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Altered oceanic crust (AOC) is the largest contributor to the subducted sulfur (S) budget and its recycling modulates the redox evolution and S distribution in the mantle. However, the role of AOC in the deep cycling of S remains poorly constrained. Here we probe the primary S isotopes of Cenozoic intraplate basalts in eastern China by investigating sulfide inclusions in magmatic clinopyroxene megacrysts. These basalts were derived from the deep mantle metasomatized by melts derived from recycled AOC but show MORB‐like S isotopes (−0.9–0.9‰), suggesting that AOC‐derived melts transfer negligible sulfate and hardly change the δ34S and redox state of the deeper mantle. This contrasts with the generally high δ34S values of mantle wedge peridotites and primary arc magmas that reflect the slab addition of sulfate, indicating that S species and isotopes released from the subducted slab and associated fO2 are not constant and vary with subduction depth. Plain Language Summary: Subduction‐driven recycling of S plays a key role in the redox evolution of the mantle, the formation of ore deposits, and climatic impact through volcanic emission of SO2. Altered oceanic crust (AOC) is the largest contributor to the subducted S budget but the role of AOC in the deep cycling of S remains poorly constrained. Here we present high‐precision in‐situ S isotopes of sulfide inclusions in magmatic clinopyroxene megacrysts captured by Cenozoic intraplate basalts in eastern China, which were sourced from the deep mantle affected by melts derived from recycled AOC within the Pacific slab. The sulfide inclusions are not affected by magmatic differentiation or degassing and reveal the primary δ34S of intraplate basalts and their mantle sources. The mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORB)‐like δ34S values in deep mantle sources indicate that AOC‐derived melts are mainly sulfide‐saturated and could not modify the δ34S and redox state of the deep mantle significantly. This is in contrast to the high δ34S values of mantle wedge peridotites and primary arc magmas that require the addition of sulfate from the slab or sulfur disproportionation at sub‐arc depth, suggesting that S species and isotopic composition of materials released from the subducted slab vary with subduction depth. Key Points: Sulfur isotopes of sulfide inclusions in clinopyroxene megacrysts reveal the primary δ34S of intraplate basaltsDeeply subducted oceanic crust hardly changes the δ34S and redox state of the mantleSulfur species and isotopes released from the subducted oceanic slab and associated fO2 are not constant and vary with subduction depth [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsed magneto‐oscillation (PMO) has a high homogenization effect on continuous castings, but the heritability of it on hot‐rolled wire rods has not been studied. Recently, the effect of pulsed magneto‐oscillation on SCM435 cold heading steel billet and its hot‐rolled wire rod were investigated. A 180 mm × 180 mm ten‐strand continuous casting machine was used, with the first strand treated by pulsed magneto‐oscillation, and billets hot‐rolled to Φ6.5 mm wire rods. The results showed that compared with the billet without pulsed magneto‐oscillation treatment, the proportion of central equiaxed grain zone of pulsed magneto‐oscillation treated billet increased from 26.5% to 37.4%, and the secondary dendritic arm spacing of columnar was reduced. Futhermore, the segregation index ranges of Cr and Mn decreased by 47.1% and 33.3%, respectively. For the hot rolled wire rods, the solutes homogeneity and the mechanical properties of the rods produced by pulsed magneto‐oscillation treated billet were improved. And its banded structure was significantly refined, where the maximum band width was reduced from 35.4 μm to 12.3 μm. This study showed that the properties of wire rod could be significantly improved by improving the homogeneity of the casting billet by pulsed magneto‐oscillation, and a good histogenetic effect was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of extreme precipitation patterns from 1971 to 2015 in Nepal, a data scarce, but "hot spot" region in global climate change. We compare in‐situ observations and gridded precipitation data from the Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Toward Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE). Using 11 precipitation indices, we show that high‐intensity (RX1day, R95pTOT, R99pTOT) and frequency‐related indices (R10 mm, R20 mm) have decreased but annual maximum consecutive dry and wet days have increased. Observations affirm these trends found by the APHRODITE, but show smaller magnitudes likely due to differences in measurements at locations made below the 3,000 m elevation line. Spatially, the relatively dry western region has become wetter, and the relatively wet eastern region has become drier post‐2003. The weakening of the South Asia Monsoon circulation, particularly assessed by the Webster and Yang Monsoon Index, correlates strongly with extreme precipitation indices. Changes in upper‐level jet and associated lower‐level monsoon trough are identified as critical factors influencing the extreme precipitation trend post‐2003. This study is the first to confirm the efficacy of APHRODITE in providing spatial and temporal precipitation patterns in a data‐limited region. We conclude that monsoon weakened circulations and changes in regional wind fields play dominant roles in the long‐term temporal and spatial trends of extreme precipitation in Nepal. The reduced precipitation extremes in the wet eastern region may somewhat lessen severe flooding and erosion, but the drier western region may face heightened risks in precipitation‐related hazards in Nepal. Plain Language Summary: Precipitation is one of the most important components of the Earth's water cycles but is least predictable locally amid global climate change. Understanding the historical dynamics of extreme precipitation provides critical information for developing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. This paper examines extreme precipitation patterns in Nepal from 1971 to 2015. Comparing observations on site and Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration data, the study identifies decreasing intense and frequent rainfall and increasing prolonged precipitation. On‐site data show similar trends to the integration data, but have smaller magnitudes. Post‐2003, the west and the east tend to get wetter and drier, respectively. The study links these changes to a weakened South Asia Monsoon circulation, particularly indicated by the Webster and Yang Monsoon Index. The shift in upper‐level jet and lower‐level monsoon trough are identified as key factors influencing extreme precipitation trends post‐2003. This study validates APHRODITE in data‐limited regions. The findings suggest that weakened monsoon circulations and changes in wind patterns significantly contribute to long‐term trends in extreme precipitation in Nepal. While reduced extremes in the wet eastern region may imply decreased flooding risks, but the drier western region may face increased hazards and ecosystem changes related to precipitation. Key Points: From 1971 to 2015, extreme precipitation events decreased in Nepal overall, with the west getting wetter and the east drier post‐2003The APHRODITE gridded reliably reproduces Nepal's extreme precipitationChanges in precipitation are the results of variations in monsoon intensity and shifts in wind patterns [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this study, six groups of carrots were designed and fermented using Weissella paramensenteroides MbWp142 (WP), Levilactobacillus brevis GDMCC 1.773 (LS), Leuconostoc mesenteroides GDMCC 1.774 (SE), mixed fermentation of three lactic acid bacteria (WP + LS + SE), pasteurisation group (BG) and natural fermentation group (CK). GC–MS results indicated that inoculation of WP + LS + SE increased the types and contents of flavour substances such as alcohols, esters and hydrocarbons. Compared with other experimental groups, the peak nitrite value in the LS group was lower due to the production of organic acids by lactic acid bacteria. Sensory evaluation revealed that the quality and flavour of carrot fermented by LS were superior to those fermented by SE, WP and WP + LS + SE. Therefore, Levilactobacillus brevis used as a starter for fermenting carrot can enhance product quality and reduce nitrite accumulation during fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Meat is widely regarded as the optimal source of protein for human consumption. However, meat is susceptible to spoilage and microbial contamination throughout processing, transportation and storage stages. Traditional thermal processing techniques are commonly employed in the global meat industry. While these methods ensure microbiological safety, they may also impact the sensory and functional attributes of meat products. To address these limitations, non‐thermal processing technologies are progressively replacing conventional thermal approaches. This review will primarily focus on the potential application of non‐thermal processing technologies as alternatives to traditional methods in meat and meat product processing. Various technologies exhibiting promising performance in this field will be presented. Additionally, the mechanisms, advantages and limitations of these non‐thermal technologies in recent years will be summarised, along with a discussion on the challenges and prospects they present. This study provides an overview of non‐thermal processing technology specifically applied to meat products, emphasising the underlying mechanisms associated with different approaches. By employing diverse technical combinations, it is possible to address existing processing limitations and expand their applicability range. Non‐thermal processing technology demonstrates significant potential for enhancing meat processing practices; however, concerns regarding safety aspects and limited clinical verification about to environmental pollution have impeded its widespread adoption within the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histopathology image analysis plays a crucial role in cancer diagnosis. However, training a clinically applicable segmentation algorithm requires pathologists to engage in labor‐intensive labeling. In contrast, weakly supervised learning methods, which only require coarse‐grained labels at the image level, can significantly reduce the labeling efforts. Unfortunately, while these methods perform reasonably well in slide‐level prediction, their ability to locate cancerous regions, which is essential for many clinical applications, remains unsatisfactory. Previously, CAMEL is proposed, which achieves comparable results to those of fully supervised baselines in pixel‐level segmentation. However, CAMEL requires 1280 × 1280 image‐level binary annotations for positive WSIs. Here, CAMEL2 is presented, by introducing a threshold of the cancerous ratio for positive bags, it allows one to better utilize the information, consequently enabling us to scale up the image‐level setting from 1280 × 1280 to 5120 × 5120 while maintaining accuracy. The results with various datasets demonstrate that CAMEL2, with the help of 5120 × 5120 image‐level binary annotations, which are easy to annotate, achieves comparable performance to that of a fully supervised baseline in both instance‐ and slide‐level classifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris is a typical endospore‐forming microorganism, whose spores are able to germinate in Not From Concentrate juice causing its spoilage. In this work, dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric cold plasma (DBD‐ACP) at the voltage of 30 kV was used to inactivate Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores in NFC juice (2–8 min). The results showed spores reduced nearly 3‐log CFU mL−1 after 8 min treatment, and the morphology of spores were severely disrupted, causing the release of their contents. Furthermore, proteomic analysis showed totals of 122 and 170 different expression proteins were detected in group C (control)/Ct1 (30 kV, 4 min) and C/Ct2 (30 kV, 8 min), respectively, indicating that metabolic activities of spores including amino acid and energy metabolic, protein biosynthesis, DNA replication and spore germination are inhibited. This study confirms the inactivation of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores by DBD‐ACP and provides some new perspectives on the inactivation mechanisms of spores by DBD‐ACP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sevoflurane (Sev) is a commonly used volatile anesthetic that might suppress the process of breast cancer. Also, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to partake in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Accordingly, this research was designed to investigate the mechanism of hsa_circ_0005962 on Sev‐mediated breast cancer development. Methods: Sev was applied to treat breast cancer cells. Cell proliferation ability, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were detected using Cell Counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8), 5‐ethynyl‐2′‐deoxyuridine (EdU), Transwell, and flow cytometry assay. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (Bcl‐2)‐associated X protein (Bax), and Epithelial stromal interaction 1 (EPSTI1) were assessed using western blot assay. circ_0000129, microRNA‐578 (miR‐578), and EPSTI1 levels were determined using real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). Using bioinformatics software (Circinteractome and Targetscan), the binding between miR‐578 and circ_0000129 or EPSTI1 were predicted, and proved using dual‐luciferase reporter and RNA pull‐down assay. The biological roles of circ_0000129 and Sevoflurane on tumor growth were analyzed using a xenograft tumor model in vivo. Results: Sevoflurane blocked tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and promoted apoptosis. Circ_0000129 and EPSTI1 expression were increased, and miR‐578 was decreased in breast cancer cells. Also, they presented an opposite trend in Sev‐treated tumor cells. Circ_0000129 upregulation might abolish Sev‐mediated tumor progression in vitro. Mechanically, circ_0000129 can affect EPSTI1 expression by sponging miR‐578. Sev might inhibit tumor growth by regulating circ_0000129 in vivo. Conclusion: Circ_0000129 relieved Sev‐triggered suppression impacts on breast cancer development partly via the miR‐578/EPSTI1 axis, which provides a new mechanism for studying mediated therapy of breast cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To find a rapid, scientific, rational and accurate method of allocating nursing human resources during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design: A longitudinal prospective study. Methods: Lean management tool is used to implement four‐level scheduling of nursing human resources, which is departmental level, district level, hospital level and city level, according to the daily reporting data of the whole hospital, such as Lianfan scheduling data, Dingding sensitive data and Hospital Information System daily report data. Results: Fifty batches of nursing manpower, 294 nurses and 3813 working days were deployed during the pandemic, and the nursing human resources allocation mathematical models of the hospital and all departments were constructed. Since COVID‐19 occurred, the infection rate of nurses with novel coronavirus and the mortality rate of critical patients have been keeping 0%, and the cure rate of common patients has been 100%. Conclusion: The use of lean management tool to allocate nursing human resources plays a positive role in ensuring zero infection of nurses, improving the cure rate of common patients and reducing the mortality rate of critically ill patients with COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic bone disease involving reduced bone mass. Adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) play an important role in bone regeneration. Emerging evidence suggests that methyltransferase‐like 3 (METTL3) plays a significant role in bone development and metabolism. Therefore, this study investigates changes to METTL3 in the osteogenic differentiation of adipose stem cells in osteoporotic rats (OP‐ASCs) and explores ways to enhance their osteogenic ability. Methods: An animal model of osteoporosis was established by removing both ovaries in rats. Real‐time PCR and western blotting were performed to detect the expression of METTL3 and bone‐related molecules, including runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteopontin (Opn). Furthermore, alkaline phosphatase staining was used to confirm the osteogenic potential of stem cells. Mettl3 small interfering RNA and Mettl3 overexpression lentivirus were used to assess the role of METTL3 in osteogenic differentiation of ASCs and OP‐ASCs. Results: The osteogenic differentiation capacity and Mettl3 expression significantly decreased in OP‐ASCs. Moreover, Mettl3 silencing down‐regulated the osteogenic ability of ASCs, and overexpression of Mettl3 recovered the impaired osteogenic capacity in OP‐ASCs in vitro. Conclusion: The Mettl3 expression levels and osteogenic potential of OP‐ASCs decreased. However, overexpression of METTL3 rescued the osteogenic ability of OP‐ASCs, providing a new target for treatment of osteoporotic bone defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have a superior ability to confine electromagnetic waves and enhance light-matter interactions. However, the quality-factor of quasi-BIC is extremely sensitive to structural perturbations, thus the BIC metasurfaces usually require a very-high precision nanofabrication technique that greatly restricts their practical applications. Here, distinctive 2.5D out-of-plane architectures based plasmonic symmetry protected (SP)-BIC metasurfaces are proposed, which could deliver robust quality factors even with large structural perturbations. The high-throughput fabrication of such SP-BIC metasurfaces is realized by using the binary-pore anodic aluminum oxide template technique. Moreover, the deep neural network (DNN) is adapted to conduct multiparameter fittings, where the 2.5D hetero-out-of-plane architectures with robust high quality-factors and figures of merit are rapidly predicted and fabricated. Finally, owning to its large second-order surface sensitivity, the desired 2.5D hetero-out-of-plane architecture demonstrates a detection limit of endotoxin as low as 0.01 EU mL-1, showing a good perspective of biosensors and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) are developing rapidly, due to the merits of rich resources, superior security, high theoretical capacity, and attractively low price of zinc anodes. Nevertheless, the growth of zinc dendrite and hydrogen evolution leads to the unstable and poor cycling life in ZIB systems, thus impeding the development of ZIBs. Herein, a facile polymer coating approach is applied to establish an artificial solid–electrolyte interface to restrain the frenzied growth of zinc dendrites and hydrogen evolution. The –CO–N–CO– group in polyimide (PI) has strong interaction with Zn2+. Therefore, PI coating significantly improves the wettability between anode and electrolyte and realizes rapid Zn2+ transfer kinetics. As a result, the PI‐Zn symmetrical battery not only reaches a stable cycling performance more than 900 h at 1 mA cm−2, but also owns a smaller overpotential than bare Zn. When integrating the PI‐Zn anode with a CaV8O20 cathode, the PI‐Zn//CaV8O20 battery maintains a capacity of 306.5 mA h g−1 after 2000 cycles, which is much higher than that (198 mA h g−1) of a Zn//CaV8O20 battery. This work provides a simple, yet effective method to improve the electrochemical performance of ZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc‐ion batteries are regarded as an extremely promising candidate for large‐scale energy storage equipment due to the inexpensive ingredients and high safety. However, dendrite growth and side reactions occur in the Zn anode, which lead to exceedingly low coulombic efficiency (CE) and poor cycling stability. In this work, we propose a strategy of a conductive/insulating bi‐functional coating layer (CIBL) for stable Zn metal anodes. Porous Ag nanowires (NWs) coating as a conductive layer effectively reduces the nuclear barrier and contains Zn2+ deposition in a certain space. Polyimide (PI) coatings as insulating layer implement a shunting effect on Zn2+, which could reduce the differential concentration on the Zn surface and induce uniform deposition of Zn2+. Therefore, the CIBL−Zn//CIBL−Zn battery achieves stable plating/stripping of over 1300 h at 1 mA cm−2. The CE of CIBL−Zn//CIBL−Zn battery maintains at 99.2 % even after 1000 cycles. Moreover, the CIBL−Zn//V2O5 battery exhibits a capacity of nearly 289.2 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1 after 3000 cycles and no sign of capacity degradation is found, which further demonstrate the feasibility of this strategy in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synopsis: Metastatic mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lower ureter is reported in a 55‐year‐old woman presenting with gross hematuria who was treated for cervical cancer 3 years prior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in wearable bioelectronics have driven various healthcare applications, such as the monitoring, sensing, and treating of various diseases. However, unsustainable batteries and toxic power solutions hinder their use at the skin interface or in vivo. As a promising power solution, supercapacitors have attracted the attention of researchers. However, there are still several drawbacks, such as the transparency, stretchability, biocompatibility, and flexibility of these materials, when these energy reservoirs are used as power supplies for skin‐interfaced electronics. In this work, a novel microfabrication approach for fabricating supercapacitors using anodic aluminum oxide templates is presented. In this work, a large capacitance value of 15.02 mF cm−2, as well as good transparency, stretchability, and biocompatibility are obtained. Thus, it is verified that the proposed supercapacitors are suitable as skin‐interfaced power solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The profiles of liver function abnormalities in COVID‐19 patients need to be clarified. Methods: In this retrospective study, consecutive COVID‐19 patients over 60 years old in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 1 to February 6 were included. Data of demographics, clinical characteristics, comorbidities, laboratory tests, medications and outcomes were collected and analysed. Sequential alterations of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were monitored. Results: A total of 330 patients were included and classified into two groups with normal (n = 234) or elevated ALT (n = 96). There were fewer females (40.6% vs 54.7%, P =.020) and more critical cases (30.2% vs 19.2%, P =.026) in patients with elevated ALT compared with the normal group. Higher levels of bacterial infection indices (eg, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, C‐reactive protein and procalcitonin) were observed in the elevated group. Spearman correlation showed that both ALT and AST levels were positively correlated with those indices of bacterial infection. No obvious effects of medications on ALT abnormalities were found. In patients with elevated ALT, most ALT elevations were mild and transient. 59.4% of the patients had ALT concentrations of 41‐100 U/L, while only a few patients (5.2%) had high serum ALT concentrations above 300 U/L. ALT elevations occurred at 13 (10‐17) days and recovered at 28 (18‐35) days from disease onset. For most patients, the elevation of serum ALT levels occurred at 6‐20 days after disease onset and reached their peak values within a similar time frame. The recovery of serum ALT levels to normal frequently occurred at 16‐20 days or 31‐35 days after disease onset. Conclusions: Liver function abnormalities were observed in 29.1% of elderly people COVID‐19 patients, which were slightly and transient in most cases. Liver function abnormalities in COVID‐19 may be correlated with bacterial infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are considered a cause of diabetic osteoporosis. Although adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) are widely used in the research of bone regeneration, the mechanisms of the osteogenic differentiation of ASCs from diabetic osteoporosis model remain unclear. This work aimed to investigate the influence and the molecular mechanisms of AGEs on the osteogenic potential of ASCs. Materials and methods: Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the change of AGEs in diabetic osteoporotic and control C57BL/6 mice. ASCs were obtained from the inguinal fat of C57BL/6 mice. AGEs, 5‐aza2′‐deoxycytidine (5‐aza‐dC) and DKK‐1 were used to treat ASCs. Real‐time cell analysis and cell counting kit‐8 were used to monitor the proliferation of ASCs within and without AGEs. Real‐time PCR, Western blot and Immunofluorescence were used to analyse the genes and proteins expression of osteogenic factors, DNA methylation factors and Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway among the different groups. Results: The AGEs and DNA methylation were increased in the adipose and bone tissue of the diabetic osteoporosis group. Untreated ASCs had higher cell proliferation activity than AGEs‐treatment group. The expression levels of osteogenic genes, Opn and Runx2, were lower, and mineralized nodules were less in AGEs‐treatment group. Meanwhile, DNA methylation was increased, and the Wnt signalling pathway markers, including β‐Catenin, Lef1 and P‐GSK‐3β, were inhibited. After treatment with 5‐aza‐dC, the osteogenic differentiation capacity of ASCs in the AGEs environment was restored and the Wnt signalling pathway was activated during this process. Conclusions: Advanced glycation end products inhibit the osteogenic differentiation ability of ASCs by activating DNA methylation and inhibiting Wnt/β‐catenin pathway in vitro. Therefore, DNA methylation may be promising targets for the bone regeneration of ASCs with diabetic osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As affordable equipment, electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) are wildly used in radiation therapy departments to verify patients' positions for accurate radiotherapy. However, these devices tend to produce visually ambiguous and low‐contrast planar digital radiographs under megavoltage x ray (MV‐DRs), which poses a tremendous challenge for clinicians to perform multimodal registration between the MV‐DRs and the kilovoltage digital reconstructed radiographs (KV‐DRRs) developed from the planning computed tomography. Furthermore, the existent of strong appearance variations also makes accurate registration beyond the reach of current automatic algorithms. Methods: We propose a novel modality conversion approach to this task that first synthesizes KV images from MV‐DRs, and then registers the synthesized and real KV‐DRRs. We focus on the synthesis technique and develop a conditional generative adversarial network with information bottleneck extension (IB‐cGAN) that takes MV‐DRs and nonaligned KV‐DRRs as inputs and outputs synthesized KV images. IB‐cGAN is designed to address two main challenges in deep‐learning‐based synthesis: (a) training with a roughly aligned dataset suffering from noisy correspondences; (b) making synthesized images have real clinical meanings that faithfully reflects MV‐DRs rather than nonaligned KV‐DRRs. Accordingly, IB‐cGAN employs (a) an adversarial loss to provide training supervision at semantic level rather than the imprecise pixel level; (b) an IB to constrain the information from the nonaligned KV‐DRRs. Results: We collected 2698 patient scans to train the model and 208 scans to test its performance. The qualitative results demonstrate realistic KV images can be synthesized allowing clinicians to perform the visual registration. The quantitative results show it significantly outperforms current nonmodality conversion methods by 22.37% (P = 0.0401) in terms of registration accuracy. Conclusions: The modality conversion approach facilitates the downstream MV–KV registration for both clinicians and off‐the‐shelf registration algorithms. With this approach, it is possible to benefit the developing countries where inexpensive EPIDs are widely used for the image‐guided radiation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In recent years, consumers have been demanding convenient and healthy foods which have 'fresh‐like' characteristics while still being safe and a long shelf‐life. These requirements are hard to achieve using existing traditional thermal food processing technologies and the innovative new food process and preservation technologies based on thermal processing systems are needed. However, non‐thermal technologies in food processing do not generate high temperature and use short treatment times. This means that the nutritional components of foodstuffs are better retained, and the sensory properties of foods are less changed compared with traditional thermal processing. The aim of this review was to present non‐thermal technologies applications and its mechanism in food industry in recently, and to explore the potential application prospects of combining non‐thermal treatments applied in food industry because it not only could overcomes the drawback of single technology, but also can enhances the processing efficiency at lower treatment intensity. The main nonthermal technologies were used in the food processing, and the combining non‐thermal technologies will become the research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper presents an evaluation study of the Regional Climate Model version 4.3 ( RegCM4.3) over the Loess Plateau in northern China, which is a semi-arid region characterized by complex topography. During recent years, a series of reforestation programmes have been implemented across the region that might influence the local climate in complex ways. To better understand the local climate, the RegCM4.3 was applied to simulate the present-day conditions over the Loess Plateau. The simulation was carried out from 1990 to 2009 at the 50-km horizontal resolution, with lateral boundary conditions taken from the ECMWF-Interim reanalysis. A series of climate variables and processes were evaluated during the winter and summer seasons, such as 2-m air temperature, precipitation, wind circulation, surface energy balance, full moisture budget, and cloud radiative forcing (CRF). The possible origins of the simulation bias and the physical linkages with other model processes were examined. In general, RegCM4.3 is able to reproduce both the spatial and temporal features of the regional climate over the Loess Plateau. However, there are still biases in some meteorological variables including precipitation and 2-m air temperature. In particular, the model tends to produce cold biases during winter and underestimate precipitation during summer. Further analyses indicates that the cold biases in winter may have resulted from the deficiency of the downward longwave radiation fluxes, excessive ground heat fluxes, and negative temperature advection by the seasonal mean circulation. These processes are primarily triggered by deficiencies in CRF and excessive northwesterlies over the plateau. The underestimated precipitation during summer is associated with a weak southerly monsoon in the model. A full moisture budget analysis reveals that the dry bias in this region can be mainly attributed to model deficiency in moisture advection and convergence, and to a lesser extent to that in surface evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is one of the harmful byproducts which occurs in alcohol drinks, such as Wine, Rum, Whisky, Saki and other fruit wines as a result of a spontaneous reaction between ethanol and urea in the fermentation process. In this work, the relationship between arginase CAR1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae EC1118 and EC generation in sugarcane juice fermentation was investigated. Results indicate that the content of EC can be controlled by regulating the expression of arginase CAR1 gene. Urea and arginase exhibited expression of arginase CAR1 gene, which resulted in an increase of EC content. Besides arginine and urea, the expression of arginase CAR1 gene was also significantly influenced by the content of ethanol, salt and culture temperature. Low fermentation temperature, (below 25°C) and lower ethanol and salt content showed some benefits in terms of controlling the EC content by decreasing the expression of arginase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-assembled morphologies of cyclic amphiphiles, which are composed of a long hydrophobic block and a short hydrophilic block, in selective solutions are studied by using a simulated annealing method. The morphological dependence of the aggregates on solvent quality is investigated. The topology effects are studied by comparing results from linear counterparts of the amphiphiles. It is observed that, in addition to spherical micelles, cylindrical micelles, disklike micelles, vesicles, and large compound micelles, muticompartment vesicles with several fluidic cores can be formed by the cyclic systems. The morphologies are regulated by the interaction parameter εAS between the hydrophobic block and solvents. Furthermore, it is revealed that the differences of characteristics of the self-assembled aggregates originate from the difference in architectural constraint. The wide region of forming multicompartment vesicles suggests that cyclic amphiphilic macromolecules could be a suitable candidate for applications to deliver multiple functional components by compartmentalizing different components in different confined space of vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF) treatment on the interactions between amino acids (using L-Phenylalanine: L-Phe) and sugar (using β-Cyclodextrin: β- CD) complex was analysed by fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and simultaneous thermal analyzer. Moreover, the molecular dynamics of β- CD-L-Phe inclusion complex treated by PEF was calculated by molecular modelling. The results indicated that β- CD-L-Phe complexes are formed by a molar ratio of 1:1, and the stability constant of such complexes increased from 147 to 614 M−1 by PEF treatment. Thermal characterisations of β- CD-L-Phe complexes indicated that the PEF treatment could increase the yield of complexes. The PEF treatment resulted in an increase in the reaction enthalpy of β- CD-L-Phe inclusion complexes by DSC curve. These results show that PEF treatment has the potential to promote the chemical processing, especially the small organic molecules participate in inclusion or cross-linking reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of biomimetic peptides to achieve the desired properties of natural collagen has much potential to build functional biomaterials. A collagen-peptide/Ln3+ system has been constructed and self-assembled to form helical nanoropes with a distinct periodic banding pattern characteristic of natural collagen. The fully reversible self-assembly is specifically mediated by lanthanide ions, but not by other commonly used divalent metal ions. Lanthanide ions not only provide an external biocompatible stimulus of the assembly, but also play as a functional unit to endow the assembled materials with easily tunable photoluminescence. To our knowledge, this is the first report of collagen-peptide-based materials with exquisite nanorope structure and excellent photoluminescent features. These novel luminescent nanomaterials may have great potential in cell imaging, medical diagnostics, and luminescent scaffolds for cell cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like receptor ( TLR) signalling plays an important role in regulating cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Toll-interacting protein (Tollip) is an endogenous negative modulator of TLR signalling that is involved in several inflammatory diseases. Our previous study showed that Tollip inhibits overload-induced cardiac remodelling. However, the role of Tollip in neurological disease remains unknown. In the present study, we proposed that Tollip might contribute to the progression of stroke and confirmed this hypothesis. We found that Tollip expression was significantly increased in I/R-challenged brain tissue of humans, mice and rats in vivo and in primary neurons subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation in vitro, indicating the involvement of Tollip in I/R injury. Next, using genetic approaches, we revealed that Tollip deficiency protects mice against I/R injury by attenuating neuronal apoptosis and inflammation, as demonstrated by the decreased expression of pro-apoptotic and pro-inflammatory genes and the increased expression of anti-apoptotic genes. By contrast, neuron-specific Tollip over-expression exerted the opposite effect. Mechanistically, the detrimental effects of Tollip on neuronal apoptosis and inflammation following I/R injury were largely mediated by the suppression of Akt signalling. Additionally, to further support our findings, a Tollip knockout rat strain was generated via CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene inactivation. The Tollip-deficient rats were also protected from I/R injury, based on dramatic decreases in neuronal apoptosis and ischaemic inflammation through Akt activation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that Tollip acts as a novel modulator of I/R injury by promoting neuronal apoptosis and ischaemic inflammation, which are largely mediated by suppression of Akt signalling. Copyright © 2015 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8), a transcriptional regulator in the IRF family, has been implicated in innate immunity, immune cell differentiation and tumour cell apoptosis. In the present study, we found that IRF8 is constitutively expressed in the brain and suppressed after cerebral ischaemia in a time-dependent manner. IRF8 knockout (IRF8-KO) mice, wild type (WT) mice, neuron-specific IRF8 transgenic (TG) mice and non-transgenic mice were used in a transient cerebral ischaemic model. The IRF8 knockout mice exhibited aggravated apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative injury in the ischaemic brain, eventually leading to poorer stroke outcomes, whereas neuron-specific IRF8 transgenic mice showed a marked inhibition of apoptosis and improved stroke outcomes. To model ischaemia/reperfusion conditions in vitro, primary cortical neurons were cultured and subjected to transient oxygen and glucose deprivation for 60 min. Similar to the in vivo study, IRF8 knockdown by Ad-shIRF8 resulted in increased apoptosis, whereas IRF8 over-expression by Ad-IRF8 significantly decreased neuronal apoptosis. These data indicate that IRF8 is strongly protective in ischaemic stroke by regulating neuronal apoptosis, the inflammatory response and oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stabilities of amorphous indium-zinc-oxide (IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) with back-channel-etch (BCE) structure are investigated. A molybdenum (Mo) source/drain electrode was deposited on an IZO layer and patterned by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-based etchants. Then, after etching the Mo layer, SF6 plasma with direct plasma mode was employed and optimized to improve the bias stress stability. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis revealed that the etching residues were removed efficiently by the plasma treatment. The modified BCE- TFTs showed only threshold voltage shifts of 0.25 V and -0.20 V under positive/negative bias thermal stress (P/NBTS, VGS = ±30 V, VDS = 0 V and T = 60 °C) after 12 hours, respectively. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 5 ( TRAF5) is an adaptor protein of the tumor necrosis factor ( TNF) receptor superfamily and the interleukin-1 receptor/Toll-like receptor superfamily and plays important roles in regulating multiple signaling pathways. This study was conducted to investigate the role of TRAF5 in the context of brain ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery was performed on TRAF5 knockout mice ( KO), neuron-specific TRAF5 transgene ( TG), and the appropriate controls. Compared with the WT mice, the TRAF5 KO mice showed lower infarct volumes and better outcomes in the neurological tests. A low neuronal apoptosis level, an attenuated blood-brain barrier ( BBB) disruption and an inhibited inflammatory response were exhibited in TRAF5 KO mice. TRAF5 TG mice exhibited an opposite phenotype. Moreover, the Akt/FoxO1 signaling pathway was enhanced in the ischemic brains of the TRAF5 KO mice. These results provide the first demonstration that TRAF5 is a critical mediator of I/R injury in an experimental stroke model. The Akt /FoxO1 signaling pathway probably plays an important role in the biological function of TRAF5 in this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 834-843. Abstract Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase substrate-1 (SHPS-1), also known as Signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) or SIRPA is a transmembrane protein that is predominantly expressed in neurons, dendritic cells, and macrophages. This study was conducted to investigate the role of SHPS-1 in the oxidative stress and brain damage induced by acute focal cerebral ischemia. Wild-type (WT) and SHPS-1 mutant (MT) mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (60 min) followed by reperfusion. SHPS-1 MT mice had significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurological function after brain ischemia. In addition, neural injury and oxidative stress were inhibited in SHPS-1 MT mice. The mRNA and protein levels of the antioxidant genes nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 were up-regulated in SHPS-1 MT mice. The SHPS-1 mutation suppressed the phosphorylation of SHP-1 and SHP-2 and increased the phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3β. These results provide the first demonstration that SHPS-1 plays an important role in the oxidative stress and brain injury induced by acute cerebral ischemia. The activation of Akt signaling and the up-regulation of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase 1 likely account for the protective effects that were observed in the SHPS-1 MT mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, the plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) technique was used to fabricate (Ti, O)/Ti or (Ti, O, N)/Ti coatings on a NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA, 50.8 at.% Ni) to improve its corrosion, wear resistance, and bioactivity. After coating fabrication, the structure and properties of composite coatings were studied, and the coated and uncoated NiTi SMA samples were compared with each other. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination of coating surfaces and cross-sections showed that (Ti, O)/Ti and (Ti, O, N)/Ti composite coatings were dense and uniform, having thickness values of 1.16 ± 0.08 μm and 0.95 ± 0.06 μm, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that there were no diffraction peaks corresponding to TiO2 or TiN for (Ti, O)/Ti and (Ti, O, N)/Ti composite coatings, suggesting that after the PIIID treatment, TiO2 and TiN were amorphous or nanosized in the coatings. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicated that the interface between the coating and NiTi SMA substrate was gradual rather than sharp. In addition, EDX elemental mapping of coating cross-sections showed that Ni was depleted from the surface. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves revealed that the shape memory ability of NiTi SMA was not degraded by the PIIID treatment. The width of wear tracks on (Ti, O, N)/Ti coated NiTi SMA samples was reduced 6.5-fold, in comparison with that on uncoated samples. The corrosion potential ( E corr) was improved from −466.20 ± 37.82 mV for uncoated samples to 125.50 ± 21.49 mV and −185.40 ± 37.05 mV for (Ti, O)/Ti coated and (Ti, O, N)/Ti coated samples, respectively. Both types of coatings facilitated bone-like apatite formation on the surface of NiTi SMA in simulated body fluid (SBF), indicating their in vitro bioactivity. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Tetrandrine, a well-known naturally occurring calcium antagonist with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-fibrogenetic activities, has long been used clinically for treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and arrhythmia. However, little is known about the effect of tetrandrine on cardiac hypertrophy. The aims of the present study were to determine whether tetrandrine could attenuate cardiac hypertrophy and to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms.Experimental Approach: Tetrandrine (50 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) was administered by oral gavage three times a day for one week and then the mice were subjected to either chronic pressure overload generated by aortic banding (AB) or sham surgery (control group). Cardiac function was determined by echocardiography.Key Results: Tetrandrine attenuated the cardiac hypertrophy induced by AB, as assessed by heart weight/body weight and lung weight/body weight ratios, cardiac dilatation and the expression of genes of hypertrophic markers. Tetrandrine also inhibited fibrosis and attenuated the inflammatory response. The cardioprotective effects of tetrandrine were mediated by blocking the increased production of reactive oxygen species and the activation of ERK1/2-dependent nuclear factor-kappaB and nuclear factor of activated T cells that occur in response to hypertrophic stimuli.Conclusions and Implications: Taken together, our results suggest that tetrandrine can improve cardiac function and prevent the development of cardiac hypertrophy by suppressing the reactive oxygen species-dependent ERK1/2 signalling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cholinergic innervation of the prefrontal cortex is critically involved in arousal, learning and memory. Dysfunction of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and their downstream signalling pathways has been identified in mental retardation. To assess the role played by the muscarinic receptors at the hippocampal–frontal cortex synapses, an important relay in information storage, we used a newly developed frontal slice preparation in which hippocampal afferent fibres are preserved. Transient activation of muscarinic receptors by carbachol results in a long-lasting depression of synaptic efficacy at the hippocampal but not cortical pathways or local circuitry. On the basis of a combination of electrophysiological, pharmacological and anatomical results, this input-specific muscarinic modulation can be partially attributed to the M2 subtype of muscarinic receptors, possibly through a combination of pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Heart disorders are a major health concern worldwide responsible for millions of deaths every year. Among the many disorders of the heart, myocardial infarction, which can lead to the development of congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, or even death, has the most severe social and economic ramifications. Lack of sufficient available donor hearts for heart transplantation, the only currently viable treatment for heart failure other than medical management options (ACE inhibition, beta blockade, use of AICDs, etc.) that improve the survival of patients with heart failure emphasises the need for alternative therapies. One promising alternative replaces cardiac muscle damaged by myocardial infarction with new contractile cardiomyocytes and vessels obtained through stem cell-based regeneration. We report on the state of the art of recovery of cardiac functions by using stem cell engineering. Current research focuses on (a) inducing stem cells into becoming cardiac cells before or after injection into a host, (b) growing replacement heart tissue in vitro, and (c) stimulating the proliferation of the post-mitotic cardiomyocytes in situ. The most promising treatment option for patients is the engineering of new heart tissue that can be implanted into damaged areas. Engineering of cardiac tissue currently employs the use of co-culture of stem cells with scaffold microenvironments engineered to improve tissue survival and enhance differentiation. Growth of heart tissue in vitro using scaffolds, soluble collagen, and cell sheets has unique advantages. To compensate for the loss of ventricular mass and contractility of the injured cardiomyocytes, different stem cell populations have been extensively studied as potential sources of new cells to ameliorate the injured myocardium and eventually restore cardiac function. Unresolved issues including insufficient cell generation survival, growth, and differentiation have led to mixed results in preclinical and clinical studies. Addressing these limitations should ensure the successful production of replacement heart tissue to benefit cardiac patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effects of δ-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) on voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) currents ( INa) in acutely isolated hippocampal CA1 neurons from 10- to 12-day-old Wistar rats were examined by using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique under voltage-clamp conditions. ALA from 0.01 µ m to 20 µ m was applied to the recorded neurons. Low concentrations of ALA (0.01–1.0 µ m) increased INa amplitude, whereas high concentrations of ALA (5.0–20.0 µ m) decreased it. The average INa amplitude reached a maximum of 117.4 ± 3.9% ( n = 9, P < 0.05) with 0.1 µ m ALA, and decreased to 78.1 ± 3.8% ( n = 13, P < 0.05) with 10 µ m ALA. ALA shifted the steady-state activation and inactivation curves of INa in the hyperpolarizing direction with different V0.5, suggesting that ALA could depress the opening threshold of the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) and thus increase the excitability of neurons through facilitating the opening of VGSC. The time course of recovery from inactivation was significantly prolonged at both low and high concentrations of ALA, whereas either low or high concentrations of ALA had no significant effect on the attenuation of INa during stimulation at 5 Hz, indicating that the effect of ALA on VGSC is state-independent. Furthermore, we found that application of ascorbic acid, which blocks pro-oxidative effects in neurons, could prevent the increase of INa amplitude at low concentrations of ALA. Baclofen, an agonist of GABAb receptors, induced some similar effects to ALA on VGSC, whereas bicuculline, an antagonist of GABAa receptors, could not prevent ALA-induced effects on VGSC. These results suggested that ALA regulated VGSC mainly through its pro-oxidative effects and GABAb receptor-mediated effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]