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The clinical benefits of targeting programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in various cancers represent a strategy for the treatment of immunosuppressive diseases. Here, it was demonstrated that the expression levels of PD-L1 in cells were greatly upregulated in response to H1N1 influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Overexpression of PD-L1 promoted viral replication and downregulated type-I and type-III interferons and interferon-stimulated genes. Moreover, the association between PD-L1 and Src homology region-2, containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP2), during IAV/H1N1 infection was analyzed by employing the SHP2 inhibitor (SHP099), siSHP2, and pNL-SHP2. The results showed that the expressions of PD-L1 mRNA and protein were decreased under SHP099 or siSHP2 treatment, whereas the cells overexpressing SHP2 exhibited the opposite effects. Additionally, the effects of PD-L1 on the expression of p-ERK and p-SHP2 were investigated in PD-L1-overexpressed cells following WSN or PR8 infection, determining that the PD-L1 overexpression led to the decreased expression of p-SHP2 and p-ERK induced by WSN or PR8 infection. Taken together, these data reveal that PD-L1 could play an important role in immunosuppression during IAV/H1N1 infection; thus, it may serve as a promising therapeutic target for development of novel anti-IAV drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R6106 --> 875.18 --> Objective: Chloride and bicarbonate transport across the apical membrane via CFTR is critical for homeostasis of airway surface liquid and mucociliary clearance. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene resulting in mucus buildup, bacterial colonization, inflammation and respiratory insufficiency. F508del and nonsense mutations are the most common mutations characterized by defective protein processing and trafficking (F508del) or early termination of CFTR synthesis (G542X, R1162X). A combination of CFTR modulators (VX445/661/770; VX) has largely improved CFTR function in patients with F508del but is ineffective in nonsense mutations. We have shown that select amino acids (SAA) can modulate trafficking and activity of CFTR and alternative anion‐secretory pathways, and thus could improve clinical outcomes in CF patients. Hypothesis: SAA can stimulate anion secretion in primary HBEC with F508del/F508del, F508del/R1162X and G542X/G542X mutation. Methods: Transepithelial short‐circuit current (Isc) was measured in differentiated HBEC treated with DMSO or VX for 24h and bathed in vehicle or SAA in Ussing chambers. After blocking ENaC with benzamil, benzamil‐insensitive (anion) Isc was either continuously recorded for 90min, or sequentially blocked with CFTRinh172, CaCCinhA01 and bumetanide in 15min intervals. Isotope (36Cl) flux studies and whole‐cell patch clamp technique were used to confirm chloride movements, and CFTR and alternative anion‐secretory channel expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence. Results: Anion Isc increased in all mutations and was more sustained when exposed to SAA compared to vehicle (F508del: 15.4±0.5 vs 1.4±0.2; R1162X: 19.4±0.3 vs 2.3±0.3; G542X: 17.2±0.5 vs 1.6±0.2 µA.cm‐2; P<0.001). SAA recovered 48.7, 57.3 and 40.9% of normal Isc (21.9±0.5 µA.cm‐2). Treatment with VX increased anion Isc in F508del and R1162X (11.4±0.7 and 5.7±0.4 µA.cm‐2; P<0.001) but not in G542X (1.7±0.2 µA.cm‐2). In F508del, the CFTR response increased from 20.7% (non‐treated cells) to 32.9 and 85.5% of the anion Isc when treated with SAA or VX, and in R542X from 3.7% to 46.3 and 16.0%, respectively. Both, SAA and VX did not affect CaCC, but SAA increased the bumetanide‐sensitive Isc from 31.0 to 50.5% in F508del, and from 33.3 to 56.3% in R1162X, while VX reduced the bumetanide response to 5.4 and 4.5%. Isotope flux studies showed that SAA (‐0.21±0.08 μEq.h‐1.cm‐2) and VX (‐0.19±0.02 μEq.h‐1.cm‐2) increased net Cl‐ secretion in F508del when compared to vehicle (‐0.03±0.01 μEq.h‐1.cm‐2; P<0.05). SAA, but not VX increased Cl‐ secretion in G542X (‐0.21 0.07 vs ‐0.08±0.02 μEq.h‐1.cm‐2). In patch clamp recordings, SAA and VX resulted in a significant reduction in CFTRinh172 whole cell current in F508del. Immunofluorescence imaging demonstrated increased CFTR and alternative anion‐secretory channel expression along the apical membrane in SAA cells while VX showed increased expression of only CFTR. Conclusions: These studies demonstrate that SAA stimulates anion current and increases Cl‐ secretion via CFTR and alternative secretory pathways in different mutations, and could be beneficial in nonsense mutations but needs further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-person narratives are more attentively and emotionally engaging than third-person narratives. This study examined whether and how personal perspective modulates counterfactual processing. Participants read counterfactual and causal conditionals written from the first-person or third-person perspective (e.g., If/Because I/he had read enough literature before, I/he would have finished my/his thesis easily.), followed by factual consequences that contained a critical word either consistent or inconsistent with preceding contexts (e.g., Therefore, when I/he was about to defend the thesis I/he felt panicked/confident). In both perspectives, inconsistent words showed a prolonged N400 vs. consistent words in the counterfactual condition, but a larger P600 in the causal condition. The critical word showed a larger P600 in the first- than the third-person condition in counterfactual scenarios, but not in causal scenarios. These findings suggest that personal perspective exerts different influences on counterfactual processing, presumably by modulating the amount of attentional resources involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral efficient transmission techniques are necessary and promising for future broadband wireless communications, where the quality of service (QoS) and/or max-min fair (MMF) of intended users are often considered simultaneously. In this paper, both the QoS problem and the MMF problem are investigated together for transmit beamforming in broadband multigroup multicast channels with frequency-selective fading characters. We first present a basic algorithm by directly using the results in frequency-flat multigroup multicast systems (Karipidis et al., 2008), namely, the approximation algorithms in this paper, for both problems, respectively. Due to high computational consumption nature of the approximation algorithms, two reduced-complexity algorithms for each of the two problems are proposed separately by introducing the time-frequency correlations. In addition, parameters in the new time-frequency formulations, such as the number of optimization matrix variables and the taps of the beamformer with finite impulse response (FIR) structure, can be used to make a reasonable tradeoff between computational burden and system performance. Insights into the relationship between the two problems and some analytical results of the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms are also studied carefully. Numerical simulations indicate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to fully explore the merits of the multi-tier heterogeneous network (HetNet) and ultra-dense small cell deployments, the evolution of the cellular network architecture is on the way. Based on the frameless network architecture, this paper proposes the control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) adaptation strategy to improve the system energy efficiency (EE). In this paper, we give a three-step system EE optimization with constraints on the CP/UP adaptation. We optimize the system EE via CP and UP construction and adaptation while guaranteeing the user quality of service (QoS). In the first step, the CP construction and adaptation scheme is proposed through the Voronoi Diagram with EE improvements. In the second step, by jointly allocating the AE and subchannel resources, we construct the on-demand user-centric UP. In the last step, based on the UP construction from the second step, we adjust each UP to optimize the EE performance. This is achieved by employing game theory. Furthermore, we verify the existence and uniqueness of the Nash Equilibrium for the non-cooperative game model with pricing. Finally, the system-level simulation results show that, with constraints on the QoS of the users, the system EE performances are improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical modelling of scaled centre-notched [45/90/−45/0] 4s carbon/epoxy laminates was carried out. The in-plane dimensions of the models were scaled up by a factor of up to 16. A Finite Element (FE) method using the explicit code LS-Dyna was applied to study the progressive damage development at the notch tips. Cohesive interface elements were used to simulate splits within plies and delaminations between plies. A failure criterion based on Weibull statistics was used to account for fibre failure. There is a good correlation between the numerical and experimental results, and the scaling trend can be explained in terms of the growth of the notch tip damage zone. The modelling gives new insights into the damage development in the quasi-isotropic laminates with sharp cracks, specifically, the growth of splits, delaminations and local fibre breakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report a simple method to form conductive copper lines by scanning a single-beam femtosecond pulse laser on a plastic substrate covered with copper nitride (Cu 3 N) film. The Cu 3 N films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering in the presence of an Ar + N 2 atmosphere at 100 °C. The influence of the laser power and scanning speed on the formed copper line width, surface features, and morphology was analyzed by means of optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, non-contact 3D profilometer, and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results demonstrate that low laser power and low scanning speed favor the formation of uniform and flat Cu lines. After process optimization, copper lines with a width less than 5 μm were obtained, which provides an attractive application prospect in the field of flexible electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal behaviors of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA)-grafted polypropylene (PP) (PP-g-GMA) with two different grafting degrees, namely, GPP1 and GPP2, were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermogravimetrical analysis (TGA). DSC results suggested that the GMA grafted PP exhibited higher crystallization temperatureTc, higher melting temperatureTm,and higher crystallinity compared with the neat PP. The isothermal crystallization kinetics was analyzed with the Avrami equation and the total crystallization activation energy was calculated. It was concluded that the crystallization processes of PP and the grafted PP were controlled by nucleation and the values of the crystallization activation energy of PP and the grafted PP were almost identical. POM results suggested that the GMA grafted PP exhibited smaller spherulites size compared with the neat PP. WAXD patterns indicated that the neat PP encouraged the formation of γ phase, compared with the grafted PP, during the crystallization process. DMA results showed that melt grafting did not induce a clear effect on the γ-transition and β-transition of the amorphous phase but resulted in a decrease in mobility of the PP chains in the crystals. TGA curves suggested that the melt grafting slightly improved the thermal stability of PP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth, XRD patterns, spectral properties, and fluorescence decays of Yb:Ca 0.28 Ba 0.72 Nb 2 O 6 (Yb:CBN) with doping concentration of 1 at.% and 5 at.% were studied. The peak absorption cross-section and the emission cross-section were calculated. Larger Stark splitting of Yb:CBN offers the prospect of the quasi-four level laser operation. The fluorescence lifetimes are 0.64 and 0.73 ms for 1 at.% and 5 at.%, respectively. The FWHM of absorption and fluorescence spectra of 5 at.% Yb:CBN are 62 and 68 nm, which are broader than other ultrashort laser media. The results prove that Yb:CBN crystal is a good candidate as an ultrashort laser medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melting temperature range is one of the most important parameters for phase change material (PCM), it affects the PCM application areas and the performance of the system integrated with PCM. The melting temperature range of PCM is usually measured by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) with the dynamic measurement method. Unfortunately, the measurement results with this method are dependent of the heating rate. Determination of the melting temperature range of PCM means to find the starting melting temperature at which PCM starts melting and the ending melting temperature at which the melting process is finished. In this paper, a new DSC measurement method, which is the partially-melted DSC measurement method, was proposed to determine the ending melting temperature of PCM. With this method, the actual ending melting temperature of the sample PCM was found out and it was independent of the heating rate. Because there was no clear boundary between the non-melted state and the partially-melted state, the actual starting melting temperature of PCM was not able to be determined accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental investigation into size effects in notched [45/90/−45/0]4s carbon/epoxy laminates is carried out. The in-plane dimensions of the quasi-isotropic laminates are scaled up by a factor of up to 8. Larger Scale 16 specimens with only their width and notch length being doubled were also tested as a further comparison. Interrupted tests and X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanning are carried out to study the damage at the crack tips. Sharp centre-notched tensile tests are compared to open-hole tests of the same notch length (hole diameter), material and stacking sequence. A similar strength reduction scaling trend is found for both configurations at the small sizes, except with higher tensile strength for the centre-notched specimens than the open-hole specimens. However, there is a cross-over point when the sizes increase, with the sharp notched results approaching an asymptote based on Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM), and the open hole results approaching an asymptote based on Weibull theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid reentry trajectory planning method based on nonlinear model prediction theory is studied for the new lifting reentry vehicle with many constraints. Since the lifting reentry characters and mission requires need to satisfy strong terminal constraints, the nonlinear predictive model and the receding optimization scheme are used to convert the nonlinear optimization into the linear optimization objection, and a quadratic programming is used to solve it. The simulation results show that the proposed method can generate a high precision reentry trajectory with strong terminal constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study focuses on estimating the fatigue life of circular hollow section (CHS) gap TT-joints reinforced with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets based on S–N curve method. In the S–N curve, the fatigue life of a tubular joint can be predicted from the hot spot stress (HSS) which can be easily calculated from the stress concentration factor (SCF) of the tubular joint. The SCF and the fatigue life of the CFRP-reinforced and unreinforced TT-joints under axial loads were experimentally measured. The experimental results show that the maximum SCF of CHS TT-joints reinforced with CFRP sheets decreases by 14%, and the fatigue life increases by 47%. Thereafter, finite element (FE) models for both CFRP-reinforced and unreinforced TT-joints were established and verified by the experimental results. A parametric study is also carried out to investigate the effects of the number of CFRP layers and the geometrical parameters on the SCF. Finally, through regression analysis on the numerical SCF results of 704 FE models, parametric equations are proposed to estimate the SCFs at the saddle and at the crown of CFRP reinforced CHS gap TT-joints. • Fatigue test on CFRP-strengthened CHS TT-joint was conducted. • Finite element model of CFRP-strengthened CHS TT-joint was built. • Parametric study of SCF for CFRP-strengthened CHS TT-joint was carried out. • Equations for predicting SCFs at critical positions of CFRP-strengthened CHS TT-joint was presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lock‐detector for the digital phase interpolator based clock and dada recovery circuit (PI‐CDR) is proposed. The simple method could commendably lock the PI‐control code when the CDR is locked, which eliminates the systematic phase noise of the recovered clock without reducing the jitter tolerance ability. The proposed architecture is implemented in 0.13 μm CMOS and occupies area of 0.18 mm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving relays (MRs) have been proposed as a promising technology to improve the coverage performance of vehicular users. However, how MRs can influence non‐vehicular users is not yet studied. Using stochastic geometry, statistical analyses on the coverage performance of non‐vehicular users in the MR enabled cellular networks are made. An analytical framework for analysing downlink signal‐to‐interference ratio under the presence of MRs is developed. Based on the proposed framework, tractable expressions for coverage probability of non‐vehicular users connecting to MRs and macro base stations are derived, respectively. Simulation results verify the derived expressions. These analytical results show that non‐vehicular users can also improve their coverage performance by the MRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the optimal transmit beamforming vector, the user who has the worst signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is referred to as a bottleneck user for a single-group multicasting system with multiple antennas at the transmit side. In this paper, we present some interesting insights into the bottleneck users, such as the maximum number as well as the optimal beamformer when the transmitter has an arbitrary number of antenna elements. The $\max$– $\min$ fair SNR problem is employed and the closed-form solutions are proposed from the weighted sum-SNR maximization perspective for different numbers of possible bottleneck users. A new heuristic beamforming algorithm based on the bottleneck users is also presented to improve the system performance in terms of the achievable rate for physical-layer multicasting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The recent emergence of two-dimensional layered materials - in particular the transition metal dichalcogenides - provides a new laboratory for exploring the internal quantum degrees of freedom of electrons and their potential for new electronics. These degrees of freedom are the real electron spin, the layer pseudospin, and the valley pseudospin. New methods for the quantum control of the spin and these pseudospins arise from the existence of Berry phase-related physical properties and strong spin-orbit coupling. The former leads to the versatile control of the valley pseudospin, whereas the latter gives rise to an interplay between the spin and the pseudospins. Here, we provide a brief review of both theoretical and experimental advances in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of maximizing the minimum Euclidean distance between two received data vectors via real-valued linear precoding is considered for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with arbitrary dimensions. Assuming that perfect channel state information (CSI) is available at both the transmitter side and the receiver side, a novel low-complexity precoding algorithm is proposed to recursively construct the full-rank, the rank-deficient and the rank-one precoders with respect to particular channel realization. From the lattice theoretical perspective, the full-rank precoder is generated by using well-known dense packing lattices, which can also be recursively involved into the construction of higher-dimensional rank-deficient precoders. Moreover, the optimal solution is clearly figured out for the specific case of rank-one precoder. The closed-form expression of the achievable minimum distance is obtained and the analytical results reveal the performance bounds for different rank-constraint precoders. Simulation results validate the efficiency of the proposed precoder as compared with the state of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

High-order terahertz (THz) sideband generation in semiconductors is a phenomenon with physics similar to that of high-order harmonic generation but in a regime of much lower frequency. Our previous paper [1] found that the electron–hole pair excited by a weak optical laser can accumulate a Berry phase along a cyclic trajectory under the driving of a strong elliptically polarized THz field. Furthermore, the Berry phase appears as the Faraday rotation angle of the emission signal under short-pulse excitation in monolayer MoS. In this paper, the theory of the Berry phase in THz extreme nonlinear optics is applied to biased bilayer graphene with Bernal stacking, which has similar Bloch band features and optical properties to monolayer MoS, such as the time-reversal related valleys and the valley contrasting optical selection rule. However, the biased bilayer graphene has much larger Berry curvature than monolayer MoS, which leads to a large Berry phase of the quantum trajectory and in turn a giant Faraday rotation of the optical emission (∼1 rad for a THz field with frequency 1 THz and strength 8 kV cm−1). This surprisingly big angle shows that the Faraday rotation can be induced more efficiently by the Berry curvature in momentum space than by the magnetic field in real space. It provides opportunities to use bilayer graphene and THz lasers for ultrafast electro-optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nonstructural protein NS1 (NS1) has been shown to block interferon (IFN)-inducible antiviral signaling. The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) gene family could utilize a feedback loop to block the activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, further inhibiting the activation of host type I IFN. We evaluated the role of the SOCS1 and SOCS3 genes in this antiviral mechanism. Material and Methods: A humanized stable NS1 (rich in GC)-expressing plasmid was constructed, and A549 cells were transfected with it. Expression of the SOCS1, SOCS3, RIG-I, and TLR3 mRNAs was measured with real-time PCR. STAT2 and pSTAT2 expression was determined with Western blotting. Results: RSV NS1 upregulated SOCS1 mRNA expression 30-fold increase compared with the baseline level in very early phase (p < 0.01), and silence of RIG-I or TLR3 mRNA did not affect NS1-induced SOCS1 expression. NS1 inhibited IFN-α-induced STAT2 phosphorylation and degraded STAT2 in a time-dependent manner compared with the empty-vector control (p < 0.05). Conclusion: RSV NS1 upregulates SOCS1 expression in a RIG-I- and TLR3-independent pathway, to inhibit STAT2 phosphorylation. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Spectroscopic properties and crystal growth of Tm:LYSO single crystal were studied for the first time. [•] The large absorption and emission cross-section and broad FWHM make Tm:LYSO a promising media for tunable and ultrashort pulses. [•] The J–O parameters and gain spectra reveal that the excellent properties for laser applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mobile electronics have developed so rapidly that battery technology has hardly been able to keep pace. The increasing desire for lighter and thinner Li-ion batteries with higher capacities is a continuing and constant goal for in research. Achieving higher energy densities, which is mainly dependent on cathode materials, has become a critical issue in the development of new Li-ion batteries. In this review, we will outline the progress on nanostructured 4V cathode materials of Li-ion batteries for mobile electronics, covering LiCoO2, LiNi x Co y Mn1−x−y O2, LiMn2O4, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 and Li-rich layered oxide materials. We aim to provide some scientific insights into the development of superior cathode materials by discussing the advantages of nanostructure, surface-coating, and other key properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Direct object roles of Chinese chi ‘eat’: Patients and non-Patients. [•] Non-Patients metonymically trigger ‘food’ as conceptual head. [•] Metonymically interpreted non-Patients: stronger N400 effects than Patients. [•] N400 decreases along cline: Instrument>Locative>Source>Means>Patient. [•] Experiment and conceptual analysis support Dowty’s notion of Proto-Patient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: George Szekeres described some subsets of without arithmetic progressions of length p for odd primes p, obtained by a greedy algorithm. Let denote the size of the largest subset of without arithmetic progressions of length k. In this paper, the history of results based on the constructions by Szekeres is briefly surveyed. New inequalities for and van der Waerden numbers are derived by generalizing these constructions. In particular, for any odd prime p, we prove that , where . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Stereospecific radical polymerization of optically active (S)-HPEMA was realized. [•] A catalytic amount of the Lewis acid is enough to control the stereoregularity. [•] Solvents strongly influence the effect of Lewis acids on the tacticity of the polymer. [•] The polymerization in n-BuOH in the presence of La(OTf)3 shows the highest isotacticity. [•] The mechanism of stereocontrol was analyzed based on Lewis acid-monomer interaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] This is the first report that provides electrophysiological evidence of syntactic priming in Chinese. [•] Priming effects were robust when the verb was repeated. [•] The P600 amplitude was reduced in repeated target sentences at the word de. [•] No significant effects were observed in target sentences with synonymous conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study Shannon capacity of channels in the context of classical Ramsey numbers. We overview some of the results on capacity of noisy channels modeled by graphs, and how some constructions may contribute to our knowledge of this capacity. We present an improvement to the constructions by Abbott and Song and thus establish new lower bounds for a special type of multicolor Ramsey numbers. We prove that our construction implies that the supremum of the Shannon capacity over all graphs with independence number 2 cannot be achieved by any finite graph power. This can be generalized to graphs with bounded independence number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision disk resonator gyroscope has a high quality factor in order to improve the performance of the gyroscope, as the high quality factor can lead to a long starting time. In this paper, a control system of the driving loop of the disk MEMS resonant gyroscope with the quick start is designed. The control system has functions of quick frequency locking and fast step response. Coarse-precision mode transition system is designed for quick frequency locking. A large-small mode transition system is designed for fast step response. The correctness of the design is verified by circuit test. The test results show that the start-up time is reduced by over 80% compared with the traditional control loop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crack migration into the composite in adhesively bonded joints can cause a major degradation of strength. This usually occurs via cracks in the surface plies, but this paper demonstrates that crack migration can occur in joints even with 0° surface plies. The role of surface treatment is investigated by comparing grit blasted and plasma surface treatment before the secondary bonding process. Unidirectional Double Cantilever Beam specimens and quasi-isotropic Double Lap Joints with surface 0° plies were tested. It was found that with grit blasted specimens, crack migration occurred due to broken fibres present on the composite surface. Plasma treated specimens with no broken fibres on the surface failed in the adhesive with substantial increases in the Mode I fracture toughness and the strength of the double lap joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing technology is becoming mainstream for mapping the growing stem volume (GSV) and overcoming the shortage of traditional labor-consumed approaches. Naturally, the GSV estimation accuracy utilizing remote sensing imagery is highly related to the variable selection methods and algorithms. Thus, to reduce the uncertainty caused by variables and models, this paper proposes a combined strategy involving improved variable selection with the collinearity test and the secondary ensemble algorithm to obtain the optimally combined variables and extract a reliable GSV from several base models. Our study extracted four types of alternative variables from the Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-2A image datasets, including vegetation indices, spectral reflectance variables, backscattering coefficients, and texture features. Then, an improved variable selection criterion with the collinearity test was developed and evaluated based on machine learning algorithms (classification and regression trees (CART), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector regression (SVR), and artificial neural network (ANN)) considering the correlation between variables and GSV (with random forest (RF), distance correlation coefficient (DC), maximal information coefficient (MIC), and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) as evaluation metrics), and the collinearity among the variables. Additionally, we proposed a secondary ensemble with an improved weighted average approach (IWA) to estimate the reliable forest GSV using the first ensemble models constructed by Bagging and AdaBoost. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed variable selection criterion efficiently obtained the optimal combined variable set without affecting the forest GSV mapping accuracy. Specifically, considering the first ensemble, the relative root mean square error (rRMSE) values ranged from 21.91% to 30.28% for Bagging and 23.33% to 31.49% for AdaBoost, respectively. After the secondary ensemble involving the IWA, the rRMSE values ranged from 18.89% to 21.34%. Furthermore, the variance of the GSV mapped by the secondary ensemble with various ranking methods was significantly reduced. The results prove that the proposed combined strategy has great potential to reduce the GSV mapping uncertainty imposed by current variable selection approaches and algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a set of initial R-curves were measured for three different in-plane sizes using scaled Over-height Compact Tension (OCT) specimens and two different stacking sequences. The data reduction scheme was based on a Virtual Crack Closure Technique which is informed by the measured failure load and effective crack length. The R-curve effects were studied by using X-ray Computed Tomography to measure the crack length throughout fracture propagation. It was found that the initial R-curves measured from all three specimen sizes follow the same linearly increasing trend, with similar results for both stacking sequences. However, no plateau was seen on any of the measured R-curves, implying that even the largest specimens are not large enough to generate a full R-curve. a) Scaled OCT tests with two quasi-isotropic stacking sequences b) Initial R-curves showing the same linearly increasing trend but no plateau yet. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There have been a number of behavioral and neural studies on the processing of syntactic gender and number agreement information, marked by different morpho-syntactic features during sentence comprehension. By using the event-related potential (ERP) technique, the present study investigated whether the processing of semantic gender information and the processing of notional number information can be differentiated and to what extent they might interact during Chinese pronoun resolution. The pronoun (with singular form in Experiment 1 and with plural form in Experiment 2) in a sentence matched its antecedent or mismatched it with respect to either biological gender or notional number or both. While the number mismatch elicited a P600 effect starting from 550ms (for singular pronoun) or 400ms (for plural pronoun) post-onset of the pronoun, the gender mismatch elicited an earlier (for singular) and larger (for both singular and plural) P600 effect. More importantly, the double mismatch produced a P600 effect identical to the effect elicited by the single gender mismatch. These results demonstrate that biological gender information and notional number information are processed differentially and have different processing priorities during Chinese pronoun resolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a significant economically and distributed globally pathogen of Artiodactyla. Current vaccines are chemically inactivated whole virus particles that require large-scale virus growth in strict bio-containment with the associated risks of accidental release or incomplete inactivation. Non-infectious empty capsids are structural mimics of authentic particles with no associated risk and constitute an alternate vaccine candidate. Capsids self-assemble from the processed virus structural proteins, VP0, VP3 and VP1, which are released from the structural protein precursor P1-2A by the action of the virus-encoded 3C protease. To date recombinant empty capsid assembly has been limited by poor expression levels, restricting the development of empty capsids as a viable vaccine. Here expression of the FMDV structural protein precursor P1-2A in insect cells is shown to be efficient but linkage of the cognate 3C protease to the C-terminus reduces expression significantly. Inactivation of the 3C enzyme in a P1-2A-3C cassette allows expression and intermediate levels of 3C activity resulted in efficient processing of the P1-2A precursor into the structural proteins which assembled into empty capsids. Expression was independent of the insect host cell background and leads to capsids that are recognised as authentic by a range of anti-FMDV bovine sera suggesting their feasibility as an alternate vaccine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pr3+, Yb3+ co-doped CaYAlO4 (Pr, Yb: CYA) single crystal was grown using the Czochralski (CZ) method. For near-infrared quantum-cutting system, a quantum efficiency of 145% for Pr3+, Yb3+-codoped CYA crystal has been obtained by ignoring the nonradiative losses. Under excitation at 940nm, high intensities of 502nm, 555nm, 628nm, 661nm and 729nm emissions turn up. Fluorescence decay time of 3P0→3F2 emission of Pr3+ ions and 2F5/2→2F7/2 transition of Yb3+ ions were also studied as evidences for energy transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sm:CaNb2O6 single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski method. Its high-temperature X-ray powder diffraction, optical absorption, emission spectroscopic as well as lifetime have been studied. Thermal expansion coefficients (α), J–O parameters (Ω i ), radiative lifetime (τ rad), branching ratios (β) and stimulated emission cross-sections (σ e) were calculated. The quantum efficiency (η) was calculated to be 97%. The intense peak emission cross section at 610, 658nm were calculated to be 2.40×10−21, 2.42×10−21 cm2. These results indicate that Sm:CaNb2O6 crystal has potential use in visible laser and photonic devices area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Spindle-like porous α-Fe2O3 was prepared from an iron-based metal organic framework (MOF) template. When tested as anode material for lithium batteries (LBs), this spindle-like porous α-Fe2O3 shows greatly enhanced performance of Li storage. The particle with a length and width of ∼0.8 and ∼0.4 μm, respectively, was composed of clustered Fe2O3 nanoparticles with sizes of <20 nm. The capacity of the porous α-Fe2O3 retained 911 mAh g–1 after 50 cycles at a rate of 0.2 C. Even when cycled at 10 C, comparable capacity of 424 mAh g–1 could be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Crystals of Ce3+-doped (Lu x Y1−x )3Al5O12 (LuYAG) have been grown and studied by X-ray powder diffraction, emission spectroscopy, excitation spectroscopy and X-ray excited fluorescence spectroscopy. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern revealed that the as-grown LuYAG:Ce crystal possessed the garnet structure. Compared with Ce3+-doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG), the absorption bands associated with the 4f–5d transition shifted to shorter wavelengths, the emission band that originated from a transition from the lowest 5d level to the 2F ground state of the Ce3+ ions shifted to the blue, which was probably due to a larger Stokes shift of the emission, and the reduction of relative intensity of antisite defect emission in the X-ray excited fluorescence spectra revealed that introducing Lu ions into YAG could reduce the antisite defect. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Microstructural features and fatigue properties of friction stir lap-welded joints for AA6061-T6 alloy are investigated and the influences of single pass welding (SPW) or double pass welding (DPW), hooking defects and fatigue stress ratio on the fatigue properties are analyzed. It is found that the fatigue strengths of FSW lap-welded joints are obviously lower than that of the fusion lap-welded joints of IIW FAT22 and only approximately correspond and close to the IIW FAT12 design curve. The higher fatigue stress ratio R will lead to the decrease of the fatigue strength of lap-welded joints. The existence of hooking defects is the key factor to reduce the fatigue strengths. Fatigue cracks always initiate at the tip of hooking defect in the RS of SPW and AS of DPW joints respectively. The severity of hooking defects and the quality of lap-welds could not be improved by the DPW process as compared with the SPW process. The fatigue strength Δσ m and Δσ k (R =0.1) of DPW joints will be 21.26% and 17.88% lower than that of SPW joints respectively. The fracture of lap-welded joints exhibits multiple crack initiations from the tips of the hooking locations, and the crack propagation shows some brittle fracture and is mainly characterized by the fatigue striations. The locations of crack initiation and the amount of secondary cracks in DPW joints are more than that of in the SPW joints which leading to the lower fatigue properties. The ductile fracture mode is obviously shown in the final fracture zone with deep-hole type dimples in the SPW joints but shallow-hole type dimples in the DPW joints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The extreme variability of the mitochondrial (mito) genomes of bivalves makes it difficult to understand their evolutionary dynamics, given that species from different families do not share comparable features. We compared the mitogenomes from four Paphia clams (three of them were firstly sequenced) and found that mitogenome reorganization among the four congeneric species is not random but follows phylogenetic trends. Start/stop codon variations are species-correlated rather than gene-correlated, and bear useful phylogenetic information. Unique start/stop codon usage in P. euglypta and A+T content in P. amabilis indicates that these mitogenome-level characters, usually considered to be conservative features in other lineages, may not be phylogenetically evolved, but may have evolved via species-specific mitogenomic maintenance mechanisms. Variable divergence of two trnM genes in different lineages may demonstrate differences in mechanisms by which paralogous trnM genes are maintained. Sequence alignment analysis indicates that the VNTRs in the four mitogenomes have a common origin. The rationale of the subgenus Neotapes Kuroda and Habe, 1971 was supported by evidence from morphological characters, mitogenomic features, as well as phylogenetic analyses using cox1 and rrnS genes. The data suggest that the taxonomic basis of the subgenus should be “smooth surface” but not “undulated lines,” and P. textile should be classified to the Neotapes subgenus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mesh is an important and popular interconnection network topology for large parallel computer systems. A mesh can be divided into submeshes to obtain the upper bounds on the connection probability for the mesh. Combinatorial techniques are used to get closer upper bounds on the connection probability for 2-D meshes compared with the existing upper bounds we have known. Simulation results of meshes of various sizes show that our upper bounds are close to the exact connection probability. The combinatorial methods and tools used in this paper can be used to study the connection probabilities for other networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Extraordinary variation has been found in mitochondrial (mt) genome inheritance, gene content and arrangement among bivalves. However, only few bivalve mt genomes have been comparatively analyzed to infer their evolutionary scenarios. In this study, the complete mt genome of the venerid Paphia euglypta (Bivalvia: Veneridae) was firstly studied and, secondly, it was comparatively analyzed with other venerids (e.g., Venerupis philippinarum and Meretrix petechialis) to better understand the mt genome evolution within a family. Though several common features such as the AT content, codon usage of protein-coding genes, and AT/GC skew are shared by the three venerids, a high level of variability is observed in genome size, gene content, gene order, arrangements and primary sequence of nucleotides or amino acids. Most of the gene rearrangement can be explained by the 'tandem duplication and random loss' model. From the observed rearrangement patterns, we speculate that block interchange between adjacent genes may be common in the evolution of mt genomes in venerids. Furthermore, this study presents several new findings in mt genome annotation of V. philippinarum and M. petechialis, and hence we have reannotated the genome of these two species as: (1) the ORF of the formerly annotated cox2 gene in V. philippinarum is deduced by using a truncated 'T' codon and a second cox2 gene is identified; (2) the trnS-AGN gene is identified and marked in the mt genome of both venerids. Thus, this study demonstrated a high variability of mt genomes in the Veneridae, and showed the importance of comparative mt genome analysis to interpret the evolution of the bivalve mt genome. Une variation extraordinaire a été observée en ce qui a trait à la transmission, au contenu génique et à l'arrangement du génome mitochondrial (mt) chez les bivalves. Cependant, seuls quelques génomes mt ont été comparés chez les bivalves pour en comprendre l'évolution. Dans ce travail, le génome mt complet du Vénéridé Paphia euglypta (Bivalvia : Veneridae) a été étudié et ensuite comparé à ceux d'autres Vénéridés (e.g., Venerupis philippinarum et Meretrix petechialis) afin de mieux comprendre l'évolution du génome mt au sein d'une famille. Bien que plusieurs caractéristiques étaient semblables chez les trois Vénéridés, comme le contenu en AT, l'usage des codons au sein des régions codant pour des protéines et le biais AT/GC, une grande variabilité a été observée en ce qui a trait à la taille du génome, le contenu et l'ordre génique, l'arrangement et la séquence primaire des nucléotides ou des acides aminés. La plupart des réarrangements géniques pouvaient s'expliquer via le modèle de « duplication en tandem suivie d'une perte aléatoire ». À partir des réarrangements observés, les auteurs proposent que l'échange de blocs entre gènes adjacents pourrait être un phénomène répandu dans l'évolution des génomes mt chez les Vénéridés. De plus, cette étude présente plusieurs nouvelles trouvailles en matière d'annotation des génomes mt chez le V. philippinarum et le M. petechialis. Les auteurs ont ainsi produit une nouvelle annotation du génome mt de ces deux espèces avec les modifications suivantes : 1) l'ORF du gène précédemment annoté comme étant cox2 chez le V. philippinarum a été déduit en utilisant un codon « T » tronqué et un second gène cox2 a été identifié ; 2) et le gène trnS-AGN a été identifié et annoté dans les génomes mt des deux espèces. Ainsi, cette étude a montré la grande variabilité des génomes mt chez les Vénéridés et l'importance de l'analyse comparée des génomes mt pour déduire l'évolution du génome mt chez les bivalves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Yb3+-doped (Lu0.5Y0.5)3Al5O12 (Yb:LuYAG) single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski method. The segregation coefficient of Yb3+ was studied by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) method. The crystal structure has been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The absorption and emission spectra and fluorescence lifetime of Yb:LuYAG crystal were measured at room temperature. The spectroscopic parameters of Yb:LuYAG crystal were compared with those of Yb:YAG and Yb:LuAG crystals with the same doping level. The results indicate that Yb:LuYAG crystals are potential candidates for high-power ultrashort pulse lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An i-DNA based electrochemical proton sensor which is fabricated by attaching the ferrocene-labeled i-DNA (Fc-i-DNA) onto a gold electrode is reported. This type of i-DNA is a cytidine-rich single-stranded oligonucleotide that its conformation can be switched between the random coil conformation and the folded i-motif structure at different pH values. The Fc-i-DNA is thiol terminated and can be bound to the gold electrode surface by Au–S interaction. With the variation of solution pH, the distance between ferrocene moiety and electrode surface is changed, leading to different redox currents. The pH can then be determined by measurement of the corresponding currents. In the range of pH 5.6–7.1, it is shown a linear relationship between the currents and pH values. The proton sensor also exhibits quick response, easy fabrication, and good selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The β-galactosidase from Enterobacter cloacae B5 was employed to synthesize novel galactose containing chemicals (GCCs) using mannitol, sorbose, and salicin as acceptors in the presence of o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (oNPGal) as donor. The influences of the process parameters on GCC synthesis using mannitol as an acceptor, including effects of variations in initial substrate concentration, reaction time, and temperature, were studied in detail. The mannitol derivative reached a yield of 14.6% when the enzyme was used in the presence of 30mM oNPGal and 60mM mannitol at 50°C for 10min. The sorbose and salicin derivatives reached yields of 19.4% and 25.2%, respectively, under the same conditions except for acceptor concentrations. Through analysis of ESI-MS and NMR spectroscopy, the three derivatives were identified to be β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→1′)-d-mannitol, β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→1′)-l-sorbose, and 2-(hydroxymethyl) phenyl β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→6′)-β-d-glucopyranoside. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A Yb3+-doped CaYAlO4 laser crystal has been grown by the Czochralski technique. The segregation coefficient was measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). The cell parameters were analyzed with X-ray diffraction experiments. Color defects in Yb:CaYAlO4 have been evidenced to be similar to those in undoped CaYAlO4. The polarized absorption spectra and the fluorescence spectrum of the Yb:CaYAlO4 crystal were measured at room temperature. The fluorescence decay time of the Yb3+ ion was investigated. The results show that Yb:CaYAlO4 has potential as a laser gain medium for an ultrashort laser system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The concept of Cooperated Multipoint (CoMP) transmission is proposed for LTE-Advanced, which is in a form of distributed networks. In this background, a novel CoMP architecture is proposed in this paper, based on Group Cell concept in China FuTURE 4G TDD systems. Moreover, four actual scenarios are also concluded in CoMP, which, respectively, are single user in intracell, multiple users in intracell, single user in intercell and slide handover in intercell. In addition, a joint subcarrier optimization method is proposed to mitigate the intercell interference and improve performance under CoMP architecture; the method includes two aspects, which, respectively, are subcarrier allocation with maximum gain to interference plus noise ratio (GINR) and power allocation based on balanced signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR). On this basis, three combined schemes are presented in simulation. Compared with traditional scheme, the proposed scheme improves throughputs and reduces blocking probability. Moreover, the average data rates in cell edge are also raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We review the investigation of a single quantum dot driven by a strong optical field. By coherent pump-probe spectroscopy, we demonstrate the Autler–Townes splitting and Mollow absorption spectrum in a single neutral quantum dot. Furthermore, we also show the typical Mollow absorption spectrum by driving a singly charged quantum dot in a strong optical coupling regime. Our results show all the typical features of an isolated atomic system driven by a strong optical field, such as the AC stark effect, Rabi side bands and optical gain effect, which indicate that both neutral and charged quantum dots maintain the discrete energy level states even at high optical field strengths. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For given graphs , the three-color Ramsey number is defined to be the least positive integer such that every 3-coloring of the edges of complete graph contains a monochromatic copy of colored with , for some . In this paper, we prove that , , , , for ; , , for . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]