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Three novel Cu6S6 cluster-based coordination compounds formulated as [CuI3(mpymt)3]2 (1), {(CuI4Br4)[CuI6(mpymt)6]}n (2), and {(CuI6I6)[CuI6(mpymt)6]}n (3) (Hmpymt = 4-methylpyrimidine-2-thione), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural analysis reveals that compound 1 shows a distorted octahedral core of six copper atoms (Cu6S6) constructed from four α and two β type N=C–SH parts from six mpymt− anions. Compound 2 displays an interesting 3D framework constructed from Cu6S6 and Cu4Br4 Cu(i) clusters simultaneously, interestingly, six mpymt− with α type N=C–SH parts are involved in the formation of Cu6S6. Compound 3 displays an infinite 1D framework constructed from Cu6S6 and Cu6I6 Cu(i) clusters, notably, four α and two β type N=C–SH parts are involved in the formation of the Cu6S6 cluster, however, only mpymt− ligands containing α type N=C–SH parts form the bridged Cu6I6 cluster. The experimental results reveal that halogen ions finely modulate the structural features of compounds 1–3. The fluorescent properties of compounds 1–3 in the solid state and in various solvent emulsions were investigated in detail, the results of which indicate that compounds 1–3 are all highly sensitive naked eye colorimetric sensors for NB, 2-NT and Fe3+ (NB = nitrobenzene and 2-NT = 2-nitrotoluene). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: Due to the extremely complex geological conditions in the Bohai Strait, active faults is very developed and earthquake activity occurs frequently. It is of great importance to evaluate the regional crustal stability for the planning and construction of the Trans-straits Passage. In this study, the authors carry out the evaluation by means of buffer analysis, topology analysis and overlay analysis based on ArcGIS software. The evaluation mainly analyzed six assessment factors of Bohai Strait including neotectonic activity, active faults distribution, seismicity, tectonic stress fields, Bouguer gravity anomaly and geological disasters. In brief, the crustal stability of the eastern North Yellow Sea Basin is best, while that of the Bohai Basin and southwest Bohai Strait is poor. Meanwhile, small and frequent earthquakes in the southern Strait and geological disasters developed in the northern and central Strait such as tidal ridge and shallow gas which may adversely impact on the Trans-straits Passage construction.

Reducing nitrogen loss during composting with forced ventilation was comprehensively investigated in this study. Coral sand was tailored in the co-composting in the co-composting of sludge and litters. The physicochemical results revealed that forced ventilation prolonged the thermophilic phase and accelerated the substrate decomposition. With the addition of 10% native coral sand, the amount of nitrogen loss decreased by 9.2% compared with the original group. The microbial community evaluation revealed that the effect of forced ventilation on colony abundance was significantly greater than that of adding coral sand. This study demonstrated that when composting on a tropical island, adding coral sand under forced ventilation was a viable solution for realizing sustainable development.

Introduction: The most common cause of failed implantation and miscarriage is embryonic aneuploidy and the risk of aneuploidy increases significantly with increasing maternal age. Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) can be an option to improve the prognosis of women with advanced maternal age by extracting 3-5 trophectoderm cells from Day 5 and Day 6 blastocysts for genetic testing. Case History: A 37 years old patient tried to conceive for 5 years was recruited into our PGS research study initiated by Ministry of Health in Singapore. She had 3 previous implantation failure and one miscarriage between 2015-2018. The patient had regular menses every 30-35 days. Antral follicle count was 48 and her husband’s semen analysis was normal with Density 87 million/ml, motility 34% and morphology 4%. Results: Patient underwent an IVF cycle with PGT-A in December 2018 at our IVF Centre. 23 eggs were retrieved, 21 eggs were mature to undergo ICSI and 11 fertilized. The eggs were cultured in EmbryoGen immediately after ICSI and the embryos were transferred to BlastGen on Day 3 for extended culture. A total of 5 embryos were suitable for biopsy, 3 on Day 5 and 2 on Day 6. Embryos were vitrified while waiting for the genetic results. Chromosomal analysis of the biopsied trophectoderm cells was performed using NGS platform. Out of the 5 embryos tested, 2 embryos were euploid, giving 60% aneuploidy rate. One euploid embryo was thawed and transferred in a regulated frozen-thawed cycle in March 2020. The patient became pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy. She returned in January 2022 to put back the remaining euploid embryo, she was again pregnant. Conclusion: PGT-A for comprehensive chromosome screening in selecting and transferring euploid embryos in assisted reproduction has an immediate impact on implantation, reduces the rate of clinical miscarriages and results in higher live birth rates.

Although world regions continue to be a key feature of the geographical imagination, there has been relatively little innovative research on world regionalization through the lens of city connections. Against the backdrop of an increasingly urban and interconnected world, in this paper, we evaluate the connections between European and Asian world cities. Based on a model conjecturing intercity connections through office locations of globalized producer services firms, we analyze the networks of both regions’ major cities. To this end, we establish frameworks that allow (1) comparison of the level of connectivity of cities and (2) analysis of the strength and orientation of the interactions between cities. We find that both Europe and Asia have a larger number of well-connected cities than any other world region. Both regions are roughly comparable in terms of the distribution of their urban connectivities, but there are some notable differences (e.g., Asia’s system being more top-heavy) and evolutions (e.g., Asian cities gaining more connectivity over the last decade). There are also two geographical dimensions to the interpretations of these patterns of urban connectivity: (1) the variegated importance of state-spaces (e.g., national gateways) and (2) the uneven regional focus of intercity connections (e.g., Luxembourg and Singapore being less dependent on regional connections). We use our findings to argue that the time is ripe for a more nuanced and contextualized answer to the question of how cities (can) act politically on the global scale in general and Asia–Europe relations in particular.

In order to solve the problems of three-dimensional active optical network, such as long path configuration time, high insertion loss of optical router and high network hardware overhead, this paper designs adaptive routing algorithm and nonblocking, low-loss optical router. The adaptive routing algorithm uses theXYZdetermines the routing algorithm to make the first judgment of the port. Then it make a second judgment according to the blocking condition, and finally choose the nonblocking and short distance port as the node output port. Optical routers with 6 ports in the layer and 3 ports in the layer are designed to replace optical routers with 7 ports for three-dimensional communication. The experimental results show that when the adaptive routing algorithm is used for routing calculation, the delay of path establishment is small and the blocking is low. The number of waveguides and micro-ring resonators required by optical routers is small, and the insertion loss is small. The average insertion loss is only 0.88 dB and the optical network hardware has low overhead.

A novel coordination polymer with the chemical formula [Cu4Br(CN)(mtz)2]n (mtz = 5-methyl tetrazole) (1), has been synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, the Cu(i), CN− and mtz− in compound 1 are all generated from an in situ translation of the original precursors: Cu2+, acetonitrile and 1-methyl-5-mercapto-1,2,3,4-tetrazole (Hmnt). The in situ ring-to-ring conversion of Hmnt into mtz− was found for the first time. Structural analysis reveals that compound 1 is a novel 3D tetrazole-based Cu(i) coordination polymer, containing both metal halide cluster Cu6Br2 and metal pseudohalide cluster Cu2(CN)2 secondary building units (SBUs), which shows an unprecedented (3,6,10)-connected topology. Notably, a pseudo-porphyrin structure with 16-membered rings constructed by four mtz− anions and four copper(i) ions was observed in compound 1. The fluorescence properties of compound 1 were investigated in the solid state and in various solvent emulsions, the results show that compound 1 is a highly sensitive naked-eye colorimetric sensor for NB and 2-NT (NB = nitrobenzene and 2-NT = 2-nitrotoluene). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five metal imidazole dicarboxylate-based compounds, {[Zn3(MIDC)2(4,4′-bipy)3](4,4′-bipy)·8H2O}n(1), {[Co3(MIDC)2(4,4′-bipy)3](4,4′-bipy)·6H2O}n(2), {[Co3(MIDC)2(py)2(H2O)2]}n(3), {[Mn6(MIDC)4(py)5(H2O)4]}n(4), and {[Mn3(MIDC)2(Phen)3(H2O)2]}n(5) (H3MIDC = 2-methyl-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid; 4,4′-bipy = 4,4′-bipyridine; py = pyridine; Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. We control the coordination modes of H3MIDC via hydrazine and obtained a series of coordination compounds containing honeycomb-like [M3(MIDC)2]nlayers. We also investigated the effects of different neutral terminal or bridging ligands on [M3(MIDC)2]nlayers. Coplanar [M3(MIDC)2]nlayers and 4,4-bipy were used to construct 3-D frameworks of1and2. Puckered [M3(MIDC)2]nlayers were found in3–5;4is the first [M3(L)2]nlayer structure with two crests and troughs during each period (L = imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid or its analog). Compound5is the first puckered [M3(L)2]nlayer structure decorated by chelating neutral ligands. Compound1exhibits weak blue photoluminescence in the solid state at room temperature. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of2–5indicate strong antiferromagnetic interactions. Using a method, which can effectively control the coordination mode of H3MIDC, we constructed a series of new coordination compounds containing honeycomb-like [M3(MIDC)2]nlayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective prevention against cancers depends heavily on sustained individual efforts practicing protective behaviors and avoiding risk factors in a complex sociocultural context, which requires continuous and personalized supports. Contemporary prevention relies primarily on strategies targeting general population with limited attention being paid to individualized approaches. This study tests a novel package called, in acronym of core intervention components, eCROPS-CA that leverages protective behaviors against over 80% leading cancers among high risk individuals via continuous and tailored counseling by village doctors. Methods/Design: The study utilizes a quesi-RCT design involving 4320 high risk individuals selected, via rapid and detailed risk assessments, from about 72,000 farmers aged 35+ in 36 administrative villages randomized into equal intervention and delayed intervention arms. The intervention arm receives baseline and semiannual follow up evaluations plus eCROPS-CA for 5 years; while the control arm, only the baseline and follow-up evaluations for the first 5 years and eCROPS-CA starting from the 6th year if the intervention is proved effective. eCROPS-CA comprises electronic supports and supervision (e), counseling cancer prevention (C), recipe for objective behaviors (R), operational toolkit (O), performance-based incentives (P), and screening and assessment (S). Evaluation measures include: incidence and stage of the leading cancers, cancer-related knowledge, attitudes and practices; easy biophysical indicators (e.g., body mass index, blood pressure); intervention compliance, acceptance of the package. Discussion: The prevention package incorporates key success factors in a synergetic way toward cost-effectiveness and long-term sustainability. It targets a set rather than any single cancer; choses village doctors as key solution to the widespread lack of professional manpower in implementing personalized and thus relatively sophisticated prevention; adopts real-time monitoring in reaching continuous improvement; utilizes smart web aids to enable prioritizing complex determinants of objective behaviors, linking counseling sessions happened at different time points and hence delivering highly coordinated prevention; uses 2-stage risk assessment models in identifying high risk individuals so as to focus on the most needed; applies standardized operation procedures in simplifying and smoothing behavior intervention yet ensuring delivery of essential steps and key elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Hypertension-induced renal damage is a serious and complex condition that has not been effectively treated by conventional blood pressure-lowering drugs. Tengdan capsule (TDC) is a China FDA-approved compound herbal medicine for treating hypertension; however, its chemical basis and pharmacological efficacy have not been fully investigated in a preclinical setting.METHODS: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to identify and quantify the major chemical components of TDC extracted from ultrapure water. Adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age/sex-matched Wistar Kyoto normotensive rats (WKY) were both treated with TDC, losartan, or saline for one month, and their blood pressure (BP) was monitored at the same time by tail-cuff BP system. Biochemical indexes such as urine creatinine (CRE) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were determined. Kidney tissue sections were examined with (H&E), and Masson staining to evaluate the pathological effect of TDC on SHR’s kidneys. After TDC treatment, the differentially expressed proteins in the kidneys of SHR were identified by the TMT-based quantitative proteomics analysis, which may provide the targets and possible mechanisms of TDC action. In addition, Western blot analysis, RT-qPCR, and ELISA assays were carried out to further verify the proteomics findings. Finally, two different models involving in vitro renal injuries were established using human kidney HEK293 cells; and the molecular mechanism of TDC kidney protection was demonstrated.RESULTS: Seven chemical compounds, namely Notoginsenoside R1, Ginsenoside RG1, Ginsenoside Re, Ginsenoside Rb1, Sodium Danshensu, Protocatechualdehyde, and Salvianolic acid B, were identified and quantified from the water-soluble extracts of TDC by HPLC. In vivo study using rats showed that TDC effectively reduced BP, BUN, and CRE levels and attenuated renal fibrosis in SHR, and ameliorated damage to the kidneys. Proteomics and subsequent bioinformatics analyses indicated that periostin-mediated inflammatory response and TGFβ/Smad signaling pathway proteins were closely related to the therapeutic effect of TDC in rat kidneys. Western blot analysis and RT-qPCR showed that TDC markedly downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of periostin in renal tissues compared to the untreated SHR. In addition, TGF-β and COL1A1 mRNA levels also decreased in SHR renal tissues following TDC treatment. In vitro studies showed that low to medium doses of TDC down-regulated the expression of periostin in the injury model of HEK293 cell. In addition, medium to high doses of TDC significantly inhibited collagen deposition in TGFβ1-induced HEK293 cell fibrosis.CONCLUSIONS: Major components from the compound herbal medicine Tengdan Capsule are identified and quantified. TDC effectively lowers blood pressure and protects against renal damage caused by hypertension in SHR. Mechanistically, TDC blocks periostin by regulating the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway in the kidney, both in vivo and in vitro. Preventing periostin-mediated renal fibrosis and inflammation might be a promising strategy for treating a hypertensive renal injury.

The accuracy of GNSS/Acoustic seafloor geodetic calibration is greatly influenced by the temporal variation of sound velocity, especially in the vertical direction. Aiming at correcting of the unknown parameters related to both the positions and the sound velocity, this paper proposes a step-by-step inversion scheme based on moving survey data. The proposed method firstly estimates the horizontal normalized travel time delay with sound ray tracing strategy and then computes the horizontal position with circle line observations. We reconstructed an inversion scheme for extracting the surface sound velocity disturbance (SSVD) and corrected the vertical position from cross line data. The SSVD is decomposed into a sum of different period disturbances, and a new SSVD is reconstructed by combining the long period disturbance and short period disturbance. The proposed algorithm is verified by the South China Sea experiment for GNSS/Acoustic seafloor geodetic calibration. The results demonstrate that the new method can take the effects of sound velocity variation into consideration and improve the precision of the vertical position, which is superior to the least squares (LS), the single-difference LS for seafloor geodetic calibration.

In this paper, a highly isolated multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna array is proposed for fifth-generation (5G) metal frame smartphones. The eight identical small-sized inverted F-shaped folded slots are etched on the metal frame as a MIMO antenna. The bandwidth of the antenna can be adjusted by changing one of the short branches of the antenna. The bandwidth of the antenna can reach the N79 band (4.4~5.0 GHz). By carefully arranging the positions of the eight antenna elements, ideal spatial diversity can be successfully achieved to mitigate the coupling between the antenna elements effectively. What is more, a small combination slot of C-shape (0.0078 × 0.047λ2) and vertical I-shape (0.12 × 0.004λ2) between each antenna element is introduced to improve the element isolation of the MIMO antenna system. The proposed MIMO array has been simulated, fabricated, and measured. The results show good impedance matching (return loss > 6 dB) and high isolation (>22 dB). Due to the decent element isolation, the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) between each antenna element is below 0.049. It can provide a reliable anti-interference performance for the MIMO antenna system. In addition, the measured radiation efficiencies of the MIMO antenna system are higher than 50%. The interaction of the hand model with the MIMO antenna system is also investigated, including the specific absorption rate (SAR).

Two new complexes with homochiral frameworks, {Co3(EIDC)2(H2O)5}n(1) and {Zn3(EIDC)2(H2O)4}n(2) (H3EIDC?=?2-ethyl-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid), have been synthesized from achiral starting precursors via spontaneous resolution and fully characterized by elemental analyses, IR, circular dichroism, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. X-ray diffraction data revealed that1and2have SrSi2topologies and that both are homochiral metal–organic frameworks. Compound1is constructed by left-handed chiral chains; however, right-handed chains constitute the homochiral framework of2. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of1indicate strong antiferromagnetic interactions between the magnetic Co centers. Compound2exhibited weak blue PL in the solid state at room temperature. Two novel homochiral frameworks with SrSi2topology, {Co3(EIDC)2(H2O)5}n(1) and {Zn3(EIDC)2(H2O)4}n(2) (H3EIDC = 2-ethyl-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid), have been synthesized from totally achiral starting precursors via spontaneous resolution. The homochiral natures of1and2were further confirmed by circular dichroism spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The resistance of synovial sublining macrophages to apoptosis has a crucial role in joint inflammation and destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the underlying mechanism is incompletely understood. Here we report that inactivation of the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein BAD is essential for survival of synovial sublining macrophage in RA. Genetic disruption of Bad leads to more severe joint inflammation and cartilage and bone damage with reduced apoptosis of synovial sublining macrophages in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and TNFα transgenic (TNF-Tg) mouse models. Conversely, Bad3SA/3SA mice, in which BAD can no longer be inactivated by phosphorylation, are protected from collagen-induced arthritis. Mechanistically, phosphorylation-mediated inactivation of BAD specifically protects synovial sublining macrophages from apoptosis in highly inflammatory environment of arthritic joints in CIA and TNF-Tg mice, and in patients with RA, thereby contributing to RA pathology. Our findings put forward a model in which inactivation of BAD confers the apoptosis resistance on synovial sublining macrophages, thereby contributing to the development of arthritis, suggesting that BAD may be a potential therapeutic target for RA.

Infrared sensors have been deployed in many video surveillance systems because of the insensibility of their imaging procedure to some extreme conditions (e.g. low illumination condition, dim environment). To reduce human labor in video monitoring and perform intelligent infrared video understanding, an important issue we need to consider is how to locate the object of interest in consecutive video frames accurately. Therefore, developing a robust object tracking algorithm for infrared videos is necessary. However, the infrared information may not be reliable (e.g. thermal crossover), and appearance modeling with only the infrared modality may not be able to achieve good results. To address these issues, with the wide deployment of RGB-infrared camera systems, this paper proposes an infrared tracking framework in which information from RGB-modality will be exploited to assist the infrared object tracking. Specifically, within the tracking framework, in order to deal with the contaminated features caused by large appearance variations, an online non-negative feature template learning model is designed. The non-negative constraint enables the model to capture the local part-based characteristic of the target appearance. To ensure more important modality contribute more in appearance representation, an adaptive modality importance weight learning scheme is also incorporated in the proposed feature learning model. To guarantee the model optimality, an iterative optimization algorithm is derived. The experimental results on various RGB-infrared videos show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

For long baseline in a network, the traditional combined ionosphere-free (IF) + wide-lane (WL) strategy is commonly used, but the residual tropospheric delays and larger noise hamper the basic ambiguity resolution (AR). With the completion of the BeiDou global navigation satellite system (BDS-3) and the quad-frequency signals provided by BDS-3 satellites, we can construct more combinations that are conducive to ambiguity resolution. Compared with ionosphere-free linear combinations, we estimated ionospheric delay using three independent WL observations, and formed an ionosphere-weighted model using uncombined code and phase observations, which proved to be quite effective. Based on the real quad-frequency BDS-3 observations of two CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) and two user stations, we processed eight days of data to study the formal and empirical ambiguity success rates and user positioning errors. The rounding success rate of WL ambiguity was significantly improved with ionospheric correction. The success rate of the basic ambiguity increased from 94.4 and 96.1% to 98.0% using the quad-frequency ionosphere-weighted (QFIW) model compared with the double-frequency ionosphere-free (DFIF) model and the triple-frequency geometry-based (TFGB) model. Furthermore, the user E/N/U positioning accuracy improved by 20.6/31.5/13.1% and 6.3/22.9/5.8%, respectively.

Production of alkenes through decarboxyolefination of carboxylates is a synthetically useful process. Here, the authors report a palladium/dual ligand-enabled decarboxylative desaturation reaction under mild irradiation conditions and apply it to the synthesis of Chondriamide A and C.

Abstract Background The aging of Chinese society has increased interest in improving the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the elderly, including their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). This study aims to evaluate the OHRQoL of elders living in Sichuan Province (China) and to explore the explanatory factors of their OHRQoL. Methods A cross-sectional study conducted in 2016 in the Sichuan Province analyzed data from 744 elders, aged 65 to 74 years (mean age 69.3, 51.3% female). Clinical examinations and questionnaires were completed to collect information on the participants’ socio-demographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, dental status, subjective health conditions and General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) score. Results The mean GOHAI score was 48.23 (SD 7.62), and the median score was 49. After adjustment for age and gender, the multiple linear regression analysis showed that participants who were female, had fair or poor self-rated oral health, decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score ≥ 20, fair or poor self-rated general health, and ≥ 2 teeth with root caries had worse OHRQoL, and participants who were edentulous had better OHRQoL (F = 29.58, p

Background Fatty acid (FA) provision to the heart is from cardiomyocyte and adipose depots, plus lipoprotein lipase action. We tested how a graded reduction in insulin impacts the source of FA used by cardiomyocytes and the cardiac adaptations required to process these FA. Methods and Results Rats injected with 55 (D55) or 100 (D100) mg/kg streptozotocin were terminated after 4 days. Although D55 and D100 were equally hyperglycemic, D100 showed markedly lower pancreatic and plasma insulin and loss of lipoprotein lipase, which in D55 hearts had expanded. There was minimal change in plasma FA in D55. However, D100 exhibited a 2‐ to 3‐fold increase in various saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated FA in the plasma. D100 demonstrated dramatic cardiac transcriptomic changes with 1574 genes differentially expressed compared with only 49 in D55. Augmented mitochondrial and peroxisomal β‐oxidation in D100 was not matched by elevated tricarboxylic acid or oxidative phosphorylation. With increasing FA, although control myocytes responded by augmenting basal respiration, this was minimized in D55 and reversed in D100. Metabolomic profiling identified significant lipid accumulation in D100 hearts, which also exhibited sizeable change in genes related to apoptosis and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick‐end labeling–positive cells. Conclusions With increasing severity of diabetes mellitus, when the diabetic heart is unable to control its own FA supply using lipoprotein lipase, it undergoes dramatic reprogramming that is linked to handling of excess FA that arise from adipose tissue. This transition results in a cardiac metabolic signature that embraces mitochondrial FA overload, oxidative stress, triglyceride storage, and cell death.

Blood activation and stasis removal from circulation is a central principle for treatment of syndromes related to cerebral and cardiovascular diseases in Chinese herbal medicine. However, blood-activating and stasis-removing patent Chinese herbal medicine (BASR-pCHM) widely used with or without prescription in China and elsewhere are highly variable in composition and manufacture standard, making their safety assessment a challenging task. We proposed that an integrated evaluation of multiple toxicity parameters of BASR-pCHM would provide critical reference and guidelines for their safe clinical application. Examination of standardized extracts from 58 compound BASR-pCHM in vivo in VEGFR2-luc mice and in vitro in cardiac, renal, and hepatic cells identified Naoluotong capsule (NLTC) as a potent organ/cell damage inducer. Composition analysis revealed that NLTC was the one that contained nonherbal ingredients among the BASR-pCHM collection. In vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed that NLTC, as well as its chemical supplement tolperisone hydrochloride, caused organ and cell damage by reducing cell viability, mitochondrial mass/activity, while the NLTC herbal components did not. Taken together, our study showed that safety evaluation of patent herbal medicines already on market is still necessary and urgently needed. In addition, chemical/herbal interactions should be considered as an important contributor of potential toxicity when evaluating the safety of herbal medicine.

The intergranular corrosion and β phase evolution of 5083 aluminum alloy containing Er and Zr during annealing at 100–230 °C were studied using mass loss tests and transmission electron microscopy. The mass loss curves showed that when annealing temperature changed from 200 to 220 °C, the alloy was subjected to a transition from sensitized state to stabilized state, corresponding to the change of nucleation position of β precipitates from grain boundaries to triple junctions. Particularly, when the annealing temperature was at 210 °C, this transition could also happen when the annealing time was increased from 0.5-10 h to 15-24 h, associated with the change in the shape of β precipitates. The classical nucleation analysis with the consideration of Mg segregation showed the nucleation rates at grain boundary and triple junction were 1013 and 1011 m−3 s−1 at sensitization temperature 150 °C, but 109 and 1010 m−3 s−1 at stabilization temperature 220 °C, suggesting the change of nucleation site with increasing temperature. The analysis of diffusion flux of Mg around β precipitate suggested that the shape change of β precipitates from elongate to spheroidal at 210 °C was attributed to the dominant interface diffusion over the grain boundary diffusion with the increase of time. Keywords: Aluminum alloy, Microstructure, Corrosion, Classical nucleation theory, Diffusion

Background As one of the important management practices of grassland ecosystems, grazing has fundamental effects on soil properties, vegetation, and soil microbes. Grazing can thus alter soil respiration (Rs) and the soil carbon cycle, yet its impacts and mechanisms remain unclear. Methods To explore the response of soil carbon flux and temperature sensitivity to different grazing systems, Rs, soil temperature (ST), and soil moisture (SM) were observed from December 2014 to September 2015 in a typical steppe of Inner Mongolia under three grazing systems: year-long grazing, rest-rotation grazing, and grazing exclusion. In addition, plant aboveground and root biomass, soil microbial biomass and community composition, and soil nutrients were measured during the pilot period. Results Soil respiration was significantly different among the three grazing systems. The average Rs was highest under rest-rotation grazing (1.26 μmol·m−2·s−1), followed by grazing exclusion (0.98 μmol·m−2·s−1) and year-long grazing (0.94 μmol·m−2·s−1). Rs was closely associated with ST, SM, potential substrate and root, and soil microbe activity. The effects of grazing among two grazing systems had generality, but were different due to grazing intensity. The root biomass was stimulated by grazing, and the rest-rotation grazing system resulted in the highest Rs. Grazing led to decreases in aboveground and microbial biomass as well as the loss of soil total nitrogen and total phosphorus from the steppe ecosystem, which explained the negative effect of grazing on Rs in the year-long grazing system compared to the grazing exclusion system. The temperature sensitivity of Rs (Q10) was higher in the rest-rotation and year-long grazing systems, likely due to the higher temperature sensitivity of rhizosphere respiration and higher “rhizosphere priming effect” in the promoted root biomass. The structural equation model analysis showed that while grazing inhibited Rs by reducing soil aeration porosity, ground biomass and SM, it increased Q10 but had a lower effect than other factors. A better understanding of the effects of grazing on soil respiration has important practical implications.

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating lung disease with limited treatment options. It also leads to progressive respiratory failure, which subsequently affects the heart functionality, a pathological heart-lung interaction increasingly noticed and defined as pulmonary-heart disease (PHD). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory for treating “phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome” may suggest a possibility of treating PHD complication with Chinese medicine prescriptions previously used for cardiovascular diseases.Methods: Here, we evaluate the efficacies of two compound Chinese medicine prescriptions, Danlou prescription (DLP) and Danhong prescription (DHP), which share a common herbal component, Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), on pulmonary fibrosis. Severity grades of Bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis were assessed by micro-Computerized Tomography (μCT) in accordance with the clinical evaluation standard. Lung pathological changes and collagen deposition were investigated by histopathology. Myofibroblast differentiation was assessed by immunohistochemistry of α-SMA and TGF-β receptor type II expression in situ. Network pharmacology analysis of the drug-target interaction in IPF progression for DLP or DHP was performed using Ingenuity® Pathways Analysis (IPA) system.Results: We show that a non-invasive μCT effectively monitor and quantify BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis and its treatment efficacy by Chinese medicine prescription in rodents. In addition, although both containing Salvia miltiorrhiza, DLP but not DHP mitigates BLM-induced lung fibrosis by inhibiting the TGF-β signaling-activated myofibroblast differentiation and α-SMA expression in a mouse model. Core analysis by IPA revealed that DLP ingredients regulated not only pulmonary fibrosis related inflammatory genes but also genes associated with myofibroblast activation and collagen deposition.Conclusion: This study suggests that a clinically efficacious cardiovascular Chinese herbal medicine (DLP) can be successfully repurposed to treat a lung disease in pulmonary fibrosis guided by TCM theory. Our comparative study between DLP and DHP demonstrated a critical requirement of suppressing both pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic pathways for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, supporting that a multi-component prescription capable of “removing both phlegm and blood stasis” will better achieve co-protection of heart and lung in PHD.

Ninety percent of plasma fatty acids (FAs) are contained within lipoprotein-triglyceride, and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is robustly expressed in the heart. Hence, LPL-mediated lipolysis of lipoproteins is suggested to be a key source of FAs for cardiac use. Lipoprotein clearance by LPL occurs at the apical surface of the endothelial cell lining of the coronary lumen. In the heart, the majority of LPL is produced in cardiomyocytes and subsequently is translocated to the apical luminal surface. Here, vascular LPL hydrolyzes lipoprotein-triglyceride to provide the heart with FAs for ATP generation. This article presents an overview of cardiac LPL, explains how the enzyme works, describes key molecules that regulate its activity and outlines how changes in LPL are brought about by physiological and pathological states such as fasting and diabetes, respectively.

As one of the main errors that affects Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning accuracy, ionospheric delay also affects the improvement of smartphone positioning accuracy. The current ionospheric error correction model used in smartphones has a certain time delay and low accuracy, which is difficult to meet the needs of real-time positioning of smartphones. This article proposes a method to use the real-time regional ionospheric model retrieved from the regional Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) observation data to correct the GNSS positioning error of the smartphone. To verify the accuracy of the model, using the posterior grid as the standard, the electron content error of the regional ionospheric model is less than 5 Total Electron Content Unit (TECU), which is about 50% higher than the Klobuchar model, and to further evaluate the impact of the regional ionosphere model on the real-time positioning accuracy of smartphones, carrier-smoothing pseudorange and single-frequency Precise Point Positioning (PPP) tests were carried out. The results show that the real-time regional ionospheric model can significantly improve the positioning accuracy of smartphones, especially in the elevation direction. Compared with the Klobuchar model, the improvement effect is more than 34%, and the real-time regional ionospheric model also shortens the convergence time of the elevation direction to 1 min. (The convergence condition is that the range of continuous 20 s is less than 0.5 m).

A multipath is a major error source in bridge deformation monitoring and the key to achieving millimeter-level monitoring. Although the traditional MHM (multipath hemispherical map) algorithm can be applied to multipath mitigation in real-time scenarios, accuracy needs to be further improved due to the influence of observation noise and the multipath differences between different satellites. Aiming at the insufficiency of MHM in dealing with the adverse impact of observation noise, we proposed the MHM_V model, based on Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) and the MHM algorithm. Utilizing the VMD algorithm to extract the multipath from single-difference (SD) residuals, and according to the principle of the closest elevation and azimuth, the original observation of carrier phase in the few days following the implementation are corrected to mitigate the influence of the multipath. The MHM_V model proposed in this paper is verified and compared with the traditional MHM algorithm by using the observed data of the Forth Road Bridge with a seven day and 10 s sampling rate. The results show that the correlation coefficient of the multipath on two adjacent days was increased by about 10% after residual denoising with the VMD algorithm; the standard deviations of residual error in the L1/L2 frequencies were improved by 37.8% and 40.7%, respectively, which were better than the scores of 26.1% and 31.0% for the MHM algorithm. Taking a ratio equal to three as the threshold value, the fixed success rates of ambiguity were 88.0% without multipath mitigation and 99.4% after mitigating the multipath with MHM_V. The MHM_V algorithm can effectively improve the success rate, reliability, and convergence rate of ambiguity resolution in a bridge multipath environment and perform better than the MHM algorithm.

Background: Sepsis is one of the main causes of mortality in critically ill patients following progression to septic shock. To investigate the pathophysiologic changes of sepsis, we developed a novel porcine model of septic shock induced by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) pneumonia. Methods: Twenty-six male Landraces (Lvyuanweiye, Beijing, China) weighing 30 ± 2 kg were divided into four groups: sham group (SH; n = 5); cotton smoke inhalation group (SM; n = 6); MRSA pneumonia group (MR; n = 6); and septic shock group with cotton smoke inhalation + MRSA pneumonia (SS; n = 9). Extensive hemodynamics, oxygen dynamics, and lung function were monitored for 24 h following the injury or until death. Tissues were collected, and histopathology evaluations were carried out. Results: Blood cultures from 6 of 9 animals in the SS group were positive for MRSA. Two hours following the injury, decreased mean arterial blood pressure (60–70 mmHg) and cardiac index (

Anti-nutritional factors such as lectins, saponin, trypsin inhibitor and phytic acid are endogenous substances in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). In this study, the contents or activities of these anti-nutritional factors in fresh pods were detected in 56 selected cultivars. The results revealed significant difference within each factor in the tested cultivar population. The mean value of lectin content and the activity of trypsin inhibitor were 1.743 mg ⋅ g−1 and 1.680 mg ⋅ g−1 respectively. Their coefficients of variation (CV) were both more than 100% and each of the cultivar frequency distribution curve showed a main peak, but the discontinuous distributions in the extremely high and low areas indicate hierarchic cultivars. However, the mean contents of saponin and phytic acid were 3.730 mg ⋅ g−1 and 3.102 mg ⋅ g−1, respectively, with CV less than 41%. Each showed a main peak in its normal distribution curve and low frequency continuous distribution in dual tails. Meanwhile, statistic analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between the lectin content and trypsin inhibitor activity in fresh pods. Furthermore, all 56 tested cultivars were clustered into three groups based on their four anti-nutritional factor levels: 80% of them into medium level group, and 12% of them into low level group. The endogenous edible toxic compounds, such as lectin and trypsin inhibitor, are closely related to insect resistance in the field. This study suggests that it is possible to screen the cultivars containing less lectin and other factors but with reduced pest resistance in the field.

Extensive literature has highlighted the difficulty in operating baseload power plants—especially coal-fired units—in a decarbonized electric power system with a high share of variable renewable energy, with some of it recommending immediate coal phaseouts. However, the coal fleet across China is large and young, making its imminent phaseout unrealistic. Moreover, power system operators and policy makers face other constraints in their pursuit of energy system decarbonization—chief among them the need to achieve high levels of reliability—something coal units could provide. We assess the persistence of coal in a decarbonizing power system under various retrofit scenarios that seek to enhance the flexibility of coal units: after all, energy transitions do not occur in a vacuum and owners of coal power plants will likely pursue innovations to extend the lifetimes and profits of their assets, even as the wider energy transition unfolds. We evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of improving coal power unit flexibility in Jiangsu’s power system under four levels of renewable energy penetration and three scopes of coal flexibility retrofits. Our results show that coal units persist even at very high renewable penetrations, and retrofits help them reduce power system costs, enable renewable energy integration, and marginally cut emissions. Smaller coal units become peaker rather than baseload units, providing the power system with flexibility rather than just energy. Our results show how challenging the low-carbon transition is likely to be without outright phaseouts of coal generation.

The purpose of this study is to strengthen the effect of whole process cost management (WPCM) in the Dangerous Chemical construction projects. To this end, this paper studies the WPCM control of Dangerous Chemical construction projects. Building Information Model (BIM) technology was introduced into Dangerous Chemical building, to analyse the application of BIM technology-based Dangerous Chemical construction project in all stages of WPCM management. The study found that the pipeline collision and rework phenomenon on the site are greatly reduced, the construction cost drops directly, and the cost change is reflected in time. Therefore, BIM Technology has changed the traditional ways of work. It can process the engineering information quickly and accurately. The application of BIM technology in the WPCM is conductive to achieving accurate, dynamic and real-time cost management.