mass damper with negative stiffness (TVMDNS) has higher damping efficiency and broadband characteristics for vibration control by utilizing dual benefits of the inerter and negative stiffness. And single-performance H∞ or H2 optimal methods are adopted to determine the optimal parameters of TVMDNS individually. However, the vibration mitigation performance of the TVMDNS under high-frequency or resonance excitation based on H∞ optimization is lesser than H2 optimization, and quasi-static or low-frequency displacement response based on H2 optimization will be greater than H∞ optimization. An analytical strategy considering a dual-performance of H∞ and H2 norms is lacking at present. Methods: For this reason, closed-form expressions are derived for the control of structural displacement responses based on hybrid H2/H∞ optimal approach. The vibration mitigation performance of the TVMDNS is evaluated considering harmonic, stochastic, and impulsive excitation using different optimal methods. Results: The initial static responses and ultra-low-frequency in hybrid H2/H∞ optimal methods are between H2 and H∞ optimal design, and the high-frequency and resonance dynamic responses are also between those, which indicates an excellent and balanced control performance combining the advantages of H2 and H∞ solutions. And the global vibration control can be achieved by this dual-performance-based optimal strategy. Conclusion: When designing the specific TVMDNS, hybrid H2/H∞ optimal design can be considered as the best choice for its compatibility and high adaptability for complex stochastic excitation. Furthermore, this approach can be extended for various topology connection forms of inerter and negative stiffness system for energy dissipation or vibration control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dyslexia and developmental language disorders are important learning difficulties. However, their genetic basis remains poorly understood, and most genetic studies were performed on Europeans. There is a lack of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on literacy phenotypes of Chinese as a native language and English as a second language (ESL) in a Chinese population. In this study, we conducted GWAS on 34 reading/language-related phenotypes in Hong Kong Chinese bilingual children (including both twins and singletons; total N = 1046). We performed association tests at the single-variant, gene, and pathway levels. In addition, we tested genetic overlap of these phenotypes with other neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as cognitive performance (CP) and educational attainment (EA) using polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis. Totally 5 independent loci (LD-clumped at r2 = 0.01; MAF > 0.05) reached genome-wide significance (p < 5e-08; filtered by imputation quality metric Rsq>0.3 and having at least 2 correlated SNPs (r2 > 0.5) with p < 1e-3). The loci were associated with a range of language/literacy traits such as Chinese vocabulary, character and word reading, and rapid digit naming, as well as English lexical decision. Several SNPs from these loci mapped to genes that were reported to be associated with EA and other neuropsychiatric phenotypes, such as MANEA and PLXNC1. In PRS analysis, EA and CP showed the most consistent and significant polygenic overlap with a variety of language traits, especially English literacy skills. To summarize, this study revealed the genetic basis of Chinese and English abilities in a group of Chinese bilingual children. Further studies are warranted to replicate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dombi operations have the advantage of flexible operations corresponding to a changeable parameter. Then, in the existing literature, the Dombi operations lack the periodic/multitemporal operation property, and also there are no trigonometric Dombi aggregation operators for multiple attribute decision making (MADM), which show their limitation and research gap in multiple periodic MADM applications. To address their limitation and research gap, the main objective of this paper is to propose some single-valued neutrosophic element (SvNE) trigonometric Dombi aggregation operators for MADM problems. Based on this motivation, this study mainly includes the following contexts. First, we propose the trigonometric Dombi operations and the trigonometric Dombi operation laws of SvNEs based on sine and arcsine functions. Second, we establish the SvNE arcsine and sine trigonometric Dombi weighted average (SvNEASTDWA) and SvNE arcsine and sine trigonometric Dombi weighted geometric (SvNEASTDWG) operators and discuss their features. Third, a MADM technique is developed in terms of the SvNEASTDWA and SvNEASTDWG operators to tackle periodic/multitemporal MADM problems. Finally, the proposed technique is applied to a case study on the selection of COVID-19 vaccines to validate its rationality and validity under the scenario of SvNEs. Comparative results reveal that the established MADM technique using the SvNEASTDWA and SvNEASTDWG operators can show the advantage of both periodicity and flexibility and meet the flexible and multitemporal MADM requirements in actual applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with tuned mass damper (TMD), grounded tuned mass damper inerter (GTMDI) has higher damping efficiency and wider vibration control range. In the previous study of GTMDI design method, there was no clear basis for the determination of mass ratio and inerter-mass ratio simultaneously, and only the values of stiffness ratio and damping ratio can be determined in detail. For the deficiency, a global optimization design method of GTMDI is proposed in this paper with the two objectives of the performance demands of the original structure and the deformation performance of the damping element, namely, dual-demand-based optimal design method (DDOM). And the optimization objectives and optimization basis of the mass ratio and inerter-mass ratio are given in detail. After the target vibration mitigation ratio of the original structure is determined, four optimal design parameters of GTMDI can be obtained simultaneously by DDOM. The design concept of DDOM is that better energy dissipation effect is obtained through the deformation enhancement of damping element to control the vibration response of the main structure. At the same time, the values of optimal parameters of GTMDI are small, so the cost control can also be realized by DDOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐performance organic neuromorphic devices with miniaturized device size and computing capability are essential elements for developing brain‐inspired humanoid intelligence technique. However, due to the structural inhomogeneity of most organic materials, downscaling of such devices to nanoscale and their high‐density integration into compact matrices with reliable device performance remain challenging at the moment. Herein, based on the design of a semicrystalline polymer PBFCL10 with ordered structure to regulate dense and uniform formation of conductive nanofilaments, we realize an organic synapse with the smallest device dimension of 50 nm and highest integration size of 1 Kb reported thus far. The as‐fabricated PBFCL10 synapses can switch between 32 conductance states linearly with a high cycle‐to‐cycle uniformity of 98.89% and device‐to‐device uniformity of 99.71%, which are the best results of organic devices. A mixed-signal neuromorphic hardware system based on the organic neuromatrix and FPGA controller is implemented to execute spiking‐plasticity‐related algorithm for decision-making tasks. Designing high performance organic neuromorphic devices remains a challenge. Here, Liu et al. report the development of an organic synapse based on a semicrystalline polymer PBFCL10 with device dimension of 50 nm and integration size of 1 Kb and a mixed‐signal neuromorphic hardware system based on the organic neuromatrix and FPGA controller for decision‐making tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying locations prone to exporting nitrogen (N), also called export control points, within residential landscapes, is key to determining N mitigation strategies. Within residential landscapes, lawns have the potential to act as either a sink of N via uptake and denitrification, or a source of N via additions such as fertilizer. Lawns draining to impervious surfaces are more likely to be sources of N loading to receiving water bodies through directly connected curb and sewer flow paths. We utilized small-scale rainfall experiments to examine whether hydrobiogeochemical measurements of potential denitrification and saturated infiltration rates were predictive of N mobilization, and how potential export control points (locations within the upper quartile of N mobilization values) varied spatially and temporally on residential lawns in Baltimore, Maryland. We found potential denitrification, but not infiltration, was predictive of N mobilization in runoff and leachate, only on fertilized lawns. Potential export control points occurred more often in the late summer and fall and 85% were on fertilized lawns. Applying fertilizer shortly before a rainfall event increased the N mobilization in runoff and leachate by an order of magnitude. Suburban front yards also had more potential export control points compared to backyards, which is notable as front yards are surrounded by impervious surfaces increasing their vulnerability to transporting N to downstream ecosystems. These findings highlight the spatial and temporal variability of N mobilization on lawns. Targeting locations such as vulnerable front yards, or behaviors, such as timing of fertilizer application, may be useful N mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with classical tuned mass damper (TMD), inerter system has higher damping efficiency and wider vibration control range. The traditional fixed-point theory of TMD have been used in most of the previous optimal parameter designs of inerter system, the optimized parameters obtained are expressed by the inerter-mass ratio, which may not be applicable to some specific inerter systems (such as tuned viscous mass damper, TVMD) or are too cumbersome. In this paper, the optimal parameters of the inerter system based on the characteristics of the grounded element and muti-performances demand are derived, and demand-based global optimal methods of the design parameters of the inerter system are proposed and compared. The correctness, feasibility and applicability of methods are verified by optimization examples and typical excitation including ground motions. The optimal parameters combinations of the inerter system derived based on the grounded element exist unique analytical expressions. When the value of the grounded element and the objective function are determined, the local optimal design of the inerter system can be realized. If the precise displacement vibration control of original structure is needed, the optimal parameters obtained by the stochastic displacement response that is taken as the objective function can be selected. If the demand is that total energy input of original structure requires is minimum, and the requirements for small displacement control effect are not strict, the optimal parameters of the inerter system obtained by the stochastic velocity response can be selected. If it is necessary to minimize the engineering cost and the control the peak and RMS displacement at the mean time, the optimal parameters of the inerter system obtained by deformation enhancement coefficient of damping element can be selected. The analytical expressions of the optimal design parameters of the inerter system based on the grounded element are concise and the processes of optimal design based on multiple performances objectives are simple, which can be applied to a variety of demands in practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium nanoparticles and pyrethroid pesticides are now being widely used in industrial, agriculture, and biomedical applications. In recent years, their health safety profiles have aroused concerns among health scientists. This study mainly explored the combined effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) and cypermethrin (CYP) on reproductive toxicity in male rats by gavage for 90 days. Thirty-two male Sprague–Dawley rats were assigned to four groups: the control group, the TiO2NPs group, the CYP group, and the combined titanium dioxide nanoparticles with cypermethrin (TiO2NPs + CYP) group. The results of biochemical analysis on testicular tissue homogenate showed that TiO2NPs and CYP mixtures decreased the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) while increasing the activity of malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Meanwhile, the results of two-way factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect on GSH-Px, CAT, LDH, testicular cell apoptosis, and sperm quality in rats after exposure. Furthermore, the combined exposure group exhibited apoptosis of testicular cells and DNA damage. The results indicated that exposure to a mixture of TiO2NPs and CYP had adverse effects on the reproductive status of male rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL), mostly derived from γδ T cells, is a rare but very aggressive lymphoma with poor outcomes. In this study, we generated the first single cell landscape for this rare disease and characterized the molecular pathogenesis underlying the disease progression. Methods: We performed paired single cell RNA-seq and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing on biopsies from a HSTCL patient pre- and post- chemotherapy treatments. Following by a series of bioinformatics analysis, we investigated the gene expression profile of γδ HSTCS as well as its tumor microenvironment (TME). Results: We characterized the unique gene expressing signatures of malignant γδ T cells with a set of marker genes were newly identified in HSTCL (AREG, PLEKHA5, VCAM1 etc.). Although the malignant γδ T cells were expanded from a single TCR clonotype, they evolved into two transcriptionally distinct tumor subtypes during the disease progression. The Tumor_1 subtype was dominant in pre-treatment samples with highly aggressive phenotypes. While the Tumor_2 had relative mild cancer hallmark signatures but expressed genes associated with tumor survival signal and drug resistance (IL32, TOX2, AIF1, AKAP12, CD38 etc.), and eventually became the main tumor subtype post-treatment. We further dissected the tumor microenvironment and discovered the dynamically rewiring cell–cell interaction networks during the treatment. The tumor cells had reduced communications with the microenvironment post-treatment. Conclusions: Our study reveals heterogenous and dynamic tumor and microenvironment underlying pathogenesis of HSTCL and may contribute to identify novel targets for diagnosis and treatment of HSTCL in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel wire ropes have wide application in a variety of engineering fields such as ocean engineering and civil engineering. The stress calculation for steel wire ropes is of crucial importance when conducting strength and fatigue analyses. In this study, we performed a finite element analysis of single-strand steel wire ropes. For the geometric modeling, we used an analytic geometry of space method. We established helical line equations and used the coordinates of the contact points. The finite-element model was simplified using the periodic law. Periodic boundary conditions were used to simulate a wire strand of infinite length under tensile strain, for which we calculated the cross-sectional stresses and inner forces. The results showed that bending and torsion moments emerged when the wire strand was under tensile load. In some cases, the bending stress reached 18% of the tensile stress, and the torsion stress reached 29% of the tensile stress, which means that the total stress was higher than the nominal stress. Whereas in earlier studies, a conservative prediction of nominal stress was not possible, the results of our strength and fatigue analyses were more conservative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency (EE) is a key enabler for sustainable green millimeter wave (mmWave) communication. However, conventional hybrid beamforming methods suffer from energy efficiency performance loss due to hardware limitations and the connected structure. To overcome these limitations, this work investigates a novel adaptive connected (AC) hybrid beamforming (HBF) design for multi-user mmWave systems. We formulate the problem as an EE maximization problem subject to the constraints of the adaptive connected structure, constant modulus, and power budget. Addressing this complicated non-convex problem, we harness the characteristics of the AC structure and introduce an iterative HBF design algorithm grounded in fractional programming. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed AC-based HBF design in terms of EE enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superposition of basic non-diffracting beams triggered new research hotspots lately, laying opportunities for long-distance wireless optical communication. The Lommel-Gaussian (LMG) beam formed by the superposition of Bessel-Gaussian light not only possesses non-diffraction feature, but also has tunable symmetry. With the help of Poynting vector analysis, we observed a smaller radial energy flow component during the propagation of the high order symmetrical LMG beam, which allows it to maintain the original beam profile over long distance. Thanks to the energy oscillation of the mainlobe and sidelobes, the mainlobe blocked by the symmetrical LMG beam can be restored. Also, the random phase screen with angular spectrum method is used to describe the beam behaviors in turbulence. The results show that the symmetry LMG is preferred in free space optical communication, and the asymmetric LMG performs poorly due to asymmetric energy transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue-resident γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) orchestrate innate and adaptive immune responses to maintain intestinal epithelial barrier integrity. Epithelia-specific butyrophilin-like (Btnl) molecules induce perinatal development of distinct Vγ TCR+ IELs, however, the mechanisms that control γδ IEL maintenance within discrete intestinal segments are unclear. Here, we show that Btnl2 suppressed homeostatic proliferation of γδ IELs preferentially in the ileum. High throughput transcriptomic characterization of site-specific Btnl2-KO γδ IELs reveals that Btnl2 regulated the antimicrobial response module of ileal γδ IELs. Btnl2 deficiency shapes the TCR specificities and TCRγ/δ repertoire diversity of ileal γδ IELs. During DSS-induced colitis, Btnl2-KO mice exhibit increased inflammation and delayed mucosal repair in the colon. Collectively, these data suggest that Btnl2 fine-tunes γδ IEL frequencies and TCR specificities in response to site-specific homeostatic and inflammatory cues. Hence, Btnl-mediated targeting of γδ IEL development and maintenance may help dissect their immunological functions in intestinal diseases with segment-specific manifestations. Panea et al showed that epithelia-specific butyrophilinlike 2 (Btnl2) suppressed homeostatic proliferation of γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) preferentially in the ileum and used high throughput transcriptomic characterization of Btnl2-deficient γδ IELs to demonstrate that Btnl2 impacts γδ TCR specificities and repertoire diversity of ileal γδ IELs. In addition, they showed that Btnl2-deficient mice exhibited increased inflammation and delayed mucosal repair in the colon, suggesting that it plays a key immunological function in intestinal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of environment-friendly materials based on natural sources increases dramatically in terms of biodegradable, recyclable, and environmental disputes throughout the world. Plant-based natural fiber, a high potential field of the reinforced polymer composite material, is considered as lightweight and economical products as they possess lower density, significant material characteristics, and extraordinary molding flexibility. The usage of plant fibers on the core structure of composite materials have drawn significant interest by the manufacturers to meet the increasing demand of the consumers for sustainable features with enhanced mechanical performances and functionalities. The plant fiber-based composites have widespread usage in construction, automotive, packaging, sports, biomedical, and defense sectors for their superior characteristics. Therefore, this critical review would demonstrate an overview regarding the background of natural fiber composites, factors influencing the composite properties, chemical interaction between the fiber and matrices, future potentiality, and marketing perspectives for triggering new research works in the field of biocomposite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: The recent preparations of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts as reducing agents are summarized here. The synthesis and characterization of plant–metal nanomaterials and the progress in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory medical applications are detailed, providing a new vision for plant-based medical applications. The medical application of plant-metal nanoparticles is becoming a research hotspot. Compared with traditional preparation methods, the synthesis of plant-metal nanoparticles is less toxic and more eco-friendly, increasing application potential. Highly efficient plant-metal nanoparticles are usually smaller than 100 nm. This review describes the synthesis, characterization and bioactivities of gold- and silver-plant nanoparticles as examples and clearly explained their antibacterial and anticancer mechanisms. An analysis of actual cases shows that the synthetic method and type of plant extract affect the activities of the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the resource allocation scheme for an unmanned-aerial-vehicle-enable (UAV-enabled) two-way relaying system with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), where two user equipment exchange information with the help of UAV relay and harvest energy through power splitting (PS) scheme. Under the transmission power constraints at UEs and UAV relay, a non-convex intractable optimization problem is formulated which maximizes the sum retained energy of two UEs while satisfying the minimum signal-to-noise ratio requirement. We decouple the complicated beamforming and PS factor optimization problem into three solvable subproblems and propose an efficient alternating optimization scheme. Subsequently, in order to reduce the complexity, a robust scheme based on generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD) is designed. Finally, numerical results verify the robustness and effectiveness of the two proposed schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(propylene 2,5-furan dicarboxylate) (PPF) is an example of alipharomatic bio-based polyester which has a high potential for the replacement of its fossil-based terephthalate counterparts (PPT). PPF offers advantages over PPT owing to its brilliant properties. However, PPF often exhibits a slow rate of crystallization, which is a bottleneck for its successful synthesis. This has also caused limited research work on the use of PPF for the specific application. Therefore, in this study, PPF is melt compounded with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) via twin-screw extrusion, which in turn enhances its crystallization. During its preparation, no toxic chemicals are used to modify the fibers or compatibilizers, indicating that the synthesis method follows green chemistry principles. The influence of the MCC on the thermal, structure and surface behaviors of PPF is analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The effect of the MCC on both non-isothermal and isothermal crystallization of PPF is also explored by using DSC. It is observed that crystallization is faster, while PPF is compounded with lower content of MCC. Similarly, the nucleating rate is intensified with the introduction of MCC. The incorporation of MCC significantly increased tensile modulus, strength and elongation of break of progressing PPF by 16%, 63% and 61%, respectively, at a content of 15 wt.% MCC. The blend also owned better oxygen and carbon dioxide barrier properties than neat PPF as a function of MCC content. This study is expected to spur further work on the synthesis of PPF composite for packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is an emerging bio-based alipharomatic polyester that is expected to replace its fossil-based terephthalate and naphthate homologues. PBF holds excellent gas barrier properties, but its slow rate of crystallization might restrict wider applications. To improve the rate of crystalization, it was melt-blended with crystalline micro-cellulose (CMC) to prepare a composite through twin-screw extrusion. To ensure environmental friendly conditions, neither chemicals to modify fibers nor compatibilizers to improve the filler/matrix interaction were used. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the composite. It was observed that a longer blending duration (cyclic mode) leads to a greater reduction in molecular weight (Mw) in the presence of CMC, which can be avoided by using a shorter blending duration (direct mode). The mechanical properties of the composite showed an increase in Young's modulus by approximately 23 % and 36 % with respect to reference PBF for the cyclic and direct mode respectively. It was further observed that, although the elongation at break and tensile strength has decreased, it has improved gas barrier properties. Thermal analysis shows faster nucleation of PBF in the presence of CMC with a minor effect on its thermal degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of modest to good strength and stiffness of polylactide (PLA) as well as overcoming its brittle phenomenon is the primary concern of this study. Therefore, melt-blending with a lab-scale two-screw extruder was conducted on PLA and micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) with and without epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) as a reactive plasticiser. Introducing ESO has a major effect on the blends' toughness. A low span scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe PLAs transition from brittle to ductile behavior. PLA/MFC/ESO ternary blends' elongation-at-break, bending strain and notch impact strength were improved to 105, 9.7% and 7.20 kJ/m2 respectively. This assembly also helps in the increase of the plasticisation effect which leads to reduced glass transition Tg and crystallization Tc temperatures, observable using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows an increase in ternary blends' decomposition temperature compared with neat PLA which suggests the blends are thermally stable. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy allowed significant changes in peak positions to explain the interactions among blended components. The entire process rests on a simple, effective methodology whereby improved PLA/MFC blend toughness by ESO is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A static tensile experiment was carried out to investigate the flexural bearing capacity of external stiffening ring joints between concrete-filled square steel tubular column and steel beam. All of four specimens showed similar failure modes that external stiffening ring and tube flange were torn up. Nonlinear finite element model was developed with ABAQUS software to simulate the test and analyze the mechanism properties of specimens. Comparison of yield and ultimate capacity indicated that finite element analysis is valid. Moreover, on the basis of the failure modes, the distribution of stress, the deformation features and load transferring paths, which were achieved from experiments and numerical simulation, a theoretical method taking tensile membrane action of tube faces into consideration to evaluate the bearing capacity was proposed with help of yield line theory. The outcome of comparison between theoretical and experimental values clarify good applicability of this analytical method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elastic stiffness of the panel zone in diaphragm-through connection between square steel tubular column and H-shaped steel beam subjected to lateral loads is studied in this paper. Through analyzing the deformation mechanism of diaphragm-through connection, the rotation of the panel zone is found to be the superposition of bending deformation of the column and shear deformation of the panel zone. Based on the mechanical model, the computational method of the elastic stiffness of the panel zone in the diaphragm-though connection is developed. To verify the computational method, three cruciform specimens were tested subjected to a set of anti-symmetrical cyclic load at the beam tips. Based on the test results, the developed finite element model is verified and used in the follow-up parametric analysis to check the applicability of the proposed computational method. Key variables involved are the width of column, thickness of column and the height-to-width ratio of the core tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the physical-layer security of a decode-and-forward (DF) cooperative relay network in the presence of a potential eavesdropper, a joint relay selection and destination assisted cooperative jamming (CJ) scheme is proposed. In phase I, the source transmits its confidential signal, and concurrently, it cooperates with the friendly jammers and the destination to send jamming signals to confuse the eavesdropper without affecting the forwarding relay which is preselected. In phase II, the forwarding relay retransmits the decoded signal, and simultaneously, the particular relay cooperates with the friendly jammers to send jamming signal to confuse the eavesdropper without affecting the destination. The achievable secrecy rate maximization (SRM) problem is investigated by optimally allocating the power between the data signal and jamming signals. Although SRM problem is non-convex, the power allocation problem can be solved by a bisection method together with a one-dimensional search. Optimal relay selection and suboptimal relay selection schemes are also proposed to further improve the secrecy rate. Simulation results are presented to show that the joint scheme can attain higher achievable secrecy rates than some existing works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroinflammation plays an early and prominent role in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2) has been identified as a negative regulator of innate and adaptive immunity. However, whether TIPE2 affects cognitive functions in AD-like mouse models remains unknown. In this study, we compared the gene and protein expressions of TIPE2 between the APP/PS1 mice and the age-matched wild type (WT) mice at different stages of development using western blot and RT-qPCR. The hippocampal expression of the TIPE2 mRNA and protein in APP/PS1 mice was higher than that of the WT mice starting from 6 months to 10 months. However, the difference of the TIPE2 expression between the APP/PS1 mice and the WT mice declined in a time-dependent manner. The spatial learning and memory deficit from the 8-month-old APP/PS1 mice was observed in the Y-maze test and fear conditioning task. Interestingly, overexpression of TIPE2 by intra-hippocampal injection of AAV-TIPE2 into APP/PS1 mice resulted in an improvement of learning and memory and reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, and increased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-10 and Arg-1. Taken together, our findings show that the TIPE2 expression level was negatively correlated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and overexpression of TIPE2 attenuates cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice, suggesting TIPE2 is a potential target for pharmacological intervention and improvement of cognitive deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel convenient dual-side initiator of lutidine dianion for anionic polymerization has been investigated in terms of their initiation and propagation kinetics. This lutidine dianion could be synthesized in quantitative yields reacting commercial products of 2,6-lutidine with sec-butyl lithium without any complex organic synthesis, and could be used effectively as the dual-side initiator to synthesize polyisoprene with various molecular weights via living anionic polymerization. In addition, this lutidine dianion can produce 50% of 1.4-microstructure contents in polyisoprene which is very important for elastomeric property of polydienes. All experimental evidences showed the living property and were consistent with quantitative yields without any side reactions when the anionic living polymerization proceeded using lutidine dianion as the initiator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Channel state information is essential for base station (BS) to fully exploit the merits of massive multiple input multiple output, which consumes large amount of pilot overhead attributed to tremendous number of BS antennas. Accordingly, huge computational complexity of correlation operation tends to be an obstacle for the implementation of compressive channel estimation algorithms, especially for greedy algorithms. In this paper, pilot overhead problem lightens by exploiting common support property due to the close space of BS antenna array. Furthermore, a low complexity correlation algorithm is proposed for each iteration of greedy algorithm, which exploits the inherent of pilot distribution and sensing matrix composed of pilot sequence. Complexity of proposed algorithm related to pilot distribution is also investigated. Performance analysis and simulation results prove that the proposed algorithm maintains the same performance, while achieves much less computational complexity than the original greedy algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal Bundle Theory (UBT) holds that objects are fundamentally identical with bundles of universals. Universals are multiply instantiable properties. One popular objection to UBT concerns the possibility of distinct indiscernibles. There are mainly two replies in the literature, corresponding to two representative UBTs, which I shall call the Identity-View and the Instance-View. Each view faces serious problems. This paper proposes a new version of UBT and argues that it is better than these other two versions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate mechanical properties of L-shaped column composed of concrete-filled square steel tubes (LCFT column) under eccentric compression, LCFT columns were designed and tested. Through two eccentric compression experiments, the failure mode, the curves of loading-displacement for the whole member and the curves of deflection for mono column (single limb of LCFT column) were obtained. Nonlinear finite element analysis was also employed in this investigation, in which thickness of tube flange, connecting plate thickness and diameter of the hole on connecting plate were discussed. According to results of eccentric compression test and finite element analysis, analytical method of bearing capacity of LCFT columns is proposed based on the yielding criterion of the cross-sectional edge stresses. Results of analytical method, finite element analysis and eccentric compression experiment are resistant with each other, and the accuracy of the analytical method in this paper is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copeptin has been identified as a biomarker of disease severity and is associated with mortality risk in several common diseases. This study sought to determine the association between circulating copeptin level and mortality risk in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. PubMed, Web of Science, and Wanfang Medicine Database were searched for studies assessing the association between circulating copeptin level and mortality risk in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of mortality was calculated and presented with 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI). Data from 1332 intracerebral hemorrhage patients were derived from 9 studies. Meta-analysis showed that intracerebral hemorrhage patients with poor prognosis had much higher copeptin levels than those survivors (standardized mean difference = 1.68, 95 % CI 1.26-2.11, P < 0.00001). Meta-analysis of 8 studies with HRs showed that high circulating copeptin level was associated with higher risk of mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (HR = 2.42, 95 % CI 1.60-3.65, P < 0.0001). Meta-analysis of 6 studies with adjusted HRs showed that high circulating copeptin level was independently associated with higher risk of mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (HR = 1.67, 95 % CI 1.26-2.22, P = 0.0003). Our study suggests that there is an obvious association between circulating copeptin level and mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. High circulating copeptin level is independently associated with higher risk of mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its high strength, high modulus, excellent clarity, good biodegradability and biocompatibility, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a bio-based thermoplastic polyester, has evolved into a competitive commodity material with potential to replace conventional petrochemical-based polymers. However, the wide applications of PLA have been hampered by its native drawbacks, such as low heat distortion temperature (HDT), inherent brittleness and relatively high cost. In recent years, researchers have devoted to breaking above-mentioned bottleneck and attempted to extend the application of PLA. This review will summarize recent work about the modification of PLA, especially focusing on enhancing HDT, toughening and reducing cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of FK506 on apoptosis of facial motor neurons in rats and its possible mechanism. A total of 48 Wistar rats were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. Facial nerve injury model was established by transection of facial nerve at stylomastoid foramen. Rats in experimental group and control group were provided with FK506 and normal saline by intraperitoneal injection, respectively. The morphology of facial neurons was observed under light microscope at different time points after injury. Apoptotic facial motor neurons were detected by TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick and labeling (TUNEL) staining, and expression of bcl-2 and bax was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. After facial nerve transection, the apoptotic cells in experimental group significantly decreased compared to control group ( P < 0.05), with higher expression of bcl-2 and lower expression of bax in experimental group. FK506 could inhibit apoptosis of facial motor neurons after facial nerve transection, possibly via up-regulation of bcl-2 expression and down-regulation of bax expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LabVIEW IMAQ Vision is potentially useful for inspecting food and agricultural products since it combines the merits of both LabVIEW and IMAQ Vision, which have graphical programming environment and rich image processing functions. This paper provides profound introduction to LabVIEW IMAQ Vision: the principal components of LabVIEW IMAQ Vision, calibration, and image processing and analysis using VIs functions are described. In addition, recent advances in the application of LabVIEW IMAQ Vision to food and agricultural products inspection are reviewed, such as defects detection, shape classification, fruit grading and quality evaluation, etc. Finally, current limitations and likely future development trends are discussed. And the results of discussion showed that the utilization of IMAQ Vision module is restricted by the hardware environment, and mixed programming with LabVIEW and MATLAB is the development trend of LabVIEW IMAQ Vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New estimations of radiative forcing due to CO were calculated using updated concentration data of CO and a high-resolution radiative transfer model. The stratospheric adjusted radiative forcing (ARF) due to CO from the year 1750 to the updated year of 2010 was found to have increased to 1.95 W m, which was 17% larger than that of the IPCC's 4th Assessment Report because of the rapid increase in CO concentrations since 2005. A new formula is proposed to accurately describe the relationship between the ARF of CO and its concentration. Furthermore, according to the relationship between the ARF and surface temperature change, possible changes in equilibrium surface temperature were estimated under the scenarios that the concentration of CO increases to 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 times that of the concentration in the year 2008. The result was values of +2.2°C, +3.8°C, +5.1°C, +6.2°C, +7.1°C and +8.0°C respectively, based on a middle-level climate sensitivity parameter of 0.8 K (W m). Non-equilibrium surface temperature changes over the next 500 years were also calculated under two kinds of emission scenarios (pulsed and sustained emissions) as a comparison, according to the Absolute Global Temperature change Potential (AGTP) of CO. Results showed that CO will likely continue to contribute to global warming if no emission controls are imposed, and the effect on the Earth-atmosphere system will be difficult to restore to its original level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety and efficacy of ivabradine applied in heart transplant (HTx) recipients with permanent sinus tachycardia (PST) has been depicted in previous short-term follow-up studies. We sought to investigate the long-term impact of ivabradine in this patient population. From May to November 2006, 29 HTx recipients with PST, who exhibited either contraindications or intolerance of beta-blocker medication or insufficient heart rate (HR) reduction on beta-blocker treatment, first received oral ivabradine treatment (5 mg bid). Ivabradine treatment was discontinued in three patients due to adverse events within the first week. In the remaining 26 patients, resting HR was significantly lowered from 106.8 ± 9.2 at baseline to 83.2 ± 5.1 bpm after 3 months ( p < 0.001). This effect remained stable in the long-term follow-up (82.1 ± 11.8 bpm after 4 years), whilst blood pressure was not affected. Apart from the corrected QT interval (QTc), there were no significant changes in ECG. The elongated QTc at baseline (469.4 ± 29.5 ms) decreased to 444.3 ± 33.1 ms after 3 months ivabradine treatment ( p < 0.001). A decrease in QTc until month 9 was observed, followed by a partial increase to the upper limit of the normal value. Neither allograft rejection nor changes in left ventricular ejection fraction were observed over the follow-up period. In conclusion, ivabradine appears to be a safe and feasible long-term therapeutic option for HTx recipients with PST. It reduced the resting HR without impairment of blood pressure, myocardial contractility and cardiac conduction. The prognostic value of normalised QTc following ivabradine administration requires further observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronary angiography is regarded as the gold standard in evaluating graft patency, Multi-slice CT (MSCT) which enable rapid imaging of cardiac structures, including coronary arteries may be a less invasive technique. Therefore in our institution a prospective pilot study was performed combining these procedures. Starting from July 2004 a study was done with 13 patients. They received TAR using composite left internal thoracic artery (LITA) and left radial artery (RA) as T-graft. Intra-operative angiography was performed in these patients to confirm graft patency. Follow-up control (9–21 months) was performed with exercise Ergometry and 64 slides MSCT. Mean procedure time for intra-operative angiography was 13.7 ± 7.3 min and mean fluoroscopy time was 6.2 ± 4.6 min. In one patient, RA-marginal artery side to side anastomoses was stenosed and had to be revised. And in another, there was a kinking of the LITA and was corrected. At follow-up, exercise ergometry showed no signs of angina or ECG-changes in all patients. MSCT showed occluded radial artery grafts in two patients. In two other patients interpretation was difficult due to resolution reasons. In all patients the LITA graft was patent. The intra-operative graft angiography can be performed in patients undergoing TAR easily. MSCT can be used for post-operative less-invasive angiography with limitations in patients with small graft/coronary diameters and arrhythmias. However, this study shows that an interdisciplinary cooperation is a new possibility toward quality control during and after TAR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmies are associated with various diseases but the transmission of heteroplasmy from mtDNA to mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) remains unclear. We compared heteroplasmies in mtRNA from 446 human B-lymphoblastoid cell lines to their corresponding mtDNA using deep sequencing data from two independent studies. We observed 2786 heteroplasmies presenting in both DNA and RNA at 1% frequency cutoff. Among them, the frequencies of 2427 (87.1%) heteroplasmies were highly consistent (less than 5% frequency difference) between DNA and RNA. To validate these frequency consistencies, we isolated DNA and RNA simultaneously from GM12282 cell line used in those two sequencing studies, and resequenced its heteroplasmy sites. Interestingly, we also observed the rapid changes of heteroplasmy frequencies during 4 weeks of the cell culture: the frequencies at Day 14 increased by >25% than those at Day 0. However, the heteroplasmy frequencies from the same time point were highly consistent. In summary, our analysis on public data together with in vitro study indicates that the heteroplasmies in DNA can be transcribed into RNA with high fidelity. Meanwhile, the observed rapid-changing heteroplasmy frequency can potentially disturb cell functions, which could be an overlooked confounding factor in cell line related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature can govern morphologies, structures and properties of products from synthesis in solution. A reaction in solution at low temperature may result in different materials than at higher temperature due to thermodynamics and kinetics of nuclei formation. Here, we report a low-temperature solution synthesis of atomically dispersed cobalt in a catalyst with superior performance. By using a water/alcohol mixed solvent with low freezing point, liquid-phase reduction of a cobalt precursor with hydrazine hydrate is realized at −60 °C. A higher energy barrier and a sluggish nucleation rate are achieved to suppress nuclei formation; thus atomically dispersed cobalt is successfully obtained in a catalyst for oxygen reduction with electrochemical performance superior to that of a Pt/C catalyst. Furthermore, the atomically dispersed cobalt catalyst is applied in a microbial fuel cell to obtain a high maximum power density (2550 ± 60 mW m−2) and no current drop upon operation for 820 h. Rapid nucleation and growth hinder the formation of atomically dispersed metals on solid supports in solution. Here the authors report a low-temperature solution-phase synthesis for isolated cobalt atoms on nitrogen-doped carbon, with electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction in a microbial fuel cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in “Algorithm 1” under Section 3. The ellipsis in Algorithm 1 appears as alpha “L” in the published article [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell free DNA (cfDNA) has received increasing attention and has been studied in a broad range of clinical conditions. However, few studies have focused on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the cell free form. We optimized DNA isolation and sequencing library preparation protocols to better retain short DNA fragments from plasma, and applied these optimized methods to plasma samples from patients with sepsis. Our methods can retain substantially shorter DNA, resulting in an average of 11.5 fold increase in short DNA fragments yield (DNA <100bp). We report that cf-mtDNA in plasma is highly enriched in short-size cfDNA (30~60 bp). Motivated by this unique size distribution, we size-selected short cfDNA, which further increased the mtDNA recovery rate by an average of 10.4 fold. We then detected mtDNA heteroplasmy in plasma from 3 patients. In one patient who previously received bone marrow transplantation, different minor allele frequencies were observed between plasma and leukocytes at heteroplasmic sites, consistent with mixed-tissue origin for cfDNA. For the other two patients, the heteroplasmy pattern is also different between plasma and leukocyte. Our study shed new lights into the architecture of the cfDNA, and mtDNA heteroplasmy identified in plasma provides new potential for biomarker discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]