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Epsilon‐and‐mu‐near‐zero (EMNZ) metamaterials have garnered significant attention in near‐zero‐parameter metamaterial research for their exceptional ability to attain concurrent near‐zero permittivity and permeability. Nowadays achieving EMNZ properties through the use of metacomposites remains a novel endeavor. Presented here is an innovative approach of near‐zero‐parameter metacomposites, illustrating excellent and tunable EMNZ properties in the radio frequency regime. The self‐organization approach is applied to construct the conductive 3D network and the circuits, serving as the underlying framework for achieving EMNZ properties. Near‐zero permeability is effectively maintained while permittivity reaches epsilon‐near‐zero frequency regime. Efficient manipulation of electromagnetic parameters is initially realized via adjusting component content in metacomposites. Significantly, an excellent EMNZ property is observed as carbon content reaches 15 wt.% at 915 MHz. Through both numerical simulations and experimental testing, the PGC metacomposites have exhibited tunneling effects and directional emission characteristics, confirming their EMNZ properties. Besides, the Lego‐like adjustment facilitates the achievement of EMNZ property and advances the EMNZ frequency point to 700 MHz, expanding the EMNZ range. Furthermore, thanks to the remarkable excitation effect of photo‐induced adjustment, the metacomposite with low‐carbon content also achieves extraordinary EMNZ properties. This research offers promising self‐organized EMNZ metacomposites and lays the foundation for future endeavors in precisely adjusting near‐zero parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic materials are widely used in engineering field because of their good physical and chemical properties. The poor mechanical properties of traditional ceramics seriously limit the development of ceramic materials and have attracted extensive attention since its birth. The development of high toughness, light weight, and functional ceramic materials has long been the pursuit of materials scientists. Since ancient times, nature has been the source of all kinds of human technological ideas, engineering principles, and major inventions. The functional structure of biology provides a good research object for the bionic design and preparation of ceramic materials. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the functional structures and mechanisms in nature and biomimetic preparation technology. The purpose of this review is to provide guidance for the functionalized biomimetic design and efficient preparation of ceramic materials. Some typical functional examples in nature are introduced in detail, and several representative biomimetic preparation methods are listed. Finally, the performance and application status of biomimetic ceramics are summarized, and the future development direction of biomimetic ceramic materials is prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyurethane has been extensively studied as a multifunctional material for water‐lubricated bearing materials. As one of the polyurethane elastomeric synthetic material, the content of 4,4′‐methylene bis(2‐chloroaniline) (MOCA) directly affects the intermolecular structure and thus the properties of the material. Five samples with different MOCA contents were prepared by casting molding and tested. The results showed that the optimal comprehensive performance was obtained when the ratio of the amino group to the hydrocyanic acid group was 0.95, with tensile, compressive, and bending strengths of 50.1, 91.8, and 12.6 MPa, respectively. Compared with other samples, the surface of the sample was smooth, which was conducive to the formation of the water film. The bearing capacity and lubrication condition are improved, and the best tribological performance was shown. This research for the application of polyurethane elastomer on the water‐lubricated bearing provides a theoretical basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of cylinder liner piston ring (CLPR) that worked under harsh conditions significantly affected the reliability of diesel engines. Nano‐copper lubricant additives have recently been introduced due to their good anti‐wear properties. This study aims to gain insights into the interactions between concentrations of nano‐copper lubricant additives and the tribological performance of CLPR. Tests are performed on a reciprocating sliding test rig under different operating conditions, and the tribological performances are characterized by the friction coefficient, wear mass losses, and morphologies of worn surface. The experimental results indicated that the optimal concentration of nano‐copper additives is 2 wt%. Additionally, deposition of the Cu nanoparticles on the worn surface during the friction process facilitates the formation of the mending layer. These findings would aid to provide a technical reference for the application of nano‐copper additives in diesel engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In industrial recirculating aquaculture systems (IRAS), the autonomous decision control of feeding strategies remains a practical concern. Conventionally, control schemes were established from data‐driven view, which fails to comprehensively perceive activity status of fishes. To deal with this issue, a deep vision sensing‐based fuzzy control scheme is proposed for smart feeding in IRAS. In the first stage, a deep learning‐based object detection model is introduced to capture two aspects features as the decision factors: residual bait and eating frequency. In the second stage, a fuzzy neural network model is formulated to calculate control decision strategies via fuzzy inference. And experiments on real‐world visual scenes are conducted to verify the proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics is regulated by a complex interplay of factors such as climate and potential anthropogenic activities. Livestocks play a key role in regulating the C cycle in grasslands. However, the interrelationship between SOC and these drivers remains unclear at different soil layers, and their potential relationships network have rarely been quantitatively assessed. Here, we completed a six‐year manipulation experiment of grazing exclusion (no grazing: NG) and increasing grazing intensity (light grazing: LG, medium grazing: MG, heavy grazing: HG). We tested light fraction organic carbon (LFOC) and heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) in 12 plots along grazing intensity in three soil layers (topsoil: 0–10 cm, mid‐soil: 10–30 cm, subsoil: 30–50 cm) to assess the drivers of SOC. Grazing significantly reduced SOC of the soil profile, but with significant depth and time dependencies. (1) SOC and SOC stability of the topsoil is primarily regulated by grazing duration (years). Specifically, grazing duration and grazing intensity increased the SOC lability of topsoil due to an increase in LFOC. (2) Grazing intensity was the major factor affecting the mid‐soil SOC dynamics, among which MG had significantly lower SOC than did NG. (3) Subsoil organic carbon dynamics were mainly regulated by climatic factors. The increase in mean annual temperature (MAT) may have promoted the turnover of LFOC to HFOC in the subsoil. Synthesis and applications. When evaluating the impacts of grazing on soil organic fraction, we need to consider the differences in sampling depth and the duration of grazing years. Our results highlight that the key factors influencing SOC dynamics differ among soil layers. Climatic and grazing factors have different roles in determining SOC in each soil layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of micro‐structures endows the materials with some novel characteristics. In this study, the hot‐spot material thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is used as the experimental object, and the water‐lubricating composites are prepared by introducing well‐hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers, which can spontaneously and continuously produce micro‐convex textures in water. By observing and analyzing the internal structures, physical and chemical properties, coefficient of friction, wear surface, wear loss, etc. of the materials, the relationship between the micro‐convex structures on the material surface and its tribological properties is studied. The experimental results show that the existence of micro‐convex structures can make the material show better wear resistance during the friction process, and they will not disappear completely with the process. The most obvious effect is the sample containing 15% PVA fibers and with soaking and polishing treatments, its coefficient of friction is 0.11, which is 74.42% lower than that of the pure sample without any treatments, the main reason is due to the hydrodynamic lubrication effect and cavitation effect of the micro‐convex structures. For the wear mechanism, pure samples are adhesive wear, and modified samples are mainly abrasive wear. This work will provide new design ideas for tribology in the micro‐nano field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performances of diesel cylinder liner‐piston ring (CLPR) that works under harsh conditions are very important and affect the service life, reliability and economy of engines. This study aimed to gain insights into the anti‐friction and self‐repairing properties of lubricating oil with different silicate‐based additives for marine diesel CLPR, and expect to find the types and concentrations of additives that are most appropriate for CLPR. Three kinds of silicates, including ultrafine serpentine, attapulgite and kaolin powders, were prepared and modified, and added to the lubricants with different concentrations. The tribological behaviours and worn surface features of the friction pairs were investigated after friction tests. Compared with original oil, it is found that all additives process anti‐friction and self‐repairing properties at appropriate concentration, and the ultrafine attapulgite powders additive presents the best performance. These findings will aid in understanding the anti‐friction and self‐repairing abilities of silicate‐based additives to diesel CLPR, as well as its potential application to solve the wear failures of CLPR online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboard ship, the use of lubricating oil in mechanical equipment is sometimes difficult to achieve and applied oil can easily leak. The use of self‐lubricating materials can largely solve this problem. In this study, three kinds of solid lubricant‐enhanced 304 stainless steel‐backed ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fabric composites were fabricated with the addition of graphite, molybdenum (IV) disulfide, or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). They were tested under various rotating speeds and compared with pure steel‐backed UHMWPE fabric composites. The tribological performance of these composites was evaluated by analysis of friction coefficient, wear rate, and worn face morphology. The results showed that PTFE‐enhanced composites exhibited the best friction reduction performance under all test conditions, better antiwear ability at rotating speeds under 200 rpm, and optimized wear surface morphology, thus indicating better synergy between PTFE and UHMWPE fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐performance engineering polymers (HPEPs) are mechanically robust but difficult to be processed and recycled. Aiming to solve such a problem, herein, supramolecular thermosets with high mechanical strength comparable to HPEPs are fabricated by dynamically cross‐linking low‐molecular‐weight poly(aryl ether ketone)s (PAEKs) with boroxines (denoted as PAEK‐B3O3). The PAEK‐B3O3 supramolecular thermosets are solution‐processable, thermally stable, and recyclable. By tailoring the molecular weight (Mn) of PAEK, the PAEK‐B3O3 thermosets can exhibit a tensile strength from ≈60.5 to ≈97.8 MPa and Young's modulus from ≈1.59 to ≈4.10 GPa. The mechanically strongest PAEK‐B3O3 thermosets, which are derived from PAEK with an Mn of ≈9400, have a tensile strength of ≈97.8 MPa, Young's modulus of ≈1.93 GPa, and glass transition temperature (Tg) of ≈154.0 °C. Such PAEK‐B3O3 thermosets retain a substantial amount of boroxine cross‐linkers when the temperature is close to Tg, which guarantees their high mechanical strength at high temperatures. The PAEK‐B3O3 thermosets can be solution‐processed to products of different shapes and further strengthened by the introduction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes modified with phenylboronic acids. Due to the high reversibility of boroxines, the PAEK‐B3O3 thermosets can be conveniently re‐processed and recycled in the presence of dioxane/ethanol mixture solvent to regain their original mechanical strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate provides an effective way to solve the environmental problems caused by excessive carbon dioxide emissions and produce value‐added products. Herein, we report the preparation of a Sn‐doped CeO2 catalyst, where oxygen vacancies are formed by thermal treatment in Ar/H2 atmosphere, leading to enhanced carbon dioxide electroreduction to formate. The Faraday efficiency of formate production is found to reach 81.10 %, with a geometric current density of 9.13 mA cm−2 at a potential of −1.10 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Density functional theory calculations show that the incorporation of tin into CeO2 promotes electron transport, lowers the energy barrier to form formate through HCOO*, and increases the selectivity of formate. Results from this study highlight the importance of metal‐doping in CeO2 towards the selective reduction of CO2 to formate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The sewage treatment systems manage to reduce pollutants of wastewater to make it reach some requirement. The core of it is to effectively control and determine intermediate aeration amount, which is always challenging. Therefore, a multi‐objective planning mechanism (multi‐objective optimization design combining GRA and fuzzy logic inference) that combines grey relational analysis and fuzzy logic, to find the optimal dissolved oxygen solubility for achieving better outlet water quality, is proposed. First of all, grey correlation coefficient between each optimization target and the reference target is calculated, and are converted into fuzzy inference values through the four steps. After that, it is expected to analyse the average values of process variables to obtain the optimal parameter combinations. A real‐world dataset collected from a realistic sewage treatment plant is utilized as the simulation environment to evaluate the proposed multi‐objective optimization design combining GRA and fuzzy logic inference. Experimental results show that the multi‐objective optimization design combining GRA and fuzzy logic inference makes promotion of 47.34% for fitted outlet water quality compared with the original average annual water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a kind of polymer with excellent mechanical properties combined with good wear resistance and has been widely used in the engineering field. In order to explore the possibility for PEEK using as a water‐lubricated bearing material, an in‐depth study on the water lubrication performance of PEEK was conducted by using a series of experiments. The water lubrication performances combined with the lubricating mechanism were evaluated both by the friction coefficient and by the wear behavior of PEEK. The results indicated that PEEK was suitable for water‐lubricated bearing productions. The water film could form effectively between the friction pairs under high sliding velocity, while the transfer film could form under low sliding velocity. Both the water film and the transfer film could improve the water lubrication performance for the friction pairs. Moreover, sliding velocities and contact pressures highly influence the water lubrication performance of PEEK. The increase in contact pressure or the decrease in sliding velocity would exacerbate the wear of material. The stick–slip phenomena also occurred on the specimens under low sliding velocity. The main purpose of this study is to provide an experimental basis for PEEK using as a water‐lubricated bearing material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the tremendous propagation loss of millimeter wave (mmWave) communication, device‐to‐device (D2D) communications are widely used over directional mmWave networks to improve network throughput. Most of existing works are mainly focused on concurrent transmission among D2D pairs that have no mutual interference. However, considering the propagation loss and directional interference features, the D2D pairs that interfere with each other can be used to improve network throughput. In this paper, we propose a time resource sharing scheme based on Stackelberg game for D2D pairs to further enhance network throughput. The interference D2D pairs can access to the time resource through paying the price for the interference caused by them. At the same time, the non‐interference D2D pairs can be scheduled. Concurrent transmission scheduling among interference D2D pairs is formulated as a non‐cooperative game, which enables a distributed transmission power control for interference D2D pairs. Moreover, the price strategy can be adjusted by setting interference threshold such that the transmission quality can be guaranteed. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve significant performance gains compared with classical concurrent transmission in terms of network throughput and energy efficiency. In addition, the convergence and utility of the game are also verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has become the most widely used material for water‐lubricated bearings. In the research, the effects of introducing sisal fiber (SF) filler materials on the friction and wear characteristics of UHMWPE‐based composites were investigated. The composites were tested against the QSn7‐0.2 copper disc, under water‐lubricated conditions, using a specially designed testing apparatus. The purpose was to identify an improved material which could be used in water‐lubricated bearings. Four types of composites were tested under different sliding velocities and applied loads, which included pure UHMWPE and 10, 20, and 30 wt% SF reinforced UHMWPE. The friction coefficient and wear amount were measured to characterize the tribological properties of these composite materials. Moreover, in order to reveal the primary mechanism involved in friction and wear, various surface characterization techniques were adopted on the surface of composite materials. The analysis results showed that the addition of SF can stabilize the frictional properties and increase the water absorption of SF/UHMWPE composites. Furthermore, the use of a proper percentage of SF can discharge the wear debris, improve the loading capacity, and reduce adhesion wear. The adding of 10% SF in UHMWPE had produced the best anti‐friction properties at low speed and heavy load. This work can serve as a reference for the design of hydrophilic fiber reinforced polymer composites to reduce wear and improve lubrication performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is one of the most popular marine bearing materials because of its excellent characteristics. However, severe wear often occurs under some extreme conditions. In order to improve the service life of bearing material, this work introduced the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a reinforcement material to further enhance TPU tribological properties. Considering that the bearing material does not process self‐lubricating or cannot form a stable water film under some working conditions, the PAN fiber was hydrophilically modified to alleviate this problem. The effects of fiber addition, operation speed, and applied load on the tribological properties of the composites were examined by using a tribo‐tester. The friction coefficient of the samples, the surface morphology after rubbing, and the wear loss, and so on, were also comprehensively analyzed. It was found that the friction coefficient of 30% modified PAN fiber at 500 r/min and 0.8 MPa load was 0.08, and its friction coefficient was 81.8% lower than the pure sample under the same working condition, this is mainly due to the high hydrophilicity of the modified PAN fiber, which makes it easier to form a water film between the composite material and the copper disc. Furthermore, adhesive wear occurred in unmodified samples, while modified samples contained abrasive wear. This new material modification method and design idea can be used for improving the performance of water‐lubricated bearing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: It has been accepted knowledge that placebo effects have been significant in insomnia clinical trials. However, the dynamic features of placebo effects have not been clarified. Our aim was therefore to conduct a meta‐analysis of placebo‐controlled randomized clinical trials to characterize the dynamic features of placebo effects addressing persistent insomnia disorder. We performed a comprehensive literature search for randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic regimens addressing persistent insomnia disorder. We pooled separate effect size estimates (Hedge's g) of placebo and regimen conditions across trials for outcome measures, and multilevel mixed‐effects models were used to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. The placebo effects were significant and robust to improve the symptoms of insomnia, and subjective measures were significantly smaller than objective measures (p <.001), but placebo response rates were nearly identical between subjective and objective measures. The overall placebo effects were influenced by publication year (p =.015), treatment duration (p =.010), sample size (p <.001) and therapeutic regimen (p <.001). Placebo effects showed a diphasic feature within treatment duration: initially a decrease and subsequently being stable; a sustained decline trend after withdrawals; and a steady‐to‐upward trend for a mixed therapeutic regimens in a large‐scale period over decades. The dynamic features of placebo effects addressing persistent insomnia disorder may lead to the development and validation of dosing strategies that require less medication exposure to maintain clinical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Placenta‐origin pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia (PE), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), fetal growth restriction (FGR), and macrosomia (MA) are common occurrences in pregnancy, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality for both mother and fetus. However, despite their frequency, there are no reliable methods for the early diagnosis of these complications. Since cfDNA is mainly derived from placental trophoblasts and maternal hematopoietic cells, it might have information for gene expression which can be used for disease prediction. Here, low coverage whole‐genome sequencing on plasma DNA from 2,199 pregnancies is performed based on retrospective cohorts of 3,200 pregnant women. Read depth in the promoter regions is examined to define read‐depth distribution patterns of promoters for pregnancy complications and controls. Using machine learning methods, classifiers for predicting pregnancy complications are developed. Using these classifiers, complications are successfully predicted with an accuracy of 80.3%, 78.9%, 72.1%, and 83.0% for MA, FGR, GDM, and PE, respectively. The findings suggest that promoter profiling of cfDNA may be used as a biological biomarker for predicting pregnancy complications at early gestational age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Polyurethane (PU) has been studied as alternative bearing material for marine water‐lubricated stern tube due to its excellent wear resistance, remarkable mechanical properties and so on. In this study, nine types of PU samples which are composed of different additives were prepared and tested in order to investigate their tribological properties under various working conditions. A pin‐on‐disc tribo‐tester was used to conduct tests. Then comparison analyses were conducted from three aspects, including the friction coefficient, wear mass loss, and the wear surface topography. The analysis results showed that: (1) the different additives as well as the mass fraction of these additives lead to significant difference in terms of tribological properties of PU; (2) the lubricating grease, as one of additives, improved the wear resistance and friction performance effectively; (3) modified PU is eligible to work as matrix because of satisfied mechanical properties and specific internal morphology. It is believed that understandings in this study are beneficial to the improvement of the tribological properties of PU and also provide the real practical basis for the studies of polymer materials which applied on water‐lubricated marine stern tube bearing. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46305. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT To investigate the interaction between skin lesion status and arsenic methylation profiles, the concentrations and proportions of arsenic metabolites in urine and arsenic methylation capacities of study subjects were determined. The results showed that the mean urinary concentrations of iAs (inorganic arsenic), MMA (monomethylarsonic acid), DMA (dimethylarsinic acid), and TAs (total arsenic) were 75.65, 68.78, 265.81, and 410.24 μg/L, respectively, in the skin lesions subjects. The highest values were observed in the multiple skin lesions subjects. Higher %iAs and %MMA, and lower %DMA, PMI (primary methylation index), and SMI (secondary methylation index) were found in skin lesions subjects. The multiple skin lesions subjects had highest %iAs and %MMA, and lowest %DMA, PMI, and SMI. The prevalence of skin lesions strongly, positively correlated with arsenic levels in drinking water. The elder persons also had higher frequency of skin lesions compared with younger persons. It can be concluded that arsenic levels in drinking water significantly affected the prevalence of skin lesions. Male subjects usually had higher proportions of skin lesions when compared with female subjects. Moreover, it may be concluded that MMA was significantly related to single skin lesion, whereas DMA and iAs were associated with multiple skin lesions. It seemed that MMA had greater toxicity to hyperkeratosis, whereas DMA and iAs had higher toxicity to depigmentation or pigmentation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 28-36, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concise synthesis of a pharmaceutical candidate is described. The chiral core of the molecule is assembled using an aza-benzoin condensation and a dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) as the key reactions. This enables superb control of the regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity of the synthesis. Both biocatalysts and transition metal catalysts are remarkably effective in the key asymmetric reduction step. Similar approaches could be considered in the synthesis of other 1,2-amino alcohols where traditional approaches based on functionalization of alkenes, epoxides or aziridines may suffer from selectivity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physicochemical properties constitute a key factor for the success of a drug candidate. Whereas many strategies to improve the physicochemical properties of small heterocycle-type leads exist, complex hydrocarbon skeletons are more challenging to derivatize because of the absence of functional groups. A variety of CH oxidation methods have been explored on the betulin skeleton to improve the solubility of this very bioactive, yet poorly water-soluble, natural product. Capitalizing on the innate reactivity of the molecule, as well as the few molecular handles present on the core, allowed oxidations at different positions across the pentacyclic structure. Enzymatic oxidations afforded several orthogonal oxidations to chemical methods. Solubility measurements showed an enhancement for many of the synthesized compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel chiral metal-organic framework (MOF) organocatalyst has been developed, based on readily available MIL-101 and the chiral primary diamine (1 R,2 R)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine, by the post-synthetic modification. Over the developed chiral heterogeneous catalyst the asymmetric synthesis of ( S)-warfarin with high enantioselectivity can be fulfilled on a gram-scale (2.8 g) with excellent yield (92%) at low cost, making the synthesis method an ideal alternative to existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the intrinsic brain connections at the time of interictal generalized spike-wave discharges (GSWDs) to understand their mechanism of effect on brain function in untreated childhood absence epilepsy (CAE). Methods: The EEG-functional MRI (fMRI) was used to measure the resting state functional connectivity during interictal GSWDs in drug-naïve CAE, and three different brain networks-the default mode network (DMN), cognitive control network (CCN), and affective network (AN)-were investigated. Results: Cross-correlation functional connectivity analysis with priori seed revealed decreased functional connectivity within each of these three networks in the CAE patients during interictal GSWDS. It included precuneus-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), and inferior parietal lobule in the DMN; DLPFC-inferior frontal junction (IFJ), and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) subregions connectivity disruption in CCN; ACC-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and DMPFC in AN; There were also some regions, primarily the parahippcampus, paracentral in AN, and the left frontal mid orb in the CCN, which showed increased connectivity. Conclusions: The current findings demonstrate significant alterations of resting-state networks in drug naïve CAE subjects during interictal GSWDs and interictal GSWDs can cause dysfunction in specific networks important for psychosocial function. Impairment of these networks may cause deficits both during and between seizures. Our study may contribute to the understanding of neuro-pathophysiological mechanism of psychosocial function impairments in patients with CAE. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of intrinsic and extrinsic erythropoietin (EPO) against hypoxia/ischemia, and determine the optimal time-window with respect to the EPO-induced neuroprotection. Experiments were conducted using primary mixed neuronal/astrocytic cultures and neuron-rich cultures. Hypoxia (2%) induces hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) activity followed by strong EPO expression in mixed cultures and weak expression in neuron-rich cultures as documented by both western blot and RT–PCR. Immunoreactive EPO was strongly detected in astrocytes, whereas EPOR was only detected in neurons. Neurons were significantly damaged in neuron-rich cultures but were distinctly rescued in mixed cultures. Application of recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) (0.1 U/mL) within 6 h before or after hypoxia significantly increased neuronal survival compared with no rhEPO treatment. Application of rhEPO after onset of reoxygenation achieved the maximal neuronal protection against ischemia/reperfusion injury (6 h hypoxia followed 24 h reoxygenation). Our results indicate that HIF-1α induces EPO gene released by astrocytes and acts as an essential mediator of neuroprotection, prove the protective role of intrinsic astrocytic-neuronal signaling pathway in hypoxic/ischemic injury and demonstrate an optimal therapeutic time-window of extrinsic rhEPO in ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro. The results point to the potential beneficial effects of HIF-1α and EPO for the possible treatment of stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibility of obtaining edge states of light that are robust against disorder by mimicking the topological properties of a solid‐state system has brought a profound impact on optical sciences. In the short‐wavelength region, X‐ray science and technology is undergoing tremendous development. It requires high‐precision optics with exquisite control of light properties and robustness against structural perturbations. Therefore, it is very attractive to extend the concept of optical topological manipulation to the X‐ray regime. Herein, the topological edge state is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated at the interface of two kinds of photonic crystals having different bandgap topological characteristics in the X‐ray regime. Remarkably, this topologically protected edge state is immune to the thickness disorder as long as the zero‐average‐effective‐mass condition is satisfied. This work extends the topological photonics to the X‐ray regime and paves the way for the development of novel X‐ray optics such as high‐resolution X‐ray filters/monochromators, or X‐ray quantum optics, to realize the phenomena such as Rabi splitting that are robust against disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on motor recovery of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been reported; however, the protocols of these studies varied greatly. The aim of this meta‐analysis was to evaluate the optimal rTMS parameters for motor recovery of PD. Methods: Electronic databases were searched for studies investigating the therapeutic effects of rTMS on motor function in patients with PD. The section III of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) was extracted as the primary outcome, and the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Results: Twenty‐three studies with a total of 646 participants were included. The pooled estimates of rTMS revealed significant short‐term (SMD, 0.37; p < 0.00001) and long‐term (SMD, 0.39; p = 0.005) effects on motor function improvement of PD. Subgroup analysis observed that high‐frequency rTMS (HF‐rTMS) was significant in improving motor function (SMD, 0.48; p < 0.00001), but low‐frequency rTMS (LF‐rTMS) was not. In particular, when HF‐rTMS targeted over the primary motor cortex (M1), in which the bilateral M1 revealed a larger effect size than unilateral M1. Compared to single‐session, multi‐session of HF‐rTMS over the M1 showed significant effect size. In addition, HF‐rTMS over the M1 with a total of 18,000–20,000 stimulation pulses yielded more significant effects (SMD, 0.97; p = 0.01) than other dosages. Conclusions: In conclusion, multi‐session of HF‐rTMS over the M1 (especially bilateral M1) with a total of 18,000–20,000 pulses appears to be the optimal parameters for motor improvement of PD. (a) rTMS improves motor recovery measured by UPDRS‐III scores in both the short‐ and long‐terms in people with PD. (b) HF‐rTMS was significantly more effective than LF‐rTMS in improving motor recovery measured by UPDRS‐III scores. (c) Multi‐session of HF‐rTMS stimulation over M1 (especially bilateral M1) with a total of 18,000–20,000 pulses appears to be the optimal parameters for achieving motor improvement in the short‐terms in people with PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Cellular vehicular‐to‐everything (C‐V2X), as a key technology of Internet of Vehicles (IoV), is promised to be enhanced and strengthened to improve road traffic safety and achieve intelligent transportation in 6G era. However, computation‐intensive and latency‐sensitive computation tasks of autonomous driving create a great challenge for the computation and storage limited vehicles. Fortunately, mobile edge computing (MEC) architecture offers a possible solution for the challenge. In this paper, a joint computation offloading and resource allocation algorithm is proposed to solve the computation tasks offloading problem in the scenario of vehicular edge computing network. First, the computation offloading and resource allocation are jointly modeled as a mixed integer nonlinear optimization problem. Aiming at minimizing the total system cost (weighted sum of delay and energy consumption), a particle encoding method and a particle refinement algorithm are proposed based on the compression factor particle swarm optimization, and multilevel penalty function is adopted to deal with the constraints of the objective. Finally, experimental performances validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]