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The least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) is often employed to model data with a nonlinear distribution using a divide-and-conquer strategy. However, when nonlinear data are contaminated by either noise or outliers, LS-SVM is often an ineffective approach due to a lack of robustness. In this paper, a collaborative learning-based clustered LS-SVM method is proposed for modeling of nonlinear processes that are subject to noise or outliers. First, a large-scale dataset is divided into several subsets and the data distribution of each subset is estimated. A robust LS-SVM is then developed to represent each subset using this distributional information. A global model is further constructed through integration of all submodels, whose continuity and smoothness are ensured by the development of the collaborative learning technique. As a result, the proposed method considers both the nonlinear distribution of data and the robustness of each submodel, and ensures the continuity and smoothness of the global model. Thus, it can effectively model nonlinear data that is subject to either noise or outliers. As further validation of this approach, both artificial and real cases demonstrated its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis is a common systemic skeletal disorder resulting in bone fragility and increased fracture risk. It is still necessary to explore its detailed mechanisms and identify novel targets for the treatment of osteoporosis. Previously, we found that a lncRNA named GAS5 in human could negatively regulate the lipoblast/adipocyte differentiation. However, it is still unclear whether GAS5 affects osteoblast differentiation and whether GAS5 is associated with osteoporosis. Our current research found that GAS5 was decreased in the bones and BMSCs, a major origin of osteoblast, of osteoporosis patients. Mechanistically, GAS5 promotes the osteoblast differentiation by interacting with UPF1 to degrade SMAD7 mRNA. Moreover, a decreased bone mass and impaired bone repair ability were observed in Gas5 heterozygous mice, manifesting in osteoporosis. The systemic supplement of Gas5-overexpressing adenoviruses significantly ameliorated bone loss in an osteoporosis mouse model. In conclusion, GAS5 promotes osteoblast differentiation by targeting the UPF1/SMAD7 axis and protects against osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmonic leakage inductance occupies a high proportion in the synchronous inductance of fractional slot concentrated winding permanent magnet synchronous motor (FSCW‐PMSM), and the synchronous inductance determines the operating performance of the motor. To calculate the harmonic leakage inductance and synchronous inductance of the FSCW‐PMSM fed by inverters, two‐dimensional finite element analysis and the analytical method are used to study the influence of time‐harmonic current on the harmonic leakage inductance of the three‐phase FSCW‐PMSM in this study, and the influence mechanism is revealed. The relationship between the time‐harmonic magnetic field and space harmonic magnetic field is obtained, and the harmonic leakage coefficient and the working harmonic coefficient with different slot‐pole combinations are investigated. The results show that the time‐harmonic current can reduce the harmonic leakage inductance and increase the magnetising inductance, but has little effect on the synchronous inductance under the unsaturated condition. A prototype was manufactured and tested to verify the accuracy of the analysis model. The research results provide beneficial help for the design of the three‐phase FSCW‐PMSM fed by inverters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present a complete and simplified solution procedure for the inventory model under trapezoidal type demand, Weibull-distributed deterioration, and partial backlogging. A published paper already provide a solution approach for this kind of inventory models. However, we will show that his approach is too complicated that depending on the partition the domain of a trapezoidal type demand to result in three sub-optimal problems. However, this paper will show that the already exist approach is correct but tedious. Moreover, a generalization of this kind of inventory systems from a trapezoidal type demand to any positive demand under a condition of generalized backlogged rate is also developed by this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional multi-physics model of the effect of process parameters on the evolution of the solid–liquid interface during solidification of large-scale Ti-6 wt% Al-4 wt% V (TC4) alloy by[Ballantyne, 1977 #483] (VAR) and a macroscopic model of grain nucleation and growth was established. The simulation results qualitatively reveal the evolution of solid–liquid interface and central cross-sectional solidification structure under various melting conditions, indicating that the melting zone depth increased while the mushy zone width and the number of grains decreased with the increase of melting power; the depth of the melting zone and the width of the mushy zone increase sharply with the increase in solidification velocity, the average grain radius increased, while the number of grains decreased; when the ingot diameter increased from 260 mm to 660 mm, the depth of the melting zone increased and gradually remained stable, and the width of the mushy zone gradually decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carpal tunnel is geometrically irregular due to the complex composition of many carpal bones intercalated by numerous intercarpal ligaments. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative contributions of the ligament and bone arches to carpal tunnel space at the proximal, middle, and distal tunnel regions. A catheter ultrasound probe acquired fan-like images inside cadaveric carpal tunnels for three-dimensional reconstruction of the tunnel. The total tunnel volume was 5367.6 ± 940.1 mm3 with contributions of 12.0%, 6.9%, and 4.1% by proximal, middle, and distal ligament arches, respectively, and 27.0%, 25.3%, and 24.7% by proximal, middle, and distal bone arches, respectively. The bone arch occupied more tunnel space than the ligament arch at all regions (p < 0.05). The ligament arch was largest at the proximal region of the tunnel and significantly decreased toward the distal region (p < 0.05). However, the bone arch significantly decreased only from the proximal to middle region (p < 0.05) but not from the middle to distal region (p = 0.311). Consequently, it was observed that the ligament arch was the key contributor to the unequal carpal tunnel space across regions. Partitional and regional tunnel morphometric information may provide a better understanding of tunnel abnormality associated with various wrist pathological conditions. The developed framework of ultrasonography and data processing can be applied to other areas of interest in the musculoskeletal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drugs that promote angiogenesis include statins, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and stromal cell-derived factor-1. Low doses of atorvastatin could significantly increase the vascular expressions of endothelial growth factor, and the number of peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), thus improving angiogenesis and local blood flow. G-CSF is an EPC-mobilization agent used in ischemia studies for targeting angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia via EPCs. In previous clinical trials, consistent conclusions have not been reached about the effectiveness of G-CSF on ischemic stroke. Therefore, the therapeutic effect of G-CSF and its combination with other medicines need further experimental verification. It is known that atorvastatin, rhG-CSF, and SDF-1 are considered the most promising neuroprotective candidates, but a comprehensive comparison of their effects is lacking. Aims: To compare the effects of atorvastatin, stromal cell-derived factor-1, and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on ischemic stroke. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to three groups: normal, sham-operated, and middle cerebral artery occlusion operated. Middle cerebral artery occlusion operated rats were further allocated into saline, atorvastatin, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor + stromal cell-derived factor-1 groups. Neurological function evaluation, cerebral infarction and the blood–brain barrier integrity analysis, identification of angiogenic factors, assessment of angiogenesis, expression of growth-associated protein-43, neuroglobin, glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, and cleaved caspase 3, were performed. Results: Compared with atorvastatin or recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor alone, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor + stromal cell-derived factor-1 treatment improved neurological performance, reduced cerebral infarction and blood–brain barrier disruption after stroke, and increased the content of stromal cell-derived factor-1, vascular endothelial growth factor, monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and basic fibroblast growth factor in peripheral blood. In addition, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor + stromal cell-derived factor-1 promoted greater angiogenesis than atorvastatin or recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor alone and increased the expression of growth-associated protein-43, neuroglobin, and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor, while decreasing the levels of cleaved caspase 3 in the brain after ischemic stroke. Conclusions: Combination therapy with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and stromal cell-derived factor-1 is more effective than atorvastatin or recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor alone in protecting against stroke-induced damage and could be an optimal therapeutic strategy for stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric-LC resonators (ELCs) metamaterials, as a kind of common structures, have been extensively investigated from microwave to terahertz frequencies. In this paper, we present a LC circuit model to analyze electric-LC resonator. With the reliable and closed formulas of the effective inductance and capacitance, the expressions of electric and magnetic resonance frequencies were obtained, which is suitable to discuss the resonance characteristic under the normal incidence case. Meanwhile, the mutual relationships among the permittivity, permeability, refractive index, and structure parameters can be explored by using the obtained expressions. Numerical simulations and theoretical calculations reveal that the width and length of the gaps are some of the critical parameters determining the resonator frequency of the example metamaterial. This study provides valuable information for designing the desired left-hand metamaterial at some specific frequency points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carpal tunnel is geometrically irregular due to the complex composition of many carpal bones intercalated by numerous intercarpal ligaments. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative contributions of the ligament and bone arches to carpal tunnel space at the proximal, middle, and distal tunnel regions. A catheter ultrasound probe acquired fan-like images inside cadaveric carpal tunnels for three-dimensional reconstruction of the tunnel. The total tunnel volume was 5367.6 ± 940.1 mm3 with contributions of 12.0%, 6.9%, and 4.1% by proximal, middle, and distal ligament arches, respectively, and 27.0%, 25.3%, and 24.7% by proximal, middle, and distal bone arches, respectively. The bone arch occupied more tunnel space than the ligament arch at all regions (p < 0.05). The ligament arch was largest at the proximal region of the tunnel and significantly decreased toward the distal region (p < 0.05). However, the bone arch significantly decreased only from the proximal to middle region (p < 0.05) but not from the middle to distal region (p = 0.311). Consequently, it was observed that the ligament arch was the key contributor to the unequal carpal tunnel space across regions. Partitional and regional tunnel morphometric information may provide a better understanding of tunnel abnormality associated with various wrist pathological conditions. The developed framework of ultrasonography and data processing can be applied to other areas of interest in the musculoskeletal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The frontal-limbic circuit is hypothesized as sub-serving emotional regulation. We performed whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analysis by studying the key hubs of frontal-limbic circuit: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral insula subregions, bilateral amygdala (Amy) as seeds, separately, to discriminate bipolar depression (BipD) from unipolar depression (UniD).Methods: We compared seed-based rs-FC of the frontal-limbic seeds with whole brain among 23 BipD participants; 23 age, gender, and depression severity matched patients with UniD, and 23 healthy controls (HCs). We also used support vector machine learning to study classification based on the rs-FC of ACC, bilateral insula subregions, and bilateral Amy seeds with whole brain.Results: BipD showed increased rs-FC between the left ventral anterior insula (vAI) seed and the left anterior supramarginal gyrus (aSMG) and left postcentral gyrus, as well as increased rs-FC between left amygdala seed and the left aSMG when compared to HCs and UniD. Compared to UniD, BipD was associated with increased rs-FC between right dorsal anterior insula seed and right superior frontal gyrus, as well as increased rs-FC between left posterior insula seed and right precentral gyrus and right thalamus. Combined rs-FC of ACC, bilateral insula subregions and bilateral Amy seeds with the whole brain discriminated BipD from UniD with an accuracy of 91.30%.Conclusions: Rs-FC of the emotional regulation circuit is more widely disturbed in BipD than UniD. Using rs-FC with this circuit may lead to further developments in diagnostic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binder jetting is an additive manufacturing process utilizing a liquid-based binding agent to selectively join the material in a powder bed. It is capable of manufacturing complex-shaped parts from a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, and polymers. This paper provides a comprehensive review on currently available reports on metal binder jetting from both academia and industry. Critical factors and their effects in metal binder jetting are reviewed and divided into two categories, namely material-related factors and process-related parameters. The reported data on density, dimensional and geometric accuracy, and mechanical properties achieved by metal binder jetting are summarized. With parameter optimization and a suitable sintering process, ten materials have been proven to achieve a relative density of higher than 90%. Indepth discussion is provided regarding densification as a function of various attributes of powder packing, printing, and post-processing. A few grades of stainless steel obtained equivalent or superior mechanical properties compared to cold working. Although binder jetting has gained its popularity in the past several years, it has not been sufficiently studied compared with other metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes such as powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition. Some aspects that need further research include the understanding of powder spreading process, binder-powder interaction, and part shrinkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Northern Thailand's Chiang Khong district, which lies along the banks of the Mekong River and the Thai‐Lao border, an community‐based environmental movement under the leadership of the Rak Chiang Khong conservation group emerged in response to processes that have appropriated territories traditionally used by locals for state‐led economic exploitation. The Rak Chiang Khong has put up fierce opposition to large‐scale development projects such as the China‐led navigation project, which planned to blast ecologically and culturally significant rapids, and hydropower dam development along the Mekong River. As a result, local‐level governance arrangements of the transboundary commons in Chiang Khong have shifted to counter threats both within and beyond the borders of Thailand. Through adapting fishing arrangements, engaging in community‐led research and establishing village conservation zones, overlapping forms of territorialisation have emerged in response to socio‐ecological changes to the river. These new forms of territorialisation are produced by complex configurations of political, cultural, and ecological histories, politicaleconomic changes, and transboundary dynamics. These territorial strategies have been key towards reclaiming the transboundary commons of the Mekong River for riparian communities, and providing a deeper understanding of the values that drive community involvement in the transboundary environmental governance of the Mekong River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeds kept in long-term storage are essential for maintaining genetic resources of crops and other plant materials in seed banks and national germplasm systems. But seeds undergo chemical changes over time as part of the ageing process that result in reduced germination rates and seedling normalcy. For example, oilseed crops such as peanuts are particularly vulnerable to oxidation and rancidification due to their high oil content. To test the effect of storage time on seed oil in peanuts, we grew different accessions and harvested fresh seeds to compare the oil composition of new seeds with seeds aged in storage for varying lengths of time. Out of the nine fatty acids detected and measured by gas chromatography, five including oleic, gadoleic, behenic, lignoceric and cerotic acids differed significantly between new and old seeds. Additionally, old seeds accumulated up to four oxidation products together averaging about 1% of the total oil composition. The concentration of these oxidation products was positively correlated with the age of the seeds, increasing linearly up to more than 6% of the total in the oldest seeds. The presence and concentration of oxidation products measured using simple chromatography techniques can be used as an initial indication of quality and viability in older seed inventories stored in germplasm repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound waves could improve the growth and increase yield. However, it could be a form of environmental stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of audible sound on the growth and endogenous hormones of strawberry plants (Fragaria_ananassa). Five endogenous hormones, namely Indole-3-acetic Acid (IAA), Gibberellin (GA), Abscisic Acid (ABA), Jasmonic acid (JA) and Zeatin Riboside (ZR) have been investigated. Plants were exposed to sound frequency of 0.1 - 1 kHz and sound pressure level (SPL) of 70 - 100 dB for 2 hours, 3 hours and 5 hours at different growth stages. Results revealed that plants had different responses to sound waves at different growth stages. Acoustic frequency could accelerate the blooming and the flowering rates in a short run. In contrast, exposing plants to sound for more than 3 hours per day for a long run more than 40 days could inhibit the growth. However, sound treatment could significantly accelerate the blooming and the flowering rates. The maximum concentration of ABA was in leaves of the treated plants for 90 days, each day for 5 hours. Whereas, mean of IAA levels in leaves of control plants was insignificantly higher than those of the treated plants for 5 hours and 2 hours after 90 days of sound treatment. Moreover, no significant difference was found in the concentration of JA in leaves between all treated plants and control plants after 75 and 90 days. In conclusion, audible sound could stimulate or inhibit the growth of strawberry plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thalassemia is the most common monogenic disorder around the world. Based on the principle of genotype–phenotype correlation, identification of thalassemia mutations is the essential prerequisite for clinical diagnosis and management. Because only common mutations are routinely detected, the identification of rare or undetermined mutations is a challenge for clinical laboratories. Herein, a proband presenting with inconsistent phenotype–genotype correlation after routine molecular screening was investigated by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), targeted-next generation sequencing (targeted-NGS), gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR) and Sanger sequencing. Eventually, a novel 71.8 kb deletion (– −71.8) was identified and characterized, which included HBZ (ζ), HBA2 (α2), and HBA1 (α1) genes and was causing α0-thalassemia (α0-thal). Furthermore, we summarized a practical procedure based on accumulated experience in studies and clinical practice, which can be a guide for molecular screening and clinical diagnosis of thalassemia, especially for identification of undetermined or novel mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The remarkable abilities of the human brain are distinctive features that set us apart from other animals. However, our understanding of how the brain has changed in the human lineage remains incomplete, but is essential for understanding cognition, behavior, and brain disorders in humans. Here, we compared the expression trajectory in brain development between humans and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to explore their divergent transcriptome profiles. Results: Results showed that brain development could be divided into two stages, with a demarcation date in a range between 25 and 26 postconception weeks (PCW) for humans and 17-23PCWfor rhesus macaques, rather than birth time that have been widely used as a uniform demarcation time of neurodevelopment across species. Dynamic network biomarker (DNB) analysis revealed that the two demarcation dates were transition phases during brain development, after which the brain transcriptome profiles underwent critical transitions characterized by highly fluctuating DNB molecules. We also found that changes between early and later brain developmental stages (as defined by the demarcation points) were substantially greater in the human brain than in the macaque brain. To explore the molecular mechanism underlying prolonged timing during early human brain development, we carried out expression heterochrony tests. Results demonstrated that compared to macaques, more heterochronic genes exhibited neoteny during early human brain development, consistent with the delayed demarcation time in the human lineage, and proving that neoteny in human brain development could be traced to the prenatal period. We further constructed transcriptional networks to explore the profile of early human brain development and identified the hub gene RBFOX1 as playing an important role in regulating early brain development. We also found RBFOX1 evolved rapidly in its non-coding regions, indicating that this gene played an important role in human brain evolution. Our findings provide evidence that RBFOX1 is a likely key hub gene in early human brain development and evolution. Conclusions: By comparing gene expression profiles between humans and macaques, we found divergent expression trajectories between the two species, which deepens our understanding of the evolution of the human brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated whether patients with a history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are at increased risk of developing psoriasis.Methods: We enrolled 66 274 patients with HPV infection between 1997 and 2013 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, and compared them with control individuals who had never been diagnosed with HPV infection (at a 1:4 ratio matched by age, sex and index year) in relation to the risk of developing psoriasis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with the control group as reference.Results: The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) was 1.177 (95% CI, 1.010-1.373) after adjusting for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, dermatology-related outpatient visits and medications. The HPV group had an increased risk of psoriasis compared with the control group in all of the different age groups. The P-value for interaction between age and exposure of HPV is 0.009 in our sub-group analysis.Conclusions: A higher risk of psoriasis was found after HPV infection, and age acted as an effect modifier between the HPV infection and risk of psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation is common following cardiac and non-cardiac thoracic surgery and is associated with poorer outcomes, including: increased risk of stroke, hemodynamic instability, prolonged hospital stay, and increased mortality. Current understanding suggests that post-op atrial fibrillation results from the interplay of local and systemic operative inflammation, increased sympathetic activity, perhaps the release of free radical species in the perioperative period, and the patient's underlying cardiac substrate. Cardiac denervation following orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) using modern bicaval techniques presents a unique opportunity to study the relative contribution of the autonomic nervous system to post-op atrial fibrillation susceptibility. Observational studies show a reduced incidence of post-operative atrial fibrillation following orthotopic heart transplant compared to other cardiac and thoracic surgeries. Moreover, comparison of atrial fibrillation rates with double lung transplant recipients suggests that cardiac denervation has a contribution apart from surgical pulmonary vein isolation alone. This report reviews current concepts of the mechanisms of post-op atrial fibrillation with a focus on the role of the autonomic nervous system, the autonomic regulation of the native heart, and evidence regarding the impact of cardiac denervation following OHT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of spatial observations on a sphere is important in areas such as geosciences, physics and embryo research, just to name a few. The purpose of the package rcosmo is to conduct efficient information processing, visualisation, manipulation and spatial statistical analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation and other spherical data. The package was developed for spherical data stored in the Hierarchical Equal Area isoLatitude Pixelation (Healpix) representation. rcosmo has more than 100 different functions. Most of them initially were developed for CMB, but also can be used for other spherical data as rcosmo contains tools for transforming spherical data in cartesian and geographic coordinates into the HEALPix representation. We give a general description of the package and illustrate some important functionalities and benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Late-onset myasthenia gravis (LOMG) is one of the major subgroups of the MG. Intensive evidence suggested that polymorphisms in HLA-DRB1 gene were associated with LOMG risk, but the results remained inconsistent. Therefore, a meta-analysis is conducted to make a more precise evaluation between HLA-DRB1 alleles and LOMG.Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wan Fang and Technology of Chongqing (VIP) Database were searched for eligible studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess the association between HLA-DRB1 alleles and LOMG.Results: A total of 11 studies involving 5513 people were included in our meta-analysis. The results showed that DRB1 07 and 0403 alleles were risk factors for LOMG (1.83 [1.12, 2.98], P = 0.02; 7.05 [2.62, 18.92], P = 0.0001, respectively), while DRB1 0301 and 1301 alleles were identified as protective factors for LOMG (0.44 [0.31, 0.62], P < 0.00001; 0.38 [0.23, 0.62], P = 0.0001, respectively). As for the HLA-DRB1 04 and 14 alleles, our subgroup analysis showed that there were significant associations between these alleles and LOMG in Caucasians (2.21 [1.14, 4.27], P = 0.02; 2.82 [1.29, 6.14], P = 0.009, respectively).Conclusions: These results confirmed the association of DRB1 alleles (0301, 04, 0403, 07, 1301, and 14) and LOMG, which might provide potential promising biomarkers for prediction of LOMG risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most pressing challenges for light‐driven hydrogel actuators include reliance on UV light, slow response, poor mechanical properties, and limited functionalities. Now, a supramolecular design strategy is used to address these issues. Key is the use of a benzylimine‐functionalized anthracene group, which red‐shifts the absorption into the visible region and also stabilizes the supramolecular network through π–π interactions. Acid–ether hydrogen bonds are incorporated for energy dissipation under mechanical deformation and maintaining hydrophilicity of the network. This double‐crosslinked supramolecular hydrogel developed via a simple synthesis exhibits a unique combination of high strength, rapid self‐healing, and fast visible‐light‐driven shape morphing both in the wet and dry state. As all of the interactions are dynamic, the design enables the structures to be recycled and reprogrammed into different 3D objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most pressing challenges for light‐driven hydrogel actuators include reliance on UV light, slow response, poor mechanical properties, and limited functionalities. Now, a supramolecular design strategy is used to address these issues. Key is the use of a benzylimine‐functionalized anthracene group, which red‐shifts the absorption into the visible region and also stabilizes the supramolecular network through π–π interactions. Acid–ether hydrogen bonds are incorporated for energy dissipation under mechanical deformation and maintaining hydrophilicity of the network. This double‐crosslinked supramolecular hydrogel developed via a simple synthesis exhibits a unique combination of high strength, rapid self‐healing, and fast visible‐light‐driven shape morphing both in the wet and dry state. As all of the interactions are dynamic, the design enables the structures to be recycled and reprogrammed into different 3D objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telomeres are specific nucleoprotein structures that are located at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes and play crucial roles in genomic stability. Telomere DNA consists of simple repeats of a short G-rich sequence: TTAGGG in mammals and TTTAGGG in most plants. In recent years, the mammalian telomeric G-rich repeats have been shown to form G-quadruplex (G4) structures, which are crucial for modulating telomere functions. Surprisingly, even though plant telomeres are essential for plant growth, development, and environmental adaptions, only few reports exist on plant telomeric G4 DNA (pTG4). Here, using bulk and single-molecule assays, including CD spectroscopy, and single-molecule FRET approaches, we comprehensively characterized the structure and dynamics of a typical plant telomeric sequence, d[GGG(TTTAGGG)3]. We found that this sequence can fold into mixed G4s in potassium, including parallel and antiparallel structures. We also directly detected intermediate dynamic transitions, including G-hairpin, parallel G-triplex, and antiparallel G-triplex structures. Moreover, we observed that pTG4 is unfolded by the AtRecQ2 helicase but not by AtRecQ3. The results of our work shed light on our understanding about the existence, topological structures, stability, intermediates, unwinding, and functions of pTG4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond performance of mortar anchor under dynamic load was simulated by dynamic pull-out test of steel bar. The influence of the loading rate, anchoring length and mortar strength on the bond performance was analyzed. The results showed that with the increase of the loading rate, the peak of bond stress increased gradually and the rising part of the bond stress curve changed rapidly. Meanwhile, the strain of the steel along the anchoring depth gradually decreased and the decreasing rate increased gradually. With the increase of the anchoring length, the sum of the bond stress at each point in the anchoring section increased gradually and the bond performance improved. With the increase of the mortar strength, the peak of the bond stress curve moved toward the loading end and the distance transferred by the bond stress along the anchoring depth was small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpreting the results of clinical trials is challenging. An author's inbuilt biases or initial assumptions can produce an interpretation which may not actually be implicit in the clinical trial itself. This paper engages with a study authored by X.K. Wu, et al., on using acupuncture to treat infertility due to polycystic ovary syndrome. Wu's paper was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Through reinterpretation of Wu's clinical trial results and comparison with other related studies, this paper will suggest that Wu's conclusion about the relative effects of acupuncture could be reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aedes aegypti is the principal mosquito vector for many arboviruses that increasingly infect millions of people every year. With an escalating burden of infections and the relative failure of traditional control methods, the development of innovative control measures has become of paramount importance. The use of gene drives has sparked significant enthusiasm for genetic control of mosquitoes; however, no such system has been developed in Ae. aegypti. To fill this void, here we develop several CRISPR-based split gene drives for use in this vector. With cleavage rates up to 100% and transmission rates as high as 94%, mathematical models predict that these systems could spread anti-pathogen effector genes into wild populations in a safe, confinable and reversible manner appropriate for field trials and effective for controlling disease. These findings could expedite the development of effector-linked gene drives that could safely control wild populations of Ae. aegypti to combat local pathogen transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of all the Proteus spp., Proteus mirabilis is the most common species identified in clinical specimens and is a leading agent of complicated urinary tract infection. This study was undertaken to understand the antimicrobial susceptibility, prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes, and molecular typing of P. mirabilis isolates collected from three hospitals in northern Taiwan. The results showed that the collected isolates of P. mirabilis were susceptible to most antibiotics except cefazolin and tigecycline. Many resistance genes were detected in the collected isolates, of which TEM genes were the most common. Resistance to third- or fourth-generation cephalosporins was related to the presence of at least one of the tested extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) or AmpC genes. The presence of the VEB-1 gene seemed to be a good predictor for both cefepime and ceftazidime resistance, which was further supported by quantitative polymerase chain reaction results. Of the four imipenem-resistant P. mirabilis isolates, three isolates could hydrolyze imipenem by mass spectrometry analysis. Molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that the pulsotyping of the selected P. mirabilis isolates was heterogeneous. By analyzing the relationship of antimicrobial resistance and the presence of resistance genes, revision of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute cefepime and ceftazidime MIC breakpoints for Enterobacteriaceae to predict ESBL producers might possibly be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of cellulose sources on the physico-chemical properties of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) for various applications. The results showed that MCC prepared from non-wood resources including cotton stalk, bamboo, and sisal was comparable to MCC made from wood in α-cellulose content, pH, moisture content, crystallinity index (CrI), and moisture sorption capacity. However, the ash content, polymerization degree, thermal stability, and mechanical properties, including tablet hardness and tensile strength, of MCC were strongly dependent upon the cellulose sources. The crystalline size (002) had no effect on the mechanical properties of the prepared MCC. The order of the obtained mechanical properties was softwood > hardwood > cotton stalk > bamboo > sisal. Compared with the less obvious variation for bamboo and sisal, the tablet hardness for wood and cotton stalk MCC noticeably decreased in correlation with increased MCC particle sizes. In addition, compared to the polycaprolactone (PCL) neat film, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of PCL/MCC films were improved by 16.0% to 42.5% and 62.7% to 82.0%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a method for retrieving the line charge density and the current of a downward leader based on ground observations of lightning images and electric field changes was proposed and examined. The method was then applied to two downward negative leaders in a rocket-triggered lightning discharge with measurements of broadband interferometric images and electric field changes at close distance. Only the descending channel portion between about 900–400 m high of the two leaders were analyzed, where the channel was in free air rather than the trace of triggering wire. The line charge density for both leaders showed a general increasing trend with a big impulsive change around 500 m high, as the leaders moved downward, which was in good agreement with the prediction of existing downward leader models. The range of the line charge density was similar for the two leaders (−0.03 to −0.32 mC/m and −0.02 to −0.33 mC/m, respectively). The impulsive change of the line charge density was corresponding to a sharp turn of the leader channel around 500 m high, which may imply that the sharp turn of the leader channel was probably associated with a pre-existing local positive space charge pocket. The estimated leader currents for two leaders (−20 to −315 A and −77 to −541 A, respectively) were also in good agreement with independent estimations in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies the multiple-regime panel smooth transition regression (MR-PSTR) estimation to investigate the non-linear dynamic relationship between a firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm growth in the food industry under the size threshold, using a panel of 30 Taiwanese food firms during 2007-2017. Our empirical results reveal that firm growth and firm size present a non-linear relationship, and that firm growth is different under the size threshold value and the control variables of firm age, CSR, R&D innovation, and finance policy. Corporate social responsibility helps reduce business risk. Regardless of the type and size, for many food industries, CSR is no longer an arbitrary choice, but an essential requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using in situ resistance measurements on diamond anvil cell, we have monitored the pressure and temperature dependence of the CaB6 electronic transport properties. We report that CaB6 is a semiconductor at room temperature and at ambient pressure, in contrast to previous studies suggesting a semimetal nature. From ambient pressure to 12 GPa, the CaB6 conductivity smoothly increases, and CaB6 behaves as a semiconductor, although the CaB6 conductivity shows a metallic temperature dependence over a temperature interval ranging from 110 to 300 K due to its extrinsic region (where an increase in the temperature produces no effect on the CaB6 sample carrier densities and the CaB6 conductivity is, therefore, solely determined by the carrier mobilities). At around 12.4 GPa, CaB6 undergoes a metalliclike transition leading to a change in the CaB6 conductivity by a factor exceeding three orders of magnitude. This large increase in the CaB6 conductivity has been interpreted as resulting from an overlap between the conduction band and the valence band. From 12.4 to 26 GPa, the CaB6 conductivity markedly increases and is similar to a metallic one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertically oriented single-crystalline TiO2 nanowires array was grown on transparent conductive oxide glass substrate, and then CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) were deposited on nanowires to form a TiO2/CdS/CdSe core-shell structure films. The optical properties of films with different layers of QDs were compared. The QD sensitized solar cells (QD-SSCs) were assembled and the effect of coating cycles of QDs on the photovoltaic performance was investigated. Under optimum parameters, QD-SSCs assembled with 5 μm thick TiO2 nanowires film exhibited a short-circuit current density of 7.92 mA cm-2, an open-circuit voltage of 0.40 V, and a power conversion efficiency of 1.14%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the flexural wave propagation in doubled-layered nanoplates is studied. Based on the nonlocal continuum theory, the equation of wave motion is derived. The frequency, phase velocity, group velocity, and their ratio with different scale coefficients and wave numbers are presented. From the results, it can be observed that the small scale effects should be considered for higher frequencies. The dispersion properties for mode I and mode II are different. The van der Walls (vdW) interaction has significant influence on the wave characteristics for the higher mode, which is similar to the vibration properties of nanoplates. However, not all of the characteristics for mode II can be dominated by the vdW interaction, they can be affected by the wave number and the scale coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of iron oxide cluster cations is synthesized in a laser vaporization ion source. The kinetic energy dependence of the collision-induced dissociation (CID) of mass selected FemOn+ (m=1–3, n=1–6) clusters with Xe is studied in this work using a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer. Examination of the general dissociation behavior over a broad collision energy range (0–15 eV) shows that iron oxide clusters can dissociate via evaporation of neutral Fe and O atoms as well as fission by loss of neutral O2, FeO, FeO2, Fe2O2, and Fe2O3 fragments. Such fission pathways, which are not observed in the CID studies of pure Fe cluster cations and most other pure transition metal cluster cations, result from the strong iron oxygen bonds. In general, the predominant dissociation pathways are found to correlate with the oxidation state of the iron in the cluster. Thresholds for loss of neutral Fe, O, O2, FeO, FeO2, Fe2O2, and Fe2O3 from various iron oxide cluster cations are quantitatively determined. These values are used to determine bond energies and heats of formation for both neutral and cationic iron oxide clusters in this size range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ self-consistent-field and density-functional theories to simulate the phase behaviors of diblock copolymer-nanoparticle mixtures confined in a two-dimensional circular pore. By varying the block ratio, the size of the pore, and the particle concentration, rich phase structures are discovered. It is shown that the structural frustration, the loss of conformational entropy of the polymer chains under confinement, the curvature of the pore, and the steric packing effect of the particles play important roles in determining the morphologies of the nanocomposites under circular confinement. It is found that the increase in the particle concentration can promote the transformation of concentric lamellas to the cylindrical domains. Our results suggest effective ways to stabilize the phase orderings of diblock copolymer-nanoparticle mixtures under two-dimensional circular confinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactions of Con+ (n=1–18) with N2 are measured as a function of kinetic energy over a range of 0–15 eV in a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer. A variety of Com+, ComN+, and ComN2+ (m≤=n) product ions are observed, all in endothermic processes, with collision-induced dissociation dominating the products for all clusters. Bond dissociation energies for both cobalt cluster nitrides and dinitrides are derived from threshold analysis of the energy dependence of the endothermic reactions using several different approaches. These values show only a mild dependence on cluster size over the range studied, although the Co13+–N bond energy is relatively weak. The bond energies of Con+–N for larger clusters suggest that a reasonable value for the desorption energy of atomic nitrogen from bulk phase cobalt is 6.3±0.2 eV, which is somewhat lower than the only available value in the literature, an estimate based on the enthalpy of formation of bulk cobalt nitride. The trends in the cobalt nitride thermochemistry are also compared to previously determined metal-metal bond energies, D0(Con+–Co), and to D0(Fen+–N). Implications for catalytic ammonia production using cobalt versus iron are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-phase cubic (La0.4Ba0.4Ca0.2)(Mn0.4Ti0.6)O3 (LBCMT) was reported by Jha et al. [J. Solid State Chem. 177, 2881 (2004)] to exhibit an extraordinarily high effective permittivity (ϵeff ∼6980 and 590 at 1 and 100 kHz, respectively) at room temperature. According to x-ray-diffraction analysis, the structure of this perovskite can be fully described on the centrosymmetric space-group Pm3m, which precludes the occurrence of ferroelectricity. In the present work, impedance spectroscopy has shown that LBCMT exhibits a bulk permittivity, ϵr∼40–45, in accordance with that expected for a cubic, centrosymmetric perovskite. LBCMT is a semiconductor with a bulk resistivity of ∼3 kΩ cm at 300 K and an activation energy for conduction of ∼0.20 eV which is consistent with an electron hopping conduction mechanism. Finally, it is demonstrated that the high effective permittivity ϵeff reported previously is not an intrinsic bulk effect arising from hopping conduction between Mn+3 and Mn+4, but is ultimately associated with grain-boundary effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the effect of benzoxime on degradation of articular cartilage in a rat model of osteoarthritis (OA), and the mechanism involved. Methods: The OA rat model was prepared by injecting monosodium iodoacetate (MIA) intra-articularly to Wistar rats. Rats in the treatment group were given benzoxime (5 mg/kg) daily for 21 days through the intra-articular route. The animals were then examined for behavioral changes by assessment of asymmetry in bearing weight and paw withdrawal threshold of the hind limb. Western blot assay was used for the analysis of inflammatory cytokine expressions. Results: The expression of P2X purinoceptor 7 receptor (P2X7R) mRNA was significantly elevated in the OA rats (p < 0.02). However, benzoxime treatment caused a marked decrease in the level of P2X1- 8R mRNA. Benzoxime treatment also prevented asymmetry in bearing weight, decreased paw withdrawal threshold, and inhibited the expressions of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in plasma and cartilage. Moreover, benzoxime exhibited significant inhibitory effects on the expressions of P2X7R, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in cartilage tissue. It also significantly suppressed OA-induced increases in the levels of inhibitor of nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) kinase (IKK)α, IKKβ, IκBα and NF-κB p65, and blocked OA-induced increases in the expressions of P2X7R, MMP-13 and PGE2. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that benzoxime prevents cartilage degradation in OA rats by targeting NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, benzoxime possesses clinical and therapeutic potentials for the prevention of cartilage degradation in OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on finding a solution to the sharp decline in mechanical properties of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys due to rapid coarsening of traditional intermediate phases at high temperature. A new type of modified alloy, to be used in automobile engines at high temperatures, was prepared by adding Zr and Mo into Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy. The synergistic effects of Zr and Mo on the microstructure evolution and high-temperature mechanical properties were studied. Results show that the addition of Zr and Mo generates a series of intermetallic phases dispersed in the alloy. They can improve the strength of the alloy by hindering dislocation movement and crack propagation. In addition, some nano-strengthened phases show coherent interfaces with the matrix and improve grain refinement. The addition of Mo greatly improves the heat resistance of the alloy. The extremely low diffusivity of Mo enables it to improve the thermal stability of the intermetallic phases, inhibit precipitation during aging, reduce the size of the precipitates, and improve the heat resistance of the alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on how micro biota mediate neuroinflammation in a genetic and sex-specific manner in mice. Topics include information on pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD); how microbes have emerged as an important factor implicated in neurodegeneration; and how gut microbes interplay with apolipoprotein E (APOE) and tau remains elusive.

Background: The underlying pathophysiology of BA distribution is unclear and intriguing. Using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI), we sought to explore the plaque distribution of low-grade basilar artery (BA) atherosclerosis and its clinical relevance.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the imaging and clinical data of 61 patients with low-grade atherosclerotic BA stenosis (<50%). On HR-MRI, the plaques were categorized based on the involvement of the ventral, dorsal, or lateral sides of BA wall. A culprit plaque was defined if it was on the same slice or neighboring slices of symptomatic pontine infarcts and played a probable causal role (dorsal plaques with median pontine infarcts or lateral plaques with ipsilateral pontine infarcts). The relationships between plaque distribution and clinical presentations were analyzed.Results: Twenty-five symptomatic and thirty-six asymptomatic BAs with 752 HR-MRI image slices were studied. The average length of BA atherosclerosis plaques was 12.16 ± 5.61mm (10.30 ± 6.44mm in symptomatic and 13.46 ± 7.03mm in asymptomatic patients, p = 0.079). The plaque distribution was similar at ventral (29.0%), dorsal (37.6%) and lateral walls (33.1%). The BA plaques in symptomatic patients were more frequently located at the dorsal (42.5%) and lateral (41.2%) walls than at the ventral walls (16.1%; P < 0.05). Compared with symptomatic patients, asymptomatic patients more likely had their plaques distributed at the ventral walls (P = 0.022). Culprit plaques were observed in 85.0% (17/20) pontine infarcts in symptomatic patients and only 14.3% (2/14) silent pontine infarcts in asymptomatic patients (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Low-grade BA atherosclerosis has a long distribution and evenly involves ventral, dorsal and lateral walls. The plaques at dorsal and lateral walls are associated with symptomatic pontine infarcts but not with silent infarcts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lncRNAs could be biomarkers for susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC), but the association of PCAT1 polymorphisms and CRC susceptibility is yet to be studied. Methods: Five tagSNPs covering the PCAT1 gene were detected through Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR among 436 CRC patients and 510 controls. An expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) bioinformatic analysis was then performed. Results: In the present study, PCAT1 rs2632159 polymorphism increased CRC risk by 1.37-fold and 2.19-fold in the dominant and recessive models, respectively (P=0.040 and 0.041). When the CRC cases were divided into colon cancer and rectal cancer, we found that this polymorphism affected colon cancer risk under the dominant model (P=0.022, OR = 1.51) and affected rectal cancer susceptibility under the recessive model (P=0.009, OR = 3.03). A more pronounced effect was observed in the male subgroup in that PCAT1 rs2632159 SNP increased rectal cancer risk by 3.97-fold (P=0.017). When PCAT1 rs2632159 was present, epistatic effects were observed with rs1902432 and rs785005 (P=0.011 and 0.008, respectively). eQTL analysis showed that rs2632159 could influence binding with the transcription factors EBF, LUN-1, and TCF12. Conclusion: PCAT1 rs2632159 SNP could be a biomarker for CRC risk. And the rs1902432 SNP might only have potential to be a biomarker for colon cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UGT2B7 was recently acknowledged as a new critical enzyme involved in biotransformation of a variety of carcinogens, whose function was reported to be significantly associated with its encoding gene (UGT2B7) polymorphisms. However, results regarding the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of UGT2B7 and cancer risk still remained controversial. Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to further elucidate the role of UGT2B7 SNPs on cancer susceptibilities. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Technology of Chongqing (VIP) and Wan Fang Database were searched for eligible studies until March 2019. All analysis was carried out using the Review Manager 5.3 software. Subgroup analyses were performed by cancer types, ethnicity or source of controls. 13 studies with a total of 7688 cancer cases and 11,281 controls were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that UGT2B7 rs7439366 increased the colorectal cancer risk in dominant model (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.61–0.95, P = 0.02). However, as for the rs7435335 and rs12233719, we did not find their associations with cancer risk in all genetic models. In addition, the rs7441774 was found to be associated with breast cancer risk and significantly reduced papillary thyroid cancer risk in rs3924194 was also observed. Nevertheless, these findings remained to be further proven in future studies since these 2 SNPs were only respectively involved in 1 study. This meta-analysis confirmed the association of UGT2B7 rs7439366 with colorectal cancer risk, which may be a potential promising biomarker for prediction of colorectal cancer risk. • Associations between UGT2B7 SNPs and risks of various cancer types were investigated by meta-analysis. • UGT2B7 rs7439366 was found to be associated with risk of colorectal cancer. • No other associations were observed for the rest SNPs and cancers. • This meta-analysis provided further evidence for the role of UGT2B7 SNPs on cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses Lp approximation error estimates for hybrid interpolation on the unit sphere. This interpolation scheme is integrated by spherical polynomials and radial basis functions. The smooth radial basis functions generated by a strictly positive definite zonal kernel are embedded in a larger native space generated by a less smooth kernel, and the error estimates for hybrid interpolation to a target function from the larger native space are given. In a sense, the results of this paper show that the hybrid interpolation associated with the smooth kernel enjoys the same order of error estimate as hybrid interpolation associated with the less smooth kernel for a target function from the rough native space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies pointwise error estimates for spherical hybrid interpolation, which com- bines spherical polynomials together with spherical radial basis functions constructed by a strictly positive definite zonal kernel. The study is first carried out in the native space asso- ciated with the kernel, and then refined error estimates for a target function in a still smaller space are established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the dynamic loading tests of sandstone after heat treatment at 25-800 °C are carried out by using the split Hopkinson pressure bar test system. Combined with the theory of energy dissipation, the dynamic fracture and energy consumption characteristics of coal-series sandstone are systematically studied. The test results illustrate that the dynamic fracture and energy consumption characteristics of sandstone are mainly related to the changes of internal moisture and cementing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues the state power and social efforts shaped and reshaped the contour of the 'imagined community' of post-war Taiwan from mainland China to the island with a focus on how the history of Japanese rule has been represented. By conducting a content analysis of officially published junior high school history textbooks (1949–2015) and interviewing history teachers, this study discusses how they present national past. The transformative presentation of the 'Japanese era in Taiwan' suggested the self-reinventing of the statehood of the Republic of China; the bottom-up forces even went beyond the demands of the state and facilitated nation-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]