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The great majority of microorganisms are as-yet-uncultivated, mostly found in extreme environments. High-throughput sequencing provides data-rich genomes from single-cell and metagenomic techniques, which has enabled researchers to obtain a glimpse of the unexpected genetic diversity of "microbial dark matter." However, cultivating microorganisms from extreme environments remains essential for dissecting and utilizing the functions of extremophiles. Here, we provide a straightforward protocol for efficiently isolating prokaryotic microorganisms from different extreme habitats (thermal, xeric, saline, alkaline, acidic, and cryogenic environments), which was established through previous successful work and our long-term experience in extremophile resource mining. We propose common processes for extremophile isolation at first and then summarize multiple cultivation strategies for recovering prokaryotic microorganisms from extreme environments and meanwhile provide specific isolation tips that are always overlooked but important. Furthermore, we propose the use of multi-omics-guided microbial cultivation approaches for culturing these as-yet-uncultivated microorganisms and two examples are provided to introduce how these approaches work. In summary, the protocol allows researchers to significantly improve the isolation efficiency of pure cultures and novel taxa, which therefore paves the way for the protection and utilization of microbial resources from extreme environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are regarded as promising candidates for next‐generation energy storage systems. However, the slow kinetics and shuttle effects of polysulfides hinder their practical applications. Designing high‐efficiency catalysts to enhance the kinetics and suppress shuttling is one major task for the building of durable Li–S batteries. Here, a Co/CoSe junction is reported to catalyzepolysulfide conversion efficiently because the junction has metallic electron mobility and field‐enhanced catalytic activity. The mechanistic investigation reveals that the difference in the work functions of Co and CoSe rearranges the charge distribution in the junction and strengthens the interaction between polysulfides and CoSe, thereby yielding high catalytic activity. In addition, the relative stability of CoSe, as compared to Co, renders the junction durable upon cycling; therefore, demonstrating long‐term catalytic activity. Such a junction makes full use of metal‐like conductivity and field‐enhanced catalysis and provides an alternative approach to enhancing the catalytic conversion of polysulfides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Distant metastasis (DM) and neoadjuvant treatment response prediction remain critical challenges in the management of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of viable circulating tumor cells (CTCs) for DM or response in patients with LARC in a neoadjuvant setting. Methods: The detection of viable CTCs at different stages of treatment was planned for consecutive patients from a prospective trial. The Kaplan-Meier method, Cox proportional hazards model, and logistic regression model were utilized to analyze factors associated with DM or pathological complete response (pCR) and clinical complete response (cCR). Results: Between December 2016 and July 2018, peripheral blood samples from 83 patients were collected before any treatment (median follow-up time, 49.3 months). CTCs were present in 76 of 83 patients (91.6%) at baseline, and more than three CTCs detected in the blood sample was considered high risk. Only the CTC risk group was significantly associated with 3-year metastasis-free survival (MFS) (high risk vs. low risk, 57.1% (95% CI, 41.6-72.6) vs. 78.3% (95% CI, 65.8-90.8), p = 0.018, log-rank test). When all the important variables were entered into the Cox model, the CTC risk group remained the only significant independent factor for DM (hazard ratio (HR), 2.74; 95% CI, 1.17-6.45, p = 0.021). The pCR and continuous cCR rates were higher in patients with a decreased number of CTCs of more than one after radiotherapy (HR, 4.00; 95% CI, 1.09-14.71, P = 0.037). Conclusions: The dynamic detection of viable CTCs may strengthen pretreatment risk assessment and postradiotherapy decision making for LARC. This observation requires further validation in a prospective study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diphenylphosphoryl azide ((C6H5O)2P(O)N3, DPPA) was studied by in situ Raman scattering spectroscopy and synchrotron angle‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction (ADXRD) technologies up to 11.6 GPa at room temperature. The analyses of Raman spectra revealed that the liquid DPPA transformed from Phase I to Phase II at 0.4 GPa and went to Phase III at 1.3 GPa. The first phase transition was attributed to the change of molecular conformation, and the second phase transition was induced by the deformation of benzene rings. The XRD results suggested that DPPA remained in a liquid state during the two phase transitions. The azide group became increasingly asymmetric under pressure and decomposed at 11.6 GPa. The low decomposition pressure of the azide group is conducive to the formation of polymeric nitrogen. Exploring the behaviors of the azide group under pressure might be helpful for understanding the potential application of DPPA in the synthesis of high energy density materials (HEDMs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Recent progress in colloidal synthesis has realized the preparations of uniform nanocrystal (NC) model catalysts with rich and well‐controlled morphologies that were employed to explore structure‐activity relationships of powder catalysts, similar to single‐crystal‐based model catalysts under ultrahigh vacuum conditions but can work at the same conditions as powder catalysts without the "materials gap" and "pressure gap". In this perspective, the CeO2‐based NC model catalysts with various morphologies are included and their relevant progresses are critically reviewed. The detailed descriptions of morphology‐controlled synthesis and characterizations of uniform CeO2 NCs, and morphology‐dependent catalysis of CeO2‐based NC model catalysts containing pure CeO2 NCs, CeO2‐supported oxide catalysts, and CeO2‐supported metal catalysts, provide us a comprehensive cognition in CeO2‐involved catalytic reactions and also open up a new approach for the fundamental studies of complex heterogeneous catalysis. Finally, a concept of oxide‐based NC model catalysts and outlook of oxide NCs acting not only as model catalysts for the fundamental study but also as the support in tailoring structures and optimizing performance of oxide‐involved catalysts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider the issue of energy efficient management for distributed state estimation over unknown packet-dropping communication channels which are exposed to Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. After a packet is transmitted, the sensor determines whether to retransmit and the retransmission power levels based on the feedback information from the receiving sensor. We formulate the energy efficient management problem as a modified Markov decision problem (MMDP), and proposed an algorithm to seek a retransmission power schedule that achieves optimal tradeoff between energy consumption and communication rate for given channel noise power. In the case of unknown channel state, we design a statistical learning method to estimate channel noise power. Besides, inspired by the hypothesis testing, we design an anomaly detector to guarantee the instantaneity of channel noise power estimation and efficiency of energy management. Furthermore, we derive the optimal gain for each estimator, and provide a sufficient condition for the stability of estimator under the energy management. Finally, we verify the main results by numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, grey genetic optimization model (GGOM) is proposed for predicting insufficient channel parameters without increasing the amount of measurement data. Based on the millimetre wave 28 GHz indoor measurement data for both LOS and NLOS scenarios, the GGOM model is compared with traditional back propagation (BP) and grey model (GM) to analyse channel parameters like delay spread, excess delay and azimuth spread. Results show that the fitness of GGOM is better than the grey model in improving the stability of system. It works well with insufficient data (size less than 30) in most cases as it is set regardless of the specific scene and measurement data. This is verified by QuaDRiGa platform by generating uniformly distributed and interpolated data between the experimental measurement data. GGOM fits best with the measurement data compared with other prediction methods in channel characterization. Moreover, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for GGOM is the least compared with GM and BP methods. The proposed GGOM model has good performance in modeling insufficient data of propagation channel, practically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted significant attention as porous catalyst platforms due to the synthetic modularity of these materials and the diversity of lattice‐confined catalytic active sites that are readily embedded within periodic crystalline frameworks. MOFs offer platforms to heterogenize molecular catalysts, stabilize novel coordination motifs, and leverage confinement effects in catalysis. Crystallinity allows diffraction‐based methods to be employed in the characterization of these catalysts. Access to crystalline MOFs typically requires reversible construction of the metal−ligand (M−L) bonds that connect the SBUs, which provides a mechanism to anneal defects during crystallization. While the required M−L bond reversibility is often promoted by synthesis at elevated temperature, access to crystalline materials based on either transition metals with characteristic slow exchange kinetics or highly basic donor ligands remains a synthetic challenge. Here, we highlight synthetic strategies that leverage M−L exchange kinetics to access MOFs based on kinetically inert ions and extensions of these strategies to the assembly of atomically precise multimetallic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to study the mechanical and elastic properties of single crystal aluminum with various crystal orientations at different temperatures and under different pressure. Transformations of lattice structures under high pressure, tensile and shearing loads are investigated, respectively. When the pressure increases to 1011 Pa, the face centered cubic (FCC) structure is completely transformed into body centered cubic (BCC) and other structures. The transformation from FCC to hexagonal close packed (HCP) and other structures takes place during tensile and shearing processes. Elastic compliance constants are calculated at different temperatures. Elastic modulus and shear modulus of different crystal orientations at different temperatures are calculated by the formula method, and compared with the results of molecular dynamics method. The decrease extent of elastic modulus in <111> crystal orientation is the smallest with the increase of temperature. The effects of high pressure on elastic modulus and shear modulus in different crystal orientations are also investigated. When the pressure exceeds 109 Pa, the elastic modulus and shear modulus in all crystal orientations begin to increase. Poisson's ratio in different crystal orientations at different temperatures and under high pressure are also calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electron waves of a host system exhibit an oscillating response to an external impurity, namely Friedel oscillations (FOs), extensively studied in two-dimensional materials. Recently, wavefront dislocations, a new feature of FOs, have been revealed in graphene. However, previous analytical works have been limited to the linear dispersion of graphene. Herein, the fate of wavefront dislocations is investigated numerically in FOs beyond the linear regime. The wavefront dislocations are robust against the trigonal warping effect, crucial for high doping graphene, due to the invariant winding number of the tight-binding energy band. Furthermore, the opening of the gap, increasing the electronic Fermi wavelength, can highlight the wavefront dislocations blurred by intravalley scattering-induced short-range oscillations. These results should be observable using current experimental technology. Therefore, this study not only demonstrates the robust existence of wavefront dislocations in FOs over a wide range of energies but also deepens the understanding of intervalley scattering in graphene and other twodimensional valleytronic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomistic control of the coordination environment of lattice ions and the distribution of metal sites within crystalline mixed‐metal coordination polymers remain significant synthetic challenges. Herein is reported the mechanochemical synthesis of a reticular family of crystalline heterobimetallic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is now achieved by polymerization of molecular Ru2[II,III] complexes, featuring unprotected carboxylic acid substituents, with Cu(OAc)2. The resulting crystalline heterobimetallic MOFs are solid solutions of Ru2 and Cu2 sites housed within [M3L2] phases. The developed mechanochemical strategy is modular and allows for systematic control of the primary coordination sphere of the Ru2 sites within an isoreticular family of materials. This strategy is anticipated to provide a rational approach to atomically precise mixed‐metal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomistic control of the coordination environment of lattice ions and the distribution of metal sites within crystalline mixed‐metal coordination polymers remain significant synthetic challenges. Herein is reported the mechanochemical synthesis of a reticular family of crystalline heterobimetallic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is now achieved by polymerization of molecular Ru2[II,III] complexes, featuring unprotected carboxylic acid substituents, with Cu(OAc)2. The resulting crystalline heterobimetallic MOFs are solid solutions of Ru2 and Cu2 sites housed within [M3L2] phases. The developed mechanochemical strategy is modular and allows for systematic control of the primary coordination sphere of the Ru2 sites within an isoreticular family of materials. This strategy is anticipated to provide a rational approach to atomically precise mixed‐metal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a great health burden to patients owing to its poor overall survival rate. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) interact with microRNAs (miRs) to participate in tumorigenesis. Therefore, we aim to uncover the role and related mechanism of LINC00473 in PC through the modulation of miR‐195‐5p and programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1). Increased LINC00473 and PD‐L1 but declined miR‐195‐5p were determined in PC tissues and cell lines, and it was found that LINC00473 mainly situated in the cytoplasm. Also, miR‐195‐5p was verified to bind with both LINC00473 and PD‐L1. Next, with the aim to examine the ability of LINC00473, miR‐195‐5p, and PD‐L1 on the PC progression, the expression of LINC00473, miR‐195‐5p and PD‐L1 were altered with mimics, inhibitors, overexpression vectors or siRNAs in PC cells and cocultured CD8+ T cells. It was demonstrated that LINC00473 sponged miR‐195‐5p to upregulate PD‐L1 expression. More important, the obtained results revealed that LINC00473 silencing or miR‐195‐5p upregulation elevated the expression of Bcl‐2 associated X protein (Bax), interferon (IFN)‐γ, and interleukin (IL)‐4 but reduced the expression of B‐cell lymphoma‐2 (Bcl‐2), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2, MMP‐9, and IL‐10, thus inducing the enhancement of the apoptosis as along with the inhibition of proliferation, invasion, and migration of the PC cells. LINC00473 silencing or miR‐195‐5p elevation activated the CD8+ T cells. Taken together, LINC00473 silencing blocked the PC progression through enhancing miR‐195‐5p‐targeted downregulation of PD‐L1. This finding offers new therapeutic options for treating this devastating disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoglossal motoneurons innervate genioglossus muscle, the contraction of which is critical in the maintenance of upper airway patency in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. As a potassium channel distributed in hypoglossal motoneurons, TWIK‐related acid‐sensitive K+ channel‐1 (TASK‐1) could be inhibited by 5‐HT. This study aimed to investigate if TASK‐1 expression in hypoglossal nucleus could be influenced by chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) and 5‐HT2A receptors antagonist. Two hundred twenty‐eight rats were exposed to CIH or normoxia (NO) in the presence and absence of 5‐HT 2A receptor antagonist (MDL‐100907) microinjected into the hypoglossal nucleus. The expression of 5‐HT and TASK‐1 in the hypoglossal nucleus were detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st day of CIH exposure. The mean optical density (MOD) of 5‐HT in the XII nucleus was significantly increased in the CIH and CIH + MDL group than the NO group on the 7th and 21st day (p < 0.05). Compared with the NO group, the MOD and gene expression of TASK‐1 in the CIH group was significantly increased on the 7th and 14th day (p < 0.05), then normalized on the 21st day. The TASK‐1 expression in the CIH + MDL group was significantly lower than the CIH + PBS and CIH group on the 7th and 14th day (p < 0.05). The CIH‐induced transiently upregulation of the TASK‐1 expression in the hypoglossal nucleus could be reversed by 5‐HT 2A receptor antagonist, indicating that the modulation of the TASK‐1 expression in response to CIH involves 5‐HT and 5‐HT 2A receptors, and this CIH effect might be 5‐HT 2A receptor‐dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential to exert atomistic control over the structure of site‐isolated catalyst sites, as well as the topology and chemical environment of interstitial pore spaces, has inspired efforts to apply porous metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) as catalysts for fine chemical synthesis. In analogy to enzyme‐catalyzed reactions, MOF catalysts have been proposed as platforms in which substrate confinement could be used to achieve chemo‐ and stereoselectivities that are orthogonal to solution‐phase catalysts. In order to leverage the tunable pore topology of MOFs to impact catalyst selectivity, catalysis must proceed at interstitial catalyst sites, rather than at solvent‐exposed interfacial sites. This Minireview addresses challenges inherent to interstitial MOF catalysis by 1) describing the diffusional processes available to sorbates in porous materials, 2) discussing critical factors that impact the diffusion rate of substrates in porous materials, and 3) presenting in operando experimental strategies to assess the relative rates of substrate diffusion and catalyst turnover in MOF catalysis. It is anticipated that the continued development of in operando tools to evaluate substrate diffusion in porous catalysts will advance the application of these materials in fine chemical synthesis. Interfacial or interstitial catalysis? Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have been advanced as catalysts for fine‐chemical synthesis. However, in order to access chemical selectivities that differ from homogenous catalysts, reactions must occur within the pore structure. This Minireview addresses the challenges associated with interstitial MOF catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posterior mediastinal masses are usually neurogenic tumours, and isolated mediastinal tuberculous abscess is extremely unusual. In countries with a high burden of tuberculosis, tuberculosis should be considered in the list of differential diagnoses of mediastinal masses or abscesses, even when there are no associated pulmonary abnormalities. The immunologic screening tests are not enough to establish the diagnosis of active tuberculosis, however, the repeated imaging study after a period of anti-tubercular treatment revealed obvious mass regression, which supported the diagnosis. It is also unlike reported cases of lymphobronchial tuberculosis (lymph gland disease involving the airways which causes critical airway obstruction), in which endoscopic or transthoracic enucleation of the lymph node is sometimes performed.[[12]] This case reminds us that in countries with a high burden of tuberculosis, MTB should be considered as a differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses or abscesses, even when there are no associated pulmonary abnormalities. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: The dynamics behaviors of genuine multipartite Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering (GMS) and genuine multipartite nonlocality (GMN) are investigated herein, and how the lost GMS and GMN under a mixed decoherence system can be recovered is explored. Explicitly, the decoherence system can be modeled by that a tripartite Werner‐type state suffers from the non‐Markovian regimes and one subsystem of the tripartite is under a non‐inertial frame. The conditions for steerable and nonlocal states can be obtained with respect to the tripartite Werner‐type state established initially. GMS and GMN are very fragile and vulnerable under the influence of the collective decoherence. GMS and GMN will vanish with growing intensity of the Unruh effect and the non‐Markovian reservoir. Besides, all achievable GMN's states are steerable, while not every steerable state (GMS's state) can achieve nonlocality. This means that the steering–nonlocality hierarchy is still tenable and GMN's states are a strict subset of the GMS's states in such a scenario. Subsequently, an available methodology to recover the damaged GMS and GMN is proposed. It turns out that the lost GMS and GMN can be effectively restored, and the ability of GMS and GMN to suppress the collective decoherence can be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The clinical use of cements in root canal treatment needs the dentist to mix the powders and liquid phase thoroughly. The operation not only increases the surgery time but also compromises the performance of cement in case of inhomogeneous or insufficient mixing. To overcome those drawbacks, a premixed tricalcium silicate cement (C3S) was prepared by mixing tricalcium silicate/calcium chloride (C3S/CaCl2) composites with polyethylene glycol (PEG). It was found that the setting time could be modulated by changing the content of CaCl2 in the solid phase and the liquid to solid ratio (L/P). In addition, the premixed pastes retained the bioactivity of C3S, such as the ability to induce apatite formation in simulated oral fluid and to promote the proliferation and the alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). Meanwhile, the injected pastes showed good antibacterial ability against Staphylococcus aureus. It is thus expected that the premixed C3S/CaCl2 pastes hold great promise as a new type of materials for dental application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) has demonstrated a great potential to help distinguish benign from malignant tumours in paediatric body. Our purpose is to evaluate whether DWI allow discrimination of thoracoabdominal neuroblastic tumours of various histological types and differentiation grades.Methods: We retrospectively analysed DWI scans of the thoracoabdominal neuroblastic tumours in 25 children (11 girls, 14 boys). DWI was performed with two b-values of 0 and 800 s/mm2 on a 3.0T MR scanner. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of different classifications of tumours were compared with Independent-Samples T Test.Results: In the 25 cases, ganglioneuroma (GN) was in 3 cases, ganglioneuroblastoma (GNB) in 7 (GNB-Intermixed in 4, GNB-Nodular in 3) and neuroblastoma (NB) in 15. In three cases of GNB-Nodular, two cases had poorly differentiated nodules and another had differentiated nodules. In 15 cases of NB, poorly differentiated, differentiated and undifferentiated tumours were, respectively, in eight, five and two cases. The ADC value of the NB was significantly lower than that of GN/GNB (P < 0.001). The ADC of GNB-Nodular/NB was significantly less than that of GN/GNB-Intermixed (P < 0.0001). In GNB-Nodular/NB detection, there was a cut-off value of 1.165 × 10-3  mm2 /s. In GNB-Nodular/NB, the tumours with poorly differentiated and undifferentiated lesions (n = 12) had significantly smaller ADC than those with differentiated composition (n = 6) (P = 0.0012).Conclusion: ADC of DWI is highly valuable for discriminating thoracoabdominal neuroblastic tumours of different histological types and differentiation grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes a new low-profile broadband circularly polarised (CP) antenna. The antenna comprises a directly fed CP patch of new configuration that excites four square parasitic patches in an upper layer and an L-shaped parasite alongside the excited patch. This arrangement provides an improvement in axial ratio (AR) bandwidth over existing configurations, having an impedance bandwidth of 38% (return loss > 10 dB), with an AR bandwidth of 28.1% (AR < 3 dB) and a peak gain of 8.4 dBic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors consider distributed estimation over a sensor network with limited power. Based on PageRank algorithm, they propose a distributed estimator, where the link weight is designed using online information. They compared the network performance of the proposed estimator with time-varying weight and constant weight under identical initial conditions. To extend the lifetime of sensors, they introduce an online power scheduling method to distributed estimation problem, where each sensor allocates the power for the communication link based on real-time estimation error. They also provide a sufficient condition to guarantee the stability of the networked system with power scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed Rigler's triad of duodenal obstruction, a gallstone outside the gallbladder and pneumobilia (Fig. GLO:HWR/01dec21:ans17248-fig-0001.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 1 Computed tomography scan of the abdomen with Rigler's triad demonstrated in (a) axial view showing gallstone impacted at the second part of duodenum and (b) coronal view showing a 3 × 2 cm gallstone outside the gallbladder and pneumobilia. gl A diagnosis of Bouveret syndrome (BS) and cholecystoduodenal fistula was made. First reported by Leon Bouveret in 1896, BS is defined as gastric outlet obstruction by a gallstone.1 It is a rare cause of gallstone ileus, comprising <3% of reported cases.2 The large gallstone typically associated with BS causes a cholecystoduodenal fistula, leading to gallstone impaction in the pylorus or proximal duodenum. [Extracted from the article]

Brain metastasis (BM) is common in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have now been included as standard treatment options for NSCLC harboring EGFR-activating mutations, only a few prospective reports demonstrate the efficacy of these agents in a BM setting. We report a case of a patient with advanced NSCLC, in which oral gefitinib documented a significant antitumor effect on parallel progression of extracranial lesion and BM occurred during chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described for the first time is that carbon dioxide (CO2) can be successfully inserted into aryl C−H bonds of the backbone of a metal-organic framework (MOF) to generate free carboxylate groups, which serve as Brønsted acid sites for efficiently catalyzing the methanolysis of epoxides. The work delineates the very first example of utilizing CO2 for heterogeneous C−H activation and carboxylation reactions on MOFs, and opens a new avenue for CO2 chemical transformations under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described for the first time is that carbon dioxide (CO2) can be successfully inserted into aryl C−H bonds of the backbone of a metal-organic framework (MOF) to generate free carboxylate groups, which serve as Brønsted acid sites for efficiently catalyzing the methanolysis of epoxides. The work delineates the very first example of utilizing CO2 for heterogeneous C−H activation and carboxylation reactions on MOFs, and opens a new avenue for CO2 chemical transformations under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of sulfur in the next generation Li-ion batteries is currently precluded by its poor cycling stability caused by irreversible Li2S formation and the dissolution of soluble polysulfides in organic electrolytes that leads to parasitic cell reactions. Here, a new C/S cathode material comprising short-chain sulfur species (predominately S2) confined in carbonaceous subnanometer and the unique charge mechanism for the subnano-entrapped S2 cathodes are reported. The first charge-discharge cycle of the C/S cathode in the carbonate electrolyte forms a new type of thiocarbonate-like solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). The SEI coated C/S cathode stably delivers ≈600 mAh g−1 capacity over 4020 cycles (0.0014% loss cycle−1) at ≈100% Coulombic efficiency. Extensive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the discharged cathodes shows a new type of S2 species and a new carbide-like species simultaneously, and both peaks disappear upon charging. These data suggest a new sulfur redox mechanism involving a separated Li+/S2− ion couple that precludes Li2S compound formation and prevents the dissolution of soluble sulfur anions. This new charge/discharge process leads to remarkable cycling stability and reversibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To probe the kinetic performance of microsolvated α-nucleophile, the G2(+)M calculations were carried out for the gas-phase SN2 reactions of monohydrated and dihydrated α-oxy-nucleophiles XO−(H2O) n = 1,2 (X = HO, CH3O, F, Cl, Br), and α-sulfur-nucleophile, HSS−(H2O) n = 1,2, toward CH3Cl. We compared the reactivities of hydrated α-nucleophiles to those of hydrated normal nucleophiles. Our calculations show that the α-effect of monohydrated and dihydrated α-oxy-nucleophiles will become weaker than those of unhydrated ones if we apply a plot of activation barrier as a function of anion basicity. Whereas the enhanced reactivity of monohydrated and dihydrated ROO− (R = H, Me) could be observed if compared them with the specific normal nucleophiles, RO− (R = H, Me). This phenomena can not be seen in the comparisons of XO−(H2O) n = 1,2 (X = F, Cl, Br) with ClC2H4O−(H2O) n = 1,2, a normal nucleophile with similar gas basicity to XO−(H2O) n = 1,2. These results have been carefully analyzed by natural bond orbital theory and activation strain model. Meanwhile, the relationships between activation barriers with reaction energies and the ionization energies of α-nucleophile are also discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severity of peanut rust caused by Puccinia arachidis was reduced by 15 edible oils tested. Flaxseed oil was the best suppressing the disease completely. Peanut oil, wheat germ oil, brown rice oil, aloe oil, olive oil and corn germ oil also caused more than 75% reduction in disease incidence. Flaxseed oil reduced the rust to a negligible level in the greenhouse and was nearly as effective as the fungicide chlorothalonil in peanut field trials. The control of peanut rust by flaxseed oil did not result from activation of the host defence mechanisms. Flaxseed oil did not affect urediniospore germination, but reduced the germ tube length and completely suppressed appressorium formation which is essential for the pathogen to form an infection peg to pass through the stomatal aperture and infect the host tissue. Although the pathogen had penetrated, flaxseed oil still exerted some inhibitory effect against the growth of the pathogen. The advantages of using flaxseed oil to control peanut rust are that it is relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare, and friendly to the environment and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur intercalated expanded graphite for Li‐S battery cathodes is synthesized by in situ one‐step sulfur reduction and intercalation of graphite oxide (GO). The unique structural reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/S nanocomposite cathodes exhibit high capacity, super rate capability, and long cycle stability. The exceptional electrochemical properties of the RGO/S composites plus their simple fabrication make this class of materials attrac­tive for further investigation in Li‐S batteries applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal engineering of the nbo metal-organic framework (MOF) platform MOF-505 with a custom-designed azamacrocycle ligand (1,4,7,10-tetrazazcyclododecane- N, N′, N′′, N′′′-tetra- p-methylbenzoic acid) leads to a high density of well-oriented Lewis active sites within the cuboctahedral cage in MMCF-2, [Cu2(Cu-tactmb)(H2O)3(NO3)2]. This MOF demonstrates high catalytic activity for the chemical fixation of CO2 into cyclic carbonates at room temperature under 1 atm pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal engineering of the nbo metal-organic framework (MOF) platform MOF-505 with a custom-designed azamacrocycle ligand (1,4,7,10-tetrazazcyclododecane- N, N′, N′′, N′′′-tetra- p-methylbenzoic acid) leads to a high density of well-oriented Lewis active sites within the cuboctahedral cage in MMCF-2, [Cu2(Cu-tactmb)(H2O)3(NO3)2]. This MOF demonstrates high catalytic activity for the chemical fixation of CO2 into cyclic carbonates at room temperature under 1 atm pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Melasma is a prevalent pigmented disease, yet its pathogenesis remains unclear, posing challenges for effective treatment. Bibliometric analysis, a novel approach to literature research, offers the opportunity to evaluate research trends through qualitative and quantitative methods. This study utilizes bibliometric methods to analyze the existing literature on melasma treatment, examining influential publications, institutions, countries, and authors through statistical analysis.In order to retrieve manuscripts related to the topic of melasma treatment, we conducted a search using the search formula: (TS = (melasma or Chloasma or “mask of pregnancy”)) AND TS = (treatment or therapy). We searched through the Web of Science Core Collection database, covering publications from 2000 to 2023. VOSviewer, CiteSpace and the Bibliometric online site (https://bibliometric.com/app) were used to conduct this bibliometric analysis. Our analysis focused on various factors including publications, authors co‐authorship, institutions, countries, citation analysis, keywords co‐occurrence, references co‐citation and journal co‐citation.A total of 943 articles and 200 reviews were published between 2000 and 2023, accumulating a total of 8628 citations. The average number of citations per item was 18.85, and the average number of citations per year was 292.69. The most prolific author, Sungeun Chang, contributed a total of 9 articles. Cario University emerged as the top research institution. The United States led in terms of article publications with a count of 276. In the past 5 years, the research trends in this field have primarily focused on tranexamic acid and epidermal melasma, as indicated by the burst analysis of publications and keywords.The United States continues to lead in terms of institutions and research output. The current emphasis is on the meticulous implementation of tranexamic acid and laser therapy. It is crucial to foster enhanced collaboration among countries, institutions, and authors to facilitate improved research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting from the typical 4e– pathway to H2O in electrochemical oxygen reduction to the 2e– pathway to H2O2 is increasingly recognized as an environmentally friendly approach for producing H2O2. However, the competitive 4e− pathway is a significant obstacle to the production of H2O2 since H2O is the thermodynamically favored product. Here, a series of Pt, Pd, and Rh active atoms diluted within inert‐Au matrices with precisely controlled atomic arrangements and coordination environments are synthesized via facet engineering for O2‐to‐H2O2 production. Surprisingly, individually dispersed Pt atoms within the Au surface enclosed by the square atomic arrangements exhibit superior H2O2 selectivity and achieve a maximum selectivity of 90% at 0.36 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Operando synchrotron ambient pressure X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy identifies the presence of *OOH key intermediates on these isolated Pt active sites. Grand canonical density‐functional theory also reveals that the kinetic energy barrier for the 2e− pathway (0.08 eV; OOH* + H+ + e− → H2O2) on the isolated Pt sites is significantly lower than the 4e− pathway (0.29 eV; OOH* + H+ + e− → O* + H2O). This work enables atomic‐scale control in dilute binary alloy surfaces with specific configurations of isolated active atoms and provides essential guidance for catalyst design to boost O2‐to‐H2O2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we address a leader-follower coordination problem with noise in a multi-agent system. In order to minimise the mean-square deviation of the individual state of followers from the state of the leader, we develop a strategy to select a subset of followers to connect with the leader. We adopt the method of convex optimisation to solve both constant edge weight and different edge weight case. Furthermore, we propose optimised algorithms to find the fastest convergence speed. We also study optimisation problems for leader-follower system with a dynamic leader, and also provide a sufficient condition for the convergence of the expected value of the total mean-square deviation. Examples and applications of the developed methodology are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Caenorhabditis elegans, longevity is increased by a partial loss-of-function mutation in the mitochondrial complex III subunit gene isp-1. Longevity is also increased by RNAi against the expression of a variety of mitochondrial respiratory chain genes, including isp-1, but it is unknown whether the isp-1(qm150) mutation and the RNAi treatments trigger the same underlying mechanisms of longevity. We have identified nuo-6(qm200), a mutation in a conserved subunit of mitochondrial complex I (NUDFB4). The mutation reduces the function of complex I and, like isp-1(qm150), results in low oxygen consumption, slow growth, slow behavior, and increased lifespan. We have compared the phenotypes of nuo-6(qm200) to those of nuo-6(RNAi) and found them to be distinct in crucial ways, including patterns of growth and fertility, behavioral rates, oxygen consumption, ATP levels, autophagy, and resistance to paraquat, as well as expression of superoxide dismutases, mitochondrial heat-shock proteins, and other gene expression markers. RNAi treatments appear to generate a stress and autophagy response, while the genomic mutation alters electron transport and reactive oxygen species metabolism. For many phenotypes, we also compared isp-1(qm150) to isp-1(RNAi) and found the same pattern of differences. Most importantly, we found that, while the lifespan of nuo-6, isp-1 double mutants is not greater than that of the single mutants, the lifespan increase induced by nuo-6(RNAi) is fully additive to that induced by isp-1(qm150), and the increase induced by isp-1(RNAi) is fully additive to that induced by nuo-6(qm200). Our results demonstrate that distinct and separable aspects of mitochondrial biology affect lifespan independently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly dense oriented arrays of nanotubes were synthesized via a chemical vapor infiltration process using anodic alumina membrane as a template. The nanotubes have a unique granular structure, which is composed of SiC nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy examinations both indicate an NaCl-type crystalline structure of the SiC nanocrystals in the nanotubes. The process described here can be extended to the preparation of other nanomaterials that are suitable to be obtained via a vapor–solid approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cholesterol embolism (CE) is characterized by emboli containing cholesterol crystal in the arterioles, most commonly found in the skin and the kidney. The skin presentations of CE include livedo reticularis, blue toe syndrome, ulceration and gangrene. Cutaneous reactive angiomatosis (CRA) is a recently proposed term to describe a group of reactive vascular proliferation in skin caused by various diseases. Its occurrence in association with CE is extremely uncommon. An 82-year-old man with a history of cerebral infarction and on long-term warfarin therapy developed progressive, multiple violaceous papules and nodules on the dorsal feet, soles and toes, simulating Kaposi's sarcoma. Skin biopsy showed marked vascular endothelial cell proliferations characteristic of CRA affecting the full thickness of dermis. In addition, cholesterol crystal emboli were found in dermal arterioles. The skin lesions improved after the warfarin dose was reduced. We emphasize the possible presence of CE in a patient presented with CRA, especially in those with a pre-existing atherosclerotic disease, on anticoagulation therapy, or having a prior history of invasive vascular procedure. Yang Y-W, Chen C-L, Ho W-T, Wang K-H. Cutaneous reactive angiomatosis associated with cholesterol embolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three series of porphyrin liquid crystalline compounds, [5-(p-alkoxy)phenyl-10, 15, 20-tri-phenyl] porphyrin and their rare earth complexes (Tb (III), Dy (III), Er (III), Yb (III)), with a hexagonal columnar discotic columnar(Colh) phase have been synthesized. These compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductances, UV-visible spectra, infrared spectra, luminescence spectra, and cyclic voltammetry. These compounds exhibit more than one mesophases, which transition points of temperature change from -33.6 to 16.0 °C, and transition points of temperature for isotropic liquid also increase from 4.9 to 38.2 °C, with increasing chain length. Their surface photovoltage (SPV) response have also been investigated by the means of surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) and field-induced surface photovoltage spectroscopy (EFISPS). It was found that their SPV bands are analogous with the UV-visible absorption spectra and derived from the same transition. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two homologous genes of the Arabidopsis C-repeat/dehydration-responsive element binding factors (CBF/DREB1) transcriptional activator were isolated by RT-PCR from Chinese cabbage ( Brassica pekinensis Rupr. cv. Qinbai 5) and were designated as BcCBF1 and BcCBF2. Each encodes a putative CBF/DREB1 protein with an AP2 (Apetal2) DNA-binding domain, a putative nuclear localization signal, and a possible acidic activation domain. Deduced amino acid sequences show that BcCBF1 is very similar to the Arabidopsis CBF1, whereas BcCBF2 is different in that it contains two extra regions of 24 and 20 amino acids in the acidic domain. The mRNA accumulation profiles indicated that the expression of BcCBF1 and BcCBF2 is strongly induced by cold treatment, but does not respond similarly to dehydration or abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. However, the cold-induced accumulation of BcCBF2 mRNA was rapid but short-lived compared with that of BcCBF1. The mRNA levels of both BcCBF1 and BcCBF2 were higher in leaves than in roots when plants were exposed to cold, whereas, salt stress caused higher accumulation of BcCBF2 mRNA in roots than in leaves, suggesting that the organ specificity of the gene expression of the BcCBFs is probably stress dependent. In addition, the accumulation of BcCBF1 and BcCBF2 mRNAs was greatly enhanced by light compared with darkness when seedlings were exposed to cold. It is concluded that the two BcCBF proteins may be involved in the process of plant response to cold stress through an ABA-independent pathway and that there is also a cross-talk between the light signaling conduction pathway and the cold response pathway in B. pekinensis as in Arabidopsis. (Managing editor: Li-Hui Zhao) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family play pivotal roles in the regulation of the immune system. LIGHT is a type II transmembrane protein belonging to the TNF family that was originally identified as a weak inducer of apoptosis. This cytokine has been extensively studied for its role in T cell regulation. Recently, we identified its role in inducing maturation of dendritic cells, such as LIGHT upregulated CD86 expression on dendritic cells in our previous report. However, the signal transduction pathway on this regulation remains unknown. In this study, we found that LIGHT activated NF-κB, p44/42 MAPK, but not JNK. LIGHT upregulates CD86 expression on DCs through activation of NF-κB, but not p44/42 signal pathway, because inhibition of NF-κB activity by its inhibitor could blunt the effect of LIGHT in up-regulation of CD86 expression, but neither inhibitor of p44/42 MAPK nor JNK inhibitor has this effect. Thus we demonstrate that LIGHT regulates CD86 expression through NF-κB signal transduction pathway but neither p44/42 MAPK nor JNK/AP-1 signaling pathway. We conclude that NF-κB signal plays a key role in LIGHT-mediated upregulation of CD86 expression. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated whether vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC)-derived from human produce angiotensin (Ang) II upon change from the contractile phenotype to the synthetic phenotype by incubation with fibronectin (FN). Expression of α-smooth muscle (SM) actin, apparent in the contractile phenotype, was decreased by FN. Expressions of matrix Gla and osteopontin, apparent in the synthetic phenotype, were increased by FN. Ang II measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) was significantly increased in human VSMC by FN. Expression of mRNAs for Ang II-generating proteases cathepsin D, cathepsin G, ACE, and chymase was increased by FN. Expressions of cathepsin D and cathepsin G proteins were also increased by FN. Ang I-generating activity, which was inhibited by an aspartyl protease inhibitor pepstatin A, was readily detected in the conditioned medium from human VSMC. Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) that hybridize with cathepsin D and cathepsin G significantly inhibited FN-increased Ang II in conditioned medium and cell extracts. In VSMC conditioned medium, FN-induced elevation of Ang II was significantly inhibited by temocapril but not by chymostatin. Ang II type 1 receptor antagonist CV11974 completely, and antisense cathepsin D and cathepsin G ODNs partially inhibited the FN-stimulated growth of human VSMC. These results indicate that the change of homogeneous cultures of human VSMC from the contractile to the synthetic phenotype sequentially increases expression of proteases cathepsin D, cathepsin G, and ACE, production of Ang II and productions of growth factors, culminating in VSMC proliferation. These findings implicate a new mechanism for the pathogenesis of human vascular proliferative diseases. J. Cell. Physiol. 196: 284–292, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several CVI-SiC/SiC composites were fabricated and the mechanical properties were investigated using unloading-reloading tensile tests. The composites were reinforced with a new Tyranno-SA fiber (2-D, plain-woven). Various carbon and SiC/C layers were deposited as fiber/matrix interlayers by the isothermal CVI process. The Tyranno-SA/SiC composites exhibited high proportional limit stress (∼120 MPa) and relatively small strain-to-failure. The tensile stress/strain curves exhibited features corresponding to strong interracial shear and sliding resistance, and indicated failures of all the composites before matrix-cracking saturation was achieved. Fiber/ matrix debonding and relatively short fiber pullouts were observed on the fracture surfaces. The ultimate tensile strength displayed an increasing trend with increasing carbon layer thickness up to 100 nm. Further improvement of the mechanical properties of Tyranno-SA/SiC composites is expected with more suitable interlayer structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum resistance remains a major contributor to the poor prognosis of ovarian cancer. Anti-apoptotic protein myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1) has emerged as a promising target for overcoming drug resistance, but different cancer cells utilize distinct protein degradation pathways to alter MCL-1 level. We systematically investigated E3 ligases to identify novel candidates that mediate platinum resistance in ovarian cancer. Transcription Elongation Factor B (TCEB3) has been identified as a novel E3 ligase recognition subunit that targets MCL-1 in the cytoplasm during platinum treatment other than its traditional function of targeting the Pol II in the nuclear compartment. TCEB3 expression is downregulated in platinum-resistant cell lines and this low expression is associated with poor prognosis. The ubiquitination of MCL-1 induced by TCEB3 leads to cell death in ovarian cancer. Moreover, platinum treatment increased the cytoplasm proportion of TCEB3, and the cytoplasm localization of TCEB3 is important for its targeting of MCL-1. This study emphasizes the dual function of TCEB3 in homeostasis maintenance and in cell fate determination under different conditions, and provides a new insight into drug resistance in ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and synthesis of polyhedra using coordination‐driven self‐assembly has been an intriguing research area for synthetic chemists. Metal‐organic polyhedra are a class of intricate molecular architectures that have garnered significant attention in the literature due to their diverse structures and potential applications. Hereby, we report Cu‐MOP, a bifunctional metal‐organic cuboctahedra built using 2,6‐dimethylpyridine‐3,5‐dicarboxylic acid and copper acetate at room temperature. The presence of both Lewis basic pyridine groups and Lewis acidic copper sites imparts catalytic activity to Cu‐MOP for the tandem one‐pot deacetalization‐Knoevenagel/Henry reactions. The effect of solvent system and time duration on the yields of the reactions was studied, and the results illustrate the promising potential of these metal‐organic cuboctahedra, also known as nanoballs for applications in catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined teachers' conceptions about assessment practices in mathematics education. Description of research methods used in the study; Examination of statistical data on teachers' assessment practices; Results of this research.

A novel quarter-guided-wavelength (1/4λ) dielectric-strip resonator (DSR) with one short-circuited end is proposed to design a compact and low-loss filter at X-band. One end of the DSR is metallised and then shorted to ground effectively to achieve a half-cut conversion from 1/2λ DSR. As a result, the resonator length is reduced by half while the unloaded quality factor (Qu) of the 1/4λ DSR only has a slight reduction as compared to the corresponding 1/2λ DSR. For demonstration, a third-order DSR bandpass filter centred at 10.45 GHz is designed, implemented and measured. Good agreement between simulated and measured results can be obtained, showcasing the advantages of compact size and low loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compound, C14H12N2O2, is non-planar. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 32.1 (2)° and the nitro group is at an angle of 13.2 (2)° with respect to its attached benzene ring. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecules are stacked through π–π inter­actions. The stacks are arranged through π–π and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming chains along [001], which are further connected by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming networks along [100]. The networks are connected by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds along [010]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-planar title mol­ecule, C15H10Cl2O, contains two benzene rings linked by a –CH=CH—C(=O)– bridge. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecules are paired through π–π inter­actions and the pairs are connected to each other via hydrogen-bonding inter­actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]