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This paper uses the micro-cross-sectional data from the Chinese Household Finance Survey in 2017 to systematically investigate the influence of house purchasing intention on household participation in the financial market by adopting probit, tobit and bootstrap methods. First, house purchasing intention had a significant positive impact on household participation in the financial market. Second, family risk preference played a significant mediating effect in the relation stated above. The results of the paper revealed that the impact of housing market prosperity on participation in the financial market was not only through the stock of real estate in the housing market but also through house purchasing intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how China’s COVID-19 prevention policy during the pandemic affected the physical and mental well-being of Chinese students overseas returning home, and how their perceptions of ‘home’ were both challenged and reinforced through their interactions with China’s virus prevention and control measures. We first review the literature on the vulnerability of transnational students during the pandemic, with a focus on transnational Chinese students. Then we explore the concept of ‘homing’ within the context of China’s cultural definition of ‘roots’ (gen, 根). Drawing from participant narratives, we identified three interwoven themes highlighting challenges faced during their journey home – reconnecting with cultural roots, negotiating with critical institutions, and struggling with in-between identities, and analysed their relationships with their health identity and the concept of home. Our findings offer practical insights for improving the well-being of these transnational migrants during times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knockout of the MSTN gene is linked to the enlarged tongue, and it causes suckling difficulty in animals. The suckling difficulty has a severe effect on animal mortality. Thus, special care was required to ensure their survivability. Here, it is critical to promptly ascertain the genotype of all pigs after birth. The main objective of the present study was to develop the restriction enzyme-mediated PCR-RFLP assay for MSTN mutant pig genotyping. To accomplish this, conserved oligonucleotide primer and restriction site were deduced according to the mutated sequence of the MSTN mutant pigs. PCR amplification yielded a 176 bp band for all homozygous MSTN mutant (MSTN–/–), heterozygous MSTN mutant (MSTN+/–) and wild-type (WT) pigs. However, MSTN+/– samples produced two fragments with 176 and 87 bp, and WT samples produced one fragment with 87 bp after being digested by BstNI. MSTN–/– samples were not digested by BstNI and yielded a 176 bp band. Thus, we were able to determine the genotype of all pigs using BstNI restriction enzyme-mediated PCR-RFLP method. Overall, the present study reported a simple and fast PCR-RFLP genotyping method for MSTN mutant pig breeding. The present study may contribute to the establishment of commercial breeding systems and the production of double muscle pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyro-phototronic effect has attracted much attention in fabricating self-powered high-performance photodetectors because of the significant enhancement by modulating the separation, transportation, and extraction of photo-generated electron-hole pairs in optoelectronic processes. This review highlights the advances in fabricating pyro-phototronic effect enhanced photodetectors. The fundamental research on the enhanced mechanism is discussed. Various device structures and figure of merit are summarized to demonstrate the improvement of performance by pyro-phototronic effect. Synergetic effects dominated by pyro-phototronic effect are also discussed to show their great potential and the universality of applying pyro-phototronic effect in photodetection. Finally, an outlook is delivered, and future research directions and challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing scholarship in feminist geography has worked to significantly delineate the concept of positionality. In this article, we continue in this tradition by considering the context of transnational research where researchers need to actively negotiate the effects of colonialist discourses in both interpersonal relationships and discourse production. We argue that empathy through imaginative reconstruction provides an opportunity for an emotional understanding to be approached in the absence of shared experience. Drawing on our own fieldwork experiences, we address moments where we worked to create relationships of empathy through imagination to highlight ways that imaginative reconstruction and empathy can be used to negotiate difference in the process of fieldwork. Relatedly, we address the need to take a third position and the role of the shame in this process. We also consider the dangers posed when using imaginative reconstruction, particularly over-identification and appropriation. We conclude by discussing the challenges and potential of using imaginative reconstruction to enrich transnational research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keloids were characterized by excessive growth of fibrous tissues, and shared several pathological characteristics with cancer. They did put physical and emotional stress on patients in that keloids could badly change appearance of patients. N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4HPR) showed cytotoxic activity on a wide variety of invasive-growth cells. Our work was aim to prepare N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide-loaded lipid microbubbles (4HPR-LM) combined with ultrasound for anti-keloid therapy. 4HPR-loaded liposomes (4HPR-L) were first prepared by film evaporation method, and then 4HPR-LM were manufactured by mixing 4HPR-L and perfluoropentane (PFP) with ultrasonic cavitation method. The mean particle size and entrapment efficiency 4HPR-LM were 113 nm and 95%, respectively. The anti-keloids activity of 4HPR-LM was assessed with BALB/c nude mice bearing subcutaneous xenograft keloids model. 4HPR-LM, combined with ultrasound, could significantly induce apoptosis of keloid fibroblastsin vitroand inhibited growth of keloidsin vivo. Thus, 4HPR-LM could be considered as a promising agent for anti-keloids therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Compact arrangement of the disk type PSA columns results in considerable reduction of the equipment size and the effect of adsorption heat on process performance. More effort has been made presently to improve the performance of the new design in producing oxygen. Considerable improvement is observed due to the replacement of adsorbent ZMS-5A with ZMS-VP800 and the adjustment of the operation plan. The feasibility of the compact arrangement of adsorption columns for a PSA process is further proven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residue and dissipation dynamics of cyazofamid and its main metabolite 4-chloro-5-p-tolylimidazole-2-carbonitrile (CCIM) in garlic, garlic bolt and garlic sprouts were investigated by QuEChERS high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. Field experiments were conducted in 6 sites for one year. The dietary intake risk of cyazofamid was assessed. At different levels, the results showed that the average recoveries of cyazofamid were 89.8%–1005% in garlic, 84.6%–109.4% in garlic bolt and 88.6%–108.5% in garlic sprout, recoveries of CCIM were 84.6%–104.2% in garlic, 84.6%–108.9% in garlic bolt and 85.3%–109.2% in garlic sprout, respectively, with relative standard deviation less than 10.1%. The limits of quantitation were all 0.01 mg/kg. The dissipation dynamics of cyazofamid and CCIM in garlic plant matrices fitted the first order kinetic equation, and the half-lives were 3.5–6.1 d and 0.9–3.9 d, respectively. The dietary intake risk assessment showed that the dietary exposure risk index of cyazofamid in garlic, garlic bolt and garlic sprout were less than 100%, which indicated that the dietary exposure risk was at an acceptable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare multisystem-affecting genetic disorder, and usually accompanied with autoimmune disorders such as immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Here, we report a 16-year-old patient with Kabuki syndrome with ITP and observe the therapeutic effect of TPO agonist hetrombopag olamine tablets. The duration of maintenance therapy and follow up were both 17 months. Whole exon sequencing (WES) of the patient's peripheral blood showed c.5775_5778del (p. Leu1926LysfsTer120) heterozygous mutation in the KMT2D gene, which was not reported before. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract \nHighlights As the latest development and benchmark of a gravity installed anchor (GIA), the OMNI-Max anchor stands as a cutting-edge achievement and benchmark, finding increasingly widespread use within mooring systems due to its exceptional operational performance and adaptability. Notably, while investigations into the pullout capacity of OMNI-Max anchors have been conducted extensively in clay, the relevant studies are seldom observed in sand. Actually, the mechanical properties of sand are quite different from those of clay, and sand is also widely distributed in seabed soil. Full knowledge of OMNI-Max anchors not only in clay but also in sand is necessary to a wider application of the anchors. In the present work, the large deformation finite element (LDFE) method is adopted combined with the coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) technique to study the end-bearing characteristics of the OMNI-Max anchor in sand seabeds. A bounding-surface plasticity model is taken as the constitutive model to capture the characteristics of sand. Through investigation and analysis, OMNI-Max anchors are closely related to the anchor embedment depth, the soil relative density, the anchor orientation, the loading angle and the bearing area, so the working conditions related to these five factors are designed and calculated. An explicit expression of the end-bearing capacity factor is finally derived to provide a simple and fast tool of evaluating the pullout capacity of the anchor in sand under multiple factors. Validation cases and orthogonal tests have confirmed the effectiveness and applicability of the explicit expression.LDFE analyses with CEL technique and bounding-surface plasticity constitutive modelAn explicit expression of end-bearing capacity factor for OMNI-Max anchors in sandEffectiveness and applicability of the expression confirmed by various waysPullout capacity property of OMNI-Max anchors in sand under multiple factorsA simple and fast tool of evaluating the pullout capacity of OMNI-Max anchors in sand [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt (Asteraceae), named snow chrysanthemum, is known to have a high level of polyphenols. However, the potential prebiotic effect on modulating intestinal microflora is still unclear. Objective: The chemical composition, antioxidant properties of snow chrysanthemum polyphenols (SCPs) and their effects on human intestinal microbiota were investigated. Materials and methods: SCPs were extracted using ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and further determined using UPLC-QE Orbitrap/MS. Five assays were used to investigate the antioxidant activities of SCPs. Subsequently, the effects of SCPs on intestinal microbiota in vitro were determined by high throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Results: Marein, isookanin and cymaroside were the major phenolic compounds, which accounted for 42.17%, 19.53% and 12.25%, respectively. Marein exhibited higher scavenging capacities in DPPH (EC50=8.84 mg/mL) and super anion radical assay (EC50=282.1 mg/mL) compared to cymaroside and isookanin. The antioxidant capacity of cymaroside was weakest among the three phenolic compounds due to the highest EC50 values, especially for superoxide anion radical assay, EC50>800 mg/mL. The result of in vitro fermentation showed that the three phenolic compounds increased the relative abundances of Escherichia/Shigella, Enterococcus, Klebsiella, etc., and isookanin notably increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Discussion and conclusions: SCPs exhibited antioxidant properties and potential prebiotic effects on modulating the gut microbiota composition. The findings indicated that SCPs consumption could exert prebiotic activity that is beneficial for human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the teaching tip to the students related to the topic, when does f (g{x)) = x imply g (f(x)) = x? by Li Zhou, Polk State College, Florida. It mentions that the condition used is that the function g be the inverse of the function f. It also states the use of two conditions by the students including f (g(x)) = x for all x in the domain of g and g (f(x)) = x for x in the domain of f.

Even less than a decade since the discovery of TSLC1, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the loss of TSLC1 expression by methylation-mediated epigenetic silencing or LOH is crucially implicated in various processes during tumorigenesis. Here, we summarize TSLC1 function, highlighting the concept that TSLC1 mediates the formation of tumor suppressor network via its multidomain structure and bridges extracellular adhesive activity with intracellular signaling. Next, we focus on the histopathology of TSLC1 in various cancers and the association with clinicopathological characteristics. On the basis of these, we propose that TSLC1 represents a promising biomarker for cancer diagnosis and a potential target for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To discuss the effects of elastic band exercise on the frailty states in pre-frail elderly people. This study was a randomized controlled trial. Trial registration number is ChiCTR-IOC-17012579. Seventy pre-frail elderly people were randomly divided into elastic band group (n = 35) and control group (n = 35). Elastic band exercise was applied to elastic band group, 45–60 min per time for 8 weeks by 3 days a week; no exercise was applied to the control group. The frailty states, grip strength (female/male), walking speed, and physical activity were measured by the Fried frailty phenotype at pre-intervention, 4, and 8 weeks after intervention to assess the effects of exercise. The elastic band group showed significant improvements in the frailty states, grip strength (female) and walking speed both after 4-week and 8-week intervention (P< 0.001), and significant improvements in grip strength (male) and physical activity after 8-week intervention (P< 0.05). Within-group analysis (pre-intervention vs. after 4-week, after 4-week vs after 8-week, pre-intervention vs after 8-week) showed significant improvements (P< 0.001) in grip strength (female/male) and walking speed in the elastic band group over time, while no significant differences in the control group (P > 0.05). Elastic band exercise can improve frailty states in pre-frail elderly people, make them broke away from pre-frailty and restore them to non-frailty through improving the grip strength, walking speed and physical activity, and the effects after 8 weeks are better than those after 4 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the “weekend warrior” pattern of physical activity (PA) where people perform all their PA in 1 or 2 sessions per week. We investigated the relationship of weekend warrior and other PA patterns with metabolic syndrome (MS) and its associated diseases. Data on sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics were collected from the Nantong Metabolic Syndrome Study that included 13,505 women and 6,997 men between 2007 and 2008. Compared with inactive participants, weekend warriors were at lower risk of MS, diabetes, and hypertension; respective odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for men and women were 0.58 (0.43-0.79) and 0.67 (0.52-0.86), 0.52 (0.34-0.79) and 0.52 (0.33-0.83), and 0.79 (0.63-0.99) and 0.71 (0.57-0.89). Similar results were observed with regular activity, at a frequency of >3 sessions per week. Both weekend warrior and regular PA patterns showed a 10-60% decrease in abnormal triglycerides, glucose, and blood pressure in both sexes; abnormal waist circumference in men only; and abnormal high-density lipoprotein in women only. Our observed cross-sectional relationships reflect that >150 min/week of moderate PA or 75 min/week vigorous-intensity PA is needed to prevent MS and its component diseases, even if in a short-bout, intermittent PA pattern. Abbreviations: MS: Metabolic syndrome; WC: Waist circumference; TG: Triglycerides; HDL-c: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BP: Blood pressure; SBP: Systolic blood pressure, DBP: Diastolic blood pressure; PA: Physical activity; JIS: Joint Interim Statement; CVD: Cardiovascular disease; ATP III: US Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program, the Adult Treatment Panel; IDF: International Diabetes Federation; IPAQ: International Physical Activity Questionnaire; BMI: Body mass index; CDC: the Nantong Centers for Disease Control; OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; SD: Standard deviation; IQR: Interquartile range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignant neoplasm of the head and neck which is harmful to human's health. Radiotherapy is commonly used in the treatment of NPC and it induces immediate cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. However, the mechanism remains unknown. Evidences suggested the activation of Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) pathway and Smad pathway are 2 of the important crucial mediators in the function of radiotherapy. In this study, we performedin vitroassays with human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 cells andin vivoassays with nude mice to investigate the role of the ATM and Smad pathways in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma with radiotherapy. The results suggested that radiation induced activation of ATM pathway by inducing expression of p-ATM, p-CHK1, p-CHK2, p15 and inhibiting expression of p-Smad3. In addition, Caspase3 expression was increased while CDC25A was decreased, leading to cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis. On the other hand, activation of Smad3 can inhibited the ATM pathway and attenuated the efficacy of radiation. In summary, we suggest that both ATM and Smad pathways contribute to the cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis during nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells treated with radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Distribution of industrial land use has a crucial influence on the regional environment. Nanfen is a developing industrial city affiliated with Benxi City, northeastern China. The suitability of industrial land use in Nanfen was evaluated to provide a scientific basis for industrial land-use planning and to minimise negative impacts on the local environment. Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) within GIS was employed to derive a suitability map. The suitability map was compared with current industrial land use to identify areas for relocation of current industries. A total of 25.7% of the urban area in Nanfen was rated as suitable, 28.1% as somewhat suitable, 37.9% as unsuitable and 8.2% as most unsuitable. About 20.6% of the current industrial land was in suitable areas, 46.5% in somewhat suitable areas and 32.9% in unsuitable areas. We further verified the influence of selected factors on the suitability of industrial land use using a field survey. The results confirmed that industrial land-use relocation in Nanfen is required. This study uses ecological suitability evaluation as a basis for land-use planning and has implications for other industrial cities in northeast China that have similar environmental and ecological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PREISACH approach is applied to provide further insight into the physical mechanisms of ferroelectric operation and degradation. Starting from the discussion on experimental determined PREISACH distribution, analytical formulae for the various fatigue cycles is deduced. Considerations about the uniform expression respects to the cycle numbers, and the ways to describe it are also made. The agreement between the measure and calculation illustrate such a description to be an efficient tool to model the ferroelectric fatigue behavior. This approach is also utilized to examine nature of cycling degradation, the excursion of defect charge and their effect on domain pinning is characterized quantificationally. This model seems quite appropriate to relate the degenerative loops with the actual defect structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel ampholytic grafted polysaccharides were prepared by grafting the Zwitterionic monomer 2-(2-methacryloethyldimeth-ylammonio) ethanoate onto hydroxyethyl cellulose. Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid was used in combination with ceric ammonium nitrate as the redox initiator. The effects of various factors such as initiator amount, monomer concentration, reaction temperature and time on the grafting were studied and the optimum reaction conditions to obtain maximum degree of grafting were found. The resulted graft copolymer was characterized by IR and thermal analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]