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Aims: Many patients taking risperidone for the treatment of psychiatric disorders experience substantial body weight gain. Researchers have speculated that risperidone induces obesity by modulating central signals; however, the precise central mechanisms involved remain to be fully elucidated. Methods: Twenty‐four C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups: a control group; a risperidone‐treated group; a lorcaserin‐treated group; and a combined risperidone + lorcaserin‐treated group. The mice were received the corresponding treatments for 4 weeks, and their brains were collected for in situ hybridization analysis. A subset of C57BL/6J mice was administrated with risperidone or placebo, and brains were collected 60 minutes post‐treatment for determination of c‐fos activity. In addition, brains of NPY‐GFP mice treated with or without risperidone were collected to perform colocalization of NPY and c‐fos, as well as NPY and 5‐HT2c receptor using immunohistochemistry. Results: There was significantly elevated c‐fos expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (Arc) of risperidone‐treated mice. More than 68% c‐fos‐positive neurons were NPY‐expressing neurons. Furthermore, in situ hybridization revealed that Arc NPY mRNA expression was significantly increased in the risperidone‐treated group compared with control group. Moreover, we identified that 95% 5‐HT2c receptors were colocalized with NPY positive neurons, and increased Arc NPY mRNA expression induced by risperidone was markedly reduced by cotreatment with lorcaserin, a specific 5‐HT2c receptor agonist. Conclusion: Our findings provide critical insight into the mechanisms underlying antipsychotic‐induced obesity, which may assist the development of therapeutic strategies to address metabolic side effects of risperidone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the componential model of creativity (Amabile), we examined how shared leadership and a formally appointed leader's transformational leadership jointly cultivate team creativity in two studies. We conducted an experiment with a sample of 109 undergraduate students (32 teams) enrolled in a business plan competition (Study 1) and a field survey based on multisource, time‐lagged data collected from 251 full‐time employees working on 64 research and development teams (Study 2). The results from both studies revealed that shared leadership enhanced team members' individual creative self‐efficacy and individual creativity, which in turn improved team creativity. Moreover, the results from Study 2 showed that a formally appointed leader's use of different transformational leadership behaviors had different impacts on individual and team creativity. Individual‐focused transformational leadership strengthened the positive effect of shared leadership on team members' average individual creativity, whereas group‐focused transformational leadership facilitated the translation of teams with high average individual creativity into teams with high levels of team creativity. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Nickel niobate (NiNb2O6) was used to modify the barium titanate (BaTiO3) ceramics, the obtained NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3 ceramics possess better dielectric performances than that of raw BaTiO3. By adding NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3 into poly(arylene ether nitriles) (PEN) polymer, a series of NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3/PEN composite films with different NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3 contents were prepared via solution casting method. The morphology, thermal, mechanical, dielectric properties, and flexibility of the obtained NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3/PEN composite films were investigated detailedly. As the filler content increases, the tensile modulus of NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3/PEN composite films increases gradually, while the tensile strength decreases. Thermal and flexibility analysis shows that the addition of the NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3 fillers does not affect the thermal and flexibility properties endowed by the PEN matrix. The dielectric constant of the composites almost linearly increases from 3.7 (1 kHz) to 15.3 (1 kHz) as the filler content increases from 0 to 40 wt%. Besides, results show that NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3/PEN composites exhibit higher dielectric constant than that of BaTiO3/PEN. The as‐prepared NiNb2O6‐BaTiO3 will be a more promising filler to prepare polymer‐ceramic composites for organic film capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: The rapid synthesis of structurally complicated electron donors & acceptors still remains a major challenge in organic solar cells (OSC). In this work, we developed a highly efficient strategy to access long‐chain oligomeric donor and acceptors for OSC applications. A series of cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT) and benzothiadiazole (BT)‐based π‐conjugated oligomers, i.e., three oligomeric acceptors (BTDT)n‐IC (n = 1—3) and one long‐chain oligomeric donor (BTDT)4‐RD, are facilely synthesized by an atom‐ and step‐economical, and labor‐saving direct C—H arylation (DACH) reaction (i.e., C—H/C—Br cross coupling). Note that (BTDT)4‐RD involving five CPDT, four BT and two rhodamine (RD) building blocks is the longest oligomeric donor in the fullerene‐free OSC devices ever reported. The dependence of the structure‐property‐performance correlation of (BTDT)n‐IC (n = 1—3) and (BTDT)4‐RD on the π‐conjugation lengths is thoroughly investigated by opto‐electrochemical measurements, bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSC devices and microscopies. The (BTDT)1‐IC:PBDB‐T and (BTDT)4‐RD:Y6 BHJs achieve power conversion efficiencies of 9.14% and 4.51%, respectively. Our findings demonstrate that DACH reaction is a powerful tool to tune the opto‐electronic properties and device performances by regulating the lengths of π‐conjugated oligomers with varied numbers of repeating units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Standard bi‐level non‐invasive ventilation with fixed‐level pressure support (PS) delivery may not maintain ventilation during the changes in pulmonary mechanics that occur throughout day and night, so average volume‐assured pressure support (AVAPS) modes that target a preset volume by adjustment of PS may be effective. Objective: Our meta‐analysis wants to compare AVAPS and pressure support non‐invasive ventilation (PS‐NIV) regarding arterial blood gases (ABGs), sleep efficiency and compliance. Method: Relevant publications indexed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIPI were identified. Appropriate articles identified from the reference lists of the above searches were also reviewed. We included randomized controlled trials involved the use of AVAPS and PS‐NIV ventilation for chronic respiratory failure. Each included study weighted mean differences, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for continuous outcomes. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 value ≤ 50% were considered as no statistical heterogeneity and used fixed effects model. Otherwise, a random effects model was used. Results: Eight trials were eligible. No significant difference was observed between AVAPS and PS‐NIV groups to compare PaCO2 (OR −0.97, CI‐2.54‐0.61, P = 0.23) and PaO2 (OR −1.81, CI‐4.29‐0.67, P = 0.15) in ABGs. There was no significant difference between the two groups with sleep efficiency (OR −3.31, CI‐7.58‐0.95, P = 0.13) and visual analog scale (OR 0.32, CI‐6.97‐7.61, P = 0.93). Conclusions: The evidence shows there is no significant difference in clinical outcomes when comparing AVAPS and PS‐NIV used for chronic respiratory failure patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed investigation of planetary ball‐milling for coarsened AlON powder was carried out. Our results showed that the weight ratios of milling ball‐to‐powder, the revolution rate and the planetary ball‐milling time have significant impacts on the microscopic morphology, particle size distribution and average particle size of powder. The process and mechanism were analyzed, and the outcome of our study can be used to optimize the complicated planetary ball‐milling method by controlling the planetary ball‐milling time or adjusting the revolution rate at the final stage of planetary ball‐milling. Sequentially, using fine and uniform AlON powder by optimized planetary ball‐milling with an average particle size below 300 nm and excellent sintering properties, highly transparent AlON ceramic with an in‐line transmittance of 84% at 2000 nm was successfully prepared through pressureless sintering at 1880°C for 6 hours using the elaborative treated powder synthesized from carbothermal nitridation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There has been a rapid increase in the number of influenza and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) co‐infection. Objectives: To explore the risk factors and predictors of a poor prognosis in influenza and IPA co‐infection. Methods: We included patients with confirmed influenza during the 2017‐2018 influenza season and cases of influenza and IPA co‐infection in the literature. Results: A total of 64 patients with influenza infection were admitted to ICU. Of these patients, 18 were co‐infected with IPA. Others were assigned to the control group (n = 46). A total of 45 patients from the literature were added to the IPA group (n = 63). A multivariate logistic regression suggested that influenza patients who were given steroids after ICU admission, who had a white blood count (WBC) of more than 10*109/L on ICU admission and whose CT findings manifested as multiple nodules and cavities might have a higher risk of developing IPA. Compared to survivors, non‐survivors had higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores (16 ± 4 points vs 8 ± 4 points, P < 0.001), lower CD4+ T cell counts on ICU admission [315 (83‐466) cells/μL vs 152 (50‐220) cells/μL, P = 0.031] and more requirement extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support [13 (50%) vs 7 (18.9%), P = 0.015]. Conclusions: Influenza patients who are given steroids after ICU admission, who have WBCs of greater than 10*109/L on ICU admission, and whose CT imaging shows multiple nodules and cavities might have a high risk of IPA. Higher SOFA scores, CD4+ T cell counts lower than 200 cells/μL on ICU admission and more ECMO requirement might be predictors of a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although antipsychotic drugs are mainly used for treating schizophrenia, they are widely used for treating various psychiatric diseases in adults, the elderly, adolescents and even children. Today, about 1.2% of the worldwide population suffers from psychosis and related disorders, which translates to about 7.5 million subjects potentially targeted by antipsychotic drugs. Neurites project from the cell body of neurons and connect neurons to each other to form neural networks. Deficits in neurite outgrowth and integrity are implicated in psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. Neurite deficits contribute to altered brain development, neural networking and connectivity as well as symptoms including psychosis and altered cognitive function. This review revealed that (1) antipsychotic drugs could have profound effects on neurites, synaptic spines and synapse, by which they may influence and regulate neural networking and plasticity; (2) antipsychotic drugs target not only neurotransmitter receptors but also intracellular signaling molecules regulating the signaling pathways responsible for neurite outgrowth and maintenance; (3) high doses and chronic administration of antipsychotic drugs may cause some loss of neurites, synaptic spines, or synapsis in the cortical structures. In addition, confounding effects causing neurite deficits may include elevated inflammatory cytokines and antipsychotic drug‐induced metabolic side effects in patients on chronic antipsychotic therapy. Unraveling how antipsychotic drugs affect neurites and neural connectivity is essential for improving therapeutic outcomes and preventing aversive effects for patients on antipsychotic drug treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study evaluates capabilities of the VecTor4 computer program to assess the seismic performance of a concrete containment structure subjected to both design‐basis and beyond design‐basis earthquakes. Based on a detailed nonlinear finite element model of the nuclear power plant containment structure, the seismic performance in terms of stress and strain distributions, cracks, yielding of reinforcement bars and tendons, as well as overall failure mechanism, is thoroughly reviewed. In addition, the post‐seismic performance of the containment structure subjected to a subsequent pressure increase is also investigated. Consideration is also given to the time‐dependent parameters of creep, shrinkage, and relaxation of prestressing tendons. It is found that the time‐dependent parameters and earthquake have a non‐negligible impact on pressure‐induced structural performance but that this impact can be predicted for a given earthquake. The proposed method is useful for assessing the progressive failure behaviour of containment structure under chain events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points: Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) from murine colonic muscles express genes encoding inwardly rectifying K+ channels. Transcripts of Kcnj2 (Kir2.1), Kcnj4 (Kir2.3), Kcnj14 (Kir2.4), Kcnj5 (Kir3.4), Kcnj8 (Kir 6.1) and Kcnj11 (Kir6.2) were found in colonic ICC. A conductance with properties consistent with Kir2 channels was observed in ICC but not in smooth muscle cells (SMC). Despite expression of gene transcripts, G‐protein gated K+ channel (Kir3) and KATP (Kir6) currents were not resolved in ICC. KATP is a conductance prominent in SMC. Kir2 antagonist caused depolarization of freshly dispersed ICC and colonic smooth muscles, suggesting that this conductance is active under resting conditions in colonic muscles. The conclusion of the present study is that ICC express the Ba2+‐sensitive, inwardly rectifying K+ conductance in colonic muscles. This conductance is most probably a result of heterotetramers of Kir2 gene products, with this regulating resting potentials and the excitability of colonic muscles. Abstract: Membrane potentials of gastrointestinal muscles are important because voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channels in smooth muscle cells (SMC) provide the Ca2+ that triggers contraction. Regulation of membrane potential is complicated because SMC are electrically coupled to interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and PDGFRα+ cells. Activation of conductances in any of these cells affects the excitability of the syncytium. We explored the role of inward rectifier K+ conductances in colonic ICC that might contribute to regulation of membrane potential. ICC expressed Kcnj2 (Kir2.1), Kcnj4 (Kir2.3), Kcnj14 (Kir2.4), Kcnj5 (Kir3.4), Kcnj8 (Kir 6.1) and Kcnj11 (Kir6.2). Voltage clamp experiments showed activation of inward current when extracellular K+ ([K+]o) was increased. The current was inwardly rectifying and inhibited by Ba2+ (10 μ m) and ML‐133 (10 μ m). A similar current was not available in SMC. The current activated in ICC by elevated [K+]o was not affected by Tertiapin‐Q. Gβγ, when dialysed into cells, failed to activate a unique, Tertiapin‐Q‐sensitive conductance. Freshly dispersed ICC showed no evidence of functional KATP. Pinacidil failed to activate current and the inward current activated by elevated [K+]o was insensitive to glibenclamide. Under current clamp, ML‐133 caused the depolarization of isolated ICC and also that of cells impaled with microelectrodes in intact muscle strips. These findings show that ICC, when isolated freshly from colonic muscles, expressed a Ba2+‐sensitive, inwardly rectifying K+ conductance. This conductance is most probably a result of the expression of multiple Kir2 family paralogues, and the inwardly rectifying conductance contributes to the regulation of resting potentials and excitability of colonic muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Aim: Obesity impairs leptin‐induced regulation of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and synaptogenesis, which has been considered to be associated with the incidence of neuronal degenerative diseases, cognitive decline, and depression. Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), a major bioactive component of ginseng, is known to have an antiobesity effect and improve cognition. This study examined whether Rb1 can improve central leptin effects on BDNF expression and synaptogenesis in the prefrontal cortex during obesity using an in vivo and an in vitro model. Result: Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) chronic treatment improved central leptin sensitivity, leptin‐JAK2‐STAT3 signaling, and leptin‐induced regulation of BDNF expression in the prefrontal cortex of high‐fat diet‐induced obese mice. In cultured prefrontal cortical neurons, palmitic acid, the saturated fat, impaired leptin‐induced BDNF expression, reduced the immunoreactivity and mRNA expression of synaptic proteins, and impaired leptin‐induced neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis. Importantly, Rb1 significantly prevented these pernicious effects induced by palmitic acid. Conclusion: These results indicate that Rb1 reverses central leptin resistance and improves leptin‐BDNF‐neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis in the prefrontal cortical neurons. Thus, Rb1 supplementation may be a beneficial avenue to treat obesity‐associated neurodegenerative disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual modulated lateral photoresistance effect is observed on silicon-based discontinuous copper film. Through the spatial movement of a laser beam spot, the lateral resistance of the structure can be modulated linearly with polarity under different testing mode. Through applying an electric pulse, the lateral resistance versus laser position curve can be entirely shifted. Carrier diffusion and drift model and charge trap model are set up to explain the dual modulated lateral photoresistance effect. This work adds functionality to Cu materials and is useful for the development of laser- and pulse-modulated photoelectric resistors, switches, and sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Findings What is the central question of this study? The present study investigated the relationship between H2S and NO in regulation of gastric fundus tension., What is the main finding and its importance? Endogenous or exogenous H2S and NO have opposite effects on fundus tension, and H2S-induced gastric fundus tension enhancements are mediated by inhibition of NO generation through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway. These results are very important in exploring the mechanism of physiological accommodation and accommodation disorder., Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is considered a new gasotransmitter, along with NO and CO. It was recently confirmed that H2S and NO play important roles in the regulation of gastrointestinal smooth muscle tension. The present study was designed to elucidate the interactions between H2S and NO with respect to the regulation of gastric fundus smooth muscle tension using Western blotting, physiological and electrochemical techniques. Real-time H2S and NO generation was detected in gastric smooth muscle tissue. NaHS, an H2S donor, enhanced fundus smooth muscle tension, whereas SNP, an NO donor, decreased fundus smooth muscle tension in a dose-dependent manner. NaHS-induced increases in fundus smooth muscle tension were suppressed by l-NAME, an NO synthase inhibitor. Aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA), a cystathionine β-synthase inhibitor, exerted inhibitory effects on fundus smooth muscle tension; these effects were also suppressed by l-NAME. Real-time NO generation was significantly potentiated by AOAA. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation at serine 1177 and Akt phosphorylation at serine 308 and threonine 473 were significantly inhibited by NaHS. LY294002, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor, blocked these NaHS-mediated effects. However, eNOS phosphorylation at serine 1177 and Akt phosphorylation at serine 308 and threonine 473 were significantly potentiated by AOAA. Cystathionine β-synthase siRNA interference significantly increased eNOS phosphorylation at serine 1177 and Akt phosphorylation at serine 308 and threonine 473. Cystathionine β-synthase siRNA interference also increased total eNOS protein expression levels but did not significantly change total Akt kinase protein expression levels. These results suggest that H2S-induced enhancement of gastric fundus tension is mediated by inhibition of NO generation through the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal models are of importance to investigate basic mechanisms for ischemic heart failure ( HF). The objective of the study was to create a rabbit model through multiple coronary artery ligations to investigate the postoperative structure-function remodeling of the left ventricle ( LV) and coronary arterial trees. Here, we hypothesize that the interplay of the degenerated coronary vasculature and increased ventricle wall stress relevant to cardiac fibrosis in vicinity of myocardial infarction ( MI) precipitates the incidence and progression of ischemic HF. Echocardiographic measurements showed an approximately monotonic drop of fractional shortening and ejection fraction from 40% and 73% down to 28% and 58% as well as persistent enlargement of LV cavity and slight mitral regurgitation at postoperative 12 weeks. Micro- CT and histological measurements showed that coronary vascular rarefaction and cardiac fibrosis relevant to inflammation occurred concurrently in vicinity of MI at postoperative 12 weeks albeit there was compensatory vascular growth at postoperative 6 weeks. These findings validate the proposed rabbit model and prove the hypothesis. The post- MI rabbit model can serve as a reference to test various drugs for treatment of ischemic HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform of China's socialist residential registration system ( hukou) led to a shift in the residential preferences of rural-urban migrants, whereby the meaning of 'home' has also been changing. Data from a 2009 survey conducted in Suzhou City in Jiangsu Province highlight some emerging strategies for residential choice. Compared with 'first-generation' migrants who grew up under socialism and migrated before the hukou reform, members of the 'new generation' born after 1980 attach less value to hukou benefits. Instead, their choice of a future place of residence appears to be related to the institutional reforms that are gradually separating social welfare provisions from the hukou system. As the draw of a local hukou declines, the strategies of a migrant's family to leverage their financial resources are found to play a bigger role in one's aspirations to establish a home in Suzhou. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosylation of monolignols has been found to be widespread in land plants since the 1970s. However, whether monolignol glycosylation is crucial for cell wall lignification and how it exerts effects are still unknown. Here, we report the identification of a mutant ugt72b1 showing aggravated and ectopic lignification in floral stems along with arrested growth and anthocyanin accumulation. Histochemical assays and thioacidolysis analysis confirmed the enhanced lignification and increased lignin biosynthesis in the ugt72b1 mutant. The loss of UDP-glycosyltransferase UGT72B1 function was responsible for the lignification phenotype, as demonstrated by complementation experiments. Enzyme activity analysis indicated that UGT72B1 could catalyze the glucose conjugation of monolignols, especially coniferyl alcohol and coniferyl aldehyde, which was confirmed by analyzing monolignol glucosides of UGT72B1 transgenic plants. Furthermore, the UGT72B1 gene was strongly expressed in young stem tissues, especially xylem tissues. However, UGT72B1 paralogs, such as UGT72B2 and UGT72B3, had weak enzyme activity toward monolignols and weak expression in stem tissues. Transcriptomic profiling showed that UGT72B1 knockout resulted in extensively increased transcript levels of genes involved in monolignol biosynthesis, lignin polymerization and cell wall-related transcription factors, which was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR assays. These results provided evidence that monolignol glucosylation catalyzed by UGT72B1 was essential for normal cell wall lignification, thus offering insight into the molecular mechanism of cell wall development and cell wall lignification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charged liquid droplets are typically generated by a high-voltage power supply. Herein, a previously unreported method is used for charging liquid droplets: by transferring charge from an insulating solid surface charged by contact electrification to the droplets. Charging the solid surface by contact electrification involves bringing it into contact with another solid surface for generating static charge. Subsequently, water droplets that flow across the surface are found to be charged-thus, the charge is readily transferred from solid to liquid. The charge of the droplets can be tuned continuously from positive to negative by varying the way the solid surface is charged. The amount of charge generated is sufficient for manipulating, coalescing, and sorting the water droplets by solid surfaces charged by contact electrification. This method of generating charged droplets is general, simple, inexpensive, and does not need any additional equipment or power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime continues to remain a severe threat to all communities and nations across the globe alongside the sophistication in technology and processes that are being exploited to enable highly complex criminal activities. Data mining, the process of uncovering hidden information from Big Data, is now an important tool for investigating, curbing and preventing crime and is exploited by both private and government institutions around the world. The primary aim of this paper is to provide a concise review of the data mining applications in crime. To this end, the paper reviews over 100 applications of data mining in crime, covering a substantial quantity of research to date, presented in chronological order with an overview table of many important data mining applications in the crime domain as a reference directory. The data mining techniques themselves are briefly introduced to the reader and these include entity extraction, clustering, association rule mining, decision trees, support vector machines, naive Bayes rule, neural networks and social network analysis amongst others. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining: The ASA Data Science Journal, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PEDOT:PSS doped with PEO (poly­ethylene oxide) is demonstrated to be an efficient hole extraction layer due to its high electrical conductivity and extremely smooth surface. This material is able to boost the efficiency of planar heterojunction perovskite hybrid solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,4-Dihydropyridines (DHPs) have been developed to treat hypertension, angina, and nerve system disease. They are thought to mainly target the L-type calcium channels, but low selectivity prompts them to block Cav1.2 and Cav3.1 channels simultaneously. Recently, some novel DHPs with different hydrophobic groups have been synthesized and among them M12 has a higher selectivity for Cav3.1. However, the structural information about Cav3.1-DHPs complexes is not available in the experiment. Thus, we combined homology modeling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and binding free energy calculations to quantitatively elucidate the inhibition mechanism of DHPs. The calculated results indicate that our model is in excellent agreement with experimental results. On the basis of conformational analysis, we identify the main interactions between DHPs and calcium channels and further elaborate on the different selectivity of ligands from the micro perspective. In conjunction with energy distribution, we propose that the binding sites of Cav3.1-DHPs is characterized by several interspersed hydrophobic amino acid residues on the IIIS6 and IVS6 segments. We also speculate the favorable function groups on prospective DHPs. Besides, our model provides important information for further mutagenesis experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denatured dermis, a part of dermis in burned skin, has the ability to restore its normal morphology and functions after their surrounding microenvironment is improved. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which the denatured dermis could improve wound healing are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of nucleolin during the recovery of heat-denatured human dermal fibroblasts. Nucleolin mRNA and protein expression were significantly increased time-dependently during the recovery of heat-denatured human dermal fibroblasts (52°C, 30 seconds). Heat-denaturation promoted a time-dependent cell proliferation, migration, chemotaxis, and scratched wound healing during the recovery of human dermal fibroblasts. These effects were prevented by knockdown of nucleolin expression with small interference RNA (siRNA), whereas overexpression of nucleolin enhanced cell proliferation, migration, and chemotaxis of human dermal fibroblasts with heat-denaturation. In addition, the expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1) was significantly increased during the recovery of heat-denatured dermis and human dermal fibroblasts. TGF-β1 expression was up-regulated by nucleolin in human dermal fibroblasts. The results suggest that nucleolin expression is up-regulated, and play an important role in promoting cell proliferation, migration, and chemotaxis of human dermal fibroblasts during the recovery of heat-denatured dermis with a mechanism probably related to TGF-β1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interfacial interaction is extremely important when dealing with filler-reinforced polymer materials. Herein, in order to improve the interfacial interaction with the polyarylene ether nitriles (PEN) matrix, a three-dimensional rough structure was designed. First, needle-like TiO2 nanocrystals were grown on each surface of the graphene. Morphology analysis proved that rough TiO2 nanocrystals were coated on the graphene nanosheets. Then, TiO2@graphene/PEN composites were fabricated to investigate the filler-matrix interaction. Thereafter, the different polymer chains could be interlocked by the TiO2 'needles' when the rough TiO2@graphene was embedded into the polymer resin. The surrounding PEN polymer chains (work as ropes) could tie to the 'needles' (work as wood pile). That is to say, the effective polymer chain length was greatly lengthened, resulting in the improvement of interfacial interactions and mechanical properties. Most importantly, the morphology, mechanical and rheological tests of the composites also proved the improvement of interfacial interactions and mechanical properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A unusual bidirectional low cost WDM-PON-ROF communication network architecture using optical sextuple frequency which is based on photoelectron coherent modulation through a Double-Arm-Mach-Zehnder-Modulator with a number of different wavelength characteristics is provided and analyzed theoretically. After transmitting more than 25 km in a standard single mode fiber, the clear eye-diagram and good bit error rate are obtained for wireless signal, wired signal and upstream signal communication. In this communication network architecture, because of no laser source, the base-station (BS) is not complicated, and because of the optical sextuple frequency signal, the ultra high frequency of the local oscillator is greatly reduced. Compared with recent schemes, the outlays of switching center and BS are greatly decreased. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2079-2083, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information regarding the characteristics of pleural effusions in patients with POEMS syndrome is limited. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence and risk factors of pleural effusions in patients with POEMS syndrome and characterize the pleural fluid biochemistry in those patients. A retrospective review of 96 patients with POEMS syndrome was conducted. The patients were divided into groups with and without pleural effusions. The clinical data were obtained from medical charts. Risk factors were studied with univariate and multivariate analysis. The median age at the time of diagnosis of POEMS syndrome was 45.1 years, and the median disease duration was 30.4 months. Pleural effusions were detected in 41 (42.7%) of the 96 patients. Increased serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), complement component 3 (C3), Lambda light chain, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 levels and low albumin as well as cardiac disease were found to be significantly correlated with pleural effusions. By multivariate logistic regression, independent risk factors for pleural effusions in POEMS syndrome were VEGF [odds ratio (OR): 2.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.720-3.414, p = 0.01], TNF-α (OR: 3.64, 95% CI: 1.073-4.338, p = 0.04) and C3 (OR: 3.77, 95% CI: 1.225-3.591, p = 0.02) levels. Pleural effusions are the most common thoracic involvement findings in patients with POEMS syndrome, and all the pleural fluids are exudates. Serum VEGF, TNF-α and C3 levels are identified as important risk factors for presence of pleural effusions in POEMS syndrome. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide a guideline for numerical modeling of reinforced concrete (RC) frame elements for the seismic performance assessment of a structure. Several types of numerical models of RC frame elements are available in nonlinear structural analysis packages. Because the numerical models are formulated based on different assumptions and theories, the models' accuracy, computing time, and applicability vary, which poses a great difficulty to practicing engineers and limits their confidence in the analysis results. In this study, the applicability of five representative numerical models of RC frame elements is evaluated through comparison with 320 experimental results available from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research column database. The accuracy of a numerical model is evaluated according to its initial stiffness, peak strength, and energy dissipation capacity of the global responses. In addition, a parametric study of a cantilever RC column subjected to earthquake excitation is carried out to systematically evaluate the consequence of the adopted numerical models on the maximum inelastic structural responses. It is found from this study that the accuracy of the numerical models is sensitive to shear force demand-capacity ratio. If a structural period is short and the structure is shear critical, the use of numerical models that can explicitly capture the shear deformation and failure is suggested. If the structural period is long, the selection of a numerical model does not greatly influence the global response of the structure. The paper also presents statistical parameters of each numerical model, which can be used for probabilistic seismic performance assessment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel TiO2-Ag core-shell micro-/nanowires ( TiO2 shell coating on Ag core) have been successfully prepared via a solvent-thermal method. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the micro-/nanowires were composed of Ag, Ti and O elements, and Ag was face-centered cubic whereas TiO2 was mainly amorphous. Interestingly, scanning electron microscopy ( SEM) and transmission electron microscopy results showed that most of the TiO2 bristles were perpendicular to and uniformly studded on the surface of the Ag cores. Subsequently, TiO2-Ag/poly(arylene ether nitrile) ( PEN) composite films were prepared via a solution-casting method in order to investigate the effect of TiO2-Ag on the PEN matrix. SEM images showed that there was good interfacial adhesion between fillers and PEN matrix owing to the special bristle-like structure. Thermal analysis results showed that the TiO2-Ag/ PEN composite films possessed excellent thermal properties endowed by the PEN matrix. The dielectric constant of the composite films increased to 9.3 at 100 Hz when the TiO2-Ag loading reached 40 wt%. Rheology measurements revealed that the network formed by TiO2-Ag was sensitive to shear stress and nearly time independent. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modulation principle and method, the gate-voltage-controlled mode-guiding switching/mode-cutoff mechanism, is proposed and numerically investigated to achieve the modulation/attenuation function. The propagating attenuation of the graphene 2D waveguide as a function of the Fermi level of the cladding is analyzed. Different modes with low or high attenuations in a wide attenuation range have been observed. The proposed structure avoids the patterning on graphene or substrate, thus diminishing the energy scattering on the edges. It also has the advantages of large modulation depth/attenuation range, wide bandwidth, and sub-micrometer chip-length with a nanoscale lateral section, which is promising for future graphene-based integrated photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study on the cryopreservation of primary human precursor T-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cells through the use of standard techniques. It states the application of xenotransplantation in determining and characterizing human acute leukaemia cells that have leukemia-initiating stem cell (LSC) potential. Result shows that the transplantation of 10 fresh T-ALL cells led to robust xenoengraftment in each of three recipients.

ABSTRACT A novel polyarylene ether nitrile terminated with phthalonitrile (PEN- t-Ph) was synthesized by a simple solution polycondensation of biphenyl and hydroquinone with 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile, followed by termination with 4-nitrophthalonitrile. The PEN- t-Ph/1,3,5-Tri-(3,4-dicyanophenoxy) benzene (TPh) system was prepared by cure treatment. The phthalonitrile on PEN- t-Ph were thermally crosslinked with TPh in the presence of diamino diphenyl sulfone through cure treatment up to 280-340°C, which led to the transformation from thermoplastic polymers to thermosetting polymers. This is because the phthalonitrile on the PEN- t-Ph can react with TPh by forming phthalocyanine ring. The glass transition temperatures of the PEN- t-Ph/TPh system increased from 152.4°C to 194.7°C, and the initial decomposition temperature (ranging from 475.3°C to 544.0°C) increased by 68°C after thermal curing. Therefore, their thermal properties can be greatly enhanced by crosslinking. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 1363-1368, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We report the realization of a fiber sensor for simultaneous measurement of stress and temperature based on the integration of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a micro external Fabry-Perot (F-P) cavity constructed with a thin film coated on a fiber end. The Bragg wavelength shift is used to measure stress while the wavelength shift of the F-P interference fringes is traced for determining the temperature, which can also compensate the thermal stress of FBG induced by temperature change. A temperature sensitivity of ∼0.2 nm/°C and a stress sensitivity of 8.11 × 10−3 nm/N with good stability can be achieved. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2440-2444, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose ATP-sensitive potassium (K- ATP) channels couple energy metabolism with electric activity, which play important roles in brain diseases including stroke. However, the impacts of Kir6.1-containing K- ATP channels that mainly expressed on glia in stroke remain unclear. Methods and Results In this study, we found that expression of Kir6.1 was significantly decreased in the ischemic brain area of C57 BL/6J mice after 1-h middle cerebral artery occlusion ( MCAO) and 24-h reperfusion. Then, we subjected Kir6.1 heterozygote knockout (Kir6.1+/−) mice to cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and found that Kir6.1+/− mice exhibited exacerbated neurological disorder and enlarged infarct size, companied by glial over-activation and blood-brain barrier ( BBB) damages. Furthermore, we showed that Kir6.1 knockdown aggravated endoplasmic reticulum ( ER) stress and thereby increased the levels of proinflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β ( TNF-α and IL-1β) in mouse brain. Conclusions Our findings reveal that Kir6.1 knockdown exacerbates cerebral I/R-induced brain damages via increasing ER stress and inflammatory response, indicating that Kir6.1-containing K- ATP channels may be a potential therapeutic target for stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) filled with natural zeolite had higher ammonium removal (82.4-94.0%) than another VFCW filled with volcanic rock (51.3-69.4%) treating piggery wastewater under any of three recirculation ratios. To reveal the underling reasons, physicochemical characteristics and ammonium-oxidizing prokaryotes (AOPs) of two substrates were determined. The calculated maximum ammonium adsorption of zeolite (11.6 mg g−1) was remarkably higher than that of volcanic rock (0.21 mg g−1), mainly because the former contains two cationic binding crystalline species, ${\rm AlSi}_{{\rm 3}} {\rm O}_{{\rm 8}}^{- } $ and montmorillonite. Quantitative analyses indicated that ammonium-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are the dominant AOP of zeolite and ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are the dominant AOP of volcanic rock respectively. Diversity and phylogenetic analysis further showed that both AOB and AOA communities were significantly different between two substrates. Nitrosospira-like AOB (92.6%) and sediment/soil clade AOA (71.4%) were the main components of AOB and AOA in natural zeolite, whereas Nitrosomonas-like AOB (76.1%) and water/sediment clade AOA (77.1%) dominated the AOB and AOA in volcanic rock. These results suggest that the substrates show high selectivity to AOP community. Thus, in addition to physicochemical characteristics, the AOP of substrates is very likely to affect ammonium removal in VFCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose and demonstrate an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-radio over fiber (OFDM-ROF) system based on three channels sextupling-frequency scheme using an external modulation of a distributed feedback laser diode (DFB-LD) and dual drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM) for carrying 100 GHz W-band frequency multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-OFDM signals with 90 Gbps downstream. MIMO-OFDM algorithms effectively compensate for impairments in the wireless link. Without using costly W-band components, a transmission system with 50 km single mode fiber (SMF) and 4 m wireless transmission operation at 100 GHz is experimentally validated. The power penalties for MIMO-OFDM signals of base stations are less than 3 dBm. For the upstream transmission, wavelength reuse with 30 Gbps 4QAM upstream signals is experimentally demonstrated. The minimum optical spectral gap between residue downstream OFDM band and upstream OFDM band that guarantees a tolerable amount of optical interference has been determined through experiment. The frequency of local oscillator is reduced due to frequency sextupling scheme. The cost of the proposed system is largely reduced. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:93-99, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27251 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thiol-ene radical addition reaction has been successfully used to synthesize polyphosphazene derivatives. Poly[bis(allylamino)phosphazene] with pendant allyl groups was reacted with different thiol reagents under UV irradiation. These thiol reagents include 1-pentanethiol, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, 3-mercapto-1,2-propane-diol, and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-1-thio-β- D-glucopyranose. 1H NMR analyses confirm that the allyl polyphosphazene can be quantitatively modified by the mercaptans. In total, 100% conversion of the allyl groups was reached in <60 min toward the first three mercaptans, whereas about 80% conversion of the allyl groups was reached after 120-min reaction toward the thioglucose. This method is a facile route for the synthesis of functional polyphosphazenes without the needs for protection/deprotection procedures. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose Emerging evidence indicates that stimulating adult neurogenesis provides novel strategies for central nervous system diseases. Iptakalim ( Ipt), a novel ATP-sensitive potassium (K- ATP) channel opener, has been demonstrated to play multipotential neuroprotective effects in vivo and in vitro. However, it remains unknown whether Ipt could regulate the adult neurogenesis. Methods and Results Based on the finding that adult neural stem cells ( ANSCs) in hippocampus expressed Kir6.1/ SUR1-composed K- ATP channel, Kir6.1 heterozygotic ( Kir6.1+/−) mice were used to investigate whether and how Ipt regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis. We showed that administration of Ipt (10 mg/kg) or fluoxetine ( Flx, 10 mg/kg) for 4 weeks significantly increased newborn ANSCs in subgranular zone ( SGZ) of Kir6.1+/+ mice but failed to affect those of Kir6.1+/− mice. Meanwhile, ANSCs in Kir6.1+/− mice exhibited decreased survival rate and impaired ability of differentiation into astrocytes. We further found that Kir6.1+/− mice showed lower level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF) in hippocampus compared with Kir6.1+/+ mice. Furthermore, Ipt increased the levels of BDNF and basic fibroblast growth factor ( FGF-2) throughout the hippocampus in Kir6.1+/+ mice but not in Kir6.1+/− mice. Moreover, Ipt and Flx enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt and CREB in the hippocampus of Kir6.1+/+ mice. Notably, these effects were completely abolished in Kir6.1+/− mice. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that Ipt stimulates the adult hippocampal neurogenesis via activation of Akt and CREB signal following the opening of Kir6.1-composed K- ATP channels, which gives us an insight into the therapeutic implication of Ipt in the diseases with adult neurogenesis deficiency, such as major depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]