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Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, was first found in Taiwan province of China in 2003. To prevent transboundary expansion, the Chinese government has formulated various control strategies in the last 15 years to slow down the spread of S. invicta. Despite all efforts, S. invicta invasion has reached more than 390 counties of 13 provinces and two special administrative regions in China; at present, S. invicta remains at the stage of rapid expansion. The transnational entry of S. invicta is linked to imported logs and wastepaper coming mostly from the United States. In domestic settings, long-distance expansion of S. invicta relied on potted plant and turf transportation. Both monogyne and polygyne social forms of S. invicta were present in China with polygyne colonies as the dominant one. Data on population and breeding dynamics of S. invicta reveal the presence of two peaks annually with nuptial flights occurring throughout the year. Arthropods, plant seeds, and honeydew are important food sources of S. invicta, thereby causing negative impacts on the abundance, diversity, and richness of native arthropod communities. Fire ants are threats not only to agriculture and power facilities, but also to human health, with more than 30% of people having suffered from the sting and 10% having experienced an allergic reaction. To address the expansion of S. invicta, the National Fire Ant Detection and Management Union was established and the formulation and implementation of management policies were drawn. Plant quarantine becomes an essential step in fire ant management, whereas the two-step method of combing toxic baits and contact dust emerges as the forefront method crucial in managing S. invicta. The experience and lessons learned from fire ant management in China could benefit other countries when facing similar challenges.B [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat bran, while a nutritious and economic feed ingredient, contents high levels of non-starch polysaccharides which entraps nutrients and interferes digestion and absorption. To study the influence of fermented wheat bran by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus on growth performance and intestinal microflora of broiler chickens, a total of 180 broilers (21-day-old, mixed of male and female) were randomly divided into 3 treatments, with 6 replicates in each treatment and 10 broilers in each replicate: 1) control check (CK), corn-soybean meal-based diet; 2) wheat bran group (WB), 5% of the corn were replaced with wheat bran; and 3) fermented wheat bran group (FWB), 5% of the corn were replaced with fermented wheat bran. Growth performance was determined in the period of 21- to 42-day-old. Intestinal digestive enzyme activities and microbiota diversity were analyzed on day 42. No differences were observed on growth performance among treatments (P > 0.05). The activity of amylase in the duodenum of FWB was 1.56 times higher than CK (P < 0.05). The Chao1 index of microbiota in cecum of FWB increased 24.26% compared with CK (P < 0.01). The amount of Bifidobacteriaceae in cecum of WB was 29.1 times and 15.8 times higher than CK and FWB (P < 0.05) respectively. Principal co-ordinates analysis in cecum revealed the dissimilarity microbiota among treatments. In summary, the use of fermented wheat bran to partially replace corn (5%) in diets had no adverse effect on growth performance and triggered beneficial effects such as increasing duodenal amylase activity and intestinal microflora abundance in broiler chickens. These observations support that solid-state fermentation by xylanase-producing Bacillus cereus is feasible approach to pre-treat wheat bran for feedstuff industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the efficacy and safety of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and methods PubMed, MedLine, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched to identify potentially eligible studies comparing the efficacy and safety of SBRT with RFA for HCC from January 1990 to May 2020. Hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to determine the effect size for overall survival (OS), local control (LC) and complications. Results Seven studies including 7928 patients were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The results showed that SBRT was not inferior to RFA based on the pooled HR for OS (HR = 1.09, 95%CI = 0.78–1.52, p = .62); however, the pooled HR for the LC rate showed the superiority of SBRT (HR = 0.54, 95%CI = 0.35–0.84, p = .006). Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled HR for the LC rate favored SBRT in patients with tumors sized >2 cm (HR = 0.41, 95%CI = 0.23–0.74, p = .003), but no significant difference was observed in patients with tumors sized ≤2 cm (HR = 0.56, 95%CI = 0.25–1.28, p = .17). In addition, no significant differences in the incidence of late severe complications were observed between the SBRT and RFA groups (OR = 1.01, 95%CI = 0.59–1.73, p = .97). Conclusions Based on the current data, we concluded that SBRT was well tolerated with an OS equivalent to that with RFA; SBRT was superior to RFA in terms of LC of HCC, especially in those with tumors sized >2 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently the regenerative evaporative cooler (REC) has drawn great attention from researchers because it can cool the intake air below the wet-bulb temperature and approaching its dew point temperature. For further understanding of the heat and mass transfer occurred in a counter-flow REC, a novel mathematical model is developed based on the law of energy conservation and the principle of the thermodynamic theory. The proposed mathematical model is validated against experimental data from literature. The parametric study is performed to investigate the performance of the REC under different operating and geometrical conditions. It is found that the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency ratio of the REC are strongly influenced by the intake air velocity, the working to intake air ratio and channel gap, followed by the channel length. The working to intake air ratio choosing from 0.3 to 0.4 is appropriate in order to achieve better thermal performance with permissible level of thermodynamic cost. Moreover, the results obtained in this paper reveal that the best thermal performance does not correspond to the best thermodynamic performance. Thus, both the first and second law of thermodynamics should be considered for a comprehensive analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an investigation of dynamical processes of nonradiative energy transfer (ET) between Ce3+ and Pr3+, and between Pr3+ ions in Y3Al5O12:Ce3+, Pr3+ phosphor. Photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence decay patterns are studied as a function of Pr3+ and Ce3+ concentrations. The analysis based on Inokuti-Hirayama model indicates that the ET from the lowest 5d state of Ce3+ to the 1D2 state of Pr3+, and the quenching of the 1D2 state through a cross relaxation involving Pr3+ ions in the ground state are both governed by electric dipole-dipole interaction. An increase in the Ce3+-Pr3+ ET rate followed by the enhanced red emission line of Pr3+ relative to the yellow emission band of Ce3+ on only increasing Ce3+ concentration is observed. This behavior is attributed to the increase in the spectral overlap integrals between Ce3+ emission and Pr3+ excitation due to the fact that the yellow band shifts to the red spectral side with increasing Ce3+ concentration while the red line dose not move. For Ce3+ concentration of 0.01 in YAG:Ce3+, Pr3+, the rate constant and critical distance are evaluated to be 4.5×10-36 cm6 s-1, 0.81 nm for Ce3+-Pr3+ ET and 2.4×10-38 cm6 s-1, 1.30 nm for Pr3+-Pr3+ ET. Spectroscopic study also demonstrates a pronounced ET from the lowest 4f5d of Pr3+ to the 5d of Ce3+. A proportional dependence of the initial transfer rate on acceptor concentration is observed in each of these ET pathways. The proportional coefficient as the averaged ET parameters for initial decay are determined, meaning the ET efficiency for the same concentration of acceptors follows the order of Pr3+-Pr3+>Pr3+-Ce3+>Ce3+-Pr3+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrostatic interactions may promote or abate polyelectrolyte adsorption onto a charged surface depending on a number of interrelated factors including the surface and polymer charge densities, the salt concentration, and nonelectrostatic interactions such as van der Waals and hydrophobic forces. Even without the nonelectrostatic interactions, the electrostatic behavior of polyelectrolyte systems is often counterintuitive and cannot be explained with conventional theories of polymers or simple electrolytes. In this work, a nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT) and Monte Carlo simulations are used together to investigate polyelectrolyte adsorption at both oppositely charged and like-charged surfaces (one due to the direct electrostatic attraction and the other due to counterion correlations). The simulation results provide a stringent test of the numerical performance of the NLDFT, in particular for systems containing multivalent counterions where electrostatic correlations are important. A systematic study of the effects of ion valence, salt concentration, and polyion chain length reveals that polyelectrolyte attraction to an oppositely charged surface is nearly a neutralization effect, little influenced by the polyion chain length and counterion valence. Neither the surface mean electrostatic potential nor the integrated local charge density shows no significant sign of charge inversion. Both theory and simulation predict polyelectrolyte adsorption onto a like-charged surface when the system contains multivalent counterions. In that case, the surface excess is sensitive to the surface charge density, the counterion valence, and the salt concentration. The surface mean electrostatic potential shows a clear evidence of charge inversion when two layers of like charges are mediated by multivalent counterions. The theoretical investigations indicate that most likely, the electrostatic correlation mediated by multivalent counterions is responsible for the layer-by-layer assembly of oppositely charged polyelectrolyte films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the off-lattice Monte Carlo simulation and replica-exchange method, we studied the behavior of nongrafted homopolymer adsorption by an attractive substrate from both the canonical and the microcanonical views. An adsorption transition is identified from the peak in canonical specific heat and compared with the conventional polymer adsorption with one end anchored on the surface of the substrate. Judging from the typical “backbending effect” and the negative specific heat in microcanonical ensemble, the transition is first-order-like when adsorption is relatively strong. However, it becomes second-order-like when the strength of adsorption becomes weak enough. Further study reveals that for a chain consisting of a limited number of monomers, the type of this transition becoming either first- or second-order-like depends not only on the interplay between monomer-monomer and monomer-substrate interaction, but also on the width of the gap in which it is confined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adsorption process of a homopolymer chain nongrafted on an attractive surface is numerically investigated using replica-exchange multicanonical Monte Carlo simulation. Based on the microcanonical analysis, the microcanonical entropy in the adsorption transition shows convex features. Correspondingly, with the coexistence of two phases, negative specific heat is also observed in the region, implying first-orderlike transition. The origin of the negative specific heat is due to the nonextensitivity of the energy in the system. This adsorption process has some similarities to the nucleation and growth mechanism in the crystalline process. Further study reveals that the transition type, either first- or second-orderlike, during chain adsorption is strongly dependent on the chain length, interactions among segments, whether chain grafted on the surface, and force upon segments imposed by surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resveratrol is a ployphenolic compound which has a wide variety of pharmacological activity. This paper reviewed the physicochemical properties of resveratrol and its purification technology including macroporous resin method, high-speed countercurrent chromatography method, molecular imprinting method, membrane separation method, column chromatography method, two-aqueous phase extraction method and the combination of purification methods, so as to provide certain reference for further research and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the problem of pesticide residues in Chinese chives has attracted widespread attention from society. This paper comprehensively analyzed the production and planting situation. quality and safety status and changes in pesticide standards of Chinese chives. and deeply discussed the main quality and safety problems of Chinese chives and their causes. On this basis, it was proposed to improve the quality and safety level of Chinese chives from three aspects; improving limit standards. promoting green production prevention and control techniques. and strengthening supervision on input products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to the quality and quantity of farmland, the health of farmland has also become an important research direction in the field of farmland protection. In order to comprehensively evaluate the relationship and distribution of health and farmland production capacity, the depression area behind the Yellow River in Henan Province is taken as the research object. Using production capacity evaluation data and system health evaluation results, the health status and production capacity of farmland in the region are coupled. The results show that high productivity farmland is most distributed in areas with moderate health risks, while low productivity farmland is more distributed in areas with low health risks. Based on their coupling characteristics, the depression area behind the Yellow River can be divided into five types, and management and protection strategies can be formulated separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With improvements in the national consumption level, the tourism industry is playing an increasingly important role in the national economy, and the proportion of tourism revenue in GDP is constantly increasing. In this paper, we first improve the standard Drosophila algorithm by adaptively adjusting the fly population number and search step size while optimizing the initial iteration position and improving the local search ability and search efficiency. Then, the improved algorithm (FOA) is combined with the echo state network to establish a two-stage combined prediction model called the Adaptive Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm-Echo State Network (AFOA-ESN). The experimental results show that the AFOA-ESN model has higher prediction accuracy compared to other prediction models, and the convergence rate and prediction accuracy of the AFOA-ESN are better than the standard ESN and FOA-ESN, proving the effectiveness of model improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The types and magnitude of Ag-specific immune responses can be determined by the functional plasticity of dendritic cells (DCs). However, how DCs display functional plasticity and control host immune responses have not been fully understood. In this study, we report that ligation of DC-asialoglycoprotein receptor (DC-ASGPR), a C-type lectin receptor (CLR) expressed on human DCs, resulted in rapid activation of Syk, followed by PLCγ2 and PKCδ engagements. However, different from other Syk-coupled CLRs, including Dectin-1, signaling cascade through DC-ASGPR did not trigger NF-κB activation. Instead, it selectively activated MAPK ERK1/2 and JNK. Rapid and prolonged phosphorylation of ERK1/2 led to sequential activation of p90RSK and CREB, which consequently bound to IL10 promoter and initiated cytokine expression. In addition, DC-ASGPR ligation activated Akt, which differentially regulated the activities of GSK-3α/β and β-catenin and further contributed to IL-10 expression. Our observations demonstrate that DC-ASGPR induces IL-10 expression via an intrinsic signaling pathway, which provides a molecular explanation for DC-ASGPR-mediated programing of DCs to control host immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Antibody-LGI1 limbic encephalitis (LGI1-Ab LE) is an anti-neuronal surface antigen-related autoimmune encephalitis. we report three cases of LGI1-Ab LE, describe the characteristics of clinical manifestation, course of evolution, imaging manifestation and treatment outcomes. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with LGI1-Ab LE in the Second Hospital, Hebei Medical University, from June 2016 to July 2017, were retrospectively collected and analyzed. We followed up the patients for 90 days. Results: Two of the three patients were females, the average age of onset is 53 years old. Epilepsy is the most common clinical manifestations, and one of patients developed faciobrachial dystonic seizures (FBDS), which was recently described as a characteristic feature of LGI1-Ab LE. All patients had cognitive impairment in different degrees and abnormal signal of hippocampus in cranial MRI. All serum LGI1 antibodies were positive, whereas one LGI1 antibodies of CSF were negative. All patients accepted first-line immune therapy and had a good outcome. Conclusion: LGI1-Ab LE, which is an autoimmune disease, is rare clinically and mostly nonparaneoplastic. We suggest that LGI1-Ab LE be considered in any patient with acute or subacute onset, cognitive dysfunction , various types of seizures, accompanied by mental disorders and hyponatremia, MR showed the involvement of the limbic system. It is necessary to have LE-related antibodies tested. Early immunotherapy can significantly improve the patient's overall prognosis. At the same time, we should also pay attention to the possibility of potential tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problem of storage nodes in wireless sensor networks being vulnerable to attack, this article proposes a new range query protocol, WQuery, based on multidimensional data privacy and integrity protection. To ensure the privacy of multidimensional data, the WQuery protocol encodes multidimensional sensing data and user query requests based on a bucket-partitioning scheme and sequential encryption mechanism at the sensor node and sink node. Therefore, the storage nodes cannot sense the real value of sensing data and query requests under the premise of correctly executing the request. To ensure the integrity of the multidimensional data query results, WQuery includes an integrity verification scheme based on the new tree-to-destination data structure. The scheme translates the actual query scope of a user request into a matched set of bucket labels and verifies the integrity of query results through the tree-to-destination data structure. Simulation results show that the tree-to-destination scheme is flexible, easy to implement, and highly secure, thereby effectively reducing energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify the relationship between clinical pathological characteristics and the recurrence score (RS) on a 21-gene expression assay in patients with hormone receptor–positive, node-negative breast cancer, as well as the effect of RS on adjuvant decision-making. The retrospective study was conducted among luminal breast cancer patients admitted to Xijing Hospital between October 10, 2016, and September 14, 2018. Real-time PCR was used for 21-genome detection. Based on the calculated RS, participants were classified into low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk groups. Single-factor analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to explore independent predictors of high RS. Moreover, the effect of RS on adjuvant decision-making was studied. Two hundred twenty-two patients with luminal breast cancer, aged 48.3 ± 9.66, were enrolled. Among them, 33.8% had low (13 ± 3.34), 45.5% intermediate (23 ± 3.65), and 20.7% high (37 ± 3.44) RS. According to the single-factor analysis, age, tumor size, Ki-67, molecular subtype, CK5/6 expression, E-cadherin level, and histological grade were positively associated with high RS. Multiple logistic analyses showed that tumor size and histological grade were independent variables that might predict high RS in patients with hormone receptor–positive, node-negative breast cancer. For adjuvant decision-making, the proportion of adjuvant chemotherapy in the intermediate-/high-risk groups was higher than that in the low-risk group, P < 0.001. Compared with the data worldwide, the changes of treatment selection in the present study were similar to those in Japan (23.0% vs. 26%) and America (23.0% vs. 23.0%). Considering the pathology types, 14.3% of patients with invasive breast cancer with lower RS changed treatment recommendations, predominantly from chemo-endocrine to endocrine treatment alone, whereas the percentage in intermediate/high RS groups was 8.1%. Tumor size and histological grade were independent variables, predicting high risk in patients with hormone receptor–positive, node-negative breast cancer; 21-gene RS assessment was potentially a critical tool in guiding adjuvant decision-making in China. • We enriched the data about the clinical significance of RS among Chinese patients. • Tumor size and histological grade were independent factors to 21 gene recurrence score. • 21-gene recurrence score value was promising in adjuvant decision-making for early breast cancer patients in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to elucidate the effects of dexmedetomidine on kidney injury of parturients with preeclampsia (PE) undergoing cesarean section. Total 134 cesarean delivery women with PE were randomly divided into intervention group (IG) and control group (CG). Both groups underwent combined spinal and epidural anesthesia (CSEA), the IG was treated with 0.4 μg/(kg · min) dexmedetomidine for 10 min before surgery. The CG was treated with equivalent saline. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure, oxygen saturation (SpO2) of the two groups were measured at different time point after administration. Level of inflammatory factors were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Visual analogue score (VAS), Ramsay sedation score (RSS), and kidney injury related indexes were evaluated at different time points. The plasma-drug concentration of patients was determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. Compared with CG, HR, PE, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) showed lower level while SpO2 showed higher level in IG. Furthermore, expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-10 in IG was decreased after drug administration, the contents of β2-MG, KIM-1 and urine protein were also decreased in contrast to the CG (all P<0.05). Besides, VAS score was decreased but Ramsay score was increased in the IG (both P<0.05). The results of HPLC showed that the half life of dexmedetomidine was about 20 min and it is speculated that the drug can be quickly metabolized within 24 h. Dexmedetomidine exerted protective effects on kidney injury of parturients with PE undergoing cesarean section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of betaine-type Gemini surfactants (Cs-BGS, where C is the methylene part of the spacer, s = 2, 4, 6) were synthesized from sodium 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropanesulfonate, oleamidopropyl dimethylamine and bromoalkane. The chemical structure of the prepared compounds was confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR spectra, and elemental analysis. Their critical micelle formation concentrations (CMC) in the aqueous solution at 25 °C were determined by measuring the surface tension and the electrical conductivity. As the length of the spacer increased, the values of their CMC and cmc also increased. The surface tension measurements of C2-BGS revealed that the surfactant possesses a low CMC, is very efficient in reducing the surface tension, and is very strongly adsorbed at the air-water interface. In addition, the adsorption and micellization behavior of Cs-BGS was estimated from the efficiency of surface tension reduction (pC20), minimum average surface area per surfactant molecule (Amin), and standard free energies of micellization and adsorption. These properties are significantly affected by the spacers and the adsorption is more favored than the micellization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SHRIMP and LA–ICP–MS zircon U–Pb dating, Nd and Hf isotope analyses, 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and whole‐rock geochemistry indicate three episodes of magmatism in the Dabaoshan ore district, South China: (1) Caledonian dacites (ca. 438 Ma); (2) Indosinian dolerites (ca. 210 Ma); and (3) Yanshanian granodiorites/porphyries (ca. 165 Ma) and basalts (ca. 147 Ma). Episode 1 dacites and episode 3 granodiorites/porphyries are enriched in Rb, Th, U, and LREEs and depleted in Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti. The dacites may have been derived from partial melting of Mesoproterozoic–Paleoproterozoic crustal material, whereas the granodiorites/porphyries were derived mainly from partial melting of a late Mesoproterozoic crustal source with minor inputs of mantle material, according to whole‐rock εNd(t) and zircon εHf(t) values. The geochemical characteristics of episode 2 dolerites and episode 3 basalts, as well as their positive εNd(t) values (3.3–5.9 and 3.5–4.0, respectively), suggest a depleted mantle source. Taking into account the tectonic evolution of the South China Block, we suggest episode 1 dacites and episode 2 dolerites formed in an extensional setting that resulted from lithospheric delamination during the Caledonian intraplate orogeny and orogenic collapse during the Indosinian intraplate orogeny. Episode 3 granodiorites/porphyries and basalts formed in a back‐arc extensional setting in response to the westwards subduction of the Palaeo‐Pacific Plate beneath the South China Block. The timing of the three episodes of magmatism coincides roughly with the published ages of mineralization in the Dabaoshan ore district, suggesting a genetic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to investigate the feasibility of contouring target volume according to residual tumor and decreasing the dose to the tumor regression field after induction chemotherapy (IC) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Materials and Methods From August 2009 to August 2013, patients with stage III-IVB NPC were treated with IC and concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Gross tumor volume of nasopharynx (GTVnx)-residual and gross tumor volume of cervical lymph node (GTVnd)-residual were contoured according to post-IC residual primary tumor and any N+ disease, respectively. The tumor regression field was included in CTVnx1/CTVnd1 and prescribed a dose of 60 Gy. Outcomes and toxicities of all patients were evaluated. Results A total of 57 patients were enrolled. At a median follow-up of 68 months, three cases displayed locoregional recurrence and one case showed both distant metastasis and locoregional recurrence. All locoregional recurrences were in the GTVnx-residual/GTVnd-residual and in-field. The 5-year overall, locoregional relapse-free, distant metastasis-free, and progression- free survival rates were 82.2%, 87.7%, 85.8% and 80.3%, respectively. Conclusion After IC, contouring of GTVnx-residual/GTVnd-residual as residual tumor volume and distribution 60 Gy of radiation dose to the tumor regression field may be feasible and need further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) represents a well-recognized complication associated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis therapy, characterized by a reversible epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) at the early stage. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects linked with the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) AK089579 on the EMT of peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs) as well as the associated regulatory mechanisms of AK089579 downstream of tyrosine kinase 2 (DOK2) and microRNA-296-3p (miR-296-3p). Enrichment analysis, gene intersection association analysis, and a gene-gene intersection network were initially constructed to ascertain whether AK089579 regulated the expression of DOK2 through the mediation of miR-296-3p via the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in PF. After the PF mouse model had been constructed, the expression of the proteins associated with the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway and EMT and PMC migration and invasion were all determined accordingly. Based on the obtained results, AK089579 was determined to function as a competing endogenous RNA for miR-296-3p while acting to up-regulate the expression of DOK2, which is a target gene of miR-296-3p. AK089579 was detected to confer an inhibitory effect on the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, whereby the migration and invasion of PMCs among the mice models were suppressed. Meanwhile, up-regulated miR-296-3p and down-regulated DOK2 produced contrasting effects when compared with the aforementioned findings. Treatment with wp10066, a JAK2/STAS3 signaling pathway inhibitor, was shown to reverse the effects exerted by up-regulated miR-296-3p. Taken together, the central findings of the current study present evidence highlighting the capability of the lncRNA AK089579 to bind competitively to miR-296-3p and indirectly enhance the expression of DOK2, which in turn suppresses the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, whereby the EMT, migration, and invasion of PMCs was inhibited in PF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the cooperation degree of college students, this paper constructs a reputation-based public goods game model, and uses the maximum utility of neighbors as a strategy update standard. The influence of cooperation degree on the cooperative evolution in college students' entrepreneurial networks is analyzed through system simulation. It concludes that the degree of cooperation has different effects on the cooperative behavior of college students' entrepreneurial networks under different network scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method for estimating and controlling the coastal navigation mark measurement and control cost of the coastal navigation mark measurement and control project is to maintain the safety of the coastal navigation mark measurement and control project, to reduce the cost of the project and to guarantee the service level. The traditional cost estimation method of the coastal navigation mark measurement and control project is based on the experience-based evaluation of the cost prediction model of the coastal navigation mark measurement and control engineering, which cannot effectively meet the principle of minimizing the present value of the measurement and control cost of the coastal navigation mark and the maximization of the state index during the service life period. In this paper, a method for estimating the cost of a coastal navigation mark measurement and control project based on the characteristics of large data correlation is proposed, and the measurement and control model of the conventional coastal navigation mark is designed. Cost estimation model of coastal navigation mark measurement and control project based on performance and energy supply survival period assessment model based on comprehensive coastal navigation mark measurement and control strategy. The cost estimation model of the coastal navigation mark measurement and control engineering is designed by using the first-order Bessel function, a reliable index evaluation equation of the cost all-sample regression analysis is obtained, the measurement and control cost of the coastal navigation mark, the user cost and the social cost are calculated. The cost present value of the measurement and control project of the coastal navigation mark is minimized as the objective function, and the financial constraint and the performance constraint are obtained as the boundary conditions. The plan optimization of the cost of the measurement and control engineering of the coastal navigation mark is realized, and the measurement and control scheme of the coastal navigation mark with the minimum cost present value is obtained under the limited financial resources. The numerical simulation results show that the model can improve the reliability and reliability of the measurement and control engineering structure of the coastal navigation mark, optimize the measurement and control cost of the coastal navigation mark, and obtain the minimum measurement and control scheme of the coastal navigation mark with the minimum cost present value under the limited financial resources, thus saving the measurement and control cost of the coastal navigation mark by 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper establishes a semi-physical simulation platform on the basis of massive data analysis and computation according to the characteristics of mining speed-regulating magnetic coupling. The platform can be used to simulate various environment changes in the actual on-load application of magnetic coupling, verify the control strategy for magnetic coupling, provide simulation basis and references for on-site usage, as well as establish a mathematical model for all components of driving system of the entire belt conveyor. Through the experiment analysis, it is proved that this platform can effectively and objectively simulate the speed control situation of coupling, as well as the multi-power balance effect of the belt conveyor during soft startup of belt conveyor, thus providing practical engineering applications with strong data support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the matrix mapping theory, an improved eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA), called C/ERA, is proposed in this paper. It rebuilds a Hankel matrix by replacing all elements of each anti-subdiagonal with the arithmetic average of the elements along the anti-subdiagonal, and introduces the concept of using the Frobenius norm (L2-norm) to control the iterations number after implementing the SVD algorithm by the ERA method. With the data associated with a 5-DOF mass-spring-dashpot system and jacket-type platform under impact loading, it is demonstrated that C/ERA has a better capacity of de-noising, and a higher accuracy for low-order modes, and can identify more high-order modes than the ERA method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dew point indirect evaporative cooling achieved through Maisotsenko cycle is a complicated thermodynamic process. For further understanding of the heat and mass transfer occurred in a dew point indirect evaporative air cooler with Maisotsenko-cycle counter-flow configuration, the paper presents a novel mathematical model that combined the law of energy conservation and the principle of the thermodynamic theory. The model was used to carry out the parametric study of the dew point air cooler under various inlet air temperature and relative humidity. Through the combined analysis of energy and exergy of the target indirect evaporative cooling system, it is found that both the inlet air temperature and relative humidity have an important effect on the thermal performance and thermodynamic performance of the heat and mass exchanger. The high temperature environment helps to get better thermal performance and thermodynamic performance. It has been showed in this paper that the best thermal performance does not correspond to the best thermodynamic performance. Thus, the energy and exergy analysis should be implemented simultaneously for the optimization of the process to get the best thermal performance at permissible level of thermodynamic cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing the number of cores on a chip in Chip-Multiprocessors (CMPs), more cache resources are needed, and as a result, the leakage power consumption of the cache accounts for a larger proportion of the total chip power consumption. The emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) is expected to replace traditional memory devices due to its high density, near zero leakage power, and nonvolatility. In this paper, we use STT-RAM, a most promising candidate of NVM, to construct a energy-efficient hybrid cache architecture for 3D CMP. For the hybrid cache architecture design, we proposed a spherical placement approach to determine the optimal placement of STT-RAM and SRAM cache banks. This paper further proposes an optimized hybrid cache dynamic migration scheme, to reduce the data migration jitter and solve the problem of data migration failure in the hybrid cache architecture. The experimental results show that our proposed hybrid cache architecture with spherical placement and optimized data migration scheme can achieve 34.94% energy saving on average with only 1.49% performance degradation, compared with the architecture which uses pure SRAM as the cache in the same capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of rice husk fibers (RHFs) to reinforce wood plastic composites has received appreciable attention. However, good interfacial adhesion is important for actual applications. Pretreatment methods can reduce the hydroxyl groups in plant fibers in order for them to bond with the plastic matrix. In this research, RHFs were pretreated by four methods: hydrothermal treatment (HT), microwave treatment (MT), alkali treatment (AT), and benzoylation treatment (BT). The effects of the four pretreatment methods on aging behavior of RHFs/polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites was studied with simulated soil-accelerated aging conditions. Acceleratedsoil aging caused the physical and mechanical properties of the composites to deteriorate. The ultimate performance of the composites was improved by the pretreated RHFs. The effectiveness ranking of the pretreatment methods was: benzoylation-treated RHFs reinforced PVC (BRRP) > alkali-treated RHFs reinforced PVC (ARRP) > hydrothermaltreated RHFs reinforced PVC (HRRP) > microwave-treated RHFs reinforced PVC (MRRP) > untreated RHFs reinforced PVC (URRP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The case-control study aimed to investigate the association between the -31G>C polymorphism in the promoter of survivin gene and the susceptibility to sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) in a Southern Chinese population.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 711 healthy controls and 702 CRC cases of a Southern Chinese population. Survivin gene -31G>C genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The association between CRC risk and -31G>C genetic polymorphism was estimated using an unconditional logistic regression model.Results: The number of CC genotype carried in CRC patients was much higher than those of controls (P < 0.001). Compared with CC genotypes, GC, GG genotypes and -31G wild-type genotypes (i.e., GC + GG) had a significantly decreased risk of CRC (P < 0.001). In addition, survivin -31G wild-type genotypes were not associated with decreased risk of sporadic CRC patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥28.0 kg/m2, family cancer history, and premenopausal.Conclusion: Survivin -31G>C polymorphism is associated with sporadic CRC risk in the Southern Chinese population. The -31G wild-type genotypes and GC, GG genotypes are the independent protective factors against sporadic CRC excluding those with a BMI ≥28.0 kg/m2, family cancer history, and premenopausal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Sulforaphane-N-acetyl-cysteine (SFN-NAC) is a sulforaphane (SFN) metabolite with a longer half-life and better blood-brain barrier permeability than those of SFN. Previous studies have found that SFN-NAC can act via ERK to destroy microtubules and inhibit cell growth in lung cancer cells. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear, and it is unknown whether SFN-NAC can inhibit the growth of glioma. Here, we have demonstrated for the first time that SFN-NAC activates autophagy-mediated downregulation of α-tubulin expression via the ERK pathway. Methods: U87MG and U373MG cells, two widely used glioma cell lines, were utilized in this study. Apoptosis assay, western blot analysis, co-immunoprecipitation, immunostaining, and electron microscopy were used to analyze the effect of SFN-NAC on α-tubulin and its interaction with microtube-associated protein 1 light-chain 3 (LC3). Results: SFN-NAC induced cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and dose-dependently induced intracellular ERK activation, autophagy, and α-tubulin downregulation. These SFN-NAC-induced effects were reversed by inhibiting the ERK pathway with its inhibitor PD98059. U87MG and U373MG cells were transfected with LC3 small interfering RNA, and the subsequent inhibition of autophagy reversed the downregulation of α-tubulin by SFNNAC. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation experiments and confocal microscopy confirmed that SFN-NAC promotes the binding of LC3 with α-tubulin in the cytoplasm. Cell viability experiments demonstrate that SFN-NAC inhibits the growth of U87MG and U373MG cell colonies. Conclusion: These findings suggest that SFN-NAC is a novel potential anti-glioma agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common chronic remitting disease but without satisfactory treatment. Maggots are known as a traditional Chinese medicine named as ‘wu gu chong’. The aim of the present study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of the maggot protein on dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in C57BL/6 mice. In the present study, female C57BL/6 mice were given sterile water containing 3% DSS to establish the model of UC. Mice were randomly divided into five groups: control group (sterile water), model group (DSS), treatment group (DSS + maggot protein), mesalazine group (DSS + mesalazine), and maggot protein group (sterile water + maggot protein). The mental state, defecate traits, and changes in body weights were recorded daily. The disease activity index (DAI) as a disease severity criterion was calculated based on body weights and stool consistency and bleeding. All the mice were killed on the 12th day. Colon length, colon histological changes, and other inflammatory factors were analyzed and evaluated. The results showed that colitis models of mice were established successfully. Administration of maggot protein markedly suppressed the severity of UC compared with the DSS model group. Furthermore, maggot protein potently ameliorated DSS-induced weight loss, colon shortening, and colon histological injury. Moreover, the maggot protein exerted anti-inflammatory effects via inhibition of the activation of the nuclear factor κB (NFκB) signaling pathway. In summary, treatment by maggot protein was able to improve not only the symptoms of colitis, but also the microscopic inflammation in mice with DSS-induced colitis. The present study may have implications for developing an effective therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is the predominant pathogen of viral myocarditis. In our previous study, we found that CVB3 caused abnormal lipid accumulation in host cells. However, the underlying mechanisms by which CVB3 disrupts and exploits the host lipid metabolism are not well understood. Sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP1) is the major transcriptional factor in lipogenic genes expression. In this study, we demonstrated that CVB3 infection and nonstructural 2A protein upregulated and activated SREBP1a at the transcriptional level. Deletion analysis of SREBP1a promoter revealed that two regions, -1821/-1490 and -312/+217, in this promoter were both required for its activation by 2A. These promoter regions possessed several binding motifs for transcription factor SP1. Next, we used SP1-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to confirm that SP1 might be the essential factor in SREBP1a upregulation by 2A. Furthermore, we showed that MEK/ERK pathway was involved in the activation of SREBP1a by 2A and that blocking this signaling pathway with the specific inhibitor U0126 attenuated SREBP1a activation and lipid accumulation by 2A. Finally, we showed that inhibition of SREBP1 with siRNAs attenuated lipid accumulation induced by CVB3 infection and reduced virus replication. Moreover, inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway also led to reduction of SREBP1a activation, lipid accumulation, and virus replication during CVB3 infection. Taken together, these data demonstrate that CVB3 nonstructural 2A protein activates SREBP1a at the transcription level through a mechanism involving MEK/ERK signaling pathway and SP1 transcription factor, which promotes cellular lipid accumulation and benefits virus replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method was developed for the quality control of Ephedrae herba by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. First, qualitative models established by discriminant analysis and support vector machine were used for the preliminary screening of unqualified samples of E. herba. Then quantitative models of ephedrine and the total alkali (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine) were established by partial least squares regression and particle swarm optimization based least square support vector machine. The contents of test samples were predicted by the established NIR quantitative models. As a result, the accuracies of unqualified identification were 98.9% by discriminant analysis and 100% by support vector machine. The performance of the particle swarm optimization based least square support vector machine models were better than the partial least squares regression models. The correlation coefficients were both more than 0.98 and relative standard errors of calibrations were less than 9% in the calibration sets of particle swarm optimization based least square support vector machine models. As for the test sets, the correlation coefficients were both more than 0.93 and the relative standard errors of prediction were less than 13%, indicating satisfactory predicted results. All of these results demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy may be a powerful tool for the quality control of E. herba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to analyze the maritime cyclone characteristics in Guangdong coast in the years of 1949 to 2016, including inter-annual variation, the intensity of tropical cyclones, generating location and time, and path direction. Also, the temporal-spatial characteristics were also studied. Results show there were 183 tropical cyclones landed in Guangdong coast in the past 68 years, with an average of 2.7 each year, which more than 60 percent were a typhoon. Most of the tropical cyclones were generated in the northwest Pacific, spanning from April to December. The path directions were mainly north, northwest, and west. The strengths of the tropical cyclones were reduced from central Guangdong coast to the east and the west sides, and the section of Zhanjiang city to Shenzhen city was the most vulnerable to tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones that generated in the South China Sea tend to attack the west of the Guangdong coast, while the ones that produced in the northwest Pacific tend to attack the east of the Guangdong coast. In the study area, the tropical cyclones frequently occurred from July to September and became strongest in September. There are a most common landing section and path direction for each month. Finally, based on the statistical data and research results, the tropical cyclone paths in Guangdong coast were preliminarily analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded DNA structures formed by Hoogsteen base pairing between stacked sets of four guanines. Pif1 helicase plays critical roles in suppressing genomic instability in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by resolving G4s. However, the structural properties of G4s in S. cerevisiae and the substrate preference of Pif1 for different G4s remain unknown. Here, using CD spectroscopy and 83 G4 motifs from S. cerevisiae ranging in length from 30 to 60 nucleotides, we first show that G4 structures can be formed with a broad range of loop sizes in vitro and that a parallel conformation is favored. Using single-molecule FRET analysis, we then systematically addressed Pif1-mediated unwinding of various G4s and found that Pif1 is sensitive to G4 stability. Moreover, Pif1 preferentially unfolded antiparallel G4s rather than parallel G4s having similar stability. Furthermore, our results indicate that most G4 structures in S. cerevisiae sequences have long loops and can be efficiently unfolded by Pif1 because of their low stability. However, we also found that G4 structures with short loops can be barely unfolded. This study highlights the formidable capability of Pif1 to resolve the majority of G4s in S. cerevisiae sequences, narrows the fractions of G4s that may be challenging for genomic stability, and provides a framework for understanding the influence of different G4s on genomic stability via their processing by Pif1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inverse problems in fluorescence molecular tomography involve finding stable and meaningful solutions to under-determined and ill-posed linear systems of equations. A promising approach consists of minimizing an objective function, which includes a quadratic data-fidelity term combined with a nonquadratic and nonsmooth convex regularizer. Choosing ℓ1-norm as an example of this regularizer, our paper proposes three proximal splitting algorithms for the regularized output least-squares formulation of these problems. We evaluate costs of parameter initialization and reconstruction speeds of the three algorithms that split the original problem in different ways, including two types of techniques based on the forward-backward method and the primal-dual method, respectively. Extensive numerical experiments show that in a wide range of test cases (covering different distances between fluorescent targets, noise levels and numbers of sources), all of the three algorithms perform well and produce very nearly the same reconstructed images, with the primal-dual-type algorithm being significantly faster (in terms of CPU time taken by both initialization and reconstruction) than two variants of the forward-backward-type one, as well as two algorithms with publicly available implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand the learning outcomes that prevail across key sub-populations in China today. Data from a nationally representative survey show that rural youth are two years behind urban children in math and Chinese. Non-Han minorities, children in poorer counties, and children with less-educated parents are the most vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

—Animal models of kidney transplantation (KTX) are widely used in studying immune response of hosts to implanted grafts. Additionally, KTX can be used in generating kidney-specific knockout animal models by transplantation of kidneys from donors with global knockout of a gene to wild-type recipients or vice versa. Dual-kidney transplantation (DKT) provides a more physiological environment for recipients than single-kidney transplantation (SKT). However, DKT in mice is rare due to technical challenges. In this study, we successfully performed DKT in mice and compared the hemodynamic response and graft function with SKT. The surgical time, complications, and survival rate of DKT were not significantly different from SKT, where survival rates were above 85%. Mice with DKT showed less injury and quicker recovery with lower plasma creatinine (Pcr) and higher glomerular filtration rate (GFR) than SKT mice (Pcr 0.34 and 0.17 mg/dl in DKT vs. 0.50 and 0.36 mg/dl in SKT at 1 and 3 days, respectively; GFR 215 and 131 l/min for DKT and SKT, respectively). In addition, the DKT exhibited better renal functional reserve and longterm outcome of renal graft function than SKT based on the response to acute volume expansion. In conclusion, we have successfully generated a mouse DKT model. The hemodynamic responses of DKT better mimic physiological situations with less kidney injury and better recovery than SKT because of reduced confounding factors such as single nephron hyperfiltration. We anticipate DKT in mice will provide an additional tool for evaluation of renal significance in physiology and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a modified control strategy to improve the performance of three-phase four-leg shunt active power filters (APFs) for the compensation of three phase unbalanced loads. Unbalanced current cannot be obtained accurately by a harmonic detector due to the lower frequency. The proposed control strategy eliminates conventional harmonic detectors by directly regulating the source current. Therefore, the computational complexity is greatly reduced and the performance of the APF is improved. A mathematic model has been developed based on the source currents. The corresponding controllers have been designed based on the sinusoidal internal model principle. The proposed control strategy can guarantee excellent compensation performance and stable operation after an extreme disturbance such as a short circuit fault. In addition, the proposed technique can selectively compensate specific harmonics. A 50kVA prototype APF is implemented in the laboratory to validate the feasibility and performance of the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is associated with decreased testosterone levels in males. Testosterone is synthesized by testosterone synthetic enzymes, which are stimulated by luteinizing hormone (LH). Testosterone can also be converted to estradiol via the aromatase. The objective of this study was to examine the factors related to testosterone synthesis and conversion, and to systematically evaluate the key processes that influence testosterone levels in male obesity. Three hundred and two male subjects (aged 25-45 years old) were divided according to BMI into normal weight (18.5-23.9 kg/m2), overweight (24- 27.9 kg/m2), and obese ( ≥ 28 kg/m2) groups; or divided following WHR into non-abdominal obesity and abdominal obesity groups (WHR: ≥ 0.9). Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into normal diet (ND) and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity group. Serum sex hormones and aromatase levels were measured using ELISAs. Testosterone synthetic enzymes in the testes were measured by qRT-PCR. The testosterone levels in obese men and abdominal obesity men were lower than normal men. In abdominal obesity men serum LH levels were decreased and associated with testosterone levels after multivariate regression analysis. Serum aromatase levels were increased in abdominal obesity males. In mice, compared to the ND group, the HFD group had decreased steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR). However, aromatase levels in subcutaneous adipose tissue were higher in the ND group than HFD group. In conclusion, according to this study decreased testicular synthesis function and the conversion of testosterone may explain the reduction in testosterone levels in male obesity, and the decrease of testicular synthesis may change first. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to disclose the distribution law of artificial freezing temperature field in Cretaceous sandstone of western China and determine the key parameters of freeze sinking. For this purpose, a numerical model was established in light of the general conditions of freeze sinking project, the model parameters were optimized according to onsite monitored data, and the optimized model was applied to explore the change law of the freezing temperature field. The simulation reveals that the temperature of each measuring point decreased linearly with time, but the mean daily decline differed from point to point: the daily decline is negatively correlated to the distance from the freezing point, i.e. the temperature is positively correlated to the distance from the freezing point at the same time. The freezing time for closure was 79d at the groundwater flow rate of 50m/d. When the freezing intensity was weak (freezing tube temperature: -22°C), the frozen wall failed to achieve closure. This means the groundwater directly bears on the distribution of the temperature field. The freezing intensity has a nonlinear impact on the temperature field. The higher the temperature, the smaller the impact on the closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gyroscope, accelerometer and angular encoder are the most important components in a dual-axis rotation inertial navigation system (RINS). However, there are asynchronies among the sensors, which will thus lead to navigation errors. The impact of asynchrony between the gyroscope and angular encoder on the azimuth error and the impact of asynchrony between the gyroscope and accelerometer on the velocity error are analyzed in this paper. A self-calibration method based on navigation errors is proposed based on the analysis above. Experiments show that azimuth and velocity accuracy can be improved by compensating the asynchronies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data processing, integer ambiguity acceptance test is considered as a challenging problem. A number of ambiguity acceptance tests have been proposed from different perspective and then unified into the integer aperture estimation (IA) framework. Among all the IA estimators, the optimal integer aperture (OIA) achieves the highest success rate with the fixed failure rate tolerance. However, the OIA is of less practical appealing due to its high computation complexity. On the other hand, the popular discrimination tests employ only two integer candidates, which are the essential reason for their sub-optimality. In this study, a generalized difference test (GDT) is proposed to exploit the benefit of including three or more integer candidates to improve their performance from theoretical perspective. The simulation results indicate that the third best integer candidates contribute to more than 70% success rate improvement for integer bootstrapping success rate higher than 0.8 case. Therefore, the GDT with three integer candidates (GDT3) achieves a good trade-off between the performance and computation burden. The threshold function is also applied for rapid determination of the fixed failure rate (FF)-threshold for GDT3. The performance improvement of GDT3 is validated with real GNSS data set. The numerical results indicate that GDT3 achieves higher empirical success rate while the empirical failure rate remains comparable. In a 20 km baseline test, the success rate GDT3 increase 7% with almost the same empirical failure rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]