Search

Objective Methods Results Conclusion To evaluate the safety and efficacy of myomectomy for recurrent uterine fibroids (UFs) after high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation.This was a retrospective study. Patients who underwent abdominal myomectomy (AM) and laparoscopic myomectomy (LM) from January 2018 to December 2021 at the Three Gorges Hospital of Chongqing University were included. Among them, 73 had undergone prior HIFU ablation (Group 1), while 120 had not undergone HIFU (Group 2). Outcome measures included operating time, estimated blood loss (EBL), blood transfusion, postoperative activity times (PAT), duration of hospital stay (DOHS), and complications.The operating time was 90.0 min (70.5, 115.0) for Group 1 and 110.0 min (81.5, 130.0) for Group 2 (P < 0.05). During all AM pathways, there were no significant differences observed between the two groups in EBL, blood transfusion, PAT, DOHS, and complications; however, operating time was shorter in Group 1. The operating time, EBL, blood transfusion, PAT, DOHS, and complications were similar in both groups during LM pathway. During the follow‐up 40 (range: 24–53) months, the rate of relief, recurrence, and reintervention in Groups 1 and 2 was 78.1% versus 74.1%, 14.6% versus 16.4%, and 3.7% versus 2.6%, respectively (P > 0.05).Myomectomy is a safe and effective surgical method for treating recurrent UFs after HIFU. Myomectomy for treating recurrent UFs resulted in a shorter operative and hospital stay, reduced blood loss, faster postoperative recovery, and fewer complications, better symptom relief rates, and lower risk of recurrence or reintervention. These findings indicate that previous HIFU ablation does not worsen the outcomes of the subsequent myomectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gut Universe Database (GutUDB) is a comprehensive multiomics database that allows researchers to manage, analyze, and visualize information about intestinal diseases. It includes various types of omics data and covers a wide range of intestinal diseases across different species. GutUDB provides detailed information on disease-gene associations, therapeutic targets, and diagnostic markers. It also includes spatial and single-cell omics data, as well as interactive visualizations. The database aims to improve our understanding of intestinal diseases and support further research in this field. This document, written by a group of authors, offers a comprehensive report on a specific topic, presenting various perspectives and insights. It is culturally sensitive and respectful of diverse viewpoints, making it a valuable resource for library patrons conducting research on this subject. [Extracted from the article]

The surging accumulation of trajectory data has yielded invaluable insights into urban systems, but it has also presented challenges for data storage and management systems. In response, specialized storage systems based on non-relational databases have been developed to support large data quantities in distributed approaches. However, these systems often utilize storage by point or storage by trajectory methods, both of which have drawbacks. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of segmented trajectory data storage with HBase optimizations for spatio-temporal queries. We develop a prototype system that includes trajectory segmentation, serialization, and spatio-temporal indexing and apply it to taxi trajectory data in Beijing. Our findings indicate that the segmented system provides enhanced query speed and reduced memory usage compared to the Geomesa system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid phase extraction combined with ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of 31 endocrine‐disrupting chemicals in fish plasma. The strong anion exchange/primary‐secondary amine cartridge and the mixed cation exchange cartridge were used in tandem instead of using a single mixed cation exchange cartridge for sample purification. Suitable eluents were selected for each of the two cartridges: 4.5% ammonia/acetonitrile solution for cartridges in tandem and acetone:n‐hexane (V:V = 3:7) for the strong anion exchange/primary‐secondary amine cartridge alone. With this optimized Solid phase extraction method, the recoveries of 31 endocrine disrupting chemicals were between 43.0% and 131.3%, the method detection limits were 0.45 to 1.35 ng/ml, and the limits of quantitation were 1.50–4.50 ng/ml. The innovative pretreatment method that connects two cartridges in tandem is well positioned to mitigate the matrix effects of fish plasma, thereby improving the accuracy of multiclass endocrine‐disrupting chemicals determination. The significance of this method is to facilitate the application of the fish plasma model for the environmental risk assessment of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: For decades, pine nut oil Pickering emulsions have been stabilized using a covalent composite of two phenolic chemicals (tannic acid, TA; and gallic acid, GA) and whey protein isolate (WPI) following alkali treatment. Based on covalent composite particles being excellent sources of high‐quality stabilizers, this research explored the influence of phenolic addition and hydroxyl content on stability, rheological parameters and characterization of Pickering emulsions. RESULTS: Tannic acid was more effective in reducing the average particle size of the emulsion, which decreased from 479.4 ± 2.1 nm without addition to between 187.6 ± 5.9 and 368.2 ± 16.8 nm (P < 0.05). The potential values of all the emulsions were between −30 and −50 mV (except for the gallic acid addition of 2.5 g kg−1). When the phenolic addition was 7.5 g kg−1, emulsions demonstrated the best emulsification ability. Pickering emulsion stabilized by WPI‐TA and WPI‐GA particles were successfully generated, according to confocal laser scanning microscopy. Rheological results showed that the increase of phenolic addition contributed to larger elastic modulus (G′), viscosity modulus (G″) and viscosity of emulsions, which was beneficial to the stability of emulsions. CONCLUSION: Both phenolic compounds significantly improved the physicochemical stability of the emulsions (P < 0.05) and their oxidative stability. Covalently crosslinking phenolic compounds to proteins is a better method to prepare stable emulsions. It is more prominent that TA shows a more significant improvement in emulsion stability due to the number of hydroxyl groups it can provide. This research might serve as a theoretical foundation for enhancing the quality of pine nut oil‐related products. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The WE43 magnesium alloy was prepared by squeeze casting, and the influence of squeeze casting parameters on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance was studied and compared with gravity casting. The gravity cast WE43 alloy shows uneven grain size distribution, and some grains even greater than 90 µm. While, the grain size of the squeeze cast WE43 alloy is mainly distributed in 20–50 µm. The Mg12Nd2Y phase morphology changes from large lamellar to strips after squeeze casting, whereas Mg24Y5 phase exhibits no obvious change. The yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation of the gravity cast WE43 alloy are 127 MPa, 157 MPa, and 6%, respectively, and 145 MPa, 193 MPa, and 9.1% for squeeze cast alloy. For the squeeze cast WE43 alloy, the average corrosion rate is 0.6056 mm·year−1 according to immersion test results, and according to electrochemical measurements, the corrosion current density is 78.13 µA·cm−2, which is better than that of the gravity cast WE43 alloy. Compared with gravity casting, the grains and second phase of the WE43 alloy by squeeze casting are refined, and the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are improved. This may expand the applications of the WE43 alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realization of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) from laboratory to clinical applications remains slow, partly because of the lack of precise control of each condition in the preparation process and the rich selectivity of nanoparticles with diverse characteristics. Employing PLGA NPs to establish a large range of size-controlled drug delivery systems and achieve size-selective drug delivery targeting remains a challenge for therapeutic development for different diseases. In this study, we employed a microfluidic device to control the size of PLGA NPs. PLGA, poly (ethylene glycol)-methyl ether block poly (lactic-co-glycolide) (PEG-PLGA), and blend (PLGA + PEG-PLGA) NPs were engineered with defined sizes. Blend NPs exhibit the widest size range (40–114 nm) by simply changing the flow rate conditions without changing the precursor (polymer molecular weight, concentration, and chain segment composition). A model hydrophobic drug, paclitaxel (PTX), was encapsulated in the NPs, and the PTX-loaded NPs maintained a large range of controllable NP sizes. Furthermore, size-controlled NPs were used to investigate the effect of particle size of sub-200 nm NPs on tumor cell growth. The 52 nm NPs showed higher cell growth inhibition than 109 nm NPs. Our method allows the preparation of biodegradable NPs with a large size range without changing polymer precursors as well as the nondemanding fluid conditions. In addition, our model can be applied to elucidate the role of particle sizes of sub-200 nm particles in various biomedical applications, which may help develop suitable drugs for different diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinetics of amine-based biofuels in the atmosphere and combustion are mainly initiated by hydrogen abstraction reactions with small radicals, which are crucial in understanding their atmospheric and combustion chemistry. However, the kinetics of hydrogen abstraction reactions of iso-propylamine (IPA) with small radicals are still unclear. In the present study, hydrogen abstractions from IPA by seven radicals (H, O( 3 P), OH, O 2 ( 3 P), HO 2 , NH 2 , and CH 3) are theoretically investigated. By comparing the electronic energies determined by several cost-effective density functional theory methods to those determined by the high-level method CCSD(T)/CBS(T-Q), the M06-2X/def2-TZVP combination with a mean unsigned deviation of 0.85 kcal mol−1 is selected to investigate the kinetics and thermodynamic data at 298–2500 K. High pressure limit rate constants are calculated with the canonical variational transition-state theory (CVT), combined with multi-structural torsional anharmonicity and small-curvature tunneling. Hydrogen abstraction reactions at the C site adhering to the NH 2 group dominant in the low-to-mediate temperature range. Furthermore, the effect of the calculated thermodynamic and kinetics data on the previous IPA model is examined. • Rate constants are theoretically determined. • Site-specific reactivities are theoretically investigated. • Multi-structural torsional anharmonicity effects are theoretically examined. • Multidimensional tunneling coefficients are theoretically determined. • Reliable thermochemical data are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Structural features of lanthanide coordination polymers are reviewed. • Crystal structures of lanthanide coordination polymers are provided. • Coordination environment of lanthanides is discussed. • The role of lanthanides in modulating the structural pattern is revealed. • Catalytic applications of lanthanide coordination polymers are highlighted. The review showcases the structural features of an array of recently reported lanthanide coordination polymers with catalytic properties. The field of lanthanide coordination polymers has considerably progressed during the last decade placing it at the forefront of the materials science. The wealth of obtained data clearly demonstrates that lanthanides play a determinant role in tailoring the structural pattern, coordination environment, dimensional configuration and network architecture of coordination polymers. As a rule, the lanthanide(III) ions possess a high coordination number and a large atomic radius, and because of that they tend to generate highly connected complex structures with different coordination geometry. In this way, they easily build two-dimensional and three-dimensional architectures with definite channels and permanent pores. Owing to their strong oxophilic propensity and hard Lewis acid character, lanthanides effectively succeed in creating robust, stable coordination polymers and MOF structures and viable matrices via strongly binding the coordinating groups of the accurately selected organic linkers. Such unique particularities involve a distinct morphology, diverse crystal structures, uniform porosity, a defined pore size and shape, precisely controlled number and dimensions of channels. Their specifically designed configurations allow the access of guest molecules and a controlled distribution of the metal ions on the surface or within the network. Additionally, the lanthanide ions afford new synergistic Lewis acid sites beneficial for productive catalytic applications. These attractive capabilities of lanthanide coordination polymers enabled them to be fruitfully used as sustainable and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts in diverse organic transformations. like carbon-carbon bond forming, Strecker reaction, CO 2 cycloaddition, Knoevenagel condensation, hydroboration and cyanosilylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the incremental diagnostic value of 18F-Flutemetamol PET following MRI measurements on an unselected prospective cohort collected from a memory clinic. A total of 84 participants was included in this study. A stepwise study design was performed including initial analysis (based on clinical assessments), interim analysis (revision of initial analysis post-MRI) and final analysis (revision of interim analysis post-18F-Flutemetamol PET). At each time of evaluation, every participant was categorized into SCD, MCI or dementia syndromal group and further into AD-related, non-AD related or non-specific type etiological subgroup. Post 18F-Flutemetamol PET, the significant changes were seen in the syndromal MCI group (57%, p < 0.001) involving the following etiological subgroups: AD-related MCI (57%, p < 0.01) and non-specific MCI (100%, p < 0.0001); and syndromal dementia group (61%, p < 0.0001) consisting of non-specific dementia subgroup (100%, p < 0.0001). In the binary regression model, amyloid status significantly influenced the diagnostic results of interim analysis (p < 0.01). 18F-Flutemetamol PET can have incremental value following MRI measurements, particularly reflected in the change of diagnosis of individuals with unclear etiology and AD-related-suspected patients due to the role in complementing AD-related pathological information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Highly differentiated follicular carcinoma (HDFCO) is a rare form of struma-derived thyroid-type carcinoma in ovary, defined as ovarian struma spreading beyond ovary but consisting of benign thyroid tissues. No more than 30 cases of HDFCO have been reported since it was first recognized in 2008. The clinicopathologic and molecular features of HDFCO remain unclear up till now. Case presentation: A 38-year-old, para 1 gravida 5 woman has a long history of recurrent right ovarian cysts. Histological evaluation showed the tumor progressed from ovarian mature cystic teratoma (OMCT) to highly differentiated follicular carcinoma (HDFCO) during three relapses. Whole-exome sequencing revealed the germline FGFR4 Gly388Arg polymorphism. Repeated operations were performed to remove lesions for the first two relapses. On the third recurrence, the patient received radical surgery with subsequent thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine ablation. No evidence of disease was observed by February 2022 (8 months). Conclusions: The germline FGFR4 Gly388Arg polymorphism may accelerate the malignant transformation of HDFCO, probably by working as a second hit in the developing spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the imaginary highest weight modules and the imaginary Whittaker modules for the affine Nappi—Witten algebra. We show that simple singular imaginary Whittaker modules at level (κ, c)(κ ∈ ℂ✭) are simple imaginary highest weight modules. The necessary and sufficient conditions for these imaginary modules to be simple are given. All simple imaginary modules are classified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a convolutional neural network (CNN) model was built, the size and resolution of its input data were fixed. However, Raman spectra collected by different Raman spectrometers usually had different length, intensity range, and wavenumber interval between two adjacent data points, which made the existing CNN model difficult to be applied to a new Raman spectral data set. Therefore, this paper proposed a polynomial reconstruction algorithm as pretreatment method to obtain reconstructed spectra that would be imported into CNN model with consistent length, intensity range, and wavenumber interval. To test the effectiveness of this method, a big data set with 2563 Raman spectra of 831 minerals and synthetic organic pigments samples was constructed from the RRUFF and SOP database to pretrain a one‐dimensional CNN (1D‐CNN) model. The pretraining results showed that polynomial reconstruction algorithm used as pretreatment method was better than SG smoothing combined spline interpolation algorithm. Then two data sets were collected by different Raman spectrometers for evaluating the transfer learning performance of the trained 1D‐CNN model. Both data sets contained 390 Raman spectra from the same 39 samples of inorganic salts, organic compounds, and amino acids. One was used as calibration data to retrain the 1D‐CNN model, while the other was used as test. Based on data augmentation and 75% calibration data for retraining, the transfer learning performances of 1D‐CNN model were clearly shown in the excellent identification accuracies of 99.58%, 99.32%, and 97.69% for training, validation, and test sets, respectively, which were better than those of K‐nearest neighbor classifier. This paper provides a significant way for the wide application of CNN model in Raman spectroscopy with much more advantages in simplicity and rapidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Centiloid project helps calibrate the quantitative amyloid-β (Aβ) load into a unified Centiloid (CL) scale that allows data comparison across multi-site. How the smaller regional amyloid converted into CL has not been attempted. We first aimed to express regional Aβ deposition in CL using [18F]Flutemetamol and evaluate regional Aβ deposition in CL with that in standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). Second, we aimed to determine the presence or absence of focal Aβ deposition by measuring regional CL in equivocal cases showing negative global CL.Following the Centiloid project pipeline, Level-1 replication, Level-2 calibration, and quality control were completed to generate corresponding Centiloid conversion equations to convert SUVr into Centiloid at regional levels. In equivocal cases, the regional CL was compared with visual inspection to evaluate regional Aβ positivity.14 out of 16 regional conversions from [18F]Flutemetamol SUVr to Centiloid successfully passed the quality control, showing good reliability and relative variance, especially precuneus/posterior cingulate and prefrontal regions with good stability for Centiloid scaling. The absence of focal Aβ deposition could be detected by measuring regional CL, showing a high agreement rate with visual inspection. The regional Aβ positivity in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex was most prevalent in equivocal cases.The expression of regional brain Aβ deposition in CL with [18F]Flutemetamol has been attempted in this study. Equivocal cases had focal Aβ deposition that can be detected by measuring regional CL.Methods: The Centiloid project helps calibrate the quantitative amyloid-β (Aβ) load into a unified Centiloid (CL) scale that allows data comparison across multi-site. How the smaller regional amyloid converted into CL has not been attempted. We first aimed to express regional Aβ deposition in CL using [18F]Flutemetamol and evaluate regional Aβ deposition in CL with that in standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). Second, we aimed to determine the presence or absence of focal Aβ deposition by measuring regional CL in equivocal cases showing negative global CL.Following the Centiloid project pipeline, Level-1 replication, Level-2 calibration, and quality control were completed to generate corresponding Centiloid conversion equations to convert SUVr into Centiloid at regional levels. In equivocal cases, the regional CL was compared with visual inspection to evaluate regional Aβ positivity.14 out of 16 regional conversions from [18F]Flutemetamol SUVr to Centiloid successfully passed the quality control, showing good reliability and relative variance, especially precuneus/posterior cingulate and prefrontal regions with good stability for Centiloid scaling. The absence of focal Aβ deposition could be detected by measuring regional CL, showing a high agreement rate with visual inspection. The regional Aβ positivity in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex was most prevalent in equivocal cases.The expression of regional brain Aβ deposition in CL with [18F]Flutemetamol has been attempted in this study. Equivocal cases had focal Aβ deposition that can be detected by measuring regional CL.Results: The Centiloid project helps calibrate the quantitative amyloid-β (Aβ) load into a unified Centiloid (CL) scale that allows data comparison across multi-site. How the smaller regional amyloid converted into CL has not been attempted. We first aimed to express regional Aβ deposition in CL using [18F]Flutemetamol and evaluate regional Aβ deposition in CL with that in standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). Second, we aimed to determine the presence or absence of focal Aβ deposition by measuring regional CL in equivocal cases showing negative global CL.Following the Centiloid project pipeline, Level-1 replication, Level-2 calibration, and quality control were completed to generate corresponding Centiloid conversion equations to convert SUVr into Centiloid at regional levels. In equivocal cases, the regional CL was compared with visual inspection to evaluate regional Aβ positivity.14 out of 16 regional conversions from [18F]Flutemetamol SUVr to Centiloid successfully passed the quality control, showing good reliability and relative variance, especially precuneus/posterior cingulate and prefrontal regions with good stability for Centiloid scaling. The absence of focal Aβ deposition could be detected by measuring regional CL, showing a high agreement rate with visual inspection. The regional Aβ positivity in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex was most prevalent in equivocal cases.The expression of regional brain Aβ deposition in CL with [18F]Flutemetamol has been attempted in this study. Equivocal cases had focal Aβ deposition that can be detected by measuring regional CL.Conclusion: The Centiloid project helps calibrate the quantitative amyloid-β (Aβ) load into a unified Centiloid (CL) scale that allows data comparison across multi-site. How the smaller regional amyloid converted into CL has not been attempted. We first aimed to express regional Aβ deposition in CL using [18F]Flutemetamol and evaluate regional Aβ deposition in CL with that in standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). Second, we aimed to determine the presence or absence of focal Aβ deposition by measuring regional CL in equivocal cases showing negative global CL.Following the Centiloid project pipeline, Level-1 replication, Level-2 calibration, and quality control were completed to generate corresponding Centiloid conversion equations to convert SUVr into Centiloid at regional levels. In equivocal cases, the regional CL was compared with visual inspection to evaluate regional Aβ positivity.14 out of 16 regional conversions from [18F]Flutemetamol SUVr to Centiloid successfully passed the quality control, showing good reliability and relative variance, especially precuneus/posterior cingulate and prefrontal regions with good stability for Centiloid scaling. The absence of focal Aβ deposition could be detected by measuring regional CL, showing a high agreement rate with visual inspection. The regional Aβ positivity in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex was most prevalent in equivocal cases.The expression of regional brain Aβ deposition in CL with [18F]Flutemetamol has been attempted in this study. Equivocal cases had focal Aβ deposition that can be detected by measuring regional CL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents game theory‐based strategies incorporated with metaheuristics to improve the computation efficiency and effectiveness in design optimization of civil engineering structures. The idea is that a structural optimization problem can be treated as a multiplayer game with optimization algorithms as the players. This study presents an innovative mixed game strategy and provides insights into domain decomposition schemes. Based on game theory strategies, six modified metaheuristic algorithms are proposed and demonstrated through a case study of a 30‐story mega‐braced frame‐core building with a complex configuration. Jaya algorithm is selected as the control to evaluate the proposed methods. The results show that the mixed game strategy helps reduce the computation cost by about 50%, while reducing the weights of the building by 4%, compared with the Jaya algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in diagnosing and treating suspected spinal infectious diseases. Between October 2022 to December 2023, a retrospective analysis was performed on patient records within the Department of Spinal Surgery at Guilin People's Hospital. The analysis included comprehensive data on patients with presumed spinal infectious diseases, incorporating results from mNGS tests conducted externally, conventional pathogen detection results, laboratory examination results, and imaging findings. The study aimed to assess the applicability of mNGS in the context of suspected spinal infectious lesions. Twenty-seven patients were included in the final analysis. Pathogenic microorganisms were identified in 23 cases. The included cases encompassed 1 case of tuberculous spondylitis, 1 case of fungal infection, 3 cases of Brucella spondylitis, 3 cases of viral infection, 9 cases of bacterial infection, and 6 cases of mixed infections. Pathogenic microorganisms remained elusive in 4 cases. The application of the mNGS method demonstrated a significantly elevated positive detection rate compared to conventional methods (85.19% vs. 48.15%, P < 0.05). Moreover, the mNGS method detected a greater variety of pathogen species than traditional methods (Z = 10.69, P < 0.05). Additionally, the mNGS method exhibited a shorter detection time. mNGS demonstrated significantly higher detection rates for bacterial, fungal, viral, and mixed infections in cases of suspected spinal infectious diseases. The clinical implementation of mNGS could further enhance the efficiency of diagnosing and treating suspected spinal infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Location prediction based on spatio-temporal footprints in social media is instrumental to various applications, such as travel behavior studies, crowd detection, traffic control, and location-based service recommendation. In this study, we propose a model that uses geotags of social media to predict the potential area containing users' next locations. In the model, we utilize HiSpatialCluster algorithm to identify clustering areas (CAs) from check-in points. CA is the basic spatial unit for predicting the potential area containing users' next locations. Then, we use the LINE (Large-scale Information Network Embedding) to obtain the representation vector of each CA. Finally, we apply BiLSTM-CNN (Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory-Convolutional Neural Network) for location prediction. The results show that the proposed ensemble model outperforms the single LSTM or CNN model. In the case study that identifies 100 CAs out of Weibo check-ins collected in Wuhan, China, the Top-5 predicted areas containing next locations amount to an 80% accuracy. The high accuracy is of great value for recommendation and prediction on areal unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stroke is one of the major diseases that endanger the physical health life of middle-aged and old people. It has the characteristics of high incidence, mortality and disability rate. Atherosclerosis is the main intervention target for stroke prevention and treatment. MiRNAs are highly expressed in the cerebral vasculature and play an important regulatory role in the pathogenesis of neuronal damage and ischemic stroke. This article reviews the mechanism of action between miRNAs and atherosclerosis, stroke, ischemia-reperfusion injury, collateral circulation and circRNA molecular networks, providing theoretical support for miRNA in gene diagnosis and drug therapy of atherosclerotic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is vital in chronic pain, while NMDAR antagonists have severe side effects. NMDAR has been reported to be controlled by G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which might present new therapeutic targets to attenuate chronic pain. Dopamine receptors which belong to GPCRs have been reported could modulate the NMDA-mediated currents, while their exact effects on NMDAR in chronic bone cancer pain have not been elucidated. This study was aim to explore the effects and mechanisms of dopamine D1 receptor (D1DR) and D2 receptor (D2DR) on NMDAR in chronic bone cancer pain. A model for bone cancer pain was established using intra-tibia bone cavity tumor cell implantation (TCI) of Walker 256 in rats. The nociception was assessed by Von Frey assay. A range of techniques including the fluorescent imaging plate reader, western blotting, and immunofluorescence were used to detect cell signaling pathways. Primary cultures of spinal neurons were used for in vitro evaluation. Both D1DR and D2DR antagonists decreased NMDA-induced upregulation of Ca2+ oscillations in primary culture spinal neurons. Additionally, D1DR/D2DR antagonists inhibited spinal Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) and c-Fos expression and alleviated bone cancer pain induced by TCI which could both be reversed by NMDA. And D1DR/D2DR antagonists decreased p-NR1, p-NR2B, and Gαq protein, p-Src expression. Both Gαq protein and Src inhibitors attenuated TCI-induced bone cancer pain, which also be reversed by NMDA. The Gαq protein inhibitor decreased p-Src expression. In addition, D1DR/D2DR antagonists, Src, and Gαq inhibitors inhibited spinal mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) expression in TCI rats, which could be reversed by NMDA. Spinal D1DR/D2DR inhibition eliminated NMDAR-mediated spinal neuron activation through Src kinase in a Gαq-protein-dependent manner to attenuate TCI-induced bone cancer pain, which might present a new therapeutic strategy for bone cancer pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with 2D and 3D architectures were synthesized and characterized. • Both of the CPs exhibit two excitation with similar intensity and one emission. • And, each of the excitation exhibited specific preference towards the quenchers (230 nm for nitenpyram (NTP) and 290 nm for imidacloprid (IMI). Two metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with 2D and 3D architectures were synthesized and characterized, namely: [Cd(DIN)(TPA)(H 2 O)] n (DIN = 1,4-di(imidazol-1-yl)naphthalene, H 2 TPA = terephthalic acid) (Cd-1) and {[Cd(DIN)(FDC)(H 2 O)]·H 2 O} n (H 2 FDC = furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid) (Cd-2). The structures and purities of Cd-1 and Cd-2 were revealed by elemental analyses, infrared spectra (IR), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), single-crystal X-Ray diffraction analysis (SCXRD) and powder X-Ray diffraction (PXRD). Both two MOFs exhibited luminescence emission apexes around 350 nm upon relative incident light wavelengths of 230 and 290 nm. As a fluorescence sensor, Cd-1 shows a highly sensitive and selective ability towards I− (λ ex = 230 nm) and Cr 2 O 7 2− (λ ex = 230 and 290 nm) during sensing of the ions. For sensing of the pesticides, the sensor shows a different performance. The sensor exhibits the highest quenching rates towards NTP and IMI upon excitation at 230 and 290 nm, respectively. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exosomes, nanoscale extracellular vesicles (≈30–150 nm diameter), are released by a variety of cells and packaged with substantial information from origin cells for intercellular communication. Since exosomes are of tremendous impact in the occurrence, progression, treatment and prognostic assessment of diverse diseases, it has attracted much attention for their efficient isolation, precise analysis and biological applications. Nevertheless, exosomes are highly heterogeneous and often co-exist with multiple components in biofluids. Thus, it remains challenging to separate exosomes efficiently with high purity and structural integrity for downstream analysis and application. Recently, microfluidic chips have been demonstrated superior performance in capturing and analyzing exosomes. In this review, we will first discuss recent advances of microfluidic systems for isolating and identifying exosomes, and then present developments in quantitative analysis, molecular analysis and on-chip engineering of exosomes. Finally, we propose the prospects of high-performance and comprehensive microfluidic platforms for exosome-related in-depth research. • Isolation and analysis of exosomes are very important in liquid biopsy. • Microfluidics for isolation and detection of exosomes are summarized. • Progress of microfluidics-based biological applications of exosomes are described. • Integrated microfluidics for in-depth investigation of exosomes are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Transmembrane member 16A (TMEM16A), an intrinsic constituent of the Ca2+ -activated Cl- channel, is involved in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and hypertension-induced cerebrovascular remodelling. However, the functional significance of TMEM16A for apoptosis in basilar artery smooth muscle cells (BASMCs) remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether and how TMEM16A contributes to apoptosis in BASMCs.Experimental Approach: Cell viability assay, flow cytometry, Western blot, mitochondrial membrane potential assay, immunogold labelling and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) were performed.Key Results: Hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) induced BASMC apoptosis through a mitochondria-dependent pathway, including by increasing the apoptosis rate, down-regulating the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and potentiating the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm. These effects were all reversed by the silencing of TMEM16A and were further potentiated by the overexpression of TMEM16A. Endogenous TMEM16A was detected in the mitochondrial fraction. Co-IP revealed an interaction between TMEM16A and cyclophilin D, a component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). This interaction was up-regulated by H2 O2 but restricted by cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of cyclophilin D. TMEM16A increased mPTP opening, resulting in the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. The results obtained with cultured BASMCs from TMEM16A smooth muscle-specific knock-in mice were consistent with those from rat BASMCs.Conclusions and Implications: These results suggest that TMEM16A participates in H2 O2 -induced apoptosis via modulation of mitochondrial membrane permeability in VSMCs. This study establishes TMEM16A as a target for therapy of several remodelling-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the more widespread use of 18F-radioligand-based amyloid-β (Aβ) PET-CT imaging, we evaluated Aβ binding and the utility of neocortical 18F-Flutemetamol standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) as a biomarker.Objective: 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR was used to differentiate 1) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 2) MCI from other non-AD dementias (OD).Methods: 109 patients consecutively recruited from a University memory clinic underwent clinical evaluation, neuropsychological test, MRI and 18F-Flutemetamol PET-CT. The diagnosis was made by consensus of a panel consisting of 1 neuroradiologist and 2 geriatricians. The final cohort included 13 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 22 AD, 39 MCI, and 35 OD. Quantitative analysis of 16 region-of-interests made by Cortex ID software (GE Healthcare).Results: The global mean 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR in SCD, MCI, AD, and OD were 0.50 (SD-0.08), 0.53 (SD-0.16), 0.76 (SD-0.10), and 0.56 (SD-0.16), respectively, with SUVR in SCD and MCI and OD being significantly lower than AD. Aβ binding in SCD, MCI, and OD was heterogeneous, being 23%, 38.5%, and 42.9% respectively, as compared to 100% amyloid positivity in AD. Using global SUVR, ROC analysis showed AUC of 0.868 and 0.588 in differentiating MCI from AD and MCI from OD respectively.Conclusion: 18F-Flutemetamol SUVR differentiated MCI from AD with high efficacy (high negative predictive value), but much lower efficacy from OD. The major benefit of the test was to differentiate cognitively impaired patients (either SCD, MCI, or OD) without AD-related-amyloid-pathology from AD in the clinical setting, which was under-emphasized in the current guidelines proposed by Amyloid Imaging Task Force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the intrinsic relationships between the structure, properties, and performance of the electrochemical interface is a long-term goal in the electrochemistry and surface science communities because it could facilitate the rational design of electrochemical devices. Achieving this goal requires in situ characterization techniques that provide rich chemical information and high spatial resolution. Electrochemical tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-TERS), which provides molecular fingerprint information with nanometer-scale spatial resolution, is a promising technique for achieving this goal. Since the first demonstration of this technique in 2015, EC-TERS has been developed for characterizing various electrochemical processes at the nanoscale and molecular level. Here, we review the development of EC-TERS over the past 5 years. We discuss progress in addressing the technical challenges, including optimizing the EC-TERS setup and solving tip-related issues, and provide experimental guidelines. We also survey the important applications of EC-TERS for probing molecular protonation, molecular adsorption, electrochemical reactions, and photoelectrochemical reactions. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and challenges in the future development of this young technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Advanced glycation end products interfered with normal differentiation of neural stem cells. • Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) was increased in neural stem cells of diabetic mice. • Knocking down the expression of HDAC3 could partially attenuate the inhibitory effect of AGEs on NSC differentiation. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent chronic systemic disease, which may cause cognitive decline and degenerative change of the brain. Neuronal differentiation defects of neural stem cells (NSCs) played an important role in the development and progression of diabetes-associated cognitive decline (DACD), but the intrinsic pathological mechanism remains largely unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that expression level of HDAC3 was upregulated in diabetic mice with reduced learning and memory abilities and in cultured NSCs after advanced glycation end products (AGEs) induction. In addition, AGEs interfered with normal differentiation of the cultured NSCs, and knocking down the expression of HDAC3 could partially attenuate the inhibitory effect of AGEs on NSCs differentiation. Findings in this study demonstrate that HDAC3 may serve as an experimental clue for revealing the pathogenesis of DACD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Alteration" geologically refers to chemical composition and/or structural changes of minerals under the influences of hydrothermal fluids, surface water, seawater, or other environmental conditions. In this paper, we use the word "alteration" to refer to chemical component and structural changes in jade artifacts caused by human activity and natural weathering, which is different from the term in geology. "Mercury alteration", a kind of black alteration related to Hg, is unique among the several types of alteration that occur in Chinese ancient jades. Mercury alteration often appears on ancient jade artifacts unearthed from high-grade tombs of the pre-Qin period (before 221 B.C.). Therefore, ancient jades with mercury alteration have attracted substantial attention from Chinese archaeologists. This paper reports the use of materials analytic techniques to study such ancient jade fragments. The studied jade samples date to the middle and late periods of the Spring and Autumn Period (~500 B.C.) and were unearthed from Lizhou'ao Tomb in Jiangxi Province, China. Structural analyses revealed the internal microstructure of the ancient jade fragments and the microdistribution of the mercury alteration. The jade fragments exhibit typical characteristics of round holes and structural hierarchy, which imply that the jades were heated before burial. The black alteration on these jade samples was found to be rich in Hg. The results of this study will be widely useful in the study of ancient jade artifacts and jade culture in Chinese archeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the expression and regulation of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1), B lymphocyte and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) in peripheral blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); to examine the correlation of the mRNA levels between PD and BTLA in NSCLC. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of PD1 and BTLA on the surfaces of CD8+T cells and γδ+ T cells in the peripheral blood samples collected from 32 in-patients with stage IV NSCLC and 30 healthy individuals. We compared the expression of PD1 and BTLA on the surfaces of γδ+ T cells in the NSCLC patients with bone metastasis before and after the treatment of zoledronic acid. The correlations of PD1 and BTLA, as well as their ligands were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis with the cBioPortal data platform. The frequency of PD1 on the surfaces of CD8+ T cells was significantly higher than that of the γδT cells in both healthy controls (t =2.324, P = 0.024) and NSCLC patients (t = 2.498, P = 0.015). The frequency of PD1 on CD8+ T cells, rather than on γδ+ T cells, was significantly upregulated in advanced NSCLC patients compared with that in healthy controls (t = 4.829, P < 0.001). The PD1+ BTLA γδT cells of the healthy controls were significantly lower than that of the NSCLC patients (t = 2.422, P = 0.0185). No differences in percentage of PD1+γδ+ and BTLA+γδ+ T cells were observed in 7 NSCLC patients with bone metastasis before and after zoledronic acid treatment. PD1 was positively correlated with BTLA in both lung adenocarcinoma (r = 0.54; P < 0.05) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (r = 0.78; P < 0.05). The upregulation of co-inhibitory molecules occurs on the surfaces of both CD8+T cells and γδT cells in advanced NSCLC, suggesting that these molecules were involved in regulating the inactivation of CD8+T cells and γδ+T cells, immune escape and tumor invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of three TiO 2 incorporation methods on photocatalytic (PC) efficiency of ECC is studied. • Effect of three TiO 2 incorporation methods on mechanical properties of ECC is studied. • Porous microstructure promotes the PC efficiency by increasing the exposure surface of ECC. • Alkaline environment of ECC consumes nitrate acid and promotes PC reactions. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2) nanoparticles have been incorporated in concrete to impart photocatalytic (PC) properties, such as the self-cleaning and air purification functionalities, which are dependent on PC reactions near the exterior surfaces of the concrete exposed to light. This study experimentally investigates the effect of three TiO 2 incorporation methods and surface patterns on the air-purifying functionality and mechanical properties of PC Engineered Cementitious Composites (PC-ECC). The air-purifying functionality was evaluated by measuring the nitrogen oxides (NO x) concentration change with the presence of PC-ECC plate specimens exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation; uniaxial tensile and four-point bending tests were conducted to evaluate the tensile and flexural properties of the PC-ECC plates; scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the surface morphology of the plates; energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used to map the element distribution on the surface. Test results indicate that the amount of TiO 2 nanoparticles is reduced by 90% when TiO 2 is incorporated through a thin layer on the exterior surface of the ECC plate, while PC functionality and mechanical properties are retained. Incorporating TiO 2 through polyurethane coating reduces the NO x abatement efficiency by 70–80%, compared with directly mixing the TiO 2 nanoparticles in ECC. The reduced PC efficiency is attributed to the dense microstructure and low alkali content of the coating. This study advances the fundamental knowledge for designing functionally graded PC concrete with optimized PC efficiency and mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moringa oleifera is a natural plant with high nutritional and pharmacological value. Leaves of M. oleifera contain a variety of active substances. In our previous research, we had obtained a polysaccharide separated from M. oleifera leaf, namely MOs-2-a (1.35 × 104 Da). In this study, this polysaccharide was administrated daily to 6 week-old ICR mice for 4 weeks. Then, the body weight, immunity, intestinal digestion, and intestinal microenvironment of Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were investigated. After 4 weeks of feeding intervention with the polysaccharide, the immune and intestinal digestive ability of the ICR mice were significant as shown by the organ index, digestive enzymes, and reduction of serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha and diamine oxidase levels. The polysaccharide could regulate the microbial composition of the intestinal tract in mice by increasing the bacteria that have been reported for antiobesity effects, short chain fatty acid production, and lactic acid production. These findings indicate that the polysaccharide of M. oleifera leaf might be a promising prebiotic that exhibits health promotion effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Cracks are monitored using distributed fiber optic sensor (DFOS) and deep learning. • A modified You Only Look Once (YOLO) model adequately interprets DFOS data. • Transfer learning is incorporated to improve the accuracy of the deep learning model. • The robustness of the proposed approach is evaluated in different test scenarios. • The mAP@0.5 of detecting spatially-distributed cracks reaches 0.968. Distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOSs) offer unique capabilities for crack monitoring via measuring strain distributions. However, manually interpreting strain distributions is labor-intensive and time-consuming. To address this challenge, this paper presents a deep learning approach for real-time automatic interpretation of strain distributions, aiming at monitoring spatially-distributed cracks. The proposed approach encompasses three key innovations. First, deep learning-based methods are developed to facilitate automatic detection and localization of spatially-distributed cracks. Second, transfer learning is incorporated to overcome the data scarcity issue in training deep learning models. This ensures robust performance even with limited data. Third, a split-and-merge method is developed, enhancing the accuracy of multi-crack detection. To evaluate the performance of the approach, experimental data from various cases were considered. The results demonstrate a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.968 for crack detection. The processing time for a set of DFOS data, containing 10,000 measurement points, was less than 0.05 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A numerical method is proposed for the fatigue analysis of steel-UHPC composite decks. • Fatigue degradation of stud connectors is considered in the numerical method. • Effects of stud degradation and stud arrangement on the fatigue performance of steel-UHPC composite decks are evaluated. The fatigue degradation of stud connectors is generally neglected in the fatigue analysis of steel-UHPC composite decks, which may lead to inaccurate results. This paper studies the effects of stud degradation and stud arrangement on the fatigue behavior of steel-UHPC composite decks via finite element analysis. A numerical method for the fatigue analysis of composite decks is proposed considering the fatigue degradation of studs. The numerical method is experimentally validated and applied to evaluate the fatigue performance of composite decks. The effect of stud arrangement on the fatigue response of composite decks is studied by parametric analysis. The results indicated the fatigue degradation of studs and the decrease in stud spacing caused more uniform distribution of shear forces at steel-UHPC interfaces. The fatigue degradation of stud connectors reduced the structural stiffness, while reducing the stud spacing enhanced the local stiffness but increased the stress ranges of some fatigue-critical details. Neglecting the stud degradation could lead to an underestimation of the fatigue life of stud connectors. This study advances the understanding of the fatigue behavior and the ability to analyze the fatigue behavior of steel-UHPC composite decks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 5% TiO 2 in ECC saturates air-purification ability while preserving tensile properties. • The optimized TiO 2 -doped ECC sustains a tensile strain capacity of 4.0%. • Alterations in tensile properties of ECC by TiO 2 are understood by micromechanics. • Both site effect and dilution effect are operative in ECC when TiO 2 is added. Abstract Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) provides a unique platform to develop high-performance and multifunctional construction materials with strain-hardening properties and exceptional crack control capability. ECC incorporating titanium dioxide (TiO 2) nanoparticles has intrinsically embodied photocatalytic properties, such as air-purifying functionality. However, there remains a lack of fundamental knowledge on how the presence of TiO 2 nanoparticles affects fiber/matrix interface and macro tensile properties of ECC. There is a need to establish a holistic understanding of the role of TiO 2 nanoparticles in ECC at multiple scales. To this end, this study experimentally investigates the effect of TiO 2 content (up to 15% of binder) on the fiber/matrix interface and on the tensile properties of ECC. A micromechanical model is used to link the multiscale material properties and interpret the test data of the TiO 2 -doped ECC. Results show that changes in the macroscopic tensile properties as a result of TiO 2 addition can be traced back to the matrix and fiber/matrix interface properties. The research findings provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of tensile property modifications by TiO 2 nanoparticles, as well as establishing a reference for the design of photocatalytic ECC for balanced functional and mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Corrosion causes mass loss of steel bars, concrete cracking, and interface degradation in reinforced concrete, highly compromising the safety and durability of civil infrastructure. This research proposes a smart reinforced concrete instrumented with a distributed fiber optic sensor for in-situ monitoring, presents an innovative method to quantify mass loss of steel bar using unique distributed sensor data, and studies corrosion-induced expansion of steel bar in steel fiber reinforced concrete. Electrochemical test and the distributed sensor data were used to understand the corrosion deterioration process of the steel-concrete composite. Effect of the steel fiber on the deterioration process is evaluated under different concrete surface conditions, and the underlying mechanisms are investigated. The results indicate that steel fibers reduced the corrosion rate of steel bars by mitigating electron transfer from the steel bar, delaying concrete cracking, and limiting the crack width. The effect of concrete surface defects shows a transition phenomenon. This research gains insights into the corrosion deterioration mechanism and strategies for improving the long-term durability of steel-concrete composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The flexibility of industrial parks is leveraged for frequency regulation. • The stochastic day-head optimization is transformed into deterministic. • An economic model predictive control is used to enhance the profit and performance. • The proposed hierarchical framework is verified based on a real-world power market. Abstract Demand responsive industrial loads with high thermal inertia have potential to provide ancillary service for frequency regulation in the power market. To capture the benefit, this study proposes a new hierarchical framework to coordinate the demand responsive industrial loads with thermal power plants in an industrial park for secondary frequency control. In the proposed framework, demand responsive loads and generating resources are coordinated for optimal dispatch in two-time scales: (1) the regulation reserve of the industrial park is optimally scheduled in a day-ahead manner. The stochastic regulation signal is replaced by the specific extremely trajectories. Furthermore, the extremely trajectories are achieved by the day-ahead predicted regulation mileage. The resulting benefit is to transform the stochastic reserve scheduling problem into a deterministic optimization; (2) a model predictive control strategy is proposed to dispatch the industry park in real time with an objective to maximize the revenue. The proposed technology is tested using a real-world industrial electrolysis power system based upon Pennsylvania, Jersey, and Maryland (PJM) power market. Various scenarios are simulated to study the performance of the proposed approach to enable industry parks to provide ancillary service into the power market. The simulation results indicate that an industrial park with a capacity of 500 MW can provide up to 40 MW ancillary service for participation in the secondary frequency regulation. The proposed strategy is demonstrated to be capable of maintaining the economic and secure operation of the industrial park while satisfying performance requirements from the real world regulation market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: It is well established that exposure of common anesthetic isoflurane in early life can induce neuronal apoptosis and long‐lasting cognitive deficit, but the underlying mechanisms were not well understood. The cell cycle protein Cyclin B1 plays an important role in the survival of postmitotic neurons. In the present study, we investigated whether cyclin B1‐mediated cell cycle activation pathway is a contributing factor in developmental isoflurane neurotoxicity. Methods: Postnatal day 7 mice were exposed to 1.2% isoflurane for 6 hours. CR8 (a selective inhibitor of cyclin‐dependent kinases) was applied before isoflurane treatment. Brain samples were collected 6 hours after discontinuation of isoflurane, for determination of neurodegenerative biomarkers and cell cycle biomarkers. Results: We found that isoflurane exposure leads to upregulated expression of cell cycle‐related biomarkers Cyclin B1, Phospho‐CDK1(Thr‐161), Phospho‐n‐myc and downregulated Phospho‐CDK1 (Tyr‐15). In addition, isoflurane induced increase in Bcl‐xL phosphorylation, cytochrome c release, and caspase‐3 activation that resulted in neuronal cell death. Systemic administration of CR8 attenuated isoflurane‐induced cell cycle activation and neurodegeneration. Conclusion: These findings suggest the role of cell cycle activation to be a pathophysiological mechanism for isoflurane‐induced apoptotic cell death and that treatment with cell cycle inhibitors may provide a possible therapeutic target for prevention of developmental anesthetic neurotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (SMPLC) has been increased in recent years. Because of a variance in clinical management and outcome, it is important to distinguish SMPLC from a primary tumor with intrapulmonary metastases. Here, we reported a diagnosis and treatment procedure regarding a case of a 58‐year‐old woman who presented with synchronous multiple tumor lesions in separate lungs. Using a next generation sequencing technology, a discordant EGFR gene profile from the separate lungs was revealed for this patient. After standard treatment procedures, the therapeutic effects were evaluated by response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST). This case shows an essential role in the combination of molecular features, together with pathological analysis, during the management of SMPLC, but challenges still required considering during dealing the cases of SMPLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Maillard reaction products contribute to the amelioration of the biological functions or physical properties of foods and can be used to make dependable antioxidant wall materials for microcapsules of pine nut oil. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of temperature on the Maillard reaction of dry heat processes using gelatin/gum arabic (GE/GA) or gelatin/gum arabic/maltodextrin (GE/GA/MD) models and the products of the Maillard reaction as encapsulants to protect pine nut oil, as well as to evaluate the characteristics of the microcapsules. RESULTS: The grafting degree of the product increased with the temperature increments during the Maillard reaction. Sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the polysaccharide covalently linked to the protein. The antioxidant capability of the Maillard products at 80 °C was the highest. The 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical‐scavenging activity, lipid peroxidation‐inhibiting activity and reducing power of the GE/GA/MD model were higher than those of the GE/GA model. With in vitro digestion of Maillard products, GE/GA/MD pine nut oil microcapsules exhibited greater oil release in artificial gastric and enteric juices. Microencapsulated pine nut oil had more stable oxygen, which protected the oil, compared to unencapsulated pine nut oil. CONCLUSION: Temperature affects the degree of the Maillard reaction on GE/GA and GE/GA/MD models. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The natural heat transfer of nanofluids was investigated under electric field. • The electric field forces can reduce a strong electric convection. • In the absence of gravity, the EHD effect on heat transfer is significant. • In the existence of gravity, the EHD effect on heat transfer is limited. Abstract Natural convective heat transfer of nanofluid consisted of transformer oil and Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles in a cavity under a non-uniform high electric field intensity was experimental investigated. The main objective is looking for a coupling enhanced method by nanofluid and electric field. It is found that when the effect of gravity is ignored, the electric field forces applied on the working fluids induce an electric convection and thence induce significant heat transfer enhancement. This enhancement effect increases rapidly with the increase of electric field intensity, the nanoparticles mass concentration of nanofluid and the heat flux. When the effect of gravity exists, a coupled convection is caused by both gravity and electric field force together. For pure transformer oil, the influences of electric field force and gravity on the heat transfer almost offset each other. However, for nanofluid, the impact of the electric filed force is dominant. The study results revealed the enhanced mechanism of natural convection heat transfer of nanofluid under electric field and provided some useful technical support for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency control of isolated power systems with high penetration of wind power is a challenging task for system operators. The difficulty results from the limited frequency response capability of thermal power units to keep up with the fluctuations of wind power. This paper develops a field verification architecture to leverage aluminum smelting loads (ASLs) to participate in primary frequency control. A new method is proposed to coordinate ASLs with thermal power units to quickly stabilize the isolated power system with significant wind power fluctuations or curtailments. Moreover, a closed-loop control system for the ASLs controller is developed and tested on a real-world isolated power system in Inner Mongolia, China. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations, as well as field tests, are conducted under various scenarios of wind power fluctuations or curtailments to verify the proposed architecture for frequency control. The highly consistent simulation results and field tests demonstrate the good frequency control capability of the ASL. The regulated power from the ASL is demonstrated to be able to reach 6% of its rated power within 4 s. Working jointly with thermal power units, the ASL helps maintain the stable operation of the isolated power system, significantly improving the frequency response characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), a member of the focal adhesion kinase family, has recently been associated with tumor development. However, the role of Pyk2 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unexplored. The present study investigated the expression pattern, clinical significance, and function of Pyk2 in RCC. By using a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry, it was demonstrated that RCC tissues display a higher Pyk2 expression compared with paired adjacent nontumor tissues. Furthermore, it was revealed that Pyk2 upregulation was associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with RCC. By using loss-of-function approaches, it was demonstrated that Pyk2 knockdown reduced cell viability, invasive ability and migratory ability, and increased apoptosis in RCC cell lines. In contrast, Pyk2 overexpression promoted tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration and reduced apoptosis. Collectively, the results of the present study present the tumor-promoting function of Pyk2 in RCC and thus provide molecular evidence for novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors as novel therapeutic options for RCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epileptogenesis, induced by status epilepticus (SE), is a chronic process, and intervention in this progress may prevent chronic epilepsy. It has been proposed that DNA methylation might be related with epileptogenesis. RASgrf1 has a differentially methylated region at the promoter which can silence gene expression. We have previously observed the down-regulation of RASgrf1 in epilepsy patients and proved that hypermethylation of RASgrf1 reaches maximal level at the latent period in mice after kainate-induced SE (KA mice), with corresponding alteration of RASgrf1 expression. In the present study, N-phthalyl-L-tryptophan (RG108), a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, was applied in KA mice at latent phase and the behavior, electroencephalogram and pathological changes were observed in chronic phase. Methylation and expression of RASgrf1 were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blotting, and bisulfite sequencing PCR. The results showed that the incidence of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) was significantly lower in the RG108 group than the normal saline (NS) group. Subgroup analysis showed significant hypermethylation and lower expression of RASgrf1 in the RG108-SRS subgroup and the NS-SRS subgroup but not in the RG108-NSRS (no SRS) subgroup and the NS-NSRS subgroup compared with the control group. No significant difference was found between the RG108-SRS and NS-SRS subgroups. Meanwhile, hippocampal neuronal loss was observed in RG108-SRS and NS-SRS subgroups. We thus demonstrated that RG108 could modify the progression of epileptogenesis after KA induced SE and prevent chronic epilepsy. Meanwhile, hypermethylation of RASgrf1 after KA induced SE could be reversed with corresponding changes of RASgrf1 expression. Additionally, we speculated that RASgrf1 might be a potential epigenetic mediator in epileptogenesis and chronic epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel micro-channel thermosyphon technology for passively cooling 3D stacked chips was provided, and the thermosyphon boiling characteristics in vertical and inclined micro-channels with two open ends which simulate the specific stacked structure of actual 3D chip were experimentally carried out. In order to improve the heat transfer of micro-channel thermosyphon by surface treatment technology, four kinds of nanoparticles (CuO, Cu, Al 2 O 3 , SiO) were added to the base fluid to make nano-structure coatings on the heater surfaces by using a long time pool boiling treatment. Then, micro-channel thermosyphon boiling experiments were carried out with four kinds of working liquids: two kinds of pure fluids (deionized water and R113) and two kinds of moist fluids (deionized water+surfactant and R113+surfactant). The gaps and heights of micro-channels tested were in the range of 30–60 μm and 30–90 mm, respectively. Experimental results show that nano-structure coatings can significantly enhance both the maximum heat flux and heat transfer coefficient of thermosyphon boiling in micro-channels, and exist both the optimal nanoparticle kind and nanoparticle concentration in the base fluids. The experimental results provided some meaningful technology support for 3D stacked chip cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor drug response of sorafenib is a major challenge which reduces clinical benefit of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. It is therefore of great clinical significance to elucidate the underlying mechanism to restore the therapeutic response to sorafenib.Methods: Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) protein levels were measured by western blot and immunohistochemistry in two cohorts of RCC patients. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments were performed to investigate the biological roles of ANGPTL3 in response to sorafenib treatment in RCC cells. Human proteome microarray and immunoprecipitation analysis were performed to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of ANGPTL3.Results: ANGPTL3 was upregulated in sorafenib-responsive RCC, which correlated with clinically good sorafenib response. Knockdown of ANGPTL3 conferred sorafenib-tolerance traits to RCC cells, whereas overexpression of ANGPTL3 restored sorafenib sensitivity in RCC cells. Mechanistically, ANGPTL3 bound to Focal Adhesion Kinase(FAK) and restained sorafenib induced nuclear translocation of FAK, leading to attenuate the ubiquitination of p53, which contributed to cellular apoptosis and enhanced sorafenib response.Conclusions: ANGPTL3 may be a novel predictor for the response of sorafenib therapy in RCC patients, and a potential target in improving its therapeutic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance measurement is significant for ensuring the safety and serviceability of engineering structures. Recently, ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors have offered an alternative real-time remote sensing solution to measure distances. UWB sensors exhibit small size, low cost, low energy consumption, and high robustness to weather conditions, but their ranging accuracy is still limited. This paper presents two machine learning approaches to achieve high accuracy and high frequency, simultaneously. The first approach integrates a convolutional neural network, a long short-term memory module, and a regression module. The second approach integrates two random forest models. These two approaches were implemented into measurement from UWB sensors deployed on a highway bridge and outperformed the state-of-the-art approaches in terms of measurement accuracy and output frequency. The configurations and key parameters of the two approaches were evaluated and improved. This research enhances the capability of measuring distances and deformations for structural health monitoring. [Display omitted] • A real-time remote measurement method of distance using UWB sensors is developed. • A machine learning approach is presented based on a long short-term memory (LSTM) model. • A machine learning approach is presented based on random forest models. • The two machine learning approaches achieve sub-millimeter measurement accuracy. • The upper frequency of distance measurement reaches 100 Hz using the LSTM-based model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium channel blocking antiepileptic drugs (SCB-AEDs) are common effective medications available for epilepsy. However, not all patients respond to this regimen and drug resistance is frequently encountered. Rs2298771(c.3184A > G/p.Thr1067Ala) and rs3812718(IVS5N +5G > A) polymorphisms are two of the most common polymorphisms in the SCN1A gene, which is closely related to resistance to SCB-AEDs. Therefore, we have conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the contribution of the two polymorphisms to resistance of SCB-AEDs. The PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to September 2017, for studies on the association of SCN1A polymorphisms with resistance to SCB-AEDs. A fixed-effects or random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios based on the results from the heterogeneity tests. A total of eight studies were eligible for the pooled analysis, of which eight studies included SCN1A rs3812718 polymorphism and four studies included SCN1A rs2298771 polymorphism. The results showed that SCN1A rs2298771 polymorphism was significantly associated with resistance to SCB-AEDs. (A vs. G: OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.61-0.95, P = 0.02; AA vs. AG + GG: OR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.94, P = 0.022). However, no association was observed between SCN1A rs3812718 polymorphism and resistance to SCB-AEDs. Our results indicate that the A-allele of SCN1A rs2298771 polymorphism, especially AA genotype, may play an important role in responsiveness to SCB-AEDs, while SCN1A rs3812718 polymorphism is not associated with SCB-AEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pouring position as the input heat source has great influence on the temperature field evolution. In this study, the Flow3D simulation software was applied to investigate the influence of pouring methods (with fixed or moving pouring channel) on AZ91 Mg alloy horizontal centrifugal casting (HCC) process. The simulation results show that the moving pouring channel method can effectively increase the cooling rate and formability of casting pipe. The casting experiment shows that an AZ91 Mg alloy casting pipe with homogeneous microstructure and clear contour was obtained by the moving pouring channel method, and the grain size of the casting pipe is significantly decreased. Meanwhile, serious macro-segregation appeared in the AZ91 casting pipe by the fixed pouring channel HCC process. Compared with the fixed pouring channel, the moving pouring channel can remarkably improve the ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the AZ91 HCC pipe from 142.2 MPa to 201.5 MPa and 6.2% to 6.7%, respectively . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates residual thermal and mechanical properties of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs) proportioned with high-volume fly ash after exposure to 200, 400, 600, and 800 °C. The investigated thermal and mechanical properties include the thermal conductivity, specific heat, compressive strength, tensile strength, tensile ductility, and density. The effects of five mix proportioning variables on the material properties are evaluated, which include the water-to-binder ratio (0.24–0.36 by mass), sand-to-binder ratio (0.36–0.66 by mass), fly ash content (60%–75% by mass), polyvinyl alcohol fiber content (1.5%–2.2% by volume), and superplasticizer content (0.10%–0.15% by mass). Experimental results reveal significant dependence of the residual thermal and mechanical properties on temperature and the mix proportion, which can be attributed to a series of chemical and physical reactions that occur at elevated temperatures. This study can facilitate optimization of mix proportions of HPFRCCs for enhanced thermal and mechanical performance in fire or high temperature applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the relationship of pathogen DNA copies with clinic and laboratory features among children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) pneumonia. Methods A total of 95 enrolled children with MP pneumonia were assigned into the high-MP-load group (>106/mL) and the low-MP-load group (≤106/mL) according to MP-DNA copies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Clinical characteristics and any allergy history were collected. Aeroallergens and food allergens were detected with a skin test. Serum IgE and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were assessed using enzyme immunoassay. BALF levels of IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-8 and TNF-α were assessed by ELISA. Results Compared with the low-MP-load group, 72.7% in the high-MP-load group developed refractory MP pneumonia who failed to respond to at least 1-week treatment with macrolides (72.7% vs 41.9%, P = 0.005). More children in the high-load group than those in the low-load group presented with extrapulmonary manifestations, lung consolidation, pleural effusion and atopic conditions including any allergy history, positive findings of aeroallergen test and increased serum IgE and ECP ( P < 0.05). A significant higher BALF IL-4 level was seen in the high-load group versus the low-load group (23.00 ± 11.24 vs 14.68 ± 7.12; pg/mL; P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in BALF levels of IFN-γ, IL-8 and TNF-α between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Conclusion Atopy may be a risk factor for the presence and severity of refractory MP pneumonia due to the high pathogen load in airway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]