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Structurally ordered L10-PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni, etc) intermetallic nanocrystals (iNCs), benefiting from the chemically ordered structure and higher stability, are one of the best electrocatalysts used for PEMFC. However, their practical development is greatly plagued by the challenge that high-temperature annealing (> 700 °C) has to be used for realizing disorder-order phase transition (DOPT) due to the high activation barrier (Ea), which always leads to severe particle sintering, morphology change, and makes it highly challenging for gram-scale preparation of desirable PtM iNCs. Here, we report a general low-melting-point metal induced bond strength weakening strategy to promote DOPT of PtM (M = Ni, Fe, Cu, Zn) alloy catalysts. We demonstrate that the introduction of Sn can reduce DOPT temperature to a record-low temperature (≤ 450 °C), which enables ten-gram-scale preparation of high-performance L10-PtM iNCs. X-ray spectroscopic studies, in-situ electron microscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that the Sn-facilitated DOPT mechanism at record-low temperature involves the weakened bond strength and reduced Ea via Sn doping, the formation and fast diffusion of low coordinated surface free atom, and subsequent L10 nucleation. Most importantly, the 15% Sn-doped L10-PtNi iNCs display outstanding performance in H2-air fuel cells with a high peak power density of 1.45 W cm-2 for Pt alloy catalysts and less than 25% activity loss after 30000 cycles at a quite low cathode Pt loading amount of 0.12 mg¬Pt cm-2, representing as one of the most efficient cathodic electrocatalyst for PEMFCs.

Textile materials have been enriched in function at the composite level with continuous developments in the textile industry. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) are strongly influenced by ultraviolet (UV) filter, antifungal, high catalysis, and semiconductor/piezoelectric coupling characteristics. Therefore, the antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are zcomprehensively analysed to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. In addition, the textile preparation and application of ZnO‐NP in piezoelectric power generation is discussed. Based on relevant documents for ZnO‐textile industry applications, scanning electron microscopy analysis, biological activity analysis, and UV transmittance analysis of textiles containing composite materials prove that textiles based on ZnO‐based composite materials (ZnO‐NP materials) have antibacterial properties and UV resistance. The antibacterial property and UV resistance of ZnO‐NP materials are analysed comprehensively to provide a basis for applying ZnO‐NP in the textile industry. After the photocatalytic reaction, its practical application as slurry type suspensions is limited because of the difficulty of separating the catalyst particles. In terms of its piezoelectric power generation characteristics, intensity of current voltage analysis and X‐ray diffraction analysis reveal that textiles based on ZnO‐NP materials have obvious semiconductor characteristic and obvious current enhancement signals locally, indicating that the textiles can achieve better piezoelectric properties.

Background: Metastasis and paclitaxel (PTX) resistance are the main reason for the poor prognosis of ovarian cancer (OC). Evidence has shown that RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can modulate post-transcriptional regulation. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship among RBP, lncRNA and OC and to further guide clinical therapy. Methods: The expression of pre‐mRNA processing factor 6 (PRPF6) in OC tissues form 68 patients were detected by Immunohistochemistry. The expression of small nucleolar RNA host gene 16(SNHG16) transcripts-SNHG16-L/S in OC cell lines were analyzed by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Transwell, CCK8 assays and flow cytometry analyses were used to detected effects of PRPF6 and SNHG16 on tumorigenesis and PTX-resistance. Molecular interactions were examined by dual‐luciferase reporter gene assay, RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation. OC cells that knockdown PRPF6 were injected subcutaneously in nude mice.Results: The results showed that PRPF6 was upregulated in OC chemoresistant tissues and was closely related to advanced FIGO stages. PRPF6 promoted progression, and PTX resistance in vitro and in vivo. SNHG16-L/S were differentially expressed in OC cells and tissues as detected through real-time PCR (RT-PCR). SNHG16-L/S had opposite effects on progression and PTX resistance in OC. Mechanistically, SNHG16-L inhibited GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3) transcription by binding to CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein B (CEBPB). Moreover, PRPF6 induced the alternative splicing of SNHG16, causing downregulation of SNHG16-L and, leading to the upregulation of GATA3 expression to further promote metastasis and PTX-resistance in OC.Conclusions: Totally, these data unveiled that PRPF6 promotes metastasis and PTX resistance of OC through SNHG16-L/CEBPB/GATA3 axis, which provides a new direction for OC treatment.

The benefits of excess PbI

Haptic interface is a platform that convey haptic stimuli to represent and transmit information through touch. This paper systematically focus the achievements of haptic interface and multisensory interaction in virtual reality environment on perspectives of human-computer interaction research: immersive experience and emotional expression, and proposes an evaluation system based on the Quality of Experience (QoE) model aimed to quantitatively analyze and enhance human-computer interaction user experience in haptic interfaces with its statistical significance, which assists researchers and engineers to research, develop, and utilize haptic interaction technologies in virtual reality environments.

Background Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) and pre-mRNA processing factor 6(PRPF6) play vital roles in regulatory mechanisms of multiple cancers, but the mechanisms in ovarian cancer (OC) remains poorly understood. Methods The expression of SNHG16 transcripts-SNHG16-L/S in OC tissues were analyzed by real-time PCR (RT-PCR). The expression of PRPF6 in OC tissues were detected by Immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tumorigenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and PTX-resistance were detected by western blot, transwell, CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays and flow cytometry analyses. Molecular interactions were examined by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Results The results indicated the expression of SNHG16-L/S was opposite in chemo-resistance and chemo-sensitivity tissues of OC. And SNHG16-L/S had different effects on the progression and PTX-resistance of OC cells. SNHG16-L inhibited GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3) transcription through CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein b (CEBPB) to further promote tumorigenesis, EMT and PTX-resistance of OC. Moreover, PRPF6 was upregulated in chemo-resistance tissues of OC. PRPF6 promoted tumorigenesis and PTX-resistance in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, PRPF6 induced the alternative splicing of SNHG16 to downregulate SNHG16-L, which further mediated progression and PTX-resistance through upregulating GATA3 in OC. Conclusions Totally, the results demonstrated that PRPF6 promoted progression and PTX-resistance in OC through SNHG16-L/CEBPB/GATA3 axis. Thus, PRPF6 may become a valuable target for OC therapy.

Background Studies have shown that E3 ubiquitin ligase CBLL1 plays multiple roles in development and tumorigenesis. CBLL1 is over-expressed in colon cancer and associated with cancer cell proliferation. While, the overexpression of CBLL1 inhibited the estrogenic dependent cell proliferation and migration in ER alpha dependent breast cancer cell MCF-7. Methods We used an immunohistochemical method to detect CBLL1 expression in human NSCLC and corresponding normal lung tissues and analyzed its relationship with clinicopathological parameters. Moreover, we investigated the role of CBLL1 in NSCLC cell behavior by inhibiting its expression in A549 and H1299 cells. Results In this study, we found that CBLL1 was frequently upregulated in non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues compared to the adjacent nontumor tissues. We found that the high expression of CBLL1 was associated with the tumor size in NSCLC tissues. It has been recently reported that CBLL1 promotes cell proliferation and invasion in A549 and H460 cells. Our results confirmed that CBLL1 promoted the proliferation by promoting G1/S cell cycle transition in NSCLCs cells. Moreover, CBLL1 knockdown inhibited cell invasion via increased E-cadherin protein expression, and decreased expression of MMP2 and MMP9 in NSCLC cell lines. The protein expression of E-cadherin was increased after CBLL1 depletion while the E-cadherin mRNA was not affected after knockdown of the endogenous CBLL1. Conclusion These results provide important insights for using CBLL1 as an oncogenic marker gene in the development and progression of non-small cell lung cancer.

Mobile work zones for various types of moving operations (e.g., striping, pothole patching, sweeping) are an important component in highway maintenance activities which have particular safety issues. To help mitigate the risk and severity of collisions, a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) is attached to a construction vehicle, typically equipped with amber/white lights. Despite these visible warnings, collisions involving TMAs and traffic still occur. In an effort to improve upon the traditional amber/white lights, the use of green lights on TMAs was investigated. The study included the evaluation of four light-color configurations: amber/white, green only, green/amber, and green/white. Driving simulator tests obtained various driver behavior measures, including the first blinker distance, merge distance, work zone and arrow direction recognition distance, and disability glare. Vehicle speeds were captured in both a simulator study and a field study. In the simulator study, the use of the amber/white combination led to the highest work zone visibility but also created the greatest concern with disability glare. Although the green-only configuration led to the lowest disability glare, it also resulted in low visibility. The results showed an inverse relationship between visibility (awareness of work zone) and arrow board recognition (easy on eyes). Other findings from the field study include lower traffic speeds for the green light TMA and lower vehicle speeds for lower TMA vehicle speeds. Overall, the study showed that the four configurations had various tradeoffs and none stood out as clearly superior in terms of the performance measures.

This paper based on the analysis of existing oil removal boats, a new practical, simple and economic oil treatment boat is designed, while using magnetic fluid, adsorption and collection of microplastics, and this solution can replace the manual completion of the sea surface oil cleaning work. The main contents include: design of motion mechanism for collecting oil pollution, microplastic filtering device. The 3D modeling of the hull was established and the motion simulation was carried out by using SolidWorks. Finite element analysis of various load-bearing structures was carried out using ANSYS to verify the rationality of each structure. The control system was designed, and the hardware part was designed with circuitry for the operating system according to the actual needs.

Patients diagnosed with prostate cancer often have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options, as the specific pathogenesis remains to be elucidated. Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA that interacts with microRNA (miRNA/miR) and transcription factors to regulate gene expression. However, little is known about specific circRNAs that serve roles in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Findings of the present study confirmed that circRNA G protein subunit γ 4 (circGNG4) was upregulated in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of circGNG4 inhibited the malignant behavior of prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, bioinformatics were used to predict targeting interactions between circGNG4 or miR-223 and EYA transcriptional coactivator and phosphatase 3 (EYA3)/c-Myc mRNA. miR-223 inhibited the malignant behavior of prostate cancer cells, while EYA3/c-Myc had the opposite effect. circGNG4 enhanced the expression of EYA3/c-Myc by sponging miR-223 to promote the growth of prostate cancer tumors in vivo. In conclusion, the circGNG4/miR-223/EYA3/c-Myc regulatory pathway promoted the malignant progression of prostate cancer. The results of the present study may provide potential new targets for the diagnosis or treatment of prostate cancer.

There are a large amount of user behavior data in the recommendation system. The types of user behaviors are various, such as click, favorite, like, purchase and so on. However, most of the existing recommendation methods only consider single user behavior, such as purchase, ignoring the influence of auxiliary behavior data on target behavior. In order to make full use of multi-behavior data and further improve the recommendation performance, multi-behavior recommendation based on simplified graph convolutional networks(SGCNMB) is proposed in this paper. The SGCNMB model firstly initializes the embedding vectors for users and items in the shared embedding layer; then, in the embedding propagation layer, the simplified graph convolutional network is exploited to learn the user representations and item representations on a single behavior, the users' preferences on different single behavior are calculated respectively; finally, through the fusion prediction layer, the users' preferences on various behaviors are fused to get the top-n recommendation results of users on the target behavior. Extensive experiments were conducted on two real-world multi-behavior datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that SGCNMB can effectively take advantage of multi-behavior interaction data to further improve the recommendation performance.

Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase overexpressed in different types of human cancer, and a predicted target of microRNA (miRNA/miR)-219a-2-3p in thyroid cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the potential role of HPSE and miR-219a-2-3p in thyroid cancer, and the molecular mechanism of miR-219a-2-3p regulating the proliferation of thyroid cancer cells via HPSE was confirmed. Immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to detect HPSE expression in thyroid cancer sections. In addition, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis was performed to detect mRNA and miR-219a-2-3p expression levels in thyroid cancer samples and cell lines. miR-219-2-3p mimic or HPSE plasmid were transfected into B-CPAP and TPC-1 thyroid cancer cells. Furthermore, western blot analysis was performed to detect the protein expression levels of HPSE and cyclin D1. Cell cycle analysis was performed using propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry, and EdU incorporation was performed to detect cell proliferation. The results demonstrated that high HPSE expression was significantly associated with tumor size, extracapsular invasion and lymph node metastasis. Notably, a statistically negative correlation was observed between HPSE mRNA expression and miR-219a-2-3p expression in thyroid cancer tumors, as well as in thyroid cancer cell lines. When exogenously expressed in B-CPAP and TPC-1 cells, miR-219a-2-3p induced cell cycle arrest at the G(0)/G(1) phase and decreased the percentage of proliferating cells. Furthermore, HPSE and cyclin D1 protein expression decreased following transfection with miR-219a-2-3p. Notably, when HPSE was ectopically expressed in miR-219a-2-3p transfected cells, cyclin D1 expression and the number of proliferative cells increased. Taken together, these results suggest that HPSE contributes to the proliferation of thyroid cancer cells. In addition, miR-219a-2-3p was confirmed to target HPSE and inhibit cell proliferation, which was associated with cyclin D1 suppression-mediated cell cycle arrest.

Encouraging farmers to protect their environment is of great significance in improving watershed ecological environments and promoting the sustainable development of the watershed economy. To explore the factors influencing farmers’ ecological protection behaviours in the river basin, we constructed a structural equation model to analyse the survey questionnaire responses of 719 farmers in the Wei River Basin, Shaanxi Province, China. The theoretical framework incorporated farmers’ watershed belonging and social capital into an extended value-belief-norm model. Robustness tests revealed that incorporating these variables was valid. Personality norms, watershed belonging, and social capital all had direct positive effects on farmers’ watershed ecological protection behaviour. Value orientation, environmental concern, consequences awareness, and responsibility attribution influenced the next variable in a causal chain and finally acted on watershed ecological protection behaviour indirectly through personality norms. Farmers’ watershed belonging and social capital positively impacted individual norm, through this, there was an indirect positive impact on their watershed ecological protection behaviour. Moreover, watershed belonging and social capital reinforced each other.

The development of highly efficient and durable water electrolysis catalysts plays an important role in the large-scale applications of hydrogen energy. In this work, protrusion-rich Cu@NiRu core@shell nanotubes are prepared by a facile wet chemistry method and used for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an alkaline environment. The protrusion-like RuNi alloy shells with accessible channels and abundant defects possess a large surface area and can optimize the surface electronic structure through the electron transfer from Ni to Ru. Moreover, the unique 1D hollow structure can effectively stabilize RuNi alloy shell through preventing the aggregation of nanoparticles. The synthesized catalyst can achieve a current density of 10 mA cm

The Mg–Gd–Y–Zn–Zr alloy containing a long period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase was subjected to multi-pass deformation by means of a multi-directional forging process, and the microstructure evolution and the influence of the LPSO phase on its dynamic recrystallization (DRX) were studied. The results showed that multi-directional forging can effectively refine the grain with the DRX fraction increased, and DRXed grains lead to the decrease of the texture intensity, which can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the alloy. The different morphologies of the LPSO phase have different degrees of promotion relative to DRX behavior. The lamellar LPSO phase with kinks promoted dislocation plugging, where there could be a potential nucleation site for DRX grains. The fragmented lamellar LPSO phase promoted the DRX process through the particle-stimulated nucleation mechanism, and the block-shaped phase was more prone to stress concentration, which promoted DRX. These effects resulted in continuous grain refinement and a more uniform microstructure.

Background Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase, which is found overexpressed in various human cancers. The purpose of our work was to investigate the possible role of HPSE and the involved signaling molecules in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods The expression of HPSE was examined in 80 samples of PTC by immunohistochemistry. In cell studies, the expression plasmid of HPSE and RNA interference with shRNA specific for HPSE were used to elucidate the effects of HPSE on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in PTC cells of B-CPAP and KTC-1. The probable downstream signaling molecules of HPSE were also explored. Results 75.0% (60 out of 80) of PTC samples was detected high expression of HPSE, which was significantly correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and stage status. In cell studies, the upregulation of HPSE significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion of B-CPAP and KTC-1 cells, and interfered with cell apoptosis. On the contrary, knockdown of HPSE exhibited the opposite effects. Compared with the parental cells, HPSE silencing cells showed attenuated capabilities of proliferation, migration and invasion, yet the apoptotic rate of transfected cells was increased. The activations of various signaling molecules correlated with cell biological behavior were found to be regulated by HPSE upregulation or knockdown. Conclusions Our results suggested that HPSE probably contributed to the progression and metastasis of PTC, which were associated with multiple signaling pathways. HPSE could be a potent molecular target for the therapeutic strategy of PTC.

Chemical contamination is ubiquitous in the indoor environment, but measurement options are often limited outside of research studies. This is especially true for formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and irritant. The goal of this project was to develop a novel screening tool: a smartphone-based app that can be paired with low-cost colorimetric badges for detection of indoor formaldehyde. The target users include citizen scientists, concerned citizens, public health nurses visiting homes, and researchers with relevant measurement needs. The user interface was designed using a collaborative development model. Badges were exposed to air for 72 h, and the user takes images that are analyzed in the phone. The app itself measures illumination (lightness) to determine color change, which was associated with formaldehyde concentration (R2 = 0.8811, P 80%) relative humidity. Co-exposure to acetaldehyde or a VOC mixture did not interfere with measurement (P = 0.93, P = 0.07, respectively). Overall, this screening tool can provide inexpensive, accessible information to users about their formaldehyde exposure, which can inform further testing and potential remediation activities.

There has been recent recognition that the GSTM1 gene is associated with successful aging and longevity. It has been hypothesized that individuals with a GSTM1 deletion are at a greater risk for developing a plethora of diseases. This study was carried out to investigate the association between the rs574344 single nucleotide polymorphism, an expression quantitative trait locus of GSTM1, and longevity in the Han Chinese population.We performed a case-control study that comprised 526 long-lived subjects (97 years of age) and 783 younger subjects (aged 19-80 years) from the general population who served as controls. Identification of the genotypes of rs574344 was accomplished by combining polymerase chain reaction with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.The long-lived study population, when compared with the controls, showed a significantly higher frequency of the T/T genotype and the T allele of rs574344. We determined that the T/T genotype is associated with a longer lifespan (OR = 5.972, 95% CI 1.798-19.833, p = 0.001, for all genders; p = 0.006 adjusted by gender). We also observed a significant difference (p 0.05) in the distribution of alleles and genotypes in both the male group (TT vs. TA, OR = 1.043, 95% CI 1.022-1.067, p = 0.043) and the female group (TT vs. TA, OR = 3.592, 95% CI 0.982-13.147, p = 0.039) Conclusion: We found significant associations between both the T allele and the T/T genotype of rs574344 with longevity in the Han Chinese population.

With the rapid development of information technology, the name ambiguity problem has become one of the primary issues in the fields of information retrieval, data mining, and scientific measurement. Name disambiguation is used to promote computer technology and big data information, which maps virtual relational networks to real social networks to solve the problem that the same name points to multiple entities. At present many literature search platforms launched their respective scholar system, name ambiguity problem will inevitably affect the precision of other information calculations, reduce the credibility of the system, and affect the information quality and content quality. Most work deals with this issue by using graph theory and clustering. However, the name disambiguation problem is still not well resolved. In this paper, we propose a multi-level name disambiguation algorithm. This algorithm is mainly based on the unsupervised algorithm, which combines hierarchical agglomerative clustering (HAC) and graph theory for disambiguating. The experimental results show that the proposed solution achieves clearly better performance (+17 ~ 25% in terms of F1-Measure) than several methods, including HAC and Graph.

Glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) are two basic metabolic pathways that are simultaneously present in yeasts. As the main pathway in most species, the glycolysis provides ATP and NADH for cell metabolism while PPP, as a complementary pathway, supplies NADPH. In this study, the performance of Kluyveromyces marxianus using glycolysis or PPP were studied through the disruption of PGI1 or ZWF1 gene, respectively. K. marxianus using glycolysis as the only pathway showed higher ethanol production ability than that of the Kluyveromyces lactis zwf1Δ mutant; K. marxianus using only PPP showed more robustness than that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae pgi1Δ mutant. Additionally, K. marxianus pgi1Δ strain accumulated much more intracellular NADPH than the wild type strain and co-utilized glucose and xylose more effectively. These findings suggest that phosphoglucose isomerase participates in the regulation of the repression of glucose on xylose utilization in K. marxianus. The NADPH/NADP+ ratio, dependent on the activity of the PPP, regulated the expression of multiple genes related to NADPH metabolism in K. marxianus (including NDE1, NDE2, GLR1, and GDP1). Since K. marxianus is considered a promising host in industrial biotechnology to produce renewable chemicals from plant biomass feedstocks, our research showed the potential of the thermotolerant K. marxianus to produce NADP(H)-dependent chemical synthesis from multiple feedstocks. KEY POINTS: • The function of PGI1 and ZWF1 in K. marxianus has been analyzed in this study. • K. marxianus zwf1Δ strain produced ethanol but with decreased productivity. • K. marxianus pgi1Δ strain grew with glucose and accumulated NADPH. • K. marxianus pgi1Δ strain released glucose repression on xylose utilization.

In this work, the highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalyst is successfully prepared via a simple and mild wet-chemical process and used for degrading high concentration methylene blue (MB) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH). The optimized 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH sample showed a 79% decomposition of TCH in 2 h, which is almost two times higher than that of bare AgBr (37%). For degrading MB, the photocatalytic activity of 6-Ag-AgBr/AlOOH (decomposing 84% in 2 h) showed a large enhancement as compared to bare AgBr (only 57%). The TEM, HRTEM, XRD, DRS, and XPS characterization results confirm that Ag-AgBr is a composite catalyst formed by loading Ag nanoparticles onto AgBr surfaces and then loaded on to AlOOH. The possible mechanism proposed is that • O 2 - and •OH radicals produced under sun light are the main active species for degrading MB and TCH. It is hoped that this work will open a new gateway to the synthesis of highly efficient and low-cost Ag-AgBr/AlOOH plasmonic photocatalysts for degrading organic pollutants.

Responding quickly to fires, reducing secondary disasters and ensuring the safety of life and property are important issues in firefighting. With the progress of science and technology, firefighting robots have entered people’s sight. Based on this, this paper proposes a home-based firefighting robot to reduce fire losses. The home-type firefighting robot is equipped with a walking system and a clamping device. ANSYS software is used to perform finite element analysis on key components to verify the rationality of the structural design. The program mainly uses the PWM module in the K60 chip, and the I/O module is designed. CCD is used for image acquisition and K60 microprocessor. The classical PID control algorithm is still used to make the fire robot achieve the effect of smooth and fast movement. The incremental PID algorithm is used to realize the fast response of the motor.

Taxus media is an important species in the family Taxaceae with high medicinal and commercial value. Overexploitation and illegal trade have led T. media to a severe threat of extinction. In addition, T. media and other Taxus species have similar morphological traits and are easily misidentified, particularly during the seedling stage. The purpose of this study is to develop a species-specific marker for T. media. Through a screening of 36 start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism primers, among 15 individuals of 4 Taxus species (T. media, T. chinensis, T. cuspidate and T. fuana), a clear species-specific DNA fragment (amplified by primer SCoT3) for T. media was identified. After isolation and sequencing, a DNA sequence with 530 bp was obtained. Based on this DNA fragment, a primer pair for the sequence-characterized amplified region marker was designed and named MHSF/MHSR. PCR analysis with primer pair MHSF/MHSR revealed a clear amplified band for all individuals of T. media but not for T. chinensis, T. cuspidate and T. fuana. Therefore, this marker can be used as a quick, efficient and reliable tool to identify T. media among other related Taxus species. The results of this study will lay an important foundation for the protection and management of T. media as a natural resource.

The Shunnan (SN) area, located in the center of the Tarim basin, NW China, is a gas field discovered in 2013, where the gas is hosted from deeply buried Ordovician carbonate reservoirs with burial depth > 6000 m and temperature > 190 °C. The most important reservoir rocks in the SN area are silicified limestones, which are characterized by multiple generations/types of authigenic quartz (Qz1–Qz2) and coarse calcite cement (CC1–CC3), in addition to other diagenetic phases. Qz1 is a replacement quartz postdating burial stylolites in both limestone and strongly silicified limestone, and Qz2 are equant and bladed quartz cements developed in fractures or vugs in strongly silicified limestone, also postdating burial stylolite. CC1 is a coarse calcite cement found in the vugs, which postdates medium crystalline dolomite and predates saddle dolomite. CC2 (including CC2a, CC2b and CC2c) is the calcite postdating Qz1 and burial stylolites. CC2a is found in fractures in limestone or slightly silicified limestone. CC2b, CC2c and CC3 are only identified in strongly silicified limestone. CC2b fills intercrystalline pores of Qz1, and CC2c fills fractures, predating Qz2. CC3 is precipitated in remaining space left by Qz2c in fractures or vugs. Sr isotopes were analyzed in CC2a and CC2c. CC2a has 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of 0.70890–0.70917. CC2c is characterized with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of 0.70949–0.70972. Fluid inclusions were studied in all the quartz and coarse calcite cements. Fluid inclusions in CC2a are characterized by T h values of 118–131 °C and salinities of 22.9–25.2 wt% NaCl + CaCl 2 . Fluid inclusions from Qz2a, Qz2b, CC2b and CC2c have T h values of 143–166 °C and salinities of 14.7–23.7 wt% NaCl + CaCl 2 . Fluid inclusions in Qz2c are characterized by T h values of 125–132 °C and salinities of 24.8–26.8 wt% NaCl + CaCl 2 , and those in CC3 by T h values of 86–101 °C and salinities of 22.9–25.2 wt% NaCl + CaCl 2 . The T h drop, from Qz2a, Qz2b and CC2c to Qz2c and CC3, cannot be explained by normal burial diagenesis, suggesting a hydrothermal event associated with the main phase of silicification. The relatively low temperature recorded by CC3 implies that the hydrothermal event possibly took place in the Devonian rather than Permian as previously thought.

Background Plenty of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the progression of atherosclerosis. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 6 (SNHG6) is a well known lncRNA that is aberrantly high expressed in atherosclerosis patients. However, its function and basic mechanism in atherosclerosis events have not been well clarified. Methods The expression patterns of SNHG6, miR-135a-5p, ROCK1 and ROCK2 in clinical samples and cells were detected by RT-qPCR assays. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry assays, ELISA and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) detection, were performed to assess cell viability, apoptosis, inflammation and oxidative stress, respectively. Western blot analysis was carried out to examine the protein levels of Bax, Bcl-2, and SNHG6. Luciferase reporter and RIP assays were used to confirm the true interaction between SNHG6 and miR-135a-5p, or miR-135a-5p and ROCK. Results The levels of SNHG6, ROCK1 and ROCK2 were notably increased and miR-135a-5p was decreased in atherosclerosis patients and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-treated HUVECs. Knockdown of SNHG6 alleviated ox-LDL-induced injury of HUVECs, while this effect was partly reversed by miR-135a-5p inhibitor. Moreover, overexpression of ROCKs aggravated miR-135a-5p-alleviated atherosclerosis cell injury. SNHG6 contributed to ROCK expression through sequestering miR-135a-5p as a molecular sponge. Conclusion SNHG6 functions as a promoter in atherosclerosis events by targeting miR-135a-5p/ROCK axis in ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs. This finding will help to develop a novel therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.

Multiple sequence alignment (MSA), known as an NP-complete combinatorial optimization problem, is one of the most important and challenging tasks in bioinformatics. A novel hybrid algorithm of artificial bee colony and particle swarm optimization (HABC-PSO) for MSA is proposed in this paper to tackle this problem. The proposed method innovatively integrates Tent chaos search, opposition-based learning and recombination operator techniques. The best solutions obtained by the recombination operator are further set as the neighbor food source for onlooker bees and the global best of particle swarm, respectively. In addition, a new method of HABC-PSO algorithm for determining a food source or particle swarm in the neighborhood is proposed by exploiting the discreteness of the MSA problem. The experiment results strongly demonstrate its robustness and effectiveness, as well as achieve better performance and biological quality in comparison with its peers.

To improve work zone safety by replacing human flaggers, a new Automated Flagger Assistance Device (AFAD) developed by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) was investigated thr...

The distribution network is one of the important links of power transmission, and the low-voltage distribution network is the last link in the distribution network. It is directly connected to the load and delivers the power of the upper-level power supply to the load. Therefore, the low-voltage distribution network directly affects Grid operating status. This paper introduces the six important index parameters in the low-voltage distribution network evaluation system in detail, and summarizes the application and advantages of the low-voltage distribution network operation status assessment method. Finally, the future development of distribution network operation status assessment is prospected.

Background Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase, which is found overexpressed in various human cancers. The purpose of our work was to investigate the possible role of HPSE and the involved signaling molecules in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods In this study, the expression plasmid of HPSE and RNA interference with shRNA specific for HPSE were used to elucidate the effects of HPSE on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells of B-CPAP. The probable downstream signaling molecules of HPSE were also explored. Results The results showed that upregulation of HPSE significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion of B-CPAP cells, and interfered with cell apoptosis. On the contrary, knockdown of HPSE exhibited the opposite effects. Compared with the parental cells, HPSE silencing cells showed attenuated capabilities of proliferation, migration and invasion, yet the apoptotic rate of transfected cells was increased. The activations of various signaling molecules correlated with cell biological behavior were found to be regulated by HPSE upregulation or knockdown. Conclusions Our results suggested that HPSE probably contributed to the progression and metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma, which were associated with multiple signaling pathways. HPSE could be a potent molecular target for the therapeutic strategy of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Scientific explorations have shown that the lunar water-ice exists only in the bottom of craters of lunar South and North pole, where is permanently dark and as cold as 40K. This paper presents the concept of increase the temperature of water-ice by reflecting the sunlight to a certain area using polar orbit satellite formation, such that the water-ice is more detectable. The orbit of spacecraft is designed and the expected attitude is derived based on the relative motion between the spacecraft and the water-ice. The objective is to keep the reflected light from spacecraft point to the water-ice during the process so that the water-ice can be heated by solar radiation. A nonlinear adaptive controller is developed. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the control algorithm.

Tomato bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is the most destructive disease impacting production. Application of bioorganic fertilizer (BOF) containing antagonistic microorganism to suppress tomato bacterial wilt disease may be a promising disease control strategy. Here, we used organic waste materials, specifically biogas residues, cattle manure and rice straw, in composting with antagonistic strain G33 isolated from the rhizosphere soil of a healthy tomato plant to produce BOF. Strain G33 was identified as Streptomyces microflavus by morphological and culturing traits and by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. We conducted a field experiment with control treatment, organic fertilizer and BOF-G33 to characterize suppression of tomato bacterial wilt disease. Our results indicate that the optimal combination containing (w/w) 40% biogas residues, 40% cattle manure and 20% rice straw can increase the nutrient contents of the compost product, prolong the thermophilic period and increase the decomposition rate of organic matter and the humification degree. A combination of strain G33 and mature compost produced under optimal conditions resulted in the spore number of 5.75 × 109 CFU/g on the sixth day of fermentation. Field experiments showed that BOF-G33 significantly decreased the incidence of tomato wilt; the disease biocontrol efficiency was 64.4%. In addition, application of the BOF-G33 significantly reduced the pathogenic R. solanacearum populations and increased the abundance of beneficial indigenous flora in the rhizosphere soil, which might have been the key factors in constraining the disease. In conclusion, this study showed that bioorganic fertilizer with Streptomyces microflavus G33 is a potential biocontrol agent for controlling tomato bacterial disease.

Glucose, xylose, and fructose from biomass are renewable sources for glycerol production. Here, a TPI1 gene encoding triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) was identified in Kluyveromyces marxianus NBRC1777. The TPI1 gene was deleted in the KU70 defective K. marxianus, resulting in YZB115. YZB115 could grow with glucose, fructose, and xylose as sole carbon sources, which is contrary to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae TPI1 deletion strain. Under aerobic conditions, YZB115 fermented 80 g/L glucose, fructose, and xylose, producing 40.32, 41.84, and 18.64 g/L glycerol with productivities of 0.84, 0.50, and 0.22 g/L/h at 42 °C without by-product, respectively. The yields were about 0.5 g/g when hexoses were used, which is 98 % of the theoretical maximum. The yield decreased to 0.22 g/g when xylose was used. In summary, our study showed the potential of K. marxianus to produce glycerol and glycerol derivatives from cellulose, lignocellulosic, and inulin biomass at high temperature.