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Semiconducting β -SiC nanofibers coated carbon fibers were introduced to reinforce Si 3 N 4 ceramics, giving rise to forming hierarchical microstructure and excellent microwave absorbing performance. Dielectric properties of C f -SiCNFs/Si 3 N 4 ceramic composite (denoted as S-CS) has been investigated in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) at elevated temperatures (from room temperature to 800 °C). The temperature-dependent dielectric of S-CS exhibits a multi-relaxation characteristic, which is related to the hierarchical structure, complex component, and electromagnetic frequency. The thermal dielectric behavior is discussed by Debye theory, and the relaxation factor κ is first introduced to predict the temperature-dependent multi-relaxation behavior intuitively. Combining the impedance matching theory, the relaxation factor κ can perfectly predict the best electromagnetic wave absorbing performance of S-CS (– 20.37 dB) both consideration of thickness and frequency at 800 °C, which is an effective way to characterize the electromagnetic absorbing performance at high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemia is a type of malignant hematological disease that is generally resistant to chemotherapy and has poor therapeutic outcomes. Werner (WRN) DNA helicase, an important member of the RecQ family of helicases, plays an important role in DNA repair and telomere stability maintenance. WRN gene dysfunction leads to premature aging and predisposes humans to various types of cancers. However, the biological function of WRN in cancer remains unknown. In this study, the expression of this RecQ family helicase was investigated in different types of leukemia cells, and the leukemia cell line K562 with high WRN expression was selected to construct a WRN knockdown cell line. The results showed that WRN knockdown inhibited leukemia occurrence and development by regulating the proliferation, cell cycle, differentiation, and aging of cells and other biological processes. The results of transcriptome sequencing revealed that WRN promoted the sensitivity of leukemia cells to the DNA damage inducer Etoposide by regulating cell cycle-related proteins, such as CDC2, cyclin B1, p16, and p21, as well as key proteins in DNA damage repair pathways, such as p53, RAD50, RAD51, and MER11. Our findings show that WRN helicase is a promising potential target for leukemia treatment, providing new ideas for the development of targeted drugs against leukemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemia is a type of malignant hematological disease that is generally resistant to chemotherapy and has poor therapeutic outcomes. Werner (WRN) DNA helicase, an important member of the RecQ family of helicases, plays an important role in DNA repair and telomere stability maintenance. WRN gene dysfunction leads to premature aging and predisposes humans to various types of cancers. However, the biological function of WRN in cancer remains unknown. In this study, the expression of this RecQ family helicase was investigated in different types of leukemia cells, and the leukemia cell line K562 with high WRN expression was selected to construct a WRN knockdown cell line. The results showed that WRN knockdown inhibited leukemia occurrence and development by regulating the proliferation, cell cycle, differentiation, and aging of cells and other biological processes. The results of transcriptome sequencing revealed that WRN promoted the sensitivity of leukemia cells to the DNA damage inducer Etoposide by regulating cell cycle-related proteins, such as CDC2, cyclin B1, p16, and p21, as well as key proteins in DNA damage repair pathways, such as p53, RAD50, RAD51, and MER11. Our findings show that WRN helicase is a promising potential target for leukemia treatment, providing new ideas for the development of targeted drugs against leukemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Prostate cancer is the most common malignant tumor among men worldwide. Currently, the main treatments are radical prostatectomy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy. However, most of them are poorly effective and induce side effects. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) regulates cell cycle and mitosis. Its inhibitor BI2536 promotes the therapeutic effect of nilotinib in chronic myeloid leukemia, enhances the sensitivity of neural tube cell tumors to radiation therapy and PLK1 silencing enhances the sensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma to cisplatin. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the PLK1 inhibitor L-shaped ortho -quinone analog TE6 on prostate cancer. In vitro on prostate cancer cells showed that TE6 inhibited PLK1 protein expression and consequently cell proliferation by blocking the cell cycle at G 2 phase. In vivo on a subcutaneous tumor model in nude mice confirmed that TE6 effectively inhibited tumor growth in nude mice, inhibited PLK1 expression and regulated the expression of cell cycle proteins such as p21, p53, CDK1, Cdc25C, and cyclinB1. Thus, PLK1 was identified as the target protein of TE6, these results reveal the critical role of PLK1 in the growth and survival of prostate cancer and point out the ability of TE6 on targeting PLK1, being a potential drug for prostate cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A hollow porous microfiber composite was fabricated using electrospuning. • The composite can promote healling of cutaneous wound effectively. • The composite served as wound dressing with robust toughness and biodegradability. An appropriate wound dressing is necessary to enhance the recovery of wounds and the restoration of tissue after the skin gets injured. In this study, a hollow porous microfiber (HPMF) scaffold composed of a combination of polylactic acid (PLA)/polybutylene adipate/butylene terephthalate (PBAT)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was developed using coaxial electrospinning for wound healing. The porous structure of PLA/PBAT HPMFs was formed by dissolving PVA in water. The results showed that when maintaining a PLA: PBAT weight ratio of 7:3, high-quality porous PLA/PBAT composites were achieved, leading to a 36.25% increase in toughness and a 4.9% increase in biodegradability compared to pure PLA. Furthermore, in vivo wound healing assays suggest that composites successfully loaded can effectively promote wound healing on the 13th day. Therefore, this work underscores the significant potential of PLA/PBAT HPMF dressing for wound repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel prenylated chalcone derivatives were designed and synthesized. • C36 showed the excellent broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity, especially in K562 and LNCaP cancer cell lines. • C36 repress the growth of cancer cells through inducing apoptosis, arresting cell cycle by down-regulating PI3K/AKT pathway. • Derivative C36 may as a new potential AKT inhibitor. A series of novel prenylated chalcone derivatives with broad spectrum anticancer potential were designed and synthesized. Some of the synthesized target compounds showed potent anti-proliferative activities toward LNCaP (prostate cancer cell line), K562 (human leukemia cells), A549 (human lung carcinoma cell line) and HeLa (cervical cancer cell line) cell lines. Among of the active compounds, (E)-1-(4-(2-(diethylamino)ethoxy)-2-hydroxy-6-methoxy-3-(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)phenyl)-3-(pyridin-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (C36) was directly interacted with protein kinase B (PKB), also known as AKT, significantly inhibited the pPI3K, pAKT(Ser473) protein levels to repress the growth of cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, arresting cell cycle. Our studies provide support for prenylated chalcone derivatives potential applications in cancer treatment as a potential AKT inhibitor. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the facts that significant synergistic effect existed between PARP inhibitors and DNA damage agents and the DNA damage caused by indirubin's derivatives, we herein adopted the strategy to combine the pharmacophores of PARP inhibitors and the unique scaffold of indirubin to design a series of bifunctional molecules inducing DNA damage and targeting PARP. After SAR studies, the most potent compound 12a , encoded as KWWS-12a , exhibited improved inhibitory effect against PARP1 compared with PARP1 inhibitor Olaparib (IC 50 = 1.89 nM vs 7.48 nM) and enhanced antiproliferative activities than the combination of Olaparib and indirubin-3′-monoxime towards HCT-116 cells (IC 50 = 0.31 μM vs 1.37 μM). In the normal NCM-460 cells, 12a showed low toxicity (IC 50 > 60 μM). The mechanism research indicated that 12a could increase the levels of γH2AX concentration dependently, arrest the cell cycle in S phase and induce apoptosis in HCT-116 cells. In vivo experiments showed that 12a displayed more significant antitumor potential than that of the positive controls. Our studies demonstrated that 12a could be a promising candidate for cancer therapy. [Display omitted] • A series of indirubin derivatives as anticancer agents were designed, synthesized and evaluated. • 12a could inhibit the growth of colonic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. • 12a could show significant antiproliferative activities against HCT-116 cells and notable inhibitory effect against PARP1. • 12a could accumulate DNA double-strand breaks in HCT-116 cells, arrest the cell cycle in S phase and induce apoptosis in HCT-116 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous fibers reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CFCMCs) are considered as key thermal structural materials for realizing components electromagnetic wave (EMW) stealth of future aircraft. As the main EMW absorber, design and manufacture fiber woven fabrics with high performance of EMW absorption for CFCMCs attract increasing global attentions. In this study, a thin, broadband-absorption multi-fibers mixed fabric structure was designed by using multi-fibers with different dielectric properties as design units. This as-designed structure can achieve effective absorption of < −10 dB throughout the whole X and Ku bands, while being insensitive to EMW angles. The absorption mechanism of multi-fibers hybrid fabric structure was investigated by numerical simulation. Reflected wave interference, multiple scattering and absorption of incident electromagnetic wave in the fiber fabric, and strong electromagnetic resonance absorption between adjacent fibers cooperation are key factors to realize broadband EMW absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The Langwashan iron deposit in submarine volcanic rocks is a Fe-skarn deposit. • Magnetite properties indicate iron mineralization and hydrothermal processes. • Many submarine volcanic iron deposits are likely to be Fe-skarn deposits. Carboniferous submarine volcanic rocks hosting iron deposits are widely distributed in the Tianshan and Beishan orogenic belts. However, the genesis of these deposits remains unresolved, with contrasting magmatic and magmatic-hydrothermal models being proposed. The Langwashan iron deposit (83.18 Mt @ 37% Fe) is one of the largest iron deposits in the Beishan orogenic belt. In this paper, we present detailed textural and trace-elemental properties of magnetite from the Langwashan iron deposit to elucidate the genesis and evolution of iron mineralization hosted in Lower Carboniferous submarine volcanic rocks. The Langwashan iron deposit has various types of iron ore that are closely associated with skarn minerals, including garnet and epidote. Magnetite in these samples can be classified into two distinct types, early-stage mushketovite (Mag1) and late-stage granular magnetite (Mag2), both of which show oscillatory zoning, with low Ti (mean of 0.03–0.07 wt%) and V (mean of 0.03–0.04 wt%) contents, and variable Si contents (mean of 0.74–6.50 wt%). These textural and compositional data classify the Langwashan deposit as a typical Fe-skarn deposit. Results also reveal that iron oxides in the Langwashan deposit underwent a complex evolution comprising three episodes: (1) early-stage influx of low-oxygen-fugacity, calcium-rich hydrothermal fluids, causing the transformation of original hematite to mushketovite (Mag1-1) and the formation of scheelite inclusions; (2) subsequent dissolution–reprecipitation between high-temperature magmatic-hydrothermal fluids and Mag1-1, generating trace-element-rich mushketovite (Mag1-2) and the precipitation of trace-element-rich granular magnetite (Mag2-1) from magmatic-hydrothermal fluids; and (3) final multiple fluid metasomatism under the influence of trace-element-poor hydrothermal fluids, involving dissolution–reprecipitation that produced trace-element-deficient Mag1-3, Mag2-2, and Mag2-3. Results also highlight that the submarine volcanic iron deposits from both the Tianshan and the Beishan orogenic belts were probably formed in a similar geological setting, with similar timing of formation, mechanism of mineralization, and evolution, and they are likely Fe-skarn deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave wireless power transfer (MWPT) technology has found a variety of applications in consumer electronics, medical implants and sensor networks. Here, instead of a magnetic resonant coupling wireless power transfer (MRCWPT) system, a novel MWPT system based on a frequency reconfigurable (covering the S-band and C-band) microstrip patch antenna array is proposed for the first time. By switching the bias voltage-dependent capacitance value of the varactor diode between the larger main microstrip patch and the smaller side microstrip patch, the working frequency band of the MWPT system can be switched between the S-band and the C-band. Specifically, the operated frequencies of the antenna array vary continuously within a wide range from 3.41 to 3.96 GHz and 5.7 to 6.3 GHz. For the adjustable range of frequencies, the return loss of the antenna array is less than −15 dB at the resonant frequency. The gain of the frequency reconfigurable antenna array is above 6 dBi at different working frequencies. Simulation results verified by experimental results have shown that power transfer efficiency (PTE) of the MWPT system stays above 20% at different frequencies. Also, when the antenna array works at the resonant frequency of 3.64 GHz, the PTE of the MWPT system is 25%, 20.5%, and 10.3% at the distances of 20 mm, 40 mm, and 80 mm, respectively. The MWPT system can be used to power the receiver at different frequencies, which has great application prospects and market demand opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, cloud computing has gained massive popularity in information technology and the industrial Internet of things. It provides facilities to the users over the wireless channel. Many surveys have been carried out in cloud security and privacy. The existing survey papers do not specify the classifications on the basis of cloud computing components. Therefore, they fail to provide the techniques with their specialities as well as the previously available literature review is outdated. This paper presents the security for cloud computing models with a new aspect. Unlike the previously existing surveys, the literature review of this paper includes the latest research papers in the field of cloud security. Also, different classifications are made for cloud computing security on the basis of different cloud components that are used to secure the cloud models. Furthermore, a total of eleven (11) classifications are considered, which includes cloud components to secure the cloud systems. These classifications help the researchers to find out the desired technique used in a specific component to secure the cloud model. Moreover, the shortcoming of each component enables the researchers to design an optimal algorithm. Finally, future directions are given to highlight future research challenges that give paths to researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fibers reinforced Si3N4 composites with SiC nanofiber interphase (Cf/SiCNFs/Si3N4) were prepared by combining catalysis chemical vapor deposition and gel‐casting process. Microstructures, mechanical properties, and electromagnetic wave absorption properties within X‐band at 25°C‐800°C of Cf/SiCNFs/Si3N4 composites were investigated. Results show that SiC nanofibers are combined well with Si3N4 matrix and carbon fibers, the fracture toughness is thus increased more than double from 3.51 MPa·m1/2 of the Si3N4 ceramic to 7.23 MPa·m1/2 of the as‐prepared composites. As the temperature increases from 25°C to 800°C, Cf/SiCNFs/Si3N4 composites show a temperature‐dependent complex permittivity, attenuation constant, and impedance. The relatively high attenuation capability of Cf/SiCNFs/Si3N4 composites at elevated temperature results in a great minimum reflection loss of −20.3 dB at 800°C with a thin thickness of 2.0 mm. The superior electromagnetic wave absorption performance mainly originates from conductive loss, multi‐reflection, and strong polarization formed by the combined effects of carbon fibers and SiC nanofibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lens-epithelium-derived growth-factor (LEDGF/p75)-binding site on HIV-1 integrase (IN), is an attractive target for antiviral chemotherapy. Small-molecule compounds binding to this site are referred as LEDGF-IN inhibitors (LEDGINs). In this study, compound libraries were screened to identify new inhibitors of LEDGF/p75-IN interaction. Ebselen (2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3-one), a reported anti-HIV-1 agent, was identified as a moderate micromolar inhibitor of LEDGF/p75-IN interaction. Ebselen inhibited the interaction by binding to LEDGF/p75 and the ability of ebselen to inhibit the interaction could be reversed by dithiothreitol (DTT). BLI experiment showed that ebselen probably formed selenium-sulphur bonds with reduced thiols in LEDGF/p75. To the best of our knowledge, we showed for the first time that small-molecule compound, ebselen inhibited LEDGF/p75-IN interaction by directly binding to LEDGF/p75. The compound discovered here could be used as probe compounds to design and develop new disrupter of LEDGF/p75-IN interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genome of Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteriophage vB_EcoM_CBA120 encodes four distinct tailspike proteins (TSPs). The four TSPs, TSP1-4, attach to the phage baseplate forming a branched structure. We report the 1.9 Å resolution crystal structure of TSP2 (ORF211), the TSP that confers phage specificity towards E. coli O157:H7. The structure shows that the N-terminal 168 residues involved in TSPs complex assembly are disordered in the absence of partner proteins. The ensuing head domain contains only the first of two fold modules seen in other phage vB_EcoM_CBA120 TSPs. The catalytic site resides in a cleft at the interface between adjacent trimer subunits, where Asp506, Glu568, and Asp571 are located in close proximity. Replacement of Asp506 and Asp571 for alanine residues abolishes enzyme activity, thus identifying the acid/base catalytic machinery. However, activity remains intact when Asp506 and Asp571 are mutated into asparagine residues. Analysis of additional site-directed mutants in the background of the D506N:D571N mutant suggests engagement of an alternative catalytic apparatus comprising Glu568 and Tyr623. Finally, we demonstrate the catalytic role of two interacting glutamate residues of TSP1, located in a cleft between two trimer subunits, Glu456 and Glu483, underscoring the diversity of the catalytic apparatus employed by phage vB_EcoM_CBA120 TSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, cloud computing has gained massive popularity in information technology and the industrial Internet of things. It provides facilities to the users over the wireless channel. Many surveys have been carried out in cloud security and privacy. The existing survey papers do not specify the classifications on the basis of cloud computing components. Therefore, they fail to provide the techniques with their specialities as well as the previously available literature review is outdated. This paper presents the security for cloud computing models with a new aspect. Unlike the previously existing surveys, the literature review of this paper includes the latest research papers in the field of cloud security. Also, different classifications are made for cloud computing security on the basis of different cloud components that are used to secure the cloud models. Furthermore, a total of eleven (11) classifications are considered, which includes cloud components to secure the cloud systems. These classifications help the researchers to find out the desired technique used in a specific component to secure the cloud model. Moreover, the shortcoming of each component enables the researchers to design an optimal algorithm. Finally, future directions are given to highlight future research challenges that give paths to researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching reflection based on videos is the main method in teacher education and professional development. However, it takes a long time to analyse videos, and teachers are easy to fall into the state of information overload. With the development of "AI + education," automatic recognition of teacher behavior to support teaching reflection has become an important research topic. In this paper, taking online open classroom teaching video as the data source, we collected and constructed a teacher behavior dataset. Using this dataset, we explored the behavior recognition methods based on RGB video and skeleton information, and the information fusion between them is carried out to improve the recognition accuracy. The experimental results show that the fusion of RGB information and skeleton information can improve the recognition accuracy, and the early-fusion effect is better than the late-fusion effect. This study helps to solve the problems of time-consumption and information overload in teaching reflection and then helps teachers to optimize the teaching strategies and improve the teaching efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electromagnetic properties and EMI shielding effectiveness of C f /mullite composites via the spark plasma sintering were intensively investigated in the gigahertz range (8.2–12.4 GHz). Experimental results have revealed excellent electromagnetic properties and a high value of EMI shielding effectiveness (nearly 40 dB) for C f /mullite composites with 1.65 vol % carbon fillers at thickness of 2 mm. We quantitatively characterize the contributions of microstructural features to overall EMI shielding effectiveness using a micromechanics-based homogenization model. The EMI shielding effectiveness enhances with respect to the C f volume concentration before the threshold. The increasing trend of EMI shielding effectiveness with respect to AC (alternating current) frequency can be attributed to enhanced conductivity at high gigahertz range. It is demonstrated that filler and frequency dependent interface effects are essential to obtain excellent electromagnetic properties of C f /mullite composite. The present research can provide guidances for the design of ceramic-based composites applied in high-temperature EMI shielding devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work proposed a new method for the synthesis of TiO 2 /C from Ti 3 C 2 T x. • Different morphologies of TiO 2 were obtained by adjusting the composition of the suspension. • The minimum reflection loss (RL) of −39.91 dB was obtained at 16.93 GHz with a thickness of only 1.4 mm. The layered structure with large specific area and moderate conductivity endow MXene with desired properties for microwave absorption. To date, oxidation of two dimensional (2D) Ti 3 C 2 T x to obtain composites including TiO 2 and C usually proceed under complex process, which impedes their further development. Herein, Ni/TiO 2 /C heterogeneous composites were synthesized in one pot reaction within a short time (10 min) by microwave irradiation of an aqueous mixture of nickel chloride and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) functionalized Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene. This simple one-pot microwave-assisted method is beneficial to obtain uniform TiO 2 nanoparticles with different morphologies (bipyramid and irregular) embedded in C layers, and the expanded interlayer originated from the intercalation of TiO 2 and Ni nanoparticles. In addition, the growth mechanism and different morphologies of TiO 2 from Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene are discussed. The elaborately designed laminar Ni/TiO 2 /C composites can be used as light and high efficient microwave absorption materials due to the synergistic effect of dielectric loss, magnetic loss and unique 2D heterogeneous nanostructure. The minimum reflection loss (RL) of −39.91 dB was obtained at 16.93 GHz with a thickness of only 1.4 mm. In addition, the dissipating heat ability of Ni/TiO 2 /C composites coated on lab-gown cloth was investigated via thermal infrared images. This work provides a simple and effective strategy for preparing other MXene-based heterogeneous composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of tapered single capillary X-ray lens, which is manufactured by using the nesting method, is proposed to generate a small focal spot with high power density gain for micro X-ray analysis. Experimentally, it was found that the nested tapered single capillary has a good geometric shape, and the tubes nest well. The experimental results verify that the nested manufacture process is feasible. Moreover, the transmission performance of the nested tapered single capillary was measured in the laboratory. At a distance 1.5 mm from the exit of the nested tapered single capillary, a beam spot of 9.1 μ m was obtained. The transmission efficiency of the nested tapered single capillary was 55%, and the gain in power density measured with or without the nested tapered single capillary was 16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The miR-17-92 cluster, consisting of six mature miRNAs including miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-19b, miR-20a, and miR-92a, plays a key role in the tumorigenesis and development of various cancers. The dysregulation of the cluster correlates with the biological mechanism of tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. However, the relationship between miR-17-92 cluster and malignancy of prostate cancer remains unclear, and its regulatory mechanism is worth investigating for controlling the proliferation and invasion of prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: The expressions of miR-17-92 cluster members were measured using real-time quantitative RT-PCR. WB and real-time quantitative RT-PCR were used to detect the expression of SERTAD3, p38, p21, p53 protein levels and transcription levels. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated using cell proliferation assay, EdU and Hoechst assay, colony formation experiment and flow cytometry analyses. Cell migration and invasion were determined via transwell assays. The TargetScan, miRDB, starBase databases and luciferase reporter assays were used to confirm the target gene of miR-92a. Results: The relative expression of miR-92a was threefold higher in the metastatic PC-3 cells compared with the non-metastatic LNCaP cells. Down-regulation of miR-92a in PC-3 cells led to the inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while its overexpression in LNCaP cells resulted in the promotion of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The role of SERTAD3 in prostate cancer can be alleviated by miR-92a inhibitor. Conclusion: SERTAD3 was the direct target gene of miR-92a in prostate cancer cells; inhibition of SERTAD3-dependent miR-92a alleviated the growth, invasion, and migration of prostate cancer cells by regulating the expression of the key genes of the p53 pathway, including p38, p53 and p21. These results suggested that targeting SERTAD3 by the induction of overexpression of miR-92a may be a treatment option in prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug discovery is a costly process which usually takes more than 10 years and billions of dollars for one successful drug to enter the market. Despite all the safety tests, drugs may still cause adverse reactions and be restricted in use or even withdrawn from the market. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the major adverse drug reactions, and computational models may be used to predict and reduce it. To assess the computational prediction performance of DILI, we curated DILI endpoints from three databases and prepared drug features including chemical descriptors, therapeutic classifications, gene expressions, and binding proteins. We trained machine-learning models to predict the various DILI endpoints using different drug features. Using the optimal feature sets, the top-performing models obtained areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) around 0.8 for some DILI endpoints. We found that some features, including therapeutic classifications and proteins, have good prediction performance towards DILI. We also discovered that the severity of DILI endpoints as well as the selection of negative samples may significantly affect the prediction results. Overall, our study provided a comprehensive collection, curation, and prediction of DILI endpoints using various drug features, which may help the drug researchers to better understand and prevent DILI during the drug discovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a model for simulating the X-ray transmission properties of a polycapillary X-ray lens in which the capillaries are arranged in a layered hexagonal structure. Each layer consists of hexagonally shaped capillary bundles which are arranged symmetrically around a centerline, and the capillary radius varies with the layer. The transmission efficiency of X-rays in different layers is studied, and by designing the capillary radius, a uniform X-ray intensity distribution is generated at the output of the polycapillary parallel X-ray lens, which has remarkable differences with the distribution of a conventional polycapillary parallel X-ray lens. In addition, several common defects in the manufacturing process of the polycapillary lens are simulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of challenges are impeding the development of high temperature electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing materials in x band. In this study, to deal with this problem, a coating, (1-x).wtAl 2 O 3 ∼x.wtTiC, is designed and prepared using plasma spraying technology. Its permittivity increases with temperature and TiC content, which endows it with a good EM impedance at high temperature. The coating possesses excellent EM absorbing performance at 800 ℃. When the x value equals 0.2 and thickness 1.6 mm, the coating exhibits an EAB of 3.45 GHz at 800℃, and a reflection loss lower than -8 dB in whole x band. The XRD result shows that only two phases exist in the coating. The SEM images illustrate that TiC is unevenly dispersed in Al 2 O 3 , causing loss of conductivity and interface polarization. The finding not only broadens the application of TiC-based materials but also indicates the promising future of this material system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solvent‐processable ultrablack materials have obvious application convenience in many situations, such as absorbing coatings on large and complex surfaces. However, developing solvent‐processable ultrablack materials with high light‐absorption performance and wide absorption band remains a great challenge. In this article, carbon vesicles (CVs) are fabricated for solvent‐processable ultrablack coating. The fabrication process involves a templated co‐condensation of silica and resorcinol formaldehyde resin (RF resin), followed by carbonization and template removal. The resultant structure shows a very thin inner layer, a rough outer layer, as well as a nano‐porous interlayer. This structure introduces randomness and breaks the spherical symmetry of the common carbon hollow spheres. As a result, structural color due to inner‐particle interference is avoided. In addition, the as‐fabricated CVs show a wide‐band low reflectance because of its low carbon filling ratio and nanoscale scatterer size. The lowest reflectance reaches ≈0.10% at 360 nm, making it the darkest solvent‐processable ultrablack material ever reported. The symmetry‐breaking strategy presented here provides an efficient way for the design of solvent‐processable ultrablack materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical drain current model on the basis of the surface potential is proposed for indium–gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an independent dual-gate (IDG) structure. For a unified expression of carriers' distribution for the sub-threshold region and the conduction region, the concept of equivalent flat-band voltage and the Lambert W function are introduced to solve the Poisson equation, and to derive the potential distribution of the active layer. In addition, the regional integration approach is used to develop a compact analytical current–voltage model. Although only two fitting parameters are required, a good agreement is obtained between the calculated results by the proposed model and the simulation results by TCAD. The proposed current–voltage model is then implemented by using Verilog-A for SPICE simulations of a dual-gate InGaZnO TFT integrated inverter circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a proposed capacitance readout circuit that enables a quadrupled (x4) output strength. A symmetric cross-coupling structure is proposed to amplify the voltage difference between two adjacent channels; hence, the detected signal can be integrated twice every clock cycle. Compared with conventional schematics, the proposed readout circuit shows an increased output strength for integration times within dozens of μs. In addition, the measurements show that the integrator resistors should be less than 1 kΩ to suppress the resistance–capacitance delay effects. Although the proposed capacitance readout circuit is implemented using discrete transistors, it has a good signal integrity at an operating clock cycle of 100 µs. Therefore, the proposed readout circuit is a promising way to detect small capacitance variations with short integration times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An X-ray focusing monochromator is proposed, which is composed of an X-ray source, a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and two poly-capillary X-ray lenses. Through the function of the front poly-capillary X-ray lens, the X-ray beams diffracted by the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite changed from a linear pattern with high divergence in the vertical direction, to a circular pattern with low divergence, and more X-rays are diffracted than the conventional monochromator of combining an X-ray source with a flat crystal. The post poly-capillary X-ray lens can focus the diffracted X-ray beams with low divergence into a small focal spot with high gain in power density. The results show that the gains of circular apertures with diameters of 320 and 100 μm are 12 and 22, respectively, at a distance of 221.5 mm away from the center of the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low permittivity CaMg 1- x (Mn 1/2 Zn 1/2) x Si 2 O 6 (x = 0-0.1) ceramics were synthesized via the solid-state reaction process for the first time. The Rietveld refinement, complex chemical bond theory and Raman spectra were introduced to analyze the effects of Mn2+/Zn2+ co-substitution to microwave dielectric properties. XRD spectra indicate the CaMg 1- x (Mn 1/2 Zn 1/2) x Si 2 O 6 ceramics processed the pure phase of CaMgSi 2 O 6 when x ≤ 0.02 and a small volume of secondary phase Ca 2 MgSi 2 O 7 for 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.1. The variation of ε r can be put down to average bond iconicity and Raman shift. Total lattice energy and packing fraction are main influence factor of the Q × f value. The monotonous decrease of τ f is associated with total bond valence and full width at half maximum of Raman peak. Additionally, CaMg 1- x (Mn 1/2 Zn 1/2) x Si 2 O 6 (x = 0.02) ceramics sintered at 1280 °C for 3 h exhibited excellent microwave dielectric properties of ε r = 8.16, Q × f = 70187, τ f = −38.48 ppm/°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) coated by extremely small FeCo-C core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a facile method based on one-step metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The CNTs have diameters of 10–50 nm, while the coated FeCo-C NPs have an extremely small average diameter of ∼5 nm and an average shell thickness of ∼1 nm. The as-synthesized nanotube-nanoparticle (CNT-NP) composite is stable in air up to ∼ 190 °C. When blended with 80 wt% paraffin wax, the CNT-NP composite exhibits a low optimal minimum reflection loss (RL min) value of −79.2 dB and a large effective microwave absorption bandwidth (BW eff) value of 6.3 GHz at a single thickness of 2.0 mm. Equivalent circuit modeling results reveal that CNTs can effectively regulate and optimize the dielectric loss properties of the as-synthesized CNT-NP composites. The outstanding microwave absorption performance of the composite can be attributed to the synergetic effects between the extremely small FeCo-C core-shell NPs and CNTs. This may provide a new strategy for the design of high-performance absorbers. The facile MOCVD-based method developed in this work is expected to be a universal route for the large-scale fabrication of CNT-NP composites. A facile approach is put forward to large-scalely synthesize of extremely small FeCo-C core-shell nanoparticles coated CNTs with outstanding microwave absorption. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of ferrite and carbon materials with core-shell nanostructures has attracted tremendous interest in microwave absorption field. Herein, Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell nanoparticles with diameters of 10–70 nm were synthesized by one-step metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The nanocores of the nanoparticles can be tailored from Fe 3 C, to Fe 3 C/Fe, and then Fe by simply changing the reaction temperature. The Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell nanoparticles exhibited an optimal reflection loss (RL) value of −58.5 dB and effective absorption bandwidth (frequency range for RL < − 10 dB) of 6.2 GHz at a low thickness of 2.0 mm. The microwave absorption performances of the as-synthesized Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell composites could be easily tuned by the phase composition of nanocores. The achieved results demonstrated that the as-synthesized Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell nanoparticles have considerable potential as an effective microwave absorber with tunable absorption performance. • Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell NPs are fabricated by MOCVD on a large scale. • The phase composition of nanocores are tailored from Fe 3 C, to Fe/Fe 3 C, and then to Fe, by changing the reaction temperature. • Fe/Fe 3 C-C core-shell NPs have an RL value of -58.5 dB and an BW eff value of 6.2 GHz at a thin thickness of 2.0 mm. • Phase control of nanocores is demonstrated to be effective way to tailor the MA properties of the as-synthesized NPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of amyloid- β (A β) plaques in the brain is one of the main pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The imaging probes, capable of detecting A β deposition, are important tools for early diagnosis of AD. In this article, we designed, synthesized and evaluated a cyanine-based near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) probe ZT-1 for the detection of A β deposits in the brain. The probe had excellent fluorescent properties with an emission maximum above 720 nm upon binding to A β aggregates with affinity of 445.0 nM (K d). Furthermore, ZT-1 exhibited good biostability, photostability, and binding selectivity toward A β 1-42 aggregates by in vitro fluorescence staining experiments. In vivo NIRF imaging result also revealed that our probe could efficiently differentiate transgenic and wild-type mice. All these studies indicated that ZT-1 is a promising fluorescent probe for A β plaques in the AD brains. Image 1 • A probe ZT-1 for the detection of A β deposits in the brain was synthesized and evaluated. • ZT-1 exhibited good biostability, photostability, and binding selectivity toward A β 1-42 aggregates. • ZT-1 could efficiently differentiate transgenic and wild-type mice by in vivo NIRF imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of N -Me linked quinoline derivatives as analogues of CA-4 were synthesized. • The structure–activity relationships were summarized basing on the anti-proliferation activity in vitro. • 5e exhibited most potent antitumor efficacy and disrupted microtubule assembly in the HeLa cells in vitro. • The molecular docking model study revealed that compounds 5e , 5f , 5j and 5n might occupied the colchicine site of β -tubulin. In this work, a series of 2-(trifluoromethyl)quinolin-4-amine derivatives were designed and synthesized through structural optimization strategy as a microtubule-targeted agents (MTAs) and their cytotoxicity activity against PC3, K562 and HeLa cell lines were evaluated. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) of 5e , 5f , and 5o suggested that their potency of anti-proliferative activities against HeLa cell lines were better than the combretastatin A-4. Compound 5e showed the higher anti-proliferative activity against PC3, K562 and HeLa in vitro with IC 50 values of 0.49 µM, 0.08 µM and 0.01 µM, respectively. Further mechanism study indicated that the representative compound 5e was new class of tubulin inhibitors by EBI competition assay and tubulin polymerization assays, it is similar to colchicine. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that compound 5e apparently disrupted tubulin network in HeLa cells, and compound 5e arrested HeLa cells at the G2/M phase and induced cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular docking results illustrated that the hydrogen bonds of represented compounds reinforced the interactions in the pocket of colchicine binding site. Preliminary results suggested that 5e deserves further research as a promising tubulin inhibitor for the development of anticancer agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug-drug interactions (DDI) may lead to unexpected side effects, which is a growing concern in both academia and industry. Many DDIs have been reported, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Predicting and understanding DDIs can help researchers to improve drug safety and protect patient health. Here, we introduce DDI-GCN, a method that utilizes graph convolutional networks (GCN) to predict DDIs based on chemical structures. We demonstrate that this method achieves state-of-the-art prediction performance on the independent hold-out set. It can also provide visualization of structural features associated with DDIs, which can help us to study the underlying mechanisms. To make it easy and accessible to use, we developed a web server for DDI-GCN, which is freely available at http://wengzq-lab.cn/ddi/. • DDI-GCN can help predict and understand drug-drug interactions (DDI) based on chemical structures. • DDI-GCN outperformed the existing models on the prediction of both DDI outcomes and their biological consequences. • DDI-GCN can highlight atoms or substructures that are relevant to DDI prediction via its attentive networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of dual inhibitors targeting EZH2 and BRD4 have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated. • KWCX-28 exhibited BRD4 inhibitory activity and the activity of binding to EZH2. • KWCX-28 exhibited potent inhibitory activity against HCT-116 cells. • BRD4 related proteins were detected in EZH2Is GSK126-administered group. Aberrant expression of EZH2 is frequently observed in cancers, and the EZH2 inhibitors are only effective in hematological malignancies and almost noneffective against solid tumors. It has been reported that the combination of EZH2 and BRD4 inhibitors may be a promising strategy to treat solid tumors being insensitive to EZH2 inhibitors. Thus, a series of EZH2/BRD4 dual inhibitors were designed and synthesized. The optimized compound 28 , encoded as KWCX-28 , was the most potential compound by the SAR studies. Further mechanism studies showed that KWCX-28 inhibited HCT-116 cells proliferation (IC 50 = 1.86 µM), induced HCT-116 cells apoptosis, arrested cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase and resisted the histone 3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) upregulation. Therefore, KWCX-28 was a potential dual EZH2/BRD4 inhibitors for treating solid tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of new N- aryl-2-trifluoromethylquinazoline-4-amine analogs were designed and synthesized based on structure optimization of quinazoline by introducing a trifluoromethyl group into 2-position. The structures of the twenty-four newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and ESI-MS. The in vitro anti-cancer activity against chronic myeloid leukemia cells (K562), erythroleukemia cells (HEL), human prostate cancer cells (LNCaP), and cervical cancer cells (HeLa) of the target compounds was evaluated. Among them, compounds 15d , 15f , 15h , and 15i showed the significantly (P < 0.01) stronger growth inhibitory activity on K562 than those of the positive controls of paclitaxel and colchicine, while compounds 15a , 15d , 15e , and 15h displayed significantly stronger growth inhibitory activity on HEL than those of the positive controls. However, all the target compounds exhibited weaker growth inhibition activity against K562 and HeLa than those of the positive controls. The selectivity ratio of compounds 15h , 15d , and 15i were significantly higher than those of other active compounds, indicating that these three compounds had the lower hepatotoxicity. Several compounds displayed strong inhibition against leukemia cells. They inhibited tubulin polymerization, disrupted cellular microtubule networks by targeting the colchicine site, and promoted cell cycle arrest of leukemia cells at G2/M phase and cell apoptosis, as well as inhibiting angiogenesis. In summary, our research provided that novel synthesized N -aryl-2-trifluoromethyl-quinazoline-4-amine active derivatives as the inhibitors of tubulin polymerization in leukemia cells, which might be a valuable lead compounds for anti-leukemia agents. [Display omitted] • N -aryl-2-trifluoromethyl-quinazoline-4-amine analogs were designed and synthesized. • 15d , 15f , 15h , 15i showed the significantly growth inhibitory activity on K562. • 15a , 15d , 15e , and 15h displayed significantly growth inhibitory activity on HEL. • 15h inhibited tubulin polymerization by targeting the colchicine site. • 15h promoted cell cycle arrest at G2/M, cell apoptosis and inhibited angiogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuronal cells overexpressing phosphorylated Tau proteins can increase the susceptibility to oxidative stress. Regulation of glycogen synthase-3β (GSK-3β) and reduction of Tau protein hyperphosphorylation, along with alleviation of oxidative stress, may be an effective way to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). For this purpose, a series of Oxazole-4-carboxamide/butylated hydroxytoluene hybrids were designed and synthesized to achieve multifunctional effects on AD. The biological evaluation showed that the optimized compound KWLZ-9e displayed potential GSK-3β (IC 50 = 0.25 μM) inhibitory activity and neuroprotective capacity. Tau protein inhibition assays showed that KWLZ-9e reduced the expression of GSK-3β and downstream p-Tau in HEK GSK-3β 293T cells. Meanwhile, KWLZ-9e could alleviate H 2 O 2 -induced ROS damage, mitochondrial membrane potential imbalance, Ca2+ influx and apoptosis. Mechanistic studies suggest that KWLZ-9e activates the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway and enhances the expression of downstream oxidative stress proteins including TrxR1, HO-1, NQO1, GCLM to exert cytoprotective effects. We also confirmed that KWLZ-9e could ameliorate learning and memory impairments in vivo model of AD. The multifunctional properties of KWLZ-9e suggest that it is a promising lead for the treatment of AD. [Display omitted] • The novel agents of GSK3β inhibitory and neuroprotective were synthesized and evaluated. • KWLZ-9e reduced GSK3β and p-Tau proteins overexpression in HEK GSK-3β 293T cells. • KWLZ-9e alleviated H 2 O 2 -induced ROS damage, mitochondrial membrane potential imbalance, Ca2+ influx and apoptosis. • KWLZ-9e activated the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway and upregulate of downstream antioxidant proteins. • KWLZ-9e ameliorates learning and memory deficits in the OA-induced Morris water maze task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophage tailspike proteins mediate virion absorption through reversible primary receptor binding, followed by lipopolysaccharide or exopolysaccharide degradation. The Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteriophage CBA120 genome encodes four distinct tailspike proteins, annotated as ORFs 210 through 213. Previously, we reported the crystal structure of ORF210 (TSP1). Here we describe the crystal structure of ORF212 (TSP3) determined at 1.85 Å resolution. As observed with other tailspike proteins, TSP3 assembles into a trimer. Each subunit of TSP3 has an N-terminal head domain that is structurally similar to that of TSP1, consistent with their high amino acid sequence identity. In contrast, despite sharing a β-helix fold, the overall structure of the C-terminal catalytic domain of TSP3 is quite different when compared to TSP1. The TSP3 structure suggests that the glycosidase active site resides in a cleft at the interface between two adjacent subunits where three acidic residues, Glu362 and Asp383 on one subunit, and Asp426 on a second subunit, are located in close proximity. Comparing the glycosidase activity of wild-type TSP3 to various point mutants revealed that catalysis requires the carboxyl groups of Glu362 and Asp426, and not of Asp383, confirming the enzyme employs two carboxyl groups to degrade lippopolysaccharide using an acid/base mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroscopic parallel aligned non-woven carbon fibers were incorporated into Al 2 O 3 composites in this study to evaluate the contribution of multiple reflections to the total electric magnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Results indicate that parallel aligned non-woven carbon fiber layers contribute significantly to the total EMI shielding effectiveness (SE T) of Al 2 O 3 composites by largely enhancing the EMI absorption, and seven parallel aligned thin non-woven carbon fiber layers finally make the almost microwave-transparent Al 2 O 3 an excellent EMI shielding material with an EMI SE T as high as 29–32 dB in the X-band frequency range. The volume fraction of carbon fibers in Al 2 O 3 composites with seven carbon fiber layers is calculated to be only 0.5%, and therefore the EMI SE enhancement efficiency by parallel aligned large non-woven carbon fiber layers is much higher than other highly conducting nano fillers. It validates the significance of multiple reflections in achieving high EMI shielding properties in ceramic composites and provides an instructive approach to design efficient EMI shielding ceramic composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CoNi magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) and hybrid architectures have attracted tremendous attention from numerous applications. In this study, a facile approach based on one-step metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was developed to fabricate CoNi/C core/shell NPs with an extremely small core size of ∼ 3.7 nm and an ultrathin shell thickness of 1–3 nm. Only 10 wt.% CoNi/C core/shell NP-filled composites with thickness of 1.6 mm exhibit an optimal reflection loss value of − 25.7 dB and an absorbing bandwidth value up to 6.2 GHz. The extremely small core/shell NPs are demonstrated to have enhanced electromagnetic parameters (i.e., complex permittivity and permeability), reflection loss and broadened effective absorption bandwidth, as compared to the relatively larger NPs. The superior microwave absorbing performance should be attributed to the increased specific area with enriched interfacial polarization. The as-synthesized extremely small CoNi/C core/shell NPs are expected to be a fascinating candidate for efficient microwave absorption material with lightweight and thin thickness. A facile approach based on one-step metal–organic chemical vapor deposition was developed to fabricate CoNi/C core/shell nanoparticles with an extremely small core size of ∼ 3.7 nm and an ultrathin shell thick of 1–3 nm. An optimal reflection loss of –25.7 dB and absorbing bandwidth up to 6.2 GHz could be achieved for CoNi/C nanoparticle-loaded composites with thickness of 1.6 mm, which demonstrated to be a fascinating candidate for efficient microwave absorber with lightweight and thin thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus agalactiae is an important pathogen in fish, causing great losses of intensive tilapia farming. To develop a potential live attenuated vaccine, a re‐attenuated S. agalactiae (named TFJ‐ery) was developed from a natural low‐virulence S. agalactiae strain TFJ0901 through selection of resistance to erythromycin. The biological characteristics, virulence, stability and the immunization protective efficacy to tilapia of TFJ‐ery were determined. The results indicated that TFJ‐ery grew at a slower rate than TFJ0901. The capsule thickness of TFJ‐ery was significantly less (p < 0.05) than TFJ0901. When Nile tilapia were intraperitoneally (IP) injected with TFJ‐ery, the mortality of fish was decreased than that injected with TFJ0901. The RPS of fish immunized with TFJ‐ery at a dose of 5.0 × 107 CFU was 95.00%, 93.02% and 100.00% at 4, 8 and 16 weeks post‐vaccination, respectively. ELISA results showed that the vaccinated fish produced significantly higher (p < 0.05) antibody titres compared to those of control at 2 or 4 weeks post‐vaccination. Taken together, our results suggest that erythromycin could be used to attenuate S. agalactiae, and TFJ‐ery is a potent attenuated vaccine candidate to protect tilapia against S. agalactiae infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were successfully incorporated into silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix in a self-aligned pattern and the obtained materials displayed extremely high value of shielding effectiveness (SE) over 40 dB by adding only 3 wt.% GNPs, which was the highest SE value in all SiC-based composites reported in literature up to now. It was found that the texture distribution of GNPs was crucial to achieve the high electromagnetic interference shielding performance of SiC/GNPs composites, which can contribute to the significant improvement of both absorption and reflection. The improved absorption originated from the formation of network of mini capacitors comprised of self-aligned GNPs and multiple reflections. The improvement of reflection was attributed to the high electrical conductivity of the composite due to the introduction of GNPs. These results indicate that SiC/GNPs composites can be used as high-performance ceramic-based EMI shielding materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lentinan is a polysaccharide extracted from Shiitake mushrooms that have been used to improve general health for thousands of years in Asia. Lentinan injection is a clinically approved drug in several countries in Asia. The purpose of this study is to review the structure, preclinical and clinical studies, and molecular mechanisms of lentinan. Most importantly, the clinical effectiveness of lentinan as an adjuvant therapeutic drug in treating patients with lung cancer in China during the past 12 years is analyzed statistically.Methods: We carried out literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from 2004 to 2016 based on CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), VIP (Chongqing VIP Chinese Scientific Journals Database) and Wanfang database, and 38 eligible RCTs of lentinan-associated lung cancer treatment were identified, containing 3,117 patients.Results: The structure and function relationship and underlying molecular mechanism of lentinan as an immunostimulant has been summarized. The mean value of overall response rate in treating lung cancer was increased from 43.3% of chemotherapy alone to 56.9% of lentinan plus chemotherapy [p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.102-0.170]. Compared with chemotherapy alone, lentinan plus chemotherapy showed more efficacy in treating lung cancer (pooled RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.74-0.85) and no statistical heterogeneity was found among studies (I2 = 11%).Conclusion: Clinical data presented in the past 12 years shows that lentinan is effective not only in improving quality of life, but also in promoting the efficacy of chemotherapy during lung cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract To effectively increase production and improve economic returns, the co-culture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and marine shrimp has been adopted in many countries, including China. Although O. niloticus is an euryhaline fish that can tolerate elevated salinities and even full-strength seawater, fluctuations in salinity levels can undoubtedly induce stress and affect the immune response of this fish. Therefore, this study assessed the impact of salinity on vaccine efficacy in Nile tilapia, which used serum antibody level as a surrogate marker to detect vaccine efficacy. Nile tilapia were acclimatized to 0, 10, 20, or 30 ppt salinity, and then immunized with a formalin-inactivated Streptococcus agalactiae vaccine. Significantly lower levels of antibody in vaccinated fish were found at 20 and 30 ppt salinity compared to 0 and 10 ppt salinity. White blood cell counts, absolute blood lymphocyte counts, and serum bactericidal activity levels were all significantly lower in vaccinated fish at 20 and 30 ppt salinity. Elevated cortisol levels were detected in all of the fish exposure to salinity. Concentrations of serum electrolytes (Na+ and Cl−) were significantly higher in fish at 30 ppt salinity, as compared to fish at lower salinities. Furthermore, the mRNA transcription levels of three of the immune-related genes analyzed (IgM, IL-1β , and IFN-γ , but not Hsp70) were significantly inhibited in the vaccinated fish at 20 and 30 ppt salinity. A suppressed immune response and decreased vaccine efficacy were also indicated by the lower survival rate of vaccinated fish at 20 ppt salinity when challenged with S. agalactiae. Therefore, salinities ≥20 ppt negatively affected antibody production in Nile tilapia, ultimately affecting vaccine efficacy. Highlights • Elevated salinities increased cortisol and electrolyte levels in Nile tilapia. • Elevated salinities reduced blood cell counts and serum bactericidal activity. • Salinity ≥20 ppt downregulated the mRNA expression levels of IgM, IL-1β , and IFN-γ. • Salinity ≥20 ppt reduced antibody production in Nile tilapia. • Salinity ≥20 ppt reduced survival in vaccinated fish challenged with Streptococcus agalactiae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemia is a hematologic malignancy with poor prognosis in humans and chemotherapy is the main strategy for treating leukemia patients. Novel drugs with better selectivity and lower toxicity are required for the treatment of patients. A novel 3’,5’-diprenylated chalcone, (E)-1-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3,5-diprenyl) phenyl-3-(3- pyridinyl)-propene-1-one ( C10 ) is a potential new anti-leukemia agent. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms of the anti-leukemia effects of C10 on different leukemia cells in vitro . C10 showed strong inhibition of proliferation of the human erythroleukemia cell line HEL and human myeloid leukemia cell line K562, and several cell and flow cytometer assays showed that inhibition by C10 was due to the regulation of gene expression or phosphorylation in the apoptosis and autophagy pathways. The results showed that C10 regulated the expression of Bax, c-Myc, Bcl-2, P38/AMPK and ERK 1/2, activated the expression of Caspase-3, -8, and PARP at the protein level in the apoptosis pathway of the two leukemia cell types, and inhibited the expression of erythroleukemia carcinogene Fli-1 in the human erythroleukemia cell line HEL. Additionally,treatment with the compound induced a time-dependent increase in expression of LC 3A/B via inhibiting the AKT-mTOR pathway, which is associated with cell autophagy. Taken together, the above results suggest that the novel synthesized 3’,5’-diprenylated chalcone can prevent the growth of leukemia cells by inducing apoptosis and autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arch bridges are important transportation infrastructures widely distributed in China, but they are prone to structural defects due to aging without routine inspection and maintenance. Therefore, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of these bridges is urgently needed by civil engineers to effectively reduce the risk of bridge damage or collapse on public safety. An essential method for SHM, the modern Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) technique, can detect subtle deformation of bridges at relatively low costs. Nevertheless, identifying dense point-like targets (PTs) on such partially coherent arch bridges in SAR image is more difficult than that for other man-made objects, owing to their complex structures and backscattering behaviors. Furthermore, the complex mechanical properties of arch bridges, due to the varying arch-beam interactions, make it hard to separate the surface deformation and thermal dilation accurately, and the lack of specific structural knowledge, that can help to understand the deformation evolution process, limits the global structural risk assessment. Aiming at these problems, we developed a structure-driven multi-temporal DInSAR approach for arch bridge-specific SHM. By introducing three structure-driven steps, i.e. backscattering geometrical interpretation, linear thermal dilation estimation and validation, and Deformation Feature Points (DFPs) based risk assessment, into the traditional DInSAR method, the reliability of PTs identification, thermal dilation separation, and structural risk assessment for arch bridges are significantly improved. The effectiveness of our approach was fairly presented by two case studies of the Rainbow and Lupu bridges, and the experimental results were verified by leveling benchmark validation, cross-sensor comparison, as well as structural-reliability assessment. Our results revealed that arch bridges exhibit a similar pattern of PTs distribution that is dense around piers and sparse on the spans, as well as a symmetrical progressive pattern of surface deformation with the subsidence increasing from piers and reaching a peak at the central spans. In contrast, magnitudes and mechanisms of thermal dilation are different, and highly dependent on the materials and structural characteristics of specific bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Si 3 N 4 ceramics modified with SiC nanofibers were prepared by gel casting aiming to enhance the dielectric and microwave absorption properties at temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 800 °C within X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). The results indicate that the complex permittivity and dielectric loss are significantly increased with increased weight fraction of SiC nanofibers in the Si 3 N 4 ceramics. Meanwhile, both complex permittivity and dielectric loss of SiC nanofibers modified Si 3 N 4 ceramics are obviously temperature-dependent, and increase with the higher test temperatures. Increased charges mobility along conducting paths made of self-interconnected SiC nanofibers together with multi-scale net-shaped structure composed of SiC nanofibers, Si 3 N 4 grains and micro-pores are the main reason for these enhancements in dielectric properties. Moreover, the calculated microwave absorption demonstrates that much enhanced microwave attenuation abilities can be achieved in the SiC nanofibers modified Si 3 N 4 ceramics, and temperature has positive effects on the microwave absorption performance. The SiC nanofibers modified Si 3 N 4 ceramics will be promising candidates as microwave absorbing materials for high-temperature applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature are the potential immunomodulators in fish and play the important roles in regulating immunity. We studied the effect of intermittent hypoxia under different temperature on the immunomodulation in vaccinated Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ). The expression of immune-related genes, enzymatic activities, histology, cumulative mortality, and S. agalactiae clearance were assessed. Study conditions were intermittently hypoxic (4.0 ± 1.0 mg/L DO) at 30 ± 0.5 °C or 35 ± 0.5 °C. Interleukin-1beta ( IL-1β ), tumor necrosis factor alpha ( TNF-α ) and gamma interferon ( IFN-γ ) mRNA expression in spleen and head kidney were significantly lower in vaccinated hypoxic fish compared to the vaccinated normoxic fish. Levels of heat shock protein 70 ( HSP70 ) in tissues showed an opposite tendency. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were significantly lower in vaccinated hypoxic fish. Malondialdehyde levels were significantly greater under hypoxic conditions. In vitro studies evaluated the effects of intermittent hypoxia at different temperatures on cells of vaccinated O. niloticus . Phagocytic activity of peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs) and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in head kidney cells were significantly decreased by intermittent hypoxia at either 30 °C or 35 °C, while nitric oxide levels in tissues cells increased significantly under hypoxic conditions. These changes were well reflected by the further suppression modulation on S. agalactiae clearance in vaccinated O. niloticus and higher cumulative mortality by intermittent hypoxia. Taken together, intermittent hypoxia at either 30 °C or 35 °C could suppress immunomodulation in vaccinated Nile tilapia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to improve the physical properties, the soft Cu 3 Si phase was successfully introduced into C/C-SiC composites to partially replace SiC and residual Si via a simultaneously infiltration of Si and Cu. The microstructure and physical properties of the as-prepared C/C-SiC-Cu 3 Si composites (CSCS) were investigated in comparison to the C/C-SiC composites with same fiber architecture. The results indicated that the thermal diffusivity of CSCS is improved from 8.32 to 11.02 mm 2 /s, while both SiC and Si content in CSCS composites were obviously reduced to 23.2 wt% and 10.8 wt%, respectively. Moreover, compared to the C/C-SiC, the flexural strength which is fiber-dependent is significantly enhanced, while the compressive strength which is matrix-dependent is slight decreased in CSCS. The microstructural investigations revealed that fibers with less aggressiveness by liquid silicon and lower capacity to uniformly deformation of matrix in CSCS are main reasons for higher flexural strength and lower compressive strength, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In reinforcement learning (RL), the exploration/exploitation (E/E) dilemma is a very crucial issue, which can be described as searching between the exploration of the environment to find more profitable actions, and the exploitation of the best empirical actions for the current state. We focus on the single trajectory RL problem where an agent is interacting with a partially unknown MDP over single trajectories, and try to deal with the E/E in this setting. Given the reward function, we try to find a good E/E strategy to address the MDPs under some MDP distribution. This is achieved by selecting the best strategy in mean over a potential MDP distribution from a large set of candidate strategies, which is done by exploiting single trajectories drawn from plenty of MDPs. In this paper, we mainly make the following contributions: (1) We discuss the strategy-selector algorithm based on formula set and polynomial function. (2) We provide the theoretical and experimental regret analysis of the learned strategy under an given MDP distribution. (3) We compare these methods with the 'state-of-the-art' Bayesian RL method experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gel-casting is a promising preparation technology of Si 3 N 4 structural ceramics. The process involves drying of the “green” gel-cast parts before densification. And the drying of green gel-cast bodies is an important step in the gel-casting manufacturing process. In this work, the Si 3 N 4 gel-cast green bodies were dried in polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution with the purpose of obtaining Si 3 N 4 ceramics with good mechanical properties. The effect of the molecular weight and concentration of PEG solution on drying rate, microstructure and mechanical properties of Si 3 N 4 ceramics was studied. The results indicated that with the increase of molecular weight of PEG, the drying rate increased obviously and the structure became more uniform and dense when the concentration of solution was 20 wt%. The Si 3 N 4 ceramics after sintering have the excellent flexural strength (662.6 MPa) under PEG600 drying condition. Furthermore, the concentration of PEG600 solution had a positive effect on drying and sintering of the green body. Therefore, the bending strength reached 871.1 MPa under 65 wt% PEG 600 solution drying condition. Overall, the drying process (drying in 65 wt% PEG600 solution) promotes the efficiency and quality of drying of Si 3 N 4 gel-cast green bodies, which is beneficial for the subsequent drying and sintering process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]