Search

At present, research into the impact of microplastic contamination on environmental and food safety in the eel farming industry is insufficient. Here, we investigated the occurrence of microplastics in eels (Monopterus albus), wastewater and soils from recycled‐water, cement‐pool, net‐cage and rice‐field rearing systems. Results showed that average microplastic abundances were 2.4 ± 0.8 items/individual, 1.0 ± 0.4 items/L, 27.1 ± 7.0 items/kg in eels, water and soils, respectively. A significant increase in microplastic abundances occurred in all diet‐fed eels (recycled‐water, cement‐pool and net‐cage eels) from their pre‐rearing to post‐rearing stages. Moreover, cluster analysis indicated high similarities in composition of microplastics between fish diets and eels. However, no significant differences in microplastic abundances were observed among the four types of reared eels. Most of the microplastics were found in the foreguts of eels. In addition, wastewater microplastic increased significantly in the cement‐pool, net‐cage and rice‐field farming during eel rearing. This study first revealed microplastic contamination and its characteristics in eels‐rearing environments, which suggests the eco‐environmental risk of microplastics in aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent driving plays a role in significantly improving the safety and efficiency of transportation systems. As the onboard capabilities of perception, comprehension, and decision making are limited, vehicles can employ the edge computing infrastructure of the smart road to enhance their intelligence. Therefore, the smart road is considered an intelligent Internet of Things system. It provides vehicles with not only the road space in the transportation domain, but also the communication, sensing, and computing resources in the information domain to improve the composite quality of intelligent driving. However, the resources in the information and transportation domains are complicatedly coupled, and the orchestration of these cross-domain resources is confronted with the huge state-action space, which cannot be solved in a real-time manner. In this article, we investigate the fundamental research challenges in cross-domain resource orchestration for the smart road, and design a multi-agent-based framework. Within the framework, each vehicle is associated with an exclusive agent on the edge cloud, and the agents utilize swarm intelligence to jointly optimize the traffic flow and information flow for their respective vehicles. Specifically, a value iteration network is used by agents to learn the routing behavior of vehicles, and a multi-agent deep reinforcement learning method is proposed, enabling agents to cooperatively learn decentralized resource optimization policies. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a cross-domain resource orchestration prototype is implemented and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vehicular edge computing is considered an enabling technology for intelligent and connected vehicles since the optimization of communication and computing on edge has a significant impact on driving safety and efficiency. In this paper, with the road traffic assignment to “proactively” reshape the spatiotemporal distribution of resource demands, we investigate the joint service migration and mobility optimization problem for vehicular edge computing. The goal is to meet the service delay requirements of vehicular edge computing with minimum migration cost and travel time. As service migration and mobility optimization are coupled, the joint scheduling problem suffers from the curse of dimensionality, which cannot be solved in real time by centralized algorithms. To this end, a multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) algorithm is proposed to maximize the composite utility of communication, computing, and route planning in a distributed way. In the MADRL algorithm, a two-branch convolution based deep Q-network is constructed to coordinate migration action and routing action. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is scalable and substantially reduces service delay, migration cost and travel time as compared with the existing baselines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blind motion deblurring is one of the most basic and challenging problems in image processing and computer vision. It aims to recover a sharp image from its blurred version knowing nothing about the blurring process. Many existing methods use the maximum a posteriori or expectation maximization framework to tackle this problem, but they cannot handle well the natural images with high-frequency features. Most recently, deep neural networks have been emerging as a powerful tool for image deblurring. In this paper, we show that encoder–decoder architecture gives better results for image deblurring tasks. In addition, we propose a novel end-to-end learning model that refines the generative adversarial network by many novel strategies to tackle the problem of image deblurring. Experimental results show that our model can capture high-frequency features well, and achieve the competitive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyllotaxis refers to the spatial arrangement of leaves and flowers on a stem. A recent study by Zhang et al. described the developmental process underlying phyllotaxis establishment in the capitulum of Gerbera hybrida. This work represents a cornerstone for studying the development and diversification mechanisms of capitula in the Asteraceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The input of organic substances (e.g., rice straw) in rice field soils usually stimulates the production and emission of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4). However, the amount of CH4 derived from the applied rice straw, as well as the response of bacterial and archaeal communities during the methanogenic phase, are poorly understood for different rice field soils. In this study, samples of five different rice soils were amended with 13C-labeled rice straw (RS) under methanogenic conditions. Immediately after RS addition, the RS-derived CH4 production rates were higher in soils (Uruguay, Fuyang) that possessed a stronger inherent CH4 production potential compared with other soils with lower inherent potentials (Changsha, the Philippines, Vercelli). However, soils with higher inherent potential did not necessarily produce higher amounts of CH4 from the RS applied, or vice versa. Quantitative PCR showed copy numbers of both bacteria and methanogens increased in straw-amended soils. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed distinct bacterial communities among the unamended soil samples, which also changed differently in response to RS addition. Nevertheless, RS addition generally resulted in all the rice field soils in a relative increase of primary fermenters belonging to Anaerolineaceae and Ruminococcaceae. Meanwhile, RS addition also generally resulted in a relative increase of Methanosarcinaceae and/or Methanocellaceae. Our results suggest that after RS addition the total amounts of RS-derived CH4 are distinct in different rice field soils under methanogenic conditions. Meanwhile, there are potential core bacterial populations that are often involved in primary fermentation of RS under methanogenic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem that the collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm can only consider the external reviews of movies and not the similarity relationships within movies during the process of recommending movies, the paper proposes to construct a knowledge graph to help calculate the internal similarity of movies. Existing movie data may be incomplete, so knowledge graph reasoning is used to complement missing movie knowledge. The knowledge graph based on TransE model cannot effectively describe the complex multi-relationship among movie titles, actors and directors. Firstly, the improved TransHR model can express the multi-relationship between movie information and improve the accuracy of relationship representation. Then, the similarity between movies is calculated by the user rating matrix. Finally, the two similarities are merged and applied to the recommended technique of matrix decomposition. The experimental results show that the algorithm improves Recall, Precision, and MAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone tumor. Increasing evidences have revealed that a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) is implicated in tumor development. The main purpose of this study is to explore the effects of ADAM10 on osteosarcoma cell functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods: Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to detect the expression of ADAM10 in one osteoblast (hFOB 1.19) and six osteosarcoma cells (Saos-2, SW1353, HOS, U-2OS, MG63, and 143B). The biological functions of ADAM10 in osteosarcoma cells were measured by cell counting kit-8 assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, and transwell assay. The interaction between miR-122-5p and ADAM10 was validated using dual-luciferase reporter assay. The effect of ADAM10 on the tumorigenicity of osteosarcoma cells was evaluated in a nude mice model in vivo. Results: We found that the expression of ADAM10 was relatively high in osteosarcoma cells compared with that in osteoblast. ADAM10 promoted osteosarcoma cell growth, migration, and invasion. Mechanism studies showed that knockdown of ADAM10 inactivated E-cadherin/β-catenin signaling pathway, as evidenced by increased the level of E-cadherin, reduced nuclear translocation of β-catenin, and decreased the levels of MMP-9, Cyclin D1, c-Myc, and Survivin. Downregulation of ADAM10 suppressed the tumorigenicity of osteosarcoma cells in vivo. Furthermore, ADAM10 was validated to be a downstream target of microRNA-122-5p (miR-122-5p). MiR-122-5p-induced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was reversed by overexpression of ADAM10 in osteosarcoma cells. Conclusions: Collectively, the key findings of this study are that ADAM10 promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating E-cadherin/β-catenin signaling pathway, and miR-122-5p can target ADAM10, indicating that miR-122-5p/ADAM10 axis might serve as a therapeutic target of osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality management is important in cage culture of the Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus). However, it is difficult to manage water quality after a large number of eels have died within the cages. The present study seeks to solve this problem by establishing a method to judge and maintain water quality. To this end, the effect of temperature and eel body weight on the water quality and microorganisms after the death of Asian swamp eels have been examined in the laboratory. The results showed that the changes in water quality parameters were similar at different temperatures and different eel weights. For example, at 26°C, the water quality started deteriorating at 5–7 days after death, which corresponded to the oxygen consumption stage. This was followed by the anaerobic decomposition stage at 11 days after death, at which point the self‐purification process of the water body was initiated. Under a lower temperature of 18°C, the oxygen consumption stage and, therefore, the overall decomposition process were extended. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Verrucomicrobia were the dominant phyla detected during the decomposition process, but the relative proportions of the dominant families differed across the stages. Based on these findings, we have provided innovative suggestions for water quality detection and management in Asian swamp eel production: (i) at a water temperature of 16–23°C, the following measures should be taken to deal with dead eels 15 days after the introduction of seedlings: (a) at an ammonia nitrogen level higher than 2 mg/L, the bodies present at the bottom of the cage need to be fished out with a net. However, when the ammonia nitrogen level is not higher than 2 mg/L, the whole cage should be sprayed with detoxifying substrate improver or Bacillus powder, according to the instructions, to improve water quality. (ii) At a water temperature of 23–30°C, the above measures should be taken on the 6th day after the seedlings are released, provided the critical value of ammonia nitrogen is 1.57 mg/L. An important limitation of this study is that water exchange was not possible under the laboratory experimental conditions, and the deterioration of water quality caused by eel death may have been alleviated due to water exchange between the inside and outside of the cage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can act as negative regulators of gene expression, and play a crucial role in cancer progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-1294/pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) axis in osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods: The function of miR-1294 and its association with PKM2 in osteosarcoma cells were studied by real-time PCR, CCK-8, Western blot, scratch test, transwell assay, flow cytometry, and dual-luciferase reporter assays. The effect of miR-1294 on tumor growth in vivo was evaluated in a subcutaneous xenograft model of osteosarcoma. Results: miR-1294 was downregulated in osteosarcoma cells. Forced overexpression of miR-1294 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and induced G0/G1 arrest and apoptosis. Consistently, protein expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, c-Myc, cyclin D1, active matrix metalloproteinase 2, and active matrix metalloproteinase 9 were decreased, and cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved PARP were increased following miR-1294 overexpression. Moreover, we demonstrated that PKM2 was a target of miR-1294 in osteosarcoma cells, and the effects caused by miR-1294 mimic were reversed by the overexpression of PKM2. Furthermore, we found that upregulation of miR-1294 inhibited tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma cells in vivo, which was accompanied by downregulation of PKM2. Conclusion: Our results revealed that miR-1294/PKM2 signaling cascade exerts important roles in the regulation of tumor progression, implying that this pathway may serve as a potential therapeutic target in osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban expressway is the main artery of traffic network, and an in-depth analysis of the crashes is crucial for improving the traffic safety level of expressways. This study intended to address the injury severity of expressways in Beijing by proposing Bayesian ordered logistic regression model. Crash data were collected from urban express rings and expressways in 2015 and 2016. The results showed that crash location, time and crash season are significant variables influencing injury severity. The findings revealed that the proposed model can address the ordinal feature of injury severity, while accommodating the data with small sample sizes that may not adequately represent population characteristics. The conclusions can provide the management departments with valuable suggestions for the injury prevention and safety improvement on the urban expressways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple beam theory is usually employed to predict the flexural properties of nanowires (NWs) in the lateral manipulation, which results in a linear F − δ curve. However, three factors, namely, changes in the load position and direction of the AFM tip, surface effects, and the large displacement of the NW, are not considered in simple beam theory. In this work, a simple geometrical model is proposed to analyze the large deflection and rotational angle deformation of NWs in the lateral manipulation. The traditional solution to the differential equation of the deflection curve turns the solution of an integral equation. Results show that contact force does not linearly increase with increasing displacement, and the F − δ curve exists a maximum amount due to changes in the load position and direction of the AFM tip. Moreover, the rotational angle and deflection have a nonlinear relationship. Comparison of the results of this work with other authors' measurements illustrates that the use of simple beam theory in manipulation underestimates the deflection and effective modulus of NWs. Our model provides a good approach to predict F − δ curves, rotational angles, and contact forces that closely match experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Recent research reveals growing spatial disparities in warehousing-related environmental externalities, including air pollution and traffic safety concerns, across municipalities. The existing research, however, fails to present how institutional factors contribute to spatial variations. In this study, I explore how variations in planning practices contribute to the different trajectories of warehousing development. I interviewed planners, local residents, warehousing developers, and regional agency staff to identify local planning practices and policy elements that affect the location choice of warehousing facilities. My results show land use policies (land use permission, industrial zoning, and land parcel division schemes), job-related policies (job creation initiatives and job density requirements), financial incentives (tax rates and financial incentives), and environmental regulations (building design, land use buffering, and landscaping) are the major planning elements that affect warehousing development. Relative to brownfield redevelopment in the municipalities close to the urban core of a metropolitan area, developing greenfield warehousing facilities in suburban cities is likely to cause more environmental concerns in the near future. However, unmeasured factors could be responsible for some of the warehousing development patterns I find in the data. Takeaway for practice: Knowledge, communication, and collaboration are needed to cope with the rapid growth and, in particular, the disproportionate concentration of warehousing-related environmental externalities in certain municipalities. In this study I also provide planning strategies to regulate excessive warehousing development, including land use- and job-related policies, financial incentives, and environmental regulations. With these strategies, planners in warehousing-intensive cities can determine the best way to reduce the impacts of environmental externalities on local communities in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systemic strategy was proposed to improve aerobic granular sludge (AGS) stability and nitrogen (N) removal efficiency by optimizing feeding mode and substrate aiming at complicated wastewater characteristics. Key functional groups at the genus level identified by high-throughput sequencing were evaluated as well. The results showed that anaerobic feeding mode and acetate promoted the compact AGS formation with excellent total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency (averaging 91.7% ± 4.1%) at various dissolved oxygen conditions. While the aerobic feeding mode led to a loose AGS structure with a vulnerable anaerobic core and poor TN removal efficiency (averaging 58.8% ± 7.4%). Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process played the dominant role in N removal in compact AGS over the alternating nitrification and denitrification process. High-concentration glucose undermined feast–famine condition with filamentous bacteria growth out of granule and decreased TN removal efficiency to 67.3% ± 15.2%. Lower food to microorganism ratio may result in a lower N removal rate attributed to the sharply increased biomass concentration fed by glucose. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, and denitrifying phosphorus accumulation organisms enriched during AGS granulation also contributed to the efficient N removal. The proposed strategy provided insights into the relationship between various factors and stable AGS formation, and systemic operation methods for various complicated wastewater treatment. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic-inorganic hybridization is an important way to improve ablation resistance of phenolic resin coatings (PR). However, long molecular chain silicone by copolymerization is less compatible with PR and hybrid resin will form sea-island phase, which is not favorable for further improvement of ablation resistance. Therefore, how to achieve a combination of long chain and compatibility is a major challenge. In this work, the poly(dimethyl-diphenyl-imide)siloxane (PMPI) containing imide and phenyl was synthesized by anionic ring-opening polymerization and copolymerization. Then, it was hybridized with PR to obtain PMPI/PR-based double network hybrid resin coatings with nano co-continuous phase. The oxyacetylene ablation test suggests that the resin coatings with medium phenyl content has the lowest linear ablation rate (0.055 mm/s), which is 74 % lower compared to PR (0.21 mm/s). In addition, the mechanism by which PMPI enhances ablation resistance is discussed. This work provides a promising approach to develop higher performance ablative-resistant resin coatings. [Display omitted] • A novel poly(dimethyl-diphenyl-imide)siloxane containing imide rings and phenyl groups was synthesized. • Nano co -continuous structure of poly(dimethyl-diphenyl-imide)siloxane/phenolic hybrid resin was obtained. • The effect of phenyl on ceramization process of resin coatings during ablation was investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Propose indirect diffusion model for extraction of deeply concave edges and sharp corners. • Model is defined as two PDEs, one driving level set motion and one smoothing indirectly level set. • Level set function can be initialized to zero function, so allowing for flexible initialization. • It is easy to set a termination criterion for the proposed algorithm. Abstract In this paper, we put forward an idea of indirect diffusion and further develope an indirect diffusion-based level set model for image segmentation. This model is based on the dynamic process of diffusion that is posed indirectly on level set function by way of auxiliary function, coupled with a transition region-based force that exhibits the desired sign-changing property. It is formulated as a coupled system of two evolution equations, in which the first equation drives the motion of zero level set toward the object edges and makes it possible to set a termination criterion on the algorithm, while the second equation (indirect diffusion) smoothens the auxiliary function and keeps the auxiliary function as close to the level set function as possible. The derived model can effectively be solved purely by the simplest explicit finite difference. Experimental results show that the proposed model not only has the strong capability of noise immunity, but it also can much better conduce to extraction of deeply concave edges and preservation of sharp corners, compared with the direct diffusion-based counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Soil moisture and yield were observed for 6-year grain, forage and bioenergy crops. • Potential bioethanol production and groundwater decline were calculated. • Sorghum rotation produced more bioethanol per unit of groundwater decline. • Net groundwater withdrawal for perennial switchgrass was the smallest. Abstract Managing the complex demands on available energy, food and water is a fundamental challenge for a world with increasingly tenuous resource pools. The North China Plain's groundwater crisis has become increasingly serious due to decades-long over-exploitation for irrigation to pursue high grain yield. This combined challenge motivated investigation of ways to mitigate the groundwater table decline while fostering the use of renewable bioenergy resources. To provide insights about tradeoffs among water, food and energy, we performed a six-year experiment from 2010 to 2015 in the North China Plain where groundwater use, biomass and biofuel production and water use efficiency were compared for four cropping systems. They are winter wheat-summer maize (WM, grains, 1-year cycle), ryegrass–sweet sorghum (RS, forage plus bioenergy crops, 1-year cycle), winter wheat–summer maize→ ryegrass–sweet sorghum (WMRS, forage, bioenergy plus grain crops, 2-year cycle), and perennial switchgrass (SG, bioenergy crop). Actual evapotranspiration (ET a) and recharge to groundwater were calculated and validated using observed soil moisture contents. Results showed ET a of the cropping systems were statistically similar ranging from 694 to 730 mm yr−1 with the exception of switchgrass which was significantly less at 504 mm yr-1. The water table was projected to decline by about 1.3 m yr-1 for all three multi-crop rotations and 0.4 m yr-1 for switchgrass. In terms of bioethanol production per unit land and per unit ET a , the ryegrass-sweet sorghum (RS) rotation performed best with 25.0 m3 ha-1 and 5.7 L m-3 outperforming the yearly winter wheat–summer maize (WM) rotation (11.7 m3 ha-1 and 3.3 L m-3) and switchgrass (11.4 m3 ha-1 and 2.6 L m-3). The multiple year rotation of winter wheat–summer maize→ ryegrass–sweet sorghum (WMRS) yielded 16.9 m3 bioethanol per hectare and 4.3 L m-3 bioethanol per m3 ET a. When optimizing bioethanol against net groundwater depletion, RS and switchgrass outperformed the two grain-based rotations with 15.5 L and 14.4 L of bioethanol per m3 of depleted groundwater, ahead of WMRS at 10.9 L m-3 and WM at 9.1 L m-3. These results are significant for setting governmental policies on sustainable use of groundwater by various crop mixes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Gas switch effect were evaluated on isothermal gas-solid reactions in TGA. • Gas switch from Ar to CO 2 affected the isothermal gasification curve of graphite. • The variation of the CO 2 concentrations during gas switch caused the difference. • Gas switch effect become more significant with temperature increase. • Gas switch step affected the existence of the maximum rate of gasification. Abstract The effect of gas switching during isothermal gas-solid reactions were evaluated by taking CO 2 gasification of graphite in a thermogravimetric analyzer as an example. The evolution behavior of the gases during gasification with or without the gas switch step were recorded and analyzed by an on-line mass spectrometer. The gasification curve from the procedure with gas switch step showed an obvious difference with that obtained from all CO 2 atmosphere. For the procedure with gas switch step, the reaction indeed occurs in a mixture atmosphere of CO 2 and the inert gas initially, which greatly restrict the gasification reaction and completely changes the reaction rate curve trends. Moreover, the effect of gas switching is in proportion to the gasification temperature. With the increase of the gasification temperature, the effect of gas switching becomes more significant. The activation energy calculated using the data from the gas switch method become lower for the gas diffusion effect. This research indicate that the previous study which does not consider the gas switch effect would contain some errors on the evaluation of the samples reactivity and kinetic parameters. Estimate the gas evolution behavior is needed before doing the isothermal gas-solid reaction experiments using the gas switch method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract We developed polyamidoamine dendrimers conjugated with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for use in receptor-mediated delivery of therapeutics to cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate the utility of this approach to inhibit proliferation and migration of head and neck squamous carcinoma cells through targeting of EPS8, a key regulator of squamous carcinoma growth and motility. Use of EGF-dendrimers to deliver siRNA or shRNA against EPS8 resulted in inhibition of cell growth and reduction in cell motility. Moreover, more profound repression of the target protein was obtained with repeat exposure to the targeting reagent, and was consistent with the altered biological properties. Thus, targeting of EPS8 can be achieved with EGF-conjugated dendrimers delivering EPS8-specific RNAi therapeutics, leading to a reduction in the malignant phenotype of cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A substantial increase in histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) expression is implicated in the pathological process of diabetes and stroke. However, it is unclear whether HDAC3 plays an important role in diabetes complicated with stroke. We aimed to explore the role and the potential mechanisms of HDAC3 in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in diabetic state. Methods. Diabetic mice were subjected to 1 h ischemia, followed by 24 h reperfusion. PC12 cells were exposed to high glucose for 24 h, followed by 3 h of hypoxia and 6 h of reoxygenation (H/R). Diabetic mice received RGFP966 (the specific HDAC3 inhibitor) or vehicle 30 minutes before the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and high glucose-incubated PC12 cells were pretreated with RGFP966 or vehicle 6 h before H/R. Results. HDAC3 inhibition reduced the cerebral infarct volume, ameliorated pathological changes, improved the cell viability and cytotoxicity, alleviated apoptosis, attenuated oxidative stress, and enhanced autophagy in cerebral I/R injury model in diabetic state in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, we found that the expression of HDAC3 was remarkably amplified, and the Bmal1 expression was notably decreased in diabetic mice with cerebral I/R, whereas this phenomenon was obviously reversed by RGFP966 pretreatment. Conclusions. These results suggested that the HDAC3 was involved in the pathological process of the complex disease of diabetic stroke. Suppression of HDAC3 exerted protective effects against cerebral I/R injury in diabetic state in vivo and in vitro via the modulation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy, which might be mediated by the upregulation of Bmal1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Syntrophic propionate oxidation (SPO) coupled with methanogenesis is often inhibited under high ammonium concentrations in anaerobic digesters. However, the inhibitory mechanism remains poorly understood. We conducted two independent laboratory experiments with a swine manure digester sludge. In experiment I, RNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied to determine the active players of both bacteria and methanogens involved in SPO under different ammonium concentrations (0, 3 and 7 g NH 4 + N L−1). In experiment II, the dynamics of the bacterial community under ammonia stress was monitored using the 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and quantitative PCR under similar conditions as in experiment I but without the addition of external propionate. An additional higher ammonium treatment (10 g NH 4 + N L−1) was applied in experiment II to maximize the ammonia stress. We identified that the Smithella bacteria and the Methanosaetaceae and Methanospirillaceae archaea were the most active players involved in SPO and methanogenesis. We revealed that Smithella , Methanosaetaceae and Methanospirillaceae were moderately and severely inhibited at 3 and 7–10 g NH 4 + N L−1, respectively. However, the fermentative bacteria appeared to be more tolerant to ammonia stress. The microbial responses were corroborated with the accumulation of VFAs and the repression of methanogenesis under high ammonium conditions. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Ammonium led to complete inhibition of SPO and methanogenesis over 7 g NH 4 + N L−1. • Smithella, Methanosaetaceae and Methanospirillaceae participated in SPO and methanogenesis. • Smithella, Methanosaetaceae and Methanospirillaceae were hindered at >3 g NH 4 + N L−1. • Inhibition of Methanosaetaceae , Methanospirillaceae broke off CH 4 production in turn inhibited SPO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A planar ${W}$ -band array antenna is presented in this communication with a high gain and compact footprint. In order to simplify the feed network and reduce the feeding loss, a high-order resonating mode, i.e., the TE560-like mode, is employed for radiations. Thus, a single-elementantenna can support 30 radiation slots on the top surface of the substrate-integrated cavity. Full-wave analysis along with measured results is given to explain the operational principle and performance of the proposed antenna. A $20\times 24$ and $40\times 48$ slot arrays based on the proposed high-order resonating mode element antenna are fabricated and measured to demonstrate array applications. The measured results show that these two arrays have a −10 dB impedance bandwidth from 91 to 97 GHz. The measured peak gain is 26.39 dBi at 95.3 GHz and 30.36 dBi at 95.2 GHz for the $20\times 24$ and $40\times 48$ slot arrays, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prefabricated light steel structure has many advantages such as lightweight, high strength, good seismic performance, and high construction speed. However, in implementation, there are shortcomings such as poor performance in heat preservation and sound insulation, poor surface layers bonding and immature complete set of technology. According to the above-mentioned problems, this paper proposes a new type of light steel structure system- light steel polystyrene foam concrete composite wall structure. Full-scale model tests were carried out on five wall panels under cyclic horizontal loading. The test results indicate that the composite walls yield when the inter-story drift angle is around 1/300 and the maximum inter-story drift angle reaches 1/50. The shear capacity of the composite wall is 3. 3 times of the non-filling material wall, while the initial lateral stiffness of the composite wall is 4 times of the non-filling material wall. The shear capacity of the composite wall with skin increases by 43% than the composite wall without skin, and the internal and external wall panels can reduce polystyrene foam concrete cracking. The failure modes, hysteresis performance, shear resistance, ductility, energy dissipation and stiffness degradation of the wall were analyzed, which showed that the composite wall has good seismic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction effects of stocking density and water temperature on survival, molting, growth and feeding of juvenile crabs (0.91 ± 0.09 g) were studied in the laboratory. Stocking densities per m 2 were as follows: 14 (group D1), 42 (D3), 85 (D6), 128 (D9), 170 (D12) and 215 (D15), and water temperatures were 22 °C and 28 °C. The experiment was conducted in temperature-controlled recirculating rearing systems and lasted for 60 days. The results indicated that water temperature and stocking density have significant interaction effects on survival rate and molting frequency ( P   <  .05), but no significant interaction effects on body weight, specific growth rate (SGR), deformity rate, daily feed intake and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) ( P   >  .05). At 22 °C, the survival rate of group D1 was significantly higher than in other densities, while there was no significant difference in molting frequency between each density. At 28 °C, the survival rate of group D1 was similar to D3 and both were significantly higher than the other densities ( P   <  .05), molting frequency increased firstly and then decreased significantly with increasing stocking density ( P   <  .05). Water temperature had a significant influence on molting frequency at lower stocking densities (D1, D3 and D6), but not at higher densities, and only significantly influenced survival in group D12 ( P   <  .05). The deformity rate in group D12 at both temperatures was significantly higher than in other groups ( P   <  .05). Growth, body weight and SGR were significantly lower at high stocking densities (D12 and D15) than at lower densities ( P   <  .05). Moreover, water temperature had a significant positive effect on daily feed intake and the daily feed intake of group D1 was significantly higher than in other groups ( P   <  .05). In conclusion, a high stocking density limited molting increment (MI) of Eriocheir sinensis , and the results suggest an optimal stocking density of 42–85 crabs per m 2 . Our findings are relevant both for juvenile and adults E. sinensis aquaculture management in both ponds and lake stocking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a vacuum encapsulation technique and stability characterization for MEMS resonator. Sn-rich Au-Sn solder bonding is used to achieve reliable hermetic packaging with high shear strength. Simple planar feedthrough structure is utilized to achieve electrical interconnection and low cost of packaging. The stabilities of the encapsulated resonator are systematically studied, including frequency stability, temperature stability, long-term hermeticity, and mechanical reliability. The short-term and medium-term frequency stability are ± 0.4 and ± 3 ppm, respectively. The temperature cycle test is introduced between − 20 and 80 °C, and the resonant-frequency drift of the packaged resonator is within ± 4 ppm between 40 temperature cycles. Furthermore, the packaged resonator is temperature compensated by micro-oven, which obtained a frequency stability range of ± 13 ppm between 20 and 100 °C. The packaged resonator shows favorable long-term stability of the Q-factor over 200 days and average shear strength of 43.93 MPa among 12 samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid spatial expansion of the warehousing industry in major metropolitan areas, environmental impacts associated with warehousing activities have been growing in the recent decades. This study focuses on the disproportionate distribution of warehousing facilities in disadvantaged neighborhoods and discusses how the disparities result from the interactions between various socioeconomic processes. From the perspective of environmental justice, warehousing-related environmental hazards affect the spatial relationship between warehouses and local communities. The changing factors in the firm location choice of warehousing facilities and the housing location choice of disadvantaged population jointly lead to the environmental justice problem in warehousing location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China has the third-largest burden of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world with great challenges towards ending TB. Primary health care (PHC) sectors play a critical role in TB prevention and control in communities under the Chinese integrated TB control model. However, there is a lack of comprehensive review of research evidence on TB control in PHC sectors under the integrated TB control model in China. Methods: This review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Articles published from 2012 to January 2022 were searched from four international and three Chinese databases. Studies conducted inside mainland China and relevant with TB control service in PHC sectors under the integrated model were included. After study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment, the meta-analysis was performed with RevMan using a random-effect model.When I2 was more than 50%, subgroup analysis was performed to explore possible reasons for heterogeneity. We also conducted a post hoc sensitivity analysis for outcomes after meta-analysis by exclusion of studies with a high risk of bias or classified as low quality. Results: Forty-three studies from 16 provinces/municipalities in China were included in this review, and most studies included were of medium quality. PHC sectors in East China delivered TB control service better overall than that in West China, especially in tracing of patients and TB case management (TCM). In meta-analyses, both the pooled arrival rate of tracing and pooled TCM rate in East China were higher than those in West China. TB patients had a low degree of willingness to receive TCM provided by healthcare workers in PHC sectors nationwide, especially among migrant TB patients. There were 9 studies reporting factors related to TB control service in PHC sectors, 6 (2 in East and 4 in West China) of which indentified several characteristics of patients as associated factors. The context of PHC sectors was demonstrated to influence delivery of TB control service in PHC sectors in 5 studies (3 in East, 1 in Middle and 1 in West China). Most studies on strategies to promoting TB control services in PHC sectors were conducted in East China and some of these studies identified several online and offline interventions and strategies improving patients' treatment compliance [pooled OR (95% CI): 7.81 (3.08, 19.19] and awareness of TB [pooled OR (95% CI): 6.86 (2.16, 21.72)]. Conclusion: It is of urgent need to improve TB control in PHC sector in China, particularly in West China. Formative and implementation research with rigorous design are necessary to develop comprehensive, context-specific, and patient-centered TB control strategies to promote ending TB in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells characterized by self-renewal, production of clonal cell populations, and multilineage differentiation. They exist in nearly all tissues and play a significant role in tissue repair and regeneration. Additionally, MSCs possess wide immunoregulatory properties via interaction with immune cells in both innate and adaptive immune systems, leading to immunosuppression of various effector functions. Numerous bioactive molecules secreted by MSCs, particularly cytokines, growth factors, and chemokines, exert autocrine/paracrine effects that modulate the physiological processes of MSCs. These invaluable virtues of MSCs provide new insight into potential treatments for tissue damage and inflammation. In particular, their extensive immunosuppressive properties are being explored for promising therapeutic application in immune disorders. Recently, clinical trials for MSC-mediated therapies have rapidly developed for immune-related diseases following reports from preclinical studies declaring their therapeutic safety and efficacy. Though immunotherapy of MSCs remains controversial, these clinical trials pave the way for their widespread therapeutic application in immune-based diseases. In this review, we will summarize and update the latest research findings and clinical trials on MSC-based immunomodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers tend to have more range anxiety compared with driving traditional fuel vehicles if they are driving battery electric vehicle (BEV) with a long trip. Range anxiety could potentially have negative effect on driver’s emotions and behaviors. In order to understand this behavior and improve the related safety issues, this paper will focus on BEV drivers’ study in China. A survey on BEV drivers’ actual range anxiety as well as the effect of range anxiety on drivers’ behaviors is conducted in this research. Levels of feelings and attitudes of the interviewees are quantized with Likert scales using mathematical tools of the relationship. Safety buffer is defined as a measurement of the period given range anxiety starting to significantly intervene in driver’s operation. The research reveals the proportional quotative relationship between BEV drivers’ safety buffer and the mileage of trip. Factors, including driving experience, satisfactory level of recharge accessibility, and resistibility to emotions, are found to be significant contributing factors to influence the perceived range anxiety level of BEV drivers. This research will provide implications to the future study on the interface design of BEV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this communication, a W-band substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) magnetoelectric (ME) dipole array antenna is reported with a wide operating bandwidth. By combing a longitudinal slot, which is functioned as a magneto dipole, on the top surface of the SIW, and a loaded short-circuited patch functioned as an electric dipole, an SIW ME dipole is designed. Thus, both merits of the low-loss character of the SIW and the wideband performance of the ME dipole are utilized. The proposed technique is capable of designing a large planar array with a wide operating bandwidth. As a demonstration, a W-band $4\times 8$ SIW array antenna is designed and fabricated by using a low-cost printed circuit board technology. The experimental results show that the 10 dB impedance bandwidth of the designed prototype is 13.89%, i.e., from 78.4 to 90.1 GHz. Stable radiation patterns, high radiation efficiencies, and low cross-polarization levels are achieved within a wide operating frequency band. In addition, a stable gain of 19.6±0.7 dBi is obtained as well. The proposed antenna is a good candidate for the millimeter-wave wireless system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrocosmea chrysotricha M.Q.Han, H. Jiang & Yan Liu, a new species from Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. Petrocosmea chrysotricha was found growing with P. melanophthalma on damp marlstone cliffs in evergreen broad‐leaved forest on Mopan Shan. The new species has been grown for decades by Gesneriad enthusiasts under the name P. begoniifolia for decades and it is indeed similar to P. begoniifolia in its oblique campanulate corolla tube, but differs by having filaments covered with golden lanate indumentum in the middle part and by having primrose yellow flowers at the beginning if anthesis, then turning white. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional influence effect model of rural financial demand has great problems on speed and error of influence effect analysis, it is difficult to meet the demand of rural financial influence effect. The influence effect model of rural financial demand based on structural equation model is proposed. The indexes are selected and studied to construct the theory model. The multivariate technique of exploratory factors are utilized to analyze financial data, and establish the effect model. Experimental results show that the model can reflect the influence of demand accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated driving is coming with enormous potential for safer, more convenient, and more efficient transportation systems. Besides onboard sensing, autonomous vehicles can also access various cloud services such as high definition maps and dynamic path planning through cellular networks to precisely understand the real-time driving environments. However, these automated driving services, which have large content volume, are time-varying, location-dependent, and delay-constrained. Therefore, cellular networks will face the challenge of meeting this extreme performance demand. To cope with the challenge, by leveraging the emerging mobile edge computing technique, in this article, we first propose a two-level edge computing architecture for automated driving services in order to make full use of the intelligence at the wireless edge (i.e., base stations and autonomous vehicles) for coordinated content delivery. We then investigate the research challenges of wireless edge caching and vehicular content sharing. Finally, we propose potential solutions to these challenges and evaluate them using real and synthetic traces. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed solutions can significantly reduce the backhaul and wireless bottlenecks of cellular networks while ensuring the quality of automated driving services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved shear-lag model is proposed to investigate the mechanism through which the surface effect influences the stress transfer of multilayered structures. The surface effect of the interlayer is characterized in terms of interfacial stress and surface elasticity by using Gurtin–Murdoch elasticity theory. Our calculation result shows that the surface effect influences the efficiency of stress transfer. The surface effect is enhanced with decreasing interlayer thickness and elastic modulus. Nonuniform and large residual surface stress distribution amplifies the influence of the surface effect on stress concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the mostly diagnosed primary bone malignancy. Emerging evidence indicates that the activity of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) isoform is crucial for the survival of tumor cells. In the present study, the effect of PKM2 knockdown on the proliferation and migration of OS cells were assessed both in vitro and in vivo . Small hairpin RNA (shRNA) technology were employed to suppress the expression of PKM2 in MG-63 and Saos-2 cell lines. In vitro , shRNA-mediated knockdown of PKM2 efficiently inhibited cell proliferation, and induced G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in both cell lines, which was associated with decreased expressions of cyclin D1 and Bcl-2 as well as increased expressions of Bax, cleaved-caspase-3, and cleaved-PARP. The invasion and migration potential of OS cell lines were also inhibited by PKM2 knockdown through the regulating effect of PKM2 on MMP-2 and VEGF signaling. In vivo , knockdown of PKM2 decelerated tumor growth rate and induced structure deterioration in tumor tissues. The current study for the first time showed that the activity of PKM2 was indispensable for the development and metastasis of OS, thereby providing the basic information for the future development of PKM2-based anti-OS therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Input of plant material may strongly change decomposition rates of soil organic matter (SOM), i.e. causing priming effect (PE), but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We found that rice straw addition in anoxic Fuyang (F) rice field soil stimulated CH 4 production from SOM at the expense of CO 2 , whereas in Uruguay (U) soil it suppressed SOM degradation to CO 2 plus CH 4 (negative PE). Reciprocal inoculation experiments with non-sterile and sterile soils showed that the soils always displayed the effect of rice straw characteristic for the live microbial community rather than for the soil physicochemical properties. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed that bacterial communities in these soil samples were separated into two clusters (F and U). Symbiobacterium was abundant or dominant in microbiota from U soil, but negligible in those from F soil. Network analysis indicated that the bacterial populations involved in SOM decomposition were different between soils of F and U clusters; moreover, they were more tightly connected to methanogens in U than in F clusters. Ultimately, our results suggested that the PE of rice straw is mediated by the composition and activity of soil microbial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In aqueous media at neutral pH, the binding of two cyanide molecules per cobinamide can be described by two formation constants, Kf1 = 1.1 (±0.6) × 105 M-1 and Kf2 = 8.5 (±0.1) × 104 M-1, or an overall cyanide binding constant of ~1 × 1010 M-2. In comparison, the cyanide binding constants for cobalamin and a fully oxidized form of cytochrome c oxidase, each binding a single cyanide anion, were found to be 7.9 (±0.5) × 104 M-1 and 1.6 (±0.2) × 107 M-1, respectively. An examination of the cyanide-binding properties of cobinamide at neutral pH by stopped-flow spectrophotometry revealed two kinetic phases, rapid and slow, with apparent second-order rate constants of 3.2 (±0.5) × 103 M-1 s-1 and 45 (±1) M-1 s-1, respectively. Under the same conditions, cobalamin exhibited a single slow cyanide-binding kinetic phase with a second-order rate constant of 35 (±1) M-1 s-1. All three of these processes are significantly slower than the rate at which cyanide is bound by complex IV during enzyme turnover (>106 M-1 s-1). Overall, it can be understood from these findings why cobinamide is a measurably better cyanide scavenger than cobalamin, but it is unclear how either cobalt corrin can be antidotal toward cyanide intoxication as neither compound, by itself, appears able to out-compete cytochrome c oxidase for available cyanide. Furthermore, it has also been possible to unequivocally show in head-to-head comparison assays that the enzyme does indeed have greater affinity for cyanide than both cobalamin and cobinamide. A plausible resolution of the paradox that both cobalamin and cobinamide clearly are antidotal toward cyanide intoxication, involving the endogenous auxiliary agent nitric oxide, is suggested. Additionally, the catalytic consumption of oxygen by the cobalt corrins is demonstrated and, in the case of cobinamide, the involvement of cytochrome c when present. Particularly in the case of cobinamide, these oxygen-dependent reactions could potentially lead to erroneous assessment of the ability of the cyanide scavenger to restore the activity of cyanide-inhibited cytochrome c oxidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of typical brominated flame retardants (BFRs), have drawn an increasing concern due to their widespread manufacture, usage and disposal around the world and the frequent detection in a variety of environmental media. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of the partitioning equilibrium of PBDEs between gas and atmospheric particles, and developed a new temperature-dependent predictive model for the gas/particle partition coefficient ( K P ) of these chemicals. Quantum chemical computations were implemented at B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory based on the neutral electronic ground state of PBDE congeners by Gaussian 09 software package. The model performance was assessed by different validation strategies and the application domain was defined by Williams Plot. Mechanism analysis indicated that the interactions of dispersion, electrostatic and hydrogen bond play crucial roles in the partitioning of PBDEs between the two phases. The developed model can be used to estimate the K P values of PBDEs for which experimental measurements are restricted. Therefore, this work provides an alternative method in a regulatory context of PBDEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether a city develops into a more compact one with a higher density or a more sprawling one may affect multiple aspects of the urban environment, including ecosystem health, greenhouse gas emissions, and quality of life. Using panel data gathered from China's cities from 2000 to 2010, we take advantage of the significant variation in the temporal change of density across cities to estimate the relationship between gross urban population density and multiple indicators of urban greenness. Fixed-effects estimates support the widely held belief that density improves air quality and reduces the per capita carbon footprint. Results also suggest that higher density reduces the growth of road infrastructure and vehicle ownership and promotes walking. While density often translates into proximity and accessibility, higher density does reduce a city's per capita urban park and green space. This study strengthens the urban policy and planning literature with much needed longitudinal evidence. Our overall findings support higher density as opposed to lower density urban development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel intensified bioprocess for simultaneous single-stage robust nutrient removal. • Mainstream partial nitritation/anammox integration with biological phosphorus removal. • Parallel strategies allowed efficient nitrite-oxidizing bacteria activity suppression. • Enrichment of anammox bacteria and Tetrasphaera polyphosphate accumulating organisms. Anammox-based nitrogen removal and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) are increasingly applied for nutrient removal from wastewater, but are typically operated in separate reactors. Here, a novel process for integrated partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) and EBPR in a single reactor employing integrated fixed film activated sludge was tested. The reactor was fed with mainstream municipal wastewater (5.4 ± 1.3 g COD/g N) at 20 °C for 243 days. Robust ammonium, total inorganic nitrogen, and orthophosphate removal efficiencies of 94 ± 4 %, 87 ± 7 % and 92 ± 7 % were achieved. Nitrite-oxidizing organisms suppression and ammonia-oxidizing organisms retention were achieved via solids retention time control, intermittent aeration, and suspended versus attached biomass population segregation. The contribution of anammox to nitrogen removal increased from 24 % to 74 %. In parallel, a substantial enrichment of Tetrasphaera polyphosphate accumulating organisms was observed. This work demonstrates a novel intensified bioprocess coupling PN/A and EBPR in the same reactor for efficient nutrient removal from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the bottlenecks to applying anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is the long start-up time, especially under mainstream conditions. This study proposed a strategy for fast anammox biofilm formation under mainstream conditions. By first cultivating an aerobic heterotrophic biofilm, and then transferring to anoxic conditions, a pre-cultivated heterotrophic biofilm can be formed in 12 days. The pre-cultivated heterotrophic biofilm then functions as a "glue" to accelerate anammox bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation. Secondary settled effluent with externally added 15–30 mg-N·L−1 ammonium and nitrite was applied as reactor influent. With a single inoculation of suspended growth anammox-laden biomass and no bioaugmentation, an anammox-enriched biofilm formed after 5 months of operation under uncontrolled temperature of 15–20 °C. Both the nitrogen removal rate and specific anammox activity exponentially increased over the course of study, corresponding to an estimated anammox doubling time of 10.8 days. The biofilm thickness on primed carriers was 2–3 times higher than on the non-primed carriers over the first 5 months of operation, and the hszA gene copy number in primed biofilms revealed was consistently 1 to 2 times higher than the non-primed carrier biofilm, indicating that biofil m carrier priming via selection for a pre-cultivated heterotrophic biofilm base can effectively improve the anammox enrichment rate at early stages of reactor operation. Time, rather than the type of biofilm (primed versus non-primed), had a stronger influence on microbial community structure over the full 230 days of reactor operation. Candidatus Brocadia was the only detected anammox bacteria genus. Overall, pre-cultivation of heterotrophs on biofilm carriers provides a simple route to accelerate anammox-enriched biofilm formation under mainstream conditions. [Display omitted] • Anammox biofilm formation is proven feasible under mainstream conditions. • A strategy for fast mainstream anammox biofilm formation is demonstrated. • The initial accumulation of heterotrophs accelerated the formation of anammox biofilm. • Candidatus Brocadia was significantly enriched as the dominant anammox bacteria. • Microbial community structure varied at first, but converged during the final months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep convolution neural networks have proven their powerful ability in comparing many tasks of computer vision due to their strong data learning capacity. In this paper, we propose a novel end-to-end denoising network, termed Fourier embedded U-shaped network (FEUSNet). By analyzing the amplitude spectrum and phase spectrum of Fourier coefficients, we find that low-frequency features of an image are in the former while noise features are in the latter. To make full use of this characteristic, Fourier features are learned and are concatenated as a prior module that is embedded into a U-shaped network to reduce noise while preserving multi-scale fine details. In the experiments, we first present ablation studies on the Fourier coefficients' learning networks and loss function. Then, we compare the proposed FEUSNet with the state-of-the-art denoising methods in quantization and qualification. The experimental results show that our FEUSNet performs well in noise suppression and preserves multi-scale enjoyable structures, even outperforming advanced denoising approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose an effective grasp detection network based on an improved deformable convolution and spatial feature center mechanism (DCSFC-Grasp) to precisely grasp unidentified objects. DCSFC-Grasp includes three key procedures as follows. First, improved deformable convolution is introduced to adaptively adjust receptive fields for multiscale feature information extraction. Then, an efficient spatial feature center (SFC) layer is explored to capture the global remote dependencies through a lightweight multilayer perceptron (MLP) architecture. Furthermore, a learnable feature center (LFC) mechanism is reported to gather local regional features and preserve the local corner region. Finally, a lightweight CARAFE operator is developed to upsample the features. Experimental results show that DCSFC-Grasp achieves a high accuracy (99.3% and 96.1% for the Cornell and Jacquard grasp datasets, respectively) and even outperforms the existing state-of-the-art grasp detection models. The results of real-world experiments on the six-DoF Realman RM65 robotic arm further demonstrate that our DCSFC-Grasp is effective and robust for the grasping of unknown targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study found that co-culture with human vascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) is beneficial for dorsal root ganglion cells (DRGCs). The goal of the present study is to investigate whether co-culture with HMVECs could promote the development of DRGCs, and whether this effect is induced by the secretion of BDNF by HMVECs. DRGCs were mono-cultured, co-cultured with HMVECs or co-cultured with HMVECs that pre-transfected with BDNF siRNA, the expression of neurite formation and branching factors were determined. The results showed that transfecting with BDNF siRNA inhibited BDNF expression and reduced BDNF secretion. Co-culture with HMVECs increased the expression of Etv4, Etv5, FN-L, FN-M, and GAP-43 in DRGCs that accompanied by the activation of ERK pathway. However, these changes were all reversed by the inhibition of BDNF in HMVECs. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that HMVECs potentiated DRGCs development at least partly by the secretion of BDNF in the co-culture system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Pathways directing endogenous stem/progenitor cells to restore normal architecture and function of damaged/diseased lungs remain underexplored. Published data have revealed that alveolar progenitor type II cell (ATIIC)-derived signaling promotes re-epithelialization of injured alveoli, yet the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here we aim to define the role of ATIIC-derived exosome miRNA signaling in controlling ATIIC-specific proliferation or differentiation in response to injury. Methods: Pluripotent stem cell-derived cultures, which contain early lung stem/progenitor populations that can subsequently differentiate into ATIICs, were used as a model for unbiased screening and identification of ATIIC phenotype-specific exosome miRNA signaling, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived ATIICs (hiPSC-ATIICs) were employed to examine the molecular basis of key exosome miRNA signaling in promoting ATIIC-specific proliferation. QRT-PCR was performed to examine expression pattern of ATIIC-derived key exosome miRNA in an alveolar injury model and in injured human lungs. Results: We show that human ATIIC line (A549)-derived exosome miR-371b-5p promotes ATIIC-specific proliferation, but not differentiation, in differentiating cultures of pluripotent stem cells. Using 3'UTR-driven luciferase reporters, we identified PTEN as a direct target of miR-371b-5p. Transfection of miR-371b-5p mimic into hiPSC-ATIICs leads to significantly decreased expression of endogenous PTEN, which stimulates phosphorylation of Akt and its downstream substrates, GSK3β and FOXOs, promoting cell proliferation. While not expressed in normal ATIIC phenotypes, the exosome miR-371b-5p expression is significantly induced after hiPSC-ATIICs or hATIICs (human primary ATIICs) are subjected to bleomycin-induced injury. To rule out that the ATIIC-derived exosome-miRNAs are merely a cell culture phenomenon, we transplanted hiPSC-ATIICs into bleomycin-challenged lungs of mice, and found that the transplanted hiPSC-ATIICs engraft and express exosome miR-371b-5p, along with additional survival of numerous mouse ATIICs in bleomycin-injured lungs. Consistent with these findings, significant levels of exosome miR-371b-5p were also detected in lavage samples of patients with acute pneumonia, but not in those from patients without pulmonary disorders. Conclusions: Collectively, our data strongly suggest that ATIIC-derived exosome miR-371b-5p may serve as a niche signaling to augment ATIIC survival/proliferation, promoting re-epithelialization of injured alveoli and thus provide a promising novel target to develop treatment for currently incurable lung diseases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green algae have been studied as an important and effective biomarker to indicate water quality due to their sensitivity to toxic agents in freshwater sources. However, conventional methods to monitor algal physiology use a chlorophyll fluorometer whose use is hampered by high-cost, large footprint, and limited sensitivity for practical samples containing low algal concentration. To overcome these constraints, we developed a multi-level electrode platform for resettable trapping of algae via AC electro-osmosis (ACEO) and negative dielectrophoresis. Preliminary experiments were performed in freshwater with conductivity of 0.02 S/m. Algal trapping was demonstrated at a low voltage of 2 V. The concentration effect was experimentally verified by measuring the fluorescence intensity of algae and using hemocytometer counting chambers at the inlet and outlet of the multilevel microchannel lab-on-a-chip. An optimal frequency was found for trapping, which agrees with the frequency dependence of ACEO flow velocity. Through-flow rate and electrode dimensions were optimized as well. Trapping efficiencies within the range of 26%–65% have been obtained. A maximum trapping rate of 182 cells/s was obtained with a flow rate of 20 μl/min. This lab-on-a-chip shows high potential for improving the limit of detection in algal monitoring and enabling the development of a portable, integrated and automated system for monitoring the quality of source drinking waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Gadolinium) Gd-doped antiperovskite compounds Mn 3 Cu 1−x Gd x N were synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction. With increasing Gd concentration, two magnetic transitions appeared at a high Curie temperature (T C1 ) corresponding to paramagnetic (PM)-ferromagnetic (FM) transition and a low temperature (T C2 ) ascribed to the FM-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition. The magnetic relaxation results show the formation of a magnetic metastable state after the FM-AFM transition at low temperature (lower than T C2 ), forming a novel magnetic-step feature in the process from AFM to FM under a certain magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese mitten crab ( Eriocheir sinensis ) juveniles (0.06–0.15 g) were individually reared at four temperatures (18, 22, ambient temperature and 30 °C) for 35 days. Each treatment (36 replicates per treatment) was conducted in temperature controlled recirculating rearing systems, and the four systems were randomly placed in a room subjected to natural light condition. The food intake, inter-molt period (IP), and molt increment (MI) were determined for each crab. After 35 days, all crabs reared at 18 °C survived, whereas the survival of the other groups was at 97.2%. Animals at 28 and 30 °C grew significantly faster ( P < 0.05) than those reared at 18 and 22 °C. The first inter-molt period in E. sinensis was significantly shortened with increasing temperature ( P < 0.05). The IP of C5–C8 (the fifth to eighth molting stage started from megalopa) was about 9–18 days. The percentage of MI decreased with body weight, but was not correlated to water temperature. Daily food intake increased notably with temperature and body weight ( P < 0.05). The percentages of daily food intake in relation to body weight were 2.9%, 3.5%, 5.4% and 5.6% at 18, 22, 28 and 30 °C, respectively. Maximum feed conversion efficiency (FCE) occurred at 22 °C (54.5%), which was significantly higher than that at 28 °C (43.6%) ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, 28–30 °C is the optimal water temperature for the growth and molting of juvenile Chinese mitten crab. Statement of relevance Chinese mitten crab ( Eriocheir sinensis ) is a native crustacean that play an important role in Chinese aquaculture. In general, there is a paucity of research on mitten crab culture technology, especially a dearth in the estimation of technical parameters for effective farming. In addition, there is very little known on the growth characteristics (Inter-molt period and Molt increment) and feeding efficiency of early juvenile stages of E. sinensis in relation to temperature. The present study attempts to understand what effects of water temperature on growth, feeding and molting of E. sinensis , based on crabs reared individually in a temperature controlled system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]