Search

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common malignant endocrine tumour, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing considerably. Cellular heterogeneity in the tumour microenvironment is important for PTC prognosis. Spatial transcriptomics is a powerful technique for cellular heterogeneity study. Methods: In conjunction with a clinical pathologist identification method, spatial transcriptomics was employed to characterise the spatial location and RNA profiles of PTC‐associated cells within the tissue sections. The spatial RNA‐clinical signature genes for each cell type were extracted and applied to outlining the distribution regions of specific cells on the entire section. The cellular heterogeneity of each cell type was further revealed by ContourPlot analysis, monocle analysis, trajectory analysis, ligand–receptor analysis and Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Results: The spatial distribution region of tumour cells, typical and atypical follicular cells (FCs and AFCs) and immune cells were accurately and comprehensively identified in all five PTC tissue sections. AFCs were identified as a transitional state between FCs and tumour cells, exhibiting a higher resemblance to the latter. Three tumour foci were shared among all patients out of the 13 observed. Notably, tumour foci No. 2 displayed elevated expression levels of genes associated with lower relapse‐free survival in PTC patients. We discovered key ligand–receptor interactions, including LAMB3–ITGA2, FN1–ITGA3 and FN1–SDC4, involved in the transition of PTC cells from FCs to AFCs and eventually to tumour cells. High expression of these patterns correlated with reduced relapse‐free survival. In the tumour immune microenvironment, reduced interaction between myeloid‐derived TGFB1 and TGFBR1 in tumour focus No. 2 contributed to tumourigenesis and increased heterogeneity. The spatial RNA‐clinical analysis method developed here revealed prognosis‐associated cellular heterogeneity in the PTC microenvironment. Conclusions: The occurrence of tumour foci No. 2 and three enhanced ligand–receptor interactions in the AFC area/tumour foci reduced the relapse‐free survival of PTC patients, potentially leading to improved prognostic strategies and targeted therapies for PTC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper is concerned with the adaptive neural network event‐triggered control (ETC) problem for stochastic nonlinear systems with output constraint. The influence of stochastic disturbance inevitably exists in many practical systems, which leads to system instability. Meanwhile, a novel tan type barrier Lyapunov function (Tan‐BLF) structure is proposed to deal with the constraint requirements of stochastic systems. In the sense of probability, the output constraints will not be violated during the operation of the system. In addition, the ETC strategy is adopted to reduce the burden of communication. The asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system is guaranteed without violating output constraints. Meanwhile, the tracking error converges to a small region of the origin. Two simulations results demonstrate the effectiveness of theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room‐temperature sodium–sulfur batteries are potential candidate for sustainable large‐scale energy storage systems due to their high energy density and low cost. However, the shuttling effect of high‐order polysulfides (Na2Sn, 4 < n ≤ 8) usually leads to rapid capacity fading, while the reaction kinetics of low‐order polysulfides (Na2Sn, 1 ≤ n ≤ 4) are slow. In this work, microporous‐mesoporous carbon derived from mangosteen peels is reported as cathode materials for RT Na–S batteries. The designed micro‐mesoporous structure not only effectively suppresses the shuttling effect of sodium polysulfides (NaPS), but also has high electrical conductivity and porosity, which facilitates electron/ion diffusion. Oxygen functional groups on the surface provide high catalytic activity for efficient low‐order NaPS conversion. The obtained Na–S battery exhibits high reversible capacity with excellent long‐term cycle performance (526.1 mAh g−1 at 4 A g−1 after 1000 cycles) and outstanding rate performance (676.59 mAh g−1 at 16 A g−1). This work demonstrates a novel activation strategy of biomass‐derived carbons for high‐performance Na–S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning brought boosts to auto diabetic retinopathy (DR) diagnosis, thus, greatly helping ophthalmologists for early disease detection, which contributes to preventing disease deterioration that may eventually lead to blindness. It has been proved that convolutional neural network (CNN)‐aided lesion identifying or segmentation benefits auto DR screening. The key to fine‐grained lesion tasks mainly lies in: (1) extracting features being both sensitive to tiny lesions and robust against DR‐irrelevant interference, and (2) exploiting and re‐using encoded information to restore lesion locations under extremely imbalanced data distribution. To this end, we propose a CNN‐based DR diagnosis network with attention mechanism involved, termed lesion‐aware network, to better capture lesion information from imbalanced data. Specifically, we design the lesion‐aware module (LAM) to capture noise‐like lesion areas across deeper layers, and the feature‐preserve module (FPM) to assist shallow‐to‐deep feature fusion. Afterward, the proposed lesion‐aware network (LANet) is constructed by embedding the LAM and FPM into the CNN decoders for DR‐related information utilization. The proposed LANet is then further extended to a DR screening network by adding a classification layer. Through experiments on three public fundus datasets with pixel‐level annotations, our method outperforms the mainstream methods with an area under curve of 0.967 in DR screening, and increases the overall average precision by 7.6%, 2.1%, and 1.2% in lesion segmentation on three datasets. Besides, the ablation study validates the effectiveness of the proposed sub‐modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vehicular edge computing (VEC) networks, the rapid expansion of intelligent transportation and the corresponding enormous numbers of tasks bring stringent requirements on timely task offloading. However, many tasks typically appear within a short period rather than arriving simultaneously, which makes it difficult to realize effective and efficient resource scheduling. In addition, some key information about tasks could be learned due to the regular data collection and uploading processes of sensors, which may contribute to developing effective offloading strategies. Thus, in this paper, we propose a model that considers the deterministic demand of multiple tasks. It is possible to generate effective resource reservations or early preparation decisions in offloading strategies if some feature information of the deterministic demand can be obtained in advance. We formulate our scenario as a 0‐1 programming problem to minimize the average delay of tasks and transform it into a convex form. Finally, we proposed an efficient optimal offloading algorithm that uses the interior point method. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has great advantages in optimizing offloading utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Fructans in angiosperms play essential roles in physiological functions and environmental adaptations. As a major source of industrial fructans (especially inulin‐type), chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) is a model species for studying fructan biosynthesis. However, the genes underlying this process and their evolutionary history in angiosperms remain elusive.We combined multiple sequencing technologies to assemble and annotate the chicory genome and scan its (epi)genomic features, such as genomic components, DNA methylation, and three‐dimensional (3D) structure. We also performed a comparative genomics analysis to uncover the associations between key traits and gene families.We achieved a nearly complete chicory genome assembly and found that continuous bursts of a few highly active retrotransposon families largely shaped the (epi)genomic characteristics. The highly methylated genome with its unique 3D structure potentially influences critical biological processes. Our comprehensive comparative genomics analysis deciphered the genetic basis for the rich sesquiterpene content in chicory and indicated that the fructan‐accumulating trait resulted from convergent evolution in angiosperms due to shifts in critical sites of fructan‐active enzymes.The highly characterized chicory genome provides insight into Asteraceae evolution and fructan biosynthesis in angiosperms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the orthogonality, multiple orbital angular momentums (OAMs) have great potential for increasing communication capacity and improving imaging resolution. In this work, a general N‐arm Archimedean spiral antenna (ASA) synthesis method is proposed for generating broadband vortex waves carrying multiple OAMs. In the proposed method, the theoretical formulas of the whole OAM modes based on the improved current band theory for N‐arm ASA and the maximum common bandwidth of each N‐adjacent OAM mode are presented. The performance of the proposed method is verified by simulated results of three‐arm ASA, as well as simulated results and measured results of four‐arm ASA. The measured results show that the four‐arm ASA generates vortex waves carrying OAM modes of l = 0, 1, 2, 3 in 0.6–3, 1.4–3.8, 2.3–4.1 and 2.6–4.5 GHz. And the maximum common bandwidth of the four generated OAM modes is 2.6–3 GHz, which satisfies the design requirement of OAM's practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object re‐identification, such as vehicle re‐identification or pedestrian re‐identification, plays a significant role in intelligent video surveillance systems for public security. Due to viewpoint variations and appearance changes, both pedestrians and vehicles usually have complex intra‐class variations. However, most existing object re‐identification methods often use a sample‐level triplet loss function cooperating with a single‐proxy softmax loss function, which could not handle complex intra‐class variations well. In this paper, a sample‐proxy dual triplet (SPDT) loss function is proposed, which works with a multi‐proxy softmax (MPS) loss function. The MPS loss function is in charge of learning multiple proxies to represent a class. The SPDT loss function is responsible for enlarging inter‐class distances as well as shrinking intra‐class distances on both sample and proxy levels. Therefore, the method not only handles multi‐proxy intra‐class variations but also fully learns discrimination on samples and proxies. Experiments on two large datasets, that is, VeRi776 and DukeMTMC‐reID, demonstrate that the method is superior to state‐of‐the‐art object re‐identification approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: African ancestry (AA) and obesity are associated with worse survival in early‐stage breast cancer. Obesity disproportionately affects women of AA; however, the intersection between ancestry and obesity on breast cancer outcomes remains unclear. Methods: A total of 2854 patients in the adjuvant trial E5103 were analyzed. Genetic ancestry was determined using principal components from a genome‐wide array. The impact of continuous or binary body mass index (BMI) on disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated by multivariable Cox proportional hazards models in AA patients and European ancestry (EA) patients. Results: There were 2471 EA patients and 383 AA patients. Higher BMI was significantly associated with worse DFS and OS only in AA patients (DFS hazard ratio [HR], 1.25; 95% CI, 1.07‐1.46; OS HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.10‐1.73), not in EA patients (DFS HR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.90‐1.05; OS HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.93‐1.14). Severe obesity (BMI ≥40) was significantly associated with worse survival in AA patients (DFS HR, 2.04; 95% CI, 1.21‐3.43; OS HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.03‐4.75) but had no impact on that of EA patients. In the estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) and triple‐negative breast cancer subgroups, BMI was significantly associated with worse outcomes only in those AA patients with ER+ disease. Within the AA group, BMI remained associated with worse survival regardless of the AA proportion. Conclusions: Higher BMI was statistically significantly associated with worse breast cancer outcomes in AA but not EA patients. This association was most significant for severe obesity and those with ER+ disease. These observations help define optimal populations for weight change interventions designed to affect disparities and survival in early‐stage breast cancer. Lay Summary: African ancestry and obesity are both risk factors for worse survival after early‐stage breast cancer.Women of African descent are also disproportionately affected by obesity; however, it is unclear what impact body weight has on racial disparities in breast cancer.Data from a large phase 3 clinical trial in high‐risk, early‐stage breast cancer were used to determine how body weight affects survival outcomes in European versus African Americans.Study results demonstrate that a higher body mass index is associated with increased risk of breast cancer recurrence and worse survival in women of African ancestry but not in women of European ancestry. In this post hoc analysis of a large randomized clinical trial, body mass index was associated with worse disease‐free and overall survival only in patients of genetically determined African descent, with no impact on survival in those of European descent. Interventions that are focused on social determinants of health and lifestyle factors associated with weight gain in patients with high‐risk breast cancer may reduce racial disparities and improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aberrant affective neural processing and negative emotional bias are trait‐marks of major depression disorders (MDDs). However, most research on biased emotional perception in depression has only focused on unimodal experimental stimuli, the neural basis of potentially biased emotional processing of multimodal inputs remains unclear. Here, we addressed this issue by implementing an audiovisual emotional task during functional MRI scanning sessions with 37 patients with MDD and 37 gender‐, age‐ and education‐matched healthy controls. Participants were asked to distinguish laughing and crying sounds while being exposed to faces with different emotional valences as background. We combined general linear model and psychophysiological interaction analyses to identify abnormal local functional activity and integrative processes during audiovisual emotional processing in MDD patients. At the local neural level, MDD patients showed increased bias activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) while listening to negative auditory stimuli and concurrently processing visual facial expressions, along with decreased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activity in both the positive and negative visual facial conditions. At the network level, MDD exhibited significantly decreased connectivity in areas involved in automatic emotional processes and voluntary control systems during perception of negative stimuli, including the vmPFC, dlPFC, insula, as well as the subcortical regions of posterior cingulate cortex and striatum. These findings support a multimodal emotion dysregulation hypothesis for MDD by demonstrating that negative bias effects may be facilitated by the excessive ventral bottom‐up negative emotional influences along with incapability in dorsal prefrontal top‐down control system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses adaptive neural output‐feedback tracking control problem for a class of stochastic nonlinear systems with output constraint and unknown control coefficients. A state observer is designed to estimate the unmeasurable system states. Nussbaum gain technique is employed to deal with the problem of unknown control coefficients. Simultaneously, aiming at the output constraint requirements of stochastic systems, the tan‐type barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) structure is proposed. The constraint requirement on the system output trace error is not violated during the operation in the sense of probability. An adaptive output‐feedback controller is designed to ensure that the output tracking error converges to a small region of the origin. The control scheme ensures that all signals in the closed‐loop systems are semi‐global uniformly ultimately bounded. Results of simulation are presented to prove the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most economically significant Oleaceae family members, Jasminum sambac is renowned for its distinct sweet, heady fragrance. Using Illumina reads, Nanopore long reads, and HiC‐sequencing, we efficiently assembled and annotated the J. sambac genome. The high‐quality genome assembly consisted of a total of 507 Mb sequence (contig N50 = 17.6 Mb) with 13 pseudomolecules. A total of 21,143 protein‐coding genes and 303 Mb repeat sequences were predicted. An ancient whole‐genome triplication event at the base of Oleaceae (~66 million years ago [Ma], Late Cretaceous) was identified and this may have contributed to the diversification of the Oleaceae ancestor and its divergence from the Lamiales. Stress‐related (e.g., WRKY) and flowering‐related (e.g., MADS‐box) genes were located in the triplicated regions, suggesting that the polyploidy event might have contributed adaptive potential. Genes related to terpenoid biosynthesis, for example, FTA and TPS, were observed to be duplicated to a great extent in the J. sambac genome, perhaps explaining the strong fragrance of the flowers. Copy number changes in distinct phylogenetic clades of the MADS‐box family were observed in J. sambac genome, for example, AGL6‐ and Mα‐ were lost and SOC‐ expanded, features that might underlie the long flowering period of J. sambac. The structural genes implicated in anthocyanin biosynthesis were depleted and this may explain the absence of vivid colours in jasmine. Collectively, assembling the J. sambac genome provides new insights into the genome evolution of the Oleaceae family and provides mechanistic insights into floral properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Adventitious root (AR) formation is a critical factor in the vegetative propagation of forestry and horticultural plants. Competence for AR formation declines in many species during the miR156/SPL‐mediated vegetative phase change. Auxin also plays a regulatory role in AR formation. In apple rootstock, both high miR156 expression and exogenous auxin application are prerequisites for AR formation. However, the mechanism by which the miR156/SPL module interacts with auxin in controlling AR formation is unclear. In this paper, leafy cuttings of juvenile (Mx‐J) and adult (Mx‐A) phase Malus xiaojinensis were used in an RNA‐sequencing experiment. The results revealed that numerous genes involved in phytohormone signaling, carbohydrate metabolism, cell dedifferentiation, and reactivation were downregulated in Mx‐A cuttings in response to indole butyric acid treatment. Among the differentially expressed genes, an HD‐ZIP transcription factor gene, MxHB13, was found to be under negative regulation of MdSPL26 by directly binding to MxHB13 promoter. MxTIFY9 interacts with MxSPL26 and may play a role in co‐repressing the expression of MxHB13. The expression of MxTIFY9 was induced by exogenous indole butyric acid. MxHB13 binds to the promoter of MxABCB19‐2 and positively affects the expression. A model is proposed in which MxHB13 links juvenility‐limited and auxin‐limited AR recalcitrance mechanisms in Mx‐A. Significance Statement: Adventitious root (AR) formation is essential for vegetative propagation of perennial woody plants. During the juvenile‐to‐adult phase change mediated by the miR156/SPL, the AR ability decreases dramatically in many species. Auxin also plays a regulatory role in AR formation. However, the mechanism underlying how miR156/SPL module interacts with auxin to regulate AR formation is unclear. Here, we show that an HD‐ZIP transcription factor gene, MxHB13, as a direct target gene of MxSPL26. MxSPL26 interacts with an auxin‐induced MxTIFY9. MxHB13 hence integrates auxin‐regulated and juvenility‐determined control of AR in Malus xiaojinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uromodulin (Umod) is the most abundant constituent of urine in humans and exclusively found in the kidney tubular epithelium. However, the specific role of Umod in renal tubulointerstitial injury is yet to be understood. The present study was conducted with aim of investigating the potential therapeutic mechanism of Umod in the regulation of renal tubulointerstitial injury. Protein expression of Umod in renal tubular epithelial cells was measured with the conduction of Western blot analysis. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence assay were performed to detect the complement activation products and the activation products of surface deposition. The expression of C1q, C2, C4, B factor, C3, C5, H factor, CD46, CD55, C3aR, and C5aR were determined with the use of reverse‐transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. Subsequently, the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) rat model was established. Renal tubulointerstitial injury was assessed with the application of hematoxylin–eosin staining and Masson staining in rats. UUO rats and normal rats were injected with si‐NC or si‐Umod and complement inhibitor. UUO rats were observed to have serious impairment of kidney tubule, renal tubular dilation, and epithelial atrophy, with downregulated Umod and activated complement pathway. Silencing of Umod resulted in the activation of complement system while promoting interstitial fibrosis in renal tubules. Moreover, addition of complement inhibitor significantly alleviated the renal tubule injury and fibrosis. Collectively, our study suggests that silencing of Umod mediates the complement pathway, exacerbating renal tubulointerstitial injury in rats, which provides insight into the development of novel therapeutic agents for renal tubulointerstitial injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This work intends to develop an online experimental system for screening of deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination in whole wheat meals by visible/near‐infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy and computer vision coupling technology. Spectral and image information of samples with various DON levels was collected at speed of 0.15 m s−1 on a conveyor belt. The two‐type data were then integrated and subjected to chemometric analysis. Discriminant analysis showed that samples could be classified by setting 1000 μg kg−1 as the cut‐off value. The best correct classified rate obtained in prediction was 93.55% based on fusion of spectral and image features, with reduced prediction uncertainty as compared to single feature. However, quantification of DON by quantitative analysis was not successful due to poor model performance. These results indicate that, although not accurate enough to provide conclusive result, this coupling technology could be adopted for rapid screening of DON contamination in cereals and feeds during processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Retention of flesh texture attributes during cold storage is critical for the long‐term maintenance of fruit quality. The genetic variations determining flesh firmness and crispness retainability are not well understood. The objectives of this study are to identify gene markers based on quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and to develop genomics‐assisted prediction (GAP) models for apple flesh firmness and crispness retainability. Phenotype data of 2664 hybrids derived from three Malus domestica cultivars and a M. asiatica cultivar were collected in 2016 and 2017. The phenotype segregated considerably with high broad‐sense heritability of 83.85% and 83.64% for flesh firmness and crispness retainability, respectively. Fifty‐six candidate genes were predicted from the 62 QTLs identified using bulked segregant analysis and RNA‐seq. The genotype effects of the markers designed on each candidate gene were estimated. The genomics‐predicted values were obtained using pyramiding marker genotype effects and overall mean phenotype values. Fivefold cross‐validation revealed that the prediction accuracy was 0.5541 and 0.6018 for retainability of flesh firmness and crispness, respectively. An 8‐bp deletion in the MdERF3 promoter disrupted MdDOF5.3 binding, reduced MdERF3 expression, relieved the inhibition on MdPGLR3, MdPME2, and MdACO4 expression, and ultimately decreased flesh firmness and crispness retainability. A 3‐bp deletion in the MdERF118 promoter decreased its expression by disrupting the binding of MdRAVL1, which increased MdPGLR3 and MdACO4 expression and reduced flesh firmness and crispness retainability. These results provide insights regarding the genetic variation network regulating flesh firmness and crispness retainability, and the GAP models can assist in apple breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine carcinoma, with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounting for 80%‐90% of thyroid cancers. Accumulating studies reported that mitochondria plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation. ALDH5A1, may function as an oncogene or tumour suppressor in various human cancers, and the role of ALDH5A1 in PTC is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of ALDH5A1 expression and its functions in PTC. In this present study, we studied ALDH5A1 expression on primary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Results showed that the levels of ALDH5A1 were found positively correlated with tumour stage, metastasis, lymph node stage, and higher levels of ALDH5A1 demonstrated poor disease‐free survival (DFS). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) revealed that significantly higher expression of ALDH5A1 was found in PTC tissues. On the other hand, knockdown of ALDH5A1 significantly inhibited PTC cell proliferation, migration and invasion detection found the migration and invasion of cells also were hindered when ALDH5A1 level was reduced. The knockdown of ALDH5A1 inhibited the expression of Vimentin and promoted the expression of E‐cadherin. In brief, knockdown of ALDH5A1may act as a novel molecular target for the prevention and treatment of PTC. Significance of the study: The present study focused on the role and the potential mechanism of ALDH5A1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma. We demonstrated that reduced expression of ALDH5A1 might inhibit the progression of TC by inhibiting cell proliferation, migration and invasion and reversing epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT). The findings ensured the interaction relation between ALDH5A1 and EMT in PTC, providing a novel biological marker for PTC and enriching the potential strategies for TC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stable solid acid catalyst, SCPR140‐1, was synthesized from chloromethyl polystyrene resin (CPR) and used for catalytic pretreatment of corncob in aqueous solution. Under the optimized pretreatment condition, 73.07 % of xylose was directly obtained, and the enzymatic digestibility of treated residue reached up to 94.65 %, indicating that the SCPR140‐1 had high selectivity for xylose production and effectively deconstructed the structure of corncob. The −CH2Cl group of CPR was substituted by −SO3H through the sulfonation, and the −SO3H was stably bound on the catalyst during the pretreatment process. Compared with other similar reports, the SCPR140‐1 was not only synthesized through a simpler process but also had a more stable catalytic activity during multiple recycling runs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functionalizing carbon cathode surfaces with oxygen functional groups is an effective way to simultaneously tailor the fundamental properties and customize the electrochemical properties of aqueous Zn‐ion hybrid capacitors. In this work, the oxygen functional groups of chemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are systematically regulated via a series of reductants and varied experimental conductions. Carboxyl and carbonyl have been proven to significantly enhance the aqueous electrolyte wettability, Zn‐ion chemical adsorption, and pseudocapacitive redox activity by experimental study and computational analysis. The rGO cathode produced through hydrogen peroxide assisted hydrothermal reduction exhibits a specific capacitance of 277 F g−1 in 1 m ZnSO4 after optimization of surface oxygen functional groups. In addition, a quasi‐solid‐state flexible Zn‐ion hybrid capacitor (ZHC) with a polyacrylamide gel electrolyte and a high loading mass of 5.1 mg cm−2 are assembled. The as‐prepared quasi‐solid state ZHC can offer a superior areal capacitance of 1257 mF cm−2 and distinguished areal energy density of 342 µW h cm−2. The significant enhancement of redox activity and Zn‐ion storage capability by regulating the oxygen functional groups can shed light on the promotion of electrochemical charge storage properties even beyond protic electrolyte systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary In2O3−Ag−TiO2 composites based on anatase TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTs) were synthesized to extend the light responsive region, enhance the visible light absorption, reduce the recombination rate of charge carriers and promote the efficiency of water splitting for H2 evolution. Highly ordered TNTs were first prepared by electrochemical anodization of Ti sheets. Ag nanoparticles with a diameter of about 20 nm were then uniformly deposited inside and on the orifice of the TNTs. In2O3 nanoparticles synthesized through a solvent‐thermal method were subsequently modified on the Ag−TNTs using an ultrasound‐assisted electrophoresis method. In2O3−Ag−TNTs composites exhibited enhanced visible light absorption and photocurrent when compared to binary Ag−TNTs and In2O3−TNTs. As a result, the optimal hydrogen generation rate using the In2O3−Ag−TNTs composite under visible light irradiation was 1.92 μmol cm−2 h−1, 5 times higher than that of the pure TNTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tremendous demand for wearable electronic systems drives increasing efforts devoted to research on portable electrochemical energy storage devices. Thanks to the environmental benignity, highly intrinsic safety and low cost, zinc‐ion based charge storage systems have attracted extensive attention recently. Zinc‐ion hybrid capacitors (ZHCs) stand for the electrochemical energy storage system with a capacitive electrode as cathode and a zinc metal as the anode. In this minireview, we summarize the history of aqueous ZHCs and present a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in the structure design, charge storage mechanisms and electrochemical properties of the cathode, anode, as well as the electrolytes and their effects on the electrochemical performance of final ZHCs. In the end, the current challenges and our perspectives on the future trends of this field are also briefly anticipated. The pertinent insights into the challenges on the electrodes and electrolyte systems could also shed some lights on other aqueous electrolyte based electrochemical charge storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the flavor changes of industrial stir‐frying mutton sao zi, a mutton product popular in the northwest of China, at different stir‐frying stages. Electronic nose (E‐nose) was used to recognize mutton sao zi odors at different processing time points, and the individual volatile compounds were further identified by the solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). A total of 105 volatile compounds were detected by GC‐MS, of which 51 were major volatile compounds. Additionally, GC‐MS and E‐nose data of the samples were also correlated with the fatty acids, crude composition (moisture, fat, protein), and amino acids. The stir‐frying time and temperature may be the critical contributors to different flavors of industrial stir‐frying mutton sao zi. The signal intensities of W1S, W1W, W2S, W2W, and W3S sensors positively correlate with protein, fat, and 18 amino acids, but negatively with SFA and moisture. Hence, this study explored the flavor changes of industrial stir‐frying mutton sao zi by E‐nose and SPME‐GC‐MS for the first time, providing an insight into the industrial production and flavor control stir‐frying machine of stir‐frying mutton products with household flavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging leads to a number of disorders caused by cellular senescence, tissue damage, and organ dysfunction. It has been reported that anti‐inflammatory and insulin‐sensitizing compounds delay, or reverse, the aging process and prevent metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative disease, and muscle atrophy, improving healthspan and extending lifespan. Here we investigated the effects of PPARγ agonists in preventing aging and increasing longevity, given their known properties in lowering inflammation and decreasing glycemia. Our molecular and physiological studies show that long‐term treatment of mice at 14 months of age with low doses of the PPARγ ligand rosiglitazone (Rosi) improved glucose metabolism and mitochondrial functionality. These effects were associated with decreased inflammation and reduced tissue atrophy, improved cognitive function, and diminished anxiety‐ and depression‐like conditions, without any adverse effects on cardiac and skeletal functionality. Furthermore, Rosi treatment of mice started when they were 14 months old was associated with lifespan extension. A retrospective analysis of the effects of the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone (Pio) on longevity showed decreased mortality in patients receiving Pio compared to those receiving a PPARγ‐independent insulin secretagogue glimepiride. Taken together, these data suggest the possibility of using PPARγ agonists to promote healthy aging and extend lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article is concerned about an adaptive dynamic surface control (DSC) of output constrained stochastic nonlinear systems with unknown control directions and unmodeled dynamics. Nonlinear mapping‐based backstepping control design is presented for stochastic nonlinear systems with output constraint. The explosion of complexity exists in tradition backstepping method is avoided by using the DSC technique. The radial basis function neural networks are employed to deal with unknown nonlinear functions. Nussbaum gain technique is employed to handle the unknown control directions. And a dynamic signal is employed to dominate the unmodeled dynamics. The adaptive controller is designed can ensure that the tracking error converges on a small region of the origin. And all signals of the closed‐loop systems are semiglobal uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, the results of the simulation cases are provided to show the effectivity of the designed controller scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 13 (ADAMTS13) was mainly generated and secreted from endothelial cells (ECs). Our previous study showed that tryptophan (Trp) residues at 387 and 390 in ADAMTS13 are required for its secretion and enzymatic activity. However, the effects on its host cell as well as the potential mechanism have not been clear. The aim of the study was to examine the effects of Trp residues 387 and 390 of ADAMTS13 on the biological processes of ECs. Herein, Trp was substituted with alanine in ADAMTS13 to generate ADAMTS13 mutants at 387 (W387A), 390 (W390A), and double mutants at 387 and 390 (2WA), respectively. We found that substitution mutation impaired vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion and the downstream JAK1/STAT3 activation, the binding ability to Von Willebrand factor, cell proliferation, migration, and vascular tube formation. Overall, our study concluded that Trp387 and Trp390 of ADAMTS13 play vital roles in the biological function of ECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Neuroinflammation is one of the most important processes in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Sensory disturbances are common in patients with PD, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. This study aimed to characterize the activation of Schwann cells (SCs) and the increase of expression of inflammatory cytokines IL‐1β, IL‐6, and TNF‐α in the sural nerve of PD, and further explore whether peripheral nerve inflammation is the cause of PD sensory disturbances. Methods: A total of 14 patients with PD (including 5 with sensory disturbances and 9 without sensory disturbances) and 6 controls were included. The excitation and conduction function of sural nerve was detected by sural nerve electrophysiological examination. With sural nerve biopsy samples, ultrastructural changes of sural nerve were observed by electron microscopy; Schwann cell biomarker glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and inflammatory cytokines including interleukin‐1beta (IL‐1β), interleukin 6 (IL‐6), and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the outcome of immunostaining slice was semiquantitatively counted; double immunofluorescence was used to identify the locus immunoreactive for inflammatory cytokines. Results: Compared with healthy controls, nerve conduction velocity (NCV) slowed down and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude decreased in PD patients, accompanied by axonal degeneration and demyelinating lesions, and expression of GFAP and inflammatory cytokines was increased. Inflammatory cytokines were significantly colocalized with GFAP and slightly colocalized with NF. These indicators did not differ significantly between PD patients with and without sensory disturbances. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that peripheral sensory nerve injury exists in PD patients, accompanied by Schwann cell activation and inflammation, thus demonstrate peripheral nerve inflammation participates in the pathophysiological process of PD but it is not necessarily related to the patient's sensory disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Common oil‐in‐water plant‐based emulsions are allergenic and unstable to environmental stress, leading to increased consumer concerns about the food industry. To solve the problem of safety and instability, we investigated the influence of environmental stress on the stability of emulsions containing various rice protein hydrolysates, and compared the performance to whey protein, a common food emulsifier. RESULTS: Rice protein hydrolysates were obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis with different proteases (neutrase, trypsin and alcalase). We evaluated the stability of emulsions produced with different hydrolysates according to storage, pH, ionic strength and thermal processing. Trypsin hydrolysates formed emulsion as stable as emulsion containing whey protein against a range of environmental stress containing pH (pH 6 to 7), salt (< 150 mmol L–1 NaCl) and temperature (30–90 °C). Moreover, a higher partition coefficient of protein in emulsion showed that the trypsin hydrolysates were easy to adsorb at the oil–water droplet interface, indicating its higher stability. CONCLUSION: The results obtained in the present study suggest that trypsin hydrolysates could be utilized as natural emulsifiers to stabilize emulsion instead of traditional animal‐based emulsifiers, opening many opportunities with respect to hypoallergenic emulsion systems in the food industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are recurrent diseases that are widespread in the tropics. Here, we identified candidate genes associated with these diseases by performing integrated analyses of DF (GSE51808) and DHF (GSE18090) microarray datasets in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). In all, we identified 7635 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DF and 8147 DEGs in DHF as compared to healthy controls (P < 0.05). In addition, we discovered 215 differentially expressed long non‐coding RNAs (DElncRNAs) in DF and 225 DElncRNAs in DHF. There were 1256 common DEGs and eight common DElncRNAs in DHF vs DF, DHF vs normal control, and DF vs normal control groups. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that signal transduction (false discovery rate = 8.33E‐10), 'toxoplasmosis', and 'protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum' were significantly enriched pathways for common DEGs. We conclude that the MAGED1,STAT1, and IL12A genes may play crucial roles in DF and DHF, and suggest that our findings may facilitate the identification of biomarkers and the development of new drug design strategies for DF and DHF treatment. The genes encoding MAGED1, STAT1, and IL12A were identified as playing roles in dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. This finding may facilitate the identification of biomarkers and development of new drug design strategies for dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Functional deficiency of A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS)13 causally assists in the pathology of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Previous study showed that the WXXW motif is very important to the enzymatic activity of ADAMTS13. However, the functional role for a single amino acid residue within WXXW motif is still undetermined. Here, Trp390 residue within WXXW motif was substituted with Ala to generate Trp390Ala (W390A) mutant ADAMTS13. We found that W390A mutant ADAMTS13 had impaired binding affinity to its substrate Von Willebrand factor (VWF). Moreover, W390A mutant retarded ADAMTS13 secretion, leading to its deposition in endoplasmic reticulum. Compared with the wild type ADAMTS13, W390A mutant also had a decreased cleavage activity for multimeric VWF under both static and shear stress conditions. These data indicate that Trp390 residue within the WXXW motif is required for ADAMTS13 secretion and enzymatic activity, which provide insight into understanding the pathological basis of TTP and opens new avenues for exploring potential treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The aim of the study was to develop a multiangle discrimination method which combines mineral elements with volatile compounds to identify the geographical origin of rice. The levels of twenty‐four elements and characteristic volatile compositions of rice samples from different growing area (Panjin, Wuchang and Sheyang city of China) were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP‐MS) and electronic nose (E‐nose), respectively. The obtained data were subject to the analysis of variance ( anova), principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The twenty elements including B, Mg, Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Ga, As, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Pb, Bi and Tl and eleven sensors including LY2/LG,LY2/G, LY2/AA, LY2/GH, LY2/gCTL, LY2/gCT, P10/1, T30/1,T70/2, P10/2 and PA/2 were mainly contributed to discriminate the origin of the rice, and the average classification accuracy was 93.5%. Compared with one‐dimensional discrimination method, the multiangle analytical method of combining mineral elements with volatile compounds significantly improved the discrimination accuracy of origin of rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Many efforts have been made to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to facilitate practical marker‐assisted selection (MAS) in plants. In the present study, using MapQTL and BSA‐seq (bulk segregant analysis using next generation sequencing) with two independent pedigree‐based populations, we identified four major genome‐wide QTLs responsible for apple fruit acidity. Candidate genes were screened in major QTL regions, and three functional gene markers, including a non‐synonymous A/G single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the coding region of MdPP2CH, a 36‐bp insertion in the promoter of MdSAUR37 and a previously reported SNP in MdALMTII, were validated to influence the malate content of apple fruits. In addition, MdPP2CH inactivated three vacuolar H+‐ATPases (MdVHA‐A3, MdVHA‐B2 and MdVHA‐D2) and one aluminium‐activated malate transporter (MdALMTII) via dephosphorylation and negatively influenced fruit malate accumulation. The dephosphotase activity of MdPP2CH was suppressed by MdSAUR37, which implied a higher hierarchy of genetic interaction. Therefore, the MdSAUR37/MdPP2CH/MdALMTII chain cascaded hierarchical epistatic genetic effects to precisely determine apple fruit malate content. An A/G SNP (−1010) on the MdMYB44 promoter region from a major QTL (qtl08.1) was closely associated with fruit malate content. The predicted phenotype values (PPVs) were estimated using the tentative genotype values of the gene markers, and the PPVs were significantly correlated with the observed phenotype values. Our findings provide an insight into plant genome‐based selection in apples and will aid in conducting research to understand the fundamental physiological basis of quantitative genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podoplanin (PDPN) is expressed on many tumors and is involved in tumor metastasis. The objective of the present study was to develop an ELISA for determining soluble PDPN (sPDPN) levels as a potential novel tumor marker in plasma of patients with cancers for detection of tumor occurrence and metastasis. Mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against human PDPN were developed and characterized. Two anti‐PDPN mAb, SZ‐163 and SZ‐168, were used in a sandwich ELISA to detect plasma sPDPN in patients with cancers and in normal individuals. The levels of sPDPN were detected in patients with adenocarcinoma (87 cases, 31.09 ± 5.48 ng/ml), squamous cell carcinoma (86 cases, 6.91 ± 0.59 ng/ml), lung cancer (45 cases, 26.10 ± 7.62 ng/ml), gastric cancer (38 cases, 23.71 ± 6.90 ng/ml) and rectal cancer (27 cases, 32.98 ± 9.88 ng/ml), which were significantly higher than those in normal individuals (99 cases, 1.31 ± 0.13 ng/ml) (P < .0001). Moreover, the sPDPN levels in patients with metastatic cancers were higher (192 cases, 30.35 ± 3.63 ng/ml) than those in non‐metastatic cancer patients (92 cases, 6.28 ± 0.77 ng/ml) (P < .0001). The post‐treatment sPDPN levels of cancer patients (n = 156) (4.47 ± 0.35 ng/ml) were significantly lower compared with those seen pre‐treatment (n = 128) (43.74 ± 4.97 ng/ml) (P < .0001). These results showed that an ELISA method was successfully established for quantitation of plasma sPDPN and plasma sPDPN levels correlate significantly with tumor occurrence and metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valsa canker is a destructive fungal disease for the apple industry, especially in Asian regions. Here, individuals in 'Jonathan' × 'Golden Delicious' hybrid population were phenotyped by off situ inoculation with Valsa mali isolates 03-8 and xc56 from 2012 to 2015. Thirty-one QTLs for the resistance were detected using high-density genetic maps. Based on year-stable and isolate-robust QTLs, resistant loci G13-1 and G13-2 were mapped on chromosome 13 of the male parent, meanwhile locus J15-1 was mapped on chromosome 15 of the female parent. Using the parental whole-genome resequencing SNP databases, eighteen SNPs that could change predicted cis-elements of gene or led to non-synonymous substitution were screened in the three loci. After segregation analysis in hybrids and gene expression verification, three SNPs in an RNA-binding protein gene, a serine/threonine-protein kinase gene and a MYB transcription factor gene showed a close relationship to Valsa canker resistance in apple. These results will be useful for the application of marker-assisted selection for Valsa canker resistance in apple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prominent current hypothesis is that impaired metal ion homeostasis may contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD). We elucidate the interaction of Cu2+ with wild-type (WT) Aβ1-40 and the genetic variants A2T and A2V which display increasing pathogenicity as A2T

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide, has been increasing. In terms of pathological changes, NAFLD can be divided into simple steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver cirrhosis. Hepatocyte damage and inflammatory activity are the main characteristics for evaluating the progress of liver disease. Early and effective diagnosis of the disease is quite important. Pathological findings based on liver biopsy or resected specimens are considered the gold standard for diagnosing and staging steatosis, fibrosis and cirrhosis; however, it is invasive and may lead to related complications. Non-imaging methods such as clinical features and biochemical tests, and imaging methods such as ultrasonography, FibroScan, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are the commonly used noninvasive alternatives, being relatively novel, safe and reliable. In this review, we summarized the benefits and shortcomings of these non-invasive methods for the evaluation of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrolysis of earth ‐ abundant wood yields to ultra ‐ thick, low ‐ tortuosity, and mesoporous carbon anodes for sodium ‐ ion batteries. Such a low ‐ tortuosity and porous structure promotes electrolyte diffusion and provides fast transport channels for Na ions, which ENables a high areal capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has focused on the ways that eating disorder processes and adult couple dynamics influence one another. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reciprocal influence of couple dynamics and eating disorder illness and recovery processes. We conducted 51 interviews with 17 couples where one member identified as currently suffering or having recovered from an eating disorder. Using grounded theory analytical methods, findings include the systemic interplay of the eating disorder and relationship, both partners' perspectives on the eating disorder and its role in the relationship, the noneating disorder partner's impact on the eating disorder, and coping strategies for recovery as a couple. Clinical implications for supporting couples experiencing eating disorder illness and recovery are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted MRI can simultaneously measure diffusion and perfusion characteristics in a non-invasive way. This study aimed to determine the potential utility of IVIM in characterizing brain diffusion and perfusion properties for clinical stroke. The multi- b-value diffusion-weighted images of 101 patients diagnosed with acute/subacute ischemic stroke were retrospectively evaluated. The diffusion coefficient D, representing the water apparent diffusivity, was obtained by fitting the diffusion data with increasing high b-values to a simple mono-exponential model. The IVIM-derived perfusion parameters, pseudodiffusion coefficient D*, vascular volume fraction f and blood flow-related parameter fD*, were calculated with the bi-exponential model. Additionally, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was fitted according to the mono-exponential model using all b-values. The diffusion parameters for the ischemic lesion and normal contralateral region were measured in each patient. Statistical analysis was performed using the paired Student t-test and Pearson correlation test. Diffusion data in both the ischemic lesion and normal contralateral region followed the IVIM bi-exponential behavior, and the IVIM model showed better goodness of fit than the mono-exponential model with lower Akaike information criterion values. The paired Student t-test revealed significant differences for all diffusion parameters (all P < 0.001) except D* ( P = 0.218) between ischemic and normal areas. For all patients in both ischemic and normal regions, ADC was significantly positively correlated with D (both r = 1, both P < 0.001) and f ( r = 0.541, P < 0.001; r = 0.262, P = 0.008); significant correlation was also found between ADC and fD* in the ischemic region ( r = 0.254, P = 0.010). For all pixels within the region of interest from a representative subject in both ischemic and normal regions, ADC was significantly positively correlated with D (both r = 1, both P < 0.001), f ( r = 0.823, P < 0.001; r = 0.652, P < 0.001) and fD* ( r = 0.294, P < 0.001; r = 0.340, P < 0.001). These findings may have clinical implications for the use of IVIM imaging in the assessment and management of acute/subacute stroke patients. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A planar microbattery that enables various in situ measurements of lithiation of 2D materials on the individual‐flake scale is developed. A large conductivity increase of thick MoS2 crystallite lithiation due to the formation of a percolative Mo nanoparticle network embedded in a Li2S matrix is observed. The nanoscale study leads to the development of a novel charging strategy for batteries that largely improves the capacity and cycling performance confirmed in bulk MoS2/Li coin cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

F-modified C-doped TiO2 composites (CF-TiO2) were synthesized via a simple sol-gel method by using NaF as the fluorine source followed by heat treatment at 700 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. The as-prepared CF-TiO2 composites were characterized via transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N2 sorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. Carbon was doped into the anatase titania lattice, and the surface of C-doped TiO2 were modified by fluorine species. The CF-TiO2 composite showed excellent photocatalytic activity in degrading methylene blue under sunlight and simulated sunlight irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microfibers with conductivity of 649 ± 60 S/cm are introduced through a carbonization of well-aligned graphene oxide (GO) - nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) hybrid fibers. GO acts as a template for NFC carbonization, which changes the morphology of carbonized NFC from microspheres to sheets while improving the carbonization of NFC. Meanwhile, the carbonized NFC repairs the defects of reduced GO (rGO) and links rGO sheets together. The GO templated carbonization of NFC as well as the alignment of the building blocks along the fiber direction leads to excellent conductivity. Conductive microfibers are evaluated as lithium ion battery anodes, which can be applied in wearable electronics. This approach to make conductive microfibers and the low cost raw materials used in this work may be applied to other carbon based conductive structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ordered-subsets expectation maximization algorithm (OSEM) is introduced to X-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) and studied; here, simulations and experimental results are presented. The simulation results indicate that OSEM is more accurate than the filtered back-projection algorithm, and it can efficiently suppress the deterioration of image quality within a large range of angular sampling intervals. Experimental results of both an artificial phantom and cirrhotic liver show that with a satisfying image quality the angular sampling interval could be improved to save on the data-acquisition time when OSEM is employed. In addition, with an optimum number of subsets, the image reconstruction time of OSEM could be reduced to about half of the time required for one subset. Accordingly, it can be concluded that OSEM is a potential method for fast and accurate XFCT imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of efficient chemical methods for total synthesis or semisynthesis of integral membrane proteins is an important challenge at the interface between chemistry and biology. This review outlines the recent advances in the synthesis of integral membrane proteins, with particular focus on the methods for difficult peptide synthesis, purification, and enhancement of peptide solubility under the ligation conditions. The applications of these methods to the synthesis of integral membrane proteins with one or multiple transmembrane domains are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]