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A new species of the polyclad genus Prosthiostomum is described from the intertidal zone of the South China Sea, Huidong, China, based on morphological and molecular analyses. Prosthiostomum huidongense sp. nov. is characterized by i) few marginal eyes scattered between the marginal band and the cerebral eyes; ii) sucker located at two-thirds of the body length, being removed from the female gonopore by twice the distance between the male and female gonopores; iii) shallow male atrium with slightly ruffled inner wall, positioned approximately perpendicular to the body wall. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on 28S rDNA sequence showed that the new species was nested in a clade composed of Prosthiostomum species. The uncorrected p-distance of COI between P. huidongense sp. nov. and other Prosthiostomum species ranged from 20.3 to 24.3%, and the high genetic divergence further supports P. huidongense as a new species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes is not solely a metabolic disorder but also involves inflammatory processes. The immune response it incites is a primary contributor to damage in target organs. Research indicates that during the initial phases of diabetic nephropathy, macrophages infiltrate the kidneys alongside lymphocytes, initiating a cascade of inflammatory reactions. The interplay between macrophages and other renal cells is pivotal in the advancement of kidney disease within a hyperglycemic milieu. While M1 macrophages react to the inflammatory stimuli induced by elevated glucose levels early in the disease progression, their subsequent transition to M2 macrophages, which possess anti-inflammatory and tissue repair properties, also contributes to fibrosis in the later stages of nephropathy by transforming into myofibroblasts. Comprehending the diverse functions of macrophages in diabetic kidney disease and regulating their activity could offer therapeutic benefits for managing this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylases of the restriction-modifications (R-M) systems are promising enzymes for the development of novel molecular and synthetic biology tools. Their use in vitro enables the deployment of independent and controlled catalytic reactions. This work aimed to produce recombinant DNA methylases belonging to the R-M systems, capable of in vitro inhibition of the type IIS restriction enzymes BsaI, BpiI, or LguI. Non-switchable methylases are those whose recognition sequences fully overlap the recognition sequences of their associated endonuclease. In switch methylases, the methylase and endonuclease recognition sequences only partially overlap, allowing sequence engineering to alter methylation without altering restriction. In this work, ten methylases from type I and II R-M systems were selected for cloning and expression in E. coli strains tolerant to methylation. Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations and post-induction temperatures were tested to optimize the soluble methylases expression, which was achieved with 0.5 mM IPTG at 20 °C. The C-terminal His6-Tag versions showed better expression than the N-terminal tagged versions. DNA methylation was analyzed using purified methylases and custom test plasmids which, after the methylation reactions, were digested using the corresponding associated type IIS endonuclease. The non-switchable methylases M2.Eco31I, M2.BsaI, M2.HpyAII, and M1.MboII along with the switch methylases M.Osp807II and M2.NmeMC58II showed the best activity for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity. This work demonstrates that our recombinant methylases were able to block the activity of type IIS endonucleases in vitro, allowing them to be developed as valuable tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly techniques. Key points: • Non-switchable methylases always inhibit the relevant type IIS endonuclease activity • Switch methylases inhibit the relevant type IIS endonuclease activity depending on the sequence engineering of their recognition site • Recombinant non-switchable and switch methylases were active in vitro and can be deployed as tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylases of the restriction-modifications (R-M) systems are promising enzymes for the development of novel molecular and synthetic biology tools. Their use in vitro enables the deployment of independent and controlled catalytic reactions. This work aimed to produce recombinant DNA methylases belonging to the R-M systems, capable of in vitro inhibition of the type IIS restriction enzymes BsaI, BpiI, or LguI. Non-switchable methylases are those whose recognition sequences fully overlap the recognition sequences of their associated endonuclease. In switch methylases, the methylase and endonuclease recognition sequences only partially overlap, allowing sequence engineering to alter methylation without altering restriction. In this work, ten methylases from type I and II R-M systems were selected for cloning and expression in E. coli strains tolerant to methylation. Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations and post-induction temperatures were tested to optimize the soluble methylases expression, which was achieved with 0.5 mM IPTG at 20 °C. The C-terminal His6-Tag versions showed better expression than the N-terminal tagged versions. DNA methylation was analyzed using purified methylases and custom test plasmids which, after the methylation reactions, were digested using the corresponding associated type IIS endonuclease. The non-switchable methylases M2.Eco31I, M2.BsaI, M2.HpyAII, and M1.MboII along with the switch methylases M.Osp807II and M2.NmeMC58II showed the best activity for site-selective inhibition of type IIS restriction enzyme activity. This work demonstrates that our recombinant methylases were able to block the activity of type IIS endonucleases in vitro, allowing them to be developed as valuable tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly techniques. Key points: • Non-switchable methylases always inhibit the relevant type IIS endonuclease activity • Switch methylases inhibit the relevant type IIS endonuclease activity depending on the sequence engineering of their recognition site • Recombinant non-switchable and switch methylases were active in vitro and can be deployed as tools in synthetic biology and DNA assembly [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sub-TeV or TeV γ -rays have been convincingly detected in the afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The relativistic jet associated with GRBs may be surrounded by a cocoon and thus the thermal photons of the cocoon pervading the emission region of the jet can be upscattered to the very-high-energy regime (e.g., sub-TeV/TeV) by the electrons in the jet. In this scenario, the electrons in the jet cool down and thus the jet emission in the low-energy regime, e.g., the X-ray or optical, may be suppressed. In this paper, we study the effect of the cocoon's thermal photons on the jet emission in the low-energy regime. We find that the jet emission in the low-energy regime is significantly suppressed when the emission region of the jet is just encircled by a hot cocoon. Correspondingly, there is a sharp decay in the light curves of the jet emission in the low-energy regime, which can be understood to signify strong TeV emission in GRBs. Since the radius of the cocoon expands with the observer time t obs, the suppression of the jet emission in the low-energy regime may be relieved and thus the light curves of the jet emission would return to those of emission without a cocoon-external inverse-Compton cooling effect. For a long-lasting jet with power ∝ (1 + t obs / t c) α , an internal plateau followed by a sharp decay may generally appear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C21H18O4, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 22.2457(10) Å, b = 5.0728(2) Å, c = 15.7045(7) Å, β = 110.012(2)°, V = 1665.22(13) Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.0434, wRref(F2) = 0.1023, T = 100(2) K [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of quantum technology challenges the security of modern cryptography, which causes concern from the cryptographic community about the quantum implementation of cryptographic algorithms, as it is an important component of many quantum attacks. In this paper, the construction of quantum circuits for Camellia block cipher is investigated. Firstly, a 4-bit S-box is derived from the hardware circuit of the Camellia S-box, which divides the S-box circuit into three parts. Then, based on the rearranged circuit, as well as the implementation of the CCCNOT gate, the construction of the NCT-based circuit for the Camellia S-box is researched. Meanwhile, combined with the observations on the rearranged S-box circuit and the discussion on the in-place implementation of different matrices, a quantum circuit for the Camellia S-box with lower T-depth is presented. As an application, the various S-box circuits are used to construct quantum circuits for the Camellia family. The results reveal that the memory-efficient and depth-efficient quantum circuits of Camellia can be constructed with lower T-depth and T · M value. Besides, for each instance of Camellia, compared with existing state-of-the-art implementation with lowest T-depth and T · M value, the depth-efficient circuit designed in this work only costs about 35% of the qubits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work researches the implementation of the AES family with Pauli-X gates, CNOT gates and Toffoli gates as the underlying quantum logic gate set. First, the properties of quantum circuits are investigated, as well as the influence of Pauli-X gates, CNOT gates and Toffoli gates on the performance of the circuits constructed with those gates. Based on these properties and the observations on the hardware circuits built by Boyar et al. and Zou et al., it is possible to construct quantum circuits for AES's Substitution-box (S-box) and its inverse (S-box - 1 ) by rearranging the classical implementation to three parts. Since the second part is treated as a 4-bit S-box in this paper and can be dealt with by existing tools, a heuristic is proposed to search optimized quantum circuits for the first and the third parts. In addition, considering the number of parallelly executed S-boxes, the trade-offs between the qubit consumption and T · M values for the round function and key schedule of AES are studied. As a result, quantum circuits of AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 can be constructed with 269, 333 and 397 qubits, respectively. If more qubits are allowed, quantum circuits that outperform state-of-the-art schemes in the metric of T · M value for the AES family can be reported, and it needs only 474, 538 and 602 qubits for AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the quantum implementation of symmetric ciphers has received much attention. In this paper, we investigate the construction of quantum circuits based on different gate sets for the SM4 block cipher, which is the national standard of commercial cryptography of China and is standardized in ISO/IEC. First, we construct reversible circuits using Pauli-X gates, CNOT gates and Toffoli gates (i.e., the NCT gate set) for the SM4 S-box, based on which we design two circuits for the SM4 S-box with Clifford+T gates by applying the quantum And gate and existing decomposition scheme of the Toffoli gate, respectively. In addition, we propose a new in-place 1 implementation for the linear transformation in the SM4 round function. Finally, taking the qubit consumption and the T · M value (the product of qubit consumption and nonlinear gate depth of a quantum circuit) as metrics, we investigate the application of various circuits we designed to the construction of quantum circuits for SM4. The results show that we can always construct a subroutine/stand-alone circuit based on the NCT gate set, or based on Clifford+T gates for SM4 with fewer qubits or lower T · M value than existing state-of-the-art implementations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, giant flares (GFs) produced by magnetars have a very short-hard initial spike that is followed by a weak oscillatory phase. GFs from a nearby galaxy would appear as cosmic short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), such as GRB 200415A. In this paper, we search for GF-originated bursts in the Fermi GRB category and report GRB 210410A, which is presented with a very short-hard spike followed by an extended tail emission. In the E p, z − E iso plane, GRB 210410A with a duration of T 90 ∼ 48 s differs from long GRBs, might be classified as a short GRB with a redshift of z ∼ 0.28, and could be regarded as a GF with a distance of ∼2.7 Mpc. Here, E p, z , E iso, and L iso denote the rest-frame peak photon energy, the isotropic energy, and the isotropic luminosity of the burst, respectively. The radiation spectrum of GRB 210410A, similar to that of GRB 200415A, can be well fitted with a non-dissipative photospheric emission. However, GRB 210410A in the E p, z − L iso plane is beyond the death line of cosmic GRBs for non-dissipated photospheric emission with a general initial size of the fireball. Since the E p, z − L iso relation of GFs is far beyond the death line of cosmic GRBs, GRB 210410A may have originated from the same channel that produces GFs. We also perform the analysis and discuss both the highest photon energy event (4.2 GeV) and the extended tail emission in this burst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox is a constant phenomenon in organisms. From the signaling pathway transduction to the oxidative stress during the inflammation and disease process, all are related to reduction-oxidation (redox). Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) is a transcription factor targeting many antioxidant genes. In non-stressed conditions, NRF2 maintains the hemostasis of redox with housekeeping work. It expresses constitutively with basal activity, maintained by Kelch-like-ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1)-associated ubiquitination and degradation. When encountering stress, it can be up-regulated by several mechanisms to exert its anti-oxidative ability in diseases or inflammatory processes to protect tissues and organs from further damage. From acute kidney injury to chronic kidney diseases, such as diabetic nephropathy or glomerular disease, many results of studies have suggested that, as a master of regulating redox, NRF2 is a therapeutic option. It was not until the early termination of the clinical phase 3 trial of diabetic nephropathy due to heart failure as an unexpected side effect that we renewed our understanding of NRF2. NRF2 is not just a simple antioxidant capacity but has pleiotropic activities, harmful or helpful, depending on the conditions and backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly prevalent brain tumor characterized by high rates of morbidity, recurrence, and mortality. While temozolomide (TMZ) is commonly used as a first-line treatment for this cancer, the emergence of TMZ resistance limits its utility. The long noncoding RNA HOXA-AS2 reportedly drives GBM progression, but whether it can influence therapeutic resistance to TMZ has yet to be established. Methods. HOXA-AS2 expression was analyzed in TMZ-resistant and sensitive GBM tissue samples and cell lines by qPCR. A siRNA-based approach was used to knock down HOXA-AS2 in GBM cells, after which TMZ resistance was tested. Bioinformatics approaches were used to predict miRNA binding targets of HOXA-AS2, after which a series of luciferase reporter assay and rescue experiments with appropriate miRNA inhibitor/mimic constructs were performed to validate these predictions and to clarify the ability of HOXA-AS2 to regulate chemoresistant activity. Results. TMZ-resistant GBM patients and cell lines exhibited increased HOXA-AS2 expression that was correlated with worse overall survival. Knocking down HOXA-AS2 increased the sensitivity of resistant GBM cells to TMZ. miR-302a-3p was identified as a HOXA-AS2 target confirmed through luciferase reporter assays and rescue experiments, and IGF1 was further identified as a confirmed miR-302a-3p target. In addition, HOXA-AS2 knockdown resulted in a corresponding drop in IGF1 expression consistent with indirect regulation mediated by miR-302a-3p. Conclusion. In summary, these results highlight the role of HOXA-AS2 as a driver of TMZ resistance in GBM through its ability to regulate the miR-302a-3p/IGF1 signaling axis, highlighting this pathway as a promising target for the diagnosis, therapeutic sensitization, and/or treatment of affected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate the incidence and safety of clinical complications associated with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) for the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation (RLDH) by meta-analysis. Methods. PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science electronic databases were searched for clinical studies on complications related to the treatment of RLDH with PELD. The search time extended from the databases' inception until May 2021. RevMan5.4 software was used for meta-analysis after two researchers independently scanned the literature, gathered data, and assessed the bias risk of the included studies. Results. A total of 8 clinical studies, including 1 randomized controlled trial and 7 cohort studies including 906 individuals, were included. According to the results of the meta-analysis, the overall complications (OR = 0.18 , 95% CI: 0.04-0.83, p = 0.03) and dural tear rates (OR = 0.11 , 95% CI: 0.01-0.92, p = 0.04) of PELD were lower than those of traditional fenestration nucleus pulposus removal. Moreover, the PELD group had a greater recurrence rate compared to the MIS-TLIF group (OR = 19.71 , 95% CI: 3.68-105.62, p = 0.0005), and the difference was statistically significant. However, compared with MED and MIS-TLIF, there were no significant differences in the incidence of overall complications, dural tear, nerve root injury, and incomplete nucleus pulposus removal (P > 0.05). Conclusion. PELD is an effective and safe method for the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation, with a lower incidence of complications and higher safety profile than traditional fenestration nucleus pulposus removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tau assembly produces soluble oligomers and insoluble neurofibrillary tangles, which are neurotoxic to the brain and associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Therefore, preventing tau aggregation is a promising therapy for those neurodegenerative disorders.Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a joint computational/cell-based oligomerization protocol for screening inhibitors of tau assembly.Methods: Virtual oligomerization inhibition (VOI) experiment using molecular dynamics simulation was performed to screen potential oligomerization inhibitors of PHF6 hexapeptide. Tau seeding assay, which is directly related to the outcome of therapeutic intervention, was carried out to confirm a ligand's ability in inhibiting tau assembly formation.Results: Our protocol was tested on two known compounds, EGCG and Blarcamesine. EGCG inhibited both the aggregation of PHF6 peptide in VOI and tau assembly in tau seeding assay, while Blarcamesine was not a good inhibitor at the two tasks. We also pointed out that good binding affinity to tau aggregates is needed, but not sufficient for a ligand to become a good inhibitor of tau oligomerization.Conclusion: VOI goes beyond traditional computational inhibitor screening of amyloid aggregation by directly examining the inhibitory ability of a ligand to tau oligomerization. Comparing with the traditional biochemical assays, tau seeding activities in cells is a better indicator for the outcome of a therapeutic intervention. Our hybrid protocol has been successfully validated. It can effectively and efficiently identify the inhibitors of amyloid oligomerization/aggregation processes, thus, facilitate to the drug development of tau-related neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many electrical systems can be characterized more authentically by fractional-order dynamic systems. The Atangana–Baleanu and the Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivatives have solved the singularity problem in Caputo derivative. This work uses Atangana–Baleanu and Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivatives to model the fractional-order mutual inductance in the frequency domain. To use the fractional mutual inductance in circuit design, the T-model equivalent circuits are presented with different fractional derivatives. The fractional impedance matching networks based on proposed fractional mutual coupling circuits are simulated as an application. The impedance characteristics of networks with different fractional orders are analyzed. The results indicate that the proposed fractional mutual coupling circuits based on Atangana–Baleanu and Caputo–Fabrizio fractional derivatives can be applied to the complex electrical systems to increase the design degree of freedom, which provides more choices for describing the nonlinear characteristics of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment for glomerular diseases has been extrapolated from the experience of other autoimmune disorders while the underlying pathogenic mechanisms were still not well understood. As the classification of glomerular diseases was based on patterns of juries instead of mechanisms, treatments were typically the art of try and error. With the advancement of molecular biology, the role of the immune agent in glomerular diseases is becoming more evident. The four-hit theory based on the discovery of gd-IgA1 gives a more transparent outline of the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN), and dysregulation of Treg plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of minimal change disease (MCD). An epoch-making breakthrough is the discovery of PLA2R antibodies in the primary membranous nephropathy (pMN). This is the first biomarker applied for precision medicine in kidney disease. Understanding the immune system's role in glomerular diseases allows the use of various immunosuppressants or other novel treatments, such as complement inhibitors, to treat glomerular diseases more reasonable. In this era of advocating personalized medicine, it is inevitable to develop precision medicine with mechanism-based novel biomarkers and novel therapies in kidney disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) can remove bankers from office if they violate the law, engage in unsafe or unsound practices, or breach their fiduciary duties. The Fed, however, has used this power so rarely that few even realize it exists. Although major U.S. banks have admitted to repeated and flagrant lawbreaking in recent years, the Fed has never removed a senior executive from one of these institutions. This Article offers the first comprehensive account of the banker removal power. It makes four contributions. First, drawing on a range of primary sources, it recovers the power’s statutory foundations, showing that Congress created the authority to better align the interests of senior bankers and the public. Second, using a novel dataset obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, it maps the actual practice of banker removal—who is removed, how often removal occurs, and for what reasons. It reveals that the Fed now uses the removal power mostly to prevent already-terminated, low-level employees from working at other banks, even though Congress never intended for the power to be used primarily in this way. Third, harnessing corporate law theory, the Article defends the legislative design. It argues that removal of senior bank executives for unsound management practices is a critical component of effective bank supervision, filling gaps left by regulatory rules and traditional corporate governance measures. Finally, the Article concludes by assessing obstacles to the use of the removal power against bank leadership and suggesting policy responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The coupling effect of disorder and rigidity on system's failure behaviors is investigated. • Correlation in disorder has an anomalous effect on the cases of low rigid system. • Crossover in the distribution of avalanches is observed with the influence of disorder and rigidity. Mechanical rigidity and disorder are two important parameters that influence the failure process of solid materials. We investigate the nonlinear mechanics under their coupled effect as well as the influence of disorder's spatial correlation with 2-D network model. The strain–stress relations present strong nonlinearity and rigidity regain phenomenon when there is strong disorder and high rigidity. The correlation of disorder would weaken the effect and has a great influence on the peak stress, initial stiffness, and system toughness. The crossover of power-law exponents of avalanches is observed with consideration of disorder and the transitions in the cluster distribution induced by correlated disorder disappear as the system rigidity decrease. We conclude that although the disorder can be seen as a reduction of average coordinated number for small rupture thresholds system, the correlated disorder still has a great influence on the failure behaviors of heterogeneous materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Plastisphere amplified ARGs and VFGs caused by long-term organic fertilization. • Co-contig revealed that plastisphere increased the risk of horizontal gene transfer. • Plastisphere tended to promote deterministic process in community assembly of HBPs. Microplastic (MP) pollution is a rapidly growing global environmental concern that has led to the emergence of a new environmental compartment, the plastisphere, which is a hotspot for the accumulation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and human bacterial pathogens (HBPs). However, studies on the effects of long-term organic fertilizer application on the dispersal of ARGs and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in the plastisphere of farmland soil have been limited. Here, we performed a field culture experiment by burying nylon bags filled with MPs in paddy soil that had been treated with different fertilizers for over 30 years to explore the changes of ARGs and VFGs in soil plastisphere. Our results show that the soil plastisphere amplified the ARG and VFG pollution caused by organic fertilization by 1.5 and 1.4 times, respectively. And it also led to a 2.7-fold increase in the risk of horizontal gene transfer. Meanwhile, the plastisphere tended to promote deterministic process in the community assembly of HBPs, with an increase of 1.4 times. Network analysis found a significant correlation between ARGs, VFGs, and bacteria in plastisphere. Correlation analysis highlight the important role of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and bacterial communities in shaping the abundance of ARGs and VFGs, respectively. Our findings provide new insights into the health risk associated with the soil plastisphere due ARGs and VFGs derived from organic fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) plays an important role in improving power system operation performance and promoting renewable energy integration. However, operation safety and system maintenance have been considered as significant challenges for grid-scale use of BESS. Remaining useful life (RUL) is a useful indicator of the health condition of batteries but it is especially difficult to estimate because it is dependent on many monitoring quantities from BESS. This work presents a data-driven approach that is able to fully utilize BESS monitoring data obtained from the battery management system (BMS) in order to provide an accurate and robust estimation of RUL for each individual battery cells inside a BESS. Based on raw data from historical cycling records, the proposed approach employs elastic net regression to extract characteristic features from both primary and secondary data; a back-propagation neural network based model is then established to build the relationship of refined features and the resultant RUL. The effectiveness of the RUL predictor model is verified using a large-scale data set from real-world lithium-ion battery cells and expected to be applicable to practical grid-scale BESS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs the Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu fractional derivatives to determine the impedance and admittance model of fractional capacitor and inductor. The analog implementation circuits are proposed aiming at fractional-order electric elements based on these two derivatives, which can be widely used in a variety of electrical systems using new fractional operators. Constant phase capacitor and inductor are approximated by the Oustaloup algorithm and the recursive net-grid-type analog circuit, respectively. Based on that, approximation circuits of fractional electric components under Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu definitions are given. For the purpose of judging whether the implementation topology of fractional-order capacitor and inductor is accurate, taking fractional RC and RL circuit defined by Caputo, Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu derivatives as examples, the comparison of numerical and circuit simulations is carried out. The correctness of the analog implementation circuits using the Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu definitions is verified. Fractional-order RC charging circuit experiments based on Caputo, Caputo–Fabrizio and Atangana–Baleanu derivatives are taken as examples. Several experiments with different fractional-order and circuit parameters are carried out. The validity of the implementation methods is ulteriorly proved with experiment data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels have been implicated in various types of malignancies including gastric cancer (GC). However, the detailed mechanisms of TRPC channels underlying cell proliferation and apoptosis of GC cells remain largely unknown. Here, we report that TRPC3 was highly expressed in clinical GC specimens and correlated with GC malignant progression and poor prognosis. Forced expression of TRPC3 in GC cells enhanced both receptor-operated Ca2+ entry (ROCE) and store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) and promoted the nuclear factor of activated T cell 2 (NFATc2) nuclear translocation by AKT/GSK-3β and CNB2 signaling. Pharmacological inhibition of TRPC3 or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated TRPC3 knockout effectively inhibited the growth of GC cells both in vitro and in vivo. These effects were reversible by the rescue of TRPC3 expression. Furthermore, we confirmed the role of TRPC3 and the ROCE-AKT/GSK3β-CNB2/NFATc2 signaling cascade in regulating cell cycle checkpoint, apoptosis cascade, and intracellular ROS production in GC. Overall, our findings suggest an oncogenic role of TRPC3 in GC and may highlight a potential target of TRPC3 for therapeutic intervention of GC and its malignant progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Endoscopic screening for early detection of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) lesions is important. However, population‐based endoscopic screening is difficult to implement in populous countries. By identifying high‐risk individuals from the general population, the screening targets can be narrowed to individuals who are in most need of an endoscopy. This study was designed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)‐based model to predict patient risk of UGI lesions to identify high‐risk individuals for endoscopy. Methods: A total of 620 patients (from 5300 participants) were equally allocated into 10 parts for 10‐fold cross validation experiments. The machine‐learning predictive models for UGI lesion risk were constructed using random forest, logistic regression, decision tree, and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms. A total of 48 variables covering lifestyles, social‐economic status, clinical symptoms, serological results, and pathological data were used in the model construction. Results: The accuracies of the four models were between 79.3% and 93.4% in the training set and between 77.2% and 91.2% in the testing dataset (logistics regression: 77.2%; decision tree: 87.3%; random forest: 88.2%; SVM: 91.2%;). The AUCs of four models showed impressive predictive ability. Comparing the four models with the different algorithms, the SVM model featured the best sensitivity and specificity in all datasets tested. Conclusions: Machine‐learning algorithms can accurately and reliably predict the risk of UGI lesions based on readily available parameters. The predictive models have the potential to be used clinically for identifying patients with high risk of UGI lesions and stratifying patients for necessary endoscopic screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to establish an effective nomogram to predict primary distant metastasis (DM) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) to guide the application of PET/CT. Methods: In total, 3591 patients with pathologically confirmed NPC were consecutively enrolled. The nomogram was constructed based on 1922 patients treated between 2007 and 2014. Multivariate logistical regression was applied to identify the independent risk factors of DM. The predictive value of the nomogram was evaluated using the concordance index (C-index), calibration curve, probability density functions (PDFs), and clinical utility curve (CUC). The results were validated in 1669 patients enrolled from 2015 to 2016. Net reclassification improvement (NRI) was applied to compare performances of the nomogram with other clinical factors. The best cut-off value of the nomogram chosen for clinical application was analyzed. Results: A total of 355 patients showed primary DM among 3591 patients, yielding an incidence rate of 9.9%. Sex, N stage, EBV DNA level, lactate dehydrogenase level, and hemoglobin level were independent predictive factors for primary DM. C-indices in the training and validation cohort were 0.796 (95% CI, 0.76–0.83) and 0.779 (95% CI, 0.74–0.81), respectively. The NRI indices demonstrated that this model had better predictive performance than plasma EBV DNA level and N stage. We advocate for a threshold probability of 3.5% for guiding the application of PET/CT depending on the clinical utility analyses. Conclusion: This nomogram is a useful tool to predict primary DM of NPC and guide the clinical application of PET/CT individually at the initial staging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The best surgical procedure of patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) has long been controversial. This meta-analysis was the first study to accurately limit the transplantation site to the forearm muscle and compare the efficacy of total parathyroidectomy with forearm muscle autotransplantation (TPTX+AT) versus subtotal parathyroidectomy (SPTX). A literature search was performed using PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases up to August 2019. The quality of the studies included was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Data were analyzed using Stata version 12 (Stata Corp LP, College Station, TX, USA). A total of 11 studies comprising 984 patients were identified. Compared with SPTX, patients in the TPTX+AT group had significantly lower rates of persistent hyperparathyroidism (OR = 6.41; 95% CI 1.01 to 40.8; P = 0.049). No statistically significant difference was observed in symptomatic improvement (OR = 0.384; 95%CI, 0.12–1.27; P = 0.117), radiological changes (OR = 0.95; 95%CI, 0.03–27.82; P = 0.977), recurrence rate (OR = 1.23; 95% CI, 0.70–2.16; P = 0.473), reoperation rate (OR = 1.07; 95%CI, 0.55–2.07; P = 0.848), hypocalcemia rate (OR = 1.48; 95%CI, 0.78–2.78; P = 0.228), postoperative complications (OR = 0.71; 95%CI, 0.24–2.13; P = 0.537), and hypoparathyroidism rate (OR = 0.91; 95% CI; 0.20–4.18; P = 0.902) between SPTX and TPTX+AT groups. Both of the surgical approaches were effective in treating SHPT for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. It was suggested that TPTX+AT was superior to SPTX with reference to the rate of persistent hyperparathyroidism, but this conclusion still needed to be tested in large-scale prospective randomized controlled trials. TPTX+AT may be preferred for SHPT patients with convincing reasons to avoid neck reoperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence indicates that the synchrotron radiation mechanism may be responsible for the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In the synchrotron radiation scenario, the electron energy spectrum of the prompt emission is diverse in theoretical works and has not been estimated from observations in a general way (i.e., without specifying a certain physical model for the electron spectrum). In this paper, we creatively propose a method to directly estimate the electron spectrum for the prompt emission, without specifying a certain physical model for the electron spectrum in the synchrotron radiation scenario. In this method, an empirical function (i.e., a four-order Bézier curve jointed with a linear function at high energy) is applied to describe the electron spectrum in log–log coordinates. It is found that our empirical function can well mimic the electron spectra obtained in many numerical calculations or simulations. Then, our method can figure out the electron spectrum for the prompt emission without specifying a model. By employing our method on observations, taking GRB 180720B and GRB 160509A as examples, it is found that the obtained electron spectra are generally different from that in the standard fast-cooling scenario and even a broken power law. Moreover, the morphology of electron spectra in its low-energy regime varies with time in a burst and even in a pulse. Our proposed method provides a valuable way to confront the synchrotron radiation mechanism with observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a sequence decision framework based on the Bayesian search is proposed to solve the problem of using an autonomous system to search for the missing target in an unknown environment. In the task, search cost and search efficiency are two competing requirements because they are closely related to the search task. Especially in the actual search task, the sensor assembled by the searcher is not perfect, so an effective search strategy is needed to guide the search agent to perform the task. Meanwhile, the decision-making method is crucial for the search agent. If the search agent fully trusts the feedback information of the sensor, the search task will end when the target is "detected" for the first time, which means it must take the risk of founding a wrong target. Conversely, if the search agent does not trust the feedback information of the sensor, it will most likely miss the real target, which will waste a lot of search resources and time. Based on the existing work, this paper proposes two search strategies and an improved algorithm. Compared with other search methods, the proposed strategies greatly improve the efficiency of unmanned search. Finally, the numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the search strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally believed that the variability of photospheric emission in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) traces that of the jet power. This work further investigates the variability of photospheric emission in a variable jet. By setting a constant η (dimensionless entropy of the jet), we find that the light curve of the photospheric emission shows a "tracking" pattern on the time profile of jet power. However, the relative variability is significantly low in the photospheric emission compared with that in the jet power. If the η is genetic variable, the variability of the photospheric emission is not only limited by the jet power but also affected by η strongly. It becomes complex and is generally different from that of the jet power. Moreover, the opposite phase may stand in the variabilities of the photospheric emission at different photon energies. We also find that the relative variability does not remain constant over the photon energies with an obvious reduction at a certain energy. This is consistent with the analysis of GRB 090902B in which an appreciable thermal component has been detected in a wide energy range. For several other GRBs coupling with the thermal component, we conservatively evaluate the variability of the thermal and nonthermal emission, respectively. Our results show that the relative variability of the thermal emission is likely comparable to that of the nonthermal emission for these bursts. In addition, the analysis of GRB 120323A reveals that the variability of the photospheric emission may be of the opposite phase from that of the nonthermal emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboxyl end-functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT-COOH) was grafted chemically with CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) by a phosphine-free method. The particle quality of P3HT-COOH/CdSe nanocomposites was better than that of P3HT/CdSe nanocomposites, which were synthesized using the same method. Nanocrystals with controllable particle size exhibited a wurtzite crystalline structure and showed excellent nanocrystal dispersion in the P3HT-COOH matrix. Photoluminescence (PL) characterization performed on nanocomposites suggested the efficient charge transfer at the P3HT-COOH/CdSe interface. This approach based on the phosphine-free method is not only environmentally friendly but also highly efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A structured jet is invoked to explain the afterglows and also the prompt emission of GRB 170817A. In this article, we stress that, for a precessing jet, the jet structure in the prompt emission phase and that in the afterglow phase may be different. The jet structure in the afterglow phase can be non-uniform even if a narrow uniform jet is presented in the prompt emission phase. We estimate the jet structure in the afterglow phase in the situation in which a narrow uniform precessing jet is launched from the central engine of the gamma-ray burst. With different precession angles, it is found that the structured jet can be roughly described as follows: a narrow uniform core with power-law wings and sharp cut-off edges, a Gaussian profile, a ring shape or another complex profile in energy per solid angle. Correspondingly, the afterglows for our structured jets are also estimated. We find that estimates of the intrinsic kinetic energy, the electron index and the jet opening angle based on the afterglows formed in a precessing system may be incorrect. Our obtained structured jet is likely to be revealed by future observations for a fraction of gravitational-wave-detected merging compact binary systems (e.g. black hole–neutron star mergers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the differences between the immune microenvironments of primary and recurrent craniopharyngiomas (CPs). In addition, we investigated the relationship between the immune microenvironment and clinical characteristics of CP. We collected 52 specimens from 26 patients with CPs. For each patient, specimens for both primary and recurrent CPs were obtained. We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of these specimens to determine the distributions of M2 macrophages, CD8+ T cells, programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1), and Ki67. In recurrent CP specimens, the distributions of M2 macrophages, Ki67, and PD-L1 increased compared with primary CP specimens (P = 0.019, P = 0.0084, and P = 0.0319, respectively). Moreover, the distributions of M2 macrophages, CD8+ T cells, and PD-L1 in papillary CPs were higher than those observed in adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (ACPs) (P = 0.0317, P = 0.0359, and P < 0.0001, respectively). In the adult ACP group, M2 macrophages, CD8+ T cells, and PD-L1 were more abundant/expressed than in the child ACP group (P = 0.0159, P = 0.0215, and P < 0.0088, respectively). A positive correlation was found between M2 macrophages and CD8+ T cells (r = 0.4079; P = 0.0027). Correspondingly, M2 macrophages and CD8+ T cells were both positively correlated with PD-L1 (r = 0.4564; P = 0.0007 and r = 0.3987; P = 0.0034, respectively). The observed high expression of M2 macrophages in primary CPs suggests a shortened time for tumor recurrence (P = 0.0131). The microenvironment of recurrent CP varies from that of primary CP. The abundance of M2 macrophages in primary CP may indicate a risk of early recurrence. Therefore, it is recommended to increase the frequency of follow-up examinations in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Findings: What is the central question of this study?The aim was to examine and compare the contributions of caveolin‐1 to the contractile responses mediated by L‐type voltage‐dependent calcium channels, store‐operated Ca2+ channels and receptor‐operated Ca2+ channels in two different types of arteries from two‐kidney, one‐clip hypertensive rats.What is the main finding and its importance?We demonstrated that the density of caveolae and caveolin‐1 expression were significantly upregulated in the aorta of two‐kidney, one‐clip hypertensive rats, but not in the third‐order branches of mesenteric arteries. We highlight that caveolin‐1 plays an important role in aortic constriction by enhancing receptor‐operated Ca2+ entry in the hypertensive rat model. Calcium and its multiple regulatory mechanisms are crucial for the development of hypertension. Among these regulatory mechanisms, store‐operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) and receptor‐operated Ca2+ entry (ROCE) mediate agonist‐induced calcium influx, contributing to vascular contraction. The SOCE and ROCE are regulated by a variety of mechanisms involving caveolin‐1 (Cav1), which has been found to be strongly associated with hypertension in gene polymorphism. In the present study, we investigated the role of Cav1 during the enhanced activity of calcium channels in hypertensive arteries. We demonstrated that the expression level of Cav1 was significantly increased in the aorta of two‐kidney, one‐clip (2K1C) hypertensive rats. The disruption of caveolae by methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin did not cause a marked difference in agonist‐induced vasoconstriction in the third‐order branches of the mesenteric arteries but strongly suppressed the aortic contractile response to endothelin‐1 in the 2K1C group, which was not found in the control group. The increase in Cav1 by introduction of Cav1 scaffolding domain enhancing peptide promoted the 1‐oleoyl‐2‐acetyl‐glycerol‐induced ROCE in hypertensive aortic smooth muscle cells but did not enhance the cyclopiazonic acid‐induced SOCE. In the resistance arteries, similar changes were not observed, and no statistical changes of Cav1 expression were evident in the third‐order branches of the mesenteric arteries. Our results indicate that increased Cav1 expression might promote the altered [Ca2+]i‐induced aortic vasoreactivity by enhancing ROCE and be involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: What is known and objective: Mounting evidence suggests that long‐term use of gastric‐acid suppressants (GASs) may be associated with adverse effects. Whether GAS use increases the risk of enteric peritonitis in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) is not known. The aim of this meta‐analysis was to evaluate the association between GAS use and enteric peritonitis in PD patients. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases from inception to 23 January 2018 to identify eligible studies. The primary outcome was an association between GAS use and enteric peritonitis in PD patients. Results and discussion: Six studies involving 829 people were included in this meta‐analysis. Pooled data showed that GAS use in PD patients was associated with an increased risk of enteric peritonitis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02‐1.57, I2 = 48%). Subgroup analyses based on GAS type revealed that histamine‐2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) might increase the risk of enteric peritonitis in PD patients (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.01‐1.93; I2 = 8%), but proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) might not (1.13; 0.72‐1.77; 6; 34%). What is new and conclusion: Gastric‐acid suppressants use might be a risk factor for enteric peritonitis in PD patients. In particular, H2RAs increased the risk of enteric peritonitis, but PPIs did not. Therefore, to prevent enteric peritonitis, H2RAs should probably be prescribed with caution for PD patients. Gastric‐acid suppressants (GASs) are commonly prescribed for patients with end‐stage renal disease. However, this meta‐analysis found that use of GASs in peritoneal dialysis patients was associated with an increased risk of enteric peritonitis. Thus, GASs should be prescribed with caution for peritoneal dialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosis of faulty elements in a linear phased array antenna is of great importance in the wireless communication field which has been received increasing attention. As a result of element or elements failure in the linear phased array antennas, the whole radiation pattern will suffer from high side lobe levels, wide bandwidth and unexpected nulls. To this end, we suggest a novel approach by combining the generative adversarial learning and the stacked denoising sparse autoencoder to determine the location of the faulty elements in antennas. The suggested approach can learn discriminative features from radiation pattern images adaptively and automatically with less expert knowledge. Meanwhile, the suggested approach is able to overcome the strong noise, the high dimensional size of the radiation pattern and the small fault samples. In this regard, the suggested approach possesses superiority in discriminant capability in contrast to the existing related approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies to relieve antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pollution are urgently needed. Fermentation broth from fruit and vegetable waste (FFVW), an agricultural amendment, exhibits a remarkable capacity to reduce ARG pollution; however, the underlying mechanism of this effect remains unclear. We performed microcosm experiments to reappear the phenomenon of FFVW-driven reduction in ARGs. Moderate-level FFVW reduced gene resistance to sulfonamide (41.2 %), macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin (MLS) (47.2 %), chloramphenicol (63.2 %), and tetracycline (61.4 %). Binning and network analyses revealed that Actinobacteria comprise the primary hosts of ARGs in arable soil, and FFVW substantially inhibited the growth and metabolic activity of these organisms. Moreover, tetracycline and MLS production was partially/completely inhibited by FFVW, further reducing the transfer frequency by 52.9–86.1 % and 46.6–66.6 % in the intragenic and intergenic mating systems, respectively. Furthermore, the expression of genes related to conjugation pairing and plasmid transfer was downregulated. Thus, FFVW effectively reduces ARG pollution by inhibiting Actinobacteria proliferation, thereby reducing selective pressure and restricting horizontal gene transfer. Our findings highlight the important underlying mechanisms of FFVW involved in ARG reduction, supporting its use in arable soil. [Display omitted] • The mechanism of FFVW-mediated ARG reduction was revealed from macro and micro perspectives. • FFVW reduced ARGs by restraining the growth and metabolism for ARG host Actinobacteria in soils. • FFVW reduced ARGs by reducing the persistent antibiotics selection pressure in soils. • FFVW mitigated horizontal transfer of ARGs through conjugative transfer. • The study offered an approach to control soil ARGs caused by organic fertilizer application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of spatially correlated disorder in microstructure strength are systematic studies in both aspects of failure behaviors and mechanical properties. For the same level of disorder, its spatial distribution has a great influence on failure dynamics and results in different stress–strain responses. The power-law distributions for avalanches and clusters no longer hold when there is a strong correlation between microscope element strength. The brittle and ductile transition is also observed with the change in the disorder's spatial correlation. The results address the importance of the internal correlation structure of disorder and the necessity of considering correlated disorder when studying the failure of heterogeneous materials. • Correlated disorder is introduced and its influence on system's failure behaviors is investigated. • Some universal critical features are broken with the introduction of correlation. • Provide a new viewpoint for study disordered system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperglycemia is one of the main causes of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) characterized by thickening of the vascular basement membrane. Laminin alpha 1 (LAMA1) is a primary component of laminin, a major protein constituent of the basement membrane. In this study, we investigated the role of LAMA1 in the development of PDR. Retinal choroidal vascular endothelial cells (RF/6A line) were exposed to glucose at different concentrations (5 mM, 15 mM, 25 mM, and 35 mM) and analyzed for cell growth, migration, proliferation, and adhesion. LAMA1 expression was examined 24 and 48 h following glucose treatment using Western blotting, RT-PCR, and immunofluorescence. The results showed that the proliferation, migration, and adhesion of RF/6A cells were increased by high glucose, whereas LAMA1 expression was slightly higher at 15 mM but decreased at 25 mM and 35 mM glucose compared to control. Thus, the changes in the biological behavior of high glucose-exposed retinal vascular endothelial cells correspond to variations in LAMA1 expression, indicating a possibility for LAMA1 involvement in PDR development. Our findings suggest that LAMA1 may play a role in PDR and, thus, may serve as a potential target for DR diagnosis and/or treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millennial-scale climate variability was persistent feature for Greenland ice core and North Atlantic marine records during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Studying high quality climatic archives outside of the Greenland and North Atlantic with precise constraint of absolute dating and high resolution sampling is a prerequisite to understand how the millennial-scale changes well expressed in North Hemisphere (NH) high latitudes had been propagated out to the other regions. Here, we generated the surface and subsurface hydrography (U k’ 37 and TEX H 86 temperatures) and terrestrial material input ( n -alkanes) records with precise AMS 14 C dated control for the 45 ka from a core (MD972146) retrieved from the northern South China Sea (SCS). Then, we compared our records to the oxygen isotope record from a Greenland NGRIP ice core, and the mean grain size record from a loess sequence at Gulang, China. We found that the millennial-scale oscillations of hydrolography and terrestrial material inputs records during the time since the last deglaciation and of ∼33–45 ka share similar patterns in timing and amplitude of the NH high latitude climate. However, we found that a non-NH pattern of millennial-scale oscillations for the late MIS 3, ∼20–33 ka of our hydrography and terrestrial material inputs records. Our studies imply that the changes of obliquity also may be important in determining the timing and amplitude of millennial-scale East Asian Monsoon (EAM) variability expressed in the northern SCS hydrography and terrestrial material inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A duplex surface-modification technique that combines ultrasonic-assisted etching and the fluoride-conversion method was successively applied on the surface of a Mg alloy, and was called the MagNest surface. The results showed that the MagNest surface possessed bowl-like nest structures about 15–35 µm in diameter and 2–5 µm in depth. Electrochemical testing verified that the corrosion resistance was increased, indicating that corrosion was effectively inhibited by the surface modification. The MagNest surface also exhibited non-cytotoxicity for MG63 osteoblast-like cells, with most adhered MG63 cells rapidly extending their cell membrane and filopodia. This demonstrates the excellent cytocompatibility of this surface modification, and so constitutes a promising biodegradable material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The consistency of retired batteries is analyzed from multiple state parameters. • Degradation modes of rate capability cycling are identified and quantified. • Estimation of remaining life of retired batteries is achieved through MECM. • LAM and LLI are main contributors to the battery aging at high cycling rate. Lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) are expected to reach end-of-life (EoL) after 10–15 years of operation. Consequently, it is urgent to devise repurposing strategies, which may range from recycling to a 2nd life in stationary energy storage applications. In this paper, aiming the 2nd life repurposing of the batteries, the state estimation and aging mechanisms of retired 32,650-type LiFePO 4 /graphite batteries were studied. The aging state of batteries was evaluated in terms of their capacity, resistance and self-discharge rate. Test results show that there is no strong correlation between battery capacity decay and resistance increase. To identify and quantify the aging mechanisms of the 2nd life batteries after being cycled at different rates (0.5C, 1C and 2C), non-destructive analyses (incremental capacity/differential voltage curves, modified equivalent circuit model, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) are combined with postmortem analysis. The results reveal that the aging of the batteries cycled at 0.5C is primarily due to the loss of active material (LAM), while the loss of lithium inventory (LLI) is rather insignificant. For the batteries cycled at 1C and 2C, in addition to LAM, LLI is also severe, eventually leading to an increase in resistance of the battery, which causes a rapid decline of the battery capacity. The results also indicate the non-destructive methods are reliable to identify ongoing aging mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We built three composite indicators on bird population changes in subtropical Asia. • Very few declining breeding bird species between 2011 and 2019 in Taiwan. • Both forest bird indicator and farmland bird indicator increased gradually. • Introduced species indicator showed a rapid growth and posing a potential risk. Multi-species indicators (MSIs) have been useful tools for reflecting the state of taxa and ecosystems at global, regional, and national levels. However, most indicators are from Europe and North America, and there are few from the world's major tropical and subtropical biodiversity hotspots, often in large part because of insufficient data availability. We modelled the population trajectories of 107 regularly-occurring breeding bird species in Taiwan (100 native and seven introduced species) and developed MSIs for (i) forest, (ii) farmland, and (iii) introduced bird species based on the Taiwan Breeding Bird Survey dataset between 2011 and 2019. Individual population trajectories for 87 species did not show a significant change, those for 11 species grew significantly, and those for two species declined significantly. All MSIs show significant growth. Based on the phylogenetic generalised least squares (PGLS) results, the forest bird indicator increased somewhat more rapidly than the farmland bird indicator, perhaps reflecting very low rates of deforestation contrasting with more rapid land use change on farmlands in Taiwan. Some of the forest and farmland species, however, showed rapid declines, and most of these atypical decliners were common species or carnivores. Further, the PLGS results show that the introduced species indicator had more rapid growth than native species indicators, posing a potential risk for the integrity of native bird communities in the near future as well as compromising broader ecosystem intactness. Our study provides important information on bird population changes in subtropical Asia. The MSIs will be updated regularly and will be used to provide information to support conservation policies in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an adaptive protection scheme for distribution systems with distributed generations (DGs). To mitigate the influences on the protection devices by DGs, an online calculation method of fault current under various system operation conditions is presented. By sampling local available measurements in the buses, a proposed optimized estimation method is used to calculate the Thevenin equivalent circuit parameters of the system dynamically. Moreover, the short-circuit current can be calculated accurately to set the overcurrent relay protection value considering the behavior of DGs during the fault. To ensure the accurate operation of the protection devices, a coordinated protection scheme, including primary and backup protection is presented. Performances of the proposed method and scheme have been verified by simulations on a sample distribution system based on PSCAD/EMTDC. The sensitivity and selectivity of the coordination between primary and backup protection are satisfied under different system operation conditions, fault locations, and types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) crystallization of chromatographically purified fucoxanthin from the micro-algal species of Hincksia mitchellae P.C. Silva. Two sequential medium-pressure column fractionations where the eluent was a mixed solvent of n -hexane and acetone yielded 719.8 milligrams of fucoxanthin per gram of the fraction. The mean recovery of the two-column fractionation was 85.6%. A few experiments on SAS precipitation from diethyl ether solution were performed at various pressures, injection time, temperature, feed flow rate and concentrations, thereby providing information on the effects of pressure and injection time on the purity of the resultant fucoxanthin. A central-composite response surface method was used to optimize the SAS experiments used to produce the micro-sized particulates containing 876.9 mg of fucoxanthin per gram. The recovery of fucoxanthin by this SAS process was 98.3%. The SAS pressure affected the purity of fucoxanthin more than did the injection time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Alterations in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) underlie the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is the primary functional protein associated with caveolae, which are invaginations in the plasma membrane, and is a regulator of [Ca2+]i signaling. Caveolae and Cav-1 increase the activity of store-operated Ca2+ channels (SOCC) in rat pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), and these enhancing effects were more pronounced in rats with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Classical transient receptor potential (TRPC) proteins are highly expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells, and these proteins form functional receptor-operated Ca2+ channels (ROCC) and SOCC in PASMCs. Previous studies suggested that functional and structural changes in aortas might occur during the pathological process of PH. Our data demonstrated that Cav-1 and TRPC were also abundant in the aorta smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs) of PH rats. However, previous PH research primarily focused on Ca2+ channels in pulmonary arteries, but not functional changes in Ca2+ channels in aortas. The contribution of Cav-1 of AoSMCs to alterations of Ca2+ signaling in aortic functions during the pathological process of PH has not been fully characterized. Therefore, this study investigated alterations in Cav-1 expression and the relationship of these changes to Ca2+ channels in AoSMCs of PH rats. Methods: The present study examined physiological caveolae and Cav-1 expression and characterized the function of altered Cav-1 expression in rat aortas with PH. Results: The appearance of caveolae with Cav-1 expression increased significantly in the aortas of rats with PH, but TRPC1 and TRPC6 expression was not altered. In vitro experiments demonstrated that caveolae contributed to phenylephrine, endothelin-1, and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG)-induced aortic vasoreactivity, but KCl and cyclopiazonic acid had no effect, which suggests the vital ability of Cav-1 to regulate ROCC activity. The introduction of Cav-1 scaffolding domain peptide enhanced OAG-induced ROCC function in primary AoSMCs. Conclusion: Cav-1 is specifically associated with ROCC in aortas and plays a vital role in altering vasoreactivity, which affects cardiovascular diseases pathology. Caveolae and Cav-1 up-regulation may affect the function of ROCC in rat models of PH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Coronary artery disease (CAD) risk is associated with non-coding genetic variants at the phosphatase and actin regulating protein 1( PHACTR1 ) gene locus. The PHACTR1 gene encodes an actin-binding protein with phosphatase regulating activity. The mechanism whereby PHACTR1 influences CAD risk is unknown. We hypothesized that PHACTR1 would be expressed in human cell types relevant to CAD and regulated by atherogenic or genetic factors. Methods and results Using immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that PHACTR1 protein is expressed strongly in human atherosclerotic plaque macrophages, lipid-laden foam cells, adventitial lymphocytes and endothelial cells. Using a combination of genomic analysis and molecular techniques, we demonstrate that PHACTR1 is expressed as multiple previously uncharacterized transcripts in macrophages, foam cells, lymphocytes and endothelial cells. Immunoblotting confirmed a total absence of PHACTR1 in vascular smooth muscle cells. Real-time quantitative PCR showed that PHACTR1 is regulated by atherogenic and inflammatory stimuli. In aortic endothelial cells, oxLDL and TNF-alpha both upregulated an intermediate length transcript. A short transcript expressed only in immune cells was upregulated in macrophages by oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and oxidized phospholipids but suppressed by lipopolysaccharide or TNF-alpha. In primary human macrophages, we identified a novel expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) specific for this short transcript, whereby the risk allele at CAD risk SNP rs9349379 is associated with reduced PHACTR1 expression, similar to the effect of an inflammatory stimulus. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that PHACTR1 is a key atherosclerosis candidate gene since it is regulated by atherogenic stimuli in macrophages and endothelial cells and we identify an effect of the genetic risk variant on PHACTR1 expression in macrophages that is similar to that of an inflammatory stimulus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of growing increase of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in manure-fertilized soil needs urgently addressing. In this study, fermentation broth from fruit and vegetable waste was prepared to reduce ARG abundance in swine manure-fertilized soils. With a six-month field experiment, we found that swine manure-fertilized soil had significantly higher ARG abundance than soil applied with chemical fertilizer. As expected, the homemade fermentation broth significantly reduced ARG abundance in swine manure-fertilized soil, possibly through the decrease of abundance of Actinomyces , in which there was a 48.0%, 51.9%, and 66.7% decrease in the abundance of Nocardioides , Streptomyces, and Nonomuraea , respectively. With the bacteriostatic experiment, we observed that fermentation broth (5 mL/L) significantly inhibited the growth and metabolism in Actinomycetes spp. and Nocardioides sp., in terms of ATPase and PDH activity. These findings confirmed that the inhibition of Actinobacteria, some of the most dominant ARG hosts, was one of the main mechanisms responsible for the decrease in ARG abundance in fermentation broth-treated soil. This study provides field-scale evidence of a feasible strategy for controlling farmland ARG pollution, which is of utmost importance for soil health in the context of sustainable agriculture. • Fermentation broth reduced ARGs abundance in swine manure-fertilized soil. • Actinobacteria abundance significantly decreased in fermentation broth -treated soil. • Actinobacteria inhibition was a major mechanism for the decrease of ARGs in soil. • Fermentation broth decreased ATPase and PDH activity in Nocardioides sp. and Actinomycetes spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new reclosure scheme applied to parallel transmission lines with shunt reactors is proposed to improve the adaptability of the autoreclosure. Detailed analysis of the fault phase voltage is performed to derive the criteria to distinguish the temporary fault from the permanent fault. For different types of ground faults, the integral of the fault phase's recovery voltage is used to identify the permanent grounded faults. For different types of cross-line ungrounded faults, the integral of the \beta modulus of the fault phase's recovery voltage is used to identify the permanent cross-line ungrounded faults. Besides, the phase reclosure sequence principle is used for all fault types. The performance of the proposed scheme is verified by the digital and analog simulation test for a 500-kV parallel transmission line with shunt reactors for several cases on different fault types and fault conditions. The Electromagnetic Transients Program-based and physical analog simulation results show that the proposed scheme is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]