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Far-infrared rays (FIR) are known to have various effects on atoms and molecular structures within cells owing to their radiation and vibration frequencies. The present study examined the effects of FIR on gene expression related to glucose transport through microarray analysis in rat skeletal muscle cells, as well as on mitochondrial biogenesis, at high and low glucose conditions. FIR were emitted from a bio-active material coated fabric (BMCF). L6 cells were treated with 30% BMCF for 24 h in medium containing 25 or 5.5 mM glucose, and changes in the expression of glucose transporter genes were determined. The expression of GLUT3 (Slc2a3) increased 2.0-fold (p < 0.05) under 5.5 mM glucose and 30% BMCF. In addition, mitochondrial oxygen consumption and membrane potential (ΔΨm) increased 1.5- and 3.4-fold (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), respectively, but no significant change in expression of Pgc-1a, a regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, was observed in 24 h. To analyze the relationship between GLUT3 expression and mitochondrial biogenesis under FIR, GLUT3 was down-modulated by siRNA for 72 h. As a result, the ΔΨm of the GLUT3 siRNA-treated cells increased 3.0-fold (p < 0.001), whereas that of the control group increased 4.6-fold (p < 0.001). Moreover, Pgc-1a expression increased upon 30% BMCF treatment for 72 h; an effect that was more pronounced in the presence of GLUT3. These results suggest that FIR may hold therapeutic potential for improving glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function in metabolic diseases associated with insufficient glucose supply, such as type 2 diabetes.

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomena have gained intense interest over the last decades because of its importance in solid-state emission. However, the elucidation of a working mechanism is difficult owing to the limited characterization methods on solid-state molecules, further complicated if dynamic structural changes occur. Here, a series of bis-arylacylhydrazones (BAHs) were synthesized, for which their AIE properties are only turned on by the reversible adsorption of water molecules. We used microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) to determine the molecular structures of two BAHs directly from bulk powders (without attempting to grow crystals) prepared in the absence or presence of water adsorption. This study reveals the unambiguous characterization of the dependence of crystal packing on the specific cocrystallization with hydrates. The structural analysis demonstrates that water molecules form strong hydrogen bonds with three neighboring BAH-1, resulting in the almost complete planarization and restriction of the intramolecular rotation of the molecule. MicroED plays an important role in providing a decisive clue for the reversible polymorphism changes induced by the adsorption of water molecules, regulating emissive properties.

Treatments for epilepsy include pharmacotherapy or surgery. Recently, focused ultrasound stimulation has been investigated as a promising non-invasive neuromodulation tool for neurological disorders, including epilepsy. To investigate the neuronal dynamics in epilepsy, we acutely stimulated 29 Sprague–Dawley rats to low-intensity focused ultrasound stimulation (LIFUS) three times for 3 minutes. Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) was injected into the abdominal cavity of the anesthetized rats to induce epilepsy. During the anesthesia, the electroencephalography (EEG) signal was measured and analyzed for 1 h in groups of animals untreated (sham) and treated with LIFUS. The EEG signal was quantitatively processed to show the different characteristics of the frequency change over time and of the band power between sham and treated groups. Histological analyses (Nissl, Iba1, c-Fos, and GAD65) measured the degree of staining of expression factors to confirm the effect of the stimulation on seizure suppression. These results suggest that repetitive LIFUS can effectively reduce epileptic seizure activity by attenuating theta and beta-band oscillation in a PTZ-induced rat model. LIFUS can potentially facilitate hippocampal and cortical cellular recovery by augmenting GABAergic inhibitory neurons via its anti-seizure effect.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapies have shown clinical success in the treatment of a number of neurological illnesses, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. An emerging strategy for increasing the efficacy of DBS therapies is to develop closed-loop, adaptive DBS systems that can sense biomarkers associated with particular symptoms and in response, adjust DBS parameters in realtime. The development of such systems requires extensive analysis of the underlying neural signals while DBS is on, so that candidate biomarkers can be identified and the effects of varying the DBS parameters can be better understood. However, DBS creates high amplitude, high frequency stimulation artifacts that prevent the underlying neural signals and thus the biological mechanisms underlying DBS from being analyzed. Additionally, DBS devices often require low sampling rates, which alias the artifact frequency, and rely on wireless data transmission methods that can create signal recordings with missing data of unknown length. Thus, traditional artifact removal methods cannot be applied to this setting. We present a novel periodic artifact removal algorithm for DBS applications that can accurately remove stimulation artifacts in the presence of missing data and in some cases where the stimulation frequency exceeds the Nyquist frequency. The numerical examples suggest that, if implemented on dedicated hardware, this algorithm has the potential to be used in embedded closed-loop DBS therapies to remove DBS stimulation artifacts and hence, to aid in the discovery of candidate biomarkers in real-time. Code for our proposed algorithm is publicly available on Github.

Various hybrid materials containing transitional metals (TMs) with selenium (Se) have been widely studied, but the controlled infiltration of Se in a cobalt phosphide nanostructured array (CPNA) de...

This study explores the history of research in Medical Anthropology by examining key concepts in the field with a focus on their relevance with findings from the field of History of Medicine. The concepts discussed in this paper are Medical Pluralism, Social Suffering, Biopolitics, and Care. Since concepts internalize the ethnographic gaze, what this paper aims is to trace the development of the gaze on a historical axis. Although concepts come from a specific historical period, they are by no means exclusive to it, as they are revisited again and again through various discourses. In other words, the insight that the previous meaning of a concept has grasped is instilled into the revisited concept. In this way, concepts engage in historical communication, create intersections with the interests of History of Medicine. By discussing these intersections with each concept, this paper suggests the complementary roles of the two fields and their approach to historical events and phenomena.

To introduce the printed circuit steam generator (PCSG), the design methods were developed, and the CFD analysis was performed. The design considerations were divided into three parts: thermal sizing, structural integrity evaluation, and specific design for water channels. The thermal sizing was performed by a 1D heat transfer analysis and the channel length was increased until it satisfied the target thermal power. The structural integrity was evaluated based on the ASME code and the calculated stresses were compared to the allowable stress. The flow instability, flow maldistribution, and fouling have negative effects on the performance. In order to prevent such phenomena, the mixing channel and orifice were designed. The CFD analysis on the final design of the PCSG was performed to evaluate the steam state at the outlet and flow distribution. Although a flow maldistribution (∼12 %) was observed, the steam state at the outlet was satisfied with the operating conditions.

This article presents a 5.2-Mpixel, 12-in wafer-scale CMOS X-ray detector that consists of lithographically stitched 169 sub-chips. The detector employs a 3T pixel with a voltage-controlled storage capacitor to achieve both a low dark random noise (RN) and a large well capacity, and the pixel outputs are read out by column-parallel continuous-time (CT) incremental delta–sigma ( $\Delta \Sigma $ ) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The use of a CT incremental $\Delta \Sigma $ ADC enables high resolution and low energy consumption while securing uniformity and robustness over the 12-in wafer. This work is fabricated in a 1P4M 65-nm CMOS technology. The 16-bit ADC implemented within a 45- $\mu \text{m}$ pitch achieves a differential nonlinearity (DNL) of +0.79/−0.65 LSB, an integral nonlinearity (INL) of +6.85/−6.15 LSB, and a peak signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 88.5 dB with a conversion time of $12.6~\mu \text{s}$ . This detector achieves a CFPN of $181~\mu \text {V}_{\text {rms}}$ , a dark RN of $267~\mu \text {V}_{\text {rms}}$ , and a DR of 88.4 dB while consuming 3.9 W at 30 frames/s. Compared with the state of the arts, this work achieves $3\times $ larger spatial resolution, $1.8\times $ higher pixel rate, $1.9\times $ higher energy-efficiency, and 17 dB higher DR, simultaneously.

PurposePossible asymmetric treatment among family members has long been neglected in the field of family firm research. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to shed light on the heterogeneity of treatment of family members in family firms by proposing factors that influence the likelihood of bifurcation bias among “family” members.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon social identity theory and the concept of bifurcation bias, the authors theorize that family members working in family firms are not a homogenous entity, but rather a heterogeneous entity contingent on their status and/or position in the family. To provide a comprehensive understanding of heterogeneous treatment among family members, both individual factors and societal factors should be considered.FindingsBlood relatedness of family members is suggested as an important determinant of the likelihood of bifurcation bias among family members. It is also proposed that the impact of blood relatedness is likely influenced by both individual factors (familial proximity and familial tenure) and a societal factor (collectivism).Originality/valueTheorizing takes a step forward to advance the understanding of interpersonal dynamics in family firms. In particular, this article expands the research boundaries of family business research by taking into account that not all “family” members are treated preferentially. Moreover, this article deepens our understanding of the nature and status of non-blood related family members by unveiling the influence of both individual and societal factors. This article also provides a theoretical foundation for human resource management (HRM) research in family businesses by addressing bifurcation bias among family members.

Change in the mechanical properties of (Ti,Zr)(C,N) coatings by laser carburization was investigated in terms of bonding state and valence electron concentration (VEC). The doped carbon was analyzed for the formation of amorphous carbon phase with ID/IG of 0.85 and sp2/sp3 ratio of 2.13. The formation of carbide phase (TiC and ZrC) was substituted for nitrogen. The ratios of TiC/TiN and ZrC/ZrN were verified to be 0.10 and 0.26 by the analysis of the bonding environment using photoelectron spectroscopy. VEC was calculated to be 8.85 due to the transformation from (Ti,Zr)N (VEC = 9) to (Ti,Zr)(C,N). The decreased VEC was correlated with the decrease of the metallic state and the increase of p-d hybridized bond in valence band. As the measured elastic modulus and hardness increased from 420.3 GPa and 32.4 GPa for VEC = 9 to 442.1 GPa and 37.6 GPa for VEC = 8.85 before and after carbon doping, the change in resistive properties against the elastic strain was identified due to the increase in hybridized bonds.

Most of existing deep learning-based depth and optical flow estimation methods require the supervision of a lot of ground truth data, and hardly generalize to video frames, resulting in temporal inconsistency. In this letter, we propose a joint framework that estimates disparity and optical flow of stereo videos and generalizes across various video frames by considering the spatiotemporal relation between the disparity and flow without supervision. To improve both accuracy and consistency, we propose a loop consistency loss which enforces the spatiotemporal consistency of the estimated disparity and optical flow. Furthermore, we introduce a video-based training scheme using the c-LSTM to reinforce the temporal consistency. Extensive experiments show our proposed methods not only estimate disparity and optical flow accurately but also further improve spatiotemporal consistency. Our framework outperforms the state-of-the-art unsupervised depth and optical flow estimation models on the KITTI benchmark dataset.

Particulate matters with different sizes (PM2.5 and PM10) in the air have become a supreme environmental concern to human health globally. Herein, the magnetic-luminescent Cu//Tb dual metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) incorporated side-by-side nanofibrous (SBS-NFs) membrane has been successfully fabricated via the electrospinning technique with the self-designed nozzle for the first time. The fabricated SBS-NFs membrane was composed of Cu-MOF/PAN at one side and Tb-MOF/PAN at another side with their individual characteristics. The Cu-MOF was used to improve the filtration efficiency and reduced the pressure drop by enhancing the electrostatic interaction, whereas, Tb-MOF was incorporated to investigate the PM adsorption process through the changes in luminescence intensity. Compared to polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN NFs), Cu//Tb dual MOFs incorporated SBS-NFs membrane showed an enhanced filtration efficiency (90.2%) and a reduced pressure drop (60.7 Pa) when sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosols with particle size less than 300 nm were used for testing. As a result of the filter test using car exhaust, Cu//Tb SBS-NFs membrane still maintained >91% PM removal efficiency for >30 h. In addition, it was confirmed that the luminescence intensity over the PM adsorption time was linearly weakened. Therefore, Cu//Tb dual MOFs incorporated SBS-NFs membrane can be used for a variety of applications.

Understanding what and how physico-chemical factors of a ligand configure conditions for ligand-receptor binding is a key to accurate assessment of toxic potencies of environmental pollutants. We investigated influences of the dipole-driven orientation and resulting directional configuration of ligands on receptor binding activities. Using physico-chemical properties calculated by ab initio density functional theory, directional reactivity factors (DRF) were devised as main indicators of toxic potencies, linking molecular ligand-receptor binding to in vitro responses. The directional reactive model was applied to predict variation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated toxic potencies among homologues of chrysene with structural modifications such as the numbers of constituent benzene rings, methylation and hydroxylation. Results of predictive models were consistent with empirical potencies determined by use of the H4IIE-luc transactivation bioassay. The experiment-free approach based on first principles provides an analytical framework for estimating molecular bioactivity in silico and complements conventional empirical approaches to studying molecular initiating events in adverse outcome pathways.

We describe a small lipid nanoparticle (SLNP)-based nanovaccine platform and a new combination treatment regimen. Tumor antigen-displaying, CpG adjuvant-embedded SLNPs (OVAPEP -SLNP@CpG) were prepared from biocompatible phospholipids and a cationic cholesterol derivative. The resulting nanovaccine showed highly potent antitumor efficacy in both prophylactic and therapeutic E.G7 tumor models. However, this vaccine induced T cell exhaustion by elevating PD-L1 expression, leading to tumor recurrence. Thus, the nanovaccine was combined with simultaneous anti-PD-1 antibody treatment, but the therapeutic efficacy of this regimen was comparable to that of the nanovaccine alone. Finally, mice that showed a good therapeutic response after the first cycle of immunization with the nanovaccine underwent a second cycle together with anti-PD-1 therapy, resulting in suppression of tumor relapse. This suggests that the antitumor efficacy of combinations of nanovaccines with immune checkpoint blockade therapy is dependent on treatment sequence and the timing of each modality.

Following the previous article, here we describe the first field demonstration of the ELVIS system, performed at Newport Beach, CA. We examined ocean water to detect microorganisms using the combined holographic and light-field fluorescence microscope and successfully detected both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The shared field of view provided simultaneous bright-field (amplitude), phase, and fluorescence information from both chlorophyll autofluorescence and acridine orange staining. The entire process was performed in a nearly autonomous manner using a specifically designed sample processing unit (SPU) and custom acquisition software. We also discuss improvements to the system made after the field test that will make it more broadly useful to other types of fluorophores and samples.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials can offer high exposed surface area and reactive functional groups. Despite the tremendous progresses made in the 2D materials, carbonaceous 2D materials have not seen their light perhaps because of the overwhelming shadow cast by graphene. Here, we introduce a platform for carbonaceous 2D materials that are co-compounded carbonaceous nanoplates (Co-CANPs). Co-compounding carbonaceous nanoplates (CANPs) with another compound are accomplished by a one-pot process, and the synthesized Co-CANP does not require any separation for its use. It was confirmed that the mechanical properties were improved by adding the synthesized Co-CANP as a tire additive, thereby proving its efficacy. The platform introduced here opens the door to organic–inorganic Co-CANPs and also to many component Co-CANPs.

The buildability of cementitious structure for 3D printing was investigated in terms of ettringite formation and hardening behaviour with packing density of OPC-CSA blends. The packing density of t...

A hurdle to the commercialization of thermoelectrochemical cells (TECs) based on the redox reaction of hexacyanoferrate (HCF) to convert low-grade waste heat into electricity is the high manufactur...

The construction of new electrocatalysts for effective and low-cost water electrolysis continues to be an important conceptual barrier for clean renewable energy technologies. Herein, we fabricate ...

Summary We report the implantation of patient-derived midbrain dopaminergic progenitor cells, differentiated in vitro from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in a patient with idiop...

Porous and hollow nanomaterials have been an exciting research area for numerous next-generation technological applications. However, it is still a challenge to assemble porous and hollow nanostruc...

An enhanced, multiple lines of evidence approach was applied to assess potential toxicological effects associated with polluted sediments. Two in vitro bioassays (H4IIE-luc and Vibrio fischeri) and...

Recent advancements in robots and deep learning have led to active research in human-robot interaction. However, non-physical interaction using visual devices such as laser pointers has gained less attention than physical interaction using complex robots such as humanoids. Such vision-based interaction has high potential for use in recent human-robot collaboration environments such as assembly guidance, even with a minimum amount of configuration. In this paper, we introduce a simple robotic laser pointer device that follows an arbitrary planar path and is designed to be a visual instructional aid. We also propose an image-based automatic path generation method using reinforcement learning and a sequential pattern reduction technique. However, such vision-based human-robot interaction is generally performed in a dynamic environment, and it can frequently be necessary to calibrate the devices more than once. In this paper, we avoid the need for this re-calibration process through episodic randomization learning and improved learning efficiency. In particular, contrary to previous approaches, the agent controls the curriculum difficulty in a self-directed manner to determine the optimal curriculum. To our knowledge, this is the first study of curriculum learning that incorporates an explicit learning environment control signal initiated by the agent itself. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, we show that the proposed self-directed curriculum learning method outperforms ordinary episodic randomization and curriculum learning. We hope that the proposed method can be extended to a general reinforcement learning framework.

Transition metal phosphate (TMPi)-based composites as anode electrode materials in supercapacitor applications are less reported. Herein, we report a phytic acid (PA)-assisted in situ-formed amorphous cobalt phosphate/carbon (CoPi/C) composite grown on a flexible woven carbon cloth (CC) via a simple one-step carbonization approach. The tunable synthesis of amorphous and crystalline composites is shown by simply controlling the concentration of the cobalt salts. The strategy for high mass loading to 12 mg cm−2 is also shown in this report. Importantly, the resulting amorphous electrode materials exhibit electric double-layer capacitance (EDLC) behavior that works over a wide potential range from −1.4 to +0.5 V in an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide (2 M KOH) and from −1.5 to +1.5 V in sodium sulfate (1 M Na2SO4). The amorphous electrode as an anode is capable of delivering an areal capacitance up to 2.15 F cm−2 at a current density of 4 mA cm−2 (gravimetric capacitance up to 606.1 F g−1 at 1 Ag−1) and has a retention of 94.2% at 10 000 cycles. The flexible solid-state symmetric device fabricated shows an energy density of approximately 620.0 μW h cm−2 at a power density of 4.7 mW cm−2 (31.1 W h kg−1 at 476.0 W kg−1). This study offers a novel route for the generation of metal phosphate-based anode materials with high capacitance for symmetrical supercapacitor device with high energy density.

Ecotoxicological effects of spilled oils are well documented, but study of recovery of marine benthic communities is limited. Long-term recovery of hard bottom communities during physical and biological remediations after a spill was monitored. A 60-day experiment was conducted using a mesocosm with monitoring of eight endpoints by use of the sediment quality triad (SQT). First, physical treatment of hot water + high pressure flushing maximally removed residual oils (max=93%), showing the greatest recovery among SQT variables (mean=72%). Physical cleanup generally involved adverse effects such as depression of the microphytobenthic community during the initial period. Next, biological treatments, such as fertilizer, emulsifier, enzyme and augmentation of the microbes, all facilitated removal of oil (max=66%) enhancing ecological recovery. Analysis of the microbiome confirmed that oil-degrading bacteria, such as Dietzia sp. and Rosevarius sp. were present. A mixed bioremediation, including fertilizer + multi-enzyme + microbes (FMeM) maximized efficacy of remediation as indicated by SQT parameters (mean=47%). Natural attenuation with "no treatment" showed comparable recovery to other remediations. Considering economic availability, environmental performance, and technical applicability, of currently available techniques, combined treatments of physical removal via hand wiping followed by FMeM could be most effective for recovery of the rocky shore benthic community.

Novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists were identified in coastal sediments in the Yellow and Bohai Seas by use of a combination of effect-directed analysis (EDA) and in silico prediction. A total of 125 sediments were screened for AhR-mediated potencies using H4IIE-luc bioassay. Great potencies were observed in organic extracts, mid-polar fraction (F2), and subfractions of F2 (F2.6-F2.9) of sediments collected from Nantong, Qinhuangdao, and Yancheng. Less than 15% AhR potencies could be explained by detected dioxin-like PAHs. Full-scan screening analysis was conducted for the more potent fractions using GC-QTOFMS to investigate the presence of unmonitored AhR agonists. A five-step prioritization strategy was applied; 92 candidate compounds satisfied all criteria. Among these chemicals, thirteen were evaluated for AhR efficacy. Six compounds; benz[b]anthracene, 6-methylchrysene, 2-methylbenz[a]anthracene, 1-methylbenz[a]anthracene, 1,12-dimethylbenzo[c]phenanthrene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]fluoranthene, exhibited significant AhR-mediated efficacies. 1,12-dimethylbenzo[c]phenanthrene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]fluoranthene were identified as novel AhR agonists. Potency balance analysis showed that the six newly identified AhR agonists explained 0.4-100% of the total AhR-mediated potencies determined. Overall, combining EDA and in silico prediction applied in this study demonstrated the benefits of assessing the potential toxic effects of previously unidentified AhR agonists in sediments from the coasts of China and Korea.

Molecular mechanisms that regulate tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) phenotype and function are incompletely understood. The pseudokinase TRIB1 has been reported as a regulator of macrophage phenotypes, both in mouse and human systems.

Cement dust exposure (CDE) can be a risk factor for pulmonary disease, causing changes in segmental airways and parenchymal lungs. This study investigates longitudinal alterations in quantitative computed tomography (CT)-based metrics due to CDE. We obtained CT-based airway structural and lung functional metrics from CDE subjects with baseline CT and follow-up CT scans performed three years later. From the CT, we extracted wall thickness (WT) and bifurcation angle (θ) at total lung capacity (TLC) and functional residual capacity (FRC), respectively. We also computed air volume (V

The Ariel mission will observe spectroscopically around 1000 exoplanets to further characterise their atmospheres. For the mission to be as efficient as possible, a good knowledge of the planets' ephemerides is needed before its launch in 2028. While ephemerides for some planets are being refined on a per-case basis, an organised effort to collectively verify or update them when necessary does not exist. In this study, we introduce the ExoClock project, an open, integrated and interactive platform with the purpose of producing a confirmed list of ephemerides for the planets that will be observed by Ariel. The project has been developed in a manner to make the best use of all available resources: observations reported in the literature, observations from space instruments and, mainly, observations from ground-based telescopes, including both professional and amateur observatories. To facilitate inexperienced observers and at the same time achieve homogeneity in the results, we created data collection and validation protocols, educational material and easy to use interfaces, open to everyone. ExoClock was launched in September 2019 and now counts over 140 participants from more than 15 countries around the world. In this release, we report the results of observations obtained until the 15h of April 2020 for 119 Ariel candidate targets. In total, 632 observations were used to either verify or update the ephemerides of 83 planets. Additionally, we developed the Exoplanet Characterisation Catalogue (ECC), a catalogue built in a consistent way to assist the ephemeris refinement process. So far, the collaborative open framework of the ExoClock project has proven to be highly efficient in coordinating scientific efforts involving diverse audiences. Therefore, we believe that it is a paradigm that can be applied in the future for other research purposes, too., Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy, data available through OSF at DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/3W7HM

Faster adaptability to open-world novelties by intelligent agents is a necessary factor in achieving the goal of creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Current RL framework does not considers the unseen changes (novelties) in the environment. Therefore, in this paper, we have proposed OODA-RL, a Reinforcement Learning based framework that can be used to develop robust RL algorithms capable of handling both the known environments as well as adaptation to the unseen environments. OODA-RL expands the definition of internal composition of the agent as compared to the abstract definition in the classical RL framework, allowing the RL researchers to incorporate novelty adaptation techniques as an add-on feature to the existing SoTA as well as yet-to-be-developed RL algorithms.

The current research focuses on examining how the use of artificial intelligence and robotic technology, emerging non-human agent innovations in service industries, influences consumers’ likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior. Previous research has shown that non-human (vs. human) agents are perceived differently along many dimensions by consumers (e.g., that they lack emotional capability), leading to various behavioral changes when interacting with them. We hypothesize and show across four studies that interacting with non-human (vs. human) agents, such as AI and robots, increases the tendency to engage in unethical consumer behaviors due to reduced anticipatory feelings of guilt. We also demonstrate the moderating role of anthropomorphism such that endowing humanlike features on non-human agents reduces unethical behavior. We also rule out alternative explanations for the effect, including differential perceptions about the agents (e.g., “warmth,” “competence,” or “detection capacity”) and other measures associated with the company capabilities.

The discovery of small molecules that regulate specific neuronal phenotypes is important for the development of new therapeutic candidates for neurological diseases. Estrogen-related receptor γ (ERRγ), an orphan nuclear receptor widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), is closely related to the regulation of neuronal metabolism and differentiation. We previously reported that upregulation of ERRγ could enhance dopaminergic neuronal phenotypes in the neuroblastoma cell line, SH-SY5Y. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of new ERRγ agonists using the X-ray crystal structure of the GSK4716-bound ERRγ complex and known synthetic ligands. Our new ERRγ agonists exhibited increased transcriptional activities of ERRγ. In addition, our molecular docking results supported the experimental findings for ERRγ agonistic activity of the potent analogue, 5d. Importantly, 5d not only enhanced the expression of dopaminergic neuronal-specific molecules, TH and DAT but also activated the relevant signaling events, such as the CREB-mediated signaling pathway. The results of the present study may provide useful clues for the development of novel ERRγ agonists for neurological diseases related to the dopaminergic nervous system.

Membranes for membrane distillation (MD) are mostly made of polymeric and ceramic materials. We demonstrate here that the laterally-compressed, vertically-aligned CNTs (VACNT) obtainable from a CNT forest are an excellent membrane material for vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). The VACNT structure provides interstices between CNTs for extracting vaporized water molecules, while efficiently filtering the impurity salts. The VACNT membrane is shown to deliver excellent performance when tested for the desalination of 3.5 wt% NaCl water solution, as exemplified by the permeability of 68 LMH (liter per square meter per hour) achieved at the salt rejection of over 99.8% at 65 °C. We also demonstrate that the VACNT membrane performance can be maintained with time with the aid of a simple cleaning procedure, which bodes well for a long lifetime of the membrane for VMD application.

Background Fat fraction values obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to obtain an accurate diagnosis of fatty liver diseases. However, MRI is expensive and cannot be performed for everyone. Objective In this study, we aim to develop multi-view ultrasound image–based convolutional deep learning models to detect fatty liver disease and yield fat fraction values. Methods We extracted 90 ultrasound images of the right intercostal view and 90 ultrasound images of the right intercostal view containing the right renal cortex from 39 cases of fatty liver (MRI–proton density fat fraction [MRI–PDFF] ≥ 5%) and 51 normal subjects (MRI–PDFF < 5%), with MRI–PDFF values obtained from Good Gang-An Hospital. We obtained combined liver and kidney-liver (CLKL) images to train the deep learning models and developed classification and regression models based on the VGG19 model to classify fatty liver disease and yield fat fraction values. We employed the data augmentation techniques such as flip and rotation to prevent the deep learning model from overfitting. We determined the deep learning model with performance metrics such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and coefficient of determination (R2). Results In demographic information, all metrics such as age and sex were similar between the two groups—fatty liver disease and normal subjects. In classification, the model trained on CLKL images achieved 80.1% accuracy, 86.2% precision, and 80.5% specificity to detect fatty liver disease. In regression, the predicted fat fraction values of the regression model trained on CLKL images correlated with MRI–PDFF values (R2=0.633), indicating that the predicted fat fraction values were moderately estimated. Conclusions With deep learning techniques and multi-view ultrasound images, it is potentially possible to replace MRI–PDFF values with deep learning predictions for detecting fatty liver disease and estimating fat fraction values.

Several Cissus species have been used and reported to possess medicinal benefits. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Cissus subtetragona have not been described. In this study, we examined the potential anti-inflammatory effects of C. subtetragona ethanol extract (Cs-EE) in vitro and in vivo, and investigated its molecular mechanism as well as its flavonoid content. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells and primary macrophages as well as LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastritis mouse models were utilized. Luciferase assays, immunoblotting analyses, overexpression strategies, and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) were performed to identify the molecular mechanisms and targets of Cs-EE. Cs-EE concentration-dependently reduced the secretion of NO and PGE2, inhibited the expression of inflammation-related cytokines in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, and decreased NF-κB- and AP-1-luciferase activity. Subsequently, we determined that Cs-EE decreased the phosphorylation events of NF-κB and AP-1 pathways. Cs-EE treatment also significantly ameliorated the inflammatory symptoms of HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastritis and LPS-induced ALI mouse models. Overexpression of HA-Src and HA-TAK1 along with CETSA experiments validated that inhibited inflammatory responses are the outcome of attenuation of Src and TAK1 activation. Taken together, these findings suggest that Cs-EE could be utilized as an anti-inflammatory remedy especially targeting against gastritis and acute lung injury by attenuating the activities of Src and TAK1.