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BACKGROUND: Rapid and accurate segmentation of tumor regions from rectal cancer images can better understand the patient’s lesions and surrounding tissues, providing more effective auxiliary diagnostic information. However, cutting rectal tumors with deep learning still cannot be compared with manual segmentation, and a major obstacle to cutting rectal tumors with deep learning is the lack of high-quality data sets. OBJECTIVE: We propose to use our Re-segmentation Method to manually correct the model segmentation area and put it into training and training ideas. The data set has been made publicly available. Methods: A total of 354 rectal cancer CT images and 308 rectal region images labeled by experts from Jiangxi Cancer Hospital were included in the data set. Six network architectures are used to train the data set, and the region predicted by the model is manually revised and then put into training to improve the ability of model segmentation and then perform performance measurement. RESULTS: In this study, we use the Resegmentation Method for various popular network architectures. CONCLUSION: By comparing the evaluation indicators before and after using the Re-segmentation Method, we prove that our proposed Re-segmentation Method can further improve the performance of the rectal cancer image segmentation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the issues of low ratio of evanescent field (γ) and high reflectivity between waveguide cross‐section and gas for the mid‐infrared waveguide sensors, we propose a chalcogenide (ChG) suspended waveguide with Ge28Sb12Se60 as the core layer and silica (SiO2) as the buffer layer. The SiO2 beneath the waveguide core ridge structure is removed to create suspended structure. The waveguide sensing performance is obtained using a 10% methane (CH4) sample. The fabricated waveguide exhibits a γ of 112%, which is a 10% improvement compared to a free‐space optical sensor with the same optical path length. The good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results of γ confirms the reliability of our theoretical investigation approach. The influences of fabrication error, environmental temperature, and pressure on sensing performances are discussed. This work provides theoretical guidance for designing waveguide structures with large γ, contributing to the further enhancement of on‐chip sensor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, using a typical acid-producing fungi, Aspergillus niger (A. niger, CGMCC 23272), we investigated the capacity of organic acid production under different lead (Pb) concentrations. A. niger has a high Pb tolerance, which can maintain the growth of hypha at 1500 mg/L Pb concentration. Oxalic acid is the primary organic acid produced by A. niger. A. niger was shown to maintain the ability to produce oxalic acid under different Pb concentrations, which ranged from 522.8 to 1130.5 mg/L. The formed lead oxalate also confirmed the production of oxalic acid by A. niger. Meanwhile, the formation of lead oxalate minerals dominated the resistance of Pb toxicity by A. niger. More than 95% of Pb cations were removed by A. niger under different Pb concentrations. The high Pb toxicity (1500 mg/L) could stimulate pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme activities, which increased from 0.05 to 0.13 nmol/min/g after three days of incubation. The low Pb toxicity (500 and 1000 mg/L) could improve the production of oxalic acid by A. niger. This indicates that the metabolism of organic acid by A. niger can be improved by a high Pb concentration via the tricarboxylic acid cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new thunderstorm identification algorithm called combinatorial 8‐connectivity method based on total lightning activity as observed by the Foshan total lightning location system. The influence of spatio‐temporal parameters on the outcome is presented. The evaluation method contains four criteria: the fitting area of lightning clusters, the area proportion of lightning clusters, the number of lightning clusters and the utilization rate of lightning events. It is found that the fitting area adopting grid cells with size 0.02°–0.05° remains constant around 4, 9, 16 and 25 times those using grid cells of 0.01° in size, respectively. The evaluation criteria change by less than 0.61 km2/min in area, less than 0.43%/min in area proportion, less than 1/min in number and less than 2.8% in utilization rate using 0.01° grid cell when the duration of time interval exceeds 6 min and the spatial gap between grid cells with lightning events is more than 2 gaps. Then, the evaluation results of the combined 8‐connectivity method are compared with the results of the connected‐component labeling method (8, 24, 48, 80 and 120‐connectivity method), and it is found that the performance of combined 8‐connectivity method is better to outline lightning cluster. The two methods have been applied to case analysis on 15 May 2014. Key Points: Due to the random distribution of total lightning data, a thunderstorm identification algorithm is introducedAn identification evaluation method is introduced to analyze the performance of different methodsAccording to the analysis of spatiotemporal parameters, stable spatiotemporal parameters are selected to identify lightning clusters [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the information society, the media exert a key influence on the consumer selection of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) products. Drawing on the literature of cultural identity, product involvement, and willingness to buy, this paper constructs and verifies the theoretical model of media influence-cultural identity-willingness to buy ICH products, with ICH product consumers as the objects. The results show that the media have a significantly positive effect on cultural identity, which in turn significantly promotes the willingness to buy, but the media do not significantly affect the willingness to buy. Cultural identity fully mediates the media influence on the willingness to buy. Referring to relevant studies on product involvement, the samples were divided into a set of high involvement and a set of low involvement. The moderating effect analysis reveals that the higher the product involvement, the more significant the effect of media on cultural identity and the more prominent the influence of cultural identity on the willingness to buy. Finally, the authors discussed the managerial implications of the research results for ICH inheritors and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On‐chip waveguide spectroscopic sensors have attracted considerable attention due to its potential for large‐scale integration. However, existing waveguide gas sensors based on direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) suffer from limited sensitivity and measurement range. Here waveguide‐based on‐chip photothermal spectroscopy (PTS) is demonstrated for gas detection with high sensitivity and large dynamic range. On‐chip photothermal field due to non‐radiation relaxation of gas molecules and the resulted photothermal phase modulation are analyzed. By selecting chalcogenide glass (ChG) as the core‐layer material and fabricating thermally‐isolated ChG‐on‐SU8 waveguide for thermal field accumulation, a twofold increase in photothermal phase modulation is achieved as compared to ChG‐on‐SiO2 waveguides. Different from the major concern of multi‐path etalon noise in DAS, piezoelectric transducer noise in the interferometer is identified as the main source in this PTS. For a fair comparison, acetylene (C2H2) detection experiments are conducted using PTS and DAS with a 2 cm‐long ChG‐on‐SU8 waveguide. A remarkable sensitivity of 4 parts‐per‐million (ppm) is achieved, which is 16 times better than that of DAS. The dynamic range extends over five orders of magnitude for PTS, ≈3 orders of magnitude larger than that of DAS. Such high performance opens the possibility of fully‐integrated chip‐level sensors for low‐power, light‐weight applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean residue has caused pollution to the environment due to high output. Herein, in order to reutilization soybean residue, a novel soybean hulls residue based hierarchically porous carbon was prepared by one‐step carbonization‐activation, and its structure and micromorphology were characterized by SEM, FT‐IR, Raman, TEM, BET and XPS. Based on results of characterization, which illustrated typical hierarchically pore structure with pore sizes are 1000 nm, 300 nm and 1.4 nm. The specific surface area and total pore volume were corresponded to 1455.41 m2/g and 0.731 cm3/g, respectively. And the pore‐forming mechanism was discussed in raw materials is a pyrolysis process. Furthermore, it was found that adsorption capacity of dye could got to 625 mg/g in 30 min when the adsorbent was 0.05 g. In summary, the soybean hulls residue based hierarchically pore material with large surface area and rich in pore structure, which will exhibit excellent performance towards wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperdynamic circulation contributes to the progress of portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis. We investigated the effects of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibition on portal pressure and the myogenic response of mesenteric arteries isolated from cirrhotic rats using the sEH inhibitor t-TUCB (trans-4-{4-[3-(4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl)-ureido]cyclohexyloxy}benzoic acid). Cirrhotic tissues had a higher ratio of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) to dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs) following increased CYP2C11 expression, which may be a protective response. In comparison with controls, myogenic responses of mesenteric arteries from cirrhotic rats were attenuated at 80–140 mmHg, while inhibition of sEH partly reversed the impaired myogenic constriction at 100–140 mmHg and exhibited better feedback of vascular smooth muscle to pressure variation. Inhibition of sEH reduced portal pressure by decreasing endothelial synthesis of nitric oxide. An imbalance between EETs and nitric oxide may account for hyperdynamic circulation. sEH inhibitors may provide a novel approach for treating cirrhosis of the liver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SOI ridge waveguide CH 4 sensor was fabricated dry etching in mid-infrared. • WD and SG are combined for on-chip gas sensing signal denoising. • Detailed experiments are performed to verify the WD-SG denoising effect. • The LoD is reduced by 7.4 times using the WD-SG denoising scheme. Due to mode interference and reflection, waveguide gas sensor is prone to generate noise, which affects gas detection performance. In order to improve the performance of waveguide methane (CH 4) sensor, wavelet denoising (WD) and Savitzky-Golay (SG) filtering were combined to process the noisy signal. With the fabricated silicon-on-insulator (SOI) ridge waveguide, a waveguide CH 4 sensing system was built, and the absorbance signal was processed by denoising schemes. Experimental results show that compared with the traditional WD scheme, the WD-SG scheme has obvious advantages in suppressing low-frequency random noise and interference noise. Using WD-SG scheme, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the absorbance signal is increased by 4.95 times. According to the Allan deviation analysis, the 1σ limit of detection (LoD) of the sensor is reduced from 2929 parts per million (ppm) to 397 ppm when the WD-SG scheme is adopted. The sensor shows a fast response time of less than 2.5 s. Our work shows that the WD-SG scheme can effectively improve the SNR and reduce the influence of noise on the waveguide sensor system on the basis of real-time monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel dual-emitting fluorescence probe is developed for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of Fe3+. The nanoprobe is prepared by coating CdSe semiconductor quantum dots (SQDs) onto the surface of carbon nanodot (CND) doped TiO2 microspheres. The as-prepared nanoprobe exhibits the corresponding dual emissions at 436 and 596 nm for CNDs and CdSe, respectively, under a single excitation wavelength. The blue fluorescence of the CNDs is insensitive to Fe3+, whereas the orange emission of the CdSe SQDs is functionalized to be selectively quenched by Fe3+. The intensity ratio of I436/I596 shows a good linear relationship with the concentration of Fe3+ in the range of 10−9 to 10−5 M. The nanoprobe provides an effective platform for the reliable detection of Fe3+ with a detection limit as low as 10 nM. Besides, this ratiometric nanosensor exhibits good selectivity for Fe3+ over other metal ions. The results reveal that the nanoprobe could provide a sensitive sensor for rapid detection of Fe3+ with high selectivity and sensitivity. Moreover, 293T cells are used as models to achieve a potential application as a probe for monitoring Fe3+ in cells. Thus, these dual-emitting nanoprobes could work as an alternative to conventional fluorescence probes for biolabeling, sensing and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to identify existing gaps between recruiters and students regarding the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for entry-level management positions in the hospitality industry. Regardless of the study approach used, previous studies have consistently found such a gap. Based on a list of 27 statements generated from previous studies, along with additional new statements, the researchers found that the perception gap between recruiters and students consisted of only three factors: statements concerning relocation, ethical standards, and self-discipline. These study findings suggest that the gap found in previous studies has been narrowed. To narrow the gap further, recruiters may play a more active role in the selection and recruitment process. Scholars may also inculcate “soft skills” into their curriculum to better prepare entry-level managers to meet the necessary requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS), wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) with good ability of suppressing noise is rarely used in waveguide sensor. The influence of waveguide parameters on WMS sensing performance is required to clarify in both theory and experiment. Three mid-infrared waveguide methane (CH 4) sensors (trapezoid, rectangular, suspended) were proposed and optimized for WMS simulation. Theoretical formulation and the experimentally derived sensing noise were used to numerically evaluate the key figure of merit more accurately. Simulation results were presented to show the influence of waveguide parameters on sensing performance. Two chalcogenide on magnesium fluoride (ChG-on-MgF 2) trapezoid waveguide CH 4 sensors were fabricated using lift-off method, and CH 4 measurement was carried out using WMS. The waveguide loss was measured to be 1.52 dB/cm, leading to an optimal sensor length of 2.7 cm. The limit of detection (LoD) of CH 4 for the 1cm- and 2cm-long waveguide sensors are 0.68% and 0.17% with an averaging time of 0.2 s. The experimentally achieved second harmonic (2 f) signal amplitude and LoD show good agreement with the theoretical results, verifying the feasibility of the design and analysis model of the WMS-based waveguide sensor. Due to the use of WMS and a reduction of waveguide loss from 3.6 to 1.52 dB/cm, the LoD of the 2cm-long ChG-on-MgF 2 sensor is 24 times lower than our previously reported 2cm-long ChG-on-SiO 2 sensor based on DAS. This work provides a systematic guidance for the design of waveguide gas sensor based on WMS and contributes to improving the sensitivity of on-chip gas sensing. • Theoretical formulation and simulation model of waveguide gas sensor were proposed based on WMS. • Performances of three ChG-on-MgF 2 waveguide gas sensors were numerically analyzed. • Two ChG-on-MgF 2 waveguide gas sensors were fabricated for CH 4 measurement. • The LoD of the ChG-on-MgF 2 sensor with WMS is 24 times lower than the ChG-on-SiO 2 sensor with the same length using DAS. • Good agreement between experimental and theoretical results verifies the accuracy of the WMS theory and simulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Falls are the main cause of accidental death in the elderly people, which is associated with balance control ability and flexibility of the older adults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of TCC on the balance control and flexibility of the older adults. Methods We searched the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library with the deadline of May 15th, 2014. This meta-analysis was performed using RevMan5.0 software. The overall weighted mean difference (WMD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results A total of 7 randomized controlled trials including 1088 participants (544 TCC practitioners and 544 participants with other interventions) were considered in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of Get up and Go test (WMD = 1.04; 95%CI: 0.67–1.41; P < 0.0001) indicated that TCC significantly shorten the completion time of Get up and Go test of the older adults, indicating flexibility of older adults was improved by practicing TCC. The overall estimates of the single-leg stand test (WMD = 5.33; 95%CI: 3.35–7.32; P < 0.0001) and Berg (balance) test (WMD = 2.86; 95%CI: 1.91–3.81; P < 0.0001) indicated that TCC could significantly prolong the time of single-leg stand and improve the balance control ability of older adults. Conclusions In conclusion, TCC practice was beneficial to improve the balance control ability and flexibility of older adults, which may be the reason of preventing falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing a detection analyte into a colored material is a key challenge for visual discrimination of isomers. In this work, a novel fluorescent probe incorporating Cu-doped carbon dots (Cu-CDs), for the first time, was developed for naked-eye discrimination of phenylenediamine isomers and highly sensitive ratiometric fluorescence detection of H 2 O 2. In this strategy, Cu-CDs were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach using citric acid, formamide, and CuCl 2 as reactants. The prepared Cu-CDs exhibited outstanding peroxidase-like activity and stability. Consequently, a chemosensor platform based on Cu-CDs was constructed to enable naked-eye discrimination of phenylenediamine isomers through the H 2 O 2 -mediated oxidation reaction. Moreover, a Cu-CDs-based ratiometric fluorescence sensor was proposed as a means to sensitively detect H 2 O 2 with a detection limit of 5.0 nM. The sensor was further employed for monitoring H 2 O 2 in human serum, indicating its potential applications in other biologically related study. [Display omitted] • Cu-doped carbon dots (Cu-CDs) exhibited strong luminescence and an intrinsic peroxidase-like activity due to the Cu dopant. • Cu-CDs catalyzed the oxidation of phenylenediamine isomers exhibiting different color luminescencefor discrimination respectively. • Cu-CDs-based ratiometric fluorescence probe shown a high sensitivity towards H 2 O 2 with a detection limit of 5.0 nM. • The proposed fluorescent probe enabled ratiometric detection of H 2 O 2 in real samples with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop EdgeSelect, a semi-automatic method for the segmentation of retinal layers in spectral domain optical coherence tomography images, and to compare the segmentation results with a manual method. Methods: SD-OCT (Heidelberg Spectralis) scans of 28 eyes (24 patients with diabetic macular edema and 4 normal subjects) were imported into a customized MATLAB application, and were manually segmented by three graders at the layers corresponding to the inner limiting membrane (ILM), the inner segment/ellipsoid interface (ISe), the retinal/retinal pigment epithelium interface (RPE), and the Bruch's membrane (BM). The scans were then segmented independently by the same graders using EdgeSelect, a semi-automated method allowing the graders to guide/correct the layer segmentation interactively. The inter-grader reproducibility and agreement in locating the layer positions between the manual and EdgeSelect methods were assessed and compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: The inter-grader reproducibility using the EdgeSelect method for retinal layers varied from 0.15 to 1.21 µm, smaller than those using the manual method (3.36–6.43 µm). The Wilcoxon test indicated the EdgeSelect method had significantly better reproducibility than the manual method. The agreement between the manual and EdgeSelect methods in locating retinal layers ranged from 0.08 to 1.32 µm. There were small differences between the two methods in locating the ILM (p = 0.012) and BM layers (p<0.001), but these were statistically indistinguishable in locating the ISe (p = 0.896) and RPE layers (p = 0.771). Conclusions: The EdgeSelect method resulted in better reproducibility and good agreement with a manual method in a set of eyes of normal subjects and with retinal disease, suggesting that this approach is feasible for OCT image analysis in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1,4-benzodiazepine (BDZ) scaffold is of particular interest in drug design due to a balanced ensemble of beneficial physicochemical properties including a semirigid and compact diazepine ring with spatial placements of several substituents, combined with low number of rotatable bonds, hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, and intermediate lipophilicity. As an alternative to traditional multistep sequential syntheses, we designed routes employing one-pot MCRs to accelerate access diverse BDZ scaffolds in two or three steps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent oil spillage accidents around the world greatly increase harmful risks to marine ecology. This study evaluated the influences of petroleum water accommodated fraction (WAF) on 15 typical species of marine copepods collected from a subtropical bay in East China Sea at different seasons. Copepods showed impaired swimming ability, restlessness, loss of balance, anoxic coma, and even death when they were acutely exposed to the crude oil WAF under laboratory conditions. The LC50 values (expressed in total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration) indicated that the tolerances of copepods to WAF decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increased exposure duration and natural water temperatures (acclimatization temperature). The sensitivity of the copepods was species-specific (P < 0.01), and there was a significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation between the 48-h LC50 and body size. Therefore, the small copepod species confront more survival challenges under oil contamination stress, especially in the warm months or regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To understand the distribution and seasonal changes of macrobenthos in Zhoushan sea area, two cruise surveys were carried out in the summer and winter. A total of 219 species were recorded in the sampling sediment during the two seasons. Two-way ANOVA results showed that the differences were not significant among sections in all the community parameters (species number, biomass and density) and species diversity (Shannon-Weiner index and Pielou's evenness index), but significant between seasons in species number, density and Shannon-Weiner index. This might be influenced by two factors as follows: (1) water currents' differences between seasons; (2) considerable differences in temperature between seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To investigate the role of ferrous iron transport (Feo) systems in magnetosome formation, the gene for protein FeoB (feoB1), encoding 704 amino acids, was cloned from magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense strain MSR-1. feoB1 constitutes a putative operon with feoA1, and the interval between the two genes is 36 base pairs. A feoB1-deficient mutant (ΔfeoB1) was constructed, and compared with wild-type in terms of iron uptake, iron content and functional complementation. Ferrous iron and ferric iron uptake in wild-type were respectively 1.8-fold and 1.3-fold higher than in the ΔfeoB1 mutant. Iron content (w/w) of ΔfeoB1 mutant was enhanced only slightly as extracellular iron concentration (either ferrous or ferric citrate) increased, whereas iron content of wild-type increased about 2-fold as extracellular iron concentration rose from 20 to 80μM. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that ΔfeoB1 cells grown with either ferrous or ferric citrate produced fewer magnetosomes, with smaller diameter, compared to wild-type cells. Assay of feoAB1 promoter–lacZ transcriptional fusions indicated that the feoAB1 putative operon was downregulated when MSR-1 cells were grown under iron-rich condition. Magnetosome formation was reduced but not abolished in the feoB1 mutant, indicating that FeoB1 protein plays a significant role in this process. Other iron transport systems are presumed to be involved in iron uptake in MSR-1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report the preparation of a novel cobalt tetraaminophthalocyanine (CoPc) decorated bacterial cellulose (BC) nanocomposite by covalently immobilization of CoPc onto surface of pre-oxidized bacterial cellulose nanofibers. The functionalization steps on the nanofibers were monitored by a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR), and an X-ray photoelectron (XPS). The prepared CoPc decorated BC nanocomposite, CoPc@BC, was used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the decoloration of recalcitrant rhodamine B (RhB) dye wastewater. We found that CoPc@BC has high decoloration capacity for RhB dye wastewater. With H 2 O 2 as oxidant, more than 90% of RhB dye molecules can be removed in 180 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) has become a research hotspot due to its significant public health impact. To explore the value of the use of modified lung ultrasound (MLUS) scoring system for evaluating ALI using a rabbit model of ALI induced by hydrochloric acid (HCl) and investigate its correlation with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and histopathological scores. Twenty New Zealand laboratory rabbits were randomly assigned to control group (N = 5) and 3 experimental groups (N = 5 each). The control group received instillation of physiological saline, while the 3 experimental groups received 2 mL/kg of different doses of HCl instillation (mild group: pH 1.5, moderate group: pH 1.2, and severe group: pH 1.0) through the trachea under ultrasound guidance. Pulmonary ultrasound (using Mindray Reason9 linear array probes with frequency of 6-15 mHz) and HRCT examinations were performed before modeling (0H) and at 1H, 2H, 4H, 8H, 12H after modeling. The experimental rabbits were sacrificed at 12H for examination of gross lung morphology and hematoxylin-eosin-stained histopathological sections. The correlation of MLUS scores with HRCT/histopathological scores was assessed. All rabbits in the experimental groups showed oxygenation index PaO₂/FiO₂<300. Successful establishment of ALI model was proven by autopsy (successful modeling rate: 100%). The pathological damage increased with increase in HCl dosage. MLUS scores showed a positive correlation with HRCT scores/pathological severity. There was a strong positive correlation between MLUS scores and histopathological scores (r = 0.963, p < 0.05) as well as between HRCT scores and histopathological scores (r = 0.932, p < 0.05). Transtracheal injection of different dosages of HCl under ultrasound guidance induced different degrees of ALI. The MLUS scoring system can be used for semiquantitative evaluation of ALI, and is suitable as a screening tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3/10 reduced-scale shaking table experiments on CAP1400 were performed. • Rack's number, experimental scales and vertical excitation were studied. • The sliding displacement results were influenced greatly by scale effect. • The fluid pressure was greatly affected by vertical excitation. The seismic study of the spent fuel storage rack (SFSR) is of great significance for ensuring the safety of spent fuel. But it is a challenging topic for the complex nonlinear behaviors such as fluid–structure interaction (FSI), friction and impact. At present, owing to the lack of the understanding of these nonlinear behaviors, in engineering design process, the seismic analysis of SFSRs is usually conducted with a conservative method. To reduce the excessive margin in the seismic design of CAP1400 (a new reactor type developed by China) rack, we have performed a 1/10 scale shaking table experimental study in the previous work. As an extension of the previous study, a series of 3/10 reduced-scale seismic experiments considering the effect of FSI were carried out to study the scale effects in this paper. The experiments obtained friction coefficient between the rack and the tank (spent fuel pool model), the maximum sliding displacement of the rack and the fluid pressure distribution of the tank wall. Furthermore, the seismic responses of the rack under different experimental variables such as the number of racks, experimental scales and vertical excitation were derived. The results showed that the relative uncertainty of the sliding displacement response is very large. Moreover, the large sliding displacement differences between single-rack case and double-rack case indicated that fluid–structure interaction has a strong influence on sliding of rack. We adopted a generally used similarity criterion for seismic experiment of rack, and the experimental results showed the scaling analysis of fluid pressure satisfies the similarity relationship, however, the displacement results were influenced greatly by scale effect. These results can be the benchmarks for the seismic analysis of CAP1400 spent fuel storage rack under dynamic seismic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced atherosclerotic plaques tend to indicate an increased risk of cerebral ischemic events. SH2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) is a class I classical nonreceptor protein tyrosine phosphatase associated with plaque stability, as shown by analysis of a Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset showing differences in mRNA levels. However, the correlation between SHP-1 and human carotid plaque stability at the protein level remains unclear. Thirty-nine carotid plaque tissue samples were acquired from 39 carotid artery stenosis patients after carotid endarterectomy. Hematoxylin and eosin, Masson trichrome, and CD68 staining was performed for pathological characterization, and immunohistochemical staining for SHP-1 was carried out. Within stable and unstable plaques, SHP-1 mainly accumulated in the necrotic area, plaque shoulder, and fibrous cap, similar to the distribution of CD68. A quantitative analysis of SHP-1 was carried out. The relative SHP-1-positive cell area was higher in the vulnerable group than in the stable group (P <.001). The number of symptomatic patients in the vulnerable group was no greater than that in the stable group (P =.098). Moreover, the integrated optical density (IOD)/area of SHP-1 was significantly higher in the vulnerable group than in the stable group (P <.001). Besides, SHP-1 colocalized with CD68 and vascular cell adhesion protein 1(VCAM-1). We demonstrate that SHP-1 expression increases during carotid atherosclerotic plaque progression. The protein expression of SHP-1 was related to an increase in plaque instability in not only symptomatic but also asymptomatic patients with carotid artery stenosis. SHP-1 may play a role in atherosclerosis progression by macrophage polarization-mediated efferocytosis. Furthermore, SHP-1 may become a promising biomarker for plaque vulnerability in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triethanolamine (TEA) has been broadly used as the organic amine conditioning agent to modify the workability of cement-based materials. However, the effect of TEA on the structure and property of porous silicate cement membranes has not been reported. In this paper, TEA was applied to study its effect on parameters of porous silicate cement membranes based on the preparation method combining freeze casting and heat-dry curing, because it is easy to form complexes with cement particles. The effect and acting mechanism of TEA on porous silicate cement membranes were researched using a series of characterizations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Results showed that TEA significantly improved the performance of porous silicate cement membranes. The addition of TEA changed the pore morphology of porous silicate cement membranes from lamellar structures to cellular structures, with mesoporous size distribution focusing on 2.5–4.5 nm at TEA doping ratio of 0.16 wt%. The oil-water separation performance could reach up to 99.6 %. Through comprehensive comparison, the porous silicate cement membrane with 1.0 wt% TEA showed better holistic preponderance of oil-water separation and permeation flux. Quantum chemistry calculation and MD simulation were used to briefly explain the influence of TEA on phase transformation. MD showed that adding TEA changed the morphology and structure of ice crystals. The percentage of the Ih structure significantly increased from 53 % to 86 % after adding TEA. This study might expand the application of TEA in other aspects and enlighten relevant workers in new experimental designs. [Display omitted] • TEA noticeably changed the pore morphology form lamellar to cellular structures. • Cement membranes doped TEA showed excellent separation performance and stability. • Effects of TEA on crystals were analyzed via quantum chemistry and MD simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on the reducing reagent Hantzsch 1,4-Dihydropyridine (DHP) including its use in hydrogen transfer reactions to reduce carbonyl compounds, olefins and imines, the reduction of carbon-carbon double bonds, and the reduction of catalytic enantioselective of keto esters.

Porous silicate cement membranes (PSCMs) fabricated by the freeze casting method show great potential to be utilized in seawater pretreatment, fermentation broth separation, and industrial wastewater treatment due to its merit of high-temperature resistance, low-cost, and hierarchically ordered porous structures, while the freeze casting method is complex and time-consuming. In this work, a combination of freeze casting and heat-dry curing was initially applied to generate PSCMs. The preparation periods of PSCMs could be shortened by simplifying preparation processes and reducing curing time. The resulting membranes presented double-layer structures, containing a nucleation zone (N-zone) with dense structures and a stability zone (S-zone) with lamellar pore structures. The X-ray diffraction pattern of membranes displayed the mixed hexagonal and rhombohedral structures. This novel method could save more than half of energy consumption compared with the traditional preparation technology of silicate cement samples. The membranes with a mesopore size of 3.794 nm showed high permeation performance with pure water flux reaching 207.23 L m−2 h−1 under 0.15 MPa and room temperature. The separation efficiency of oil-water was 78.05% under operating pressure of 0.05 MPa. Molecular dynamics simulation was applied to narrate the microscopic process of transformation during heat-dry curing, and obtained a good similarity of consequences between the computational method simulation and experimental operation. [Display omitted] • Freeze casting combined with heat-dry curing to fabricate porous silicate cement membrane. • Freeze drying and steam curing were replaced using heat-dry curing. • Porous silicate cement membranes showed lamellar porous structures. • Molecular dynamics simulation was used to elucidate the hydration process of heat-dry curing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near‐infrared (NIR) organic photodetectors (OPDs) are competitive candidates for flexible electronics in biomedical imaging and optical communications applications. However, current OPDs still suffer from a low detectivity beyond 1000 nm and a high dark current at bias due to the lack of high‐performance narrow‐bandgap non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs). In this study, spiro‐conjugated core donor (D) unit is adopted to construct NFAs, SPT‐4F and tSPT‐4F. Comparing with PT‐4F without spiro‐conjugation, the orthogonal spiro‐conjugated planes endow SPT‐4F and tSPT‐4F with more rigid conformation and thus superior intermolecular stacking, resulting in the enhanced absorption beyond 1000 nm. Impressively, tSPT‐4F based device gives the best performance with a dark current of 4.52 × 10−10 A cm−2 under reversed bias of −0.1 V, an external quantum efficiency (EQE) response over 48% at 1010 nm, a detectivity of 1.25 × 1013 Jones and a responsibility of 0.40 A W−1 at 1010 nm. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the best performed devices reported to date for binary NIR OPDs with response beyond 1000 nm. This study provides a feasible molecular design strategy to develop narrow‐bandgap NFAs with spiro‐conjugation for highly detective NIR OPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel double‐slot subwavelength grating with high sensitivity and small size was presented for the detection of carbon dioxide (CO2). Compared with single‐slot structure, the proposed double‐slot structure reduces the influence of slot width on the transmission intensity and thus improves the sensor performance. For enabling selectivity and sensitivity, the gap of the grating is filled with polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB). The refractive index of PHMB decreases after the absorption of CO2 molecules, which changes the effective refractive index of the waveguide mode. For getting the highest sensitivity, the proposed sensor was numerically simulated and optimized. The limit of detection for CO2 can be as low as 6.3 parts per million (ppm), which is lower than other reported waveguide CO2 sensors based on PHMB. The proposed sensor is capable of atmospheric CO2 monitoring with an acceptable limit of detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 118 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entitled 1,4-benzodiazepines are of particular interest in drug design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 46 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysregulated activation of the inflammasome is involved in various human diseases including acute cerebral ischemia, multiple sclerosis and sepsis. Though many inflammasome inhibitors targeting NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) have been designed and developed, none of the inhibitors are clinically available. Growing evidence suggests that targeting apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), the oligomerization of which is the key event for the assembly of inflammasome, may be another promising therapeutic strategy. Lonidamine (LND), a small-molecule inhibitor of glycolysis used as an antineoplastic drug, has been evidenced to have anti-inflammation effects. However, its anti-inflammatory mechanism is still largely unknown. Methods: Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and LPS-induced sepsis mice models were constructed to investigate the therapeutic and anti-inflammasome effects of LND. The inhibition of inflammasome activation and ASC oligomerization by LND was evaluated using western blot (WB), immunofluorescence (IF), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Direct binding of LND with ASC was assessed using molecular mock docking, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS). Results: Here, we find that LND strongly attenuates the inflammatory injury in experimental models of inflammasome-associated diseases including autoimmune disease-multiple sclerosis (MS), ischemic stroke and sepsis. Moreover, LND blocks diverse types of inflammasome activation independent of its known targets including hexokinase 2 (HK2). We further reveal that LND directly binds to the inflammasome ligand ASC and inhibits its oligomerization. Conclusions: Taken together, our results identify LND as a broad-spectrum inflammasome inhibitor by directly targeting ASC, providing a novel candidate drug for the treatment of inflammasome-driven diseases in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dysregulated activation of the inflammasome is involved in various human diseases including acute cerebral ischemia, multiple sclerosis and sepsis. Though many inflammasome inhibitors targeting NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) have been designed and developed, none of the inhibitors are clinically available. Growing evidence suggests that targeting apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), the oligomerization of which is the key event for the assembly of inflammasome, may be another promising therapeutic strategy. Lonidamine (LND), a small-molecule inhibitor of glycolysis used as an antineoplastic drug, has been evidenced to have anti-inflammation effects. However, its anti-inflammatory mechanism is still largely unknown. Methods: Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and LPS-induced sepsis mice models were constructed to investigate the therapeutic and anti-inflammasome effects of LND. The inhibition of inflammasome activation and ASC oligomerization by LND was evaluated using western blot (WB), immunofluorescence (IF), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Direct binding of LND with ASC was assessed using molecular mock docking, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS). Results: Here, we find that LND strongly attenuates the inflammatory injury in experimental models of inflammasome-associated diseases including autoimmune disease-multiple sclerosis (MS), ischemic stroke and sepsis. Moreover, LND blocks diverse types of inflammasome activation independent of its known targets including hexokinase 2 (HK2). We further reveal that LND directly binds to the inflammasome ligand ASC and inhibits its oligomerization. Conclusions: Taken together, our results identify LND as a broad-spectrum inflammasome inhibitor by directly targeting ASC, providing a novel candidate drug for the treatment of inflammasome-driven diseases in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the initial stage and the return stroke current waveform parameters of rocket-triggered lightning flashes to the ground and to the distribution line have been analyzed. The results show that the average current, the charge transferred and the action integral associated with the Initial Stage with return strokes are greater than the corresponding values without return strokes. For the initial stage, the presence of the distribution line greatly reduces the maximum current, average current, charge transfer, and action integral by a factor of 0.35, 0.42, 0.51, and 0.19, respectively. For the return stroke, the presence of the distribution line has little effect on the other parameters except for a 2.4-fold increase in the 10-90% risetime. The presence of the distribution line affects the initial stage parameters more significantly than the return stroke parameters, probably because the lightning channel equivalent impedance of the initial stage is much smaller than that of the return stroke. The lightning channel equivalent impedance of the initial stage estimated in this paper is about 145 ohms and the estimated lightning channel equivalent impedance for the return stroke is greater than 2000 ohms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To quantify variation in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) measures of total retinal thickness (top of inner limiting membrane to top of retinal pigment epithelium, RPE) and RPE thickness measures over a 4-week period and by age. Methods: A total of 76 volunteers aged 40–85 years were seen at three visits over 4 weeks. Two Topcon SD-OCT scans were taken at each visit. Following grid re-centration, total retinal and RPE thickness were determined in nine subfields. Multilevel modeling was used to quantify variance between scans and by age. Results: In the central circle, mean total retinal thickness was 237.9 µm (standard deviation, SD, 23.5 µm) and RPE thickness was 46.0 µm (SD 5.3 µm). Intraclass correlation coefficient in the central circle was 0.988 for total retinal thickness and 0.714 for RPE thickness. Pairwise measures taken within 4 weeks were strongly correlated (p> 0.95). Within-subject variation of total retinal thickness increased significantly with age. Subjects in the oldest age group had significantly increased among- and within-subject variability in measures of RPE thickness. Conclusions: Correlation between retinal thickness measures was very high (>0.95) over a period of 4 weeks with small changes likely due to variation in measurement. Increasing variability in total retinal and RPE thickness measures with age suggest that the use of more and/or higher quality images to calculate mean thickness to reduce variability may benefit the study of these measures in older persons. This may also impact sample size calculations for future studies of SD-OCT measures in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A one-pot sonochemical reaction of Cu(NO3)2 with glutathione (GSH), the latter functioning as a reducing agent and a stabilizing agent, rapidly affords Cu nanoclusters (NCs). The as-prepared GSH–CuNCs possess a small size (∼2.2 ± 0.2 nm), red luminescence with quantum yield (5.3%), and water-dispersibility. Moreover, the fluorescence of the as-prepared GSH–CuNCs is responsive to pH so that the intensity of fluorescence increases rapidly with decreasing pH from 9 to 4. Besides, the GSH–CuNCs would be aggregated by Pb2+ ions in aqueous solution which results in quenching of the fluorescence. Therefore, such GSH–CuNCs would be excellent candidates as fluorescent probes for the label-free detection of Pb2+ with the limit of detection at 1.0 nM. Importantly, CAL-27 cells are used as models to achieve potential application as probes for monitoring Pb2+ in living cells. Thus, these fluorescent CuNCs could work as an alternative to conventional fluorescent probes for biolabeling, sensing and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cosolvent-assisted interfacial polymerization (CAIP) has garnered significant attention due to its capacity to easily and effectively modify the performance of polyamide (PA) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. To gain deeper understanding of the mechanism of a specific type of cosolvents on the IP reaction, namely N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and N,N-dimethylpropionamide (DMPr) were used as aqueous-phase cosolvents to systematically investigate their effects on the membrane structures and properties under different conditions. Amide cosolvents in the aqueous phase facilitated the diffusion of the amine monomer and the formation of nanovoids within the PA layer as the C-chain length of amides increased. When 1,2-dichloroethane was also included in the organic phase, the extent of the two-phase miscible zone was further increased with its assistance, which contributed to generating the larger nanovoids within the layer, thicker PA layer and extensive exterior PA layers, as well as significantly enhancing the water permeability and selectivity of membranes. Importantly, this study successfully prepared high-performance RO membranes with multilayer nanovoid structures in situ by introducing cosolvents in the IP reaction with permeability up to 2.26 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1, providing theoretical and experimental bases for further enrichment of CAIP. [Display omitted] • Exploring the effects of different amides on the diffusion of amine monomers. • Longer chain DMPr contributes to the formation of multilayered nanovoid structures. • Correlating amine monomer diffusion rate with PA layer evolution. • TFC a-o -DMPr shows water permeability of 2.26 LMH/bar and NaCl rejection of 98.38 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The robust correlation between the performance of thin-film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis membranes and the polyamide (PA) active layer determines the necessity of precise design of the PA layer, and this regulation primarily involves the surface morphology and internal characteristics of the PA layer. In this study, we fabricated honeycomb Turing structure or nanovoid-rich TFC series membranes using polar/nonpolar organic phase additives. Characterization and simulation results confirmed that the enhancement of membrane performance relied more on the abundant nanovoids within the PA layer rather than the ordered honeycomb lattice surface. Notably, the TFC-nDCE membrane with multilayer nanovoids exhibited an approximately 89 % improvement in water permeability while maintaining satisfactory salt rejection (98.29 %). We emphasized the significant role of nanovoids in the diffusion process of amine monomers and investigated the potential relationship between nanovoids and the degree of surface cross-linking. Building upon this, a new insight into the formation of nanovoids induced by PA anisotropic growth was presented through a careful analysis of the amine monomer diffusion rate and the morphological evolution of nanovoids. The structure-property relationship between internal structures, surface morphologies, and performances was systematically and thoroughly investigated, pointing out the direction for the rational design of TFC membranes. [Display omitted] • Revealed effects of nanovoids on the water/salt flow in honeycomb Turing PA layer. • Impacts of nanovoids on the physicochemical structure of PA layer were emphasized. • New insights on the anisotropic growth of PA were provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping the thunderstorm electrical structure could provide an effective way for lightning-sensitive facilities protection, such as aircraft and maritime assets. However, the weather radar that is normally used to forecast storms and rainfall mainly detects precipitation in the atmosphere and indicates the existence of liquid raindrops and ice particles by reflectivity. Here, we use intra-cloud events of eight thunderstorm days in the warm season, which are detected by VLF/LF Total Lightning monitoring system, to reveal the thunderstorm electrical structures in the 300 × 300 km area of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. The differences in height range in four types of time intervals and three types of intro-cloud events proportions are compared on 16 May. With the proportion between 20% and 80% in the time interval of 15 min, the height distribution and the electrical structure of eight thunderstorm days are clearly exhibited. The positive IC events lie in the average height between 7.5 and 12.4 km, while the negative IC events are located between 5.3 and 11.7 km. The electrical structures show the variations during the evolution process, with a dipole structure in most circumstances, while temporary reversions are identified in the initial and the dissipating stage of thunderstorms, presenting the inverted dipole and the tripole structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Hydrogen sulfide positively regulates autophagy and the expression of hypoxia response-related genes under submergence to enhance the submergence tolerance of Arabidopsis. Flooding seriously endangers agricultural production, and it is quite necessary to explore the mechanism of plant response to submergence for improving crop yield. Both hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and autophagy are involved in the plant response to submergence. However, the mechanisms by which H2S and autophagy interact and influence submergence tolerance have not been thoroughly elucidated. Here, we reported that exogenous H2S pretreatment increased the level of endogenous H2S and alleviated plant cell death under submergence. And transgenic lines decreased in the level of endogenous H2S, L-cysteine desulfurase 1 (des1) mutant and 35S::GFP-O-acetyl-L-serine(thiol)lyase A1 (OASA1)/des1-#56/#61, were sensitive to submergence, along with the lower transcript levels of hypoxia response genes, LOB DOMAIN 41 (LBD41) and HYPOXIA RESPONSIVE UNKNOWN PROTEIN 43 (HUP43). Submergence induced the formation of autophagosomes, and the autophagy-related (ATG) mutants (atg4a/4b, atg5, atg7) displayed sensitive phenotypes to submergence. Simultaneously, H2S pretreatment repressed the autophagosome producing under normal conditions, but enhanced this process under submergence by regulating the expression of ATG genes. Moreover, the mutation of DES1 aggravated the sensitivity of des1/atg5 to submergence by reducing the formation of autophagosomes under submergence. Taken together, our results demonstrated that H2S alleviated cell death through regulating autophagy and the expression of hypoxia response genes during submergence in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A negative triggered lightning involving five types of leaders was recorded by high-speed camera using frame rate of 20,000 fps and fast antennas at different distances. Five types of leaders contained one upward positive stepped leader, one upward positive dart leader, ten downward negative dart leader, one bidirectional leader and three downward negative dart-stepped leaders were propagated successively in the same channel. The upward positive dart leader occurred after initial continuous current pulse with average 2-D speed of 1.40 × 106 m/s and started second continuous current process. The bidirectional leader was transformed from decaying unidirectional leader and showed the unique electric field changes. Faster return strokes are found to be induced by downward leaders propagating evenly and deposit more positive charge in the following residual channel. The positive charge can inhibit the potential initiation of an upward positive leader and boost the propagation of the next downward negative leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A near-infrared nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dot (N,S-CD)-based ratiometric fluorescent probe is proposed that is synthesized via hydrothermal approach using glutathione and formamide as precursor for sensing and imaging of Zn2+. The prepared N,S-CDs facilitate binding with Zn2+ owing to N and S atom doping. The ratio (I650/I680) of fluorescence intensity at 650 nm and 680 nm increased with the concentrations of Zn2+ when the excitation wavelength was 415 nm. The linearity range was 0.01 to 1.0 μM Zn2+with a detection limit of 5.0 nM Zn2+. The proposed probe was applied to label-free monitoring of Zn2+ in real samples and fluorescent imaging of Zn2+ in living cells, which confirmed its promising applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four diakylimidazolium ionic liquids, namely 1-alkyl-3-dodecylimidazolium bromides ([CCim]Br) with the same dodecyl long-chain tail (C) and the short alkyl side chain (C, n = 1-4), were synthesized, and their molecule structures were confirmed by ESI-MS, H-NMR and elemental analysis. The physicochemical properties of [CCim]Br ( n = 1-4) were determined by means of surface tension and fluorescence probe methods, respectively. It was found that elongation of the side chain length will bring about an enhancement of surface activity. Along with the side chain length increasing, the critical micelle concentration (CMC), surface tension at CMC ( γ), the maximum surface excess (Γ), micellar aggregation number ( N) and micellar microenvironment polarity of [CCim]Br decrease, while adsorption efficiency (p C), surface pressure at CMC (Π), the minimum molecular cross-sectional area ( A) at air-solution interfaces and CMC/ C ratio increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Malignant gliomas are common and aggressive brain tumors in adults. The rapid proliferation and diffuse brain migration are main obstacles to successful treatment. Here we show that pentobarbital, a central depressant introduced clinically a century ago, is capable of suppressing proliferation and migration of C6 malignant glioma cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Pentobarbital also leads to a G1 phase cell cycle arrest accompanied by suppressed G1 cell cycle regulatory proteins Cyclin D1, Cyclin D3, CDK2 and phosphorylated Rb. In addition, noticeable morphological changes and interrupted α-tubulin microtubule assembly are induced by pentobarbital exposure. Intracellular signal pathways involved in the effect of pentobarbital is concerned with inactivation of ERK, c-Jun and Akt. Together, these findings suggest anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of pentobarbital on malignant gliomas, most likely by arresting cell cycle and interfering microtubule. ERK, c-Jun MAPK and PI3K/Akt are possible signaling pathways involved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Introduction: Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an acquired syndrome characterized by the widespread activation of coagulation. This leads to failure of multiple organs in the body and finally death. Because there is no effective therapy for DIC, the clinical prognosis is poor and the mortality is high. Materials and Methods: The animals were intravenously injected with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 6 hours and simultaneously infected three doses of recombinant fibrinogenase II (rFII) for 2 hour. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), platelets count, fibrinogen and fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) were determined. The plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine (Cr) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected. Liver and kidney samples were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and kidney sections were stained with phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin. Results: We observed that rFII increased survival rate in LPS-induced DIC rabbits as well as heparin did. Administration of rFII as well as heparin attenuated the increased plasma levels of APTT, PT and FDP and the decreased plasma level of fibrinogen at 6 h. rFII reduced hepatic and renal damages and decreased the levels of ALT and Cr as well as heparin did. rFII also significantly reduced the increased plasma levels of TNF-α. rFII significantly reduced the kidney fibrin deposits with respect to LPS treated animals. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that rFII from Agkistrodon acutus venom could have protective effect on DIC via reducing liver and renal damages and direct degradation of microthrombi. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Novel acyl chloride monomer 5-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1,3-benzenedicarbonyl dichloride (PIPC) featuring a rigid pyrrolidinyl group was proposed as an organic phase monomer to fabricate reverse osmosis (RO) membranes possessing exceptional water permeability and NaCl rejection via a two-step interfacial polymerization method. First, m -phenylenediamine (MPD) in the aqueous phase solution polymerized with PIPC in the first organic phase solution to form the much looser polyamide. After that the remaining MPD continued to diffuse to polymerize with trimesoyl chloride in the second organic phase solution to form the denser polyamide. The pyrrolidinyl group had steric hindrance effects and formed hydrogen bond with MPD, leading to decreasing the thickness significantly and increasing surface roughness of the separating layer. When the PIPC amount was 0.08 wt%, the PIPC-based RO membrane displayed optimal permselectivity with water flux increasing by 84.20 % compared to the original RO membrane (from 20.38 L·m−2·h−1 to 37.54 L·m−2·h−1) whereas retaining high NaCl rejection with 98.59 %. The PIPC-based RO membrane exhibited steady water flux and NaCl rejection within 120 h of filtration, as well as improved antifouling performance. Thus, preparation of the highly permeable RO membrane could be rationally achieved by the novel acyl chloride monomer with a rigid pyrrolidinyl group. [Display omitted] • The novel monomer PIPC was used to prepare RO membrane by a two-step IP method. • PIPC influenced the diffusion rate of MPD via hydrogen bonds and steric hindrance. • The PIPC-based membrane presented rougher surface and thinner PA layer. • Permeability of PIPC-based membrane was obviously enhanced without losing NaCl rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]