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Aiming to analyze traveler's mode choice behavior under bounder rational, this paper introduced the prospect theory in the mode choice decision-making. First, the subjective perception cost of travelers with different time value on the three different transport modes, private car, bus and taxi, was analyzed, and the traveler's mode choice behavior was discussed under the traveler's generalized travel cost, the probability distribution of travel time changing and travel time constraints, respectively. Comparing the difference of numerical examples between prospect theory and expected utility theory, it indicated that the prospect theory is more dependent on the weighting function changes; and under the travel time probability changes and the time constraints, the car owners tend to choose private cars. The prospect theory is more applicable to analyze traveler's mode choice behavior under the uncertain environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol consumption is one of the risk factors for kidney injury. The underlying mechanism of alcohol-induced kidney injury remains largely unknown. We previously found that the kidney in a mouse model of alcoholic kidney injury had severe inflammation. In this study, we found that the administration of alcohol was associated with the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and NF-κB signaling, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Whole-genome methylation sequencing (WGBS) showed that the DNA encoding fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) was significantly methylated in the alcoholic kidney. This finding was confirmed with the bisulfite sequencing (BSP), which showed that alcohol increased DNA methylation of FTO in the kidney. Furthermore, inhibition of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) by 5-azacytidine (5-aza) reversed alcohol-induced kidney injury and decreased the mRNA and protein levels of FTO. Importantly, we found that FTO, the m6A demethylase, epigenetically modified peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) in a YTH domain family 2 (YTHDF2)-dependent manner, which resulted in inflammation in alcoholic kidney injury models. In conclusion, our findings indicate that alcohol increases the methylation of PPAR-α m6A by FTO-mediated YTHDF2 epigenetic modification, which ultimately leads to the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and NF-κB-driven renal inflammation in the kidney. These findings may provide novel strategies for preventing and treating alcoholic kidney diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Well-defined octahedral Znq2 has been synthesized via a facile solvothermal route. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the as-prepared product has an octahedral structure with an edge length of 2μm. The reaction parameters, such as solvent, reaction time and temperature, play an important part in the morphology of the final product. A possible formation mechanism for octahedral Znq2 is proposed. The as-prepared octahedral Znq2 exhibits excellent electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 8-Hydroxyquinoline cadmium (Cdq2) nanobelts with width of 100–200nm and lengths of 0.5–2μm have been successfully synthesized through a facile solvothermal method at 120°C for 24h. The composition, morphology and structure of the as-prepared products were confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Experiment results indicated that the concentration of ethanol played an important effect in the morphology of the final products. Moreover, the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) properties of the Cdq2 sample with different morphologies were investigated. The ECL spectra show that the Cdq2 nanobelts exhibited excellent electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Monthly phytolith-occluded organic carbon (PhytOC) content in living leaves and litterfall of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) were measured for a year. The PhytOC sequestration rate in living leaves of different months were compared with that in annual litterfall to determine the optimum sampling time of living leaves for estimating PhytOC sequestration rate of Moso bamboo. The contents of phytoliths and PhytOC in living leaves of Moso bamboos were 23.45-101.07 g·kg -1 and 0.73-1.98 g·kg -1 , respectively, with significant difference among different months. The monthly PhytOC sequestration rates of living leaves of Moso bamboo in different months ranged from 0.75 to 7.68 kg·hm -2 ·a -1 . The maximum and minimum rates of the PhytOC sequestration occurred in December and April respectively, with significant difference between them. There was no difference between the PhytOC sequestration rate in living leaves of Moso bamboos in February or December and that of litterfall in the whole year. Therefore, February or December should be the optimal month of sampling living leaves for estimating the PhytOC sequestration rate of Moso bamboo stands.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Wnt5a on the vincristine (VCR) resistance in human ovarian carcinoma SKOV3 cells and its possible mechanism. The drug-resistant SKOV3/VCR cells were established by stepwise exposure to VCR, and then the SKOV3/VCR cells were stably transfected with specific shRNA interference plasmid vector targeting for Wnt5a. The mRNA expression level of Wnt5a was measured by RT-PCR. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the cell viability of SKOV3/VCR cells. The apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. The protein expression levels of Wnt5a, MDR1, Survivin, β-catenin, Akt, p-Akt(S473), GSK3β and p-GSK3β(Ser9) were detected by Western blot. The result showed that SKOV3/VCR cells had significantly higher protein expression levels of Wnt5a, MDR1, Survivin and β-catenin, phosphorylation levels of Akt and GSK3β, and mRNA expression level of Wnt5a, compared with SKOV3 cells (P < 0.05). WNT5A gene silencing significantly increased the sensitivity of SKOV3/VCR cells to VCR, the IC 50 of VCR being decreased from 38.412 to 9.283 mg/L (P < 0.05), synergistically enhanced VCR-induced apoptosis of SKOV3/VCR cells (P < 0.05), down-regulated the protein expression levels of MDR1, β-catenin and Survivin (P < 0.05), and inhibited phosphorylation of Akt and GSK3β (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) decreased the protein expression levels of MDR1, β-catenin and Survivin, as well as the phosphorylation levels of Akt and GSK3β in SKOV3/VCR cells (P < 0.05). These results suggest that WNT5A gene silencing reverses VCR resistance in SKOV3/VCR cells possibly through blocking the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway, and thus down-regulating the protein expression levels of MDR1 and Survivin.

Objective: To understand the endemic dynamic and situation of schistosomiasis in the Xixi National Wetland Park., Methods: The surveillances of Oncomelania hupensis snail situation and the schistosome infection status of the permanent residents and floating population in the Xixi National Wetland were conducted annually from 2012 to 2014 according to the Surveillance Programs of Schistosomiasis in Surveillance Sites of Zhejiang Province., Results: From 2012 to 2014, accumulatively 12.31 hm2 of area, 4965 m2 of vegetation and 75,379 alien plants were surveyed in the Xixi National Wetland Park, and no Oncomelania snails were found. The seropositive rates in the permanent residents and floating population were 0.71% (5/706) and 1.36% (25/1 834), respectively, and 1 imported chronic schistosomiasis case was found in 2014. Totally 3 006 floating personnel were involved in the investigation of infection status and awareness on knowledge of schistosomiasis control in 2013, the sero-positive rate was 0.63% (19/3 006), and the rates of those from endemic and non-endemic areas were 1.00% (15/1 503) and 0.27% (4/1 503), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 6.41, P < 0.05). The results of the fecal examinations among the seropositive cases were all negative. The awareness rates on the Regulation of Schistosomiasis Control and Prevention as well as related knowledge about Oncomelania snails were low. The indoor survival experiment of Oncomelania snails showed the survival rates of Oncomelania snails were 58.33% and 1.25% after observing for 3 and 6 months respectively., Conclusions: The Xixi National Wetland Park is suitable for Oncomelania snails to inhabit and breed. The imported cases in floating population pose a serious threat to the endemic situation of schistosomiasis in local. In the future, the surveillance on snails and floating population as well as the health education should be strengthened.

A novel starfish-shaped porous Co3O4/ZnFe2O4 hollow nanocomposite was fabricated for the first time by a facile and stepwise hydrothermal approach, utilizing metal-organic frameworks as precursors and sacrificial templates. The morphology evolution in the synthetic process upon reaction time and amount of raw materials were investigated in detail. The as-synthesized starfish-shaped porous Co3O4/ZnFe2O4 composites were studied as an electrode material for supercapacitors showing good capacitive performances. Their specific capacitance can reach as high as 326 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1). The rational combination of components with different potential windows in a composite material enables a wide overall potential range resulting in the highest energy density of 82.5 Wh kg(-1), significantly larger than that of the single components. Magnetic measurements show that the system presents a large coercivity and high squareness (at 1.8 K, Hc = 884 Oe and Mr/Ms = 0.52) with respect to the individual components, which may be attributed to the unique morphology of Co3O4/ZnFe2O4, as well as surface and interface exchange coupling effects. Materials with this novel design and fabrication may show promise for potential applications in electrochemical energy storage and magnetic devices.

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and its potential mechanism in rats., Methods: Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups, each group with 12 rats. LPS (5 mg/kg) was injected intravenously to induce ALI in model group, and same amount of normal saline was injected in control group and KGF group. The rats in KGF group were treated with KGF (5 mg/kg) intratracheally after injection of LPS. The rats were sacrificed after 8 hours, histologic assessments, wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio, pulmonary vascular permeability, lung epithelial cell permeability, the proliferation and repair capacity of type II alveolar epithelial cells (ATII) were analyzed., Results: Under optical microscope, it was found that KGF could reduce injury to lung tissue induced by LPS. Compared with the model group, KGF could decrease pulmonary vascular permeability [(0.026+/-0.049)% vs. (0.087+/-0.027)%], lung epithelial cell permeability [(0.692+/-0.017)% vs. (0.931+/-0.029)%] and W/D ratio (4.778+/-0.243 vs. 6.869+/-0.153, P<0.05 or P<0.01), enhance the proliferation and repair capacity of ATII cells (ATII cells: 6.083+/-1.781 vs. 4.666+/-1.923, injury area (mm2): 2.946+/-0.453 vs. 6.181+/-0.975, P<0.05 and P<0.01)., Conclusion: KGF could reduce the injury to the lung in LPS-induced ALI, and it plays a protective role through enhancing the proliferation and repair capacity of ATII cells.

Objective: To evaluate dose response of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) for surfactant-treated rabbits with meconium aspiration-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and hypoxemic respiratory failure (HRF), and variation of measured iNO by continuous NO delivery in pressure support ventilation (PSV)., Methods: Adult rabbits (2.0 - 3.5 kg, n = 33) were randomized to receive intratracheal meconium instillation for 30 min and subjected to following treatment (n = 6 - 8). There were 4 groups: Control (C); NO, iNO at 1, 10, 20 and 40 x 10(-6) each for 60 min at 30 min interval of disconnection; Surf, intratracheal instillation of porcine lung surfactant phospholipids (100 mg/kg); SNO, both iNO and surfactant as in the NO and Surf groups; and a normal group (N), which did not undergo meconium aspiration but received sham deliveries of normal saline. All the animals were treated with PSV for 6 h. iNO levels at different input and sampling sites in the NO and SNO groups were detected by on-line chemiluminescent technique. The blood gas and lung mechanics were measured during the experiments every 2 h., Results: (1) Meconium aspiration induced ALI and severe HRF (PaO(2)/FiO(2) < 200 mmHg) and depressed dynamic compliance of respiratory system (Cdyn) and airway resistance (Raw). In both Surf and NO groups modestly improved oxygenation was observed. In the SNO, values for PaO(2)/FiO(2) were improved from (185 +/- 39) mmHg at baseline to (301 +/- 123) mmHg at 6 h, while moderate or transient improvement was observed in both Surf and NO groups. Cdyn and Raw were only improved for short time in the Surf, NO and SNO groups. iNO had a mild response at 1 x 10(-6) to good response at 10 and 20 x 10(-6), but no further improvement occurred at 40 x 10(-6). The response of iNO in NO group was relatively transient compared to the SNO group. (2) When iNO was connected to the ventilator circuit, the connected site should be placed before humidifier to minimize fluctuation of iNO concentration, and sampling site for iNO monitoring should be placed adequately to eliminate artifact., Conclusions: iNO synergistically improved surfactant effects on oxygenation and lung mechanics. Continuous supply of iNO with non-continuous flow ventilator provided stable NO within accepted target range with least variation.