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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become a worldwide public health problem. Epimedin C is considered one of the most important flavonoids in Epimedium, a famous edible herb in China and Southeast Asia that is traditionally used in herbal medicine to treat diabetes. In the present study, the therapeutic potential of epimedin C against T2DM was ascertained using a mouse model, and the mechanism underlying the hypoglycemic activity of epimedin C was explored using a label-free proteomic technique for the first time. Levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and oral glucose tolerance, as well as contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the 30 mg·kg−1 epimedin C group (EC30 group), were significantly lower than those in the model control group (MC group) (p < 0.05), while the contents of hepatic glycogen, insulin, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), as well as activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the EC30 group were notably higher than those in the MC group (p < 0.05). The structures of liver cells and tissues were greatly destroyed in the MC group, whereas the structures of cells and tissues were basically complete in the EC30 group, which were similar to those in the normal control group (NC group). A total of 92 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were enriched in the gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. In the EC30 vs. MC groups, the expression level of cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pck1) was down-regulated, while the expression levels of group XIIB secretory phospholipase A2-like protein (Pla2g12b), apolipoprotein B-100 (Apob), and cytochrome P450 4A14 (Cyp4a14) were up-regulated. According to the KEGG pathway assay, Pck1 participated in the gluconeogenesis and insulin signaling pathways, and Pla2g12b, Apob, and Cyp4a14 were the key proteins in the fat digestion and fatty acid degradation pathways. Pck1, Pla2g12b, Apob, and Cyp4a14 seemed to play important roles in the prevention and treatment of T2DM. In summary, epimedin C inhibited Pck1 expression to maintain FBG at a relatively stable level, promoted Pla2g12b, Apob, and Cyp4a14 expressions to alleviate liver lipotoxicity, and protected liver tissues and cells from oxidant stress possibly by its phenolic hydroxyl groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mars Atmospheric Wind Imaging Interferometer offers several advantages, notably its high throughput, enabling the acquisition of precise and high vertical resolution data on the temperature and wind fields in the Martian atmosphere. Considering the current absence of such an Interferometer, this paper introduces a novel Mars wind field imaging interferometer. In analyzing the photochemical model of O2 (a1Δg) 1.27 μm molecular airglow radiation in the Martian atmosphere and considering the impact of instrument signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we have chosen an optical path difference (OPD) of 8.6 cm for the interferometer. The all-solid-state polarized wind imaging interferometer is miniaturized by incorporating two arm glasses as the compensation medium in its construction, achieving the effects of field-widening and temperature compensation. Additionally, an F-P Etalon is designed to selectively filter the desired three spectral lines of O2 dayglow, and its effect is evaluated through simulations. The accuracy of the proposed compact Mars polarized wind imaging interferometer for detecting Mars' wind field and temperature field has been validated through rigorous theoretical derivation and comprehensive computer simulations. The interferometer boasts several advantages, including its compact and small size, static stability, minimal stray light, and absence of moving parts. It establishes the theoretical, technological, and instrumental engineering foundations for future simultaneous static measurement of Martian global atmospheric wind fields, temperature fields, and ozone concentrations from spacecraft, thereby significantly contributing to the dataset for investigating Martian atmospheric dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black tea (Fuyun 6) samples collected from three regions, Youxi, Fu'an, and Datian, were analysed by automatic thermal desorption-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (ATD-GC–MS) combined with the electronic nose (E-nose) technique to investigate the aroma composition differences between black teas from different regions. The response surface methodology was used to optimize the ATD conditions for extracting the aroma components from the black tea. The results revealed that the optimal conditions for aroma component accumulation from black tea samples included a sample weight of 2.8 g, an adsorption time of 39 min, an adsorption temperature of 75 °C, and a cold trap temperature of −30 °C. The ATD-GC–MS analyses identified a total of 71 aroma components in the black tea samples, of which 31 were utilized to differentiate the origins of the black teas. Additional aroma activity analyses indicated that benzyl alcohol, linalool, hexanal, octanal, and nonanal had odour activity values (OAVs) greater than 10. Additionally, the OAV of decanal exceeded 100, indicating its significant contribution to the aroma profile of Fuyun 6 black tea. The E-nose results demonstrated the ability to differentiate the black tea samples from the three different origins. This study successfully identified the specific aroma substances associated with different tea origins, providing valuable insights into the aroma characteristics of black teas from various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coining technology produces a wide variety of commemorative coins with exquisite patterns. However, it often encounters defects such as insufficient filling, flash lines, light bands, and so on. Process engineers usually perform multiple tryouts to avoid the above-mentioned problems in actual production. This is not only time-consuming and laborious but also ineffective. The virtual tryout of the finite element method (FEM) could assist engineers to avoid the defects in the coining process with a great improvement in product quality. In order to exactly describe complex patterns of commemorative coins, a large number of elements are employed in the classical FEM. Even then, the three dimensional elements, which come in early contact with the reliefs of the punch/die, undergo large deformation and become distorted. Errors of contact judgment between the tools and the workpiece in the FEM occur during the simulation process. Taking into account the advantage of Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) basis functions when accurately describing complex boundaries or surfaces, isogeometric analysis (IGA) is developed for studying the material filling of coin cavities. Six numerical examples involving elastic and plastic analyses with/without contact issues are considered by the presented IGA frameworks and show good performance of the present method in simulating the cavity filling compared with ABAQUS. In addition, numerical findings also indicate that the proposed method exhibits excellent contact detection and strong anti-mesh distortion in large deformation of the coining process. These encouraging observations motivate us to explore the NURBS description of complicated reliefs of coins and the corresponding IGA framework for the coining process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic finite difference method (FDM) has been successfully adopted in the simulation of dendritic solidification, which is based on phase-field theory. Nevertheless, special strategies of boundary integral and projection are required for applying a supercooling rate to a droplet surface. In the present study, isogeometric analysis (IGA) is employed to discretize the phase-field equation due to the two advantages of Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) basis functions, namely an arbitrary order of derivatives and exact description of complex geometry. In addition, an improved, easy way to apply the supercooling rate on a melt droplet surface is proposed to avoid the integral and projection of the cellular boundary required in FDM. Firstly, dendrite growth in a square computational domain is simulated to verify the performance of IGA. Then, the influences of latent heat, anisotropic mode and initial angle on the dendrite shapes are studied by the presented IGA, FDM and finite element method (FEM). Finally, dendritic solidification in a droplet under different cooling rates along irregular boundaries is performed by the proposed IGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new compact static wind imaging interferometer, called the Birefringent Doppler Wind Imaging Interferometer (BIDWIN), has been developed for the purpose of observing upper atmospheric winds using suitably isolated airglow emissions. The instrument combines a field-widened birefringent delay plate placed between two crossed Wollaston prisms with an imaging system, waveplates and polarizers to produce four fixed 90 ∘ phase-stepped images of the interference fringes conjugate to the scene of interest. A four-point algorithm is used to extract line-of-sight Doppler wind measurements across the image of the scene. The arrangement provides a similar throughput to that of a field-widened Michelson interferometer; however, the interferometric component of BIDWIN is smaller, simpler to assemble and less complicated to operate. Consequently, the instrument provides a compact, lightweight and robust alternative that can be constructed and operated with lower cost. In this paper, the instrument concept is presented, and the design and optimization of a prototype version of the instrument are discussed. Characterization of the lab prototype is presented, and the performance of the instrument is examined by applying the instrument to measure a low-velocity two-dimensional Doppler wind field with a high precision (5 m s -1) in the lab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to establish nomograms that could forecast the postoperative survival for patients with appendiceal cancer after surgery, this study collected 5945 patients with surgically removed appendiceal cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were analyzed by Cox regression analysis and nomograms. The population was randomly separated into a training group (n = 3963) and a validation group (n = 1982). Age, histological grade, T stage, N stage, regional nodes examination, tumor size, and CEA were independent prognostic factors for OS and were used in the nomogram. In addition, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors for CSS. The C-index values of the nomograms predicting postoperative OS and CSS were 0.76 (95% CI 0.74–0.78) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.78–0.82) in the training group and 0.77 (95% CI 0.74–0.79) and 0.81 (95% CI 0.78–0.84) in the validation group. Moreover, nomograms were better than traditional American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM 8th Edition Staging System in predicting prognosis derived from the results of DCA and ROC curves. In a word, we constructed new nomograms based on a large database that can accurately predict the OS and CSS of patients with appendiceal cancer after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of dual-loss electromagnetic (EM) materials composed of carbon-based materials and magnetic particles have been a rational strategy for application in the EM wave absorption field. Herein, Fe–Fe3C/nanoporous carbon (NPC) nanocomposite has been successfully prepared through a facile thermal decomposition route of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) and Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The nanocomposite exhibits excellent microwave absorption property, which is mainly interpreted by the polarization and multiple reflection causing by porous microstructure, suitable impedance matching, additional magnetic loss and synergistic effect between graphitized NPC and magnetic Fe–Fe3C particles. The optimal reflection loss (RL) can reach up to − 48 dB at 8.1 GHz with a layer thickness of 3.0 mm. Besides, the nanocomposites provide the effective bandwidth (RL < − 10 dB) of 3.9 GHz from 8.4 to 12.3 GHz, nearly covering the whole X band when the thickness is 2.5 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed the principle of the ozone wind imaging interferometer developed by our group, which used remote sensing method to detect wind field and ozone concentration simultaneously, focused on the analysis and calculation of the instrument visibility and gave the theoretical representation of the instrument visibility. Computer simulation was used to analyze the influence of the system transmittance, compensation glass surface tilt and mirror surface accuracy on the instrument visibility. The results showed that the splitting ratio of the beam splitter and the field of view would affect the distribution of the instrument visibility; the tilt angle of the compensation glass surface can greatly affect the instrument visibility. We also gave the random error range of wind field speed and temperature at the instrument visibility U > 0.9. This research provides an important theoretical basis and practical guidance for the development and engineering of ozone wind imaging interferometers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, representation-based subspace clustering algorithms for hyperspectral images (HSIs) have been developed with the assumption that pixels belonging to the same land-cover class lie in the same subspace. Polarization is regarded to be a complement to spectral information, but related research only focus on the clustering for HSIs without considering polarization, and cannot effectively process large-scale hyperspectral datasets. In this paper, we propose an efficient representation-based subspace clustering framework for polarized hyperspectral images (PHSIs). Combining with spectral information and polarized information, this framework is extensible for most existing representation-based subspace clustering algorithms. In addition, with a sampling-clustering-classification strategy which firstly clusters selected in-sample data into several classes and then matches the out-of-sample data into these classes by collaborative representation-based classification, the proposed framework significantly reduces the computational complexity of clustering algorithms for PHSIs. Some experiments were carried out to demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency and potential capabilities of the algorithms under the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]