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Due to the difficulty of estimating probability function and the high space complexity of the existing probabilistic neural network (PNN), an improved PNN model is presented by introducing the mechanism of back-propagation (BP). The improved model inherits the principle and structure of PNN, and meanwhile applies the BP algorithm of multilayer perceptron (MLP) to train probability function and parameters. The above two aspects help overcome the PNN's shortcomings. Three numerical experiments have been designed to verify the improved model, and their results indicate that the new model has strong capacity to identify the importance of input indicators and own high accuracy of classification. In conclusion, the BP-PNN model is a new pattern classification method with widespread applicability and can support management decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smoothing-type algorithm has been successfully applied to solve various optimization problems. Based on a new class of smoothing functions, in this paper, we propose a smoothing-type algorithm with a mixed line search for solving the nonlinear complementarity problem. Under suitable conditions, the proposed algorithm is well-defined and maintains global convergence and local superlinear convergence. Preliminary numerical results are also reported and demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To study the role of curcumin on glioma cells via the SHH/ GLI1 pathway in vitro and vivo. Methods The effects of curcumin on proliferation, migration, apoptosis, SHH/ GLI1 signaling, and GLI1 target genes expression were evaluated in multiple glioma cell lines in vitro. A U87-implanted nude mice model was used to study the role of curcumin on tumor volume and the suppression efficacy of GLI1. Results Curcumin showed cytotoxic effects on glioma cell lines in vitro. Both mRNA and protein levels of SHH/ GLI1 signaling ( Shh, Smo, GLI1) were downregulated in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Several GLI1-dependent target genes ( Cyclin D1, Bcl-2, Foxm1) were also downregulated. Curcumin treatment prevented GLI1 translocating into the cell nucleus and reduced the concentration of its reporter. Curcumin suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and induced apoptosis which was mediated partly through the mitochondrial pathway after an increase in the ratio of Bax to Bcl2. Intraperitoneal injection of curcumin in vivo reduced tumor volume, GLI1 expression, the number of positively stained cells, and prolonged the survival period compared with the control group. Conclusion This study shows that curcumin holds a great promise for SHH/ GLI1 targeted therapy against gliomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Si3N4/BN composites were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) through traditional powder mixing process and by a chemical route to Si3N4/BN composite powder, respectively. The SPS-processed Si3N4/BN composites maintain a considerably high bending strength, exhibiting some gradual decrease though with increasing BN content. Given the BN content, the bending strength is enhanced for the composites prepared by powder mixing relative to the chemical route counterparts. Differences in the α→β phase transformation of Si3N4 and grain growth during the SPS process play a key role in the variation of strength. Regardless of the preparation method, the Si3N4/BN composites with a BN content up to 30vol.% can be well machined with WC tools. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Within a short period of 7 months from July 12, 1995 to February 3, 1996, three earthquakes occurred continually to west Menglian in the border area of China-Myanmar ( M=7.3), in Wuding county M=6.5 and in Lijiang ( M=7.0) in Yunnan area. In this paper, the authors have studied the time-space evolution characteristics of wave velocity ratio ( γ) in observed at 5 single stations and the average value of several stations before the recent strong earthquakes. It is discovered that 5–8 years before the earthquake with M=7, source precursors of long-medium term, with high (low) drastic variations of wave velocity ratio, appeared within 120 km from the epicenters, and the source precursors of long-medium term entered into medium-short term stage when the amplitude of wave velocity ratio suddenly increased (decreased) or times of earthquake increase drastically. Three to five years before M=6 earthquakes, source precursors of long-medium term and near field precursors of long-medium term, with abrupt velocity change of high values, appeared within 40 and 150 km; however, the indicator is not clear in the period of transition to medium-short stage. The anomaly of γ within 150 km from the epicenter reaches as much as 3.0, while the maximum value is 2.36 in the area 250 km away, showing the characteristics that the shorter the distance the bigger the abrupt change. Namely, the anomalous amplitudes of source precursors and near field precursors are 20%–60% bigger than that of far precursors. The reliability of abrupt variation data of γ and its physical mechanism have also been explored in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of neutralization of stainless steel pickling wastewater will produce a lot of pickling sludge, and improper treatment of this sludge poses a serious threat to the environment. This paper presents a new process for disposing stainless steel pickling sludge in an environmentally friendly manner while effectively reusing the elements contained in the sludge. This process involved direct reduction with magnetic separation. First, the harmful components of sludge were turned into harmless components by converting Fe3+, Cr3+, and Ni2+ to Fe, Cr, and Ni metals by direct reduction. The temperature of reduction was 1473 K, which was lower than the existing process temperature (1673 K). Then, the reduction product was subjected to magnetic separation, whose efficiency is high, to separate metals and nonmetals. Consequently, the metal alloy powder (Ni + Cr + Fe) and nonmetallic phase, which were harmless, were collected. The nonmetallic phase was mainly composed of CaF 2. The recovery rates of Fe, Cr, and Ni were 95.3%, 88.7%, and 97.53%, respectively, and their grades were 69.31%, 7.60%, and 16.71%, respectively. Alloy powder can be used as raw material for stainless steel smelting. Image 1077 • Pickling sludge is well detoxified after reduction with the new process of cleaner production. • The reduced metal have been effectively resourcing; the tailing can be used as a flux for smelting. • The chromium oxide was completely metallization reduced at lower temperature (1473K) ，and chromium carbide was no found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The composite beads (CACPs) were prepared facilely at room temperature. • CACPs can be completely separated within 1 min without centrifugation. • A convenient and sensitive method was developed for detecting neonicotinoids. • The developed method was successfully validated in fruit and vegetable samples. Neonicotinoids, the fastest-growing class of insecticides, have posed a multi-media residue problem with adverse effects on environment, biodiversity and human health. Herein, covalent organic framework-sodium alginate-Ca2+-polyacrylic acid composite beads (CACPs), facilely prepared at room temperature, were used in convenient dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) and combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the detection of five neonicotinoid insecticides (thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, imidacloprid). CACPs can be completely separated within 1 min without centrifugation. After seven adsorption/desorption cycles, it maintained high extraction efficiencies (>90%). The developed method exhibited a wide linear range (0.01 ∼ 10 μg mL−1), low limits of detection (LODs, 0.0028 ∼ 0.0031 mg kg−1), and good repeatability (RSD ≤ 8.11%, n = 3). Moreover, it was applied to the determination of five neonicotinoids in fruit and vegetables (peach, pear, lettuce, cucumber, tomato), and recoveries ranged from 73.6% to 116.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosized Mn3O4 crystals are prepared by blowing air into a mixture of Mn(OAc)2 and NH3·H2O dissolved in EtOH (50 °C, 5 min). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic phytochemical investigations on Abies delavayi afforded 110 compounds, including 49 terpenoids, 13 lignans, 20 flavonoids, three coumarins, and 25 other chemical constituents. By detailed analysis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic and high-resolution mass spectrometric data, 10 previously unreported compounds were identified: they comprised three sesquiterpenoids, two diterpenoids, one triterpenoid, one monoterpenoid, one flavonoid, and two phenols. These 10 compounds and some previously known ones were subjected to two cytotoxic bioassays against three human tumor cell lines and NO production inhibition on RAW264.7 macrophages, respectively. (25R)-24,25-Dihydroabieslactone had the strongest cytotoxic activity against Colo-205 cells with an IC50 value of 19.0±3.7μg/mL. (+)-T-cadinol, 8,11,13-abietatrien-15-ol-18-yl acetate, 18-acetoxy-13-epi-manool, imperatorin, bergapten, and 5,7-O-dimethyl poriol exhibited weak inhibitory activity against LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages with IC50 values of approximately 50μg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the wide application of Mo in a range of fields, the performance requirements for molybdenum products and molybdenum alloys have increased in recent years. In this study, a novel process is developed for the production of the main component of molybdenum powder, namely MoO 2. Subsequently, the thermal stability of the component is measured, and the reduction mechanism is determined to evaluate its effects on the particle size and morphology. Evidently, the H 2 MoO 5 raw material is completely stripped of O 2 2− following a two-step heat-absorption reaction at 247 °C to produce MoO 3 grains with a needle-like structure. These needle-like grains exhibit a lower reduction temperature than commercial MoO 3 , enabling part of the reduction reaction to occur at 440 °C. Additionally, the reaction rate is higher, and the reaction time at the same temperature is approximately half that of the commercial MoO 3. The reaction mechanism associated with the needle-like MoO 3 is mainly governed by chemical vapor transport (CVT), which leads to greater morphological changes, and can effectively regulate the nucleation and growth of MoO 2. A more dispersed ultrafine/nano-MoO 2 powder with an average particle size of 200–700 nm could be successfully prepared at low temperatures by adjusting the reduction temperature of MoO 3 , and to reduce the reduction temperature. It was found that the MoO 2 grains began to grow continuously along the one-dimensional direction under the combined effects of the CVT and gas–liquid–solid growth mechanisms, forming MoO 2 grains with a unique stripe-like morphology. These results are expected to contribute to the production of high-quality molybdenum powder to satisfy the requirements of various research and application fields. • The hydrogen reduction reactions of H 2 MoO 5 and MoO 3 were investigated. • H 2 MoO 5 generated MoO 3 via a two-step endothermic reaction prior to reduction. • Using H 2 MoO 5 , the reaction temperature was lower and the reaction rate was faster. • Ultrafine and uniformly dispersed MoO 2 (200–700 nm) prepared at low temperatures. • Polyhedral MoO 2 with a different morphology to the feedstock was also prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To examine a novel strategy to enhance the survival of grafted neural stem cells ( NSCs) in stroke model. Methods Using a cell counting kit-8 ( CCK-8) and TUNEL assay to test the protective effects of p53 inhibitor, pifithrin-α ( PFT-α), on oxygen glucose deprivation ( OGD) in NSCs. We compared the effects of vehicle + NSCs and FFT-α + NSCs on the efficacy of transplantation in stroke rat model using behavioral analysis, immunohistochemistry, etc. Results Pifithrin-α increased viability and decreased apoptosis in NSCs after OGD in vitro. By in vivo studies, we showed that the best recovery of neurological function in the stroke rats and the maximum survival of grafted NSCs were found in the PFT-α + NSCs group. Twelve hours after cell transplantation, p53 was localized to the nuclei of grafted NSCs in the vehicle + NSCs group but was primarily localized to the cytoplasm in the PFT-α + NSCs group. The p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis ( PUMA) was highly expressed among the grafted cells in the vehicle + NSCs group compared with that in the PFT-α + NSCs group. Conclusion Our results indicate that PFT-α enhances the survival of grafted NSCs through the inhibition of p53 translocation into the nucleus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Six previously unreported and 11 known terpenoids were isolated from Abies holophylla. The structures of the six compounds were established as two unusual bisabolane sesquiterpenoids, three nortriterpenoids, and one 3,4-seco-triterpenoid based on the detailed analysis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. In addition, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and molecular orbital (MO) analysis were used to assign the absolute configuration of one bisabolane sesquiterpenoid, abiesesquine A. Abiesesquine A showed the strongest inhibitory effects against LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages with an IC50 value of 113.1μM. Lanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-26-oic acid showed potent cytotoxic activity against COLO-205, LOVO, and QGY-7703 tumor cells with IC50 values of 0.9, 4.2, and 2.0μM, respectively. (23R,25R)-3,4-seco-9βH-Lanosta-4(28),7-dien-26,23-olid-3-oic acid, exhibited a significant antiproliferation effect against A549 cells (IC50 =14.7μM). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reactions of Cu(II) or Co(II) salts and 2-(4-carboxyphenoxy)terephthalic acid (H3cpota) with N-heterocyclic donors (1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or 4,4′-bipyridine (4,4′-bpy)) formed two multidimensional CPs, [Cu(μ3-Hcpota)(phen)]n·nH2O (1) and [Co2(μ4-cpota)(μ2-4,4′-bpy)(μ3-OH)]n·nH2O (2). The apoptosis percentage of ovarian cells after cyclophosphamide (CTX) exposure and treatment with 1 and 2 was evaluated by Annexin V-FITC detection kit. In addition, the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor was measured with ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay detection kit). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By considering the influence of model uncertainty and external disturbance as well as combining theory of high order sliding mode with the recurrent hermite neural network (RHNN), this paper proposed a nonlinear robust control method for solving the longitudinal motion control problem of underwater vehicles. Based on the characteristics of multiple time scales, the longitudinal motion model was divided into inner and outer loops. The designed fast and smooth second order controller, which applied the discontinuous sign function on the derivative of the control law, was used in the outer loop. Then integration was performed to obtain the continuous sliding mode control law, which was applied to remove chattering and improve convergence rate. Furthermore, based on the controller of outer loop, the composite disturbance of the inner loop was effectively estimated using the combination between the fast smooth second order sliding mode controller and the RHNN disturbance observer. Therefore, the controller was effectively compensated, and the entire system’s stability in finite time was proved. The simulation results confirmed the promising performance and robustness of the proposed control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To explore the expression, methylation pattern, the prognostic value, and the biological consequences of CAMKK2 in gliomas. Methods The expression and methylation pattern of CAMKK2 was inferred and validated from mRNA expression profile (N = 866) and methylation profile (N = 426) of glioma tissue samples, and independent samples were used for further validation by IHC and pyrosequencing. To explore the function of CAMKK2 in gliomas, in vitro studies, colony formation assays and migration and invasion assays were performed. Results We found the upregulation of CAMKK2 in high-grade glioma samples was associated with promoter hypomethylation. An elevated expression of CAMKK2 was associated with worse prognosis. By in vitro assays, we demonstrated that CAMKK2 could promote cell migration, invasion, and proliferation. Conclusions The expression level of CAMKK2 could be regulated by promoter methylation. CAMKK2 serves as a prognostic marker in gliomas and could be a potential therapeutic target in gliomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A novel microbial flocculants (MBF) was produced from a new strain. [•] The MBF can flocculate strong alkaline trona suspension. [•] The MBF can be produced using the waste from food industry as low-cost medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Mcl-1, an antiapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, is overexpressed in human glioblastoma, conferring a survival advantage to tumor cells. The mechanisms underlying its dysregulation have not been clarified. In this study, we explored the involvement of micro-RNAs that acted as endogenous sequence-specific suppressors of gene expression. Methods and results Using computational and TCGA analysis, we identified miR-139 as being downregulated in glioblastoma in comparison with human brain tissue, as well as possessing a putative target site in Mcl-1 m RNA. Overexpression of miR-139 led to a clear decrease in Mcl-1 expression in gliomas. Reporter assays revealed direct post-transcriptional regulation involving miR-139 and the 3′-untranslated region of Mcl-1. Human glioma tissues with low expression of miR-139 displayed higher expression of Mcl-1 protein than those with high expression, suggesting that low miR-139 contributes to Mcl-1 overexpression. In addition, upregulation of miR-139 suppressed the proliferation and enhanced temozolomide ( TMZ)-induced apoptosis. Finally, we observed that Mcl-1 knockdown resulted in similar effects compared with miR-139 transfection. Conclusion Our results suggested that miR-139 negatively regulated Mcl-1 and induced apoptosis in cooperation with an anticancer drug TMZ in glioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the diagnostic value of non-enhanced inflow-sensitive inversion recovery (IFIR) MR angiography for the detection of renal artery stenosis (RAS), with enhanced CT angiography performed as the reference standard. Materials and methods: Sixty consecutive patients suspected of RAS underwent both of IFIR MR and enhanced CT angiography. Subjective image quality, renal artery depiction and renal artery grading were all evaluated on artery-by-artery basis. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to assess agreement between the two techniques. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for RAS detection at IFIR MR angiography were calculated. Results: One hundred twenty-six main renal arteries were visualized on enhanced CT and non-enhanced MR angiographic images, respectively. The Spearman rank correlation was 0.773 (P <.001) for renal artery depiction, 0.998 (P <.001) for renal arteries grading and 0.833 (P <.001) for RAS detection between the two modalities. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of IFIR MR angiography for RAS detection demonstrated 100%, 99.0%, 92.0% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: Non-enhanced IFIR MR angiography had high sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for RAS detection. It could be the first choice of renal artery imaging methods to avoid ionizing irradiation and renal toxicity from contrast media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To investigate the added value of volume on post-contrast three dimensional (3D) T1-weighted image (T1WI) over classical cross-sectional area on two dimensional (2D) T1WI in evaluating tumor response in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: Tumor cross-sectional area and volume measurements were performed on 104 MRI studies from 42 adult patients with GBM on post-contrast 5mm 2D T1WI and isotropic high resolution 3D T1WI, respectively. 52 pairs of MRI scans were analyzed for relative change. Radiographic responses were determined based on change in either area or volume. Results: A high correlation was revealed between tumor size measured by area on thick 2D and volume on high resolution 3D MRI in 104 scans (r =0.82, p <0.001). When four tumor response criteria were used according to the percentage changes (complete response/partial response/stable disease/progression), the kappa coefficient between the area on 2D and volume on 3D was 0.68 (p <0.05) with an overall agreement of 81%. Conclusions: Tumor cross-sectional area on post-contrast 2D T1WI appears comparable to volume on 3D T1WI and should still be a practical alternate of volume on 3D for evaluating tumor response. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Distinction between postoperative recurrent glioma and radiation injury remains a tough diagnostic problem for routine imaging methods. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the differentiated effectiveness of perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) for the two entities. Methods: PWI was performed using Siemens 3.0-T MR system for 35 patients with new contrast-enhancing lesions at the site of treated glioma. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn at the contrast-enhancing lesion and peri-lesion edema areas. For calculation of standardised relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) ratios, the same size ROIs were drawn at the area of contralateral hemisphere normal white matter on rCBV maps. At least five ROIs were selected at each lesion. The rCBV values were measured and the rCBV ratios were calculated. The maximum rCBV (rCBVmax) ratio at each region was chosen for analysis. The patients were divided into two groups: tumour recurrence and radiation injury. The mean rCBVmax ratios were compared between the two groups. Results: The mean rCBVmax ratio in the contrast-enhancing lesion was significantly higher in the tumour recurrence (4.36 ± 1.98) compared with that (1.28 ± 0.64) in the radiation injury ( P < 0.01). The mean rCBVmax ratio in the peri-lesion edema was also significantly higher in the tumour recurrence (1.79 ± 0.51) compared with that (0.85 ± 0.28) in the radiation injury ( P < 0.05). A recurrent tumour was suggested when the rCBVmax ratio >2.15 based on the receiver operating characteristic curve. Four patients with recurrent tumour and three with radiation injury were misclassified. Conclusion: PWI is a useful method to distinguish tumour recurrence and radiation injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Change in tumor size is a frequent endpoint in cancer clinical trials, but whether change in size should be measured using volume on two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) images is not certain. We compared volumetric measurements on post-contrast 2D and high-resolution 3D T1-weighted MR images (T1WI) in evaluating tumor response in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: Tumor volume measurements were performed on 86 MRI studies from 37 adult patients with GBM on post-contrast 5 mm 2D T1WI and isotropic high-resolution T1WI. The means of the two volumes were compared and their association was analyzed. Results: There is no significant difference between volumes measured on 2D and 3D in 86 scans (Z = 0.63, p = 0.53), and a high correlation was revealed between them ( r = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.97, p < 0.001). When the percentage changes were categorized into traditional tumor response criteria (complete response/partial response/stable disease/progressive disease), the kappa coefficient between the volume on 2D and volume on 3D was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.57-1.03, p < 0.05) with an overall agreement of 84%. Conclusions: Volume on post-contrast 2D T1WI appears comparable to volume on 3D T1WI and should be a practical alternative to volume on 3D in evaluating tumor response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on new analysis modes and new definitions with relative mathematization and simplification or strengthening forms for concepts of generalized systems, panderivatives, pansymmetry, panbox principle, pansystems relativity, etc., the framework and related principles of pansystems methodology and pansystems relativity are developed. Related contents include: pansystems with relatively universal mathematizing forms, 200 types of dualities, duality transformation, pansymmetry transformation, pansystems dialectics, the 8-domain method, pansystems mathematical methods, generalized quantification, the principles of approximation-transforming, pan-equivalence theorems, supply-demand analysis, thinking experiment, generalized gray systems, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an essential medicinal ingredient. In this study, we obtained a high-yielding mutant strain of CoQ10, VK-2-3, by subjecting R. sphaeroides V-0 (V-0) to a 12 C 6+ heavy ion beam and high-voltage prick electric field treatment. To investigate the mutation mechanism, the complete genomes of VK-2-3 and V-0 were sequenced. Collinearity analysis revealed that the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent dehydrogenase (NAD) gene underwent rearrangement in the VK-2-3 genome. The NAD gene was overexpressed and silenced in V-0, and this construct was named RS.NAD and RS.ΔNAD. The results showed that the titers of CoQ10 in the RS.NAD and RS.ΔNAD increased and decreased by 16.00 and 33.92%, respectively, compared to those in V-0, and these differences were significant. Our results revealed the mechanism by which the VK-2-3 CoQ10 yield increases through reverse metabolic engineering, providing insights for genetic breeding and mechanistic analysis., Competing Interests: Y-jH, Y-xL, and Z-jT were employed by Shenzhou Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Wang, Han, Liu, Li, Hu, Tian and Liu.)

To improve fermentative production of α-amylase, heavy-ion mutagenesis technology was used to irradiate Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) to obtain the high yielding mutants in this study. After continuous cultivation for 12 generations, eight mutants exhibited positive mutation rate with greater H/C. The α-amylase production was stable and obviously exceeded that by the parent strain, which shows that the mutants have a good genetic stability. Among the mutants, the α-amylase activity of B. subtilis KC-180-2 was 72.26 U·mL -1 , which was 82.34% higher than that of the original strain. After optimization of fermentation conditions and media, the α-amylase activity of B. subtilis KC-180-2 reached a maximum of 156.83 U·mL -1 at 36 h in a bioreactor. In addition, the optimized fermentation temperature of B. subtilis KC-180-2 was increased to 49℃, indicating B. subtilis KC-180-2 possesses high-temperature resistance, which has great application prospects for industrial fermentation for α-amylase production., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Three new lanostane derivatives (1-3) and twelve known triterpenoids (4-15) were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Abies nukiangensis. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated mainly by detailed analysis of their NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic data. Evaluation of the anti-HCV effects of all isolates showed that 3 exhibited moderate effect with the EC 50 value of 11.09 μM., (© 2022 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

We subjected the components of the glycolysis and energy metabolism pathways of Rhodobacter sphaeroides ( R . sphaeroides ) to metabolic engineering to improve the titer and yield of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Phosphofructokinase (PFK), cyclic adenylate-dependent protein kinase (PKAC), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and adenosine triphosphate hydrolase (KdpC) were overexpressed in R . sphaeroides VK-2-3 (VK-2-3). The strains were labeled R . sphaeroides PFK (RS.PFK), RS.PKAC, RS.PFK-PKAC, RS.KdpC, RS.GAPDH, and RS.KdpC-GAPDH. Results showed that the CoQ10 titers of RS.PFK, RS.PKAC, and RS.PFK-PKAC were 300.96 ± 0.87, 405.94 ± 4.77, and 379.94 ± 0.42 mg/l, respectively. The CoQ10 titers of RS.PFK and VK-2-3 were not significantly different; however, those for RS.PKAC and RS.PFK-PKAC were 13 and 6% higher than that of VK-2-3, respectively. Further, the titers of RS.KdpC, RS.GAPDH, and RS.KdpC-GAPDH were 360.17 ± 0.39, 409.79 ± 0.76, and 359.87 ± 1.14 mg/l, respectively. The titers of RS.KdpC and RS.KdpC-GAPDH were not significantly different from that for VK-2-3, whereas that for RS.GAPDH was 14% higher than that of VK-2-3. Finally, when the cultures of RS.GAPDH and VK-2-3 were scaled up in 5-L fermenters, the CoQ10 titers and RS.GAPDH yields increased by 44.3 and 37.8%, respectively, compared with VK-2-3.To the best of our knowledge, the glycolysis pathway of R. sphaeroides was studied for the first time in this study. We genetically modified the components of the energy metabolism pathway to obtain the strain with high yield of CoQ10 mutant RS.GAPDH. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for future studies involving metabolic engineering of CoQ10-producing strains., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Li, Hu and Liu.)

Objective: To construct the lentivirus overexpression vector with two label genes fused with CopGFP and Puro R and to detect the emission of green fluorescence as well as resistance to puromycin in liver cancer cells infected with lentivirus packaged with the above vector. Methods: Firstly, two fragments containing copGFP and Puro R coding sequences were amplified from pCDH-CMV-MCS-copGFP and pLKO.1 respectively; secondly, the two amplified regions were fused with each other by recombinant PCR; thirdly, the fusion DNA fragment was cut and inserted into pCDH-CMV-MCS-copGFP vector, which was linearized with the same restriction endonuclease as used to digest fusion DNA fragment: BamH Ⅰ and Sal Ⅰ. The fusion region in the constructed vector was confirmed by DNA sequencing. The checked vector was co-transfected with package assistant plasmids, namely PLP1, PLP2 and VSVG into in 293T cells and the culture supernatant was subjected to centrifuge and infect liver cancer MHCC97H cells, which were then used to detect their resistance to puromycin (infected cells were treated with 1 mg/ml puromycin for 7 days after infection) and to observe green fluorescence emission in microscope. To determine its efficiency in expressing foreign target protein, the Sp1 coding region was inserted into the MCS sites of the vector, and Sp1 mRNA and protein expression levels were compared with the vehicle vector by RT-qPCR and Western blot. Results: The lentivirus overexpression vector with two label genes fused with CopGFP and Puro R was successfully constructed, and the liver cancer cells infected with lentivirus packaged with the vector expressing two labeling genes fused with CopGFP and Puro R showed both emission of green fluorescence and resistance to puromycin simultaneously, while cells containing with the vector inserted with Sp1 coding region improved Sp1 mRNA level with 3.3 fold and protein level with 2.2 fold higher in comparison with cells containing the vehicle vector ( P ＜0.01). Conclusion: The fused label genes consisting of copGFP and Puro R are correctly cloned into the lentivirus vector and confer cells with the ability to emission of green fluorescence and resistance to puromycin, besides, the vector may promote the expression of the target gene with long coding sequence.

Despite the remarkable similarities between convolutional neural networks (CNN) and the human brain, CNNs still fall behind humans in many visual tasks, indicating that there still exist considerable differences between the two systems. Here, we leverage adversarial noise (AN) and adversarial interference (AI) images to quantify the consistency between neural representations and perceptual outcomes in the two systems. Humans can successfully recognize AI images as the same categories as their corresponding regular images but perceive AN images as meaningless noise. In contrast, CNNs can recognize AN images similar as corresponding regular images but classify AI images into wrong categories with surprisingly high confidence. We use functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity evoked by regular and adversarial images in the human brain, and compare it to the activity of artificial neurons in a prototypical CNN-AlexNet. In the human brain, we find that the representational similarity between regular and adversarial images largely echoes their perceptual similarity in all early visual areas. In AlexNet, however, the neural representations of adversarial images are inconsistent with network outputs in all intermediate processing layers, providing no neural foundations for the similarities at the perceptual level. Furthermore, we show that voxel-encoding models trained on regular images can successfully generalize to the neural responses to AI images but not AN images. These remarkable differences between the human brain and AlexNet in representation-perception association suggest that future CNNs should emulate both behavior and the internal neural presentations of the human brain., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zhang, Duan, Wang, Li, Yan, Hu, Zhang and Tong.)

Background: This study aims to investigate the risk factors of perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) mainly including postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in elderly patients with gastrointestinal tumors, and evaluate its predictive value., Methods: A total of 222 eligible elderly patients (≥65 years) scheduled for elective gastroenterectomy under general anesthesia were enrolled. The cognitive function assessment was carried out 1 day before surgery and 7 days after surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of risk factors for early POCD. The risk factors for POCD were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression model., Results: Of all the 222 enrolled patients, 91 (41.0%) developed early POCD and 40 (18.0%) were identified as major POCD within 7 days after the surgery. Visual analogue score (VAS, 1st day, resting) ≥4 (OR = 7.618[3.231-17.962], P < 0.001) and alcohol exposure (OR = 2.398[1.174-4.900], P = 0.016) were independent risk factors for early POCD. VAS score (1st, resting) ≥4 (OR = 13.823[4.779-39.981], P < 0.001), preoperative white blood cell (WBC) levels ≥10 × 10*9/L (OR = 5.548[1.128-26.221], P = 0.035), blood loss ≥500 ml (OR = 3.317[1.094-10.059], P = 0.034), history of hypertension (OR = 3.046[1.267-7.322], P = 0.013), and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥2 (OR = 3.261[1.020-10.419], P = 0.046) were independent risk factors for major POCD. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that VAS score (1st day, resting) was a significant predictor for major POCD with a cut-off value of 2.68 and an area under the curve of 0.860 (95% confidence interval: 0.801-0.920, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: The risk factors for early POCD after gastroenterectomy included high VAS score (1st day, resting) and alcohol exposure. High VAS score, preoperative WBC levels ≥10 × 10*9/L, blood loss ≥500 ml, NLR ≥2, and history of hypertension were independent risk factors for major POCD. Among them, VAS score was one of the important predictors., (© 2021. The Author(s).)