Search

Objective: Rare disease Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an important treatment for severe aplastic anemia (SAA). It is known that SAA can evolve into malignant clonal diseases, such as acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome. However, the transformation of SAA into AML after allo-HSCT is a rare phenomenon. Here, we report a case of SAA transformed into AML after patient received human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Case Report: A 51-year-old female patient presented with petechiae and fatigue and received a diagnosis of idiopathic SAA. The immunosuppressive therapy combined with umbilical cord blood transplantation failed for this patient. Then, she received HLA-matched sibling allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT). However, 445 days after allo-PBSCT, the patient had a diagnosis of AML by bone marrow puncture. Donor-recipient chi-merism monitoring and cytogenetic analysis confirmed that the leukemia was donor cell origin. Notably, a new HOXA11 mutation was detected in the peripheral blood of the patient after transplantation by whole-exome sequencing, which was the same gene mutation detected in the donor. The patient received 1 cycle of induction chemotherapy with azacytidine and achieved complete remission. However, the leukemia relapsed after 2 cycles of consolidation chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the patient died of leukemia progression 575 days after allo-HSCT. Conclusions: The mechanism of how normal donor hematopoietic cells transform to leukemia in the host remains unclear. Donor cell leukemia provides a unique opportunity to examine genetic variations in donors and hosts with regards to the progression to malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is a new form of regulated cell death caused by iron‐dependent accumulation of lethal polyunsaturated phospholipids peroxidation. It has received considerable attention owing to its putative involvement in a wide range of pathophysiological processes such as organ injury, cardiac ischemia/reperfusion, degenerative disease and its prevalence in plants, invertebrates, yeasts, bacteria, and archaea. To counter ferroptosis, living organisms have evolved a myriad of intrinsic efficient defense systems, such as cyst(e)ine‐glutathione‐glutathione peroxidase 4 system (cyst(e)ine‐GPX4 system), guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1/tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) system (GCH1/BH4 system), ferroptosis suppressor protein 1/coenzyme Q10 system (FSP1/CoQ10 system), and so forth. Among these, GPX4 serves as the only enzymatic protection system through the reduction of lipid hydroperoxides, while other defense systems ultimately rely on small compounds to scavenge lipid radicals and prevent ferroptotic cell death. In this article, we systematically summarize the chemical biology of lipid radical trapping process by endogenous chemicals, such as coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), BH4, hydropersulfides, vitamin K, vitamin E, 7‐dehydrocholesterol, with the aim of guiding the discovery of novel ferroptosis inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a stochastic tropical cyclone (TC) intensity model based on a deterministic fast physics-based TC intensity model is developed for potential applications in the TC hazard assessment. To account for the effect of randomness, an error term is introduced to the ordinary differential equation for the TC intensity. The error term is assumed to be the summation of a mean part and a white noise. The geographically weighted summary statistics method is adopted to estimate the geographically varying mean and white noise intensity of the error term using the 1,010 historical tropical cyclone records from the western North Pacific. The effects of the mean and random parts of the error term on the model's performance are investigated in terms of the individual samples and the probabilistic characteristics of TC intensity evolution. The results show that, by introducing the error term, the difference of the 25-, 50-, and 100-year recurrence interval values between the model and observation can be largely reduced from the level of 10% to less than 4%, validating the adequacy of the proposed model in the TC hazard assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu-Co/X-MMT (X = Na, SiO2) catalysts were prepared via impregnation method using Na-MMT and SiO2-MMT (montmorillonite pillared by SiO2) as the support and copper nitrate and cobalt nitrate as precursors. In addition, the citric acid was introduced during the preparation of Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT to obtain Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT-Ac catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, H2-TPR, XPS and N2 adsorption–desorption at low temperature. The results showed that the acidity and specific surface area of SiO2-MMT were larger than those of Na-MMT, thus resulting in dimethyl ether (DME) conversion and H2 yield of Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT higher than those of Cu-Co/Na-MMT during steam reforming of DME (SRD). However, for Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT, there was a large amount of methanol in the carbon-containing product due to the large particle size of Cu. The Cu particle size of Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT-Ac was decreased significantly due to the introduction of citric acid, thus accelerating the steam reforming of methanol reaction and enabling the timely conversion of the intermediate product methanol of SRD, resulting in the increasing DME conversion and H2 yield. Therefore, Cu-Co/SiO2-MMT-Ac was expected to be a potential catalyst for SRD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recent studies have proved the diverse roles of miRs in different cancer-related processes. This study was undertaken to determine the therapeutic implications of miR-325-3p in breast cancer. Material and methods: Expression analysis was carried out by qRT-PCR. Transfections were performed by Lipofectamine 2000 reagent. MTT assay was used for cell viability. Transwell assays were used for cell migration and invasion. Western blot analysis was used for protein expression analysis. Results: Gene expression analysis revealed miR-325 to be significantly suppressed in breast cancer tissues and cell lines. Nonetheless, ectopic expression of miR-325 resulted in suppression of the growth and colony development potential of the SK-BR-3 and CAMA-1 cells. Transwell assays showed that miR-325 overexpression also resulted in the decline of the migration and invasion of the SK-BR-3 and CAMA-1 cells. Bioinformatic analysis showed that miR-325 targets lipocalin 15 (LNC15) in breast cancer cells. LNC15 was also overexpressed in the breast cancer tissues and cell lines. However, overexpression of miR-325 caused a significant decline in the LNC15 expression in SK-BR-3 cells. Additionally, silencing of LNC15 resulted in inhibition of the growth, migration and invasion of the SK-BR-3 cells. Rescue assay showed that overexpression of LNC15 could promote the growth, migration and invasion of the miR-325 overexpressing effects. Conclusions: Taken together, the evidence shows that miR-325 acts as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer and may be used in the treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore structures, such as oil and gas platforms and offshore wind turbines, are subjected to wind and wave loads simultaneously during their service lifetime. Since the wind and wave states are of significant randomness and dependence, the probabilistic modeling of joint wind and wave conditions plays an essential role in the safety design of offshore structures. Currently, three different methods can be adopted to establish the joint probabilistic model, which, however, are somewhat inconvenient in applications. The recently emerged generative adversarial networks has been demonstrated to be effective in dealing with high-dimensional random variables in several fields. In this study, the implicit joint probabilistic model of joint wind and wave load conditions is developed based on the Wasserstein generative adversarial network with gradient penalty. Long-term metocean reanalysis data of the site in the South China Sea is used to train and validate the model. After one million training steps, high-quality samples that are quite similar to the original data can be generated by the developed model. In addition, statistical comparisons of the generated samples obtained by the C-vine copula approach and the developed generative adversarial network model are performed as well, which demonstrates the effectiveness and superiority of the developed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging could regulate many biological processes in malignancies by regulating cell senescence. Consensus cluster analysis was conducted to differentiate TCGA sarcoma cases. LASSO cox regression analysis was performed to construct an aging-related prognostic signature. We identified two categories of TCGA-sarcoma with significant difference in prognosis, immune infiltration and chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Moreover, an aging-related prognostic signature was constructed for sarcoma, which had a good performance in predicting the 3-year and 5-year overall survival of sarcoma patients. We also identified a lncRNA MALAT1/miR-508-3p/CCNA2 regulatory axis for sarcoma. This stratification could provide more evidence for estimating prognosis and immunotherapy of sarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyse if the health progression of geriatric Covid-19 survivors three months after an acute Covid-19 infection was worse than in other geriatric patients. Specifically, we wanted to see if we could see distinct health profiles in the flow of re-admitted Covid-19 patients compared to re-admitted non-Covid-19 controls. Design: Matched cohort study. Setting and participants: Electronic medical records of geriatric patients hospitalised in geriatric clinics in Stockholm, Sweden, between March 2020 and January 2022. Patients readmitted three months after initial admission were selected for the analysis and Covid-19 survivors (n = 895) were compared to age-sex-Charlson comorbidity index (CCI)-matched non-Covid-19 controls (n = 2685). Methods: We assessed using binary logistic and Cox regression if a previous Covid-19 infection could be a risk factor for worse health progression indicated by the CCI, hospital frailty risk score (HFRS), mortality and specific comorbidities. Results: The patients were mostly older than 75 years and, already at baseline, had typically multiple comorbidities. The Covid-19 patients with readmission had mostly had their acute-phase infection in the 1st or 2nd pandemic waves before the vaccinations. The Covid-19 patients did not have worse health after three months compared to the matched controls according to the CCI (odds ratio, OR[95% confidence interval, CI] = 1.12[0.94–1.34]), HFRS (OR[95%CI] = 1.05[0.87–1.26]), 6-months (hazard ratio, HR[95%CI] = 1.04[0.70–1.52]) and 1-year-mortality risk (HR[95%CI] = 0.89[0.71–1.10]), adjusted for age, sex and health at baseline (the CCI and HFRS). Conclusions and implications: The overall health progression of re-hospitalized geriatric Covid-19 survivors did not differ dramatically from other re-hospitalized geriatric patients with similar age, sex and health at baseline. Our results emphasize that Covid-19 was especially detrimental for geriatric patients in the acute-phase, but not in the later phase. Further studies including post-vaccination samples are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-degrading enzyme (dsRNase) is one of the negative factors influencing the RNA interference (RNAi) effect in Colorado potato beetle (CPB). We have previously shown that plastid-mediated RNAi (PM-RNAi) can be utilized to control CPB. In this study, we aimed to test whether silencing dsRNase could increase the RNAi effect in CPB via PM-RNAi. We generated transplastomic potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants expressing dsRNA targeting shibire (dsSHI) of CPB. St-dsSHI plants (transplastomic plants expressing dsSHI) showed much less potent RNAi response than transplastomic potato plants expressing dsRNAs targeting CPB Shrub (St-dsSHR) or β-Actin (St-dsACT), two CPB-resistant transplastomic lines generated previously. The three types of transplastomic lines have weak (St-dsSHI), moderate (St-dsSHR) and strong (St-dsACT) resistant levels to CPB. Treatment with in vitro-synthesized dsdsRNase1/2 (a fusion dsRNA targeting dsRNase1 and dsRNase2 of CPB) led to enhanced suppression of dsRNase1 and dsRNase2 in CPB larvae fed with St-dsSHI plants and dsRNase2 in CPB larvae fed with St-dsSHR plants. St-dsSHR or St-dsSHI plants showed significantly reduced CPB larva weight or damaged area by CPB feeding. These results demonstrate that dsRNase-silencing approach could improve the effect of PM-RNAi when the silencing of target genes has weak or moderate strength of the insecticidal effects. The findings provide a new proof-of-concept to enhance crop resistance to insect herbivores to via an “RNAi-of-RNAi” approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formic acid (FA) was used for reductive depolymerization of industrial corncob lignin via ethanol and Pt/C system. The highest yield of bio-oil obtained was 71.4% when the reaction was conducted at 260 °C with an FA/lignin ratio of 8 for 0.5 h. The bio-oil was composed of oligomers (Mw within 600 Da) and lignin depolymerized fragments (Mw beyond 600 Da). Reaction temperature was the most important factor affecting the properties of bio-oil. Although excessive temperature could increase the C/H ratio and higher heating value (HHV) of bio-oil, it would lead to repolymerization of lignin degraded fragments, thus resulting in a higher molecular weight of bio-oil. Additionally, alkylphenols were major products in bio-oil, and the amount of alkyl phenols could be increased by increasing the temperature and extending the retention time appropriately. This study reveals the effects of various reaction conditions on the yield and properties of bio-oil, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent upgrading of bio-oil to biofuels and aromatic chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite remote sensing has been widely utilized for petroleum detection offshore since oil spill is normally widespread. However, the onshore hydrocarbon detection is insufficient because the lower spectral resolution of previous satellites made it difficult to identify small scales of seepages. In this study, a dataset of the High-Resolution 5 satellite (GF-5) of China was chosen to directly detect hydrocarbon seeps in the Karamay area. First, an IDL program was used to remove the vertical tripe noise of the image to ensure the high quality of the image. Second, use principal component analysis (PCA) was combined with the classification and regression trees (CART) method RuleGen to process the image. The detected hydrocarbon information was enhanced by RGB color synthesis. The results show that the methods can detect hydrocarbon effectively. Field verification results show that the accuracy is 86.5%. This study provides an effective method for hydrocarbon detection using GF-5 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a casting improvement process to enable the casting of Al-Cu alloy cylinder heads to achieve the required quality. The hot tearing defects generated in the fire face of the cylinder head during casting were simulated using MAGMA software. The simulation results show that the large wall thickness transition difference in the fire face of the cylinder head is the reason for the large temperature and stress gradient during solidification. Therefore, the first solution was optimised by forming the fire face as a whole into a flat plate, but the fire face centre area stress is still too high. The second optimisation option optimises the cold iron structure of the fire face, the probability of cracking in the fire face is reduced to 17%. These results have important reference significance for the optimisation of the Al-Cu alloy cylinder head hot tearing problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes a microwave angular displacement sensor with wideband matching based on a wideband impedance transformer. According to the design requirement of the microstrip impedance transformer (load‐to‐source impedance of 250‐to‐50 Ω, centre frequency of 2.40 GHz) with Chebyshev frequency response, the proposed angular displacement sensor is explored for the high bandwidth sensitivity of 11.18 MHz/degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the rapid construction of China's transportation and the integration of urban and rural development, a large network of different transportation modes, such as roads, railways, waterways, and aviation, have formed in urban and rural areas. The multi-mode coordinated planning of transportation has therefore become a new trend in the integration of urban and rural transportation, promoting the common development of urban and rural areas. Based on this, this paper uses multi-source data information to explore the coordinated development and planning of different modes of urban and rural transportation and takes GIS software as a tool to coordinate the development between urban and rural transportation planning and production, life, ecology and cultural elements in urban and rural space for the purpose of evaluating the traffic needs of different modes in urban and rural space. Wuxue City is taken as an example to analyze the shortcomings of the current urban and rural transportation coordination, and accordingly proposes a four-pronged coordinated traffic planning strategy: road network structure, hub layout, information service, and public transport optimization. Spatially, this paper intends to find out a new approach of coordinated planning of urban and rural multi-mode transportation which can promote the integrated development of urban and rural transportation and set a good example for the development of urban and rural transportation in other similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Interleukin‐36 is induced by proinflammatory cytokines and promotes inflammatory responses, creating an IL‐36‐based inflammation loop. Although hepatocytes, produce IL‐36 responses to drug‐induced liver injury, little is known about the mechanistic role of IL‐36 signalling during the progression of alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). Regarding IL‐36/IL‐36R and P2X7R coregulating the inflammatory response, we elucidated that modulation of IL‐36R‐P2X7R‐TLR axis affected hepatocyte steatosis as well as the IL‐36‐based inflammatory feedback loop that accompanies the onset of ASH. Experimental Approach: C57BL/6J mice were subjected to either chronic‐plus‐binge ethanol feeding or acute gavage with multiple doses of ethanol to establish ASH, followed by pharmacological inhibition or genetic silencing of IL‐36R and P2X7R. AML12 cells or mouse primary hepatocytes were stimulated with alcohol, LPS plus ATP or Poly(I:C) plus ATP, followed by silencing of IL‐36γ, IL‐36R or P2X7R. Key Results: P2X7R and IL‐36R deficiency blocked the inflammatory loop, specifically initiated by IL‐36 cytokines, in hepatocytes of mice suffering from ASH. Pharmacological inhibition to P2X7R or IL‐36R alleviated lipid accumulation and inflammatory response in ASH. IL‐36R was indispensable for P2X7R modulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation in ASH, and IL‐36 led to a vicious cycle of P2X7R‐driven inflammation in alcohol‐treated hepatocytes. TLR ligands promoted IL‐36γ production in hepatocytes, based on synergism with P2X7R. Conclusions and Implications: Blockade of IL‐36 based inflammatory feedback loop, via IL‐36R‐P2X7R‐TLRs‐modulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation, circumvented steatosis and inflammation that accompanies the onset of ASH, suggesting that targeting IL‐36 can serve as a novel therapeutic approach to combat ASH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital twin is considered the central component of modern industry. It has been adopted in many industrial fields. However, its application in nuclear engineering is very rare, especially for the radioactive waste deposits winch is an urgent and tricky issue. Motivated by this demand and considering China's research & development guidelines for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (a three-step strategy by 2050 to construct the radioactive waste repository), a framework of the radioactive waste repository digital twin is proposed. The digital twin uses the framework edge + cloud with a multi-layer structure. It can be adopted in the construction of the radioactive waste repository. It can significantly strengthen the management capability, reduce the operating cost, improve the safety level and deal with accidents more efficiently. The first step for the achievement for the digital twin development of radioactive waste repository based on the framework is also introduced in the paper. The proposed digital twin framework of the radioactive waste repository in this work could be widely used as a reference and easily extended to support management in other industrial fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mega‐infrastructural development project provides easy access to remarkable tourism destinations and keeps attracting tourists. Tourist data from the tourism department of Gilgit‐Baltistan (GB), Pakistan, show that the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project's impact positively relates to tourism demand. GB is at the early stage of tourism development, and residents show a willingness to support tourism even though tourism costs outweigh benefits. Besides, the existing tourism policy of Gilgit‐Baltistan focuses explicitly on economic sustainability but overlooks the socio‐cultural and environmental concerns. Therefore, the present study based on the stakeholder theory provides policy implications to minimize adverse effects on socio‐cultural and ecological resources and achieve sustainable tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In nuclear radiation detection, some measured radiation counts are lost due to dead time. Estimation of dead time is necessary to restore the counting information in quantitative analysis. This study aims to propose a method for estimating dead time at high counting rate. First of all, a measurement system of pulse interval distribution was used to estimate the true input counting rate of the detection system and implemented in FPGA. Then, a digital pole-zero cancellation technique was introduced in the measurement system to decrease the decay time constant of pulse. This was aimed at mitigating the impact of pile-up on the pulse interval distribution spectrum, especially at high counting rate. The feasibility of this measurement system at high counting rate was verified by the experimental platform of EDXRF. The dead time was calculated using the measured counting rate and the estimated true input counting rate. The accuracy of the dead time relies on the precision of the estimated true count rate. When the counting rate reaches 600 kCPS, the relative error between the theoretical counting rate and the estimated true input counting rate is less than 5%. • An EDXRF was used to verify the validity of pulse interval distribution measurement system to estimate the dead time. • Estimation of the true input counting rate accurately in the high counting rate scenario. • The measured counting rate will enter the nonlinear region when the dead time exceeds 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains a major source of mortality in China. Convincing evidence has demonstrated that the reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is correlated with lowering ASCVD risk. The efficacy of lifestyle management in lipid levels reduction has been confirmed in numerous studies. However, considering that low compliance to lifestyle management has limited the benefits of lowering lipid levels, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is proposed as a solution to improve clinical outcomes. The objective of this trial is to compare the LDL-C outcome in ASCVD patients receiving mobile device-based CBT to a control group, with both groups under standard pharmacological treatments.Methods: This trial is designed as a multicenter, prospective randomized controlled trial with a 6-month follow-up. Mean LDL-C level and the percentage of different LDL-C levels, coefficient of variation of LDL, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSEs), quality of life index (QL-index), etc., between the two groups at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months will be measured.Discussion: This trial should demonstrate that the implementation of mobile-based CBT intervention will be potentially effective in lowering LDL-C levels in ASCVD patients.Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( ChiCTR2100046775 ) [registered: 2021/5/28]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. In recent years, a growing body of research has revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in regulating genomic instability. Materials and Methods. We obtained RNA expression profiles, somatic mutation profiles, clinical information, and pathological features of colorectal cancer (CRC) from The Cancer Genome Atlas project. We divided the cohort into two groups based on mutation frequency and identified genomic instability-related lncRNAs (GI-lncRNAs) using R software. We further analyzed the function of identified GI-lncRNAs and established a prognostic model through Cox regression. Using the established prognostic model, we divided the cohort into the high- and low-risk groups and further verified the prognostic differences between the two groups as well as the predictive power of prognosis-related lncRNAs in the genomic instability of CRC. Results. We identified a total of 143 GI-lncRNAs that were differentially expressed between the higher mutation frequency group and the lower mutation frequency group. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway and Gene Ontology analyses, a series of cancer-associated terms were enriched. We further constructed a prognostic model that included five GI-lncRNAs (lncRNA PTPRD-AS1, lncRNA AC009237.14, lncRNA LINC00543, lncRNA AP003555.1, and lncRNA AL109615.3). We confirmed that the expression of the five GI-lncRNAs was associated with prognosis and the mutation of critical genes in the CRC patient cohort. Conclusions. The present research further confirmed the vital function of GI-lncRNAs in the genomic instability of CRC. The five GI-lncRNAs identified in our study are potential biomarkers and need to be studied in more depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subcellular localization and intracellular trafficking of Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) critically regulate TLRs‐mediated antimicrobial immunity and autoimmunity. Here, it is demonstrated that the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF115 inhibits the post‐endoplasmic reticulum (ER) trafficking of TLRs and TLRs‐mediated immune responses by catalyzing ubiquitination of the small GTPases RAB1A and RAB13. It is shown that the 14‐3‐3 chaperones bind to AKT1‐phosphorylated RNF115 and facilitate RNF115 localizing on the ER and the Golgi apparatus. RNF115 interacts with RAB1A and RAB13 and catalyzes K11‐linked ubiquitination on the Lys49 and Lys61 residues of RAB1A and on the Lys46 and Lys58 residues of RAB13, respectively. Such a modification impairs the recruitment of guanosine diphosphate (GDP) dissociation inhibitor 1 (GDI1) to RAB1A and RAB13, a prerequisite for the reactivation of RAB proteins. Consistently, knockdown of RAB1A and RAB13 in Rnf115+/+ and Rnf115−/− cells markedly inhibits the post‐ER and the post‐Golgi trafficking of TLRs, respectively. In addition, reconstitution of RAB1AK49/61R or RAB13K46/58R into Rnf115+/+ cells but not Rnf115−/− cells promotes the trafficking of TLRs from the ER to the Golgi apparatus and from the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface, respectively. These findings uncover a common and step‐wise regulatory mechanism for the post‐ER trafficking of TLRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium oxalate (Na2C2O4) is an excellent phosphorus-free agent, but in sodium oxalate-containing detergents with sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), significant ash deposition occurs on cotton fabrics. SDBS is the main anionic surfactant in modern detergents and cotton fiber is the most commonly used textile fiber. In this study, sodium lignosulfonate (LS) was investigated for its ability to prevent redeposition in SDBS-Na2C2O4-CMC-LS formulations. The effects of LS on ash content, whiteness, optimum washing temperature, calcium oxalate morphology, zeta potential and surface tension were carefully analyzed. The results showed that the addition of LS significantly improved the prevention of ash deposits on cotton fibers. The ash content was less than 0.46%and a small amount of particles were scattered on the cotton fibers. LS showed good dispersibility but had little effect on the washing power and zeta-potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) provide an ideal platform for loading various guests owing to their available space, and can be developed as a class of multifunctional materials. Herein, we cover the design and synthesis of two kinds of exchanged frameworks with multifunctional applications based on H3ImDC and In(NO3)3·2H2O through guest exchange inside the framework. The guest ammonium ion (NH4+) and [Ru(2,2′-bipyridine)3]2+ (Rubpy) are selected to exchange the dimethylammonium cation (Me2NH2+) encapsulated within In-MOF, giving birth to two kinds of new MOFs, named NH4+@In-MOF and Rubpy@In-MOF respectively. The proton conduction of NH4+@In-MOF and the CO2 photoreduction of Rubpy@In-MOF are investigated. Under different test conditions, the proton conductive behaviors of NH4+@In-MOF are evaluated and the best proton conductive value can reach up to 9.81 × 10−3 S cm−1. Compared to the original In-MOF, Rubpy@In-MOF exhibits a significantly enhanced CO2 photoreduction performance under a pure CO2 atmosphere. Furthermore, its photocatalytic activity is retained even under a 10% CO2 gas atmosphere, displaying a synergistic effect between Rubpy and In-MOF24 within Rubpy@In-MOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have suggested ARSA , a gene responsible for metachromatic leukodystrophy, could be a genetic modifier of Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, acting as a molecular chaperone for α-synuclein. To elucidate the role of ARSA variants in PD, we did a comprehensive analysis of ARSA variants by performing next-generation sequencing on 477 PD families, 1440 sporadic early-onset PD patients and 1962 sporadic late-onset PD patients and 2636 controls from Chinese mainland, as well as the association between ARSA variants and cognitive function of PD patients. We identified 2 familial PD following autosomal dominant inherence carrying rare variants of ARSA , but they had limited clinical significance. We detected a total of 81 coding variants of ARSA in our subjects but none of the identified variants were associated with either susceptibility or cognitive performance of PD, while loss-of-function variants showed slightly increased burden in late-onset PD (0.25% vs. 0%, p = 0.08). Our results suggested ARSA may not play important roles in PD of Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the defense in depth for nuclear safety after the Fukushima nuclear accident, the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute put forward the concept of diverse and flexible coping strategies and the corresponding FLEX support guidelines for the special scenarios of extended loss of alternating current power and loss of ultimate heat sink caused by beyond-design-basis external event. Subsequently, the idea of the FLEX strategy was broadly accepted and spread widely. The introduction of the concept of FLEX strategy into the defense in depth was the biggest improvement for nuclear safety in the recent decade. This paper has reviewed the concept of traditional defense in depth and its weakness that led to the Fukushima nuclear accident, which led to the development motivation for the FLEX strategy. The research progress of the FLEX strategy in different countries in the past ten years has been reviewed. Based on the literature, and the aforementioned review, some recommendations for future work have been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoboletus infuscatus (Boletaceae, Boletales) is described as a new species from Yinggeling of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, southern China. It is morphologically characterized by a large basidioma with a nearly glabrous, brownish yellow, yellowish brown to pale brown pileus, pores orangish red when young, yellowish brown to brown when old, context and hymenophore staining blue when injured, a yellow stipe with red punctuations, surfaces of the pileus and the stipe usually covered with a thin layer of white pruina when young. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from part of the 28S gene, the nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and part of the translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1) also confirm that N. infuscatus forms an independent lineage within Neoboletus. Detailed morphological description, color photos of fresh basidiomata and line-drawings of microstructures are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunistic spectrum access (OSA), a promising technology to resolve radio spectrum scarcity, is still faced with some challenges, of which one is potentially frequent channel handoff (CH) even handoff blocking (HB) for secondary user (SU) to avoid primary user (PU). Reaccess is a direct way to resolve HB. However, multiple handoff blocking‐then‐reaccess (H‐BTR) are time consuming. Whether it is worthwhile to make multiple H‐BTR, is an interesting but hardly mentioned issue. To this end, the multiple H‐BTR‐based OSA are focused on here. Three key indices, the average transmission probability, handoff delay, and average reaccess times of SU in the H‐BTR‐based OSA, are deduced as close form first. Then, the effects of H‐BTR frequency and service traffic rate of SU on OSA are discussed. Finally, the H‐BTR‐based OSA is compared to two other schemes, the handoff without BTR (HWBTR)‐based OSA and the stop‐and‐waiting (SW)‐based OSA. Theoretical and simulated results show that the H‐BTR‐based OSA performs best among three schemes. Making H‐BTR in moderate frequency according to service traffic rate can increase transmission opportunity while additional delay of SU is tolerable, thus the performance of OSA can be well improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A recent study reported that rare variants in NUS1 were associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to assess the relative contribution of rare and common coding/non-coding variants of NUS1 to late-onset PD patients (LOPD).Methods: Whole genome sequencing data were analyzed for target NUS1 regions, derived from a cohort of 1962 cases and 1279 controls. The genetic association analyses were performed using logistic regression analysis and Sequence Kernel association test. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis was conducted to further explore the association of variants with NUS1 expression based on the data from GTEx database.Results: We identified 18 rare coding variants. p.Y131C was first identified in LOPD. However, no significant burden of rare NUS1 coding variants in LOPD was found. The rare variant sets of two regulatory elements (GH06J117605 and GH06J117674) were significantly enriched in LOPD even after Bonferroni correction (adjusted P = 0.013; adjusted P = 0.010). Considering the joint effect of rare and common variants, all variant sets within GH06J117605 and GH06J117674 showed association with LOPD but were no longer significant after Bonferroni correction. None of the common variants within coding/non-coding regions were significant after Bonferroni correction. The eQTL results suggested these variants in GH06J117605 and GH06J117674 could potentially have eQTL effects on the brain tissues.Conclusions: These findings provide novel insight into the role of NUS1 regulatory regions in the development of LOPD and indicate that the variants in regulatory elements of NUS1 may be associated with LOPD by influencing the gene expression level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ligustilide improved lipid accumulation and inflammation in alcoholic steatosis based on RXFP1. • Ligustilide inhibited the RXFP1-NLRP3 axis to reduce the release of inflammatory factors. • Ligustilide reduced the infiltration of immune cells via inhibiting the formation of NETs. Ligustilide (Lig) is the main active ingredient of Umbelliferae Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Chinese Angelica) and Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Sichuan lovase rhizome). Lig possesses various pharmacological properties and could treat obesity by regulating energy metabolism. However, the impact and regulatory mechanism of Lig on alcoholic hepatic steatosis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of Lig on alcoholic hepatic steatosis and its related pharmacological mechanism. With chronic and binge ethanol feeding, liver tissue damage and lipid accumulation in mice suffering alcoholic hepatic steatosis were significantly improved after Lig treatment. Lig effectively regulated the expression levels of lipid metabolism-related proteins in alcoholic hepatic steatosis. In addition, Lig reduced RXFP1 expression, inhibited the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, and blocked NET formation. Lig reduced the infiltration of immune cells to the liver and the further prevented the occurrence of alcohol-stimulated inflammatory response in liver. Lig significantly regulated lipid accumulation in alcohol exposed AML12 cells via modulating PPARα and SREBP1. In MPMs, Lig decreased the expression of RXFP1, inhibited the activation of NLRP3 in macrophages stimulated by LPS/ATP, and slowed down the occurrence of inflammatory response. Lig sustained lipid metabolism homeostasis in alcoholic hepatic steatosis, through inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and the formation of NETs, especially targeting RXFP1 in macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deoxynivalenol (DON), namely vomitoxin, is one of the most prevalent fungal toxins in cereal crops worldwide. However, the underlying toxic mechanisms of DON remain largely unknown. DON exposure-caused changes in the murine plasma metabolome and gut microbiome were investigated by an LC-MS/MS-based nontargeted metabolomics approach and sequencing of 16S rRNA in fecal samples, respectively. Cellular models were then used to validate the findings from the metabolomics study. DON exposure increased intestinal barrier permeability evidenced by its-mediated decrease in colonic Claudin 5 and E-cadherin, as well as increases in colonic Ifn-γ , Cxcl9 , Cxcl10 , and Cxcr3. Furthermore, DON exposure resulted in a significant increase in murine plasma levels of deoxycholic acid (DCA). Also, DON exposure led to gut microbiota dysbiosis, which was associated with DON exposure-caused increase in plasma DCA. In addition, we found not only DON but also DCA dose-dependently caused a significant increase in the levels of IFN-γ , CXCL9 , CXCL10 , and/or CXCR3 , as well as a significant decrease in the expression levels of Claudin 5 and/or E-cadherin in the human colonic epithelial cells (NCM460). DON-mediated increase in DCA contributes to DON-caused intestinal injury. DCA may be a potential therapeutic target for DON enterotoxicity. [Display omitted] • This study first demonstrated increased Deoxycholic acid (DCA) from Deoxynivalenol (DON) exposure using metabolomics. • DCA stimulates the expression of IFN-γ, related chemokines, and increase intestinal epithelial barrier permeability. • DCA contributes to DON-mediated gut barrier dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CoO was first used as C 2 H 4 degradation photocatalyst in this study. • A 0D/2D CoO QDs/Bi 2 MoO 6 monolayer S-scheme heterojunction is built. • This photocatalyst shows outstanding visible light activities for C 2 H 4 degradation. • The S-scheme heterojunction enhances the stability of CoO in photocatalytic reaction. • The S-scheme heterojunction could apply in fruit and vegetable preservation. As a plant hormone, C 2 H 4 causes significant economic losses during the storage and transportation of fruits and vegetables. How to efficiently photocatalytic oxidation of atmospheric C 2 H 4 using sun-light remains a significant challenge at the frontiers of chemistry. Inspired by natural photosynthesis of plant, here, we design a novel S-scheme heterojunction for highly efficient photocatalytic C 2 H 4 degradation. We first conducted density functional theory (DFT) calculations to predict an S-scheme heterojunction can be formed between CoO and Bi 2 MoO 6 , and then fabricated a novel CoO Quantum dots (QDs)/Bi 2 MoO 6 monolayer S-scheme heterojunction by using a practical hydrothermal approach to in-situ deposit CoO QDs on a Bi 2 MoO 6 monolayer. Furthermore, the UV–Vis DRS, UPS, in-situ XPS and electron spin resonance (ESR) characterization of DMPO-•O 2 – signals and DMPO-•OH signals evidence that the transfer pathway of space charge in photocatalytic degradation of ethylene accords with the S-scheme. Moreover, due to the unique structural design, CoO QDs and Bi 2 MoO 6 monolayer form an S-scheme heterojunction, and the intimate contact that enables efficient charge transfer and sufficient redox ability simultaneously, the CoO QDs/Bi 2 MoO 6 monolayer catalyst achieves a remarkable ethylene photocatalytic-degradation rate of 3.27 × 10−2∙min−1, 19.2 times higher than CoO and 22.5 times higher than Bi 2 MoO 6. This work provides novel insights for designing efficient S-scheme photocatalysts for C 2 H 4 degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of lyophilized recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide on the endothelial function of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six patients with acute myocardial infarction in our hospital were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group (68 cases each). The patients in the control group were treated by conventional treatment. The patients in the experimental group were treated with lyophilized recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide besides the conventional treatment. The levels of flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), serum nitric oxide (NO), and endothelin-1 were compared between the two groups before and after treatment. Results: Before treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the level of FMD (P>0.05); after treatment, the level of FMD in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); before treatment, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the levels of serum NO and endothelin-1 (P>0.05); after treatment, the levels of serum NO and endothelin-1 in the experimental group significantly improved, which were better than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Lyophilized recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide can improve the FMD, increase the content of NO in the blood, and effectively reduce the level of endothelin-1, which is of great significance to improve the endothelial function of patients with acute myocardial infarction and is worth clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of T cells in controlling human cancers is well known. Their success requires continued persistence in vivo and efficient trafficking to tumor sites, requirements shared by other effectors such as Natural Killer (NK) cells. To date, cytokine IL2 remains the only clinically approved cytokine therapy available to expand, maintain, and activate these effector lymphoid cells, but toxicities can be severe. Cytokine IL15 offers similar T cell proliferation and activation properties, but without the unwanted side- effects seen with IL2. Several IL15-cytokine fusion proteins have been developed to improve their in vivo function, typically exploiting the IL15Rα to complex with IL15, to extend serum half-life and increase affinity for IL15β receptor on immune cells. Here we describe a novel IL15 complex incorporating the full- length IL15Ra to complex with wild type IL15 to form spontaneous trimers of dimers (6 IL15 + 6 IL15Rα) during co-expression, resulting in a substantial increase in serum half-life and enhancement of in vivo cytokine effect on IgG or T cell engaging antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicities, when compared to alternative strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new whitefly species, Aleuroclava schimae Wang, sp. nov. infesting leaves of Schima superba (Parietales, Theaceae) is described and illustrated from Zhejiang, China. Puparia of the new species are elliptical, broad at the transverse molting suture region and broadly truncate posteriorly. Thoracic and caudal tracheal pores are discernible. In life, the puparia are covered by a thin layer of white wax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Common and rare variants of guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 (GCH1) gene may play important roles in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis of GCH1 genotypes, especially in non-coding regions. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic characteristics of GCH1, including rare and common variants in coding and non-coding regions, in a large population of PD patients in Chinese mainland, as well as the phenotypic characteristics of GCH1 variant carriers. Methods: In the first cohort of this case-control study, we performed whole-exome sequencing in 1555 patients with early-onset or familial PD and 2234 healthy controls; then in the second cohort, whole-genome sequencing was performed in sporadic late-onset PD samples (1962 patients), as well as 1279 controls. Variants at target GCH1 regions were extracted, and then genetic and detailed phenotypic data were analyzed using regression models and the sequence kernel association test. We also performed a meta-analysis to correlate deleterious GCH1 variants with age at onset (AAO) in PD patients. Results: For coding variants, we identified a significant burden of GCH1 deleterious variants in early-onset or familial PD cases compared to controls (1.2% vs 0.1%, P < 0.0001). In the analysis of possible regulatory variants in GCH1 non-coding regions, rs12323905 (P = 0.001, odds ratio = 1.19, 95%CI 1.07–1.32) was significantly associated with PD, and variant sets in untranslated regions and intron regions, GCH1 brain-specific expression quantitative trait loci, and two possible promoter/enhancer (GH14J054857 and GH14J054880) were suggestively associated with PD. Genotype-phenotype correlation analysis revealed that the carriers of GCH1 deleterious variants manifested younger AAO (P < 0.0001), and had milder motor symptoms, milder fatigue symptoms and more autonomic nervous dysfunctions. Meta-analysis of six studies demonstrated 6.4-year earlier onset in GCH1 deleterious variant carriers (P = 0.0009). Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of deleterious variants and non-coding variants of GCH1 in PD in Chinese mainland and suggest that GCH1 mutation can influence the PD phenotype, which may help design experimental studies to elucidate the mechanisms of GCH1 in the pathogenesis of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing techniques are widely used during petroleum exploration. However, limitations in spectral and spatial resolution mean that these techniques are used mainly to detect hydrocarbons either indirectly or under laboratory conditions. To investigate the spectral signatures of natural hydrocarbon-bearing features, we took spectral measurements from oil seeps and associated hydrocarbon-bearing materials in Karamay city, northwest China. The hydrocarbon content of 16 hydrocarbon-bearing samples was also determined to study the relationship between hydrocarbon content and spectral absorption. The results reveal a positive correlation between spectral absorption intensities at 1725 nm and hydrocarbon contents of >1 wt%. Thus, surface hydrocarbon content can be direct detection above a detection limit of around 1 wt% using this method. This result is not only instructive for petroleum exploration, but also important for environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internet of things accelerates the wireless connections of massive devices to provide all kinds of new services, and thus intensifies the spectrum scarcity and access delay. Cognitive radio (CR) technology brings a solution for the issue. As a typical CR scheme, opportunistic spectrum access (OSA) has been addressed widely in the past decade. However, the tradeoff between two key indexes, the throughput of cognitive radio network (CRN) and the delay of secondary user (SU), is rarely mentioned so far, which ignites the authors' work in this paper. Taking into account a channel handoff (CH) based multi‐channel OSA scenario, the authors first analyze the opportunistic transmission performance of SU, and model the throughput of CRN as well as the handoff delay of SU. Then, the authors build up a delay‐constraint throughput optimization problem, and thus formulate the throughput‐delay tradeoff for OSA. Finally, the optimal traffic rates of SU for a good throughput‐delay tradeoff are derived according to maximizing the throughput of CRN. Theoretical and simulated results show that to enhance the throughput and to reduce the delay do not conflict always. By well adjusting the traffic rates of SU according to the traffic rates of primary user, the throughput of CRN can be improved while the handoff delay can be kept under a given level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate increase in the surface temperature of biased Si avalanche photodiodes (APDs) fabricated in an external capacitor circuit irradiated by a millisecond-pulse laser. The results obtained show that different external capacitance parameters have different effects on the temperature rise, the smaller the capacitance of external capacitor, the lower surface temperature increase in the APD. The reason for this phenomenon is that the external capacitor charging decreases the circuit current, which hinders the generation of Joule heat in the APD. Therefore, the laser damage resistance of Si APDs can be improved by optimizing the capacitance parameters of the external circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have investigated the washing performance of sodium oxalate-based detergents containing different enzymes (protease, lipase and cellulase). The results show that sodium oxalate-based detergents with enzymes have a better washing performance than formulations containing the conventional builder STPP and zeolite 4A. For sodium oxalate-based with protease, the amount of sodium oxalate and protease have a significant effect on the detergency. Lipase can improve detergency of sodium oxalate-based detergents after "first washing" in the presence of different anionic surfactant (LAS, MES and AES). For cellulase, only sodium oxalate in the presence of LAS has a detergency increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a study on the fatigue behavior of composite concrete specimen (CCS). An experimental program was conducted to obtain the fatigue-behavior of CCS at various stress ratios. Fifty-six CCS specimens of size 400 × 100 × 100 m m were tested under four-point flexural fatigue loading. To evaluate the mechanical properties of the interface between CA mortar and concrete materials, a surface analysis technique of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation was used in this study. Parallel with the SEM observations, the pore size distribution of CA mortar was studied by using BJH method. It is found that there exist obvious differences of flexural fatigue behavior between CCS and plain concrete specimens. According to the theory of material mechanics, the formula of dynamic elastic modulus in flexure is deduced. Based on the experimental results, the formula of dynamic elastic modulus and analysis of fatigue strain, the fatigue cumulative damage evolution equation is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation The main function of protein – RNA interaction is to regulate the expression of genes. Therefore, studying protein – RNA interactions is of great significance. The information of three-dimensional (3D) structures reveals that atomic interactions are particularly important. The calculation method for modeling a 3D structure of a complex mainly includes two strategies: free docking and template-based docking. These two methods are complementary in protein – protein docking. Therefore, integrating these two methods may improve the prediction accuracy. Results In this article, we compare the difference between the free docking and the template-based algorithm. Then we show the complementarity of these two methods. Based on the analysis of the calculation results, the transition point is confirmed and used to integrate two docking algorithms to develop P3DOCK. P3DOCK holds the advantages of both algorithms. The results of the three docking benchmarks show that P3DOCK is better than those two non-hybrid docking algorithms. The success rate of P3DOCK is also higher (3 – 20%) than state-of-the-art hybrid and non-hybrid methods. Finally, the hierarchical clustering algorithm is utilized to cluster the P3DOCK's decoys. The clustering algorithm improves the success rate of P3DOCK. For ease of use, we provide a P3DOCK webserver, which can be accessed at www.rnabinding.com/P3DOCK/P3DOCK.html. An integrated protein – RNA docking benchmark can be downloaded from http://rnabinding.com/P3DOCK/benchmark.html. Availability and implementation www.rnabinding.com/P3DOCK/P3DOCK.html. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To eliminate the seriously organic pollution problems caused by human activities, the graphene microspheres supported TiO2 (GM-TiO2) are synthesized through new designed nozzle with microchannels. The nozzle is based on gas-liquid microfluidic method, which realizes the mass production of graphene spheres. The yield of GM-TiO2 reaches 1.1L/d which is much higher than traditional microfluidic method. Because of the ball-milling treatment, the TiO2 nanoparticles disperse on the specific diameter of graphene microspheres uniformly and tightly. The porous GM-TiO2 shows great dye decoloration performance, which is attributed to synergistic effect of graphene and TiO2. The maximum decoloration rate of methylene blue by GM-TiO2 is 95%, which is among the highest decoloration rate of graphene based catalysts. Compared to the graphene microspheres, the performance increases 25%. This research develops new method for rapid preparation of GM-TiO2, which shows excellent organic pollution photo degradation property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of microwave ablation and entecavir as a combination treatment for primary liver cancer and their effects on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and liver function. A total of 258 patients were randomly allocated into the study group (n = 129) for treatment with microwave ablation and entecavir or the control group (n = 129) for treatment with microwave ablation alone. The levels of liver function indicators and serum HBV-DNA were determined in all patients before and after treatment. While no difference in total effective rate was observed, the levels of TBIL, AST, and ALT were decreased and the level of ALP was increased after treatment in both groups, and the change was more significant in the study group. Compared with that in the control group, the HBVDNA levels were significantly decreased in the study group. The study group also had higher KPS scores, higher 2-year survival rates, lower recurrence rates, and a lower incidence of adverse reactions. Compared with microwave ablation alone, microwave ablation and entecavir as a combination treatment can improve liver function, serum HBV-DNA levels, and QOL in patients with primary liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism consumption has been steadily increasing in China, as has its impact on society, the economy, and the environment; thus, it is necessary to promote socially responsible consumption among tourists. Our primary objective was to develop a scale to measure tourists’ socially responsible consumption intention in China. We identified 5 dimensions that we labeled as safeguarding rights and interests, moderating consumption, promotion of local residents’ income, respecting local cultures, and conserving resources. Our scale has the same basic principles as more general socially responsible consumption: maximizing the positive impacts of tourism on the environment, economy, and society, and minimizing the negative impacts. The scale was designed mainly for use at the tourism destination, which is an unfamiliar environment for the tourist. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault detection is important in the operation of wastewater treatment process (WWTP). In this paper, to ensure the process safety and effluent qualities, an intelligent fault detection (IFD) method, based on self-organizing type-2 fuzzy-neural-network (SOT2FNN) and intelligent identification method, was developed to detect and identify different types of sludge bulking. The main advantages of IFD are as follows. First, a data-driven framework, based on a data-driven model and an intelligent identification algorithm, was developed to facilitate the fault diagnosis. Second, a SOT2FNN, based on the intensity of information transmission algorithm and adaptive second-order algorithm, was designed to predict the sludge volume index (SVI) with high accuracy to provide necessary information for process monitoring. Third, an intelligent identification method, using the target-related identification algorithm (TRIA), was proposed to extract the correlation information to identify the types of sludge bulking. Finally, simulations and experimental examples were provided to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed IFD method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to develop a mouse model predominating in a proliferative response in the articular cartilage of the temporomandibular joints. Materials and Methods: Bilateral anterior elevation of occlusion was developed by installing metal tubes onto the incisors of mice with edge‐to‐edge relation to prevent tooth wear, leading to an increase in the vertical height of the dental occlusion with time. Morphological changes and expression changes in Cyclin D1, Aggrecan, and type II and type X collagen in the mandibular condylar cartilage were detected. In addition, cells were isolated from the mandibular condylar cartilage and exposed to cyclic tensile strain (CTS). Results: Compared with age‐matched controls, the tooth length was longer at 3 weeks, 7 weeks, and 11 weeks in BAE mice (p < 0.05), with increased condylar cartilage thickness, matrix amount, and cell number (p < 0.05). Compared with the deep zone cells, CTS stimulated the superficial zone cells to express a higher level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Cyclin D1, Aggrecan, and type II collagen but a lower level of type X collagen and alkaline phosphatase. Conclusion: Bilateral anterior elevation stimulated the proliferative response in the mandibular condylar cartilage, offering a new therapeutic strategy for cartilage degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe-doped In2O3 thin films are deposited on sapphire substrates using pulsed laser ablation. The effects of Fe concentration and oxygen partial pressure on the structure, magnetism and transport properties of (In1-xFex)2O3 films are studied systematically. A detailed analysis of the structural properties suggests the substitution of Fe dopant ions with mixture valences and rules out the presence of clusters and secondary phases as the source of ferromagnetism. Systematic investigations of transport properties for (In1-xFex)2O3 films with a wide range of carrier densities reveal that they occur in both metallic and insulating regimes. The insulating films exhibit variable range hopping at low temperatures and show temperature dependent ferromagnetism, which can be explained by bound magnetic polarons mechanism. For the metallic films, the carrier densities play a crucial role in their robust ferromagnetism and the resistivity and magnetization are independent of temperature; the carrier-mediated exchange mechanism has been suggested as responsible for magnetic ordering in these metallic films. Optical absorption and magneto-optic studies of (In1-xFex)2O3 films indicate further differences between metallic and semiconducting films and show significant magnetic circular dichroism below the In2O3 bandedge at room temperature, which also implies intrinsic ferromagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co/ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The structure of the as-deposited films is studied by means of x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization curves. It is shown that the as-deposited samples consist of a mixture of regions of metallic Co and semiconducting ZnO. Large negative magnetoresistance of 26% and 11.9% are observed in the as-deposited Co/ZnO film with Co concentration of 50.7 at. % at 10 K and room temperature, respectively. Structural analysis, the temperature dependence of the conductivity and magnetoresistance reveal that the magnetoresistance is induced by spin-dependent tunneling between regions of conducting magnetic Co through the ZnO semiconducting barriers. The enhanced magnetoresistance in the low temperature regime may be related to the existence of higher-order tunneling processes between large Co regions mediated by small Co particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]