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Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is a drug that exerts angiogenesis regulatory and neuroprotective effects and has become an effective therapy for brain and heart ischemic disorders. There is no definite evidence supporting a therapeutic effect of HSYA in vascular dementia (VaD). We used HSYA in a rat model of chronic cerebral ischemia to determine its potential therapeutic effects in VaD. The Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluate spatial cognitive function, and long-term potentiation (LTP) was tested as a marker of synaptic plasticity. The expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and two subunits of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR; GluN2A and GluN2B) in the hippocampus were measured via western blotting. The MWM results showed that the experimental VaD group had longer escape latencies than the sham group, whereas the HSYA group had a decreased escape latency compared with the VaD group (P

Whole-genome duplication events played important roles in the evolution of angiosperms. Many modern angiosperms genomes have experienced one or more rounds of paleopolyploidy. Given that an ancient large-scale duplication will result in an excess of relatively old duplicated genes with similar ages, we analyzed the timing of duplication pairs in four model angiosperms (Populus trichocarpa, Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Vitis vinifera). By searching for intraspecies microsynteny, we identified 18 paralogous gene pairs of duplicated segments resulting from a whole-genome duplication in poplar, Arabidopsis, and rice. Notably no paralogous gene pairs existed in grapevine. However, by comparing interspecies microsynteny, we confirmed that the majority of HSF-containing segments in the Arabidopsis, rice, and grapevine genomes show extensive conservation with duplicated regions in poplar. Microarray and quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR analysis showed that most of the poplar HSF genes are differentially expressed upon exposure to various stresses. In conclusion, this study comprehensively analyzed the evolution and duplication relationship of HSF across four model angiosperms, which demonstrated the rates of gene gain in different species.

Tin sulfide-anchored sulfur-hollow carbon nanospheres (S/AHCNS-SnS2) composites are synthesized by uniformly dispersing conductive SnS2 particles into hollow carbon nanospheres activated with potassium hydroxide, followed by impregnating sulfur. Surface morphology and structure of this composite are characterized using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray power diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The first discharge capacity of the sample containing 10 wt.% SnS2 exhibits a high special capacity value of about 1237.5 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C, and after 200 cycles retains 924 mAh g−1. Tin sulfide particles play a favorable role on adsorption towards polysulfides which would influence electrochemical process. This strategy of immobilization of sulfur with small amount of metal sulfide particles anchored in AHCNS provides a considerable approach to elevate the sulfur loading, coulombic efficiency, and cycling stability for Li–S batteries.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted remarkable attention due to their high mechanical performance and low density which are desirable for application as lightweight materials in automotive and aerospace industries to improve fuel efficiency. However, CNT fibers generally exhibit far lower mechanical properties (strength, toughness, etc.) than individual CNTs due to the weak interfacial shear strength between adjacent shells, nanotubes, and nanotube bundles, causing insufficient load transfer. In this study, to improve the interfacial shear strength of the fibers, graphene oxide (GO) was infiltrated into the CNT fibers to interlock CNT bundles. GO was selected due to its high mechanical properties and similar carbon-based structure as the CNT fibers. In addition, GO interfaces are known to exhibit higher frictional forces for sliding contacts than those found for pristine graphene sheets, which makes it more desirable for enhancing the shear interactions. GO particles with a width of ∼40 nm, which match closely to the void size within fibers, were optimal for enhancing the mechanical properties of the CNT fibers. Tensile testing demonstrated optimized GO infiltrated CNT fibers exhibited improvement in: stiffness ∼100%, yield strength ∼110%, ultimate tensile strength ∼56%, and energy to failure ∼30% of pristine CNT fibers.

A sulfur-carbon composite from sulfur and carbon aerogel decorated with ultrafine CeO 2 nanoparticles has been prepared by a conventional sol-gel strategy as a host material of the sulfur cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries. The physical and electrochemical properties of the prepared composite materials have been evaluated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N 2 sorption isotherms, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical measurements. Apart from offering flexible confinement function, carbon aerogels decorated with CeO 2 are also found to suppress the loss of polysulfide ions. The Ce2-CA/S cathode with Ce/C molar ratio of 0.0233 delivers high initial discharge capacity of 1381 mAh g −1 at 0.2 C and remains 1127.6 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles. The sulfur electrodes have excellent rate performance with initial discharge capacity of 768.5 mAh g −1 at 5 C.

Air quality models have been used in health studies to provide spatial and temporal information of various air pollutants. Model resolution is an important factor affecting the accuracy of exposure assessment using model predictions. In this study, the WRF/CMAQ model system was applied to quantitatively estimate the impacts of the model resolution on the predictions of air quality and associated health exposure in Nanjing, China in 2016. Air quality was simulated with a grid resolution of 1, 4, 12, and 36 km respectively. Predictions with 1 or 4 km resolution are slightly better for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) and its compositions and predictions with 12 km are slightly better for daily 8-h maximum ozone (O3-8 h). Model resolution does not significantly improve predictions for PM2.5 and O3-8 h in Nanjing, however, the spatial distributions of PM2.5 and O3-8 h are better captured with finer resolutions. Population weighted concentrations (PWCs) of PM2.5 with different model resolutions are similar to the average of observations, but PWCs of O3-8 h with all resolutions are obviously larger than the observations, indicating that the current sites may well represent the population exposure to PM2.5, but under-estimate the exposure to O3. Model resolution results in about 6% in the estimated premature mortality due to exposure to PM2.5 but more than 20% difference in premature mortality due to exposure to O3. Future studies are needed to evaluate the impacts of the resolution on the exposure of PM2.5 compositions in the city scale when PM2.5 composition measurements available at multiple sites.

Usually, the improvement of strength of structural materials is at the cost of ductility. Here, a superior synergy of high strength (σy ~ 526.8–582.6 MPa) and ductility (ef ~ 25.5–19.3%) is achieved in the gradient dislocation-structured low-carbon steel subjected to torsion deformation, which is much better than that (σy ~ 317.9 MPa and ef ~ 22.8%) of its coarse-grained counterpart. The enhanced strength is attributed to the back stress, grain refinement and the introduction of numerous dislocations (i.e., work hardening) whose density increases consistently with the radius along from the core to the surface. The high ductility results from the promising work hardening capacity of the gradient dislocation-structure. This study provides a practical route to developing advanced structural materials with enhanced integrated mechanical properties.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hypertension has been the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide. The aim of this study was to design a more efficient vaccine against novel targets for the treatment of hypertension. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The epitope CE12, derived from the human L‐type calcium channel (Ca(V)1.2), was designed and conjugated with Qβ bacteriophage virus‐like particles to test the efficacy in hypertensive animals. Further, the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg)‐CE12‐CQ10 vaccine, a bivalent vaccine based on HBcAg virus‐like particles and targeting both human angiotensin AT(1) receptors and Ca(V)1.2 channels, was developed and evaluated in hypertensive rodents. KEY RESULTS: The Qβ‐CE12 vaccine effectively decreased the BP in hypertensive rodents. A monoclonal antibody against CE12 specifically bound to L‐type calcium channels and inhibited channel activity. Injection with monoclonal antibody against CE12 effectively reduced the BP in angiotensin II‐induced hypertensive mice. The HBcAg‐CE12‐CQ10 vaccine showed antihypertensive effects in hypertensive mice and relatively superior antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats and ameliorated L‐NAME‐induced renal injury. In addition, no obvious immune‐mediated damage or electrophysiological adverse effects were detected. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Immunotherapy against both AT(1) receptors and Ca(V)1.2 channels decreased the BP in hypertensive rodents effectively and provided protection against hypertensive target organ damage without obvious feedback activation of renin‐angiotensin system or induction of dominant antibodies against the carrier protein. Thus, the HBcAg‐CE12‐CQ10 vaccine may provide a novel and promising therapeutic approach for hypertension.

In early 2018, several important documents of the wind power have been promulgated. According to the documents, a series of wind power projects will participate in the competitive configuration, and the bidding electricity price is considered to be a main factor in the competition. The publication of this document indicates that the era of wind power bidding is gradually approaching. In addition, based on the national general energy planning, wind power industry will achieve grid parity by 2020, which will bring significant influence to the wind power industry. In brief, the electricity price of wind power will face a significantly two-stage decreasing, which must be a huge challenge for wind power industry and will bring dramatic influence on the benefit of wind power operators. Therefore, it is urgent to positively analyze and respond to the impacts brought about by changes in electricity prices, taking countermeasures to achieve a smooth transition. This paper is devoted to studying the impacts of electricity price changes on the benefits and analyzing the overall layout of wind power. Firstly, according to the current wind policies, this article analyzes the impact of price changes on the layout of wind power with qualitative analysis. Secondly, optimizes the traditional economic evaluation model with new indicators involved. Thirdly, analyzes the impacts of electricity price changes on the benefits and the overall layout of wind power by quantitative analysis. The case study in this article includes two scenarios. Scenario 1, economic evaluation analysis of wind power projects in different provinces considering competitive configuration. Scenario 2, advanced economic evaluation analysis of wind power projects with five feed-in tariffs, including normal mode, 2-year lag mode, 3-year lag mode, price bidding mode, and grid parity mode. The article aims to predictability forecast the risk of the fluctuation of electricity price and provide time-sensitive decision-making reference for wind power operators.

This paper developed a set of intelligent system technology of real time detection of traffic signal running state and remote alarm for fault information, aimed at the hot and difficult problems which are caused by traffic signal running faults in Urban Road intersection through the analysis of the mechanism of those faults. This set of system technology determines the state of the traffic light by detecting the sub-voltage signal in the output section of the traffic signal controller terminals. If it finds an abnormal situation, it will alarm remotely automatically. The technology was authorized for the patent of the Chinese invention in 2018.

Air pollution in China has been very serious during the recent decades. However, few studies have investigated the effects of short-term exposure to PM2.5 and O3 on daily outpatient visits for respiratory diseases. We examined the effects of PM2.5 and O3 on the daily outpatient visits for respiratory diseases, explored the sensitivities of different population subgroups and analyzed the relative risk (RR) of PM2.5 and O3 in different seasons in Shanghai during 2013-2016. The generalized linear model (GLM) was applied to analyze the exposure-response relationship between air pollutants (daily average PM2.5 and daily maximum 8-h average O3), and daily outpatient visits due to respiratory diseases. The sensitivities of males and females at the ages of 15-60 yr-old and 60+ yr-old to the pollutants were also studied for the whole year and for the cold and warm months, respectively. Finally, the results of the single-day lagged model were compared with that of the moving average lag model. At lag 0 day, the RR of respiratory outpatients increased by 0.37% with a 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. Exposure to PM2.5 (RR, 1.0047, 95% CI, 1.0032-1.0062) was more sensitive for females than for males (RR, 1.0025, 95% CI, 1.0008-1.0041), and was more sensitive for the 15-60 yr-old (RR, 1.0041, 95% CI, 1.0027-1.0055) than the 60+ yr-old age group (RR, 1.0031, 95% CI, 1.0014-1.0049). O3 was not significantly associated with respiratory outpatient visits during the warm periods, but was negatively associated during the cold periods. PM2.5 was more significantly in the cold periods than that in the warm periods. The results indicated that control of PM2.5, compared to O3, in the cold periods would be more beneficial to the respiratory health in Shanghai. In addition, the single-day lagged model underestimated the relationship between PM2.5 and O3 and outpatient visits for respiratory diseases compared to the moving average lag model.

Little is known about the safety of tourist drivers in the United States. Most domestic studies have focused on traffic deaths and injuries of U.S. citizens traveling abroad and cite factors such as driving on the left, lack of seat belt use, and alcohol consumption. U.S. states that have a number of tourist attractions and the roadways to reach them may be interested in whether traffic safety is problematic for drivers who are tourists. To that end, this research investigated the contributing factors for crash severity and crash likelihood of visiting drivers in or near three national parks in rural areas. Driver-level data from the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California revealed risk factors for crash severity, including age, geometry, and seat belt use. The second data set offered a more microscopic view at the road level and was used to anticipate crash frequency of visiting drivers at the road link level. Moreover, the second data set contained road geometry, traffic volume, environment, and crash counts aggregated at the segment level along a 57.8-mi stretch of U.S. Hwy 89 (a primary route to the north gate of Yellowstone National Park) in Montana that is frequently used by tourists. Crash risk factors (e.g., geometry and traffic intensity) affected local and nonlocal (tourist) drivers in different ways. Further exploration of crash trends in specific parks would be valuable in understanding the overall trends and contributors to crashes in tourism areas and to determine effective improvement measures.

A facile silica template nanocasting method was adopted to effectively synthesize mesoporous carbon nitride (MCN) based materials as cathode matrixes for advanced lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The MCN/S composite cathode displays excellent electrochemical performance with initial discharge capacities of 1284.5 and 1107.1 mA h g−1 for 66.7 wt% active material at 0.1 and 0.5C, respectively. And it presents good rate performance and stability with remaining discharge capacity of 828.4 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.5C. The excellent performances are mainly attributed to the crosslink mesoporous structure and the strong chemical interaction between sulfur and carbon–nitrogen framework, which not only can provide polysulfides reservoirs and transport channels for the transportation of ions and electrons within MCN/S, but also is beneficial to restrain polysulfides migration.

Wettable nonwoven topsheets are traditionally spunbond polypropylene nonwoven fabrics. The fluid handling performance of hydroentangled greige cotton nonwovens was studied to determine their suitability for topsheet applications based upon analysis of fluid rewet, strikethrough, and acquisition properties; and the relative contributions of nonwoven cotton’s cellulosic and wax components to hydrophobic and hydrophilic fluid transport properties are addressed. It was observed that mechanically cleaned greige cotton nonwovens exhibit certain fluid handling properties that are similar to polypropylene spunbond-meltblown topsheets, partly as a result of the residual wax content. Subsequently, the surface polarity, swelling, and moisture uptake of 100% greige cotton and 50:50 blends of greige cotton and polypropylene hydroentangled nonwovens were studied in comparison with the performance of a commercially available 100% polypropylene spunbond-meltblown topsheets. The surface polarity, swelling, and wettability values obtained from electrokinetic and water contact angle analysis were found to be in agreement with the hydrophobic polypropylene topsheets. Additionally, comfort assessment was undertaken based upon fabric handle profiles using the Leeds University Fabric Handle Evaluation System, which is an objective evaluation based on the quantification of fabric buckling deformations. Of the fabrics studied in this work, 50:50 greige cotton/polypropylene hydroentangled fabrics were the softest as determined by the Leeds University Fabric Handle Evaluation System and exhibited fluid handling properties consistent with the requirements of commercial topsheets.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are predicted to increase in market share as auto manufacturers introduce more fuel efficient vehicles to meet stricter fuel economy mandates and fossil fuel costs remain unpredictable. Reflecting spatial autocorrelation while controlling for a variety of demographic and locational (e.g., built environment) attributes, the zone-level spatial count model in this paper offers valuable information for power providers and charging station location decisions. By anticipating over 745,000 personal-vehicle registrations across a sample of 1000 census block groups in the Philadelphia region, a trivariate Poisson-lognormal conditional autoregressive (CAR) model anticipates Prius hybrid EV, other EV, and conventional vehicle ownership levels. Initial results signal higher EV ownership rates in more central zones with higher household incomes, along with significant residual spatial autocorrelation, suggesting that spatially-correlated latent variables and/or peer (neighbor) effects on purchase decisions are present. Such data sets will become more comprehensive and informative as EV market shares rise. This work’s multivariate Poisson-lognormal CAR modeling approach offers a rigorous, behaviorally-defensible framework for spatial patterns in choice behavior.

Reliable traffic counts on a highway system are critical for sound decision making about the maintenance, operation, and expansion of the system. Portable short-term automatic traffic recorders (ATRs) are a cost-efficient way to complement traffic counts from permanent ATR sites by performing temporary traffic counts on the highway system. Complicating the collection of traffic data with these short-term devices is the seasonal variation in vehicle operations throughout the year. This work focused on predicting the spatial distribution of seasonal traffic resulting from agricultural activities by using a new method that combines geographic information system spatial functions and the four-step travel demand model. This research collected information about township grids for Montana (as proxies for trip origins), grain elevators (trip destinations), agricultural ground cover, and crop yield estimates to estimate flows in tonnage at the grid level on the road network. Results suggest that the proposed method using the location of major crops and the locations of grain elevators can be used to predict tonnage of product that will be added to individual routes. The predicted values can then be compared with reported heavy-truck traffic to locate sites that may have underrepresented traffic flows. Although this work considered specifically three crops, the method can be applied to any resource flow that has known origin and destination information. The method can be enhanced by refining assumptions of the composition of heavy trucks transporting agricultural products and by field measurements of vehicle flows to better test the validity of the model.

Policymakers, transport planners, automobile manufacturers, and others are interested in the factors that affect adoption rates of electric vehicles and other fuel-efficient vehicles. With tract-level data from the 2010 census and registered vehicle counts from Texas counties in 2010, this study investigated the impact of various built environment and demographic attributes, including land use balance, employment density, population density, median age, gender, race, education, household size, and income. Spatial autocorrelation (across census tracts) in unobserved components of vehicle counts by tract and cross-response correlation (both spatial and local–aspatial in nature) was allowed for by the estimation of models of ownership levels (vehicle counts by vehicle type and fuel economy level) with bivariate and trivariate Poisson–lognormal conditional autoregressive models. The presence of high spatial autocorrelations and local cross-response correlations was consistent in all models across all counties studied. Ownership rates for fuel-efficient vehicles were found to rise with household income, resident education levels, and the share of male residents and to fall in the presence of larger household sizes and higher job densities. The average fuel economy of each tract's light-duty vehicles was also analyzed with a spatial error model across all Texas tracts, and this variable was found to depend most on educational attainment levels, median age, income, and household size variables, though all covariates used were statistically significant. If households registering more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles, are also more inclined to purchase plug-in electric vehicles, these findings can assist in spatial planning of charging infrastructure as well as other calculations (such as implications for the revenue from gas tax).

Installed wind power capacity keeps rapid increase, but wind power curtailment is becoming increasingly serious. Demand response is a good choice to promote the integration of wind power. This paper builds a two-stage unit commitment model incorporating demand response with the aim of promoting wind energy utilization. Firstly, a price determination model is proposed to find the optimal time-of-use price level to trigger price-based demand response. Secondly, a novel unit commitment model considering incentive-based demand response is established to make the best schedule of both supply side and demand side resources. Then, a numerical study is carried out based on the IEEE 30 bus system, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed two-stage model. Results show that the model can help to get the lowest cost and emission for power systems. Besides, more wind power can be utilized by virtue of the two sorts of demand response.

In recent years, the number of EVs keeps a rapid growth and the increasing charging load brings new challenges to the operation and control of the power system. Meanwhile, the application of energy storage system is drawing the attention in both academia and industry. Both of the above elements play important roles in the Energy Internet. This paper aims to find a balance status between the power grid and the EV users during the power flow exchange in the background of internet energy. Therefore, an integrated optimization model with EV charging station, battery-swap station and energy storage system is proposed. In this novel model, strategies of EV charging station, battery-swap station and energy storage system are optimized jointly, and power flow constraints are taken into account. Besides, the uncertainties of EV and battery charging are considered in the study and a modified integrated model is put forward, which makes the model more suitable for the actual operation. The case study has proven the rationality of the integrated optimization model and the utility of the model considering the uncertainties. With the optimized dispatching scheme, EV users can gain their revenue in a more flexible way, and the power system can operate in an optimal status under a specific target.

In the current environment of social change and development, the decline of Chinese rural culture has become increasingly prominent. Taking the Dangjia village as an example, this paper analyzes the relationship between the village, the ancestral culture and the local emotions by applying the method of text analysis and interviews. It is found that the ancestral culture is the core embodiment of the rural culture. With the development of the economic marketization, the ancestral public space gradually disappears, and the main body of ancestor worship is from collective to individual, and the ritual is from the complex to the simple. It reveals the decline of Chinese traditional culture and the weakening of local emotional attachment. This paper puts forward the suggestions of the local emotional return of the ancestral sacrifice culture by analyzing the internal and external causes of the emotional changes of the ancestors, and provides theoretical guidance for the rural development.

This paper develops an estimation strategy for and then applies a spatial autoregressive multinomial probit model to account for both spatial clustering and cross-alternative correlation. Estimation is achieved using Bayesian techniques with Gibbs and the generalized direct sampling (GDS). The model is applied to analyze land development decisions for undeveloped parcels over a 6-year period in Austin, Texas. Results suggest that GDS is a useful method for uncovering parameters whose draws may otherwise fail to converge using standard Metropolis-Hastings algorithms. Estimation results suggest that residential and commercial/civic development tends to favor more regularly shaped and smaller parcels, which may be related to parcel conversion costs and aesthetics. Longer distances to Austin’s central business district increase the likelihood of residential development, while reducing that of commercial/civic and office/industrial uses. Everything else constant, distances to a parcel’s nearest minor, and major arterial roads are estimated to increase development likelihood of commercial/civic and office/industry uses, perhaps because such development is more common in less densely developed locations (as proxied by fewer arterials). As expected, added soil slope is estimated to be negatively associated with residential development, but positively associated with commercial/civic and office/industry uses (perhaps due to some steeper terrains offering view benefits). Estimates of the cross-alternative correlations suggest that a parcel’s residential use “utility” or attractiveness tends to be negatively correlated with that of commercial/civic, but positively associated with that of office/industrial uses, while the latter two land uses exhibit some negative correlation. Using an inverse-distance weight matrix for each parcel’s closest 50 neighbors, the spatial autocorrelation coefficient is estimated to be 0.706, indicating a marked spatial clustering pattern for land development in the selected region.

This paper summarizes the literature on spatial filtering (SF) for analysis of spatial data. Given the scarcity of its application in transportation and its fledgling nature, preliminary case studies were conducted using continuous and discrete response data sets, for land values and land use, in comparison with results from spatial autoregressive (SAR) models with distance decay parameters estimated using Bayesian techniques. For both the continuous land value and binary land use cases, the SF approach demonstrates great potential as a worthy competitor to more conventional SAR-based models. In addition to offering high fit statistics, somewhat shorter computing times, and more straightforward computations, the SF approach makes explicit the patterns of spatial dependency in the land value and land use data. By controlling for these spatial relationships, the SF approach yields more reliable marginal effects of policy variables of interest. Model results confirm the important role of transportation access (as quantified using distances to a region’s central business district, and various roadway types).

Synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) was employed to investigate the changes of surface work function of Hg 3 In 2 Te 6 wafer under different Ar + ion etching parameters. Hg concentration on the Hg 3 In 2 Te 6 surface decreased with increasing the etching time. Meanwhile, the calculated work function and electron affinity of Hg 3 In 2 Te 6 wafer also decreased with increasing the etching time. It was found that the decrease of work function of the Hg 3 In 2 Te 6 wafer was mainly caused by the decrease of electron affinity which was closely related to the increase of electron concentration due to the escape of Hg 2+ on the surface of Hg 3 In 2 Te 6 wafer.

The current study aimed to identify novel long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with gastric cancer (GC). Transcriptome sequencing of the lncRNAs and mRNAs from GC tissues and normal adjacent tissues was performed. The data were analyzed using bioinformatics analysis, specifically analysis of differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNA, target gene prediction and functional enrichment analysis. A total of 1,181 differentially expressed mRNA and 390 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified. The targets of upregulated lncRNAs were significantly enriched in functions associated with collagen fibril organization, whereas the downregulated lncRNA were significantly associated with ion transmembrane transport and regulation of membrane potential. A total of 7 lncRNAs were verified by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR). Following RT‑qPCR validation, AC016735.2, AP001626.1, RP11‑400N13.3 and RP11‑243M5.2 were considered to be consistent with the prediction of the bioinformatics analysis. Transcriptome sequencing and RT‑qPCR experiments identified 4 lncRNAs, including AC016735.2, AP001626.1, RP11‑400N13.3 and RP11‑243M5.2 to have an important role in the carcinogenesis of GC.

This study aims to determine the specificity of anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor antibody (anti-HER2) modified monomethoxy polyethylene glycol-chitosan (mPEG-CS) nanoparticles (anti-HER2/mPEG-CS NPs) in delivering small interfering RNA (siRNA) to the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive cancer cells. Physicochemical properties of the siRNA-loaded anti-HER2/mPEG-CS NPs (anti-HER2/mPEG-CS-siRNA NPs), including size, surface charge, siRNA encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro release profile of siRNA from NPs, were characterized by particle size and zeta potential analyzer, and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. MTT assay was used to study the in vitro cytotoxicity of the NPs. Fluorescent microscope and flow cytometer analysis results showed that anti-HER2/mPEG-CS-siRNA NPs had much efficient delivery of siRNA than the siRNA alone, Lipofectamine-siRNA complexes and mPEG-CS-siRNA NPs. These results demonstrated that anti-HER2/mPEG-CS-siRNA NPs had great potential applications as a targeted strategy for siRNA delivery.

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) enjoys wide application in regional science, thanks to its relatively straightforward formulation and explicit treatment of spatial effects. The application of GWR to discrete-response data sets and land use change at the level of urban parcels has remained a novelty, however. This paper describes work that combined logit specifications with GWR techniques to anticipate five categories of land use change in Austin, Texas, and controlled for parcel geometry, slope, regional accessibility, local population density, and distances to Austin's downtown and various roadway types. Results of this multinomial logit GWR model suggested spatial variations in—and significant influence of—these covariates, especially roadway vicinity and regional access. A 1% increase in the distance of an undeveloped parcel to the nearest freeway, for example, was estimated, on average, to increase the probability of residential development by 1.2%, while the same increase in distance to a major arterial was estimated to increase the probability by 1.8%. Conversely, proximity to roads (through reductions in such distances) was estimated to boost the likelihood of nonresidential development (e.g., 9.0% in the case of commercial development in response to a 1% decrease in distance to such arterials). The logsum accessibility index was estimated to exert an average positive influence on commercial, office, and industrial development tendencies, while it dampened land use transitions from an undeveloped state to residential uses. Comparisons of results with a spatial autoregressive binary probit (with the use of all developed land use categories as a single response) and GWR binary probit also provided some insights. The latter seemed to surpass the former in its account for spatial effects, as reflected by a lower Akaike information criterion value.

Silicon surface evolution during room temperature low-energy (300, 500 and 1000 eV) normal incidence Ar + ion bombardment in the presence of Mo seed atoms has been studied with real-time grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and ex situ atomic force microscopy. When a small amount of Mo atoms was supplied to the Si surface during ion bombardment, the development of correlated structures with two different characteristic length scales was observed. The shorter length scale features (“dots”) coarsened with time until they reached a constant spatial wavelength. The longer length scale corrugations associated with kinetic roughening, however, continued to grow in amplitude during bombardment. The overall roughness is dominated by different corrugations at different times in the kinetic evolution, showing a complex behavior. The evolution of the kinetic roughening can be described by the Family–Vicsek scaling hypothesis, but measured scaling exponents are not in agreement with those of existing models.

Background WRKY III genes have significant functions in regulating plant development and resistance. In plant, WRKY gene family has been studied in many species, however, there still lack a comprehensive analysis of WRKY III genes in the woody plant species poplar, three representative lineages of flowering plant species are incorporated in most analyses: Arabidopsis (a model plant for annual herbaceous dicots), grape (one model plant for perennial dicots) and Oryza sativa (a model plant for monocots). Results In this study, we identified 10, 6, 13 and 28 WRKY III genes in the genomes of Populus trichocarpa, grape (Vitis vinifera), Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the WRKY III proteins could be divided into four clades. By microsynteny analysis, we found that the duplicated regions were more conserved between poplar and grape than Arabidopsis or rice. We dated their duplications by Ks analysis of Populus WRKY III genes and demonstrated that all the blocks were formed after the divergence of monocots and dicots. Strong purifying selection has played a key role in the maintenance of WRKY III genes in Populus. Tissue expression analysis of the WRKY III genes in Populus revealed that five were most highly expressed in the xylem. We also performed quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR analysis of WRKY III genes in Populus treated with salicylic acid, abscisic acid and polyethylene glycol to explore their stress-related expression patterns. Conclusions This study highlighted the duplication and diversification of the WRKY III gene family in Populus and provided a comprehensive analysis of this gene family in the Populus genome. Our results indicated that the majority of WRKY III genes of Populus was expanded by large-scale gene duplication. The expression pattern of PtrWRKYIII gene identified that these genes play important roles in the xylem during poplar growth and development, and may play crucial role in defense to drought stress. Our results presented here may aid in the selection of appropriate candidate genes for further characterization of their biological functions in poplar. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Prof Dandekar and Dr Andrade-Navarro. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13062-015-0076-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Infection can cause cerebral vasculitis not only by direct invasion of the vessel wall, but by immune complex deposition, or through secondary cryoglobulineamia. There are also two types of cerebral vasculitis associated with tuberculosis (TB). In TB treatment, cerebral vasculitis caused by immunologic injury received little attention than vasculitis due to direct invasion of TB infection. We report a case in a young woman who presented with fever, generalized lymphadenopathy, stroke-like events, movement disorder and coma, which was found to be active, lymph node TB with immunologic cerebral vacuities without tuberculosis meningitis.

In this work, erbium silicide is grown on the Si(1 0 0) surface by depositing Er onto the substrate and annealing at 600–700 °C. Many nanowires of Er silicide are formed with lengths in the range 10–100 nm. The formation and evolution of this nanostructure are investigated at atomic scale directly with scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. The direction of these nanowires is found perpendicular to that of Si dimer rows. It is shown that Er coverage and annealing temperature have an effect on the formation of nanowires. On the surface between nanowires, new (5×2) and c(5×4) reconstructions are observed, giving an implication to understand the growth behaviors of Er silicide on Si(1 0 0) surface.

Members of the plant-specific IQ67-domain (IQD) protein family are involved in plant development and the basal defense response. Although systematic characterization of this family has been carried out in Arabidopsis, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Brachypodium distachyon and rice (Oryza sativa), systematic analysis and expression profiling of this gene family in soybean (Glycine max) have not previously been reported. In this study, we identified and structurally characterized IQD genes in the soybean genome. A complete set of 67 soybean IQD genes (GmIQD1–67) was identified using Blast search tools, and the genes were clustered into four subfamilies (IQD I–IV) based on phylogeny. These soybean IQD genes are distributed unevenly across all 20 chromosomes, with 30 segmental duplication events, suggesting that segmental duplication has played a major role in the expansion of the soybean IQD gene family. Analysis of the Ka/Ks ratios showed that the duplicated genes of the GmIQD family primarily underwent purifying selection. Microsynteny was detected in most pairs: genes in clade 1–3 might be present in genome regions that were inverted, expanded or contracted after the divergence; most gene pairs in clade 4 showed high conservation with little rearrangement among these gene-residing regions. Of the soybean IQD genes examined, six were most highly expressed in young leaves, six in flowers, one in roots and two in nodules. Our qRT-PCR analysis of 24 soybean IQD III genes confirmed that these genes are regulated by MeJA stress. Our findings present a comprehensive overview of the soybean IQD gene family and provide insights into the evolution of this family. In addition, this work lays a solid foundation for further experiments aimed at determining the biological functions of soybean IQD genes in growth and development.

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) has angiogenesisregulating and neuro-protective effects, but its effects on vascular dementia (VaD) are unknown. In this study, 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to five groups: normal, sham-operation, VaD alone (bilateral carotid artery occlusion), VaD plus saline (control), and VaD plus HSYA. One week after operation, the HSYA group received one daily tail-vein injection of 0.6 mg/100 g HSYA for two weeks. Five weeks after operation, the spatial memory of all five groups was evaluated by the water maze task, and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus was assessed by the long-term potentiation (LTP) method. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and N-methyl-Daspartic acid receptor 1 (NR1) expression in the hippocampus was detected via Western blot. We found that, compared with the group with VaD alone, the group with HSYA had a reduced escape latency in the water maze (P < 0.05), and the LTP at CA3-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus was enhanced (P < 0.05). Western blot in the late-phase VaD group showed slight up-regulation of VEGF and downregulation of NR1 in the hippocampus, while HSYA significantly up-regulated both VEGF and NR1. These results suggested that HSYA promotes angiogenesis and increases synaptic plasticity, thus improving spatial learning and memory in the rat model of VaD.

This work examines the relationship between 3-year pedestrian crash counts across Census tracts in Austin, Texas, and various land use, network, and demographic attributes, such as land use balance, residents’ access to commercial land uses, sidewalk density, lane-mile densities (by roadway class), and population and employment densities (by type). The model specification allows for region-specific heterogeneity, correlation across response types, and spatial autocorrelation via a Poisson-based multivariate conditional auto-regressive (CAR) framework and is estimated using Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Least-squares regression estimates of walk-miles traveled per zone serve as the exposure measure. Here, the Poisson-lognormal multivariate CAR model outperforms an aspatial Poisson-lognormal multivariate model and a spatial model (without cross-severity correlation), both in terms of fit and inference. Positive spatial autocorrelation emerges across neighborhoods, as expected (due to latent heterogeneity or missing variables that trend in space, resulting in spatial clustering of crash counts). In comparison, the positive aspatial, bivariate cross correlation of severe (fatal or incapacitating) and non-severe crash rates reflects latent covariates that have impacts across severity levels but are more local in nature (such as lighting conditions and local sight obstructions), along with spatially lagged cross correlation. Results also suggest greater mixing of residences and commercial land uses is associated with higher pedestrian crash risk across different severity levels, ceteris paribus, presumably since such access produces more potential conflicts between pedestrian and vehicle movements. Interestingly, network densities show variable effects, and sidewalk provision is associated with lower severe-crash rates.

3-n-Butylphthalide (NBP) has been shown to have protective effects against ischemic stroke. In the present study, we investigated effects of l-3-n-butylphthalide (l-NBP) on the learning and memory impairment induced by chronic cerebral ischemia in rats. Male Wistar rats were administered 20 mg/kg l-NBP by gavage daily for 30 days after the bilateral common carotid artery clamping (two-vessel occlusion, 2-VO). Results showed that daily treatments of 20 mg/kg l-NBP significantly attenuated spatial learning deficits in Morris water maze (MWM) task. Results of long-term potentiation (LTP) indicated that treatment with 20 mg/kg l-NBP attenuated the inhibition of LTP in rat model of 2-VO. Moreover, l-NBP reduced glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes induced by chronic cerebral ischemia. The present findings demonstrate the protective effect of l-NBP on chronic cerebral ischemia-induced hippocampus injury, which supports using l-NBP for therapy of cerebral ischemia in the future.

For many glioblastoma multiforme patients, cognitive deficits are part of the disease process. In this study we attempted to determine the role of synaptic plasticity and glutamate (Glu) in C6 glioma-bearing rats. Male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were subjected to tumor implantation in the right caudate putamen nucleus. At 17 days after tumor implantation, animals were exposed to an open field test. The numbers of crossings and rearings were used as measures of exploration processes. An input/output (I/O) curve was first determined using the measurements of field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope in response to a series of stimulation intensities. The short-term potentiation (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by high-frequency stimulation (HFS) in the CA1 region of the contralateral hippocampus to the tumor were recorded. The glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content of contralateral hippocampus were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). C6 glioma-bearing rats showed a trend for a rightward shift of input/output relationship and significant deficits in maintenance of STP and LTP. Quantitative analysis by HPLC of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid revealed that Glu concentration and Glu/GABA ratio were increased significantly in contralateral hippocampus, suggesting impairment of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. The results suggest that the neurocognitive deficits in C6 glioma-bearing rats may be mediated via profound changes in neuroplasticity and elevated Glu concentration and Glu/GABA ratio in hippocampus area of the brain.

Using design speed as a primary consideration for selecting the speed limit of a freeway has been a common practice since the opening of the first freeway in China about twenty years ago. This practice has been widely questioned and challenged in recent years by the public, freeway operators, and law enforcement. Speed limits solely based on the location specific design speed in many newly completed freeways in the country have been under intensive public scrutiny, particularly at locations where the operating speeds are much higher or lower than the speed limits. One key consideration in establishing speed limit is the operating speed that closely relates to driver behavior, vehicles' mechanic properties, and the design speed. Driver behavior varies greatly by factors including cultural background and stage of economic development. Undoubtedly different social, economic, and cultural environments contribute to significant variation in driver behavior. The methods used by developed countries in speed limit selection may not be suitable, or at least not entirely applicable, to situations in developing countries. Thus, as part of a project sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Communication, the goal of this study is to investigate the relationship between speed limit and operating speed in different freeway environments. The principal findings from the study are: (a) operating speed is only loosely associated with speed limit, (b) for a given speed limit, the average speed varies greatly depending on the characteristics of the location, (c) standard deviation of operating speed distribution on freeways in China is generally much bigger than on a typical freeway in developed countries, and (d) there are huge speed gaps between small and large vehicles. The last two findings represent a big safety problem for freeway transportation. The combination of speeding and slow running vehicles on freeways significantly lowers freeway capacity, as well. The unique speed characteristics observed by this study prompts a few suggestions on speed limit and speed management.

We develop a theoretical model of rational bubble. In equilibrium, a bubble can persist until it bursts following an exogenous shock, even when all the agents are aware of the bubble and that it will burst in finite time. Applying the model in the context of the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis, we argue that excessive sub-prime lending behavior may be rational with the introduction of securitization. The process is much like a Ponzi scheme where lending is profitable as long as investors continue to invest, and vice versa. We thus provide a rational explanation for the housing bubble and the dramatic increase in sub-prime default rates.

The rate of incidents involving commercial vehicles is a particular concern in China, accounting for an estimated 35.8% of all crashes in 2004 and over 30% in 2005. Commercial motor vehicle safety issues in China were studied by collecting data from Jingjintang freeway, which serves as the primary high-speed link between the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, China. For this study, heavy vehicles refer to vehicles with a gross weight of at least 20,000 ponds or vehicles designed to transport at least 40 passengers. This vehicle type is a surrogate for most Commercial Vehicles. Mid-sized vehicles are those the with a gross weight between 10,000 to 20,000 ponds, or vehicles designed to transport 20 to 39 passengers. Light/compact-sized vehicles are those smaller than the mid-size. Commercial vehicles are over-represented in collision involvement, and crashes that involve commercial vehicles have a higher severity level. Data collected from a survey of commercial vehicles and drivers was analyzed for statistical relationships between collision probability and causes related to driver behavior, driver training, and vehicle mechanical condition. Higher crash risk corresponds to lower driver experience, increased driver tendency to load a vehicle in excess of design capacity, operation of older or defective vehicles, and driver tendency to travel at excessive speeds. Based on the known factors influencing commercial vehicle crash probabilities, a number of potential safety countermeasures are suggested for further study in China.

Let [Formula: see text] be a compact metric space without isolated points and let [Formula: see text] be a continuous map. In this paper, if [Formula: see text] is a transitive dynamical system with a repelling periodic point, then [Formula: see text] is chaotic in the sense of Kato. In addition, if [Formula: see text] is weakly topologically mixing, then [Formula: see text] is chaotic in the strong sense of Kato.

A study of ripple formation on sapphire surfaces by 300-2000 eV Ar+ ion bombardment is presented. Surface characterization by in-situ synchrotron grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering and ex-situ atomic force microscopy is performed in order to study the wavelength of ripples formed on sapphire (0001) surfaces. We find that the wavelength can be varied over a remarkably wide range-nearly two orders of magnitude-by changing the ion incidence angle. Within the linear theory regime, the ion induced viscous flow smoothing mechanism explains the general trends of the ripple wavelength at low temperature and incidence angles larger than 30. In this model, relaxation is confined to a few-nm thick damaged surface layer. The behavior at high temperature suggests relaxation by surface diffusion. However, strong smoothing is inferred from the observed ripple wavelength near normal incidence, which is not consistent with either surface diffusion or viscous flow relaxation., Comment: Revtex4, 19 pages, 10 figures with JPEG format

The plasma nitridation kinetics of $c$-plane sapphire at both low $(200--300\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C})$ and high $(750\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C})$ substrate temperatures was examined using grazing-incidence real-time x-ray diffraction, in situ x-ray reflection and in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). These monitored the evolution of the nitride thickness, strain, and surface structure during nitridation. The evolution of the $\mathrm{AlN}(10\overline{1}0)$ peak showed that the heteroepitaxial strain in the first layer of nitride is already significantly relaxed relative to the substrate. Subsequent layers grow with increasing relaxation. In both the high- and low-temperature nitridation cases, the results suggest that the early stage nitridation is governed by a complex nucleation and growth process. Nitridation at both temperatures apparently proceeds in a two-dimensional growth mode with the initial nucleating islands consisting of several monolayers which grow laterally. At low temperature the growth slows or even stops after impingement of the nucleating islands covering the surface, possibly due to low diffusivities through the existing layer. Initial formation and growth rates of nucleating islands at high temperatures are comparable to those at low temperatures, but subsequent growth into the substrate is significantly enhanced over the low temperature case, consistent with activation energies of $0.1--0.25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$.

The effective mass of a free-carrier plasmon is measured by momentum-resolved electron-energy-loss spectroscopy. The effective mass of the plasmon is heavy along the [100] direction and light along the [110] direction in the optimal doped regime, where T c is highest. The anisotropy of the effective mass between [100] and [110] decreases with increasing doping and decreasing of T c . In the overdoped regime with T c almost zero (normal metal state), the effective mass of the free-carrier plasmon becomes isotropic. A linear correlation between T c and the effective mass difference along the two orientations is extracted from the experimental data. The dispersion of the plasmon for the optimal doped material cannot be explained by the band structure alone, but that for the overdoped material is consistent with the band-structure calculation. This indicates that the effective mass is strongly renormalized along [100] by an additional interaction in the optimally doped material of the highest T c . Of related interest is a group of small excitons in the parent compound of Ba 1 - x K x BiO 3 (BKBO), BaBiO 3 , with assigned symmetries that are s wave (optically forbidden) at 4.2 eV, p wave at 2.1 eV (optically allowed), and d wave at 0.5 eV (optically forbidden). We propose a mixing state of free carriers and small excitons to explain the anisotropic dispersion for the optimally doped regime and a free-carrier state free of small excitons for the overdoped material (normal metal state). The linear correlation between T c and mass renormalization provides insight that the superconductivity of BKBO may be related to electronic structure, possibly to the small exciton or WZK (Wang-Zhang-Klein) exciton.