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In this work, a series of Al-doped Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) were prepared to investigate the mechanical and wear performances. The results reveal that the phase structure of Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEAs is composed of disordered body-centered cubic (BCC) phase with a minor amount of ordered BCC (B2) phase after addition of Al. The mechanical tests show that the micro-hardness, tensile strength and fracture elongation initially increase and then decrease with increasing Al content. Specifically, the Al0.2 alloy exhibits the optimum mechanical properties, with the highest micro-hardness of 732.7 ± 16.1 Hv, the maximum tensile strength of 1103.6 ± 20.5 MPa and the maximum fracture elongation of 13.6 ± 0.9%, respectively. In addition, all Al-doped Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 alloys exhibit a higher wear resistance compared with the Al-free Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 alloy at dry sliding. The underlying mechanisms for the Al effect on the mechnical properties and wear resistance of Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEAs were uncovered. • Al promotes the formation of two-phase BCC structure in Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEAs. • Al addition achieved the balance between the wear resistance and mechanical properties in Al x Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEAs. • Al-doped Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEAs is stronger than that of Ni 0.6 CoFe 1.4 MEA. • The enhanced wear resistance is attributed to the combined effect of the dual phase structure and the tribo-oxide layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) patients report complex negative emotions, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What's more, being diagnosed with cancer also has a negative impact on the patient's family such as additional financial burden and care needs, leading to higher levels of caregiver burden. This study aimed to explore whether dispositional mindfulness could alleviate multiple negative emotions of BC patients and to investigate the mediating effect of caregiver burden on the relationship between the patients' dispositional mindfulness and negative emotions. Methods: A sample of 230 Chinese BC patients receiving chemotherapy and their caregivers voluntarily participated in the study by completing a set of questionnaires including the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, the Caregiver Self-assessment Questionnaires, the General Anxiety Symptoms Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the PTSD Symptom Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, negative emotions, and caregiver burden. Results: Dispositional mindfulness was significantly and negatively correlated with negative emotions, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD among the BC patients. Structural equation modeling showed that caregiver burden mediated the relation between patients' dispositional mindfulness and negative emotions. Conclusion: BC patients with higher levels of dispositional mindfulness showed less negative emotions. The results of the mediation analysis suggested that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness of breast cancer patients could decrease the caregivers' perceived burden and, in turn, relieve patients' negative emotions. Dispositional mindfulness was beneficial to breast cancer patients as well as their caregivers, indicating that mindfulness-based interventions targeting distress in patient-caregiver dyads would be more effective than what interventions for patients alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder (CTD) associated with an increased risk of malignancy including lung cancer (LC). Our objective was to provide a description of demographics and clinicopathological characteristics of LC patients with SSc. Methods: Lung cancer patients with SSc admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2000 to August 2017 were reviewed. Demographic and clinicopathologic data were collected. Results: Of the 12 cases included in our study, all were female. No patients had a history of smoking. The most common histological type was adenocarcinoma, followed by squamous cell carcinoma and small‐cell carcinoma. No driver mutation was identified in the five patients undergoing genetic testing. Eight patients had interstitial lung disease (ILD). Six were manifested as nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and two as usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Four (33.3%) patients underwent surgical resection. Among them, two had ILD with a normal preoperative pulmonary function tests (PFT). Eight (66.7%) patients received chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was administered in only one (8.3%) patient. No grade 3/4 adverse events were documented. Conclusion: The predominance of female patients in our study is different from that reported in general lung cancer patients. A high proportion of patients has SSc‐ILD, including NSIP and UIP. Surgery or radiotherapy could still be considered in carefully selected patients with ILD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tensile failure mechanism of carbon–aramid hybrid fibers/epoxy sandwich structure laminates was investigated by using experimental and finite element methods. Double curing agents, triarylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonates and triethylene tetramine with a mass ratio of 4:15 were introduced into the laminates. Sandwich structure laminates, with different proportions of hybrid fibers, were cured by UV-initiated anion/cationic dual curing technique. The results showed that the synergetic curing effects of two curing agents were observed under UV irradiation, leading to the better curing of the system, which further plays a positive influence on the mechanical performance. The tensile properties and failure mechanism of the laminates depended on the stacking sequence and fiber volume fractions of the layer structures. The interplay hybrid laminates, containing three alternate plies with fiber contents of 67.7 vol%, presented the optimal tensile performance, and its tensile strength and modulus were 0.82 GPa and 22.09 GPa, respectively. The fracture morphologies revealed that pull-out and debonding of fibers were the main failure mechanism of hybrid laminates. The performance of sandwich structure laminates was determined by the load-carrying capacity of carbon fiber and load-transferring capacity of the aramid fiber and adhesive. The finite element model based on experiments was established to simulate the stress state and failure mechanism of sandwich laminates. The results demonstrated that the stress was better transferred into carbon fibers from the aramid fibers and adhesive, and the relative error rate of maximum stress from finite element analysis and experimental results was less than 5%, which were in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peimine is a major component of Fritillaria ussuriensis, which is a widely used herb in pediatric. It is very common in Chinese traditional medicine to combine with two or more herbs in the clinic. To investigate the effect of peimine on the activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450) is necessary for the clinical application of peimine. The effects of peimine on eight human liver CYP isoforms (i.e., 1A2, 3A4, 2A6, 2E1, 2D6, 2C9, 2C19 and 2C8) were investigated in vitro in human liver microsomes (HLMs) with the specific inhibitors as positive control and without peimine or inhibitors as negative control. The enzyme kinetic parameters were calculated. It was found that peimine inhibited the activity of CYP3A4, 2E1, and 2D6 in a concentration-dependent manner with the IC50 values of 13.43, 21.93, and 22.46 μM, respectively. The inhibition of CYP3A4 was performed in a non-competitive manner with the Ki value of 6.49 μM, and the inhibition of CYP2E1 and 2D6 was performed in a competitive manner with Ki values of 10.76 and 11.95 μM. Additionally, peimine inhibited the activity of CYP3A4 in a time-dependent manner with the KI/Kinact value of 6.17/0.049 min−1 μM−1. Peimine inhibited the activity of CYP3A4, 2E1, and 2D6, which indicated the potential interaction between peimine and drugs metabolized by CYP3A4, 2E1, and 2D6. Further studies are needed to verify the drug-drug interaction and the in vivo effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the wax removal process by numerical simulation is beneficial for guiding field operations. In this paper, enthalpy-porosity and volume of fluid (VOF) methods were adopted to simulate the melting process of wax in the crude oil gathering pipeline. The melting patterns and liquid fraction of the wax were used to validate the mathematical model. The results show that the wax melts quickly before the liquid fraction reaches 80%, while the remaining 20% melts very slowly. Since the water with higher density sinks to the lower part of the pipeline, the wax in the lower part of the pipeline melts first, while the wax in the upper part of the pipeline melts slowly. The water temperature and flow rate disproportionately affect the melting process. Increasing the water temperature and flow rate can accelerate the melting process, but the effects on shortening the melting time of wax gradually decrease. Increasing the flow rate, the heat transfer rate and the melting rate are increasing progressively, the change of flow rate also affects the outlet temperature of the pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the retest reproducibility of intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) has become an increasing concern in the fMRI research community. However, few indexes can be applied to directly quantify the similarity of three or more ICNs for evaluating the retest reproducibility of ICNs. To solve this problem, a multivariable correlation coefficient based on zero-mean normalization and intraclass correlation coefficient (Z-ICC) is proposed. After demonstrating the calculation method and performance analysis on theory, Z-ICC is adopted to evaluate the similarity of three ICNs from three ICN sets, which are inferred from the open retest resting-state fMRI dataset NYU_TRT with dual temporal and spatial sparse representation (DTSSR). The reproducible ICNs and quantization index of retest reproducibility are obtained by the calculated Z-ICC values and the accepted evaluation criterion. The experimental results and visual inspection show that Z-ICC can effectively identify the reproducible ICNs and quantify the retest reproducibility of ICNs. Eighteen (Z-ICC > 0.8) of the inferred twenty ICNs with DTSSR that are found to be reproducible are far more than the seven reproducible ICNs based on temporal concatenation group ICA (TC-GICA). Furthermore, the result of the one-tailed two-sample T test demonstrates that the Z-ICC values of the reproducible ICNs by DTSSR are significantly greater than those of TC-GICA, indicating that more reproducible group-level ICNs with higher retest reproducibility can be achieved with DTSSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute lung injury is a severe respiratory disorder characterized by overwhelming lung inflammation. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) is the major lipid component of pulmonary surfactant, which here acts as a carrier delivery system for drugs, while also preserving surface tension in the lung. The clinical development of naringenin (NG) is limited by its low solubility and bioavailability. Methods: Novel NG-loaded DPPC phytosomes for dry powder inhalation (NPDPIs) were prepared by solvent evaporation and a freeze-drying method. The particle size, electric potential, in vitro release, and lung deposition were characterized. A rat model of acute lung injury was established and used for pharmacodynamic evaluations. Results: A mixture of NG/DPPC 1:2 (w/w) formed stable phytosomes with the addition of appropriate ethanol. The phytosomes had high complexation efficiency (92.1% ± 1.87%) with NG, a small mean size (150.8 ± 6.9 nm), and a high zeta potential (20.97 ± 0.55 mV). NPDPIs composed of mannitol/DPPC/NG (4:2:1, w/w/w) presented a satisfactory appearance, good fluidity, quick reconstitution to naringenin phytosomes (NGPs), and small (167.2 nm) reconstituted NGPs. The aerodynamic diameter (12.48 μm) and fine particle fraction (23.90%) were suitable for pulmonary delivery by inhalation. The in vivo NPDPIs demonstrated efficacy in a rat model of acute lung injury. NPDPIs significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of P38 in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and suppressed oxidative stress. Surprisingly, the DPPC vehicle exhibited potential effects against acute lung injury by protecting respiratory function. Conclusions: NPDPIs were developed for sustained drug release, promoting pulmonary bioavailability of drug and protecting against acid-induced acute lung injury in rats by pulmonary delivery. NPDPIs are a promising dry powder inhaler for clinical application in acute lung injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs) have great potential for clinical applications. Ultracentrifugation, considered the gold standard method for the preparation of PDEVs, is efficacious but time-consuming and highly instrument-dependent. Thus, a rapid and handy method is needed to facilitate the basic researches and clinical applications of PDEVs. Results: In this study, we combined electrophoretic technique with 300 kDa cut-off dialysis bag (named ELD) for the isolation of PDEVs, which was time-saving and needed no special equipment. Using ELD, lemon derived extracellular vesicles (LDEVs) could be isolated from lemon juice. Nanoparticle tracking analysis and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the method separated intact vesicles with a similar size and number to the standard method-ultracentrifugation. LDEVs caused the gastric cancer cell cycle S-phase arrest and induced cell apoptosis. The anticancer activities of LDEVs on gastric cancer cells were mediated by the generation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, LDEVs were safe and could be remained in gastrointestinal organs. Conclusions: ELD was an efficient method for the isolation of LDEVs, and could be carried out in any routine biological laboratory as no special equipment needed. LDEVs exerted anticancer activities on gastric cancer, indicating the great potentials for clinical application as edible chemotherapeutics delivery vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, ramp-PCR fragments from improved RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) amplification of Lycium (Goji) species or cultivars were cut and cloned into the vector of pGEM-T. A positive clone 10–5 was screened by PCR amplification, enzymatic digestion, and Sanger sequencing. A SCAR (sequence-characterized amplified region) marker, named Goji 10–5, with 949 nucleotides in length, was identified. Goji 10–5 is specific to Goji species Lycium chinense Miller from Jiangxi in China and Texas in the USA. A BLAST search of this nucleotide sequence in the GenBank database indicated that it shows no identity with any other species, including no any other Lycium species. As a new sequence, we have deposited it in the GenBank database with accession No. MN862323. PCR assays were developed and converted the nucleotide sequence to become a novel molecular marker for Lycium chinense Miller, named Goji 10–5. This marker may be used for the genetic identification of other samples. This study has successfully developed Goji 10–5, a specific SCAR marker to identify L. chinense and distinguish it from other species, including other Lycium species from different locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic parabolic solitons with different energies have been presented. The purpose of changing the period and span of the parabolic solitons has been achieved by adjusting the corresponding parameters. In this paper, a system with controllable parameters for describing the evolution of polarization modes in nonlinear fibers is studied. Using the Horita's method, the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations are transformed into the bilinear equations, and the one- and two- bright soliton solutions of system (3) are obtained. Then, the influencing factors on velocity and intensity in the process of soliton transmission are analyzed. The fusion, splitting and deformation of the solitons caused by their interactions are discussed. Finally, a method for adjusting the inconsistencies of sine-wave soliton transmission is given. The conclusions of this paper may be helpful for the related research of wavelength division multiplexing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ruthenium nanoparticles incorporated in mesoporous carbon are reported for production of γ-valerolactone. • The incorporated catalysts demonstrate excellent reusability and thermal stability. • Leaching can be minimised by tailoring the mesoporous structure. • The mechanism of high reusability and thermal stability for incorporated ruthenium catalysts are studied. The hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone with water as solvent is a crucial reaction for producing fine chemicals. However, the development of highly stable catalysts is still a major challenge. Here, we prepared a Ru nanoparticles incorporated in mesoporous-carbon (Ru-MC) catalyst to achieve high stability in acidic aqueous medium. The Ru-MC showed excellent catalytic performance (12024 h−1 turnover frequency) in the hydrogenation of LA-to-GVL. Compared with Ru supported on mesoporous carbon catalyst (Ru/MC) prepared by conventional wet impregnation method, the Ru-MC showed excellent reusability (more than 6 times) and thermal stability (up to 600 °C). Based on H 2 -TPR-MS characterization, it was proposed that the incorporated structure significantly increased the interaction between Ru nanoparticles and carbon support, which effectively prevent the leaching and sintering of Ru nanoparticles and contributed to increased high reusability and thermal stability of the Ru-MC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review, I summarize recent experimental investigations of surface and friction forces between bottlebrush structure macromolecules including biolubricants and biomimetic ones by direct force measurements. I also discuss recent experimental investigations of synergy in lubrication in which a question, 'How do lubricants act together?', is aimed to be answered. Lastly, challenges and opportunities for developing efficient lubricating systems are outlined. • Extremely low friction force in the synovial joint is achieved by biolubricants. • Biomimetic bottlebrush polymers are able to reduce friction. • Bottlebrush polymers with small molecules may reinforce lubricating ability. • Synergy in lubrication still remains to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider an elastic beam equation with delay, source term, and boundary conditions together with some suitable initial data. Using the Faedo‐Galerkin approximation and some estimates, we get the local existence of solution. Moreover, we obtain the finite time blow‐up of solution by constructing suitable Lyapunov functionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In steel manufacturing industry, powdered iron ore is agglomerated in a pelletizing disk to form iron ore green pellets. The agglomeration process is usually monitored using a camera. As pellet size distribution is one of the major measures of product quality monitoring, pellets detection and segmentation from the image are the key steps to determine the pellet size. Traditional image processing algorithms are not only challenged by the complicated constitution of pellets, sediment and residuals in the image, but also by the harsh and unbalanced light reflection on the pellet centrum area and the background which results in tedious parameter adjustment work and pool performance. To solve these problems, we design a lightweight U-net deep learning network to automatically detect pellets from images and to obtain the probability maps of pellet contours. Compared to classic U-net, the proposed network has fewer parameters and introduces batch normalization layers, which greatly reduces the computing time and improves generalization ability of the network. A concentric circle model is then used to separate clumped contours of the pellets, and the pellets shapes are detected via ellipse fitting. The proposed method is verified using images captured from an industrial pelletizing disk, and its performance is compared with traditional methods and the classic U-net. Results show that the proposed method achieves better segmentation performance in DICE and ROC indexes and shows good robustness to uneven illumination. Tests on temporal image sequences demonstrate that the proposed method is effective in monitoring the pellet size distribution and the pellet shape as well. Results of this work have potential usage in online detection of iron ore green pellets and other types of particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Results conflict on the association between the XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk, despite wide-ranging investigations. This meta-analysis examines whether the XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism is associated with ovarian cancer risk.Material and Methods: Eligible case-control studies were searched in PubMed. We therefore performed a meta-analysis of 5,802 ovarian cancer cases and 9,390 controls from 7 articles published. The strength of association between XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism and ovarian cancer susceptibility was calculated using pooled odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: No statistically significant associations between XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk were found in any genetic models. However, a significant relationship with ovarian cancer risk was discovered when the high quality studies were pooled in the meta-analysis (AA vs. GG: OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.37-0.94, p = 0.03; GA vs. GG: OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78-0.96, p = 0.009; GA + AA vs. GG: OR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77-0.94, p = 0.003; AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.38-0.95, p = 0.03).Conclusions: This meta-analysis shows that the XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism was associated with ovarian cancer risk overall for high quality studies. Non-Caucasian groups and high quality studies should be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the patterns of posttraumatic responses among breast cancer (BC) patients, to explore the variables associated with these patterns, and to compare anxiety and depression on various posttraumatic response patterns.Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of 612 BC patients who were currently undergoing treatment. The questionnaire package included Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale (PSS), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Network of Relationships Inventory, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Modeling was performed using a latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore patterns of posttraumatic responses among BC patients.Results: Based on the fitting indicators of LPA, three-class patterns model of posttraumatic responses was optimal. Resisting group (34.6%): patients reported mild posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and mild posttraumatic growth (PTG). Growth group (47.4%): patients showed mild PTSS and high PTG. Struggling group (18.0%): patients showed high PTSS and high PTG. BC patients with lower income were more likely to belong to Resisting group and Struggling group. BC patients with high levels of social support were more likely to belong to Growth group. Patients in Struggling group had the highest levels of anxiety and depression.Conclusions: This study showed that there was heterogeneity in posttraumatic response patterns of BC patients. The results provided theoretical base guiding the development of health care schemes and psychological interventions for patients, suggesting the necessity of differentiated health care for BC patients with different posttraumatic response patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Wine ageing is of great importance to the quality and organoleptic properties of Huangjiu. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of ageing temperature on the content changes in ethyl carbamate (EC) and its precursors including citrulline, arginine, ornithine and urea in Hakka Huangjiu. Aroma compound changes were also detected using headspace solid‐phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography spectrometry. Results indicated that with the increase in ageing temperature, citrulline and EC concentrations increased, whereas arginine and ornithine concentrations decreased. Urea was decreased slightly from 4 to 20 °C while increased at 37 °C. Pearson test demonstrated that ageing temperature had significant correlation with EC and arginine. The concentrations of aroma compounds, especially esters, alcohols, acids and heterocyclic compounds were different in different ageing temperatures. Ageing temperature of Hakka Huangjiu was suggested setting in a lower temperature as for strictly controlling contents of urea and citrulline, as well as EC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study was to analyze the efficacy of metformin intervention in preventing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials or observational studies of metformin intervention in preventing symptoms of GDM during pregnancy were performed. Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched through to now. The main evaluated primary outcomes were incident of GDM, miscarriage, preterm delivery, and neonatal mortality. The evaluated secondary outcomes were mean difference of gestational age at birth and birth weight between metformin group and control group. Results We included 6 studies including 3 randomized clinical trials (RCTs), 2 observational studies, and 1 non-RCT in our meta-analysis. A total of 643 patients were enrolled for a follow-up study with continued metformin therapy (n=341) or not (n=302) during pregnancy. Metformin therapy reduced the proportion of patients developing GDM (log Odds Ratio: -1.27; 95%CI: -2.24 to -0.30) but had no significant effect on reducing the proportion of abortion, preterm delivery, and neonatal death in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Also, it did not cause a significant difference in gestational age at birth and birth weight in metformin group versus control/placebo group. Conclusions Metformin was associated with less frequent GDM development than control diets, suggesting that it is the appropriate intervention to be prescribed to prevent GDM in patients with PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an effective technique is presented for solving nonlinear Volterra integral equations. The method is based on application of cardinal spline functions on small compact supports. The integral equation is reduced to a system of algebra equations. Since the matrix for the system is triangular, it is relatively straightforward to solve for the unknowns and an approximation of the original solution with high accuracy is accomplished. Several cardinal splines are employed in the paper to enhance the accuracy. The sufficient condition for the existence of the inverse matrix is examined, and the convergence rate is analyzed. We compare our method with other methods proposed in recent papers and demonstrated the advantage of our method with several examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It acknowledged that skin care is an important part of atopic dermatitis therapy. However, clinical evidences are limited for the best bathing practices, especially the skin health performance of cleansing products on children's atopic dermatitis skin. Methods: A randomised controlled clinical study was conducted in China among 4‐ to 18‐year‐old children with mild‐to‐moderate atopic dermatitis to evaluate the skin health effect of three cleansing systems (a mild synthetic bar, an ultra‐mild body wash with lipids, and an ultra‐mild body wash with lipids and zinc pyrithione) by measuring SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), consumption of topical corticosteroid and the characteristics of microbiome. Results: Increased Staphylococcus aureus abundance and decreased microbial diversity were observed in atopic dermatitis lesion sites compared with healthy control sites. After 4 weeks of treatment, all three treatments showed clinically important improvement from baseline in SCORAD. Four‐week corticosteroid consumption was significantly lower for the two body wash groups than the bar group. A significant decrease in S. aureus abundance and increase in microbial diversity were observed in the lesion sites for the two body wash formulas, while the microbial diversity was statistically insignificant for the mild cleansing bar group. However, there were no incremental benefits provided by the body wash formulas based on the assessment of SCORAD. Conclusions: These results demonstrated the safety and efficacy of using the investigational body wash formulas with lipids in reducing the needs for corticosteroid and improving the healthy composition of skin microbiome vs. the mild synthetic bar soap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

24S‐hydroxycholesterol (HC) is most abundant oxysterols in the brain, passes through blood brain barrier, and is therefore regarded as an intermediary for brain cholesterol elimination. We reported that large‐conductance Ca2+‐ and voltage‐activated K+ (slo1 BK) channels are suppressed by this oxysterol, which is presumably intercalated into cell membrane to access the outer surface of the channel. Such an outer approach would make it difficult to interact with the inner, ion‐conducting part of the channel. The present findings showed that 24R‐HC, the racemic counterpart of 24S‐HC, also suppressed slo1 BK channel but in a different voltage‐dependent manner. There was a difference between the effects of the two enantiomers on activation kinetics but not on deactivation kinetics. It is suggested that the chirality contributes to the efficacy of channel blockers that act from outer lipophilic parts of channels, as with those which act on the inner, ion‐permeable surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant reproduction is an extremely important phenomenon, as it is strongly associated with plant genetics and early development. Additionally, foundations of the reproductive system have direct implications on plant breeding and agriculture. Investigation of the functions of male and female gametophytes is critical since their fusion is required for seed formation. Although a large number of mutants have been generated to understand the functions of male and female gametophytes, only a small number of genes required for plant fertilization have been identified to date. This is because the screening method used previously required the dissection of siliques, and fertilization-specific mutants exhibiting semi-fertility (or ∼50% fertility) were difficult to identify. Here, we report a new efficient screening method for the identification of fertilization defective mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana using vanillin staining. This method is based on the pollen tube-dependent ovule enlargement morphology (POEM) phenomenon, which generates a partial seed coat within the ovule without fertilization. Using this method, we successfully identified 23 putative fertilization defective mutants in Arabidopsis. • Establishment of a new method targeting fertilization defective mutants. • Identification of 23 fertilization defective Arabidopsis mutants. • Identification a rare female fertilization mutant, tri3669. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Approximately 20–40% of recipients of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) do not respond to it based on the current patient selection criteria. The purpose of this study was to identify baseline parameters that can predict CRT response and to evaluate the effect of those predictive parameters on long-term prognosis. Methods. This was a retrospective, nonrandomized, noncontrolled cohort study. Patients who received CRT in our centre were divided into responders and nonresponders by the definition of CRT response (an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≥5% and improvement of ≥1 New York Heart Association (NYHA) class from baseline to the 6-month follow-up). Results. Of the 101 patients, 68 were responders and 33 were nonresponders. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD; OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81–0.95, P = 0.001) and QRS duration (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04–1.10, P < 0.001) were independent predictors of CRT response. The combination of LVEDD and QRS duration was more valuable for predicting CRT response (AUC 0.836; 95% CI: 0.76–0.91; P < 0.001). Moreover, the combination of LVEDD ≤ 71 mm and QRS duration ≥ 170 ms had a low incidence of all-cause mortality, HF hospitalisation, and the composite endpoint. In addition, baseline LVEDD had a positive correlation with QRS duration (R = 0.199 , P = 0.046). Responders to CRT had better LV reverse remodeling. Conclusion. The combination of LVEDD and QRS duration provided more robust prediction of CRT response. Moreover, the combination of LVEDD ≤ 71 mm and QRS duration ≥ 170 ms was associated with a low incidence of all-cause mortality, HF hospitalisation, and the composite endpoint. Our results may be useful to provide individualized patient selection for CRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the UV curable ZrO 2 -Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic pastes based on SLA-3D printing technology were synthetized firstly, and the corresponding ceramic green bodies were 3D printed, and finally the ZrO 2 -Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic parts were manufactured by a subsequent debinding and sintering process. Our work focuses on the investigation of the microstructure, hardness and fracture toughness of the printed ZrO 2 -Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics sintered at different maximum sintering temperature and holding time. In case of the sintering temperature of 1500 °C and holding time of 60 min, the actual density, hardness and fracture toughness of the ceramics can reach 3.75 g/cm3, 14.1 GPa and 4.05 MPa⋅m1/2, respectively. If the sintering temperature is higher than 1500 °C, the abnormal grain growth can occur, resulting in some more reductions in the mechanical properties of ceramics; while when the sintering temperature is lower than 1500 °C, the lower driving force makes the grains not fully developed, resulting in a low density of ceramics and worse mechanical properties. With the increase of holding time, the sintering driving force is promoted, making for the grain growth. However, when holding time is more than 60 min, the actual density of ceramics almost remains unchanged, and the mechanical properties of ceramics are not able to be improved further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usage of traditional Chinese medicines has expanded globally, but the data about authentication, efficacy, and safety is far from sufficient to meet the criteria supporting their use worldwide due to complexity in the composition. Fingerprinting describes integral characterization and reflects interactive aspects of complex components; therefore, it can offer the possibility of evaluating quality of traditional Chinese medicines following the overall principle. Chemometric techniques introduce multivariate analytical methods into fingerprinting to obtain more information that is useful, which is consistent with the holistic thought and plays an important role in research on the substantial basis. In this review, we will start with three aspects to expound the quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicines based on fingerprints. The analytical techniques used in developing fingerprints including chromatographic methods, spectroscopic methods, and capillary electrophoresis are introduced. Strategies for fingerprints analysis usually based on chemometric methods including unsupervised and supervised pattern recognition are described. Applications of fingerprints for multi‐component quantification, quality control, screening of bioactive components, and fingerprint‐efficacy relationship study are also outlined. Finally, we propose challenges and future perspectives of fingerprints in quality evaluation to promote the development of modernization and internationalization of traditional Chinese medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipose tissue (AT) is a multi-depot organ in mammals. AT from various depots differs in composition and function. Revealing the composition feature of AT depots will provide valuable information for further research on the development and fat deposition patterns in buffalo. This study explored the cellular morphology and gene expression profiles of brown and beige markers in seven AT depots of fattened buffalo: three subcutaneous depots (back, sternum, and inguinal) and four visceral depots (perirenal, mesenteric, pericardial, and omental). Histological results showed unilocular adipocytes in all seven AT depots. Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) mRNA, a brown and beige adipocyte gene, was detected in all depots with the highest level in VAT depots, and a limited number of UCP1-positive unilocular adipocytes were observed in the three VAT depots. The mRNAs of PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1 α) and transmembrane protein 26 (TMEM26), brown or beige adipocyte markers, were identified in all seven depots and were mainly expressed in VAT depots. However, the mRNA of zinc finger protein of the cerebellum 1 (ZIC1), a brown adipocyte-specific marker, was almost undetectable. Our results demonstrated that all seven AT depots are white adipose tissue (WAT), with potential function of non-shivering thermogenesis in fattened buffalo. Beige adipocytes are more active in VAT depots than in WAT depots. These results improve our knowledge on the feature of different adipose tissue depots in buffalo, which will be useful for the research of fat deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erythritol is a new polyol used as a bulk sweetener in food industries, and the bioconversion of agricultural or industrial wastes to erythritol by Yarrowia lipolytica at high productivity is of great cost-effectiveness. In the Yarrowia-erythritol procedure, erythritol synthesis is triggered only under nitrogen starvation condition (or a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, C/N), causing an inefficient product yield and the unavailability of nitrogen-rich wastes. Sucrose non-fermenting protein kinase (Snfl) plays an important role in the nitrogen starvationtriggered process. In this study, a Snfl-deficient strain Y. lipolytica M53-S was obtained, and the calculated carbon source uptake (Qs) and erythritol formation (C k r y) rates were respectively increased by 46% and 49% when a lower C/N ratio of 20/1 was imposed on M53-S cells than that during nitrogen limitation (C/N = 250/1). Moreover, loss of Snfl abolished the reliance on high osmotic pressure and supplemental nutrition. Results of qRT-PCR suggested that the metabolic enzymes in M53-S were u P-R egulated at transcriptional level under low C/N ratio. The increased enzyme activitiesf also suggested a carbon overflow into the erythritol biosynthetic pathway. During the scaled-up fermentation process, 72.5 g/L of erythritol was produced by M53-S within a greatly shortened period. This work confirms the critical role of Snfl in coupling between nitrogen starvation and product synthesis, which also presents a new perspective in developing a cost-effective process for efficient production of secondary metabolites from nitrogen-rich wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common age-related neurodegenerative disease resulted from the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta region of substantia nigra. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HAGLROS on the apoptosis and autophagy in PD. The MPTP-induced PD mouse model and MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cell model were established, and the expression levels of HAGLROS and miR-100 were determined. Subsequently, the effects of suppression of HAGLROS on apoptosis and autophagy in MPTP-induced PD mouse model and in MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells were investigated. In addition, the association between HAGLROS and miR-100 as well as HAGLROS and activation of phosphoinositide-3 kinase/protein kinase-B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) pathway in MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells was explored. HAGLROS was increasingly expressed in MPTP-induced PD mouse model and MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells and suppression of HAGLRO decreased apoptosis and autophagy in both in vivo and in vitro PD models. Further in vitro studies showed that HAGLRO negatively regulated miR-100 expression, and HAGLROS regulated apoptosis and autophagy of MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cells through sponging miR-100. Moreover, ATG10 was identified as a target of miR-100. Besides, suppression of HAGLROS alleviated MPP+-intoxicated SH-SY5Y cell injury by activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Our findings reveal that upregulation of HAGLROS may contribute to the development of PD via inhibiting apoptosis and autophagy, which may be achieved by regulating miR-100/ATG10 axis and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the atomic force microscopy colloidal probe technique was employed to investigate the interaction between apolar, basic and acidic model oil probes and a calcite surface in solutions containing different concentrations of NaCl, CaCl2 and Na2SO4. In the presence of SO42−, hydration and structural forces were observed between apolar model oil probes and a calcite surface on approach. Relatively low adhesion forces were observed between the basic model oil probes and the calcite surface, while higher adhesion forces were observed between the acidic model oil probes and the calcite surface. Furthermore, the adhesion forces between the basic model oil probes and the calcite surface significantly increased in the presence of SO42−, while the adhesion force between the acidic model oil probes and the calcite surface decreased in the presence of Ca2+ or SO42−. The differences in the adhesion forces are related to electrostatic attraction and ion bridging forces between the model oil probes and the calcite surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the accurate age‐adjusted incidence of prostate small cell carcinoma (SCC), update the clinical and pathological characteristics, as well as survival data of prostate SCC from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) datasets. Methods: A total of 260 patients with prostate SCC were selected from the SEER database of the National Cancer Institute between 2004 and 2015. Age‐adjusted incidence (AAI) rates, the observed and relative survival rates were evaluated over time by the SEER*Stat Software version 8.3.5. Overall survival (OS) rates that stratified by summary stage and treatment effects were evaluated by Kaplan‐Meier method. The significant differences were assessed in a log‐rank test. Univariate and multivariate cox hazard regression analysis were performed to determine independent predictors of OS. Results: The incidence of prostate SCC has increased over time. The average age of prostate SCC patients was 70.25 years. More than 90% of tumors were poorly differentiated or undifferentiated. The majority of prostate SCC (77.7%) was at stage IV. 49% of patients had lymph node metastases and 68% of patients presented distant metastases (Compared with 60.5% of patients with distant metastases between 1973‐2003). Interestingly only 23.5% patients had high level PSA (>10 ng/mL). 58.8% of patients underwent chemotherapy, 25.4% of patients were treated by surgery, and 31.9% of patients were treated by radiotherapy. The observed survival rates of 1‐year, 2‐year, and 5‐year were 42.1%, 22.1%, and 12.5%, respectively (Compared with 47.9%, 27.5%, and 14.3%, respectively, between 1973 and 2003). Chemotherapy prolonged the OS of patients with regional (distant) metastases from 3 months (2 months) to 12 months (9 months). Multivariate cox regression analysis showed age, race, and stage were independent prognostic factors for prostate SCC patients. Conclusion: Prostate SCC is a highly malignant cancer and our analysis of recent data has shown its incidence is increasing. Incidence rate of metastatic prostate SCC has increased and the survival rates have worsened in recent years. However, chemotherapy shows some survival benefit for prostate SCC patients with regional and distant metastasis over other treatment methods. Further work is needed to understand the reason prognosis of this type prostate cancer is worsening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 1 wt% Ru loaded on N-doping carbon spheres catalysts (Ru/N-CS-850) were prepared. • N-doping carbon effectively improves the dispersion of Ru nanoparticles (Ru NPs). • The quaternary N plays the conclusive role for high dispersion of Ru NPs. • Ru/N-CS-850 has the highest absolute content of quaternary N and dispersity of Ru NPs. • Ru/N-CS-850 shows excellent yield for producing γ-valerolactone in water medium. Ru/carbon catalyst has been considered as a very active catalyst in aqueous-phase hydrogenation of bio-resourced carbonyl compounds. High dispersion of Ru NPs on a carbon support could enhance catalytic performance. In this work, well dispersed Ru nanoparticles on the surface of carbon spheres have been developed by the introduction of nitrogen-doping. Compared with carbon spheres without N-doping, the incorporation of the N-dopant with in the carbon matrix effectively improved the dispersion of Ru nanoparticles, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and CO chemisorption characterizations, finding that the presence of quaternary N was responsible for the high dispersion of Ru nanoparticles. Through adjusting the carbonization temperature from 400 to 850 °C, we have shown that the absolute content of quaternary N can be modulated from 3.2 to 22.4 mg g−1. As a result, the dispersion of Ru nanoparticles was improved from 29.8% to 70.9%. The Ru/N-CS-850 catalyst revealed excellent catalytic performance (9858 h−1 turnover frequency) for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone, also demonstrated very high catalytic activity for other hydrogenation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MoS 2 /Cu NWs are successfully synthesized via microwave-assisted self-assembly. • The stability of 1T MoS 2 is enhanced by in-situ Cu doping. • MoS 2 /Cu NWs anode exhibits improved rate capability and prolonged cycling life. 1T MoS 2 has recently attracted growing interests for energy storage due to the excellent conductivity, expanded layer space and extra exposed active sites. However, its application is still limited due to the complicated synthesis under harsh condition and poor structural stability. Herein, we report a novel MoS 2 /Cu nanowires (NWs) by microwave-assisted self-assembly of ultrathin 1T MoS 2 onto Cu NWs with interconnected conductive network and robust one-dimensional (1D) structure. As anode material for LIBs, 1T MoS 2 /Cu NWs exhibits high capacity and stability owning to the enhanced electron transport and lithium ions intercalation. Meanwhile, the enriched nanovoids supply extended space for buffering the volume change and boosting electrolyte penetration during cycling process. Moreover, Cu doped MoS 2 could also stabilize the 1T phase, leading to the excellent anode durability. It delivers a high reversible capacity of 570.6 mAh g−1 after 250 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g−1. Enhanced rate performance is also achieved with excellent capacity retention of 914.6 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 465.2 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermal conductivity of BSGF mixtures increased by 20–68% than bentonite sand mixtures. • The UCS and shear strength (cohesion) of BSGF mixtures improved by 12–23% and 21–48% than bentonite sand mixtures. • The addition of PPF reduce the connectivity of the crack network of BSGF mixtures. • Graphite and PPF improve the hydraulic conductivity mainly by inhibiting the swelling of bentonite. • From THM properties, the sand content should not be more than 27%. In accordance with the conception of repository, the performance of buffer materials around the canister are critical to the long-term safe operation of deep geological repositories for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). To investigate the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) properties of bentonite-sand-graphite-polypropylene fiber (BSGF) mixtures as buffer material, the thermal and hydraulic conductivity, swelling and cracking, strength tests were conducted in this paper. From the microscopic, the heat transfer mechanism, penetration mechanism, swelling mechanism and shear mechanism of BSGF mixtures were investigated in detail. Results revealed that the addition of graphite and polypropylene fiber (PPF) can significantly improve thermal conductivity and strength of BSGF mixtures. Compared with bentonite-sand mixtures, the thermal conductivity, the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and shear strength (cohesion) of BSGF mixtures increased by 20–68%, 12–23% and 21–48%, respectively. Nevertheless, the internal friction angle had little change. The addition of PPF controlled the width, area, and propagation of the cracks through the interlacing effect of the fibers. However, the addition of graphite and PPF can also hinder the development of swelling pressure and improve the hydraulic conductivity of BSGF mixtures. In addition, for BSGF mixtures used as buffer material of HLW storage, the sand content should be retained below 31% and 32% respectively to ensure the maximum swelling pressure and hydraulic conductivity to meet the requirements of the specification. From the view of heat dissipation and strength, sand content shall not exceed 30% and 27%, respectively. Therefore, the effective sand content should not exceed 27% considering the THM properties. This study provides a new buffer material for HLW deep geological repository and enhances the stability and functionality of HLW deep geological repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Inhibiting HCN channel attenuates nociceptive and depression-like behaviors. • HCN channel and GABA are likely to exert a role in both pain and comorbidity depression. • Expression levels of TRIP8b in hippocampus is down-regulated in SNI. Chronic neuropathic pain has demonstrated that coexisting psychiatric disorders are associated with disability and poorer treatment outcomes. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN, Ih) channels play a major role in pain via hyperexcitability and facilitation of ectopic firing in neurons. Neuronal hyperexcitability contributes to pain maintenance and anxiety/depression. GABA-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic neurotransmission in the brain is impaired in the pathophysiology of chronic neuropathic pain with comorbidity mood disorders. Currently, interaction of HCN channels and GABAergic synaptic transmission inhibition in neuropathic pain and the associated comorbidity anxiety/depression mechanism remains relatively unknown. To address this, the HCN channel inhibitor, ZD7288, was administrated to Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats after spared nerve injury (SNI). Our findings show that intracerebroventricular injection of ZD7288 concurrently attenuates co-existing nociceptive and depression-like behaviors, and increases glutamicacid decarboxylase (GAD67/65) expression and GABA levels in the hippocampus and thalamus with High-performance liquid chromatography technique. It suggests that inhibition of HCN channels is likely to decrease the hyperexcitability of neurons in rat SNI and improve the level of GABA. Further, HCN channel may offer a new strategy to alleviate both neuropathic pain and comorbidity for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBDs) tend to develop during adolescence. Their presence and especially co‐occurrence induce numerous disrupting consequences, including suicidality. A recently developed network analysis is suitable to investigate the symptom‐level structure of comorbid psychopathology. Rather than pairwise comorbidity networks, the current study investigated a comprehensive network of SEBDs at the symptom level and explored the differential relationships between symptoms of SEBDs and suicidality.Recruited from four public schools in China, a sample of adolescents (N = 6974, mean age = 15.84, 50.1% boys) were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and one suicidality‐related item. The cross‐sectional network structure of the SEBD symptoms was investigated. The differential associations between individual symptoms of SEBDs and suicidality were also explored with a relative importance analysis.The results showed that constantly fidgeting, worry a lot, unhappy, down‐hearted, tearful, and easily scared emerged as the most central symptoms in the network of SEBDs. Worry a lot, constantly fidgeting, lose my temper, and being bullied served as bridge symptoms, connecting various domains of SEBDs. In addition, the centrality of symptoms was positively associated with the variance shared with suicidality, with worry a lot and unhappy, down‐hearted, and tearful explaining a large portion of the variance of suicidality.Taken together, the results were indicative of close connections among emotional, hyperactivity‐inattention, peer, and conduct aspects of adolescent mental health difficulties, as well as the central role of emotional difficulties in the SEBDs network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, noninvasive imaging techniques and circulating biomarkers are still insufficient to accurately assess carotid plaque stability, and an in-depth understanding of the molecular mechanisms that contribute to plaque instability is still lacking. Methods: We established a clinical study cohort containing 182 patients with carotid artery stenosis. After screening, 39 stable and 49 unstable plaques were included in the discovery group, and quantitative proteomics analysis based on data independent acquisition was performed for these plaque samples. Additionally, 35 plaques were included in the validation group to validate the proteomics results by immunohistochemistry analysis. Results: A total of 397 differentially expressed proteins were identified in stable and unstable plaques. These proteins are primarily involved in ferroptosis and lipid metabolism-related functions and pathways. Plaque validation results showed that ferroptosis- and lipid metabolism-related proteins had different expression trends in stable plaques versus unstable fibrous cap regions and lipid core regions. Ferroptosis- and lipid metabolism-related mechanisms in plaque stability were discussed. Conclusions: Our results may provide a valuable strategy for revealing the mechanisms affecting plaque stability and will facilitate the discovery of specific biomarkers to broaden the therapeutic scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The continuously welded 2D nano-networks were constructed based on hierarchical phase separation. • The impact of the polymer concentrations on the phase behavior in the ternary system was investigated. • The synergistic effect of sieving and adhesion was used to capture the PM. • The interaction between PM and PVB nanowires was proposed. • The spider web-inspired membrane shows excellent air filtration performance and stable long-term recycling capacity. Air pollution has garnered significant worldwide attention; however, the existing air filtration materials still suffer from issues related to monotonous structure and the inherent trade-off between PM rejection and air permeability. Herein, a spider web-inspired composite membrane with continuous monolayer structured 2D nano-networks tightly welded on nanofibers in the electrospun membrane scaffold is designed via a hierarchical phase separation strategy. The resultant biomimetic hierarchical-structured membranes possess the integrated features of hierarchical multiscale structures of 2D ultrafine networks composed of nanowires with a diameter of 31 nm self-assembled by nanoparticles, exceptional characteristics involving small average aperture, extremely low network thickness, high porosity and promising pore channel connectivity, combined with rich surface polar functional groups (3.02D dipole moment). Consequently, the composite membrane exhibits a high PM 0.3 capture efficiency of 99.6 % and low pressure drop of 58.8 Pa, less than 0.06 % of atmosphere pressure, with outstanding long-term PM 2.5 recycling filtration performance. The hierarchical phase separation–driven 2D nano-networks construction strategy, by virtue of their feasibility and tunability, holds great promise for widespread application across diverse membrane-related domains for air filtration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of periodically poled domain structures in near-stoichiometric lithium tantalite, LiTaO3, (SLT) crystals exhibiting a low coercive field has become an important issue in the use of quasiphase-matching (QPM) devices. Temperature-induced backswitching in inverted domain structures in a 1.0 mol % MgO-doped SLT-QPM device with a QPM period of 6.1 μm used for the second harmonic generation of 488-nm-wavelength light was investigated using scanning force microscopy. It was revealed that backswitching consistently occurred due to heat treatment and that the amount was dependent on the temperature history. We propose an effective method of suppressing backswitching in the inverted domain structures of SLT-QPM devices on the basis of systematically analyzing the backswitching phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Unique popcorn-like nanosphere structure endows abundant active sites. • DFT theoretical calculation reveal the transfer pathway of charges. • Hierarchical tandem heterojunctions promote the separation of carriers. • The H 2 production efficiency is 50 times higher than the unmodified material. • It offers a new method for green energy conversion and hydrogen energy separation. Heterojunction engineering is widely recognized as one of the most effective strategies for enhancing photocatalytic performance and suppressing photocorrosion by promoting efficient carrier separation and transfer. In this work, popcorn-like ZnCdS-MoS 2 @Co 3 O 4 nanospheres with large specific surface areas and hierarchical tandem heterojunctions were synthesized via one-pot in-situ self-assembly combined with hole-driven photodeposition. Based on the highly uniform dispersion of MoS 2 as an electron collector in the system and precise deposition of Co 3 O 4 as a photogenerated hole collector driven by photogenerated carriers at the hole enrichment position, it can efficiently catalyze the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution in water. Compared to ZnCdS, the optimized ZCS-M@0.5C exhibits a 50-fold increase in visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution efficiency, achieving 18.73 mmol·h−1·g−1 and maintaining stability after a 20-hour cycle test. Additionally, the apparent quantum yield reaches a remarkable 10.11% at 420 nm. Experimental characterization tests and differential charge density analysis have confirmed the efficient ability of Pt-like MoS 2 to induce electron separation and transportation, while p-type semiconductor Co 3 O 4 accumulates holes through the p-n junction. Both theoretical and experimental evidence show that the incorporation of dual-internal electric fields facilitates bi-directional charge separation and rapid transfer. The photocatalytic performance is improved through a synergistic effect involving hierarchical tandem heterojunctions. This work presents a novel approach to fabricating highly efficient photocatalysts with multi-heterojunctions through synergistic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are molecular sponges that are involved in regulation of multiple types of cancer. The present study aimed to screen and explore the key circRNA/microRNA (miRNA or miR)/mRNA interactions in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using bioinformatics. A total of six pairs of cancerous and adjacent healthy tissue were obtained from patients with HNSCC and genome-wide transcriptional sequencing was performed. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed on differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Moreover, expression levels of DEGs were verified in HNSCC cells and tissues using reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q)PCR. A molecular regulatory network consisting of three circRNAs, seven miRNAs and seven mRNAs was constructed, resulting in identification of two signaling axes, hsa_circ_0035431/hsa-miR-940/fucosyltransferase 6 (FUT6) and hsa_circ_0035431/hsa-miR-940/cingulin-like 1 (CGNL1). FUT6 and CGNL1 were downregulated in HNSCC compared with adjacent healthy tissue and the expression levels of these genes were associated with tumor stage. Low FUT6 and CGNL1 expression levels were associated with lower overall survival rate and progression-free intervals in HNSCC. RT-qPCR demonstrated that hsa_circ_0035431, FUT6 and CGNL1 were downregulated in HNSCC cells and tissue and hsa-miR-940 was upregulated. Notably, these results were consistent with those obtained using high-throughput sequencing. In conclusion, hsa_circ_0035431 may participate in regulation of FUT6 and CGNL1 expression by sponging hsa-miR-940, thus, impacting the occurrence, development and prognosis of HNSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asphaltenes are important components of crude oil that stabilize oil-water emulsions. Due to their complex molecular nature, the connections between molecular structure and interfacial properties of asphaltenes remain unclear. In this work, the effects of polyaromatic cores size, length and the number of aliphatic side chains, and heteroatoms on the structural properties of asphaltenes in oil–water system are investigated by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD). The results show that the asphaltene molecules with larger aromatic cores are better for reducing the interfacial tension (IFT) of the system. The relationship between the interfacial activity of asphaltenes and the length of aliphatic side chains is not monotonic as the concentration increases. Asphaltene molecules with intermediate length and shorter length aliphatic side chains are effective in reducing IFT at lower and higher concentrations, respectively. The asphaltenes with more aliphatic side chains contribute more to the reduction of IFT at lower concentrations, but the side chains can hinder the adsorption of asphaltenes at the interface, which is not conducive to the stability of the system at higher concentrations. In addition, oxygen atoms in the molecular structure of asphaltenes are the key factors that promote the adsorption of asphaltenes to the interface and reduce the IFT. This detailed investigation of the behavior of asphaltenes would be useful to understand the role of asphaltenes in the formation of oil–water emulsions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, using biomass polydopamine (PDA) as an intermediate interface, ammonium polyphosphate (APP), PDA, and ZIF-67 were combined into a ternary inorganic organic hybrid flame retardant (A@P-Z). Compared with the flame retardant system composed of a physical mixture of APP and ZIF-67, the hybrid flame retardant not only strengthened the mechanical properties of RPUF composites owing to its good compatibility but also emerged with low total heat release, low total smoke production, and low peak CO production rate in cone calorimetry tests. RPUF/A@P-Z passed the UL-94 V-0 rating, which presented high flame-retardant efficiency of inorganic organic hybrid flame retardants and industrial application value of the composites. Due to the contribution of synergistic catalysis, the residual char of RPUF/A@P-Z showed high graphitization and high-quality char composition in a rich, rigid structure, which produced an outstanding charring effect and barrier effect. The hybrid flame retardant also produced an impressive flame inhibition effect in the gas phase, inhibiting the production of organic fragments and releasing phosphorus-containing and nitrogen-containing gaseous compounds with free radical quenching and diluting effects. This work provides a new and efficient way to prepare high-performance RPUF composites using inorganic organic hybrid flame retardants. [Display omitted] • A ternary inorganic organic hybrid flame retardant with uniformly distributed MOF on the surface (A@P-Z). • Excellent interfacial compatibility of A@P-Z with the matrix, enhancing the mechanical properties of RPUF composites. • RPUF/A@P-Z composites with 10 wt% fillers showed outstanding flame-retardant efficiency. • RPUF/A@P-Z composites passed the engineering application standard, namely, the UL-94 V-0 rating. • A@P-Z exhibited significant inhibition of the release of smoke and CO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale model sizes and expensive computing costs cause the challenge of deploying and applying large pre-trained models. Hence, this paper presents a novel Triple Concepts Attention Mechanism and a lightweight TCAMixer model for edge devices to classify texts. Furthermore, the TCAMixer abstracts textual concepts in a human way, which is unmatched by other counterparts such as pNLP-Mixer (a projection-based MLP-Mixer model for Nature Language Processing) and HyperMixer (a hyper network using dynamic token-mixing layers). Experimental results on several public datasets demonstrate that the TCAMixer outperforms the counterparts by a significant margin, for example, achieving 3% higher accuracy with a smaller model size of 0.177M. Additionally, the TCAMixer achieves a performance of 85% to 98.7% compared to that of large pre-trained models but only occupies 1/3000 to 1/2000 of their size on most test datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical etching properties of ferroelectric LiTaO3 crystal in near-stoichiometric compositions were quantitatively investigated with various ratios of HF and HNO3 acid mixtures by scanning force microscopy in the nanoscale range. Along with congruent LiTaO3 crystal, the -Z surfaces of near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 crystal were etched preferentially with pure HF acid and mixtures of HF and HNO3 acids. The etching rates on the -Z surface of near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 crystal were slower than that of congruent LiTaO3 crystal. The roughness (peak to peak) of etched surfaces were about 2 nm after being etched in all ratios of HF and HNO3 acids to a 70-nm etch depth. The temperature dependence of the etch rate followed the Arrhenius law. By taking advantage of the chemical preferential etching properties, precision surface structures could be fabricated on near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Tomato male sterile-1526 locus was fine-mapped to an interval of 44.6 kb, and a B-class MADS-box gene TM6 was identified as the candidate gene. Male sterile lines have been widely used for hybrid seed production in many crop plants. The tomato male sterile-1526 (ms-1526) mutant displays abnormal stamens and exerted stigmas and is suitable for practical use. In this study, the ms-1526 locus was fine-mapped to a 44.6 kb interval that contained four putative genes. Thereinto, Solyc02g084630 encodes tomato B-class MADS-box gene TM6 (syn. TDR6), which plays an important role in stamen development. Sequencing revealed that there was a 12.7 kb deletion in the ms-1526 region, where the promoter and first four exons of the TM6 gene were absent. ms-1547, an allele of ms-1526, also contained the same deletion in the TM6 gene. And the other allele ms-15 mutant contained a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, C to A) in the coding region of the TM6 gene, which led to a missense mutation (G to W). The codominant insertion/deletion (InDel) marker MS26D and codominant derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS) marker MS15C were developed based on the deletion and SNP, respectively. A real-time quantitative reverse-transcription PCR showed that expression of the TM6 gene was barely detectable in the flowers of the ms-1526 and ms-1547 mutants. In addition, other floral organ identity genes, pollen development marker genes, and pistil marker genes were differentially expressed between wild type and mutant flowers. These findings may facilitate functional analysis of the TM6 gene and help in the marker-assisted selection of ms-15 and its alleles in tomato breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of the Holocene summer monsoon maximum (HSMM) in northeastern China has been much debated and more quantitative precipitation records are needed to resolve the issue. In the present study, Holocene precipitation and temperature changes were quantitatively reconstructed from a pollen record from the sediments of Tianchi Crater Lake in northeastern China using a plant functional type-modern analogue technique (PFT-MAT). The reconstructed precipitation record indicates a gradual increase during the early to mid-Holocene and a HSMM at ~5500–3100 cal yr BP, while the temperature record exhibits a divergent pattern with a marked rise in the early Holocene and a decline thereafter. The trend of reconstructed precipitation is consistent with that from other pollen records in northeastern China, confirming the relatively late occurrence of the HSMM in the region. However, differences in the onset of the HSMM within northeastern China are also evident. No single factor appears to be responsible for the late occurrence of the HSMM in northeastern China, pointing to a potentially complex forcing mechanism of regional rainfall in the East Asian monsoon region. We suggest that further studies are needed to understand the spatiotemporal pattern of the HSMM in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) varies significantly among patients. This study aimed to identify baseline characteristics that could predict super-response to CRT and to evaluate the long-term prognosis in super-responders. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 73 consecutive patients who received CRT. Patients were considered as super-responders after 6-month follow-up when NYHA class reduction to I or II combined with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 50% was observed. Patients were divided into super-responders group and non-super-responders group. All-cause mortality or hospitalization for heart failure (HF) was referred to the combined end point. Results. 17 (23.3%) patients were super-responders. HF duration, left atrial dimension (LAD), and left bundle branch block (LBBB) were independent predictors of super-response to CRT. The combination of HF duration and LAD could provide more robust prediction of super-response than standalone HF duration (0.899 versus 0.789, Z = 2.207, P = 0.027) or standalone LAD (0.899 versus 0.775, Z = 2.487, P = 0.013). super-responders had excellent LV reverse remodeling. The cumulative incidences of combined end point were significantly lower in the super-responders group, LAD ≤ 42mm group, and combination of HF duration ≤ 48 months and LAD ≤ 42mm group. LBBB remained associated with a lowered risk of the combined end point (HR: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.07-0.57, P = 0.003), whereas LAD was associated with a raised risk of the combined end point (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02-1.17, P = 0.014). Conclusions. HF duration, LAD, and LBBB independently predicted super-response. The combination of HF duration and LAD makes more robust prediction of CRT super-response. Super-responders had excellent LV reverse remodeling and decreased the incidences of the combined end point. LBBB and LAD were independently associated with the combined end point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyse the heavy metals in the mixed solution,the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) of the MgCl 2 solution was measured with the single pulse LIBS technique applied flexibly in experiment.The time revolution properties of Mg LIBS signal in the solution,the dependence relationship of the LIBS signal on the laser energy,and the detection limit of the LIBS technique were also investigated systematically.Through studying the spectral characteristics of different parameters on the impact on the LIBS,it determines the optimal laser energy of LIBS for measuring the metal elements in MgCl 2 solution.The results also show that there are peculiar time revolution properties of the LIBS signal in liquid.The lifetime of LIBS signal in liquid samples is shorter about dozens of ns than that in solid samples.Meanwhile,the LIBS signal intensity changes quickly,LIBS signal intensity and S/B gradually decrease with the liquid concentration diminishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]