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Visual transformers (ViTs) are widely used in various visual tasks, such as fine-grained visual classification (FGVC). However, the self-attention mechanism, which is the core module of visual transformers, leads to quadratic computational and memory complexity. The sparse-attention and local-attention approaches currently used by most researchers are not suitable for FGVC tasks. These tasks require dense feature extraction and global dependency modeling. To address this challenge, we propose a dual-dependency attention transformer model. It decouples global token interactions into two paths. The first is a position-dependency attention pathway based on the intersection of two types of grouped attention. The second is a semantic dependency attention pathway based on dynamic central aggregation. This approach enhances the high-quality semantic modeling of discriminative cues while reducing the computational cost to linear computational complexity. In addition, we develop discriminative enhancement strategies. These strategies increase the sensitivity of high-confidence discriminative cue tracking with a knowledge-based representation approach. Experiments on three datasets, NABIRDS, CUB, and DOGS, show that the method is suitable for fine-grained image classification. It finds a balance between computational cost and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C26H36N4O14Co, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 7.1895(7) Å, b = 8.7773(9) Å, c = 10.9067(11) Å, α = 98.180(2)°, β = 104.0480(10)°, γ = 90.180(2)°, V = 660.37(11) Å3, Z = 1, Rgt(F) = 0.0287, wRref(F2) = 0.0751, T = 296.15 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale development of flexible electrode is urgently needed for water electrosplitting. Herein, the common and low-cost filter paper (FP) is utilized as the substrate to adjust the flexible property of the catalytic electrode. Through an electroless plating method, the NiFeP alloys were deposited onto the filter paper, which acted as the flexible and self-supported electrode for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The resultant NiFeP@FPs require low overpotentials of 158 mV for HER and 282 mV for OER to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm−2, and exhibit a good stability of 30 h in 1 M KOH. The synergistic effect of Fe–Ni sites regulates electron structure and boosts the catalytic activity. Benefited from good hydrophilicity and interlaced fiber structure of filter paper, electrolyte penetration and electron transfer in the sample are promoted. The assembled two-electrode electrolyzer only requires 1.814 V to achieve 100 mA cm−2 for overall water splitting and shows excellent stability. This work provides a new strategy for the development of flexible and efficient electrodes for water splitting, which advances the development of wearable electronic devices. [Display omitted] • The flexible filter paper-based electrode was successfully synthesized. • The good hydrophilicity and porous structure facilitated electrolyte permeation. • The sample required low overpotentials of 158 mV for HER and 282 mV for OER. • The two-electrode electrolyzer provided 100 mA cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.814 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-contact temperature sensors with low cost, high reliability and high sensitivity have attracted increasing research interest in recent years. In this study, we synthesized a bimodal optical temperature sensor Sr2SiO4:Ce3+/Eu2+/K+ with excellent thermometric sensitivity through a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. In the matrix of α-Sr2SiO4, Ce3+ luminescence exhibits excellent thermal stability (∼129.1%@250 °C), while Eu2+ shows strong thermal quenching (∼21.7%@250 °C), leading to a significant change in the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) of Ce3+ (437 nm) and Eu2+ (550 nm) as a function of temperature. This feature enables the phosphor exhibiting outstanding sensitivity in the temperature range of 298–523 K. To be exact, it demonstrates a maximal relative sensitivity of 0.93% K−1 at 348 K. Its absolute sensitivity linearly increases and reaches 3.46% K−1 at 523 K. Besides, it has a large chromaticity shift (ΔE = 228 × 10−3 in 298–523 K) against temperature, making the temperature change visible to the naked eye. We first demonstrate a CIE chromaticity coordinate technique for temperature sensing with high accuracy and good sensitivity by using the function of x or (x2 + y2)0.5 against T. These unique optical thermometric features allow Sr2SiO4:Ce3+/Eu2+/K+ to serve as an accurate and reliable thermometer probe candidate for temperature sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C26H36N4O20Zn2, triclinic, P 1 ‾ (no. 2), a = 6.9872(4) Å, b = 8.9052(5) Å, c = 8.9052(5) Å, α = 94.441(4)°, β = 93.552 (4) ° , γ = 90.045 (5) ° , V = 1651.61(16) Å3, Z = 2, R g t (F) = 0.0748, w R r e f (F2) = 0.2021, T = 293 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In wearable robots, the application of surface electromyography (sEMG) signals in motion intention recognition is a hot research issue. To improve the viability of human–robot interactive perception and to reduce the complexity of the knee joint angle estimation model, this paper proposed an estimation model for knee joint angle based on the novel method of multiple kernel relevance vector regression (MKRVR) through offline learning. The root mean square error, mean absolute error, and R2_score are used as performance indicators. By comparing the estimation model of MKRVR and least squares support vector regression (LSSVR), the MKRVR performs better on the estimation of the knee joint angle. The results showed that the MKRVR can estimate the knee joint angle with a continuous global MAE of 3.27° ± 1.2°, RMSE of 4.81° ± 1.37°, and R2 of 0.8946 ± 0.07. Therefore, we concluded that the MKRVR for the estimation of the knee joint angle from sEMG is viable and could be used for motion analysis and the application of recognition of the wearer's motion intentions in human–robot collaboration control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estradiol (E2) is involved in the regulation of emotional behavior, cognitive function, and neuroplasticity. However, peripheral E2 and central E2 levels do not always fluctuate together. The relationships of peripheral and central E2 with cognitive function are not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether peripheral E2, hippocampal E2, or both play a critical role in novel object recognition (NOR), and whether Kalirin-7, an important regulator of spine plasticity, is involved in the modulation of E2 on cognitive behavior. Our results showed that ovariectomy (OVX) significantly reduced serum E2 levels in the 14 weeks following the procedure. However, hippocampal E2 levels did not decrease in the OVX group compared to the sham group until after 14 weeks. Consistent with the changes in hippocampal E2 levels, the investigation ratio in the NOR test and hippocampal Kalirin-7 expression was also not lower in the OVX group than in the sham group until 14 weeks after the procedure. To confirm the relationship between hippocampal E2 levels and NOR ability, we inhibited the production of hippocampal E2 via microinjection of letrozole (LTZ; an aromatase inhibitor) into the hippocampi of rats in the control group and 8-week OVX group. The data indicated that a reduction in E2 levels in the hippocampus significantly impaired NOR ability and simultaneously decreased Kalirin-7 levels in the hippocampus. In conclusion, our study strongly demonstrates that hippocampal E2, but not peripheral E2, plays a critical role in NOR ability and that Kalirin-7 may be involved in this mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After separation of bacterial colonies on solid plates, purification, and screening through the agar cup-plate method, an antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolate was obtained, and named strain L20190601, the 16S rRNA gene sequence data of strain L20190601 to GenBank, NCBI have provided GenBank accession number MW931615. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that this isolate was highly similar to a number of Streptomyces species. Among them, the homology with S. spectabilis was the highest, reaching 99.9, together with curved hyphal morphology and biochemical tests, allowed us to identify strain L20190601 as S. spectabilis. The red pigment produced by S. spectabilis strain L20190601 was structurally identified. An acid–base color reaction assay showed that when this pigment was dissolved in a solution at pH 3.0 and 9.0, the color of the solution was red and yellow, respectively. In addition, the analysis of absorption spectra revealed that at pH 8.0 and 3.0, the maximum absorption peaks were at 466 and 531 nm, respectively. These results are consistent with the spectral absorption characteristics of metacycloprodigiosin reported in the literature. Moreover, the retention time of purified pigments was identical to those of standard metacycloprodigiosin solutions. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the molecular weight of the red compound was 392.2 [M + H]+. Finally, metacycloprodigiosin was found to be effective against eight clinically common pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus typhi, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton rubrum. In summary, metacycloprodigiosin exhibited strong antibacterial activity and a broad antibacterial spectrum, and thus is a promising compound for the development of a new type of antibacterial drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of ventilated patients with gram-negative pneumonia (GNP) is often unsuccessful. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of nebulized amikacin (NA) as adjunctive therapy to systemic antibiotics in this patient population. PubMed, Embase, China national knowledge infrastructure, Wanfang, and the Cochrane database were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effect of NA as adjunctive therapy in ventilated adult patients with GNP. Heterogeneity was explored using subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. The Grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation approach was used to assess the certainty of the evidence. Thirteen RCTs with 1733 adults were included. The pooled results showed NA had better microbiologic eradication (RR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.69, P < 0.0001) and improved clinical response (RR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.34; P < 0.0001) when compared with control. Meanwhile, overall mortality, pneumonia associated mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of stay in ICU and change of clinical pneumonia infection scores were similar between NA and control groups. Additionally, NA did not add significant nephrotoxicity while could cause more bronchospasm. The use of NA adjunctive to systemic antibiotics therapy showed better benefits in ventilated patients with GNP. More well-designed RCTs are still needed to confirm our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel type of reticulated shell structure composed of built-up plate members has been proposed based on its benefits in efficiency and precision of fabrication, as well as convenience of storage and transportation. This study aims to investigate the stability behavior of such structures by conducting numerical simulation analysis. The configuration of the structure is illustrated at first. Then, a validated numerical model is presented for parametric studies on two typical structural forms. Next, geometric nonlinear analysis is conducted, demonstrating the symmetrical characteristic of failure modes, and the results are utilized to develop practical prediction formulas for the elastic buckling load. Finally, material and geometric nonlinear analysis is performed to examine the impact of parameters on structural stability performance. The sensibilities of the material nonlinearity, geometric dimension, geometric imperfection, and joint stiffness on the structural stability are illustrated. This study provides insights into the instability mechanism of such structures and offers valuable guidance for their design and application. • A novel type of reticulated shell structure composed of built-up plate members. • Presented numerical models are validated by experimental data. • The structural stability behavior and influencing factors are revealed. • Practical prediction formulas for the elastic buckling load are developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-stain-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, rod-shaped and motile strain FT127WT was isolated from a subtropical stream in China. Comparison based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain FT127WT belongs to genus Massilia and shares 98.5% similarity with Massilia buxea A9T as its closest neighbor. The genome size of strain FT127WT was 6.65 Mbp with G + C content of 65.3%. The calculated pairwise OrthoANIu values and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain FT127WT and each of strains M. buxea KCTC 52429T, Massilia armeniaca ZMN-3T, Massilia plicata DSM 17505T and Massilia namucuonensis CGMCC 1.11014T were less than 83.1% and 26.6%, respectively. The reconstructed phylogenomic tree based on concatenated 92 core genes showed that strain FT127WT clusters closely with M. namucuonensis CGMCC 1.11014T. The respiratory quinone of strain FT127WT was Q-8. The major fatty acids were C16:1ω7c, C16:0 and C12:0. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified phospholipid. Combining above all characteristics, strain FT127WT should represent a novel species within genus Massilia, for which the name Massilia aquatica sp. nov. (type strain FT127WT = GDMCC 1.1690T = KACC 21482T) is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the two-machine no-wait permutation flowshop scheduling problem with common due window assignment, learning effect and resource allocation is considered, wherein learning effect and resource allocation mean that the processing time of a job is a function of its position in a sequence and its amount of resource allocation. According to the common due window assignment method, each job is associated with a common due window, which is a decision variable. The goal is to determine the sequence of jobs, common due window starting time, due window size and resource allocation such that the linear weighted sum of job earliness, tardiness, due window size and resource cost is minimized. This article shows that the scheduling problem can be solved in polynomial time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Our recent studies show that the reduced activity of epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) in endothelial cells accounts for the adaptation of vasculature to salt in Sprague-Dawley rats. The present study examines a hypothesis that enhanced ENaC activity mediates the loss of vasorelaxation in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats.Experimental Approach: We used the cell-attached patch-clamp technique to record ENaC activity in split-open mesenteric arteries. Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were used to evaluate the levels of aldosterone, ENaC, eNOS and NO. Blood pressure was measured with the tail-cuff method and the artery relaxation was measured with the wire myograph assay.Key Results: High-salt (HS) diet significantly increased plasma aldosterone and ENaC activity in the endothelial cells of Dahl SS rats. The endothelium-dependent artery relaxation was blunted by HS challenge in these rats. Amiloride, a potent blocker of ENaC, increased both phosphorylated eNOS and NO and therefore prevented the HS-induced loss of vasorelaxation. As, in SS rats, endogenous aldosterone was already elevated by HS challenge, exogenous aldosterone did not further elevate ENaC activity in the rats fed with HS. Eplerenone, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, attenuated the effects of HS on both ENaC activity and artery relaxation.Conclusions and Implications: These data suggest that HS diet blunts artery relaxation and causes hypertension via a pathway associated with aldosterone-dependent activation of ENaC in endothelial cells. This pathway provides one of the mechanisms by which HS causes hypertension in Dahl SS rats.Linked Articles: This article is part of a themed section on Spotlight on Small Molecules in Cardiovascular Diseases. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.8/issuetoc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonextensive hydrodynamic equations and Zakharov equations are derived by moment equation and two time-scale methods, respectively. The conserved quantities and nonlinear entity collapse scalar law are obtained, from which we find that the conservation energy is relevant to the nonextensive parameter but momentum as well as angular momentum and the number of plasmon are not affected by the nonextensivity of system. The self-similar collapse solution of nonextensive Zakharov equations is also presented. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the nonlinear entity collapse scalar law is relevant to the nonextensive parameter and especially it allows the existence of three dimensional stable and one dimensional collapse nonlinear entity, which is significantly different from the case of Maxwellian distribution. In the extensive limit, all the results obtained in Maxwellian framework are reproduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past two decades, echinocandins have shown prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP), due to their ability to inhibit the synthesis of β-1, 3-glucan, a major component of the cell wall of P. jirovecii. The present study reported two cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients who received echinocandins as a salvage therapy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (Beijing, China), both of whom exhibited good responses to treatment. In both cases, polymerase chain reaction of sputum or bronchoalveolar lavage specimens became negative following treatment. The present study also performed a literature search to identify non-HIV patients with PJP who previously received echinocandins. The results of the present study suggested that echinocandins maybe promising therapeutic agents in the treatment of non-HIV patients with PJP, particularly in combination with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Therefore, the results warrant a randomized controlled trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory and application of nonextensive statistical mechanics (NESM) have underwent rapid development since the nonextensive entropy is put forward in 1988; its tentacles are almost throughout all areas of physics and has been a huge success. The nonextensive distribution function, however, as a basic part of NESM theory and application foundation, suffers a controversy: two different mathematical definitions of nonextensive distributions. Here, we show that the one dimensional nonextensive distribution function has the form of [ 1 + (1 − q) x 2 ] 1 q − 1 . We are starting from the nonextensive entropy, derive the nonextensive distribution function adopting the Maxwellian method, and prove the correctness of the form, and illustrate the physical meaning of the nonextensive parameter q as the fractal dimension when the Euclidean dimension is one. Furthermore, we derive the three-dimensional distribution function and the relativistic nonextensive distribution function, which perfect the theory of NESM and lay a solid application foundation of the NESM. We use the relativistic nonextensive distribution function to investigate the dispersion relations of relativistic longitudinal oscillation in nonextensive plasma and obtain the analytical expression of long wave dispersion relations under the ultra-relativistic case and the complete numerical dispersion curves. These results under an extensive limit reproduce Maxwellian statistical results. The proposed theory provides a method to measure the dimension of a plasma system, which may greatly promote our understanding for complex nonlinear plasma systems and thus, promote the understanding and solving of nonlinear problems such as turbulence, chaos, and soliton. This work also is the application foundation of nonextensive statistical mechanics to high energy physics such as relativistic plasma, M-theory, and so on in physical and mathematical aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufactured by laser cutting technology with planar steel plates, the plate members have significant advantages in efficiency, customization, and transportation. These advantages make the plate members suitable for building small or medium-span curved reticulated shell structures. The plate members have been adopted in a novel reticulated shell structure with stiffening methods for resolving local buckling issues. In this type of structure, the semi-rigid plate-type joints are used to connect plate members. The previous study indicated that the rotational stiffness of plate-type joints has a great impact on structural stability. To investigate the rotational performance of the semi-rigid plate-type joints, a comprehensive study has been conducted in this research. Experimental tests were performed on a total of 12 specimens to obtain the moment-rotation responses of the joints. Four phases of the failure process were observed in the tests, namely, the linear elastic phase, slipping phase, hardening phase, and failure phase. The influences of joint width, joint thickness, and bolt diameter on the rotational performance are revealed by the experiments. Then, a refined finite element (FE) model was built and validated by the experimental results. This validated FE model clarified the failure mechanism of joints from the perspective of stress development and contact condition. Furthermore, theoretical formulas were established to calculate the key characteristics of the moment-rotation response, which is proved to have acceptable accuracy in predicting the rotational performance of joints. The conclusions of this study may provide a valuable reference for the structural stability design of reticulated shell structures composed of plate members. • Rotational performance of semi-rigid plate-type joints is comprehensively studied. • Influence of joint dimensions on rotational performance is revealed. • Four-phase analytical model for the moment-rotation response is established. • Prediction formulas of the rotational performance are derived and validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inorganic-organic hybrid photoresponsive wood was fabricated by incorporating the phosphomolybdic acid (PMA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) composites into the multi-scale hierarchical structure of wood using a simple pressure impregnation method. The as-prepared PMA-/PVP-coated wood (PPW) can change their colors in response to visible light. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy demonstrated that the PMA/PVP composites were coated on the wood surfaces successfully and the wood structures were still clearly visible. The atomic force microscopy images confirmed that the surface topography of the samples was changed after visible light irradiation, which was ascribed to the formation of heteropoly blues. The analysis of the color parameters proved that as-prepared PPW possessed the excellent photoresponsive property. The ultraviolet-visible spectra (UV-Vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were conducted in order to explore the photoresponsive mechanism, which confirmed the photoreduction reaction occurred, producing the heteropoly blues during the process of visible light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglia plays a prominent role in the brain's inflammatory response to injury or infection by migrating to affected locations and secreting inflammatory molecules. However, hyperactivated microglial is neurotoxic and plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Pristimerin, a naturally occurring triterpenoid, possesses antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the effect and the molecular mechanism of pristimerin against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neurotoxicity in microglia remain to be revealed. In the present study, using BV-2 microglial cultures, we investigated whether pristimerin modifies neurotoxicity after LPS stimulation and which intracellular pathways are involved in the effect of pristimerin. Here we show that pristimerin markedly suppressed the release of Regulated on Activation, Normal T Expressed and Secreted (RANTES), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and nitric oxide (NO). Pristimerin also significantly inhibited migration of BV-2 microglia and alleviated the death of neuron-like PC12 cell induced by the conditioned medium from LPS-activated BV-2 microglial cells. Moreover, pristimerin reduced the expression and interaction of TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 6 (TRAF6) and Interleukin-1 Receptor-Associated Kinases (IRAK1), limiting TGF-beta activating kinase 1 (TAK1) activation, and resulting in an inhibition of IKKα/β/NF-κB and MKK7/JNK/AP-1 signaling pathway in LPS-activated BV-2 microglia. Taken together, the anti-neurotoxicity action of pristimerin is mediated through the inhibition of TRAF6/IRAK1/TAK1 interaction as well as the related pathways: IKKα/β/NF-κB and MKK7/JNK/AP-1 signaling pathways. These findings may suggest that pristimerin might serve as a new therapeutic agent for treating hyperactivated microglial induced neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serum procalcitonin (PCT) concentration is used to guide antibiotic decisions in choice, timing, and duration of anti-infection therapy to avoid antibiotic overuse. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to seek evidence of different PCT-guided antimicrobial strategies for critically ill patients in terms of predefined clinical outcomes. Methods: We searched for relevant studies in PubMed, Embase, Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library up to 25 February 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they reported data on any of the predefined outcomes in adult ICU patients managed with a PCT-guided algorithm or according to standard care. Results were expressed as risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD) with accompanying 95% confidence interval (CI). Data synthesis: We included 13 trials enrolling 5136 patients. These studies used PCT in three clinical strategies: initiation, discontinuation, or combination of antibiotic initiation and discontinuation strategies. Pooled analysis showed a PCT-guided antibiotic discontinuation strategy had fewer total days with antibiotics (MD − 1.66 days; 95% CI − 2.36 to − 0.96 days), longer antibiotic-free days (MD 2.26 days; 95% CI 1.40-3.12 days), and lower short-term mortality (RR 0.87; 95% CI 0.76-0.98), without adversely affecting other outcomes. Only few studies reported data on other PCT-guided strategies for antibiotic therapies, and the pooled results showed no benefit in the predefined outcomes. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis produced evidence that among all the PCT-based strategies, only using PCT for antibiotic discontinuation can reduce both antibiotic exposure and short-term mortality in a critical care setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Endotracheal intubation (EI) in ICU patients is associated with an increased risk of life-threatening adverse events due to unstable conditions, rapid deterioration, limited preparation time, and variability in the expertise of operators. The goal of this study was to compare the effect of video laryngoscopy (VL) and direct laryngoscopy (DL) in ICU patients requiring EI. Methods We searched for relevant studies in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane database from inception through January 30, 2017. Randomized controlled trials were included if they reported data on any of the predefined outcomes in ICU patients requiring EI and managed with VL or DL. Results were expressed as risk ratios (RRs) or mean differences (MDs) with accompanying 95% CIs. Results Five randomized controlled trials with 1,301 patients were included. Despite better glottic visualization with VL (RR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.43; P =.003), use of VL did not result in a significant increase in the first-attempt success rate (RR = 1.08; 95% CI, 0.92-1.26; P =.35) compared with DL. In addition, time to intubation (MD = 4.12 s; 95% CI, –15.86-24.09; P =.69), difficult intubation (RR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.30-1.70; P =.45), mortality (RR = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.84-1.25; P =.83), and most other complications were similar between the VL and DL groups. Conclusions The VL technique did not increase the first-attempt success rate during EI in ICU patients compared with DL. These findings do not support routine use of VL in ICU patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart thermoresponsive wood was developed by depositing thermochromic materials on wood surfaces. The as-fabricated wood composites can reversibly change their colors with the changing temperature. The scanning electron microscope showed that the wood surface was made up of even spherical particles. The attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra demonstrated that the thermochromic materials were successfully settled onto wood surfaces, and the cross-cut test results further proved that all samples can meet general application in the furniture industry. As the concentrations of thermochromic materials increased from 0 to 4.0%, the total color changes (Δ E*) of samples remarkably increased from 1.81 to 39.56, exhibiting a good thermoresponsive property. TG results showed that the sample had the excellent thermal stability below the temperature of 216 °C. Furthermore, the accelerated UV-aging tests demonstrated that the thermoresponsive property of the samples was highly efficient when it was exposed under the UV irradiation for 100 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear Brillouin backward scattering of a linearly polarized short laser pulse propagating through a homogenous nonextensive distributed plasma in the presence of a uniform magnetic field perpendicular to both the direction of propagation and electric vector of the radiation field is investigated theoretically when ponderomotive relativistic and nonlinearity effects up to third order are taken into account. The governing equations for nonlinear wave in the context of nonextensive statistics are given, and the nonextensive coupled equations describing the nonlinear Brillouin backward scattering instability are solved by the Fourier transformation method, and the growth rate of the nonlinear Brillouin backward scattering instability is obtained. The results in the case q → 1 are consistent with those in the framework of the Maxwellian distribution. It is found that the instability growth rate increases on increasing plasma density, radiation field amplitude, and nonextensive parameter, while the instability growth rate shows a decrease due to the presence of external magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The freeze tolerance of seedlings can be affected by cold acclimation. This acclimation can in turn alter the seedlings absorbance spectra due to variation of soluble sugar content (SSC). If models developed from the absorbance at wavelengths in the near infrared reflectance (NIR) region could provide information concerning the variation in SSC, nursery managers could assess the freeze tolerance of each seedling before planting. The objective of this research was to investigate the potential to use NIR based analysis to study the variation of SSC in Loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) seedlings after cold acclimation. Seventy seedlings were frozen using different cold treatments and 10 seedlings were designated as controls. The standard wet chemistry method was employed to collect the original SSC data, including glucose, fructose and galactose. NIR spectroscopy was completed by using a NIR machine, with a range of 10,000–4000 cm −1 . The results were analyzed using partial least squares regression in an effort to determine the SSC in the leaves, stems and roots. Results showed that the freeze tolerance of seedlings increased after cold acclimation and was positively related to the presence of SSC. After cold acclimation, leaves had the most SSC, and the galactose content was more than that of glucose or fructose in seedlings. Based on the determination coefficient (R 2 ) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD), the predicted results of NIR models were evaluated. The model for leaf galactose (R 2 = 0.88 and RPD = 2.17) was the most stable and accurate model. This paper demonstrates that NIR coupled with chemometric modeling can be a useful tool in the monitoring of SSC variation and this information could be useful in the prediction of freeze tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agarose/graphene oxide GPE with highly-ordered lamellar network structure was prepared. • The optimized agarose molecular configuration provides an efficient Li+ migration. • Ag/GO 2 -GPE based SSC exhibits specific capacitance as high as 791.67 mF cm−2. • Ag/GO 2 -GPE has an excellent mechanical strength and flame retardant performance. The application of gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) in solid state supercapacitor (SSC) has attracted much attention due to its excellent mechanical properties and chemical stability. However, traditional polymer substrates have high crystallinity, resulting in sluggish lithium migration and low ionic conductivity. In this work, density functional theory calculations (DFT) firstly reveal that agarose molecules (a natural marine polysaccharide) can be assembled to highly-ordered lamellar network structure by hydrogen bonds forming (d' = 0.454 nm) as GPE matrix combining with graphene oxide (GO) addictive. Specifically, radial distribution functions (RDFs) show that intensities of peaks (g Li-O (r)) at 0.189 nm are 45.2 and 54.8 for agarose and agarose/GO, respectively. This finding indicates an optimized agarose molecular configuration and a rapid lithium migration in agarose/GO GPE (Ag/GO-GPE) system. When Ag/GO-GPE was prepared, SSC assembled with Ag/GO 2 -GPE and activated carbon electrode has high ionic conductivity (73.8 mS cm−1) and a specific capacitance as high as 791.67 mF cm−2 at a current density of 5 mA cm−2. Moreover, the electrochemical performance of SSC based Ag/GO 2 -GPE is stable at a bending condition of 180°, resulted from the hydrogen bonds between agarose matrix and GO. In addition, Ag/GO 2 -GPE has an excellent mechanical strength (0.115 MPa) and flame retardant performance (heat release rates (HRR) of 11.08 kw/m2 and total heat release (THR) of 0.79 MJ m2). This research opens up a novel avenue to develop safe and efficient flexible wearable SSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical flower-like hexagonal molybdenum trioxide (MoO) film, with a light-driven response, was grown on a wood surface using a one-pot low-temperature hydrothermal method. The crystal structures, microstructure investigations, chemical compositions, and UV-Vis analysis of the MoO film on the wood surface were studied. In addition, the growth mechanism of the flower-like MoO was put forward. The X-ray diffraction results show that the fabricated MoO had a hexagonal structure and the average grain size was 65.6 nm, according to Scherrer's equation. Scanning electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that the hierarchical MoO film was composed of many unique bumps that were assembled using numerous microrods. The formation mechanism reveals that during the hydrothermal process the dispersive MoO particles first created and then assembled the 3D flower-like structures. The energy dispersive spectrometer, Raman spectrum, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the MoO film grown on the wood surface. The UV-Vis analysis suggested that the as-fabricated product responded well to stimulation from a UV light at 365 nm and exhibited outstanding color changes. The calculated band gap of the MoO film based on K-M model was around 2.98 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction site environment is quite complex with many dangerous hazards (e.g., foundation pits, holes). To avoid injuries, workers must wear helmets that are color-coded for the specific type of work, which is helpful to identify whether workers are in permitted areas. Therefore, it is possible to identify unauthorized intrusion by classifying the safety helmets. This study proposes a vision-based method called Helmet–Yolov5 to automatically detect unauthorized intrusions by workers on construction sites. Multiple improvement measures are made to enhance the model performance. First, the attention mechanism is used to enhance the weights of object regions in the image, which makes the detection of small objects more effective. Second, atrous spatial pyramid pooling is adopted to preserve the detail information of the image. Third, the universal upsampling operator is introduced to fuse image features at different scales. To verify the effectiveness of the improved model, images collected from a real construction site are used to build a large-scale image dataset of safety helmets for model testing. It shows that the proposed Helmet-Yolov5 model is more accurate than the original Yolov5 model, also with high inference speed. Compared to other state-of-the-art models (e.g., Yolov4), the Helmet-Yolov5 model has considerable advantages in term of high detection accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-Plasmon-Decay (TPD) driven by an extraordinary electromagnetic wave in a magnetized plasma with nonextensive distribution has been investigated theoretically when electron-ion collision and term ω²p E are taken into account. The analytical expression of the growth rate has been obtained, which reproduces the result in the context of Maxwellian distribution in the extensive limit. It has been shown that nonextensive nature of electron distribution, the external magnetic field, laser pump amplitude, and the term ω²p E have promoting effect on the instability growth rate of TPD, but the electron-ion collision has depressing effect on the instability growth rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is expressed in vascular endothelial cells and is a negative modulator of vasodilation. However, the role of endothelial ENaCs in salt-sensitive hypertension remains unclear. Here, we have investigated how endothelial ENaCs in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats respond to high-salt (HS) challenge.Experimental Approach: BP and plasma aldosterone levels were measured. We used patch-clamp technique to record ENaC activity in split-open mesenteric arteries (MAs). Western blot and Griess assay were used to detect expression of α-ENaCs, eNOS and NO. Vasorelaxation in second-order MAs was measured with wire myograph assays.Key Results: Functional ENaCs were observed in endothelial cells and their activity was significantly decreased after 1 week of HS diet. After 3 weeks of HS diet, ENaC expression was also reduced. When either ENaC activity or expression was reduced, endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR) of MAs, in response to ACh, was enhanced. This enhancement of EDR was mimicked by amiloride, a blocker of ENaCs. By contrast, HS diet significantly increased contractility of MAs, accompanied by decreased eNOS activity and NO levels. However, ACh-induced release of NO was much higher in MAs isolated from HS rats than those from NS rats.Conclusions and Implications: HS intake increased the BP of SD rats, but simultaneously enhanced EDR by reducing ENaC activity and expression due to feedback inhibition. Therefore, ENaCs may play an important role in endothelial cells allowing the vasculature to adapt to HS conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive natural products were firstly obtained from biogas slurry. Three new 29 carbon skeletons of the pentacyclic triterpenoid compounds 24-norolean-12-ene-3,22-dione (1), 3β-hydroxy-24-norolean-12-ene-22-one (2), 3α-hydroxy-24-norolean-12-ene-22-one (3), as well as one known compound S-equol (4) were isolated and purified from the MeOH extract of chicken manure biogas slurry. The molecular structures of the four compounds were elucidated based on the extensive spectroscopic data analysis, and the structure of Compound 1 was further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structures of Compounds 1, 2, and 3 are similar with oleanolicum and hederagenin that has excellent anti-tumor activities. The cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines (Hela, A549, MCF7, PC3, and B16) of Compounds 1-4 was tested. Similar to Compound 4 (Sequol), Compounds 1-3 (pentacyclic triterpenoids) showed cytotoxicity activity against different tumor cell lines. Compounds 1-3 showed slightly lower cytotoxicity activities than Compound 4. The IC50 of Compound 4 was determined to be 9.7-27.6 μM, while the IC50 values of 1-3 were 17.6-65.3 μM. There are no significant differences in the cytotoxicity capacities between Compounds 1, 2, and 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 2-pyridone derivatives have been synthesized via a formal [3+3] annulation strategy starting from readily available α-EWG-α-formyl ketene- S , S -acetal 1 and α-carbamoyl ketene- S , S -acetals 2 in the presence of CH 3 COOH at 80 °C in excellent yields (91–98%). A mechanism involving sequential Baylis–Hillman reaction, intramolecular cycloaddition, Michael addition, and alkylthiol elimination processes for this novel reaction is described in the Letter. In addition, substituted 1-aryl pyridine-2(1 H )-ones 4 have also been prepared in high yields via a Cu(OAc) 2 -mediated three-component reaction of 1 , 2 , and aryl boronic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using chitosan (CS)-modified wood as a scaffold, a magnetic surface was constructed via a simple in situ synthesis method in this paper. The effects of iron ions concentrations on crystalline structure and magnetic properties of the composite were investigated. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). SEM analysis revealed that the iron oxide particles uniformly deposited on the wood surface. The mineralogy of iron oxide was identified by XRD and XPS analysis as the spinel phase magnetite. In addition, the CS acted as a bridge linking the magnetite coating and wood substrates, which is a key factor for the formation of their strong bonding forces. VSM measurement indicated that the as-synthesized composites were magnetically soft at room temperature, and the saturation magnetizations M increased from 14.07 to 57.46 memu, the remanence magnetization M increased from 0.57 to 2.77 memu, and the coercivity H decreased from 17.02 to 14.29 Oe with an increase in iron ions concentration from 0.4 to 2.0 mol/L. The magnetic property of the composites was easily tailored by adjusting the iron ion concentration, thus providing novel applications of the natural resources wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As a fundamental problem in image processing, image deblurring has still attracted a lot of research attention. Due to the large computational cost, especially for high-resolution images, it becomes challenging to solve the deblurring minimization problem and the underlying partial differential equations. The domain decomposition method (DD), as one of the most efficient algorithms for solving large scale problems, had not been applied directly to image deblurring because of the global characteristic of the blur operator. In this paper, in order to avoid separating the blur operator, we propose an algorithm for directly solving the total variational based minimization problems with DD. Various numerical experiments and comparisons demonstrate that the larger the image size is, the more efficient the proposed method is in saving running time. The parallelization has also been realized by using the parallel computing toolbox of MATLAB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To deal with the defect that traditional matching methods were susceptible to noise, occlusion and change of imaging mechanism, this paper presented a hierarchical template matching algorithm, according to human cognitive process. Firstly it cut candidate matching areas by using the statistical index, then improved the robustness though an improvement algorithm based on MHD. The experimental results have impressively indicated the effectiveness of the proposed method to keep candidate matching areas down and improve the robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The form invariance and the conserved quantity for a weakly nonholonomic system (WNS) are studied. The WNS is a nonholonomic system (NS) whose constraint equations contain a small parameter. The differential equations of motion of the system are established. The definition and the criterion of form invariance of the system are given. The conserved quantity deduced from the form invariance is obtained. Finally, an illustrative example is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and simple electroless Ni-Cu-P plating process was used for preparing corrosion-resistant and electromagnetic interference shielding wood-based composite. The effects of CuSO·5HO concentration, pH value in the plating solution and operation temperature on the metal deposition, surface resistivity, chemical composition, corrosion resistance and surface morphology of the composite were investigated. The surface morphologies were observed by using scanning electron microscopy and the chemical compositions were analyzed by X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer. The electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (ESE) was measured by spectrum analyzer. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by potentiodynamic corrosion measurement. The results show that metal deposition increases with pH value and temperature increase; however, it decreases with CuSO·5HO concentration increase. The corrosion resistance of the plated Ni-Cu-P coatings obviously depends on the total content of Cu and P in the coating. Higher total content of Cu and P leads to higher corrosion resistance. The optimum conditions are as follows: CuSO·5HO concentration of 1.0 g/L, pH value of 9.5, and operation temperature of 90 °C. The obtained coating contains 77.41 % Ni, 8.96 % Cu, and 13.63 % P. The wood-based composite exhibits higher corrosion resistance and ESE of around 60 dB in frequencies ranging from 9 kHz to 1.5 GHz. In this paper, a promising process for corrosion-resistant and electromagnetic shielding wood-based composites was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analytic function of relativistic nonextensive distribution is given, and employed to solve the Landau damping of longitudinal oscillation in ultra-relativistic plasmas. The unified expression of Landau damping which reduces to the result in relativistic Maxwellian distributed plasmas in the extensive limit is obtained, and find that Landau damping is relevant to both the number and energy of resonant particles, which described by temperature and nonextensive parameters in relativistic nonextensive distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) in collisionless toroidal plasmas with a constant electrostatic potential around a magnetic surface is investigated based on the linear gyrokinetic theory in context of nonextensive statistics mechanics. The damping rate of GAM is shown to be dependent on the nonextensive parameters of ions, and in the extensive limit, the result in Maxwellian distribution plasma is recovered. The damping rate is found to be enhanced as the nonextensive parameter of ion decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a series of H‐bonded arylamide foldamers bearing benzoselenadiazole ends with solvent‐responsive properties have been synthesized. In dichloromethane or dimethyl sulfoxide solvents, the molecules exhibit meniscus or linear structures, respectively, which can be attributed to the unique intramolecular hydrogen bonding behavior evidenced by 1D 1H NMR and 2D NOESY spectra. UV‐vis spectroscopy experiments show that the absorption wavelength of H‐bonded arylamide foldamers are significantly red‐shifted due to the presence of benzoselenadiazole group. In addition, the crystal structures reveal that effective intermolecular dual Se ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ N interactions between benzoselenadiazole groups induce further assembly of the monomers. Remarkably, supramolecular linear and double helices structures are constructed under the synergistic induction of intramolecular hydrogen bonding and intermolecular chalcogen bonding. Additionally, 2D DOSY diffusion spectra and theoretical modelling based on density functional theory (DFT) are performed to explore the persistence of intermolecular Se ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ N interactions beyond the crystalline state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated a single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal (SCSC) transformation from a two‐dimensional noninterpenetrated layer to a microporous three‐dimensional fourfold interpenetrated MOF. The centrosymmetric [Co2(μ2‐OH)(EIBA)3]n (SNUT‐25) transforms into a microporous [Co(EIBA)2]n (SNUT‐26), which is triggered by the reaction time with DMF that acts as a structure‐directing agent (HEIBA = 4‐(2‐ethyl‐1H‐imidazol‐1‐yl)benzoic acid; DMF = N,N′‐dimethylformamide). Despite the distinct structure and coordination arrangements of SNUT‐25 in contrast to SNUT‐26, both Co‐MOFs were synthesized using the same ligand. Fascinatingly, upon introducing a specific quantity of DMF combined with a negligible proportion of nitric acid, SNUT‐25 will progressively and completely transform into SNUT‐26. Under the synergistic induction of solvent molecules and temperature, SNUT‐25 changed from the original two‐dimensional layered structure to the three‐dimensional pore structure of SNUT‐26. In addition, SNUT‐25 and SNUT‐26 are efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of organic dye methyl blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. Surprisingly, the degradation rates of both SNUT‐25 and SNUT‐26 can reach over 96%. In addition, SNUT‐25 and SNUT‐26 also exhibited high electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to sulfur on activated carbon-supported metal oxide sorbents (M/AC) was investigated for hot fuel gas desulfurization. Various M/AC sorbents loaded with 1wt.% metal oxide were separately prepared by pore volume impregnation and their breakthrough capacity was examined. The results showed that the breakthrough capacity of different sorbents can be placed in the following order: Mn/AC>Cu/AC>Fe/AC>Ce/AC>Co/AC>V/AC. The metal oxides loaded on the M/AC surface catalyze the reaction between hydrogen sulfide and oxygen to form element sulfur; the activated carbon, as an adsorbent, can adsorb and store the element sulfur in its pore passage. The DTG analysis and determination of forms of sulfur confirmed that the main product of the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide was elemental sulfur. The regeneration of exhausted sorbents was carried out using hot gas N2 and H2O desorption methods at temperature 500°C. The breakthrough capacity of the sorbent was mostly recovered after regeneration. The mechanism of the catalytic oxidation of H2S on M/AC sorbent was also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims: To investigate alterations in protein expression associated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in an attempt to elucidate possible mechanisms of action. Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), obtained from six Parkinson's disease (PD) patients (pre- and post-DBS) and from six normal healthy controls, was studied for differentially expressed proteins. 2-D DIGE, in combination with MALDI-TOF and TOF-TOF Mass Spectrometry (MS) or ESI-MS, was used to identify the changed proteins (3 PD patients and 3 controls). Selected proteins were further studied using western blotting (6 PD patients and 6 controls). Results: Twenty-one proteins were identified after MS and protein database interrogation. Apart from apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the expression levels of complement C4 (C4), IgA, tetranectin, and extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), detected by western blotting, correlated well with the 2-D DIGE results. In the follow-up period, the expression levels of C4, apoA-I and IgA were stable whereas EC-SOD and tetranectin were significantly elevated. In addition, when DBS was ceased in one patient due to a suicide attempt, the levels of EC-SOD and tetranectin significantly decreased. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that variations in the expression levels of EC-SOD and tetranectin in CSF is related to DBS. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High impedance surface absorbers comprising of lossless dielectric substrate and resistive pattern were studied based on equivalent circuit method. Resonant conditions in terms of potential resonant frequencies and corresponding equivalent resistance were deduced. Theoretical calculation, numerical simulation and experiment showed that expected absorption was obtained by matching the capacitance, inductance and the resistance. We demonstrated that the optimal resistance of frequency-dispersive was between 0 and 377 \Omega. For square, dipole and square ring pattern, a mean resistance value was required to achieve broadband absorption. It offered a way to create broadband and perfect absorbers by controlling the surface resistance of sub-wavelength structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The instability of dust acoustic waves driven by electrons and ions with different drift velocities in dusty non-extensive plasma is investigated based on the kinetic theory. The non-extensivity parameters of non-extensive distribution for three plasma components are different from each other. The instability growth rate is shown to be dependent on the non-extensivity parameters as well as on the ion--electron number density ratio. In the extensive limit (q=1), the result in Maxwellian distribution plasma is recovered. The instability growth rate is found to decrease as the population of suprathermal electrons and dust grains increases, but it enhances when the number of suprathermal ions increases and electron density decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety is arguably the primary concern for consumer products. Popular quality management methods such as Total Quality Management provide enterprises with the vital tools to ensure the expected product quality in production. However, the safety of a consumer product also rely on numerous factors involved in its life cycle, and some of which are difficult to control. It is challenging to acquire and integrate the information from all of the sources involved in the supply chain to assess the risk level of a product. A few of information systems have been reported for product risk management in the developed countries and regions such as Japan and Europe; however, those systems are not universally applicable, in particular in developing countries, since the safety standards as well as other important factors involved in the deployment of products vary from country to country. The use of enterprise systems (ES) has become increasingly popular in both manufacturing and service industries. An ES, especially its QMS (Quality Management System), can be a promising solution to this problem. This paper discusses the application of QMS in ES and presents an application in risk assessment of consumer products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important factor in the development of skin photodamage after ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. A flavonoid antioxidant, baicalin, can selectively neutralize super-oxide anion (O2−) while having no significant effect on •OH. Fibroblasts are a key component of skin dermis. In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of baicalin on human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) under UVA induced oxidative stress. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to assay the intracellular O2−, NO, ROS concentrations and the mitochondrial membrane potential. Cell viability was determined using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). The concentrations of cellular MDA, SOD, GSH, T-AOC, and 8-oxo-dG were also measured. Cellular apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry and caspase-3 detection. The results revealed that UVA radiation could cause oxidative stress and apoptosis in HSFs. Interestingly, the use of baicalin after UVA radiation significantly reduced the level of intracellular O2−, NO, and ROS, stabilized the mitochondrial membrane potential, and attenuated production of MDA and 8-oxo-dG. These efficiently enhanced the antioxidative defense system and protected the HSFs from subsequent oxidative stress damage and apoptosis. In other words, baicalin decreased the excessive generation of intracellular ROS and NO, and elevated the cellular antioxidative defense, which eventually mitigate the UVA-induced apoptosis. Based on our results, baicalin may have applications in the treatment of skin photodamage caused by UVA irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Landau damping of dust acoustic waves propagating in a dusty plasma composed of nonextensive distributed electrons and ions, and Maxwellian distributed dust grains is investigated based on kinetic theory. The dust acoustic waves are found in the range of , where is the thermal velocity of species . The damping rate is shown to be dependent on the nonextensivity parameter as well as the ratio of ion density to electron. In the limit , the result based on the Maxwellian distribution is recovered. The maximum Landau damping rate is found to be enhanced as the population of the electron density decreases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The symmetry of Lagrangians of a holonomic variable mass system is studied. Firstly, the differential equations of motion of the system are established. Secondly, the definition and the criterion of the symmetry of the system are presented. Thirdly, the conditions under which there exists a conserved quantity deduced by the symmetry are obtained. The form of the conserved quantity is the same as that of the constant mass Lagrange system. Finally, an example is shown to illustrate the application of the result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: HIV-infected patients have a high prevalence of long QT syndrome (LQTs). hERG K+ channel encoded by human ether-a-go-go related gene contributes to IKr K+ currents responsible for the repolarization of cardiomyocytes. Inhibition of hERG K+ channels leads to LQTs. HIV Tat protein, the virus transactivator protein, plays a pivotal role in AIDS. The aim of the present study is to examine the effects of HIV Tat protein on hERG K+ channels stably expressed in HEK293 cells. The hERG K+ currents were recorded by whole-cell patch-clamp technique and the hERG channel expression was measured by real-time PCR and Western blot techniques. HIV Tat protein at 200ng/ml concentration showed no acute effect on hERG currents, but HIV Tat protein (200ng/ml) incubation for 24h significantly inhibited hERG currents. In HIV Tat incubated cells, the inactivation and the recovery time from inactivation of hERG channels were significantly changed. HIV Tat protein incubation (200ng/ml) for 24h had no effect on the hERG mRNA expression, but dose-dependently inhibited hERG protein expression. The MTT assay showed that HIV Tat protein at 50ng/ml and 200ng/ml had no effect on the cell viability. HIV Tat protein increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the inhibition of hERG channel protein expression by HIV Tat protein was prevented by antioxidant tempol. HIV Tat protein in vivo treatment reduced IKr currents and prolonged action potential duration of guinea pig cardiomyocytes. We conclude that HIV Tat protein inhibits hERG K+ currents through the inhibition of hERG protein expression, which might be the potential mechanism of HIV infection induced LQTs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Lu2Ti2O7 ceramic powder with pyrochlore structure was synthesized in molten salt with NaCl as salt flux, under different salt-to-oxide mole ratios of 1:1, 3:1and 5:1 in the temperatures range of 800–1100°C. It was found that the synthesizing temperature and salt-to-oxide ratios had significant effects on the morphology of Lu2Ti2O7 powder. The microstructure observation revealed that the crystal morphology of Lu2Ti2O7 powder changed from spheroid to octahedron, and then became irregular after further increasing temperature. When the temperature was increased beyond 1000°C, a duplex microstructure could be formed. Further investigations revealed that the ratio of salt to oxide affected the crystalline of Lu2Ti2O7 from the molten salt flux although the grain size of the synthesized powder was not found to increase greatly by an increment of the molten salt content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]