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The aim of the present study was to investigate the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA regulatory network in gastric cancer (GC) using bioinformatics analysis. Two mRNA gene expression profiles, GSE79973 and GSE54129, and two miRNA expression profiles, GSE93415 and GSE78091, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed mRNAs (DEMs) and the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMis) were merged separately. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was then constructed and the 10 top hub genes in the network were analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes. The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks were visualized using Cytoscape software. As a result, 158 shared DEMs (40 upregulated and 118 downregulated) were identified from two mRNA datasets. A total of 30 upregulated miRNAs and 1 downregulated miRNA functioned as DEMis. The PPI network consisted of 129 nodes and 572 interactions. The 10 top hub genes were selected by degree using Cytohubba, including Jun proto-oncogene, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)3, transforming growth factor-β1, Fos proto-oncogene, AP-1 transcription factor subunit, interleukin (IL)-8, MAPK1, RELA proto-oncogene nuclear factor-κB subunit, interferon regulatory factor 7, ubiquitin like modifier and vascular endothelial growth factor A. In the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, a total of 1,215 regulatory associations were constructed using Cytoscape. In conclusion, the present study provides a novel perspective of the molecular mechanisms underlying GC by identifying the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network via bioinformatics analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Every year tuberculosis kills above half million women all over the world. Nonetheless, the factor affecting TB treatment outcome of women was less frequently studied and compared among countries. Hence, this study was aimed to measure and compare outcome of treatment and the death size of these two countries. Method: Socio demographic and clinical data of women treated for all form of tuberculosis in the past ten years 2007–2016 were collected from total of eight hospitals and six treatment centers of Tigray and Zigong respectively. Then, we measured the magnitude of TB, level of treatment success and identify factors associated with the unsuccessful TB outcome. Result: In the past ten years, a total of 5603(41.5%) and 4527 (24.5%) tuberculosis cases were observed in Tigray and Zigong respectively. Of those with treatment outcome record a total of 2602(92%) in Tigray and 3916(96.7%) in Zigong were successfully treated. Total of 170 (6%) cases in Tigray and 36(0.8%) cases in Zigong were dead. In Tigray, retreatment cases (aOR, 0.29; 95% CI: 0.16–0.53) and MDR-TB cases (aOR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.003, 0.27) were less likely to show treatment success. However,, HIV co-infected TB cases (aOR, 3.58; 95% CI: 2.47, 5.18) were more likely to show treatment success compared with unknown HIV status. In Zigong, women with MDR TB (aOR, 0.90; 95%CI: 0.24, 0.34) were less likely to show treatment success and women in the age category of 15–49 (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.206) were more likely to show treatment success. Conclusion: Big number of tuberculosis cases and death were observed in Tigray comparing with Zigong. Hence, a relevant measure should be considered to improve treatment outcome of women in Tigray regional state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We formulate facial age synthesis as an unsupervised multi-domain image-to-image translation problem, and devise a novel generative framework using only a single generative adversarial network, dubbed FaceGAN which synthesizes photo-realistic face images with aging effects with unpaired samples and achieves face age progression and regression in a holistic framework. • In order to improve the capabilities of the generator and discriminator, we add an auxiliary multi-class classifier on top of the original discriminator and train the discriminator in a multi-task learning setting. • To further make aging effects of the synthesized face images more clear, a pre-trained deep face recognition model and a pre-trained deep age estimation model are introduced to preserve personal identity and age similarity respectively. • Experimental results show the superiority of our proposed method in terms of visual fidelity. We further empirically demonstrate the broad application capability of our approach on a facial attribute transfer and a facial expression synthesis tasks. Face age progression/regression is enjoying renewed interest due to the remarkable improvements in image synthesis achieved by the deep generative models (e.g. the Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)) and its tremendous impact on a wide-range of practical applications like finding back missing individuals with photos of childhood, entertainment, etc. Most existing approaches are focusing on face age progression and have proven to be successful and effective in learning the transformation between age groups with the aid of paired samples, i.e., face images of the same person at different ages. Although some signs of aging are synthesized by these approaches, they heavily rely on the availability of paired samples which are difficult and costly to collect. Inspired by the significant success achieved by using GANs in unsupervised image transduction, in this paper, we formulate this task as an unsupervised multi-domain image-to-image translation problem, and devise a novel generative framework using only a single generative adversarial network, dubbed FaceGAN which is capable of synthesizing photo-realistic face images with aging effects without paired samples and achieves face age progression and regression in a holistic framework. Experimental results show the superiority of our proposed method in terms of visual fidelity. We further empirically demonstrate the broad application capability of our approach on a facial attribute transfer and a facial expression synthesis tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Silver cluster‐assembled materials (SCAMs) are emerging multi‐functional materials and have attracted great attention recently. In this work, we have prepared a new SCAM of {[Ag18(StBu)10(CF3COO)2(PhPO3)(PhPO3H)4(bpy‐NH2)2]∙(PhPO3H2)}n (denoted as Ag18bpy‐NH2), by a facile one‐pot method. Ag18bpy‐NH2 adopts a chain‐like structure made of Ag18 clusters bridged by bipyridyl linkers. Ag18bpy‐NH2 exhibits reversible luminescent mechanochromism upon mechanical stimulation and solvent treatment. Moreover, it also displays luminescent thermochromism with a linear relationship of the temperature to the intensity ratio of the dual emissions over a wide temperature range of 83 to 303 K. This work might provide new insights into the assembly of multifunctional stimuli‐responsive SCAMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the exploding of data-intensive web applications and requests (tasks), geo-distributed and large-scale data centers (DCs) are widely deployed in Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud, but server failures continue to grow at the same time. In this context, task scheduling problems become more intricate and both scheduling quality and scheduling speed raise further concerns. In this paper, we first propose a virtualized & monitoring SaaS model with predictive maintenance to minimize the costs of fault tolerance. Then with the monitored and predicted available states of servers, we focus on dynamic real-time task scheduling in geo-distributed and large-scale DCs with heterogeneous servers. Multiple objectives, including the long-term performance benefits, energy and communication costs, are taken into consideration in order to improve scheduling quality. For inter-DC and intra-DC task scheduling, two dynamic programming problems are formulated respectively, but there exists the problem that both state and action spaces are too large to be solved by simple iterations. To address this issue, we introduce the idea of reinforcement learning theory into solving traditional stochastic dynamic programming problems in the large-scale SaaS cloud, and put forward a cascaded two-level (inter-DC and intra-DC level) approximate dynamic programming (ADP) task-scheduling algorithm. The computation complexity can be significantly reduced and scheduling speed can be greatly improved. Finally, we conduct experiments with both random simulation data and Google cloud trace-logs. QoS evaluations and comparisons demonstrate that two ADP algorithms can work cooperatively, and our two-level ADP algorithm is more effective under large quantity of bursty requests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are major Ca2+ sensors that interact with CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) to regulate growth and development in plants. The CBL-CIPK network is involved in stress response, yet little is understood on how CBL-CIPK function in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), a staple vegetable crop that is threatened by biotic and abiotic stressors. Results: In the present study, nine CaCBL and 26 CaCIPK genes were identified in pepper and the genes were named based on their chromosomal order. Phylogenetic and structural analysis revealed that CaCBL and CaCIPK genes clustered in four and five groups, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays showed that CaCBL and CaCIPK genes were constitutively expressed in different tissues, and their expression patterns were altered when the plant was exposed to Phytophthora capsici, salt and osmotic stress. CaCIPK1 expression changed in response to stress, including exposure to P. capsici, NaCl, mannitol, salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ETH), cold and heat stress. Knocking down CaCIPK1 expression increased the susceptibility of pepper to P. capsici, reduced root activity, and altered the expression of defense related genes. Transient overexpression of CaCIPK1 enhanced H2O2 accumulation, cell death, and expression of genes involved in defense. Conclusions: Nine CaCBL and 26 CaCIPK genes were identified in the pepper genome, and the expression of most CaCBL and CaCIPK genes were altered when the plant was exposed to stress. In particular, we found that CaCIPK1 is mediates the pepper plant's defense against P. capsici. These results provide the groundwork for further functional characterization of CaCBL and CaCIPK genes in pepper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Visible-light activity of Au/TiO 2 catalysts treated by various plasmas in formaldehyde oxidation is reported. • Oxygen plasma treatment remarkably promotes visible-light activity of Au/TiO 2 catalyst. • Oxygen plasma endows Au/TiO 2 catalyst with high content of surface oxygen species. • Abundant surface oxygen on Au/TiO 2 catalyst benefits the transfer of hot electrons under visible-light irradiation. As a promising plasmonic photocatalyst under visible-light irradiation, Au/TiO 2 nanocatalyst commonly suffers from risk of Au nanoparticles aggregation and relatively long activation period by using the conventional calcination activation method. We report here that a short-term O 2 plasma treatment enables the Au/TiO 2 catalyst to exhibit higher visible-light photocatalytic activity for formaldehyde (HCHO) oxidation compared with the calcination activated sample. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization suggests that Au/TiO 2 catalyst activated by O 2 plasma achieves metallic Au content of 72.4% and surface oxygen species content of 29.8%, which not only lead to rapid reduction of cationic Au in HCHO oxidation but also facilitate the preliminary oxidation of HCHO to dioxymethylene and formate on catalyst surface. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra, photoluminescence spectra and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra measurements indicate that O 2 plasma activated Au/TiO 2 catalyst presents an enhanced visible-light absorption and surface charge transfer efficiency in HCHO oxidation, which accelerates the formation of superoxide (O 2 −) and OH radicals via hot electron transfer mechanism under visible-light irradiation, remarkably promoting formate oxidation to carbonate, carbonate decomposition and thus HCHO oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reversion‐inducing cysteine‐rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK) gene, a widely known cancer inhibitor, could effectively suppress cancer metastasis and angiogenesis. Downregulation or loss of RECK expression frequently occurs during cancer progression. However, the mechanism underlying RECK dysregulation has not been fully elucidated. Herein, we reported for the first time that enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a histone methyltransferase, could epigenetically attenuate RECK expression via catalyzing H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) within the RECK promoter. Furthermore, we also proved, for the first time, the involvement of EZH2 in the inhibition of RECK by extracellular signal‐related kinases (ERK)‐1/2 signaling. Next, we revealed that the modulation of the enzymic activity of EZH2 resulting from posttranslational phosphorylation at the serine‐21 site was responsible for the increased enrichment of H3K27me3 at the RECK promoter region by ERK1/2 signaling. Collectively, the results of our study shed more light on the mechanisms responsible for the dysregulation of RECK by the ERK1/2 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) technology was adopted to screen differentially-expressed proteins in the serum that predict the effects of chemoradiotherapy on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Thus, significantly related proteins can be functionally identified at the cellular level. A total of 60 patients diagnosed with locally advanced and advanced ESCC were recruited and treated with chemoradiotherapy. The iTRAQ technique was used to screen serum differentially expressed proteins associated with chemoradiotherapeutic efficacy. Functional identification of significantly related proteins was performed at the cellular level. Cell proliferation was detected using MTT, clonogenic and fluorescence assays, and apoptosis was assessed using flow cytometry. Transwell and wound-healing assays were used to detect the invasion and migration properties of cancer cells. Proteomics results revealed that prior to chemoradiotherapy, the expression level of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) was significantly upregulated in patients with ESCC, compared with that of the control group [ratio (r)=4.386; P<0.05], and significantly downregulated in the chemoradiotherapy-sensitive group, compared with the chemoradiotherapy-resistant group (r=0.587; P<0.05). At the cellular level, the proliferation rate of cells in the experimental group was significantly inhibited (P<0.05), and the number of cell colonies was decreased (P<0.01), while the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased (P<0.01). The invasive ability of TE-1 cells in the shILK group was significantly inhibited (P<0.01), and the migration rate was significantly retarded at 8 and 24 h (P<0.01). The present study highlighted the potential value of ILK in predicting the efficacy of chemoradiotherapeutic treatment in patients with ESCC, and that ILK gene-silencing inhibits the progression of ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SA could significantly enhance ER-positive breast cancer cell proliferation via inducing cell cycle progression. • NF-κB activation is required for SA-induced ER-positive breast cancer cell proliferation. • MiR-300-mediated IκBα down-regulation is responsible for SA induced NF-κB activation. Shikimic acid (SA), a widely-known hydroaromatic compound enriched in Bracken fern and Illicium verum (also known as Chinese star anise), increases the risk of gastric and esophageal carcinoma, nevertheless, the influence of SA on breast cancer remains indistinct. Herein we found that, with models in vitro, SA significantly promoted estrogen receptor(ER) positive cells proliferation and NF-κB activation was involved in it. Moreover, our data showed that IκBα, a critically endogenous inhibitor of NF-κB, was repressed. Subsequently, we found increase of miR-300 by SA treatment sand miR-300 could target IκBα mRNA. Additionally, inhibition of miR-300 abrogated the repression of IκBα by SA. As a result, miR-300 was also involved in NF-κB activation and breast cancer cells proliferation promotion due to SA exposure. Taken together, with ER-positive breast cancer cell models in vitro, MCF-7 and T47D, our results implied that SA promoted breast cancer cells proliferation via a miR-300-induced NF-κB dependent pathway controlling cell cycle proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐temperature multilayer actuators based on Cu doping 0.367BiScO3–0.633PbTiO3 ceramic slices and Ag electrodes were prepared by low‐temperature co‐firing technology. The 0.3 wt% CuO addition has effectively reduced the sintering temperature of the ceramic from ~1080 to 930°C, thus the multilayer actuator were sintered at 930°C which is lower than the Ag melting point, that is, 961°C. The 4.3 mm thick multilayer actuator is composed of a series of ~44‐μm‐thick ceramic slices and ~2‐μm‐thick Ag electrodes. As a result, a ≥0.13% strain with nm‐scale preciseness can be produced in the actuator by 200 V driving voltage not only at room temperature but also at a high temperature up to 200°C. This actuator is essential for industrial machinery that requires nm‐scale position control at 20‐200°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic-rich shale samples from marine-continental transitional facies of the Late Permian Longtan Formation in southwestern Guizhou were investigated using organic petrography analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, mercury intrusion capillary pressure experiments, gas adsorption experiments, nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy image analysis, and multi-fractal theory to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the full-size pore structure and fractal characteristics of the shale. The correlations among the total organic carbon (TOC) content, mineral composition, and pore structure were discussed. The fractal dimension was used to evaluate the production potential of a shale reservoir. Results show that samples have a high TOC content (4.38 wt % on average), low permeability (less than 0.001 mD), and complex pore structure. The pore volume (PV) varies from 0.001997 cm3/g to 0.03653 cm3/g, with an average of 0.02864 cm3/g, and the specific surface area (SSA) varies from 14.144 m2/g to 29.740 m2/g, with an average of 21.533 m2/g. Mesopores (diameter between 2 and 50 nm according to IUPAC) are the predominant contributors to the pore volume, while mesopores and micropores (diameter less than 2 nm) are the main contributors to the specific surface area. The shale samples with higher TOC and clay mineral content have larger PVs and SSAs and higher fractal dimensions than those that do not. A high fractal dimension indicates a rough pore surface and complicated pore structure. Shale with higher D 1 and D A (representing the pore surface roughness and the adsorption space, respectively) has high adsorption capacity and favors gas accumulation, while shale with higher D 2 and D S (representing the pore structure complexity and the seepage space, respectively) has greater flow capability and favors gas diffusion. • Quantitative methods were combined with qualitative methods in this study to investigate the full-size pore structure characteristics of marine-continental transitional shale. • The fractal characteristics of transitional Longtan shale were investigated using multi-fractal concept and different experiments. • The fractal dimension was used to evaluate the production potential of shale reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To study the different effects of single- and hybrid-frequency magnetic fields on long-term potentiation (LTP) in synaptic plasticity. Materials and methods: Based on the online electromagnetic field stimulation system and field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) recording system, we applied four different single- and hybrid-frequency magnetic fields with an intensity of 1 mT to the Schaffer collateral (CA1) pathway of rat hippocampal slices in vitro. Results: The amplitude of fEPSPs decreased significantly under both single- and hybrid-frequency magnetic stimulation. Lower single-frequency magnetic stimulation on LTP had a greater regulating effect, while the regulating effect among four different hybrid-frequency extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) stimulations on LTP showed no significant differences. Conclusion: Single-frequency magnetic stimulation produces more significant regulatory effects, and the lower the frequency, the more significant the regulatory effect. The effect of hybrid-frequency magnetic stimulation in each group was similar, and there was no significant difference between each group. The 15-Hz single-frequency magnetic stimulation group showed the most significant regulatory effect, but once it was mixed with other higher frequency magnetic stimulation, its regulation effect was significantly weakened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the 200 keV negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) prototype of China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor, an acceleration grid power supply (AGPS) is under development. Adopting a single stage inverter type topology, the AGPS is rated at 200 kV/25A for 3600 s. Here, the paper presents a distributed control system based on PCI extensions for instrumentation (PXI) and field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, which can fulfill the high requirements in terms of the control strategy, malfunction protection, integration with the upper control system and real-time monitoring, highlighting the operation sequence both in normal and abnormal scenarios. In addition, a 10 kV/6A AGPS prototype has been realized to verify the control system. The distributed control system can respond to the interlock signal from the upper controller within 2 μs while disabling the inverter within 20 μs in case of an abnormal current or voltage output status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the nanochannel geometry on the thermal performance of AlGaN/GaN Fin-HEMTs was investigated. Structures with a larger nanochannel space (Sfin) or a smaller nanochannel width (Wfin) show the suppressed self-heating effect, which was confirmed by the smaller dispersion between DC and pulsed measurements together with the reduced high temperature degradation of the drain current. A closed-form expression based on the heat flow theory was used to illustrate the coupling effect of Wfin and Sfin, and the channel temperature was mapped considering the different nanochannel geometries. As Wfin and Sfin scale down simultaneously, the nanochannel structure would present a much lower channel temperature, demonstrating that the heat generation dominated by Wfin has a greater impact on the self-heating in Fin-HEMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils, and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique that enables nanoscale IR spectroscopy and imaging on highly heterogenous and rough paint thin sections. PTIR is used in combination with μ‐computed tomography and IR microscopy to determine the distribution of metal carboxylates in a 23‐year old oil paint of known formulation. Results show that heterogeneous agglomerates of Al‐stearate and a Zn‐carboxylate complex with Zn‐stearate nano‐aggregates in proximity are distributed randomly in the paint. The gradients of zinc carboxylates are unrelated to the Al‐stearate distribution. These measurements open a new chemically sensitive nanoscale observation window on the distribution of metal soaps that can bring insights for understanding soap formation in oil paint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils, and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique that enables nanoscale IR spectroscopy and imaging on highly heterogenous and rough paint thin sections. PTIR is used in combination with μ‐computed tomography and IR microscopy to determine the distribution of metal carboxylates in a 23‐year old oil paint of known formulation. Results show that heterogeneous agglomerates of Al‐stearate and a Zn‐carboxylate complex with Zn‐stearate nano‐aggregates in proximity are distributed randomly in the paint. The gradients of zinc carboxylates are unrelated to the Al‐stearate distribution. These measurements open a new chemically sensitive nanoscale observation window on the distribution of metal soaps that can bring insights for understanding soap formation in oil paint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil paints comprise pigments, drying oils, and additives that together confer desirable properties, but can react to form metal carboxylates (soaps) that may damage artworks over time. To obtain information on soap formation and aggregation, we introduce a new tapping‐mode measurement paradigm for the photothermal induced resonance (PTIR) technique that enables nanoscale IR spectroscopy and imaging on highly heterogenous and rough paint thin sections. PTIR is used in combination with μ‐computed tomography and IR microscopy to determine the distribution of metal carboxylates in a 23‐year old oil paint of known formulation. Results show that heterogeneous agglomerates of Al‐stearate and a Zn‐carboxylate complex with Zn‐stearate nano‐aggregates in proximity are distributed randomly in the paint. The gradients of zinc carboxylates are unrelated to the Al‐stearate distribution. These measurements open a new chemically sensitive nanoscale observation window on the distribution of metal soaps that can bring insights for understanding soap formation in oil paint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Multimodal characterization of a mammalian cell by optical and microwave techniques simultaneously during electroporation. Methods: Using a coplanar waveguide with a Jurkat cell trapped in the middle of its center conductor, continuous waves at 100 kHz of different amplitudes were applied for 20 s, while microwave transmission coefficients at 9 GHz were measured every 0.4 s. Results: The onset of electroporation was indicated by abrupt changes in both fluorescence intensity and transmission coefficient. Additionally, in measurements that lasted 300 s, the transmission coefficient was found to recover to the pre-poration level, while the fluorescence intensity remained different. Since the cells were confirmed viable through post-poration staining, the recovery of the transmission coefficient suggested reversible electroporation. Conclusion: These experimental results showed that the transmission coefficient could serve as a label-free indicator of cell membrane permeability during and after electroporation. Furthermore, it could be used to expeditiously differentiate reversible electroporation from the irreversible one. Significance: This study should aid fundamental analysis of cell physiology, as well as molecular delivery, in cell engineering and electrotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pirarubicin (THP) is an anthracycline antibiotic, frequently used for the treatment of various human cancers. Unfortunately, the clinical effectiveness of THP is limited by its dose-related cardiotoxicity. Apocynum leaf extract is an extract of the dried leaves of Apocynum venetum L. (a member of the Apocynaceae family, AVLE) that has many positive effects on the cardiovascular system and is widely consumed as tea in China. In this study we established a cardiactoxicity rat model, which showed that pretreatment with AVLE attenuated THP-induced myocardial histopathological injury, electrocardiogram abnormalities, and cardiac dysfunction. AVLE also significantly reduced serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), creatine kinase (CK-MB), cardiac troponin (CTnT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); and increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels. Treatment with AVLE or dexrazoxane (DZR) resulted in an increase Cytochrome C (cytc) in the mitochondria and reduced Cytc and cleaved-caspase-3 levels (p < 0. 0 5) in cytoplasm. We also found that AVLE significantly reduced voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1), adenosine nucleotide transporter 1 (ANT1), and cyclophilin D (CYPD) mRNA expression (p < 0. 0 5). Furthermore, AVLE appeared to exert therapeutic effects in a dose-dependent manner. Our study suggests the anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic properties of AVLE may be responsible for the observed cardioprotective effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with different fin configurations are fabricated and analyzed. Through S-parameter measurements and modeling of the designed devices, a detailed RF investigation on small-signal model parameters is performed under different biasing conditions. Good agreements between measured and simulated scattering parameters up to 40 GHz illustrate the validity and accuracy of the model. The influence of different fin structures on model parameters and linearity improvement is examined, and this can help to improve the frequency characteristics of fin structure by optimizing the fin length, fin width, and trench width. The significant linearity of Fin-HEMTs is confirmed by the analysis of the model parameters, which is the first time to study the small-signal characteristic of AlGaN/GaN Fin-HEMTs in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent, progesterone-resistant gynecological disease with an unknown pathogenesis. Compared to women without endometriosis, women with endometriosis have a remarkably high heme level in the peritoneal fluid. To further investigate the pathomechanisms of heme in endometriosis, we aimed to identify the dysregulated expression of heme-trafficking proteins, such as PGRMC1/2 that are also receptors that mediate the non-genomic responses to progesterone, and heme-degrading enzymes between ectopic endometrial stromal cells and their normal counterparts. We found that heme could regulate progesterone receptor-related gene expression. Functional human endometrial stromal cell experiments showed that heme promotes cell proliferation and migration in a heme oxygenase-1-independent manner; moreover, blocking oxidative phosphorylation/ATP generation could abolish these effects of heme in vitro, whereas intraperitoneal hemopexin administration could alleviate heme-triggered ectopic lesions in vivo. Therefore, heme likely mediates the induction of progesterone resistance and simultaneously induces endometriosis via the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation pathway. • Heme down-regulates PGRMC2 expression at transcription and translation levels. • Free heme at the same level as in peritoneal fluid enhanced proliferation and migration function of HESCs. • Pro-proliferative and pro-migratory effects of heme depend on ROS induction as an intact molecule. • Hemopexin administration weakened endometriosis growth in mice model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We, the Editor, Institution and Publisher of the journal IETE Journal of Research, have retracted the following article, which is part of the Special Issue titled "Federated Learning for Blockchain Systems and Industrial Internet of Things": Xiao Ma, Yufei Ye, Leihang Chen, Haibo Tao & Cancan Liao (2022) A Method of Tracking Visual Targets in Fine-Grained Image Using Machine Learning, IETE Journal of Research, DOI: Following publication, concerns were raised about the peer review and decision-making processes for this special issue. After an investigation by the Taylor & Francis Publishing Ethics & Integrity team, in full cooperation with the Editor-in-Chief and the Institution, it was confirmed that the articles included in this special issue were not reviewed appropriately, in line with the Journal's peer review standards and policy. As the stringency of the peer review process is core to the integrity of the publication process, the Editor and Publisher have decided to retract all of the articles within the above-named Special Issue. The journal has not confirmed if the authors were aware of this compromised peer review process. The journal is committed to correcting the scientific record and will fully cooperate with any institutional investigations into this matter. The authors have been informed of this decision. We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and the COPE guidelines. The retracted articles will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but they will be digitally watermarked on each page as 'Retracted'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the numerical implementation of phase-field models of fracture using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based numerical method. Recent studies on phase-field models focus on the discussions of the choice of the value of regularization length proposed to smear the discontinuity of the sharp crack. Some studies argue that it should be considered as a material property because it has a significant impact on the mechanical behavior of a material in some phase-field models, for instance, in the model proposed by Miehe. However, our results in this study for heterogeneous materials have shown that the choice of regularization length not only affects the macroscopic mechanical behavior but also the local crack propagation patterns. As a result, it can be challenging to select an appropriate value that produces both accurate macroscopic responses and local crack patterns for certain phase-field models, such as Miehe's model. Thus, the phase-field model proposed by Wu, which has been proven to reduce the length sensitivity for homogeneous material, has been successfully implemented in an FFT-based solver with the application of Newton–Krylov algorithm. The length sensitivity of Wu's phase-field model for heterogeneous materials is also investigated in this paper. Our tests show that Wu's phase-field model has partial length sensitivity for heterogeneous materials. However, the main reason for this sensitivity is that one phase enters the damage zone of other phase, which is different from Miehe's model. As a result, a set of criteria for accurately choosing the regularization value has been established for Wu's model in this work. Meanwhile, it has also been found that Wu's model may be more suitable than Miehe's model for brittle failure due to the introduction of an elastic stage. • Phase-field modeling of the fracture using the Fast Fourier Transform-based method. • Newton–Krylov algorithm to solve a phase-field problem in its complete formulation. • Investigation of the regularization length sensitivity of the complete formulation. • Investigation of regularization length and its effects on the local crack patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High N fertilizer inputs in subtropical vegetable systems under the warm and humid climatic conditions increase the risk of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions. However, there is limited information available on integrated N management strategies to reduce N 2 O emissions from intensive open-field vegetable systems in subtropical region. Two plot-based field experiments were conducted in subtropical southwest China to examine the effects of different N management strategies on N 2 O emissions from a typical open-field pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) production system. Experiment 1 included five N rates (0, 175, 250, 325, and 400 kg ha−1) with conventional urea. Experiment 2 included a 0 N control and four N sources (conventional urea, organic fertilizer, nitrification inhibitor-based enhanced efficiency fertilizer ENTEC26, and controlled release urea) applied under an optimized N rate (250 kg N ha−1). The results of Experiment 1 showed that cumulative N 2 O emission and emission factor were 4.05 kg N ha−1 season−1 and 0.96%, respectively, under the conventional management (N400). N 2 O emissions increased exponentially with increasing N rates. Compared to the N400 treatment, application of conventional urea at the optimal rate (250 kg N ha−1) significantly reduced cumulative N 2 O emissions by 54% while maintaining similar pepper yield. The results from Experiment 2 indicated that the use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers at the optimal rate further reduced N 2 O emission by 30%− 50% compared to conventional urea, while increasing pepper yield by 6.7%− 9.0%. This resulted in a 36%− 53% reduction of yield-scaled N 2 O emission intensity. In particular, the use of nitrification inhibitor was 28% more effective than controlled release urea for N 2 O mitigation. These results suggest that the application of enhanced efficiency fertilizers at an optimum N rate could produce more vegetables while reducing N 2 O emission, thereby promoting sustainable vegetable production in the subtropic regions. [Display omitted] • Innovative N management strategy was proposed to produce more vegetables with lower N 2 O emission in the subtropics. • Optimizing rate and timing of conventional urea significantly decreased N 2 O emission by 54% compared to farmer's practice. • Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers further reduced N 2 O emission by 30%− 50% compared to conventional urea. • Nitrification inhibitor showed better performance than controlled release urea for N 2 O mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the potential effects of global warming on Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) initiation and duration in the Canadian Prairies. By utilizing high-resolution convection-permitting climate models (CPCMs), the study examines 15 parameters to identify the most significant factor for predicting future changes, using the Pseudo Global Warming (PGW) approach. The results suggest that the frequency of MCSs will significantly increase in the future, with varying initiation and duration patterns between daytime and nighttime. The study highlights Preciptable Water (PW), Isentropic Potential Vorticity (IPV), and Most Unstable Convective Potential Energy (MUCAPE) as the most significant parameters for long-lived nighttime MCSs, while Relative Humidity at 850 hPa (RH850), PW, and Storm Relative Helicity 0-1 km (SRH1km) are identified as the most significant parameters for long-lived daytime MCSs. The findings are supported by violin plots that show the differences in the distribution of the 15 parameters in the initiation regions of short- and long-lived MCSs. Additionally, this study partially confirms previous research findings, such as the Mountain-plains solenoids, which suggest that increased PW and RH850 in the future are in agreement with increased total precipitation in the northern region. The study emphasizes the importance of utilizing newly released forcing datasets to investigate the potential impact of global warming on MCSs initiation and duration in the Canadian Prairies. • This study utilized novel forcing data (ERA5 and CMIP6) and convection-permitting climatological model simulations to investigate the impact of global warming on Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) in the Canadian Prairies. • The study's findings provide guidelines for forecasters to better predict the duration of MCSs, based on the statistical significance of parameters such as Preciptable Water, Isentropic Potential Vorticity, Relative Humidity, and Storm Relative Helicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Salinity inhibited denitrification-dependent aromatic degradation. • Ammonia assimilation and aromatics degradation coexisted at 3% salinity. • N 2 O rather than N 2 production was promoted at elevated salinities. • Ethanol occurred, produced by compatible solutes at salinity of 3%. • Ammonia increased due to proteolysis via Truepera. Denitrification-dependent aromatics anaerobic degradation in saline environments have been unsuspected recently. In this study, the elevated salinity inhibition on denitrification-dependent degradation of aromatic compounds was investigated in an up-flow anaerobic fixed bed (UAFB) reactor, microbiota associated with aromatics and nitrogen conversion, and osmoregulation triggered by different salinities were also deciphered. Results showed that increasing salinity from 0% to 3% significantly limited the removal of organics and nitrate, decreasing from 72.47% to 72.20%, 25.14%, and 19.80%, respectively. The gene abundance of nirB decreased from 0.011 to 0.015% to 0.003–0.005%, inhibiting the nitrate reduction process under salt stress. Methane yield also significantly declined from 27.33 to 58.18% to 1.19–2.85%, which was attributed to acetate accumulation and increased ammonia concentration under salt stress. And the enriched genera Pelotomaculum , candidate_division_Zixibacteria , Syntrophus , Mesotoga , and candidate_division_Hyd24-12 under salt stress were involved in the salinity inhibition on methanogenesis. Increasing salinity facilitated the osmoregulation capacity of compatible solutes, and glutamate, and trehalose were dominant at 3% salinity, accompanied by Na+/K+ expulsion. It provided a deeper understanding of the simultaneous removal of carbon and nitrogen under saline stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic behaviors of skyrmion in a nanofilm driven by spin waves have been numerically investigated by means of micromagnetic simulation. The results show that (i) the skyrmion shows a backward motion (towards the spin wave source) in the nanofilm with skyrmion Hall effect due to the spin wave scattering from the skyrmion; (ii) a fast (> 100 m/s) and periodic skyrmion motion can be achieved by introducing two spin wave sources to force the skyrmion move along the film edges; (iii) the velocity of the skyrmion motion depends on the amplitude and frequency of the driving magnetic fields as well as the nanofilm geometry, and the rotation sense of the skyrmion motion along the film edge depends on the topological number (Q = ± 1). The results might be a guidance for the design and development of future skyrmion-based devices in which skyrmions are used as information carriers. • We proposed a method to get a fast (∼ 100 m/s) and controllable skyrmion motion in nanofilm driven by spin waves. • Skyrmion Hall effect (SkHE) is regarded as an obstacle to skyrmion-based applications. In this work, instead of trying to suppress the SkHE, we take advantage of the SkHE, which eventually forces the skyrmion to move along the nanofilm edge. Modified by the nanofilm edge, a trajectory controllable and relatively fast skyrmion motion is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difficulty and poor prognosis of malignant tumor have always been a difficult problem to be solved. The internal components of solid tumor are complex, including tumor cells, stromal cells and immune cells, which play an important role in tumor proliferation, migration, metastasis and drug resistance. Hence, targeting of only the tumor cells will not likely improve survival. Various studies have reported that tumor cells and endothelial cells have high plasticity, which is reflected in the fact that they can simulate each other's characteristics by endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) and vasculogenic mimicry (VM). In this paper, this mutual mimicry concept was integrated and reviewed for the first time, and their similarities and implications for tumor development are discussed. At the same time, possible therapeutic methods are proposed to provide new directions and ideas for clinical targeted therapy and immunotherapy of tumor. • Tumor cells and endothelial cells have high plasticity and can simulate each other's characteristics by EndMT and VM. • EndMT and VM are reviewed with the integrated concept of mutual mimicry for the first time. • EndMT is the process by which endothelial cells lose intercellular connections and gain migration and invasion capabilities. • EndMT can be triggered by multiple factors and signal transduction pathways, and there are many possible targets and drugs. • VM is the formation of de novo "vessel-like" structures, which can be induced by risk factors and blocked with targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel functional biochar (BC) was prepared from industrial waste red mud (RM) and low-cost walnut shell by one facile-step pyrolysis method to adsorb phosphorus (P) in wastewater. The preparation conditions for RM-BC were optimized using Response Surface Methodology. The adsorption characteristics of P were investigated in batch mode experiments, while a variety of techniques were used to characterize RM-BC composites. The impact of key minerals (hematite, quartz, and calcite) in RM on the P removal efficiency of the RM-BC composite was studied. The results showed that RM-BC composite produced at 320 °C for 58 min, with a 1:1 mass ratio of walnut shell and RM, had a maximum P sorption capacity of 15.48 mg g−1, which was more than double that of the raw BC. The removal of P from water was found to be facilitated significantly by hematite, which forms Fe–O–P bonds, undergoes surface precipitation, and exchanges ligands. This research provides evidence for the effectiveness of RM-BC in treating P in water, laying the foundation for future scaling-up trials. [Display omitted] • Preparation conditions for biochar composite from red mud and walnut shell were optimized. • Batch adsorption experiments were conducted on the adsorption characteristics of P. • The maximum P adsorption capacity of biochar composite reached 15.48 mg g−1. • Fe from hematite in red mud of the biochar composite play an important role in removing P. • Adsorption mechanism includes creation of Fe–O–P bonds, surface precipitation and ligand exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A bimodal-grained WE43 alloy consisting of fine grains (FGs) and coarse grains (CGs) with superior strength-ductility synergy has been achieved by one pass rolling. • Statistical slip trace analysis reveals that the deformation behaviors of FGs and CGs are quite different, i.e., basal slips are dominate in FGs while non-basal slips are prevalent in CGs. • Multi-faceted equilibrium β phase has precipitated along grain boundaries of FGs, while short rod-shaped metastable β 1 phase has formed within CGs. • Interactions between pyramidal dislocations and β 1 precipitates dominant the Orowan strengthening. • The stress concentration near grain boundaries can be released by activating plenty of non-basal slips in CGs and slip transfers between FGs, preventing effectively the premature failure and leading to enhanced ductility. Achieving a high strength-ductility synergy in rolled Mg alloys remains a major challenge, especially for Mg alloys with high contents of rare earth (RE) elements, which are hard-to-deform and exhibit poor formability. In the present work, a bimodal grain structure consisting of fine grains (FGs) and coarse grains (CGs) has been achieved in a novel WE43 alloy sheet prepared by the hard-plate rolling (HPR) technique, which breaks the strength-ductility trade-off dilemma of the conventional WE43 alloy. Notably, the yield strength (YS) reaches as high as ∼312 MPa, presenting a remarkable improvement of YS (∼60 MPa) in comparison to conventionally rolled counterparts. Meanwhile, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation-to-failure (EF) are ∼332 MPa and ∼11.8%, respectively, much higher than those of the wrought WE43 alloy reported in literature. Specifically, the disparate dislocation slips and dynamic precipitation behaviors in FGs and CGs have been studied in detail by combining EBSD and TEM analysis. The discrepancy of dynamic precipitation behavior in FGs and CGs is originated from the heterogeneous dislocation slip-dominated deformation behavior during HPR, related to initial grain orientations. It reveals that basal slips are dominant in the FG area, where equilibrium β-Mg 14 Nd 2 Y phase has precipitated along grain boundaries. In contrast, non-basal slips are prevalent and the metastable short rod-shaped β 1 phase has formed within CGs. The enhanced YS of the present HPRed WE43 alloy sheet is mainly attributed to the formation of large amounts of extremely fine grains with an average size of ∼0.94 μm. The enhanced Orowan strengthening comes from the interaction between short rod-shaped β 1 particles and non-basal dislocations (prismatic , pyramidal and pyramidal dislocations) in CGs. In particular, the interactions between β 1 particles and pyramidal dislocations dominate the Orowan strengthening, leading to an increase of ∼34 MPa in the YS. Basal to basal slip transfers have been observed in FGs while non-basal slips are prevalent in CGs, which could be helpful for release the stress concentration near GBs. It is beneficial for preventing earlier fracture and thus enhancing the tensile strength combined with decent ductility. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical behavior of the IGBTs is the key factors to the application of IGBTs. Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) is one of the most effective methods for characterizing of electrical behavior of IGBT. However, the great difficulties in extracting the model's parameters hinder its widely applications. In the present work, a high-precision TCAD model for FS-Trench IGBT was established and verified by experiments. Firstly, the parameters necessary for TCAD models were analyzed in theoretical and experimental. The key process parameters need to be determined in a value range table. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was proposed and trained to form a relationship from characteristic curves to key process parameters. Subsequently, the numerical model's parameters were established by combining the trained CNN model with experimental data. Finally, the TCAD model was established and the simulations of IGBTs were carried out and verified by experiments. Results demonstrate that the proposed TCAD model is well consistent with experiments with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of about 3.7 %. This work may provide a feasible method to obtain highly precise numerical models of power semiconductor devices. It may also promote the application of Artificial Intelligence in the device modeling and optimization design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is a highly conserved chemical modification widely found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic RNA, such as tRNA, rRNA, and mRNA. This modification is significantly associated with various human diseases, especially cancer, and its formation depends on the catalytic activity of N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10), the only known protein that produces ac4C. This review discusses the detection techniques and regulatory mechanisms of ac4C and summarizes ac4C correlation with tumor occurrence, development, prognosis, and drug therapy. It also comments on a new biomarker for early tumor diagnosis and prognosis prediction and a new target for tumor therapy. 1XB-Umo82HmUCTng4dZDNe Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence shows that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure may adversely affect human health. However, the links between combined exposure to PAHs and neuropsychiatric manifestations in perimenopausal women remain unclear. To explore these relationships further, we used the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) of the 2005–2012 cycles. After filtering, five hundred forty-seven perimenopausal women aged 45–55 years were included in our analysis. Eight PAHs metabolites were measured to represent PAHs exposure in the body. In our study, depression, sleep disorders, and frequent mental distress (FMD) were used to describe the neuropsychiatric manifestations. Because of the bivariate correlations among PAHs compounds, principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to achieve the dimension reduction process of PAHs compounds. To figure out if there is a relationship between urinary PAH metabolites and outcomes, multiple logistic regression, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and the Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used. The findings showed that urinary PAHs concentrations in a certain range were related to neuropsychiatric manifestations. In detail, the results of logistic regressions, RCS, and BKMR all indicated that urinary PAHs were positively correlated with depression. In addition, the results of principal components regression and RCS showed associations between urinary PAHs and the risk of FMD or sleep disorders, respectively. Exposure to PAHs was linked to neuropsychiatric manifestations in perimenopausal women, but more pertinent researches are required to understand the connections fully. [Display omitted] • Our study firstly linked perimenopausal women's polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure to neuropsychiatric manifestations. • We evaluated participant's neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression, sleep disorder, and frequent mental distress. • Specific urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels correlated with neuropsychiatric manifestations in participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silent information regulator T1 (SIRT1) is linked to longevity and is a crucial mediator of osteoblast function. We investigated the direct role of Sirt1 during bone modeling and remodeling stages in vivo using Tamoxifen-inducible osteoblast-specific Sirt1 conditional knockout (cKO) mice. cKO mice exhibited lower trabecular and cortical bone mass in the distal femur. These phenotypes were coupled with lower bone formation and bone resorption. Metabolomics analysis revealed that the metabolites involved in glycolysis were significantly decreased in cKO mice. Further analysis of the quantitative acetylome revealed 11 proteins with upregulated acetylation levels in both the femur and calvaria of cKO mice. Cross-analysis identified four proteins with the same upregulated lysine acetylation site in both the femur and calvaria of cKO mice. A combined analysis of the metabolome and acetylome, as well as immunoprecipitation, gene knockout, and site-mutation experiments, revealed that Sirt1 deletion inhibited glycolysis by directly binding to and increasing the acetylation level of Glutamine oxaloacetic transaminase 1 (GOT1). In conclusion, our study suggested that Sirt1 played a crucial role in regulating osteoblast metabolism to maintain bone homeostasis through its deacetylase activity on GOT1. These findings provided a novel insight into the potential targeting of osteoblast metabolism for the treatment of bone-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the NANOGrav, PPTA, EPTA, and CPTA Collaborations independently reported their evidence of the Stochastic Gravitational Waves Background (SGWB). While the inferred gravitational-wave background amplitude and spectrum are consistent with astrophysical expectations for a signal from the population of supermassive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs), the search for new physics remains plausible in this observational window. In this work, we explore the possibility of explaining such a signal by the scalar-induced gravitational waves (IGWs) in the very early universe. We use a parameterized broken power-law function as a general description of the energy spectrum of the SGWB and fit it to the new results of NANOGrav, PPTA and EPTA. We find that this approach can put constraints on the parameters of IGW energy spectrum and further yield restrictions on various inflation models that may produce primordial black holes (PBHs) in the early universe, which is also expected to be examined by the forthcoming space-based GW experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to study the quality and in vitro digestibility of total mixed fermentation diet treated with different proportions of reed grass and corn straw. The concentrate to roughage ratio of the diet was 35:65, and each group has consistent composition of concentrate (corn 13%, soybean meal 7%, flax meal 6%, bran 4%, wolfberry residue 5%). The coarse materials were reed grass and corn straw in different proportions. Reed grass and corn stalk were mixed in fresh weight ratios of 0:10 (group A), 2:8 (group B), 4:6 (group C), 6:4 (group D), 8:2 (group E), and 10:0 (group F), respectively, and combined with 35% concentrate feed. Cellulase and compound probiotics were used to ferment the total mixed diet prepared with different proportions of reed grass and corn straw combined with concentrate. Each group was set with three replicates and fermented for 30 days. The results showed that when the ratio of concentrate to roughage was 35:65, and the daily feed underwent enzymatic complex treatment with a roughage composition of reed grass to corn stalk at a ratio of 2:8, the overall sensory quality of the feed was better, with higher conventional nutritional value, maximum gas production, and the best combined effect. The study indicates that the ratio of reed grass to corn straw in roughage is 2:8, which is helpful to improve the utilization rate of reed grass and straw feed, reduce feed cost, improve economic benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce the effective field theory of two different light dark particles interacting with the standard model (SM) light states in a single vertex, termed dark sector effective field theory (DSEFT). We focus on the new light particles with spin up to 1 and being real in essence, namely, new real scalars ϕ and S, Majorana fermions χ and ψ, and real vectors Xμ and Vμ. In the framework of low energy effective field theory with QED and QCD symmetry, the DSEFT can be classified into six categories, including the scalar-scalar-SM (ϕS-SM), fermion-fermion-SM (χψ-SM), vector-vector-SM (XV-SM), scalar-fermion-SM (ϕχ-SM), scalar-vector-SM (ϕX-SM), and fermion-vector-SM (χX-SM) cases. For each case, we construct the effective operator basis up to canonical dimension 7, which will cover most interesting phenomenology at low energy. As a phenomenological example, we investigate the longstanding neutron lifetime anomaly through the neutron dark decay modes n → χϕ or χX from the effective interactions in the fermion-scalar-SM or fermion-vector-SM case. When treating the light fermion as a dark matter candidate, we also explore the constraints from DM-neutron annihilation signal at Super-Kamiokande. We find the neutron dark decay in each scenario can accommodate the anomaly, at the same time, without contradicting with the Super-Kamiokande limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better evaluate and promote human health, this paper analyzes the influence of different inertial-measurement-unit signals, different sensor locations, different activity intensities and different signal fusion schemes on the accuracy of physical strength consumption estimation during walking and running activities. Different pattern recognition methods, such as the Counts-based linear regression model, the typical non-linear model based on decision tree and artificial neural network, and the end-to-end convolutional neural network model, are analyzed and compared. Our findings are as follows: 1) For the locations of sensors during walking and running activities, the physical strength consumption prediction accuracy at the ankle location is higher than that at the hip location. Therefore, wearing an inertial-measurement-unit at the ankle can improve the accuracy of the model. 2) Regarding the types of activity signals during walking and running activities, the impact of accelerometer signals on hip and ankle prediction accuracy is not significantly different, while the gyroscope model is more sensitive to the location, with higher prediction accuracy at the ankle than at the hip. In addition, the physical strength consumption prediction accuracy of accelerometer signals is higher than that of gyroscope signals, and fusion of accelerometer and gyroscope signals can improve the accuracy of physical strength consumption prediction. 3) For different data analysis models during walking and running activities, the artificial neural network model that integrates different sensor locations and inertial-measurement-unit signals with different activity intensities has the lowest mean squared error for the measurement of physical strength consumption. The non-linear models based on decision tree and artificial neural network have better physical strength consumption prediction capabilities than the Counts-based linear regression model, especially for high-intensity activity energy consumption prediction. In addition, feature engineering models are generally better than convolutional neural network model in terms of overall performance and prediction results under the three different activity intensities. Furthermore, as the activity intensity increases, the performance of all physical strength consumption calculation models decreases. We recommend using the artificial neural network model based on multi-signal fusion to estimate physical strength consumption during walking and running activities because this model exhibits strong generalization ability in cross-validation and test results, and its stability under different activity intensities is better than that of the other three models. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first to delve deeply and in detail into methods for estimating physical strength consumption. Undoubtedly, our paper will have an impact on research related to topics such as intelligent wearable devices and subsequent methods for estimating physical strength consumption, which are directly related to physical health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermionic dark matter can be pairly produced and hence searched with missing energy at colliders. We extend such probe to the associated production of a neutrino and a dark sector fermion at the future e+e− colliders such as CEPC, FCC-ee, ILC, and CLIC. Two typical processes, the mono-photon and electron-positron pair productions associated with missing energy, can serve the purpose. While the mono-photon search prevails at CEPC, FCC-ee, and ILC, the channel has more significant contributions at CLIC with much higher collision energy s . The beam polarizations can help further suppressing the SM backgrounds to enhance the signal significance while differential cross sections can distinguish the Lorentz structure of various effective operators. The combined sensitivity can reach well above 1 TeV at CEPC/FCC-ee and ILC while it further touches 30 TeV at CLIC. Comparing with the updated results from the direct detection experiments (XENON1T, PandaX-II, PandaX-4T, LZ, and XENONnT), astrophysical X/γ-ray observations, and cosmological constraints for the sub-MeV absorption dark matter, the collider searches are actually more sensitive and hence can provide a complementary approach to addressing the dark fermions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grain size, B-site 1:1 cation ordering, chemical defects and microwave dielectric properties of the non-stoichiometric Nd(Zn 1/2 Ti 1/2+ x)O 3+2 x (x = −0.02–0.02) complex perovskite ceramics were significantly tuned by self-doping methods. The increase of Ti4+ self-doping significantly increases the grain size of Nd(Zn 1/2 Ti 1/2+ x)O 3+2 x ceramics which could still maintain a monoclinic structure with B-site 1:1 cation ordering (space group P 2 1 / n) in the case of deviation from stoichiometry. However, the degree of 1:1 B-site cation ordering is tuned to be negatively correlated with the mutual occupancy of Ti4+ and Zn2+ by Ti4+ self-doping according to the results of crystal structure refinement. With the increase of Ti4+ component, the degree of 1:1 cation ordering first increased and then decreased, reaching the maximum value (S = 0.81) at x = 0.01. Non-stoichiometry can tune cation ordering because it modulates the effective radius difference and charge difference of B-site ions. The increase Ti4+ component promotes the formation of ordered domains with uniformly distributed domain boundaries and increasing domain size up to x = 0.01. With further increase of Ti4+ component to x = 0.02, ferroelastic domains appear due to the oxygen octahedral torsion. The B-site 1:1 cation ordering significantly reduces the dielectric loss of the ceramics, which makes the Q × f value exhibit the same variation rule as the degree of B-site 1:1 cation ordering. High Q × f value of 58000 GHz is achieved in the non-stoichiometric samples (x = 0.01), and it is 45% higher than those in traditional stoichiometric samples (x = 0). In this work, the microstructure and properties of the ceramics are effectively regulated by non-stoichiometry, which provides an effective way to tune the properties of 1:1 ordered ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to find a way to process network data and discover hot news based on user's interest and topic, through research on hot news discovery algorithm, a double-layer text clustering model based on density clustering strategy and Single-pass strategy is proposed. In view of the huge network data characteristics, DBSCAN algorithm is firstly used to cluster the single-crawled network data into small-scale clusters. Then, the Single-pass strategy is used to perform incremental clustering on the micro-classes to create the topic classes. In the hot news part of the network, the media and the user's attention to the topic is combined to design a model. The heat quantization formula is obtained. Based on the research of related technologies, a network hot topic detection model is designed and implemented by using web crawler, news discovery and hot news discovery technology. By comparing the two-layer model used in the model with the traditional Single-pass strategy, the feasibility of the two-layer model is verified, and the discovery of network hot news is realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is defined as two or more pregnancy losses until 24 weeks of gestation, which distresses up to 1‐5% of couples worldwide. Cyclin A2 (CCNA2) regulates the cell cycle by promoting transition through G1/S and G2/M. Little is known about CCNA2's functions in trophoblast, although it is highly expressed in the placenta. We therefore sought to explore the role of CCNA2 in RM and early pregnancy. Method of study: First‐trimester human placental tissues were collected from patients with RM and normal pregnant women to clarify the expression level of CCNA2. First‐trimester human villi explants culture was performed as an ex vivo model to study the functions of CCNA2. The HTR8/SVneo cells were studied for in vitro experiments. The migration, proliferation, and apoptosis levels of trophoblast were examined in the CCNA2‐knockdown and CCNA2‐overexpressing HTR8 cells. Results: Our study revealed that CCNA2 was downregulated in trophoblast of RM first‐trimester villi. Results showed that CCNA2 promotes migration of HTR8 cells via the RhoA‐ROCK signaling and that CCNA2 increased HTR8 proliferation and inhibited their apoptosis via p53 pathway. In addition, the relationship between ROCK signaling and p53 pathway was found. Further, mechanistic research attributed the regulatory function of CCNA2 on p53 pathway to the involvement of DNA damage. Conclusion: Our study revealed the downregulation of CCNA2 in first‐trimester chorionic villi of patients with RM and showed that this protein regulates migration, proliferation, and apoptosis in HTR8 cells, suggesting that CCNA2 may be the potential therapeutic target for RM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The authors present sharp Landen transformation inequalities for the hypergeometric functions F 1 2 (a , b ; a + b ; x) and F 1 2 (a , b ; (a + b + 1) / 2 ; x) , by showing the monotonicity properties of certain combinations defined in terms of one of these two hypergeometric functions and linear (or rational) functions, thus giving complete solutions of the problem on extending the well-known Landen transformation identities for the complete elliptic integrals of the first kind to these two hypergeometric functions, and substantially improving the related known results. As applications of these results, sharp Landen transformation inequalities are obtained for the generalized Grötzsch ring functions and the modular functions, which appear in Ramanujan's modular equations. Some other properties of hypergeometric functions and several properties of the Ramanujan constant are obtained, too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous studies indicated a positive association between physical education (PE) and mathematics achievement (MA). This study explored how PE curriculum implementation relates to MA using data from the China National Assessment of Education Quality (CNAEQ) in 2015, including Mathematics (CNAEQ-MA 2015) as well as Physical Education & Health (CNAEQ-PEH 2015).Method: This study included 22,619 students (48.7% girls) age 13.96 ± 0.64 yr. from the national sample of Grade 8 students from CNAEQ. During 2015, MA and cardiorespiratory fitness (CF) were assessed. PE curriculum implementation, personal hygiene, eating habits, PE interest, mathematics interest, and self-confidence were collected via a self-report student survey. Personal hygiene and eating habits were combined to create the latent variable, healthy lifestyle (HL). Structural equation modeling was applied to examine the associations. Socioeconomic status, school location, Body Mass Index (BMI), and sex were all controlled.Results: PE curriculum implementation had an indirect, positive association with MA through CF, HL-mathematics interest, and HL-mathematics self-confidence. Together, the model explained 27.8% of the variance in MA.Conclusion: PE curriculum implementation may benefit mathematics education, and this link is mainly through HL, CF, mathematics interest, and self-confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To summarize the framework and development procedure of the China National Assessment of Education Quality - Physical Education & Health in 2015 (CNAEQ-PEH 2015), an authoritative and evidence-based national surveillance protocol developed by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China for Grade 4 and Grade 8 students.Methods: The framework of CNAEQ-PEH 2015 included a test battery of physical fitness and health outcomes and self-reported questionnaires regarding facilitators and barriers to physical fitness and health in school settings and family status, completed by students, teachers, and principals. A qualified, standardized, and responsible work procedure was generated to provide insights into the quality of data collection and supervision of large-scale school-based physical fitness testing implementation. Measure development, stratified unequal probability sampling, and implementation were included in the working procedure.Results: In the first circle of the CNAEQ-PEH conducted on June 18, 2015, 111,173 Grade 4 students from 4,015 elementary schools and 72,243 Grade 8 students from 2,461 middle schools, along with their principals (n = 6,447) and physical education (PE) teachers (n = 11,418), were sampled by probability proportionate to size (PPS) across 323 counties in China. Results provided detailed information regarding students' physical fitness outcomes, learning, lifestyle, and educational environment.Conclusions: CNAEQ-PEH 2015 is a large-scale assessment of physical fitness and health outcomes. It helps provide opportunities to understand the physical fitness and health status of Chinese Grade 4 and 8 students and to study the correlations of physical fitness and health, as well as their relationship with education-related indicators and academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, amorphous silicon carbide (α-SiC) films were synthesized on 316L stainless steel by low pressure, high density helicon wave plasma (HWP), using tetramethylsilane (TMS) as the single-source precursor which is organometallic compound. The influence of the substrate bias voltage (Vs) on the surface morphology, structure, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of the α-SiC films is investigated. The increase of V S from 0 to 200 V causes the removal of organic moieties from the film and results in the formation condition for α-SiC. The maximum deposition rate of the coating is up to 250 nm/s, which is related to the high-density (>1019 m−3) plasma production of HWP [1]. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) results imply that the film is mainly composed of SiC. The films deposited at V S = 200 V appear to be high-hardness (up to 33.6 GPa) materials with very small surface roughness (∼0.5 nm). Considering the easy control of the bias voltage, our work provides a new method for achieving α-SiC films with high-yield at room temperature. Highlights • α-SiC films were synthesized on 316L stainless steel by HWP from TMS. • Very deposition rate of the coating is up to 250 nm/s. • Very hard materials with hardness of 33.6 GPa and very small surface roughness (∼0.5 nm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]