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Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. We aimed to investigate the role of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) in the changes of cardiac structures in OSA rabbits treated by mandibular advancement device (MAD). Methods: Eighteen male New Zealand white rabbits aged 6 months were randomly divided into three groups: control group, group OSA and group MAD. Hyaluronate gel was injected into the soft palate of the rabbits in group OSA and group MAD to induce OSA. The cone beam computer tomography (CBCT) of the upper airway and polysomnography (PSG) was performed to ensure successful modelling. CBCT and PSG were applied again to detect the effects of MAD treatment. All animals were induced to sleep in a supine position for 4–6 h a day for 8 weeks. Then the levels of NF‐κB, Interleukin 6 (IL‐6), Interleukin 10 (IL‐10) and the proportion of myocardial fibrosis (MF) were detected. Results: The higher activation of NF‐κB, IL‐6 and IL‐10 were found in the OSA group than in the control group, leading to the increase of collagen fibres compared with the control group. Furthermore, the apnoea‐hypopnea index (AHI) was positively correlated with the above factors. There were no significant differences between group MAD and the control group. Conclusion: The NF‐κB pathway was activated in the myocardium of OSA rabbits, which accelerated the development of MF. Early application of MAD could reduce the activation of NF‐κB in the myocardium and prevent the development of MF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), erythropoietin (EPO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in myocardial tissue. New Zealand rabbits were used to develop OSAHS and MAD models. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) of the upper airway and polysomnography (PSG) recordings were performed with the animals in the supine position. All of the animals were induced to sleep in a supine position for 4–6 h each day and were observed continuously for 8 weeks. The myocardial tissue of the three groups was dissected to measure the expression of HIF-1α, EPO and VEGF. The results showed that there was higher expression of HIF-1α, EPO and VEGF in the OSAHS group than those in the MAD and control groups. MAD treatment significantly downregulated the expression of HIF-1α, EPO and VEGF in the OSAHS animals. We concluded that MAD treatment could significantly downregulate the increased expression of HIF-1α, EPO and VEGF in OSAHS rabbits, improving their myocardial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural killer (NK) cells have emerged as an effective alternative option to T cell-based immunotherapies, particularly against liquid (hematologic) tumors. However, the effectiveness of NK cell therapy has been less than optimal for solid tumors, partly due to the heterogeneity in target interaction leading to variable anti-tumor cytotoxicity. This paper describes a microfluidic droplet-based cytotoxicity assay for quantitative comparison of immunotherapeutic NK-92 cell interaction with various types of target cells. Machine learning algorithms were developed to assess the dynamics of individual effector-target cell pair conjugation and target death in droplets in a semi-automated manner. Our results showed that while short contacts were sufficient to induce potent killing of hematological cancer cells, long-lasting stable conjugation with NK-92 cells was unable to kill HER2+ solid tumor cells (SKOV3, SKBR3) significantly. NK-92 cells that were engineered to express FcγRIII (CD16) mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) selectively against HER2+ cells upon addition of Herceptin (trastuzumab). The requirement of CD16, Herceptin and specific pre-incubation temperature served as three inputs to generate a molecular logic function with HER2+ cell death as the output. Mass proteomic analysis of the two effector cell lines suggested differential changes in adhesion, exocytosis, metabolism, transport and activation of upstream regulators and cytotoxicity mediators, which can be utilized to regulate specific functionalities of NK-92 cells in future. These results suggest that this semi-automated single cell assay can reveal the variability and functional potency of NK cells and may be used to optimize immunotherapeutic efficacy for preclinical analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although considerable research highlights the interactions between obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and cardiovascular diseases, the effect of mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment on cardiovascular complications in OSAHS patients remains unclear. We evaluated the effect of OSAHS treatment with MADs on the myocardium. All methods in this study were in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations of the medical ethics committee in Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical University approved the work. Thirty New Zealand rabbits were randomized into three groups: the control group, Group OSAHS, and Group MAD. Hydrophilic polyacrylamide gel was injected into the soft palate of the rabbits to induce OSAHS. In Group MAD, a MAD was positioned after OSAHS induction. All animals were induced to sleep in a supine position for 4–6 h/day for 8 weeks. Echocardiography was used to determine the structure and function of the heart. The histological changes were detected by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The levels of ET-1(endothelin-1) and Ang II (Angiotensin II) in the plasma were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of ET-1 mRNA in heart tissue was detected by RT-PCR. Histological abnormalities, left ventricular hypertrophy, and left ventricular dysfunctions were demonstrated in Group OSAHS, and the abnormities were rescued with MAD treatment. Higher levels of plasma ET-1 and Ang II and elevated expression of ET-1 mRNA in cardiac tissue were detected in Group OSAHS compared with Group MAD and the control group. The blood oxygen saturation was negatively correlated with the levels of ET-1 and Ang II. OSAHS-induced elevated levels of ET-1 and Ang II may be attributed to myocardial structural abnormalities and dysfunction. Early treatment of MADs may play an important role in preventing myocardial damage in OSAHS rabbit model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several correlation tracking algorithms have been proposed exploiting hierarchical features from deep convolutional neural networks. However, most of these methods focus on utilizing the hierarchical features for target translation and use a fixed-size searching window throughout a sequence. Because of neglecting the changes of target scale, these algorithms may import error to the model and lead to drifting. Moreover, numerous factors like fast motion and heavy occlusion can induce instability of translation model which may result in the tracking failure. In this paper, we propose a novel scale adaptive tracking algorithm based on hierarchical CNN features, which learns correlation filters to locate the target and constructs a target pyramid around the estimated target position for scale estimation. In case of tracking failure, we generate an online detector of random fern classifier and activate it to re-detect the target. To evaluate the tracking algorithm, extensive experiments are conducted on a benchmark with 100 video sequences. The tracking result demonstrate that the hierarchical CNN features are well fit to handle sequences with scale variation, motion blur and illumination variation. And the online re-detection is of great importance in tracking failures caused by fast motion and heavy occlusion. The evaluation results show that our tracker outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by a huge margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bandwidth and energy constraints of underwater wireless sensors networks necessitate an efficient data transmission between sensor nodes and the fusion center. This paper considers the data gathering underwater networks for monitoring oceanic environmental elements (e.g. temperature, salinity) and only a portion of measurements from sensors allows for oceanic information map reconstruction under compressed sensing (CS) theory. By utilizing the spatial sparsity of active sensors’ data, we introduce an activity and data detection based on CS at the receiver side resulting in an efficient data communication by avoiding the necessity of conveying identity information. For an interleave division multiple access (IDMA) sporadic transmission, CS-CBC detection that combines the benefits from chip-by-chip (CBC) multi-user detection and CS detection is proposed. Further, by successively exploring the sparsity of sensor data in spatial and frequency domain, we propose a novel efficient data gathering scheme named Dual-domain compressed sensing (DCS). Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme compared to IDMA-CS scheme and an optimal sensing probability problem related to minimum reconstruction error is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object tracking is one of the most important components in numerous applications of computer vision. Most of trackers work well in ordinary conditions, but usually encounter drift in challenging sequences with abrupt motion, motion blur, occlusion and scale variation. In this paper, we decompose the task of tracking into correlation filter-based translation tracker, scale tracker and online re-detectors. For translation tracker, we propose an adaptive dimensionality reduction to pixel-dense histogram of oriented gradients features to increase speed without losing accuracy. We present an adaptive updating strategy which uses cosine similarity together with two peak-to-sidelobe ratios and max response of scale tracker as confidence metrics for failure detection. In addition, multiple correlation filter-based detectors are activated to re-detect objects in case of failure. The experimental results show that the proposed approach tracks both the position and size of the interested target efficiently and achieve higher accuracy on most of challenging sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manganese (Mn) is a required trace metal in the body. In recent years however, it has garnered significant attention as a developmental neurotoxin in children with chronic exposure. It has been linked to complications such as memory loss with negatively associated IQ scores, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and in extreme cases, the development of a Parkinson's disease analogue-manganism. Cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) has proven to be a suitable method for electroanalytical determination of Mn. We have established Mn CSV using indium tin oxide (ITO) as the working electrode for the determination of Mn in bovine whole blood after an acid digestion. Reliable, accurate, and precise results were obtained, as only 9 % variation in the digested blood was observed. The CSV results were compared with graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS) and inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and favorable agreement across the methods was observed. Due to ITO's excellent positive potential window and stability under harsh environments, this method could be applied to other oxide-forming transition metals detectable by CSV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human exploration of the ocean has never stopped. A large number of sensors are placed in the ocean to establish ocean sensor networks to obtain more information about the marine environment, crustal dynamic changes and so on. With the development of science and technology, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) appear and are widely used in marine sensor networks. Due to the complex and changeable ocean environment, the slow speed of traditional and the lack of reasonable path planning and other reasons, AUV waste a lot of time and energy, which cannot efficiently collect information. In this paper, the Unmanned Aerial Underwater Vehicle (UAUV) is introduced into the ocean sensor network. Establish a two-dimensional scene model, find the best water entry point for UAUV to complete the task in the shortest time and minimum power consumption by traversing the search algorithm, and compare the performance of UAUV cross domain mode and underwater mode to collect marine sensor data. Meanwhile, establishing three-dimensional ocean sensor scene model, and using DDQN algorithm to solve the path planning problem of UAUV. The results show that the cross-domain mode of UAUV in the two-dimensional scene model saves 74.7% times and 24.34% energy compared with the traditional underwater mode. In the three-dimensional scene model, the UAUV is trained to the optimal path by the DDQN algorithm, which saves 60.94% of the time and 20.26% of the energy compared to the traditional underwater mode. The results prove the feasibility, stability and efficiency of UAUV introduction into marine sensor network, the effectiveness of DDQN algorithm to solve UAUV path planning problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report on the determination of trace manganese (Mn) using cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) using a microfabricated sensor with a Pt thin-film working electrode. While an essential trace metal for human health, prolonged exposure to Mn tends to gradually impair our neurological system. The potential sources of Mn exposure make it necessary to monitor the concentration in various sample matrices. Previous work by us and others suggested CSV as an effective method for measuring trace Mn. The analytical performance metrics were characterized and optimized, leading to a calculated limit of detection (LOD) of 16.3 nM (0.9 ppb) in pH 5.5, 0.2 M acetate buffer. Further, we successfully validated Mn determination in surface water with ∼90% accuracy and >97% precision as compared with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) 'gold standard' measurement. Ultimately, with stable, accurate and precise electrochemical performance, this Pt sensor permits rapid monitoring of Mn in environmental samples, and could potentially be used for point-of-use measurements if coupled with portable instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and sensitive fluorescent assay is developed for the detection of protein kinase A (PKA) activity based on the selective aggregation of phosphorylated peptide–carbon quantum dots (CQDs) conjugates triggered by Zr4+ ions coordination. The peptide was conjugated onto CQDs through covalent coupling. Under optimized conditions, a linear relationship between the decreases in fluorescence intensity of peptide–CQDs and the PKA concentration in the range from 0.125 to 30 U mL–1 was observed. Moreover, the inhibition effect of H-89 on the activity of PKA was studied, and the results indicated that the proposed method showed potential applications in kinase inhibitor screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report that the fluorescence of carbon dots (C-dots) in water is quenched by the addition of Cu ions, and that the subsequent addition of pyrophosphate (PPi) restores fluorescence. This is likely to be due to the coordination of Cu by PPi. This effect forms the basis for a method to determine the activity and inhibition of the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP). If ALP is added to a system composed of C-dots, Cu and PPi, fluorescence will decrease over time because ALP catalyzes the hydrolysis of PPi to form orthophosphate (Pi). This results in a release of the quencher Cu. The decrease in fluorescence is related to the activity of ALP. The method is simple and displays good sensitivity (with a limit of detection of 1 units per L) and selectivity. The method was successfully applied to the determination of ALP in serum samples. We also have studied the inhibitory effect of Pi on the activity of ALP. We presume that this method holds a large potential in terms of diagnosis of ALP-related diseases, to evaluate the function of ALP in biological systems and in screening for potential inhibitors of ALP. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report the first copper-based point-of-care sensor for electrochemical measurements demonstrated by zinc determination in blood serum. Heavy metals require careful monitoring, yet current methods are too complex for a point-of-care system. Electrochemistry offers a simple approach to metal detection on the microscale, but traditional carbon, gold (Au), or platinum (Pt) electrodes are difficult or expensive to micro-fabricate, preventing widespread use. Our sensor features a new low-cost electrode material, copper, which offers simple fabrication and compatibility with microfabrication and PCB processing, while maintaining competitive performance in electrochemical detection. Anodic stripping voltammetry of zinc using our new copper-based sensors exhibited a 140 nM (9.0 ppb) limit of detection (calculated) and sensitivity greater than 1 μA/μM in the acetate buffer. The sensor was also able to determine zinc in a bovine serum extract, and the results were verified with independent sensor measurements. These results demonstrate the advantageous qualities of this lab-on-a-chip electrochemical sensor for clinical applications, which include a small sample volume (μL scale), reduced cost, short response time, and high accuracy at low concentrations of analyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report on the development of a lab-on-a-chip electrochemical sensor that uses an evaporated bismuth electrode to detect zinc using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. The microscale electrochemical cell consists of a bismuth working electrode, an integrated silver/silver chloride reference electrode, and a gold auxiliary electrode. The sensor exhibits a linear response in 0.1 M acetate buffer at pH 6 with zinc concentrations in the 1-30 μM range and a calculated detection limit of 60 nM. The sensor successfully detected zinc in a bovine serum extract and the results were corfirmed by independent AAS measurements. Our results demonstrate the advantageous qualities of this lab-on-a-chip electrochemical sensor for clinical applications, which include small sample volume (µL scale), reduced cost, short response time and high accuracy at low concentrations of analyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors theoretically demonstrated a tunable- and switchable-metamaterial absorber at the terahertz (THz) frequency. The proposed absorber comprising Bulk Dirac semimetal (BDS) metamaterials and vanadium dioxide (VO 2) continuous film, which can be switched between a traditional and coherent absorber by tailoring the conductivity of VO 2 film. When VO 2 is in its metallic state, the proposed absorber behaves as a traditional absorber, and it achieves an absorptivity of 92% for y -polarised incidence at 3 THz with a single illumination at normal incidence. Decreasing the conductivity of VO 2 leads to a metallic-to-insulating phase transition for the continuous VO 2 film that is accompanied by a significantly reduced absorptivity for this traditional absorber. At this time, coherent perfect absorption concept is introduced to realise a coherent absorber. The coherent absorptivity of y -polarised incidence can be dynamically modified from 0.21% to 98.5% by manipulating the mutual phase between two coherent counter-propagating incidences at the position of absorber. Furthermore, the absorption performance of traditional and coherent absorbers can be tuned individually by modifying the geometric parameters of the metamaterial structure and the Fermi energy of the BDS from 85 to 125 meV. These simulation results provide an alternative approach for the design of multi-controlled tunable absorbers in the terahertz band, exhibiting promising applications in the fields of light modulation, cloaking, and signal processing. • Multi-controlled terahertz absorber has been realised, which can be switched between traditional and coherent absorber. • Coherent absorptivity has been dynamically manipulated by controlling the mutual phase between the counter-propagating beams. • Absorption performance of traditional and coherent absorbers has been tuned individually by tailoring the geometric parameters of metamaterial structure and Fermi energy of BDS materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objective Methods Results Conclusion Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a serious and potentially life‐threatening disease. Mandibular advancement device (MAD) has the characteristics of non‐invasive, comfortable, portable and low‐cost, making it the preferred treatment for mild‐to‐moderate OSAHS. Our previous studies found that abnormal contractility and fibre type distribution of the genioglossus could be caused by OSAHS. However, whether the mitochondria participate in these tissue changes is unclear. The effect of MAD treatment on the mitochondria of the genioglossus in OSAHS is also uncertain.To examine the morphology and function of mitochondria from the genioglossus in a rabbit model of obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), as well as these factors after insertion of a mandibular advancement device (MAD).Thirty male New Zealand white rabbits were randomised into three groups: control, OSAHS and MAD, with 10 rabbits in each group. Animals in Group OSAHS and Group MAD were induced to develop OSAHS by injection of gel into the submucosal muscular layer of the soft palate. The rabbits in Group MAD were fitted with a MAD. The animals in the control group were not treated. Further, polysomnography (PSG) and cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan were used to measure MAD effectiveness. CBCT of the upper airway and PSG suggested that MAD was effective. Rabbits in the three groups were induced to sleep for 4–6 h per day for eight consecutive weeks. The genioglossus was harvested and detected by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The mitochondrial membrane potential was determined by laser confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Mitochondrial complex I and IV activities were detected by mitochondrial complex assay kits.OSAHS‐like symptoms were induced successfully in Group OSAHS and rescued by MAD treatment. The relative values of the mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial complex I activity and complex IV activity were significantly lower in Group OSAHS than in the control group; however, there was no significant difference between Group MAD and the control group. The OSAHS‐induced injury and the dysfunctional mitochondria of the genioglossus muscle were reduced by MAD treatment.Damaged mitochondrial structure and function were induced by OSAHS and could be attenuated by MAD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineral protection regulates long-term global preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC), but little research has been conducted on the iron (Fe) oxide availability for carbon binding regulated by seasonal variation of wetting and drying and fertilization in paddy soils. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of five-year rice-wheat rotation and organic fertilization on the production of short-range-ordered (SRO) Fe oxides and SOC sequestration. Five fertilization treatments were examined: (1) no fertilizer control (CK), (2) chemical nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK), (3) 50% NPK plus manure (NPKM), (4) 100% NPK plus straw (NPKS), and (5) 30% NPK plus manure organic-inorganic compound fertilizer (NPKMOI). Soil samples were collected from 2013 to 2015 after each wheat and rice harvest. A split-plot analysis of variation was used to investigate the respective role of fertilizer treatments (main-plot) and crop seasons (sub-plot) in the transformation of SRO-Fe oxides. Variation partitioning analysis was used to quantify the contribution of SRO-Fe oxides to the accumulation of SOC. Five-year rice-wheat rotation without any fertilization (CK) increased the oxalate extractable Fe oxides (Feo) by 55.06% compared with the initial soil. The Feo concentration was higher (P < 0.05) in the NPKM, NPKS and NPKMOI treatments than in the NPK and CK treatments, and was higher after the rice harvest than after the wheat harvest. Furthermore, the Feo concentration was positively (P < 0.001) correlated with the SOC content and negatively correlated with the specific carbon mineralization rate (SCMR, rate per unit SOC). Moreover, the Feo could explain 52.57% and 40.5% of the variation in the SOC content and the SCMR, respectively. In addition, the partial humification coefficient (PHC, the percentage of SOC change per unit of exogenous carbon input) of the crop straw was 12.92% but amounted to 41.45% to 46.35% for different types of compost. These results indicate that the reductive dissolution and subsequent oxidative precipitation of Fe oxides induced by seasonal alternation of wetting and drying can be further promoted via organic fertilization possibly by forming organo-Fe complexes, which contribute to the accumulation of SRO-Fe oxides and the preservation of organic carbon in paddy soils. Unlabelled Image • Rice-wheat rotation contributed to the redox transformation of iron oxides. • Organic fertilization further improved the redox transformation of iron oxides. • Oxalate extractable iron oxides explained 52.57% of the variation in the soil organic carbon. • Oxalate extractable iron oxides explained 40.5% of the variation in the specific carbon mineralization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Organic fertilization promoted the formation of short-range-ordered minerals in paddy soils. • Organic fertilization enhanced the mineral availability for carbon binding in water-dispersible colloids. • Highly reactive nanomineral assembly in soil colloids contributed to paddy soil carbon storage. Mineral availability for carbon (C) binding is a key regulator of soil C storage, yet little is known about the highly reactive nanomineral assembly in the paddy soil colloids. Here, using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), solid-state 27Al and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we investigated the coordination nature of short-range-ordered (SRO) minerals in water-dispersible colloids that were isolated from the paddy soil under different six-year fertilization regimes. Our results showed that organic fertilization not only promoted the transformation of crystalline minerals to SRO phases in the bulk soils but also increased the concentrations of Fe, Al and Si in the soil colloids compared to chemical fertilization alone, and thus enhanced the accumulation of organic C in both the bulk soils and the soil colloids. The HRTEM images revealed that water-dispersible colloids in all soils, regardless of treatment, were composed of crystalline Fe nanominerals (with some Al/Si) and SRO-Al/Si nanominerals (with some Fe) associated with organic C. Furthermore, the combined results from the 27Al and 29Si NMR spectroscopy and XPS not only confirmed the presence of SRO-Al/Si nanoparticles as Si-rich allophane and phytolith but also demonstrated that organic fertilization promoted the transformation of aluminosilicates to SRO-Al/Si nanominerals in soil colloids. Together, these findings indicate that six-year organic fertilization promotes the formation of SRO minerals (e.g., ferrihydrite, Si-rich allophane and Fe-substituted allophane, as well as phytolith) in soils and modulates the assembly of organo-mineral complexes possibly by driving the biogeochemical cycles of Fe, Al, Si and specific organic ligands, thus contributing to the long-term storage of C in paddy soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover picture illustrates pre‐concentration of Mn2+ ions on a microfabricated Pt thin‐film working electrode for point‐of‐care determination by cathodic stripping voltammetry with 0.9 ppb limit of detection. See the article by I. Papautsky et al.; DOI: 10.1002/elan.201600679. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), an emerging technique recently, has been investigated in extensive studies for its ability to improve or enhance the properties of materials. This paper mainly explored the effect of MICP on the early strength and hydration products in fly ash blended cement paste (FABC) under different MICP treatment measures. Firstly, the influence of different environment on the growth of microorganism and three calcium source (CaCl 2 , Ca(CH 3 COO) 2 and Ca(NO 3) 2) on the production of calcium carbonate precipitation were investigated. The experimental results presented that the efficiency of CaCO 3 precipitation in the Ca(NO 3) 2 sample by adding bacterial solution is higher than other groups. Compared to untreated specimens, the mechanical properties of FABC paste are adversely affected by direct mixing with bacterial solution (MICP1) due to the fact that the hydration reactions of C 3 S and Ca(OH) 2 (CH) in FABC system were negatively affected as indicated by the hydration heat measurement. In contrast, the early performance of drying-immersing sample in bacterial solution (MICP2) was improved, with a maximum efficacy of 52.03%. The hydration process was facilitated in FABC paste treated with MICP2 treatment, further leading to increased formation of CH, C-S-H and AFt. Furthermore, Nanoindentation showed the HD C-S-H gel and CH were the dominant phases in MICP2 samples, and the matrix became denser with more hydration products, which also confirmed the increase in macroscopic compressive strength. The findings of this work can provide a guidance for the application of FA based on MICP method for enhancing the early strength in cementitious materials. • Compared with Ca(CH 3 COO) 2 and CaCl 2 , the efficiency of CaCO 3 precipitation in the Ca(NO 3) 2 sample is highest. • The hydration process of FABC is negatively affected by MICP1 treatment. • The MICP2 treatment can improve the early compressive strength of FA blended cement. • Nanoindentation detects more HD C-S-H gel and fewer porosity percentage. • More hydration products enhance the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease and lacks effective therapeutic agents. Dysregulation of transcription mediated by bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins containing two different bromodomains (BD1 and BD2) is an important factor in multiple diseases, including MS. Herein, we identified a series of BD1-biased inhibitors, in which compound 16 showed nanomolar potency for BD1 (K d = 230 nM) and a 60-fold selectivity for BRD4 BD1 over BD2. The co-crystal structure of BRD4 BD1 with 16 indicated that the hydrogen bond interaction of 16 with BD1-specific Asp145 is important for BD1 selectivity. 16 showed favorable brain distribution in mice and PK properties in rats. 16 was able to inhibit microglia activation and had significant therapeutic effects on EAE mice including improvement of spinal cord inflammatory conditions and demyelination protection. Overall, these results suggest that brain-permeable BD1 inhibitors have the potential to be further investigated as therapeutic agents for MS. [Display omitted] • Structure-based optimization led to a brain-penetrant BD1 inhibitor 16. • The interaction of 16 with BD1-specific Asp145 is important for BD1 selectivity. • 16 was able to effectively prevent disease progression in EAE mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a core–shell structure (Ag@Co3O4) was constructed to modify the valence state of cobalt cations precisely by continuously adjusting the shell thickness. There exists a volcano relationship between the valence state of Co sites and OER activity, and the lowest overpotential (212 mV@10 mA cm−2) has been obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An RRS assay has been developed for the detection of Eca109 cell. • Antibody and aptamer multifunctional gold nanoparticles are used as cell probe. • The sensor has been successfully applied in serum samples. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Early and accurate diagnosis is the key to effective treatment of this disease. In this work, a resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) strategy was established to determine the concentration of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) over-expressed ESCC cancer cells, which based on the selective binding of the anti-EGFR aptamer (Apt) and anti-EGFR antibody (Ab) multi-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) probe (Apt-AuNPs-Ab) to the EGFR-positive cancer cell. When the probe was mixed with the Eca109 ESCC cancer cell, a distinct RRS intensity increase was observed. The probe possesses a dynamic range from 1.0 × 102-5.0 × 105 cell·mL−1 for Eca109 cells, and the detection limit is 20 cell·mL−1. Experimental results with the A2780 ovarian cancer cells line, as well as with the Eca109 ESCC cancer cell line, clearly demonstrated that the RRS assay was sensitive and selective to Eca109 than the other cancer cell lines that express a low level of EGFR. The proposed RRS assay provided a novel platform for detection of EGFR-positive cancer cells and shown the good potential for clinical diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel-powered UAVs have long endurance of flight, heavy payload and adaptation to extreme environment. The mechanical operation and communication power are supported independently by fuel and batteries. In the paper, we study the energy efficiency of the communication system with a fuel-powered UAV relay. We consider a three-node communication network, consisting of a mobile relay, a source node, and a destination node. The UAV relay is able to change its 3-D trajectory to maintain high probability of LoS channels, receiving information from the fixed source node and transmitting it to the fixed destination node. The power allocation scheme and UAV’s trajectory are designed to maximize the system energy efficiency, considering the constraints of speeds, UAV’s altitudes, communication and mechanical energy consumption, the required data rates of the destination node and information-causality. We solve the power allocation sub-problem by splitting the domain of variables and transforming it into a convex optimization problem. And then a suboptimal scheme is provided to design the trajectory based on successive convex approximation method. Numerical results show the convergence of the proposed schemes and the performance of the proposed algorithms. The influences of time slots, constraints of fuel, communication power and required data rates are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: An InDel marker closely linked with a major and stable quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 4BS, QSnpa.cau-4B, controlling spike number per unit area will benefit wheat yield improvement. Spike number per unit area (SNPA) is an essential yield-related trait, and analyzing its genetic basis is important for cultivar improvement in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, we used the F2 population derived from a cross between two wheat accessions displaying significant differences in SNPA to perform quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Through bulked segregant analysis, a major and stable QTL that explained 18.11–82.11% of the phenotypic variation was identified on chromosome 4BS. The QTL interval was validated using F4:5 and F6:7 families and narrowed it to a 24.91–38.36 Mb region of chromosome 4BS according to the 'Chinese Spring' reference genome sequence. In this region, variations in 16 genes caused amino acid changes and three genes were present in only one parent. Among these, we annotated a gene orthologous to TB1 in maize (Zea mays), namely TraesCS4B01G042700, which carried a 44-bp deletion in its promoter in the higher-SNPA parent. An InDel marker based on the insertion/deletion polymorphism was designed and used to diagnose the allelic distribution within a natural population. The frequency of the 44-bp deletion allele associated with higher SNPA was relatively low (13.24%), implying that this favorable allele has not been widely utilized and could be valuable for wheat yield improvement. In summary, we identified a major and stable QTL for SNPA and developed a diagnostic marker for the more-spiked trait, which will be beneficial for molecular-assisted breeding in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information acquisition in underwater sensor networks is usually limited by energy and bandwidth. Fortunately, the received signal can be represented sparsely on some basis. Therefore, a compressed sensing method can be used to collect the information by selecting a subset of the total sensor nodes. The conventional compressed sensing scheme is to select some sensor nodes randomly. The network lifetime and the correlation of sensor nodes are not considered. Therefore, it is significant to adjust the sensor node selection scheme according to these factors for the superior performance. In this paper, an optimized sensor node selection scheme is given based on Bayesian estimation theory. The advantage of Bayesian estimation is to give the closed-form expression of posterior density function and error covariance matrix. The proposed optimization problem first aims at minimizing the mean square error (MSE) of Bayesian estimation based on a given error covariance matrix. Then, the non-convex optimization problem is transformed as a convex semidefinite programming problem by relaxing the constraints. Finally, the residual energy of each sensor node is taken into account as a constraint in the optimization problem. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme has better performance than a conventional compressed sensing scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an improved HR neuron model, the effects of electrical and chemical autapses on the firing activities of single neurons are studied, and the wave propagation in forward feedback neural network is also discussed by considering autapstic regulation under different intensities of electromagnetic induction. It is found that the electrical activities of single neuron can be changed by exerting excitatory or inhibitory of electrical and chemical autapses. With different feedback gains of electromagnetic induction current, membrane potential shows the oscillatory solutions and steady states. Under the condition of different autapse or electromagnetic induction, the propagation of electrical activities caused by the central neuron is transformed in the forward feedback network. Moreover, the spatial synchronization of the network will be changed by choosing different coupling intensities and feedback gains. It is proved that the electrical and chemical autapses play a significant role in firing modes of single neuron and the wave propagation of the forward feedback networks under the electromagnetic induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an improved the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neuron model which is driven by the electromagnetic induction, the effects of temperature and electromagnetic induction on the action potential of neuron are investigated by numerical computations. It is very interesting that, under the fixed condition of electromagnetic induction, there is a region for the electrical activity of neuron in the external current and temperature parameters plane, the region of electrical firing is similar to the Arnold’ tongue-like structure, and the Arnold’ tongue originates from the nonlinear variation of temperature with the increasing of threshold external current. The effects of temperature and electromagnetic induction on neuronic electrical activity are respectively discussed by using numerical simulations. Our results provide new insights into the roles of temperature in the improved HH neuron model, the existence of Arnold’ tongue-like structure might give some insights for the treatment of neurological diseases such as the epilepsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] N 6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common mRNA modification in mammalians. The function and dynamic regulation of m6A depends on the "writer", "readers" and "erasers". YT521-B homology domain family (YTHDF) is a class of m6A binding proteins, including YTHDF1, YTHDF2 and YTHDF3. In recent years, the modification of m6A and the molecular mechanism of YTHDFs have been further understood. Growing evidence has shown that YTHDFs participate in multifarious bioprocesses, particularly tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarized the structural characteristics of YTHDFs, the regulation of mRNA by YTHDFs, the role of YTHDF proteins in human cancers and inhibition of YTHDFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paddy soils constitute the largest anthropogenic wetlands on earth. However, the biogeochemical cycles of iron (Fe) oxides and organic compounds at the redox interfaces in paddy soils are poorly understood. Here, we propose a conceptual mechanism based on our data set, which links seasonal turnover of soil aggregates and the organo-mineral associations at the aggregate interfaces in the rice-wheat cropping system. Our results showed that the application of organic amendments significantly ( P  < 0.05) increased the aggregate mean weight diameter (MWD) compared to chemical fertilization alone. The aggregate MWD was always higher after the wheat harvest than after the rice harvest from 2013 to 2015, indicating a seasonal dynamic management-induced process of aggregation, disaggregation and re-aggregation. The oxalate-extractable Fe oxides (Feo) may preferentially retain aromatic organic compounds as indicated by the significant positive correlation between Feo and the percentage of aromatic carbon (C). Furthermore, the specific surface area of the ferrihydrite significantly increased after the microbial reduction, showing the potential of adsorbing more aromatic organic compounds. Moreover, there were more aromatic organic compounds at the aggregate surfaces than in the entire entities, suggesting that aromatic organic compounds were selectively preserved at the aggregate interfaces possibly by forming aromatic-Fe complexes. Therefore, soil disaggregation coupled with the anaerobic conditions exposed more fresh surfaces for C accumulation by forming aromatic-Fe complexes, which were subsequently protected by soil re-aggregation in the aerobic conditions. Organic fertilization improved soil aggregation and promoted the organo-mineral interactions, thus contributing to C sequestration in the rice-wheat cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular basis of many health outcomes attributed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that they may originate from transcriptional changes in blood cells. This was determined by assessing the effect of fluorescent solar simulated radiation (FSSR) on the transcriptional profile of peripheral blood pre- and 6 h, 24 h and 48 h post-exposure in nine healthy volunteers. Expression of 20 genes was down-regulated and one was up-regulated at 6 h after FSSR. All recovered to baseline expression at 24 h or 48 h. These genes have been associated with immune regulation, cancer and blood pressure; health effects attributed to vitamin D via solar UVR exposure. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D 3 [25OHD 3 ] levels increased over time after FSSR and were maximal at 48 h. The increase was more pronounced in participants with low basal 25OHD 3 levels. Mediation analyses suggested that changes in gene expression due to FSSR were independent of 25OHD 3 and blood cell subpopulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite networks have attracted a lot of attention due to their unique advantages such as wide coverage and high data rate. In particular, the use of inter-satellite links (ISLs) allows multiple satellites to collaborate to provide a wider range of services. However, it is more difficult for the design of ISLs and resource allocation with the increasing number of satellites, which further leads to high network cost. Therefore, this paper aims to design an efficient ISLs establishment scheme and power allocation method to reduce the network cost. First, the network cost optimization problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming. Then, with equal power allocation scheme, a Lagrange relaxation method is used to decompose the optimization problem into two subproblems, i.e., routing problem and ISLs establishment problem. Specifically, the optimal routing scheme is equivalent to solving a min-cost max-flow problem of time expanded graph. The ISLs design problem can be directly solved by using branch and bound method in parallel. Moreover, with given routing and ISL scheme, the optimal power allocation is given based on convex optimization theory. Finally, the simulation results have be provided for verifying the effectiveness of proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc (Zn) homeostasis is required for a functional immune system. Critically ill patients often exhibit decreased Zn serum concentrations and could potentially benefit from Zn supplementation as a therapeutic strategy. However, the conventional approaches to monitoring Zn are time consuming and costly. This work reports on detection of Zn by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) on bismuth electrodes in a microfabricated electrochemical cell. The working potential window of the electrodeposited bismuth film electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, while square wave ASV was used for measuring Zn in acetate buffer and blood serum. Conditions critical to sensing, such as preconcentration potential, preconcentration time, and buffer pH, were optimized for Zn detection. The sensor was successfully calibrated with pH 6 acetate buffer in the physiologically-relevant range of 5 µM to 50 µM Zn and exhibited well-defined and highly repeatable peaks. The sensor was used to demonstrate measurement of Zn in blood serum digested in HCl. The results of this work show that Zn detection in serum is possible with smaller sample volumes (µL vs. mL) and faster turnaround time (hours vs. days) as compared with the conventional spectroscopic methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]