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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent neoplastic diseases worldwide, and effective treatment remains a challenge. Here, we found that the macrolide antibiotic brefeldin A (BFA) exhibits considerable antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo. Induction of complete autophagic flux is characterized as a key event in BFA-induced CRC suppression. Mechanistically, BFA provokes endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated binding immunoglobulin protein (Bip) expression, leading to increased Bip/Akt interaction and resultant decreased Akt phosphorylation, thereby activating autophagy. Autophagy inhibition or Bip suppression relieves BFA-induced cell death, suggesting a key role for Bip-regulated autophagy in the antitumor properties of BFA. Moreover, BFA acts synergistically with paclitaxel or 5-fluorouracil in CRC suppression. Collectively, our study provides an important molecular basis for BFA-induced autophagy and suggests that the antibiotic BFA could be repositioned as a potential anticancer drug for CRC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimetal composites have wide applications due to their excellent overall performance and relatively low cost. In this study, the formability of stainless/carbon steel bimetal medium-thick composite in the stamping process without blank holder was investigated by finite element (FE) simulations and experiments. Uniaxial tensile tests on substrate metal (carbon steel) and clad metal (stainless steel) were first conducted, respectively, in order to obtain the material properties of each metal layer required in the FE simulation. Processing variables, including the layer stacking sequence, relative thickness ratios of two layers and friction conditions, were considered, and their effects on the magnitude of press load and distributions of thickness strain for predicting the high-risk region of necking during stamping were discussed. Experimental tests were carried out to verify the simulation results. It is indicated that simulation results can be used as an evaluation indicator to ensure the bimetal medium-thick composite can be safely formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geminin is an inhibitor of DNA replication licensing and cell cycle. Our previous study demonstrates that Geminin plays an important role in regulating phenotypic diversity and growth of vascular smooth cells (VSMCs). Ubiquitin-like with PHD and RING Finger domains 1 (UHRF1) is an epigenetic coordinator, whose RING domain confers intrinsic E3 ligase activity, mediating the ubiquitination of several proteins and the protein–protein interaction. Aberrant expression of UHRF1 was related to aggressiveness of multiple human malignancies, where knockdown of UHRF1 led to decreased proliferation of cancer cells. However, it is unclear whether proper UHRF1 function is involved in aberrant proliferation and phenotypic switching of VSMCs via altering Geminin protein levels. In present study, in UHRF1-overexpressing A10 cells, 3H-thymidine and 5-ethynyl-20-deoxyuridine (EdU) and CCK8 were used to examine the proliferation of VSMCs. RT-PCR andWestern blot analyses were performed to investigate whether UHRF1-mediated effects were achieved by altering Geminin expression in VSMCs. RNA-seq analysis was performed to dissect related mechanisms or signaling pathways of these effects. The results of in vitro experiments suggested that UHRF1 prompted proliferation and cell cycle of VSMCs via the down-regulation of Geminin protein levels with no change in Geminin mRNA expression. Besides, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was increased upon UHRF1 up-regulation. Our study demonstrated that overexpressing UHRF1 was involved in VSMCs proliferation through reducing inhibitory Geminin protein levels to promote cell cycle as well as activating PI3K-Akt signaling. This may provide key knowledge for the development of better strategies to prevent diseases related to VSMCs abnormal proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • ZnO-decorated SnO 2 spheres were synthesized via a facile solvothermal method. • ZnO decoration led to greatly enhanced NO 2 gas sensing performance. • A high response of 258 to 100 ppm NO 2 was achieved for ZnO/SnO 2 composite. Abstract In this work, ZnO was decorated onto SnO 2 microspheres via a facile solvothermal method, and the gas sensing characteristics of the ZnO/SnO 2 composites was systematically studied. Results showed that the ZnO/SnO 2 composites was highly responsive to NO 2 , with much lower response to interfering gases such as ethanol and acetone. At the optimum temperature (200 °C), the response of the ZnO/SnO 2 composite to 100 ppm NO 2 was about 3 times higher than that of pristine SnO 2 microspheres. Furthermore, ZnO decoration on SnO 2 microspheres led to significant reduction in the response time. The improvement of gas-sensing performance may be ascribed to the formation of more surface adsorption sites on the ZnO/SnO 2 composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using VSC-MTDC for wind farm integration is considered to be a promising solution. In order to provide a stable ac voltage control and avoid active power control conflicts, the amplitude-phase control strategy, rather than the active/reactive power decoupled control strategy, is generally applied for the VSC connected to wind farms. However, using such a control strategy, the flexibility of power flow control will be partly lost. As the positive and negative pole dc networks in the bipolar VSC-MTDC can operate independently, a novel hybrid control strategy is proposed in this paper. In the proposed hybrid control strategy, the amplitude-phase control and active/reactive power decoupled control can be applied to the positive and negative poles, respectively. Hence, the hybrid strategy combines the advantages of the amplitude-phase control and active/reactive power decoupled control and can be adapted to bipolar VSC-MTDC for large-scale wind farm integration. Simulation results using PSCAD show that the hybrid control strategy can provide the stable ac voltage control and active/reactive power flow control for the integration of wind farms; moreover, such a hybrid control strategy is helpful to avoid the overload of dc lines, stabilize the dc voltage, and enhance the power transfer capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In flank milling of thin-walled parts, the profile tolerance would usually be violated by the excessive static deformations. This paper presents a comprehensive method to compensate deformation errors in five-axis flank milling from the aspect of tool path optimization. Firstly, the machined surface is constructed by imprinting the predicted tool/workpiece deformations on the cutter envelope surface. Secondly, the signed distances from the sample points on the design surface to the machined surface are calculated for the machining error evaluation. Their differential increments that characterize the variation of surface errors with respect to the adjustment of tool path are then derived. On this basis, the mathematical model and algorithm for minimizing the deformation-induced surface errors are developed through slightly optimizing the shape parameters of the tool path surface. Finally, five-axis blade milling experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the surface errors mainly caused by machining deformations in flank milling of flexible blades can be largely reduced by using the developed algorithm. Highlights • The deformations in flank milling of blades are compensated via tool path optimization. • The machined surface is modeled by imprinting deformations on cutter envelope surface. • Machining errors are minimized by optimizing the shape parameters of tool path surface. • The tool path optimization is formulated as a MILP problem. • The proposed compensation method is experimentally validated via blade machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatic encephalopathy is a neuropsychological syndrome due to biochemical disturbance of brain function in advanced liver disease patients. Diagnosis and treatment of the condition is very demanding and has negative toll on finances with increased healthcare utilization. The pathophysiology is not completely understood; however, there is evidence that ammonia plays an important role in the etiology. Conventional methods of solely relying on blood ammonia level to diagnose hepatic encephalopathy did not help much; likewise, the use of lactulose alone in treating hepatic encephalopathy has also been discouraged. This paper analyzed the current knowledge regarding the mechanism of how ammonia disrupts the normal brain function as well as the use of latest diagnosing tools including those under development to evaluate the neuropsychiatric state of patients and their quality of life. The efficacies of lactulose and rifaximin combination for short‐term and long‐term treatment in addition to nutritional interventions and other drugs undergoing clinical trials were also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract All related research nowadays are devoted to build ROM of aerodynamic forces induced by vibration of blades or wings. There is no discussion of ROMs of the aerodynamic forces of the blades corresponding to upstream wakes, which is more important to turbine machines' safety. In this paper, a spline Volterra ROM method is proposed to predict the blades' aerodynamic forces induced by the upstream wakes to fasten the blade–wake interaction analysis in turbine machine design. Traveling wave method is applied to simplify the inputs representing the upstream wakes. The kernels of the Volterra ROM are expressed in spline to reduce the number of parameters to be identified. The coefficients of the spline kernels are identified by minimizing the difference between ROM results and CFD data. The ROM method is used to predict a blade's aerodynamic forces under an actual wake. The results show that the ROM can capture most information of the aerodynamic forces due to the wake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The accuracy of phase shift extraction has a significant influence on measurement results in surface micro-topography interferometry. Phase shifting errors are mainly caused by nonlinearity of the employed phase shifter, environmental turbulence, camera imperfection and so on. In this paper, a general algorithm based on Lissajous figures and ellipse fitting is proposed for extracting the phase distribution from a set of phase-shifting interferograms with random noise. Two sets of pixels with π ∕ 2 phase difference in all the investigated interferograms are selected and used for ellipse fitting. Both numerical simulations and optical experiments have proven the validity, rapidity, and accuracy of the proposed method. Experiments show that the proposed method is a general phase extraction method, which can work for straight fringe patterns, circle fringes patterns and other anomalous features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of chitosan and polyamines (PAs) could be involved mitigating drought stress in white clover (Trifolium repens L.). This research aimed to determine the effect of chitosan and PAs, and co-application of chitosan and PAs on improving drought tolerance associated with growth, phytohormones, polyamines and antioxidant metabolism. Plants were pretreated with or without 1 g L–1 chitosan, 0.5 mM spermine, or 1 g L–1 chitosan + 0.5 mM spermine, then subjected to drought induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 (–0.5 MPa) in growth chambers for 14 days. Exogenous chitosan and spermine improved the level of PAs by regulating arginine decarboxylases, S -adenosyl methionine decarboxylase, copper-containing amine oxidase and polyamine oxidase activity, and expression of the genes encoding these enzymes under drought. Application of exogenous chitosan improved ABA content under normal and drought conditions. In addition, chitosan and spermine significantly enhanced the levels of cytokinin and GA, but reduced IAA levels during drought stress. Exogenous chitosan and spermine improved antioxidant defence, including enzyme activity, gene expression and the content of ascorbate and glutathione compounds, leading to a decline in superoxide anion radicals, H2O2 and malondialdehyde, effectively mitigating drought-induced oxidative damage. Other protective metabolites, such as total phenols and flavonoids, increased considerably under application of chitosan and spermine. These results suggest that chitosan-induced drought tolerance could be involved in PA metabolism, changes in endogenous phytohormones and antioxidant defence in white clover. Co-application of chitosan and spermine was more effective than either chitosan or spermine alone in mitigating drought stress. The interaction of chitosan and polyamines could be involved in mitigating drought stress in white clover. This research aimed to determine the effect of co-application of chitosan and spermine on improving drought tolerance. We found that co-application of chitosan and spermine was more effective than either chitosan or spermine alone in mitigating drought stress. Our results demonstrate the potential advantage of further studies on improving drought tolerance in white clover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] To observe the clinical efficacy of Jiawei Buzhong Yiqi Decoction in the treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS). [Methods]Obese patients with PCOS were recruited for the study in September 2014-December 2016 from Chinese medicine gynecological clinic in the affiliated hospital of Hubei University of Medicine. All these patients were given one dose of Jiawei Buzhong Yiqi Decoction one time a day for three months. Body mass index(BMI) was measured before and after treatment. Sex hormone levels and ovulation were measured, and the improvement of clinical symptoms was compared before and after treatment. [Results] After treatment, the levels of BMI and serum luteinizing hormone(LH), testosterone(T) were significantly decreased, and the level of serum estradiol(E2) was significantly higher than that before treatment. Ovarian enlargement and polycystic changes, menstrual cycle, menstrual flow and menstrual period were improved in varying degrees. [Conclusions] Jiawei Buzhong Yiqi Decoction has a good clinical effect in the treatment of obese PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The tungsten alloys reinforced by ZrO 2 were prepared using azeotropic distillation method combined with powder metallurgy method, and then the sintered tungsten alloys were swaged to obtain compact bars. The microstructures of W- x ZrO 2 (x = 0, 0.25, 1.0 and 1.5 wt%) alloys were investigated by means of SEM, XRD and TEM. The results show that ZrO 2 exist as a stable cubic phase in tungsten alloys by adding Y 2 O 3. Fine ZrO 2 particles (500–800 nm) are dispersed in the tungsten matrix, and thus refine the grain size and improve the physical properties and strength of tungsten alloys. With the increase of the ZrO 2 content, the relative density, hardness and compressive strength of tungsten alloys were all increased. The swaged W–1.5 wt%ZrO 2 alloy shows the finest microstructure with an average grain size of 47.18 μm, reducing 34.76% compared with that of pure tungsten. And thus, the swaged W–1.5 wt%ZrO 2 alloy achieves the highest compressive strength (1941.3 MPa) and failure strain (23.1%) at the same time, increasing 23.27% and 22.37%, respectively, compared with that of pure tungsten. Highlights • W-ZrO 2 alloys were prepared by azeotropic distillation and powder metallurgy process. • c-ZrO 2 particles (500–800 nm) were obtained and evenly distributed in W matrix. • ZrO 2 refined tungsten grain and improved strength and plasticity simultaneously. • Compressive strength of W-1.5%ZrO 2 alloys increases 23.27% in comparison with pure W. • Failure strain of W-1.5%ZrO 2 alloys increases 22.37% in comparison with pure W. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A developed analytical model of bending characteristics for bimetal composite was presented. • The movement behaviour of bonding interface relative to neutral and unelongated planes was studied. • Analytical, FE and experimental investigations were conducted on the bending behaviours of bimetal composite. Abstract Analytical, numerical and experimental investigations were conducted on the bending characteristics of duplex stainless steel (2205) and low carbon steel (AH36) bimetal composite in this study, with the aim of providing a reference for the bending and forming processing optimisation of laminated metal composite. An analytical model was developed to predict the deformation behaviour of each segment and particular planes, such as neutral plane, unelongated plane and bonding interface, across thickness section under the plane strain condition during the bending process. The movement track of segments presents that it is better for the bonding interface to avoid experiencing the reverse loaded zone (RLZ) in forming fabrications for less potential defects, and the neutral plane is discontinuous while coinciding with the bonding interface. The thickness change and bending moment of bimetal plate were calculated as a function of the increasing bending curvature by the proposed theoretical model under four conditions classified by different thickness ratios and relative positions of component steel layers. The predicted results show that the relative position affects the thickness change of bent composite plate, but the thickness ratio has a more significant effect on the magnitude of bending moment, as confirmed by finite element (FE) simulation and bending experiments. Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C30H30GeW12CuN8O41, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 12.095(2) Å, b = 13.488(3) Å, c = 19.220(4) Å, α = 90.221(3)°, β = 92.188(3)°, γ = 108.966(3)°, V = 2962.8(10) Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0624, wRref(F2) = 0.1622, T = 296(2) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermodynamic functions of the pure Co were assessed using CALPAHD method for the third generation thermodynamic databases. To model the magnetic properties of the cobalt, a two-state magnetic model was accounted for the fcc phase. Calculated results were compared with the experimental information and a good fit to the experimental data was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radical addition/cyclization cascade of o-cyanoarylacrylamides with magnesium nitrate hexahydrate is developed. This reaction exhibits good functional group tolerance and wide substrate scope, provides a highly efficient and practical access to nitro-containing quinoline- 2,4(1H,3H)-diones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paddy fields are drained and irrigated several times during the whole rice growth period. Although studies have acknowledged the sensitivity of flooding and drainage in rice rhizosphere, current knowledge regarding how moderate drying at grain filling stage affects ecological characteristics of rice rhizosphere is limited. A field experiment with two irrigation regimes [alternate moderate wetting and drying irrigation (AMWD) and continuous irrigation (CI)] was conducted to investigate the changes in soil physical and chemical properties and microbial communities. Results from this investigation demonstrated that soil pH under AMWD was decreased, while Eh was increased. Moreover, soil electrical conductivity increased and decreased with a decline in soil water potential, interestingly all studied variables quickly recovered after re-watering. The terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis revealed that the diversity indices of bacterial communities were higher in drying phase as compared to the initial treatment of AMWD regime, but the evenness index decreased. Remarkably, AMWD process increased the proportion of aerobic bacteria, such as Azotobacter , nitrifying bacteria, phosphate and potassium solubilizing bacteria (which participate in the nutrient cycling). In addition, the increase of enzyme activity under AMWD regime promoted the release of nutrients, thereby enhancing the amounts of NO 3 − -N, available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in soils, which met rice nutrient demands at late grain filling stage. This led to a promotion in plant physiological activities and grain filling, and hence increased grain yield. From these results we infer that there was a positive response of rice rhizosphere to AMWD irrigation at grain filling stage, which laid the groundwork to set up a sound irrigation system in rice fields without reducing its yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous hormones and polyamines (PAs) could interact to regulate growth and tolerance to water stress in white clover. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the alteration of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) level affected other hormones level and PAs metabolism contributing to the regulation of tolerance to water stress in white clover. Plants were pretreated with IAA or L-2-aminooxy-3-phenylpropionic acid (L-AOPP, the inhibitor of IAA biosynthesis) for 3 days and then subjected to water-sufficient condition and water stress induced by 15% polyethylene glycol 6000 for 8 days in growth chambers. Exogenous application of IAA significantly increased endogenous IAA, gibberellin (GA), abscisic acid (ABA), and polyamine (PAs) levels, but had no effect on cytokinin content under water stress. The increase in endogenous IAA level enhanced PAs anabolism via the improvement of enzyme activities and transcript level of genes including arginine decarboxylase, ornithine decarboxylase, and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. Exogenous application of IAA also affected PAs catabolism, as manifested by an increase in diamine oxidase and a decrease in polyamine oxidase activities and genes expression. More importantly, the IAA deficiency in white clover decreased endogenous hormone levels (GA, ABA, and PAs) and PAs anabolism along with decline in antioxidant defense and osmotic adjustment (OA). On the contrary, exogenous IAA effectively alleviated stress-induced oxidative damage, growth inhibition, water deficit, and leaf senescence through the maintenance of higher chlorophyll content, OA, and antioxidant defense as well as lower transcript levels of senescence marker genes SAG101 and SAG102 in leaves under water stress. These results indicate that IAA-induced the crosstalk between endogenous hormones and PAs could be involved in the improvement of antioxidant defense and OA conferring tolerance to water stress in white clover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of wind engineering, the field measurement on wind pressure is a vital means of wind resistance researches. However, for the field measurement there are some challenges below. The sensors miss partial data due to their failure or service life. Likewise, some locations are difficult to deploy the required sensors. In this paper, a hybrid prediction model of improved empirical wavelet transform (IEWT), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and least squares support vector machines (LSSVM), is developed for purposes of data recovery and spatial extension of non-Gaussian non-stationary wind pressure (complex signal). In this model, IEWT is first proposed to decompose the signals and get rid of their noise components. Meanwhile, LSSVM is utilized to establish forecasting models of the trend component and main components, where their parameters are optimized by PSO algorithm. Then, the single-point and spatial forecastings are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. Furthermore, the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), ensemble EMD (EEMD), and empirical wavelet transform (EWT), are exploited to corroborate the advanced de-noising performance of IEWT. The final results indicate that IEWT can effectively reduce the noise interference and enhance the forecasting precision of complex signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn2C8H32N4O16S4, triclinic, P1 (no. 2), a = 9.0313(9) Å, b = 9.6075(14) Å, c = 15.3044(15) Å, α = 89.933(2)°, β = 78.579(1)°, γ = 68.878(1)°, V = 1210.6(2) Å3, Z = 2, Rgt (F) = 0.0323, wRref (F2) = 0.1043, T = 100(2) K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report our facile and efficient approach for synthesizing Co-Fe alloy based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts, in which alloy nanoparticles are encapsulated in nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures. The catalysts with high hierarchical porosities are fabricated at an appropriate temperature of 775 °C without a further acid leaching treatment after pyrolysis due to the use of ZnO nanoparticles as auto-removable templates. Co/Fe atomic ratio is found to greatly influence the ORR catalytic activity. The catalyst with Co/Fe = 1 exhibits the best catalytic performance by showing an ORR onset potential of 0.99 V and a half-wave potential of 0.87 V (vs. RHE) in 0.1 M KOH, as well as 0.98 V and 0.83 V (vs. RHE) in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 , better than or approaching the performance presented by a commercial 28.6 wt% Pt/C catalyst. The Zn-air battery using the synthesized CoFe@N-C catalyst delivers a higher power density at ambient conditions by air-breathing than the one using the 28.6 wt% Pt/C catalyst. Relatively higher atomic concentrations of both Fe and Co as well as more graphitic nitrogen in the surface of CoFe@N-C detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) may account for its excellent ORR catalytic activities both in alkaline and acidic environments. • E onset = 0.98 V and E 1/2 = 0.83 V (vs. RHE) in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4. • Using ZnO as an auto-removal template. • a strong dependence of ORR activity on Co/Fe ratio in the catalysts. • the catalyst with Co/Fe= 1 offers the best ORR activity. • high surface metal concentrations account for the high ORR activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A numerical model of the CPL drilling of alumina ceramic was built. • The intrinsic mechanism of CPL drilling was revealed. • The MRR of the CPL drilling was as high as 1.9 × 104 μm3/μJ. • A well drilling quality (222–184 µm diameter, 1.09° taper angle) was obtained. Combined pulse laser (CPL), one of the hybrid laser processing technologies, has proven to be a reliable tool for the high-quality and high-efficiency material processing. In CPL drilling, the nanosecond laser has been proven that it can improve the drilling performance of the millisecond laser by increasing the laser absorption or improving the sputtering of the melt. However, the dynamics of material removal processes regarding CPL drilling have not been systematically investigated. In this paper, a numerical model of the CPL drilling of alumina ceramic was built to reveal the dynamic processes of the energy absorption, phase transformation, and micro-hole deformation process. The millisecond laser absorption enhanced by the ablated keyhole was quantified and considered as saturation (100 %), thus improving the drilling efficiency. In addition, the shock wave generated by the nanosecond laser accelerated the removal of the melt with a sputtering velocity of up to 23.8 mm/ms, which was much higher than the recoil pressure generated by the saturation vapor pressure, ensuring the drilling quality. Also, the experimental results showed that well drilling quality (1.09° taper angle, 0.96 circularity) were obtained for 1 mm thick alumina ceramic with a material removal rate as high as 1.9 × 104 μm3/μJ. The analysis and summary of the CPL drilling mechanism helps to further improve the drilling performance and provide a new technological route for high-speed processing of ceramic substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with depression have a higher risk of complications and mortality than T2DM without depression. However, the exact neuropathophysiological mechanism remains unclear. Consequently, the current study aimed to investigate the alteration of cortical and subcortical spontaneous neural activity in T2DM patients with and without depression. Methods: The demographic data, clinical variables, neuropsychological tests, and functional and anatomical magnetic resonance imaging of depressed T2DM (n = 47) of non-depressed T2DM (n = 59) and healthy controls (n = 41) were collected and evaluated. The correlation analysis, stepwise multiple linear regression, and receiver operating characteristic curve were performed for further analysis. Results: Abnormal neural activities in the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and hippocampus were observed in depressed and non-depressed T2DM and the right putamen of the depressed T2DM. Interestingly, the subcortical degree centrality (DC) of the right hippocampus and putamen were higher in depressed than non-depressed T2DM. Furthermore, the cortical amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in PCC, subcortical DC in the putamen of depressed T2DM, and hippocampus of non-depressed T2DM was correlated with cognitive scores. In contrast, the cortical fractional ALFF in PCC of non-depressed T2DM was correlated with depression scores. Conclusions: The abnormalities of spontaneous cortical activity in PCC and subcortical activity in the hippocampus might represent the neurobiological feature of cerebral dysfunction in T2DM. Notably, the altered subcortical activity in the right putamen might mainly associate with negative emotion in T2DM, which could be a promising biomarker for recognizing early cerebral dysfunction in depressed T2DM. This study provided a novel insight into the neuropathophysiological mechanism of brain dysfunction in T2DM with and without depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of photochromic devices has stimulated great enthusiasm for the design and preparation of luminescent materials. Introducing fluorescent powder ZnS:Cu into the cross‐linked polymer matrix is an efficient and simple method to obtain photochromic materials with excellent comprehensive performance. However, the traditional method is to directly introduce fluorescent powder into the polymer matrix by physical mixing. This not only increases the internal defects of the polymer and reduces the mechanical properties, but also hinders the fluorescent powder from absorbing external energy and reduces its luminescence efficiency. In addition, few studies have focused on recyclable photochromic luminescent materials. Inspired by dynamic covalent cross‐linking technology, this paper first modified fluorescent powder with 3‐mercaptopropionic acid and then introduced it into epoxy silicone rubber to prepare recyclable luminescent elastomer. Compared with traditional physical blending, the mechanical properties and luminescence performance of the covalently bonded luminescent elastomer were improved. Excellent mechanical properties and luminescence performance were maintained in multiple recycling processes. This paper provides a feasible and simple scheme for the preparation of recyclable luminescent elastomers, paving the way for the recycling and long‐term utilization of photochromic luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a method for diagnosing pancreatic lesions with regard to the ductal pancreatic carcinoma and the differentiation of neoplastic from non-neoplastic lesions.Material and Methods: Relevant studies published by September 6, 2015 were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Trials databases. The articles included were mainly based on the following criteria: use of CEUS as the diagnostic tool, and the use of histology as the reference method. Two independent reviewers inspected all these papers to confirm the matching of the inclusion criteria. One reviewer with methodological expertise extracted the data from the included studies. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were used to obtain overall estimates.Results: Eighteen studies out of 734 articles initially identified met the inclusion criteria. The primary study objective with respect to ductal adenocarcinoma was verified in 15 studies. The pooled estimate of CEUS sensitivity for the differential diagnosis of duct adenocarcinomas was 0.90 (95 % CI, 0.89-0.92), and the specificity was 0.88 (0.84-0.90). The pooled estimate for DOR was 56.38 (29.91-106.33). The area under the curve under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) was 0.95. 12 out of 18 studies examined CEUS sensitivity and the average specificity with regard to the secondary study objective, distinguishing between neoplastic lesions and non-neoplastic lesions, were 0.95 (0.94-0.96) and 0.83 (0.77-0.87). The pooled estimate for DOR was 73.25 (45.31-118.43). The area under the SROC curve was 0.96.Conclusions: CEUS is a promising, reliable modality for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in patients with pancreatic mass lesions. The presence of a hypoenhanced lesion was a sensitive predictor of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. It seems to be a useful tool in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient Pd-catalyzed cyclization of o -picolylbromoarenes into pyridoindoles has been developed. This novel transformation, which proceeds through a not common for Pd catalysis L-to X-type pyridine ligand swap, provides an efficient route to aryl-, as well as to cyanopyrido[1,2-a]indoles, not easily accessible by existing cyclization methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loess Plateau agriculture, largely dependent on manual labor and precipitation water, exemplifies semiarid dryland agricultural systems in China, where better cropping systems and practices are essential for maintaining crop productivity and sustaining natural resources. An 11-year (2001–2011) study at the Xifeng, Gansu investigated the effects of different conservation tillage practices and straw mulching methods on yield, water productivity (WP), soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), energy expenditure and economic returns of a maize ( Zea mays L.)-winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)-summer soybean ( Glycine max L.) rotation system. Treatments included conventional tillage (T) as control, conventional tillage followed by straw mulching (TS), no tillage (NT) and no tillage followed by straw mulching (NTS). On average, TS treatment had increased yield by 11, 22, and 4%; as well as WP by 13, 22, and 7% than T, NT and NTS treatments, respectively. Additionally, NTS indicated the greatest effect in increasing SOC and TN in the 0–10 cm soil layer. Our support vector machine (SVM)-based simulation modeling indicated great performance on predicting maize yield (R 2  = 0.76) and wheat WP (R 2  = 0.84) based on a 10-fold cross validation (10-fold CV). TS treatment provided the greatest net energy and net economic income, and NTS treatment indicated the greatest economic benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dimensional tolerance of flexible, thin-walled aerospace parts can be violated by the excessive static deflections during milling. This paper proposes a method to predict the dimensional surface form errors caused by deflections of both flexible workpiece and slender end-mill in five-axis flank milling of thin-walled parts. The end-mill is modeled as a cantilevered beam. The stiffness of the thin-walled part varies as the metal is removed and the tool-part contact location changes. The time varying stiffness of the thin-walled part is predicted by an efficient structural stiffness modification method that only needs the FE model of the initial workpiece and avoids re-meshing the part at each cutter location. The cutting forces are distributed over both the cutting tool and the part in the engagement zone, and the effect of deflections on the immersion is calculated. The effect of radial runout of the tool is considered in chip thickness, hence in the cutting force prediction. Finally, the cutter and the workpiece deflections are considered to predict the surface errors left on the finished part. The proposed method has been proven in five-axis blade milling experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes of endogenous polyamine (PA) levels could be a key adaptive response to drought in plants. White clover pretreated with or without dicyclohexylamine (DCHA), an inhibitor of PA biosynthesis, was subjected to drought stress induced by 18% polyethylene glycol 6000 for 8 days in controlled growth chambers. Results showed that drought stress significantly increased endogenous PA content, whereas DCHA significantly decreased PA accumulation under drought stress. The attenuate PA biosynthesis was unfavorable for plant growth and drought tolerance, as reflected by significantly lower relative water content, relative growth rate, instantaneous water use efficiency, and cell membrane stability in leaves in response to drought. On the basis of proteomic analysis, the inhibition of PA synthesis decreased the accumulation of many key differentially expressed proteins including (1) ribosomal structure and biogenesis: elongation factor, ribosomal protein S10E, and 30S ribosomal protein; (2) amino acid transport and metabolism: cysteine synthase, delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase, and glutamate decarboxylase; (3) carbohydrate metabolism and energy production: photosystem apoprotein, sucrose-phosphate synthase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, sucrose-phosphatase, NADH oxidoreductase, and ATP synthase; (4) antioxidant metabolism: catalase, peroxidase I, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione S-transferase; and (5) other biological processes: heat shock protein 70, heat shock protein 90, and calcium-dependent protein kinase associated with the decreased drought tolerance in white clover. These findings indicate that PAs play a critical role in the regulation of growth, ribosome, amino acid and energy metabolism, and antioxidant reactions in white clover under drought stress. Drought-induced increases in endogenous PAs could be one of key adaptive responses against drought stress in white clover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. A variety of molecular pathways, such as generation of advanced glycation end products, inflammation, and oxidative stress, are involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Recently, a protective effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the kidney has been reported. This study aimed to determine serum docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level and its association with inflammation factors in patients with DN. Materials and Methods. One hundred patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus were divided into 3 groups of non-DN, early DN, and clinical DN, based on 24-hour urinary albumin levels. Hemoglobin A1c, biochemical indicators, β2-microglobulin, and 24-hour urine albumin levels were assessed. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was applied to determine the serum concentrations of DHA, advanced glycation end products, fractalkine, superoxide dismutase, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Results. Lower serum DHA and superoxide dismutase and higher serum β2-microglobulin and 24-hour urine albumin levels were associated with clinical DN, compared to no DN and early DN. The reductions in serum DHA levels were different among the patients with early and clinical DN, stratified by sex, body mass index, and serum lipid levels. Serum DHA significantly correlated positively with superoxide dismutase and negatively with fractalkine and tumor necrosis factor-α in the patients with DN. Conclusions. Docosahexaenoic acid may suppress the expression and secretion of fractalkine through inhibiting the tumor necrosis factor-α signaling pathway in DN patients, which improves inflammation and oxidative stress of the kidney, and in turn, delaying the development of DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of sustainable agronomic practices and increasing crop water use efficiency (WUE) under the realm of water scarcity and climate change have become the major focuses in the semiarid Loess Plateau region of China. This 7-yr (2001–2007) study investigated the effects of conservation tillage practices and residue management on crop yield, WUE, soil organic carbon (SOC), soil water storage, economic return, and determined the contribution of various environmental factors on crop WUE under a two-year cycle spring maize ( Zea mays L.)-winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)-summer soybean ( Glycine max L.) rotation cropping system. Treatments included conventional tillage (T) as control, conventional tillage followed by straw mulching (TS), no tillage (NT) and no tillage followed by straw mulching (NTS). Averaged over years and species, the overall crop yield was greatest under TS treatment, which was 17 9 and 5% significantly greater than NT, T and NTS treatments, respectively. Additionally, TS treatment resulted in comparable or greater crop WUE than other treatments starting from 2004. Soil moisture storage was not significantly affected by treatments but varied greatly across different soil depths throughout the growing season. Soil organic carbon was significantly increased by straw mulching treatments (NTS and TS) beginning at 2004. In all, NTS treatment provided the greatest economic return on a system basis. Our simulation modeling results indicated that biomass and net radiation are the most important factors in determining WUE in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Complex microbial communities can be characterized by metagenomics and metaproteomics. However, metagenome assemblies often generate enormous, and yet incomplete, protein databases, which undermines the identification of peptides and proteins in metaproteomics. This challenge calls for increased discrimination of true identifications from false identifications by database searching and filtering algorithms in metaproteomics. Results: Sipros Ensemble was developed here for metaproteomics using an ensemble approach. Three diverse scoring functions from MyriMatch, Comet and the original Sipros were incorporated within a single database searching engine. Supervised classification with logistic regression was used to filter database searching results. Benchmarking with soil and marine microbial communities demonstrated a higher number of peptide and protein identifications by Sipros Ensemble than MyriMatch/Percolator, Comet/Percolator, MS-GF+/Percolator, Comet & MyriMatch/iProphet and Comet & MyriMatch & MS-GF+/iProphet. Sipros Ensemble was computationally efficient and scalable on supercomputers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keloids were characterized by excessive growth of fibrous tissues, and shared several pathological characteristics with cancer. They did put physical and emotional stress on patients in that keloids could badly change appearance of patients. N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4HPR) showed cytotoxic activity on a wide variety of invasive-growth cells. Our work was aim to prepare N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide-loaded lipid microbubbles (4HPR-LM) combined with ultrasound for anti-keloid therapy. 4HPR-loaded liposomes (4HPR-L) were first prepared by film evaporation method, and then 4HPR-LM were manufactured by mixing 4HPR-L and perfluoropentane (PFP) with ultrasonic cavitation method. The mean particle size and entrapment efficiency 4HPR-LM were 113 nm and 95%, respectively. The anti-keloids activity of 4HPR-LM was assessed with BALB/c nude mice bearing subcutaneous xenograft keloids model. 4HPR-LM, combined with ultrasound, could significantly induce apoptosis of keloid fibroblastsin vitroand inhibited growth of keloidsin vivo. Thus, 4HPR-LM could be considered as a promising agent for anti-keloids therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Tumor Bank at The Children's Hospital at Westmead was established in 1998 with the purpose of facilitating research into childhood malignancy through the active provision of well annotated, ethically collected tissue samples and providing a pathway for the Children Hospital at Westmead to engage in leading research initiatives, supporting international investigations and clinical trials. Within 20 years practice as a single institute biorepository, The Tumour Bank has established standard operating procedures for collection of tissue, blood and bone marrow that were integrated into routine patient management systems. In addition, three main operational areas have been developed: collection of biospecimens and written consent; management of clinical data and biospecimen inventory database; and implementation of an open access policy to support childhood cancer research around the world. Regulatory oversight is provided by the Tumour Bank Committee, Human Research Ethics Committee and Governance Department. This concerted effort has resulted in collecting 20340 specimens from 3788 patients within 20 years, and The Tumour bank has supported over 108 national and international research projects, and contributed to over 70 peer-reviewed publications to date, with a mean time-to-publication of 19.1 ± 9.0 months and average Impact Factor of 6.11 ± 4.53. In conclusion, the Children's Hospital at Westmead Tumour Bank has demonstrated a sustained single institutional biorepository model for facilitating translational research of rare cancer. It has provided strong evidence that integration of a single institutional biobank into standard clinical practices would be the long-term pathway of valuable bio-resource for rare cancer research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously our lab has created a mouse ovarian xenograft model of copy number variation (CNV)-mediated G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) MAS-driven tumorigenesis, and RNA profiling identified a putative chemokine tumor-induced factor ( Tif ). Sequence analysis and chemotactic study suggested that Tif was likely to be a hamster homolog of human GROγ ( CXCL3 ) [IJC 125 (2009): 1316–1327]. In the present study, we report the molecular and functional characterization of the Tif gene. Genomic study of CHO-K1 cells indicated that Tif gene consisted of 4 exons, characterized with an antisense B1 element which is embedded in the fourth exon. Two Tif transcripts were identified which shared identical sequences except that a string of 71-nt derived from the antisense B1 element was deficient in the shorter transcript. Of interests, B1- like RNA ladder was detected in xenografts. Functional studies showed that TIF induced chemotaxis and neovessel formation. Pharmacological studies suggested that TIF activated Gi-coupled CXCR2 and induced both calcium mobilization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and suppressed forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation. In addition, secreted matured TIF functioned as an autocrine factor and promoted anchorage-independent growth. Unexpectedly, TIF delayed the onset of tumor formation, possibly via suppressing proliferation of stromal fibroblasts. However, TIF did not exert any inhibitory effect on tumor growth. Potentially, TIF could be used for preventing cancer relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IL-36 cytokines signal through the IL-36 re-ceptor (IL-36R) and a shared subunit, IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP). The activation mechanism for the IL-36 pathway is proposed to be similar to that of IL-1 in that an IL-36R agonist (IL-36α, IL-36β, or IL-36γ) forms a binary complex with IL-36R, which then recruits IL-1RAcP. Recent studies have shown that IL-36R interacts with IL-1RAcP even in the absence of an agonist. To elucidate the IL-36 activation mechanism, we considered all possible binding events for IL-36 ligands/receptors and examined these events in direct binding assays. Our results indicated that the agonists bind the IL-36R extracellular domain with micromolar affinity, but do not detectably bind IL-1RAcP. Using surface plasmon resonance (SPR), we found that IL-1RAcP also does not bind IL-36R when no agonist is present. In the presence of IL-36α, however, IL-1RAcP bound IL-36R strongly. These results suggested that the main pathway to IL-36R/IL-36α/IL-1RAcP ternary complex is through the IL-36R/IL-36α binary complex, which recruits IL-1RAcP. We could not measure the binding affinity of IL-36R to IL-1RAcP directly, so we engineered a fragment crystallizable (Fc) linked construct to induce IL-36R-IL-1RAcP heterodimerization and predicted the binding affinity during a complete thermodynamic cycle to be 74 μM. The SPR analysis also indicated that the IL-36R antagonist IL-36Ra binds IL-36R with higher affinity and a much slower off rate than the IL-36R agonists, shedding light on IL-36 pathway inhibition. Our results reveal the landscape of IL-36 ligand and receptor interactions, improving our understanding of IL-36 pathway activation and inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tumor Bank at The Children's Hospital at Westmead was established in 1998 with the purpose of facilitating research into childhood malignancy through the active provision of well annotated, ethically collected tissue samples and providing a pathway for the Children Hospital at Westmead to engage in leading research initiatives, supporting international investigations and clinical trials. Within 20 years practice as a single institute biorepository, The Tumour Bank has established standard operating procedures for collection of tissue, blood and bone marrow that were integrated into routine patient management systems. In addition, three main operational areas have been developed: collection of biospecimens and written consent; management of clinical data and biospecimen inventory database; and implementation of an open access policy to support childhood cancer research around the world. Regulatory oversight is provided by the Tumour Bank Committee, Human Research Ethics Committee and Governance Department. This concerted effort has resulted in collecting 20340 specimens from 3788 patients within 20 years, and The Tumour bank has supported over 108 national and international research projects, and contributed to over 70 peer-reviewed publications to date, with a mean time-to-publication of 19.1 ± 9.0 months and average Impact Factor of 6.11 ± 4.53. In conclusion, the Children's Hospital at Westmead Tumour Bank has demonstrated a sustained single institutional biorepository model for facilitating translational research of rare cancer. It has provided strong evidence that integration of a single institutional biobank into standard clinical practices would be the long-term pathway of valuable bio-resource for rare cancer research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum a-fetoprotein (AFP) is a classical biomarker for both diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its predictive efficiency for prognosis remains unsatisfactory. This study explores whether integrating AFP and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9/ carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) increase its prognostic efficiency in HCC. A total of 67 HCC patients with complete record of AFP, CA19-9, and CEA, who underwent radical hepatectomy, were included. The sole and combined evaluations for prognostic significance of the three markers were performed. In the first, it was found by one-factor analysis that AFP was a univariate prognostic indicator for disease-free survival, but not overall survival, whereas CEA and CA19-9 were not statistically significant, although the latter was of marginally predictive significance for disease-free survival. Subsequently, it was revealed that combined evaluation of AFP and CA19-9, rather than AFP and CEA, distinguished overall and disease-free survival more effectively, compared with single ones. However, this combination was not significant in multivariate Cox regression analysis, thus needing further validation, especially in large-scale prospective investigations. The addition of vascular invasion to AFP/CA19-9 combination might provide enhanced predictive power for disease-free survival. Collectively, these results preliminarily suggest that CA19-9 increases the predictive efficiency of AFP for prognosis of HCC after resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During influenza A virus (IAV) infection, cytokine storms play a vital and critical role in clinical outcomes. We have previously reported that microRNA (miR)-302c regulates IAV-induced IFN expression by targeting the 3'-UTR of nuclear factor кB (NF-кB)-inducing kinase. In the current study, we found that miR-302a, another member of the miR-302 cluster, controls the IAV-induced cytokine storm. According to results from cell-based and knockout mouse models, IAV induces a cytokine storm via interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF-5). We also found that IAV infection up-regulates IRF-5 expression and that IRF-5 in turn promotes IAV replication. Furthermore, we observed that IRF-5 is a direct target of miR-302a, which downregulated IRF-5 expression by binding its 3'-UTR. Moreover, IAV increased IRF-5 expression by down-regulating miR-302a expression. Interestingly, miR-302a inhibited IAV replication. In IAV-infected patients, miR-302a expression was down-regulated, whereas IRF-5 expression was up-regulated. Taken together, our work uncovers and defines a signaling pathway implicated in an IAV-induced cytokine storm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An updated thermodynamic description of the stable Cr-carbides was obtained by applying the same models as used for the elements within the 3rd generation of thermodynamic databases. The Einstein model was used and a scaling factor was introduced to take into account the coupling effect between the stoichiometry (C to Cr ratio) and the structure of the compound. Using this model we could accurately describe the thermodynamic properties of these stoichiometric compounds using available experimental heat capacity data. The new description is now more physically sound and results in a better agreement with the experimental heat capacity data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquapotins (AQPs) could be involved in Na + -regulated tolerance to water stress in white clover. White clovers were subjected to water stress (−0.3 MPa) induced by polyethylene glycol 8000 for 16 days in the presence or in absence of NaCl (30 mM) pretreatment. Na + pretreatment significantly enhanced the tolerance to water stress in white clovers based on growth and physiological analyses. Na + -induced increases in endogenous Na + content and transcript levels of NHX6 , SOS1 , and SKOR associated with ions compartmentalization could be responsible for higher osmotic adjustment (OA) as opposed to the accumulation of more organic osmolytes (proline and water soluble carbohydrates) in leaf and root. Na + pretreatment not only further elevated endogenous ABA content caused by water deficit, but also enhanced the accumulation of AQPs and the expression of genes encoding AQPs under water stress. The increase in ABA content induced by Na + could contribute to the enhancement of ABA-activated stress defense in relation to transcription factors and AQPs in root and leaf. Na + -treated white clover exhibited significantly greater root growth and OA in root and leaf, but the significant decline in transpiration rate in leaf under water stress, which provided a beneficial foundation for the AQPs-regulated water transport leading to a favourable water status in white clover under water stress. These results indicated that Na + could play a positive role in activating ABA-regulated AQPs in response to water deficit in mesophytic plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive deficits are a core feature of early schizophrenia. However, the pathological foundations underlying cognitive deficits are still unknown. The present study examined the association between gray matter density and cognitive deficits in first-episode schizophrenia. Method: Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in 34 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to working memory task performance. The three groups were well matched for age, gender, and education, and the two patient groups were also further matched for diagnosis, duration of illness, and antipsychotic treatment. Voxel-based morphometric analysis was performed to estimate changes in gray matter density in first-episode schizophrenia patients with cognitive deficits. The relationships between gray matter density and clinical outcomes were explored. Results: Patients with cognitive deficits were found to have reduced gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum compared with patients without cognitive deficits and healthy controls, decreased gray matter density in left supplementary motor area, bilateral precentral gyrus compared with patients without cognitive deficits. Classifier results showed GMD in cerebellar vermis tonsil cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from controls, left supplementary motor area cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from SZ-NCD. Gray matter density values of the cerebellar vermis cluster in patients groups were positively correlated with cognitive severity. Conclusions: Decreased gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum may underlie early psychosis and serve as a candidate biomarker for schizophrenia with cognitive deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contact wires in high-speed railway industry should have high strength, high electrical conductivity, and high industrial manufacturing feasibility. An economical Cu-0.29Mg-0.21Ca (wt.%) alloy has been designed and synthesized by non-vacuum melting and casting followed by thermal-mechanical treatments. Microstructure evolutions and mechanical properties of the studied alloy were investigated systematically. Microstructure observations showed that after cold deformation, the initial grain size was significantly refined into small grains full of sub-structures with an average size of 400 nm. After homogenized at 780 °C for 1 h, followed by cold rolling reduction of 80%, then annealed at 200 °C for 1 h, properties measurements revealed that the studied alloy had outstanding comprehensive performance with an ultimate tensile strength of 545 MPa, a yield strength of 526 MPa, an elongation of 3.60%, and an electrical conductivity of 71.79%IACS. The high electrical conductivity was due to the addition of Ca which purified the copper matrix through reacting with some impurity elements and caused little electron scattering. The high strength was attributed to the dispersion strengthening, solid solution strengthening, sub-structure strengthening, and dislocation strengthening, in which sub-structure strengthening is dominate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helical milling is a new hole-making technique which has lower burr formations and fiber delamination compared to the conventional drilling. In the helical milling process, the cutter follows the circular and vertical movements simultaneously, leading to two cutting zones at the peripheral part and the bottom part of the cutter, respectively. In this paper, the total cutting forces generated by both the side flutes and the bottom flutes are analytically predicted in the presence of cutter runout. Based on the kinematics analysis of the helical milling process, the bottom cutter-workpiece engagements (CWEs) are found to be the whole bottom part of the cutter due to its continuous plunge cut, while the peripheral CWEs are extracted by determining the feasible contact region and the axial depth of cut at any immersion angle. Next, an analytical method is proposed to calculate the instantaneous uncut chip thickness (IUCT) with high precision considering the cutter runout effect, which is defined as the distance from the cutting point to the previous flute's circular trajectory. Combining the calibrated cutter runout parameters and cutting force coefficients of both side and bottom flutes, the dual mechanism force model is adopted to predict cutting forces. The helical milling tests have been conducted to validate the proposed mechanical model. The results show that the predicted cutting forces using this method match the measured data more closely compared to the existing methods which do not take into account the cutter runout effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HBr and DMPU (1,3-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-pyrimidinone) form a room-temperature-stable complex that provides a mild, effective, and selective hydrobrominating reagent toward alkynes, alkenes, and allenes. HBr-DMPU could also replace other halogenating reagents in the halo-Prins reaction, ether cleavage, and deoxy-bromination reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce an MV-topology on the set of all valuations of MV-algebra and then establish Lukasiewicz semantic MV-topological space. We study the topological properties of Lukasiewicz semantic MV-topology, and prove that the Lukasiewicz semantic MV-topological space is a compact zero dimension HausdorffMV-topological space and a N-compact space. We also establish a classical topology D on the valuations set of MV-algebra, and prove that topology D is finer than the cut topology C generated by Lukasiewicz semantic MV-topology. We prove that a σ -complete lattice is an MV-algebra if and only if it is isomorphic to an MV-clopen lattice of a Stone MV-space. As an application, we use the compactness of topology D to prove the compactness of Lukasiewicz semantic and Lukasiewicz propositional logic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several different integration times are always set for a wide dynamic linear and continuous variable integration time infrared radiometry system, therefore, traditional calibration-based non-uniformity correction (NUC) are usually conducted one by one, and furthermore, several calibration sources required, consequently makes calibration and process of NUC time-consuming. In this paper, the difference of NUC coefficients between different integration times have been discussed, and then a novel NUC method called high-efficiency NUC, which combines the traditional calibration-based non-uniformity correction, has been proposed. It obtains the correction coefficients of all integration times in whole linear dynamic rangesonly by recording three different images of a standard blackbody. Firstly, mathematical procedure of the proposed non-uniformity correction method is validated and then its performance is demonstrated by a 400 mm diameter ground-based infrared radiometry system. Experimental results show that the mean value of Normalized Root Mean Square (NRMS) is reduced from 3.78% to 0.24% by the proposed method. In addition, the results at 4 ms and 70 °C prove that this method has a higher accuracy compared with traditional calibration-based NUC. In the meantime, at other integration time and temperature there is still a good correction effect. Moreover, it greatly reduces the number of correction time and temperature sampling point, and is characterized by good real-time performance and suitable for field measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of 6-isomer of 5,8-O-dimethyl ether of shikonin (13), a promising anticancer scaffold, always remains a huge challenge. Herein a key intermediate for 13, 2-(1-hydroxyl-4-methyl-3-pentenyl)-1,4,5,8-tetramethoxynaphthalene (10), was obtained on the large-scale synthesis. A ring-closing/ring-opening strategy was applied to avoid the undesired reactivity posed by the side chain and racemization of the chiral centre. Incorporation of bulky substituent 4-((tertbutoxycarbonyl)amino)phenyl to hydroxyl group in the side chain redistributed electron density of naphthalene core (10), overwhelmingly favoring the generation of 13 when oxidized by cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate followed by hydrolysis. As a result, three 6-isomers (14a-14c) with very potent antitumor activity were easily synthesized. This study opened an novel avenue to selectively prepare 6-isomers of 5,8-dimethoxy1-1,4-naphthaquinones, bearing the synthetically challenging side chain such as 2-hydroxyl-5-methylpentenyl group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the difficulty in identifying the fatigue crack in key parts of aerospace structure, a kind of methods aimed to monitor the crack length based on matching pursuit (MP) method and binary tree support vector machines (BT-SVM) classification algorithm was developed. In this method, Lamb wave signals were decomposed into a linear combination of several Chirplet atoms by MP method, and then the matching parameters were extracted as feature vectors for training and testing in BT-SVM classification algorithm. At the same time, a lug joint model was created with a certain ratio and the effect of crack extension on Lamb wave signals propagation was studied. At last, fatigue loading experiments were carried out in lug joints and tail reinforced frames of aircraft. The results showed that this method can monitor the length of fatigue crack effectively, which presents a new approach for monitoring the fatigue crack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]