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Developing high performance noble-metal-free electrocatalysts as an alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in energy conversion devices is highly desirable. We report herein the preparation of a coordination-polymer (CP)-derived Fe/CP/C composite as an electrocatalyst for the ORR with excellent activity and stability both in solution and in Zn-air batteries. The Fe/CP/C catalyst was obtained from the pyrolysis of an iron porphyrin Fe(TPP)Cl (5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H, 23H-porphyrin iron(III) chloride) grafted Zn-coordination polymer with dangling functional groups 4,4'-oxybisbenzoic acid and 4,4'-bipyridine ligands. The Fe/CP/C catalyst showed much higher ORR activity with a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.90 V (vs. RHE) than the Fe/C catalyst (E1/2 = 0.85 V) derived from the carbon-blacksupported Fe porphyrins in 0.1 M KOH solution. When Fe/CP/C was used as the cathode electrocatalyst in Zn-air batteries (ZABs), the ZABs achieved a significantly higher open circuit voltage (OCV = 1.43 V) and maximum power density (Pmax = 142.8 mW cm-2) compared with Fe/C (OCV = 1.38 V, Pmax = 104.5 mW cm-2) and commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (OCV = 1.41 V, Pmax = 117.6 mW cm-2). Using dangling functional groups in CP to increase the loading efficiency of iron porphyrins offered a facile method to prepare high-performance noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for the ORR, which may provide promising applications to energy conversion devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic structures, such as shiplocks, are typically surrounded by backfills, leading to various contact interactions between the backfills and the outer surfaces of the structures. To investigate the evolution of contacts under different loading conditions across the entire structure and to explore the influences of contacts on stress distributions between the shiplock structure and soil, three-dimensional numerical analysis was conducted on the lock head of a shiplock, considering various loading scenarios and contact interactions. Results show that, the opening areas and displacements on the contact surfaces vary significantly during different phases of the construction and operation of the hydraulic structure. The entire process can typically be divided into pouring, backfilling, and water-filling phases, with the backfilling phase showing the largest opening displacement. Compared to calculations without considering the contact, the relative peak maximum principal stress can increase by up to 18.85% when the contact is taken into account, and its peak value is reached after the backfilling process being completed. The conclusions obtained in this study can offer the theoretical and practical references for the design of hydraulic structures and the assessment of their safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of fly ash (FA) and micro‐silica (MS) effects on the mechanical properties of concrete at various ages prompts the search for efficient factors in forecasting the compressive strength (CS) and tensile strength (TS), which are extendable for future investigation as well as practical use. The main aim of this article is to overcome the complexity caused by nonlinearity, which is rooted in the relationship between input variables and outputs. Also, the nonlinearity is getting worse through the existence of admixtures. The Adaptive Boosting (ADA) approach was utilized in the related study as a hybrid model to provide an optimal relation between the ingredients and the mechanical strengths for evaluating the parameters most useful in predicting the CS and TS of high‐performance concrete. Furthermore, model boosting is applied using the starling murmuration optimization (SMO), termite queen algorithm (TQO), and gannet optimization algorithm (GOA) algorithms to reach the highest convergence. As a result of assessing the related models, the ADA‐SMO obtained a coefficient correlation of 0.9981 and 0.9825 for the predictions of CS and TS, respectively. Considering the adaptive framework provided to have the best compatibility with the complex physics of the problem, the ADA‐SMO earned the highest level of accuracy in estimating CS and TS among other hybrid models and was introduced as a trustable model in the prediction of strength properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 15 May 2021, the Tianwen-1 mission delivered a lander and the Zhurong rover to the Mars surface, which made China the second nation to successfully land and place a rover on that planet. The guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) system for the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) of the Tianwen-1 mission play keys role in guaranteeing a successful landing. In this paper, the Tianwen-1 EDL GNC system design is presented, including the GNC architecture, scheme, and algorithm; additionally, the system is validated through experimental tests, numerical simulations, and actual flight results from telemetry data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partial fuel stratification (PFS) is a promising fuel injection strategy to stabilize lean premixed combustion in spark-ignition (SI) engines. PFS creates a locally stratified mixture by injecting a fraction of the fuel, just before spark timing, into the engine cylinder containing homogeneous lean fuel/air mixture. This locally stratified mixture, when ignited, results in complex flame structure and propagation modes similar to partially premixed flames and allows for faster and more stable flame propagation than a homogeneous lean mixture. This study focuses on understanding the detailed flame structures associated with PFS-assisted lean premixed combustion. First, a two-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) is performed using detailed fuel chemistry, experimental pressure trace, and realistic initial conditions mapped from a prior engine large-eddy simulation (LES), replicating practical lean SI operating conditions. DNS results suggest that the conventional triple flame structure is prevalent during the initial stage of flame kernel growth. Both premixed and nonpremixed combustion modes are present with the premixed mode contributing dominantly to the total heat release. Detailed analysis further reveals the effects of flame stretch and fuel pyrolysis on flame displacement speed. Based on the DNS findings, the accuracy of a hybrid G-equation/well-stirred reactor (WSR) combustion model is assessed for the PFS-assisted lean operation in the LES context. It is found that the G-equation model qualitatively captures the premixed branches of the triple flame, while the WSR model predicts the nonpremixed branch of the triple flame. Finally, potential needs for improvements to the hybrid G-equation/WSR modeling approach are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effects of Lactobacillus fermentation on the nutrient content and hypoglycemic ability of chickpea milk were studied. Specifically, the fermentation of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 (LA) and Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum CICC 20279 (LP) reduced the contents of soluble sugar and protein in chickpea milk. But both single bacteria fermentation (SBF, LA or LP) and mixed bacteria fermentation (MBF, LA and LP) significantly increased the contents of some bioactive substances, such as dietary fiber, free amino acids, total polyphenols and total flavonoids. Moreover, LA fermented chickpea milk showed the best inhibition of α-glucosidase (highest inhibition rate up to 92.91%) and the MBF samples showed the best inhibition of α-amylase (highest inhibition rate up to 33.33%). In addition, free phenolics, conjugated phenolics, and total phenolics were all remarkably increased in chickpea milk after LA fermentation. The three types of phenolic compounds (free, conjugated, and bound) showed greater inhibition of α-glucosidase than α-amylase, and the conjugated phenolics exhibited the best inhibitory effects on both enzymes. From the results, Lactobacillus fermentation process may effectively improve the nutritional values and potential hypoglycemic activity of chickpea milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the evolution of data collection ways, label ambiguity has arisen from various applications. How to reduce its uncertainty and leverage its effectiveness is still a challenging task. As two types of representative label ambiguities, Label Distribution Learning (LDL), which annotates each instance with a label distribution, and Emerging New Class (ENC), which focuses on model reusing with new classes, have attached extensive attentions. Nevertheless, in many applications, such as emotion distribution recognition and facial age estimation, we may face a more complicated label ambiguity scenario, i.e., label distribution changing with sample space expanding owing to the new class. To solve this crucial but rarely studied problem, we propose a new framework named as Label Distribution Changing Learning (LDCL) in this paper, together with its theoretical guarantee with generalization error bound. Our approach expands the sample space by re-scaling previous distribution and then estimates the emerging label value via scaling constraint factor. For demonstration, we present two special cases within the framework, together with their optimizations and convergence analyses. Besides evaluating LDCL on most of the existing 13 data sets, we also apply it in the application of emotion distribution recognition. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in both tackling label ambiguity problem and estimating facial emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterotoxigenic E. coli is an important zoonotic pathogen causing diarrhea in humans and newborn animals. α - (1,2) fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2) is closely associated with the formation of pathogenic receptors of Enterotoxigenic E. coli. Codon usage bias analysis can help to understand better the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary relationships of a particular gene. To understand the codon usage pattern of the FUT2 gene, FUT2 gene coding sequences of nine species were selected from the GenBank database for calculating the nucleotide composition (GC content) and genetic indices, including an adequate number of codons, relative synonymous codon usage, and relative codon usage bias using R software, to analyze codon usage bias and base composition in FUT2 gene from different species. The results showed that the codon usage of the FUT2 gene in other species was affected by GC bias, mainly GC frequency at the third position of codon (GC3). Most of the optimal codons were biased towards the G/C-ending types. GCC, CUG, UCC, GUG, and AUC showed the highest relative synonymous codon usage value among different species belonging to the most dominant codons. The usage characteristic of the codons for the FUT2 gene in Sus scrofa was similar to that of Bos taurus; Homo sapiens was similar to Pan troglodytes. An adequate number of codons was significantly negatively correlated with GC3. The relatively higher frequency of optimal codons implied that FUT2 genes from different species had a strong bias in codon usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluates the role of diet in determining knee osteoarthritis risk. Methods: Literature search was conducted in Ovid, PubMed, Science Direct, and Springer. To estimate knee osteoarthritis risk with high use of vegetarian, prudent, and omnivorous diets, dairy products, vitamin C/E, and carotenoids, the odds ratios (ORs) or relative risks (RRs) reported by included studies were pooled. Results: Fifteen studies (97,157 individuals) were included. High use of vegetarian diet {OR 0.71 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45, 0.97]}, prudent diet [OR 0.87 (95% CI: 0.76, 0.98)/RR 0.89 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.97)], and dairy [OR 0.66 (95% CI: -0.08, 1.39)/RR 0.58 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.75)] were associated with lower risk of knee osteoarthritis but risk was relatively higher with high use of omnivorous diet [OR 1.13 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.30)/RR 1.06 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.29) and 1.05 (0.78, 1.33)]. High intake of vitamin C [OR 0.92 (0.29, 1.56)] or E [OR 0.93 (0.64, 1.21)] did not reduce knee osteoarthritis risk, but high use of carotenoids was associated with the lower risk [OR 0.66 (0.37, 0.96)]. Conclusions: Knee osteoarthritis risk is low with high use of vegetarian diet, prudent diet, and dairy, but cannt be reduced by high intakes of vitamin C/E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people (CYP) within the Child Welfare System (CWS) often experience a range of trauma‐related difficulties. However, systematic use of evidence‐based measures to support mental health assessment and care planning appeared to be lacking within CWS in Singapore. This study evaluated the use of evidence‐based measures to inform care planning in out‐of‐home residential care in Singapore. Participants were 65 CYP in care. Measures consisted of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM‐5 (CPSS‐5), Assessment Checklist for Children (ACC) and Adolescents (ACA), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self‐Report (YSR). Care plans were identified based on the measures' clinical criteria and validated against the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) and Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) questionnaire. More intensive measurement‐based care plans were associated with higher service needs and lower strengths on the CANS, and higher ACE exposure. However, there was limited support for the validity of care plans when evaluated against the CANS and ACE questionnaire. Methodological implications for mental health assessment are discussed. Compared to service‐allocation‐as‐usual, measurement‐based care plans identified more cases that may require intensive psychological intervention. Overall, study findings provided some support for the use of assessment measures to supplement care planning in residential care. 'This study evaluated the use of evidence‐based measures to inform care planning in out‐of‐home residential care in Singapore' Key Practitioner Messages: A comprehensive approach to care planning for CYP in out‐of‐home residential care should include the use of multi‐informant evidence‐based mental health assessment measures.The use of mental health assessment measures may reduce information gaps and complement the use of service needs assessment tools.Measurement‐based care planning may provide added value to supplement existing standard psychological care planning practices in out‐of‐home residential care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the development of a transported Livengood-Wu (L-W) integral model for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to predict autoignition and engine knock tendency. The currently employed L-W integral model considers both single-stage and two-stage ignition processes, thus can be generally applied to different fuels such as paraffin, olefin, aromatics, and alcohol. The model implementation is first validated in simulations of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion for three different fuels, showing good accuracy in prediction of autoignition timing for fuels with either single-stage or two-stage ignition characteristics. Then, the L-W integral model is coupled with G-equation model to indicate end-gas autoignition and knock tendency in CFD simulations of a direct-injection spark-ignition engine. This modeling approach is about 10 times more efficient than the ones that based on detailed chemistry calculation and pressure oscillation analysis. Two fuels with same Research Octane Number (RON) but different octane sensitivity are studied, namely, Co-Optima alkylate and Co-Optima E30. Feed-forward neural network model in conjunction with multivariable minimization technique is used to generate fuel surrogates with targets of matched RON, octane sensitivity, and ethanol content. The CFD model is validated against experimental data in terms of pressure traces and heat release rate for both fuels under a wide range of operating conditions. The knock tendency--indicated by the fuel energy contained in the autoignited region--of the two fuels at different load conditions correlates well with the experimental results and the fuel octane sensitivity, implying the current knock modeling approach can capture the octane sensitivity effect and can be applied to further investigation on composition of octane sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Phospholysine phosphohistidine inorganic pyrophosphate phosphatase (LHPP) serves as a tumor suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the correlation between the expression of LHPP and the clinical parameters of oncogenic progression is still not well defined. This study is to reveal the correlation between the expression of LHPP in HCC and their clinical parameters. Methods. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to assess the correlation between the expression of LHPP and the clinical parameters of HCC. Expressions of LHPP in HCC tissues and cultured HCC cells were detected by Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). LHPP, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and α-fetoprotein (AFP) expression levels in blood or HCC tissues were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation of the expression of LHPP and the clinical index of HCC. Correlation of survival and expression of LHPP were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Results. Expressions of LHPP in HCC tissues were significantly downregulated than their paired adjacent normal tissues. A significant positive correlation was found between the cytoplasm and nuclear expression of LHPP in both HCC and their paired adjacent normal tissues. The expression of LHPP negatively correlated with the levels of GGT in the cytoplasm of adjacent tissues and with the AFP level in the nucleus of HCC cells. Relative levels of LHPP in HCC tissues were markedly lower than those of the paired adjacent normal tissues. Relative levels of LHPP in LO-2 cells were higher than those of HepG2, BEL-7404, and SMMC-7721 cell lines. The overall survival and DSF survival of patients with the high expression of LHPP were much higher than those with the low expression of LHPP in paired adjacent normal tissue. Conclusions. LHPP is associated with the AFP level and acts as a good prognostic factor in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the need for business schools to expand their research objectives beyond managerial challenges, addressing global operational issues such as climate change and food insecurity, promoting theoretical and interdisciplinary research.

Essential oils have always been a field of interest attributed to their strong antibacterial properties. Present study was intended to determine the in-vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Cymbopogoncitratusstems. Studyinvolved successive extraction of Cymbopogoncitratusstems by Soxhlet extraction using different solvents such as dichloromethane, acetone, ethanol and methanol in increasing order of polarity to yield different solvents extracts. The extracts were investigated for their antimicrobial potential. Among all extracts, dichloromethane extract exhibited highest antimicrobial activity followed by ethanolic extract, acetone extract and lastly methanolic extract. Present study concludes that dichloromethane extracts of Cymbopogoncitratus stem possess highest inhibitory action over the growth of bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacterbaumanni and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The high antimicrobial potential of dichloromethane extract of Cymbopogoncitratus stem may be due to presence flavonoidal constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schisandrin B (Sch B) and miR-101 family members play critical roles in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. However, the relationship between them has not been reported yet. Thus, this study aims to fill this research gap. Results showed that Sch B significantly upregulated the expression of miR-101-5p in HSC-T6 cells. Sch B also increased the expression of miR-101-5p by combined administration of TGF-β1 and Sch B. Using miR-101-5p inhibitor, we demonstrated that Sch B can target miR-101-5p through the TGF-β signalling pathway to regulate the proliferation and activation of HSC-T6 cells. A rat model of carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis was established, and results indicated that Sch B can attenuate liver fibrosis by upregulating the expression of miR-101-5p. In conclusion, Sch B can directly target miR-101 to suppress liver fibrosis. Sch B or miR-101-5p may be used as a therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust is the major aerosol type over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), and the TP plays an important role in forming the spring dust belt across the Northern Hemisphere in the upper troposphere. Estimated spring dust mass flux (DMF) showed a significant declining trend over the TP during 2007-19. The total spring DMF across the TP (TDMFTP) was mainly affected by DMFs over the Tarim Basin, while the spring DMF across the TP in the midtroposphere was also connected with DMFs over the northwest Indian Peninsula and central Asia. Interannual variability of springTDMFTP was strongly correlated with the North Atlantic winter sea surface temperature (SST) tripole. A cold preceding winter induced by the North Atlantic winter SST tripole over midlatitude Eurasia promotes dust activities in the subsequent spring. The North Atlantic winter SST tripole anomalies persist into the subsequent spring and induce a corresponding atmosphere response. Enhanced atmospheric baroclinicity develops over northwest China and the northern Indian Peninsula during spring, which is attributed to surface thermal forcing induced by the positive winter SST tripole phase. A strong positive North Atlantic winter SST tripole anomaly strengthens the upper-level westerly jets, enhancing airflow toward the TP midtroposphere; together, these circulation patterns cause anomalous cyclonic conditions in the lower troposphere, especially over the Tarim Basin, via the eastward propagation of a Rossby wave train. These atmospheric circulation conditions are likely to increase the frequency of dust occurrence and promote the transport of dust onto the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time evolution of electrostatic fields near a Bi2Se3 surface after a mechanical cleave was observed using Second Harmonic Generation. By comparing samples with different bulk doping levels and samples cleaved in different gas environments, these observations indicate multiple contributions to electric field evolution. These include the intrinsic process of Se vacancy diffusion as well as extrinsic processes due to both reactive and nonreactive surface adsorbates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The minimum violation problem asks for a vertex map from a digraph to a pattern digraph that minimizes violation, the total weight of the edges not mapped to an edge. We are interested in surjective mappings. We characterize all patterns where a minimum violation map that fixes some vertices can be computed in polynomial time. We also make progress in the case where we do not fix any vertex in the mapping, including when the digraph is disconnected, when the graph is in the variety of finite paths. Moreover, we obtain a dichotomy result for trees. We apply the result to some cut problems, including k-cut with size lower bounds and length bounded k-cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person reidentification (Re-ID) is an important task in computer vision and has many applications in video-based surveillance. Recently, the triplet loss has been popular in the deep learning framework for person Re-ID. It is particularly important to note that the selection of hard triplets has significant influence on the performance of the learned deep model. However, the existing triplet losses only focus on some specific forms of hard triplets, thus leading to weaker generalization capability. To address this issue, we propose a novel variant of the triplet loss, named exhaustive hard triplet mining loss (EHTM), which is able to deal with various forms of hard triplets in a comprehensive manner. Moreover, the proposed loss comprises a term to facilitate distinguishing different identities by directly narrowing intraclass distances and indirectly enlarging interclass distances. We also provide an effective training strategy to further enhance model performance. Extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches by a large margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cancer caregiving experience is multifaceted and dynamic across different phases of the cancer care continuum. This longitudinal study examined the trajectories of CQOL and caregiver emotional distress across the first year post-diagnosis. Participants were 111 caregivers of newly diagnosed patients who completed baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. Trajectories of CQOL, CQOL domains, caregiver depression, anxiety, and stress, were estimated using linear and quadratic mixed models. The trajectory of overall CQOL followed an inverse U-shape trend, while caregiver depression, anxiety, and stress remained stable. For CQOL domains, physical/practical needs followed a gradual trend of improvement, while social support followed an inverse U-shape trend; caregiver burden, emotional reactivity, and responsibility/duty remained stable. The multidimensional needs of caregivers of newly diagnosed patients appeared to follow different trajectories across the first year post-diagnosis. While most CQOL domains remained stable, caregivers may experience adjustment difficulties in terms of relational concerns and social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. The primary aim of this research was to discover the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the MIR155HG and liver cancer risk. Methods: The selected SNPs in MIR155HG were genotyped utilizing the Agena MassARRAY platform. We evaluated the correlation between MIR155HG polymorphisms and Liver cancer by genetic model analysis, stratification analysis and haplotype analysis. Relative risk of Liver cancer was shown based on odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results: Our results uncovered that rs12482371 and rs1893650 in the MIR155HG were associated with protection against Liver cancer. And the rs928883 was related to increase risk of Liver cancer. Furthermore, apart from rs77218221, other selected SNPs formed two LD blocks, and haplotype "GATAG" in block 2 elevated individual liver cancer risk. Conclusions: MIR155HG gene polymorphism may be correlated to Liver cancer susceptibility in Han Chinese population, particularly in males and aged ≤55 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The minimum violation problem asks for a vertex map from a digraph to a pattern digraph that minimizes violation, the total weight of the edges not mapped to an edge. We are interested in surjective mappings. We characterize all patterns where a minimum violation map that fixes some vertices can be computed in polynomial time. We also make progress in the case where we do not fix any vertex in the mapping, including when the digraph is disconnected, when the graph is in the variety of finite paths. Moreover, we obtain a dichotomy result for trees. We apply the result to some cut problems, including k-cut with size lower bounds and length bounded k-cuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an important anticancer drug used widely in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. The suitability of DOX is enhanced by its high therapeutic index, but its potential to cause cardiotoxicity and nephrotoxicity remains a prime concern in anticancer therapeutics. This study is designed to determine the effect of Phoenix dactylifera extract (PDE) on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Experimental rats were divided into four groups, receiving normal saline 4 ml/kg, DOX alone, and crude extract of PDE at doses of 1 g/kg and 1.5 g/kg in the presence of DOX, respectively, for 21 days. Cardiac enzymes and serum and urinary sodium and potassium levels were evaluated which were analyzed statistically by using one-way ANOVA. Subsequently, DOX initiated changes in the level of cardiac markers CK-MB, LDH, and troponin I, which were notably reversed by PDE. PDE was also effective against serum and urinary sodium and urinary potassium and protected against DOX-induced nephrotoxicity. Groups treated with different doses of PDE showed marked decrease in levels of cardiac and renal markers. The study concluded that the PDE extract possesses protective effects against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The itinerant-electron metamagnetic (IEM) transition and magnetocaloric effects (MCE’s) in the La0.8Ce0.2Fe13-xSix (x=1.6,1.4,1.2,1.0) compounds have been investigated by x-ray powder diffraction and magnetic measurements. The La0.8Ce0.2Fe11.4Si1.6 compound exhibits giant values of the isothermal magnetic entropy change ΔSM around the Curie temperature TC∼186 K in low magnetic fields. The maximum value |ΔSM|max∼78.29 J/kg K is under a field of 3 T. Such large MCE’s are attributed to the sharp change of the magnetization, the field-induced IEM transition and a strong temperature dependence of the critical field BC. The substitution of Ce for part of La in La0.8Ce0.2Fe11.4Si1.6 increases the value of a(T)c(T)/b(T)2 and enhances the property of IEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid phenotypic changes in traits of adaptive significance are crucial for organisms to thrive in changing environments. How such phenotypic variation is achieved rapidly, despite limited genetic variation in species that experience a genetic bottleneck is unknown. Capsella rubella, an annual and inbreeding forb (Brassicaceae), is a great system for studying this basic question. Its distribution is wider than those of its congeneric species, despite an extreme genetic bottleneck event that severely diminished its genetic variation. Here, we demonstrate that transposable elements (TEs) are an important source of genetic variation that could account for its high phenotypic diversity. TEs are (i) highly enriched in C. rubella compared with its outcrossing sister species Capsella grandiflora, and (ii) 4.2% of polymorphic TEs in C. rubella are associated with variation in the expression levels of their adjacent genes. Furthermore, we show that frequent TE insertions at FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) in natural populations of C. rubella could explain 12.5% of the natural variation in flowering time, a key life history trait correlated with fitness and adaptation. In particular, we show that a recent TE insertion at the 3′ UTR of FLC affects mRNA stability, which results in reducing its steady-state expression levels, to promote the onset of flowering. Our results highlight that TE insertions can drive rapid phenotypic variation, which could potentially help with adaptation to changing environments in a species with limited standing genetic variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peiminine is a compound isolated from Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim) Franquet (Cucurbitaceae family), which has demonstrated antitumor activities. But its precise molecular mechanism underlying antitumor activity remain elusive. In this study, peiminine-induced apoptosis towards human hepatocellular carcinoma and its molecular mechanism were investigated. MTT assay was employed to assess anticancer effects of peiminine upon Hela, HepG2, SW480 and MCF-7 cell lines. Nuclear staining and flow cytometry were carried out to detect apoptosis induced by peiminine. Mitochondrial membrane potential evaluation and Western blot analysis were performed to investigate the mechanism of peiminine-induced apoptosis. The results showed peiminine reduced the viability of HepG2 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner and had an IC50 of 4.58 μg/mL at 24h. Peiminine significantly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells and the mitochondrial membrane potential dose-dependently in HepG2 cells. The results of Western blotting indicated the expressions of Bcl-2, procaspase-3, procaspase-8, procaspase-9, and PARP decreased in HepG2 cells treated with peiminine, while the expressions of Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and cleaved PARP1 increased. The result suggests that peiminine can induce apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells through both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of post-crosslinked resins were synthesized from macroporous chloromethylated styrenedivinylbenzene copolymer by controlling post-crosslinked reaction conditions. Adsorption study towards aniline showed that the three resins, ST-DVB-WH5, ST-DVB-WH6, and ST-DVB-WH7, prepared at different temperatures, and which had nearly identical static adsorption capacity, displayed great disparity in kinetic behavior. The rate constant of ST-DVB-WH7 by the pseudo-first-order model was 1.50 and 1.19 times higher than that of ST-DVB-WH5 and ST-DVB-ST-DVB-WH6. Further analysis of the diffusion model showed that the three resins exhibited different diffusion rates due to the difference in oxygen content and pore structure of each resin. The results showed that the adsorption capacity was mainly decided by the pore volume within 1.14 and 3.42 nm and the adsorption rate was mainly decided by the oxygen content of the resin. In addition, as the best synthetic resin for aniline adsorption, the equilibrium adsorption capacity of ST-DVB-WH7 was 1.57 times and 1.44 times higher than that of H-103 and NKA-II, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study algorithmic and structural aspects of connectivity in hypergraphs. Given a hypergraph H = (V,E) with n = | V |, m = | E|, and p = ∑ e∊ E | e| the fastest known algorithm to compute a global minimum cut in H runs in O(np) time for the uncapacitated case, and in O(np + n² log n) time for the capacitated case. We show the following new results. Given an uncapacitated hypergraph H and an integer k we describe an algorithm that runs in O(p) time to find a (trimmed) subhypergraph H\prime with sum of degrees O(kn) that preserves all edge-connectivities up to k (a k-sparse certificate). This generalizes the corresponding result of Nagamochi and Ibaraki from graphs to hypergraphs. Using this sparsification we obtain an O(p + λ n²) time algorithm for computing a global minimum cut of H where λ is the minimum cut value. We show that a hypercactus representation of all the global minimum cuts of a capacitated hypergraph can be computed in O(np + n² log n) time and O(p) space matching the asymptotic time to find a single minimum cut. We obtain a (2 + ε)-approximation to the global minimum cut of a capacitated hypergraph in O(1 ε (p log n + n log2 n)) time and for uncapacitated hypergraphs in O(p/ε) time. We achieve this by generalizing Matula's algorithm for graphs to hypergraphs. We describe an algorithm to compute approximate strengths of all the edges of a hypergraph in O(p log2 n log p) time. This gives a near linear time algorithm for finding a (1 + ε)-cut sparsifier based on the work of Kogan and Krauthgamer. As a byproduct we obtain faster algorithms for various cut and flow problems in hypergraphs of small rank. Our results build upon properties of vertex orderings that were inspired by the maximum adjacency ordering for graphs due to Nagamochi and Ibaraki. Unlike graphs we observe that there are several orderings for hypergraphs, and these yield different insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nodulation outer protein M (NopM) is an IpaH family type three (T3) effector secreted by the nitrogen-fixing nodule bacterium Sinorhizobium sp. strain NGR234. Previous work indicated that NopM is an E3 ubiquitin ligase required for an optimal symbiosis between NGR234 and the host legume Lablab purpureus. Here, we continued to analyze the function of NopM. Recombinant NopM was biochemically characterized using an in vitro ubiquitination system with Arabidopsis thaliana proteins. In this assay, NopM forms unanchored polyubiquitin chains and possesses auto-ubiquitination activity. In a NopM variant lacking any lysine residues, autoubiquitination was not completely abolished, indicating noncanonical auto-ubiquitination of the protein. In addition, we could show intermolecular ubiquitin transfer from NopM to C338A (enzymatically inactive NopM form) in vitro. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation analysis provided clues about NopM-NopM interactions at plasma membranes in planta. NopM, but not C338A, expressed in tobacco cells induced cell death, suggesting that E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of NopM induced effector-triggered immunity responses. Likewise, expression of NopM in Lotus japonicus caused reduced nodule formation, whereas expression of C338A showed no obvious effects on symbiosis. Further experiments indicated that serine residue 26 of NopM is phosphorylated in planta and that NopM can be phosphorylated in vitro by salicylic acid-induced protein kinase (NtSIPK), a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of tobacco. Hence, NopMis a phosphorylated T3 effector that can interact with itself, with ubiquitin, and with MAPKs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) is reported to be a normal response to cancer, but little is known about the interaction between FCR and maladaptive cognitive processes, which may increase the risk for depression and anxiety disorders among cancer survivors. Previous studies have shown the influence of rumination on depression and anxiety in other populations. Thus, the present study aimed to examine how FCR and rumination may relate to depression and anxiety symptoms among cancer survivors.Methods: The present study included cancer survivors (N = 388) who had completed their active treatment at the National University Cancer Institute Singapore, and achieved complete remission from cancer. All participants completed self-report measures of FCR (Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory), rumination (Rumination Response Scale), depression, and anxiety symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).Results: The present study observed that (1) FCR and rumination were associated with more severe depression and anxiety symptoms, and (2) the interaction between FCR and rumination was associated with more severe depressive symptoms (p = .01). Specifically, rumination was significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms in individuals with high FCR (p < .001), while rumination was not associated with depressive symptoms in individuals with low FCR (p > .05).Conclusion: Habitual rumination may be a maladaptive cognitive style to cope with high FCR. Therefore, the present study's findings elucidate the moderating effect of rumination on FCR, and such findings may better inform psychological interventions to reduce the risk of depression and anxiety among cancer survivors who experience high FCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust is a major component of atmospheric aerosol worldwide, greatly affecting regional and global climate. In this study dust aerosol optical depth (DAOD) and dust mass fluxes (DMF) were evaluated at different altitudes using measurements by the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and ERA-Interim data from March through May (MAM) for the period 2007-16. Significantly higher uppertropospheric (above ;8 km) dust loads and DMF downstream of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) relative to those over other major dust sources of the Northern Hemisphere were found during spring. A DMF magnitude of 1010 g integrated across a 28-latitude segment during spring was estimated downstream of the TP in the upper troposphere. A dust belt can be clearly seen at altitudes higher than 6 km over the downwind direction of the TP at latitudes of around 30°-40°N, crossing the Pacific Ocean and extending to North America during spring. Apathway for transporting dust aerosols into the upper troposphere is proposed, as follows. Dust is uplifted to the midtroposphere over the source regions; then, frequent, deep, dry convection prevailing over the TP during spring can cause convective overshooting that uplifts the dust aerosols to the upper troposphere. The TP thus acts as a channel for transporting dust from the lower atmosphere to the upper troposphere, enabling the long-range zonal transport of dust around the Northern Hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytosine methylation is a well characterized epigenetic mark and occurs at both CG and non-CG sites in DNA. Both methylated CG (mCG)- and mCH (H = A, C, or T)-containing DNAs, especially mCAC-containing DNAs, are recognized by methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) to regulate gene expression in neuron development. However, the molecular mechanism involved in the binding of methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) of MeCP2 to these different DNA motifs is unclear. Here, we systematically characterized the DNA-binding selectivity of the MBDs in MeCP2 and MBD1-4 with isothermal titration calorimetry-based binding assays, mutagenesis studies, and X-ray crystallography. We found that the MBD domains of MeCP2 and MBD1-4bind mCG-containing DNAs independently of the sequence outside the mCG dinucleotide. Moreover, some 1 MBDs bound to both methylated and unmethylated CA dinucleotide-containing DNAs, with a preference for the CAC sequence motif. We also found that MBD domains bind to mCA or nonmethylated CA DNA by recognizing the complementary TG dinucleotide, which is consistent with an overlooked ligand of MeCP2, i.e., the matrix/scaffold attachment regions (MARs/SARs) with a consensus sequence of 5'-GGTGT-3', which wasidentified in early 1990s. Our results also explain why MeCP2 exhibits similar binding affinity to both mCAand hmCA-containing dsDNAs. In summary, our results suggest that in addition to mCG sites, unmethylated CA or TG sites also serve as DNA-binding sites for MeCP2 and other MBDcontaining proteins. This discovery expands the genome-wide activity of MBD-containing proteins in gene regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

K doped Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (K-BST), Mg-BST, and K&Mg-BST films with multilayer sandwich structures of BST/ST/BST have been designed and prepared by an improved sol-gel method, and pure sandwich-structure BST/ST/BST film is also studied for comparison. Influences of doping on film crystallization, growing behavior and dielectric properties are analyzed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results exhibit that all films show cubic ABO3 perovskite structures and mainly grow along (110) orientation. However, better crystallization and smaller average grain size are obtained in doped BST/ST/BST films as compared with pure one. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that K&Mg doped BST film exhibits the smallest grain size and better uniformity than the pure and other doped BST films. Dielectric properties reveal that all doped films can not only maintain higher tunabilities in sandwich-structure BST/ST/BST films than that in simple BST films, but also exhibit lower dielectric losses and denser surface morphology than that in sandwich-structure BST/ST/BST films, fulfilling the tunable microwave applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the problem of reliable filter synthesis for a class of stochastic systems with random occurring nonlinearities and modedependent delays under nonhomogeneous Markovian switching. By considering a new sensor failure model, which is valid to describe the drift faults, the loss of effectiveness, the stuck as well as the outage faults besides the normal case, a procedure of filter synthesis is proposed. Further, the filter gains are characterized in terms of solutions to a convex optimization problem with less conservativeness. Finally, the theoretical results are illustrated through an example of the aircraft engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light-emitting liquid crystal displays (LE-LCDs), serving as emissive displays, are considered as promising alternatives to conventional LCDs because of their superior power efficiency. A dichroic fluorescent dye (Z)-2-(4-aminophenyl)-3-(4-(fluorophenyl)acrylonitrile (CN-AFAN) is synthesised, which exhibits strong fluorescence in the solution and solid states. Moreover, an electrically switchable optical switch based on CN-AFAN and a cholesteric liquid crystal is demonstrated, which combines the internal scattering of excitation light and the dichroism of CN-AFAN to improve fluorescence contrast. The photoluminescence and transmittance of the optical switch is modulated by an electric field between the planar state, focal conic state, and homeotropic state. The resultant device is cost-effective and easy to fabricate, thereby demonstrating immense potential for security and display applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of problem behaviors. Few studies have explored how violent and nonviolent delinquent behaviors relate to adolescent drug abuse. The present study investigates the relationships among violence, delinquency, and drug use disorders among adolescent outpatients. Participants were 260 adolescent patients presenting for treatment at an addiction treatment center service in Singapore. Results showed that adolescents with a history of violent delinquency were 2.49 times more likely to be diagnosed with drug use disorders, while those with a history of violent delinquency were 6.88 times more likely to be diagnosed with drug use disorders, with adjustments for demographic variables and history of childhood adversity. Moreover, drug use was most severe in adolescents with a history of violent delinquency, followed by adolescents with nonviolent delinquency, and those without a history of delinquency. Understanding the social and developmental histories of adolescents with drug use contributes to more informed treatment practices, and provides opportunities for early intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the present study, a series of hypercrosslinked resins (CH series) was prepared in systematically designed conditions for the adsorption of nitroaromatics from aqueous solution. The newly synthesized CH-10 possesses a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area up to 1,329.3 m²/g which is larger than that of the widely used hypercrosslinked resin H-103 and it exhibits great advantage over H-103 when subjected to nitrobenzene at low concentrations. The adsorption capacity of CH-10 for nitrobenzene is 1.4 times as much as that of H-103 at the concentration of 100 mg/L. Kinetic study by film diffusion model and intra-particle diffusion model revealed that its distinctive mesoporous structure within pore diameters between 2 and 6 nm played significant role in the mass transfer at low concentrations, and these unique mesopores also resulted in better adsorption capacity, which was confirmed by adsorption thermodynamics study. Moreover, the CH series displayed a good affinity to a wide scope of nitroaromatics and exhibited excellent dynamic adsorption and desorption properties in fixed bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C35 is a novel tumor biomarker associated with metastasis progression. To investigate the interaction factors of C35 in its high expressed breast cancer cell lines, we constructed bait recombinant plasmids of C35 gene and T47D cell cDNA library for yeast two-hybrid screening. Full length C35 sequences were subcloned using RT-PCR from cDNA template extracted from T47D cells. Based on functional domain analysis, the full-length C351-348bp was also truncated into two fragments C351-153bp and C35154-348bp to avoid auto-activation. The three kinds of C35 genes were successfully amplified and inserted into pGBKT7 to construct bait recombinant plasmids pGBKT7-C351-348bp, pGBKT7-C351-153bp and pGBKT7-C35154-348bp, then transformed into Y187 yeast cells by the lithium acetate method. Autoactivation and toxicity of C35 baits were detected using nutritional deficient medium and X-α-Gal assays. The T47D cell ds cDNA was generated by SMARTTM technology and the library was constructed using in vivo recombination-mediated cloning in the AH109 yeast strain using a pGADT7-Rec plasmid. The transformed Y187/pGBKT7-C351-348bp line was intensively inhibited while the truncated Y187/pGBKT7-C35 lines had no auto-activation and toxicity in yeast cells. The titer of established cDNA library was 2 × 107 pfu/mL with high transformation efficiency of 1.4 × 106, and the insert size of ds cDNA was distributed homogeneously between 0.5-2.0 kb. Our research generated a T47D cell cDNA library with high titer, and the constructed two C35 "baits" contained a respective functional immunoreceptor tyrosine based activation motif (ITAM) and the conserved last four amino acids Cys-Ile-Leu-Val (CILV) motif, and therefore laid a foundation for screening the C35 interaction factors in a BC cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuInSe2 with chalcopyrite structure has become one of the most promising photoelectric materials for its high optical absorption coefficient and conversion efficiency. Electrodeposition has the advantages of low cost and easy operation. CuInSe2 thin films were prepared by one-step electrodeposition with CuCl2⋅2H2O, InCl3 and SeO2 as raw materials. Cyclic voltammetry curves of the solutions were tested by electrochemical workstation. The phases of product thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Experimental results show that the continuous, uniform and dense CuInSe2 thin films can be obtained under conditions of deposition potential -0.5 V and sodium citrate as complexing agent with concentration of 5mmol/L. The XRD diffraction peaks of CuInSe2 thin film are corresponding to the crystal planes of (112), (220) and (312) respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A proportion of newly diagnosed cancer patients may experience anxiety and depression. Emotion suppression has been associated with poorer psychoemotional outcomes, whereas reappraisal may be an adaptive emotion regulation strategy. Few studies have examined potential mechanisms linking reappraisal to psychoemotional outcomes in cancer patients. This study aims to replicate findings on reappraisal and suppression and further examines if hope mediates the association between reappraisal and anxiety/depression in patients newly diagnosed with cancer.Methods: Participants were 144 adult cancer patients (65.3% female, mean age = 48.96 years, SD = 9.23). Patients completed a set of study questionnaires, including the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Adult Hope Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Path analysis was used to examine if hope mediated the association between reappraisal and anxiety/depression.Results: Prevalence of anxiety was 39.6% and depression was 25.0%. Reappraisal and hope were correlated with lower anxiety and depression, whereas suppression was correlated with higher anxiety and depression. The hypothesized mediation model provided fit to the data, comparative fit index = 0.95, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.94, root-mean-square-error of approximation = 0.05. There was a significant indirect effect of reappraisal on anxiety and depression via hope, b = -0.95, SE = 0.42, 95% confidence interval = -1.77 to -0.12, whereas the direct effect of reappraisal was nonsignificant.Conclusion: The study findings suggest that hope mediated the association between reappraisal and anxiety/depression outcomes. Moreover, the high prevalence of anxiety and depression implies a need for healthcare providers to attend to the psychoemotional needs of newly diagnosed cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a class of neutral stochastic differential systems with variable delays and give sufficient conditions to ensure that the zero solution is asymptotically stable in the mean square by means of a generalisation of Banach's contraction principle. These conditions do not require the boundedness of delays, nor do they ask for a fixed sign on the coefficient functions. The results are shown to improve the previous globally stable results derived in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Footscan® platform system is one of the most commonly used clinical tools for the measurement of the foot pressure. The present study was designed to assess the repeatability of the system and identify the range of loading parameters observed in the normal foot. Methods: Measurements were collected from 32 healthy participants, 15 females and 17 males, twice at an interval of 1 week. Peak pressure (PP), contact time (CT), contact area (CA), pressure-time integral (PTI), and maximum force (MaF) were recorded; these parameters were investigated in 10 areas of the foot: medial heel, lateral heel, midfoot, first to fifth metatarsals, hallux, and toes 2-5. The intra-session repeatability was evaluated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation (CVs) across the three repeated trials within the same session. The inter-session repeatability was assessed using the average of the three trials in each session to determine the ICCs and CVs. Results: The ICCs showed moderate to good repeatability for every variable of interest, and the CVs were all <28%. The highest zones of PP were found under the second and third metatarsals, followed by the medial heel. The CT was 68.5-82.8% of the total stance time under the metatarsal heads. CA was highest under the midfoot, PTI was highest under the second metatarsal, and MaF was highest under the medial heel. Conclusions: Footscan® platform system was found to be repeatable. Thus, it can be used as a valuable tool in the assessment of plantar pressure distribution, and the normal values of the foot loading parameters identified in this study can be employed to provide a reference range for the gait analysis performed by the Footscan® system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel reaction for the synthesis of 2-acyl furans is reported. The reaction is believed to proceed by sequential addition of a trialkylphosphine to an ynenone, 5-exo-dig cyclization to form the furan, and oxidation of the resulting phosphonium ylide with molecular oxygen. Many common functional groups are tolerated during the reaction, and the products are obtained in good to excellent yield under the mild conditions. This methodology offers efficient access to biologically important compounds, including fused polycyclic compounds and furaldehydes, from simple starting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating diverse genomics data can provide a global view of the complex biological processes related to the human complex diseases. Although substantial efforts have been made to integrate different omics data, there ate at least three challenges for multi-omics integration methods: (i) How to simultaneously consider the effects of various genomic factors, since these factors jointly influence the phenotypes; (ii) How to effectively incorporate the information from publicly accessible databases and omics datasets to fully capture the interactions among (epi)genomic factors from diverse omics data; and (iii) Until present, the combination of mote than two omics datasets has been poorly explored. Current integration approaches ate not sufficient to address all of these challenges together We proposed a novel integrative analysis framework by incorporating sparse model, multivariate analysis, Gaussian graphical model, and network analysis to address these three challenges simultaneously. Based on this strategy, we perfumed a systemic analysis for glioblastoma multiforme (GDM) integrating genome-wide gene expression, DNA methylation, and miRNA expression data. We identified three regulatory modules of genomic factors associated with GDM survival time and revealed a global regulatory pattern for GDM by combining the three modules, with respect to the common regulatory factors. Out method can not only identify disease-associated dysregulated genomic factors from different omics, but mote importantly, it can incorporate the information from publicly accessible databases and omics datasets to infer a comprehensive interaction map of all these dysregulated genomic factors. Out work represents an innovative approach to enhance out undemanding of molecular genomic mechanisms underlying human complex diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human orexin 2 receptor (OX2R) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that has been implicated in a number of diverse physiological functions. Recent studies have identified a number of functions of the C-termini of GPCRs. However, the importance of the OX2R C-terminus in regulating signaling and surface expression remains unclear. In the present study, the function of the OX2R C-terminus was investigated using three C-terminal mutants, which were truncated at residues 368, 384 and 414, respectively, and the wild-type control, which expressed the full-length OX2R. HEK-293 cells were transfected with the mutated and control OX2R constructs. ELISA, western blot analysis and calcium assays were used to investigate the effects of the mutations on OX2R function. The present results demonstrated that residues 385-414 and 415-444 exhibited a cumulative effect on the surface expression of OX2R. Residues 369-384 exhibited a significant influence on inositol phosphate production and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation. Residues 385-414 significantly influenced agonist-induced internalization, whereas residues 369-384 and 385-414 significantly influenced Ca2+ release. The results of the present study suggest that the C-terminus of OX2R is important for its role in various physiological and pathological processes, and may therefore be associated with such disorders as depression and anorexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]