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Periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) supported ionic liquids with high catalytic ability were prepared and tested in synthesis of 2‐oxazolidinones from the three‐component cycloaddition reactions of CO2, aryl amines and epoxide. The functionalized PMO material PMO@TZ‐ILSmCl4 revealed the most excellent catalytic performance than PMO@TZ‐ILLaCl4 during the catalytic synthesis of 2‐oxazolidinones. Different parameters such as catalyst loading, temperature, CO2 pressure and reaction time were also investigated. Good to excellent yields for 2‐oxazolidinones and stable reusability were reached in the CO2 cycloaddition under solvent‐ /ligand‐free conditions. This work provides a useful route to design novel and highly efficient catalytic systems for the transformation of CO2 into other valuable 2‐oxazolidinones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new methodology for the highly efficient and atom‐economic oxidation of alcohols and benzylic compounds to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones with environmental‐friendly hydrogen peroxide using a magnetic MOF nanocatalyst has been developed. We demonstrated that the resulting magnetic nanocomposite CoFe2O4@SiO2@MIL‐53(Fe) can show excellent catalytic performances in the highly selective oxidation at room temperature, based on a synergetic effect between iron sites and CoFe2O4@SiO2. The nanocatalyst offers simple operation for recovery and the recycling test showed that it could be reused for successive runs without significant degradation in catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to maintain the competitive edge in competitive environment of global integration and rapid development of knowledge economy, organization not only requires its employees to complete their own tasks, but also hopes employees can actively provide ideas or suggestions to the organization to change the current status of the organization, thus to realize the organizational innovation and to keep sustained competitiveness. In tradition Chinese culture, there has convention that subordinate employees give advice to their leaders, so it gradually forms an organizational structure characterized with distinct hierarchy great power gap. The paternalistic leadership is a distinctive leadership style formed under this deep-rooted cultural background. Through the analysis of relative theory, influence factor and significance of paternalistic leadership and employee voice behavior, this paper adopts regression analysis to study the factor of paternalistic leadership to employee voice behavior under the influence of special Confucian culture, discussing the gaining of organizational self-esteem by employees under this leadership style, finally finding the balance relation between leadership style and employee voice behavior and making prospect for the future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aiming at the problem that students lack business practice participation in different industries in production management experimental teaching, we put forward a production management experimental teaching platform which integrates multiple industry data sources. The platform separats the system database from multiple business database and constructs a multi-level platform service technology architecture. The platform is constructed by using SaaS (Software as a Service) model. Using the workflow technology to complete templated business process modeling, it implements the whole process simulation of enterprise production management, and involves multiple industries and roles. Finally, we verify the feasibility and applicability of production management experimental teaching platform by taking motor manufacturing industry as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Jun activation domain-binding protein 1 (Jab1) was overexpressed in breast cancer, which was involved in degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 Kip1 . The objective of this study was to examine the effect of brain specific kinase 1 (BRSK1) expression on Jab1 over-expression and related signaling pathway in breast cancer. Methods Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in 95 human breast carcinoma samples and the data were correlated with clinicopathologic features. Furthermore, Western blot analysis was performed for BRSK1 and Jab1 in breast carcinoma samples and cell lines to evaluate their protein levels and molecular interaction. Results We found that the cytoplasmic BRSK1 expression was inversely associated with Jab1 expression ( P < 0.01) and correlated significantly with histologic grade ( P = 0.006), however nuclear BRSK1 expression couldn't obtain similar results. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that survival curves of low versus high expressers of cytoplasmic BRSK1 and Jab1 showed a highly significant separation in breast cancer ( P < 0.01). While in vitro, following release of breast cancer cell lines from serum starvation, the expression of Jab1, phosphor-Akt (p-Akt) was up-regulated, whereas BRSK1 and p27 Kip1 were decreased. Treatment of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 could diminish Jab1 expression but increase BRSK1 expression. In addition, we employed siRNA technique to knock down Jab1 and/or BRSK1 expression and observed their effects on MDA-MB-231 cell growth. Conclusions BRSK1 is a novel tumor suppressor in breast cancer which inversely correlated with Jab1 expression, may involve in the restoring Jab1-induced suppression of p27 Kip1 and may regulate cell cycle through the PI3K/Akt pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hypoxic tumor cells are more resistant to standard chemotherapies. A number of studies indicated that improving oxygenation inside the tumor could serve as a potential strategy to target hypoxia-induced chemoresistance. In this study, we examined whether a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (OC89) could increase tumor oxygenation and thus enhance the efficiency of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in an orthotopic rat HCC model. Methods: Efficiency of the hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (OC89) in improving tumor oxygenation was examined by OxyLab pO2. Sensitization of chemotherapy (cisplatin) in TACE by OC89 was evaluated in four different therapeutic regimens including cisplatin (1 mg/kg) + OC89 (0.2 g/kg), cisplatin (1 mg/kg) + OC89 (0.4 g/kg), cisplatin (3 mg/kg) + OC89 (0.2 g/kg), cisplatin (3 mg/kg) + OC89 (0.4 g/kg). For all the therapeutic regimens, a single delivery of OC89 via the tail vein was performed 1 h before TACE. Results: Compared with Ringer's buffer, systemic delivery of OC89 (0.4 g/kg) attenuated tumor hypoxia ( p < 0.05). Additionally, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) fraction of low readings (0-10 mmHg) inside the tumor decreased from 74.1% to 24.6% after OC89 delivery, while pO2 fraction of high readings (15-25 mmHg) increased from 22.2% to 41.5%. When cisplatin was combined with OC89, regimen cisplatin (3 mg/kg) + OC89 (0.4 g/kg) resulted in a significant inhibition of tumor growth at Day 21 after therapy ( p < 0.05). Further investigation indicated that OC89 delivery influenced anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic balance of the UPR pathway in the tumor. Conclusions: Our data suggest that targeting tumor hypoxia with the hemoglobin-based O2 carrier serves as a promising approach to enhance the efficacy of cisplatin-based chemotherapy in HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation affected soybean yield. [•] Pod number was the most responsible yield component. [•] Seed size reduction was due to cotyledon cell number. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: Production planning and control has crucial impact on the production and business activities of enterprise. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the most popular resources planning and management system, however there are some shortcomings and deficiencies in the production planning and control because its core component is still the Material Requirements Planning (MRP). For the defects of the ERP system, many improvement and optimization schemes have been proposed, and improve the feasibility and practicality of the plan in some extent, but it is fewer studies considering the whole planning system optimization in the multiple performance management objectives and achieving better application performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose a multi-objective production planning optimization model Based on the point of view of the integration of production planning and control, in order to achieve optimization and control of enterprise manufacturing management. Design/methodology/approach: On the analysis of ERP planning system's defects and disadvantages, and related research and literature, a multi-objective production planning optimization model is proposed, in addition to net demand and capacity, multiple performance management objectives, such as on-time delivery, production balance, inventory, overtime production, are considered incorporating into the examination scope of the model, so that the manufacturing process could be management and controlled Optimally between multiple objectives. The validity and practicability of the model will be verified by the instance in the last part of the paper. Findings: The main finding is that production planning management of manufacturing enterprise considers not only the capacity and materials, but also a variety of performance management objectives in the production process, and building a multi-objective optimization model can effectively optimize the management and control of enterprise manufacturing. Practical implications: By setting cost parameters for all kinds of production objectives, mangers can maintain the balances among multiple objectives, and achieve the optimized management and control in the manufacturing process. Originality/value: This paper propose a multi-objective production planning optimization model, which can consider multiple performance management objectives of manufacturing process, and can achieve effective planning and control of production process of enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An air–earth (rock)–tunnel system has often been used for building energy saving. A computing model of the air–earth (rock) heat exchanger is necessary to predict the thermal performance. A numerical simulating model has been developed for the deeply buried air–earth (rock)–tunnel system, in which a 1-D implicit transient convection-diffusion sub-model describes the air temperature and humidity, and a 1-D transient explicit heat conduction sub-model computes the rock temperature. Based on an appropriate discrete scheme, a sequential computing algorithm has been given for solving the air sub-model and the rock sub-model respectively. The accuracy of this numerical model has been verified by comparisons of temperatures of the air and rock and the relative humidity between numerical results and the test data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, the diamond epitaxial growth mechanism has been studied in detail by employing several types of diamond as a seed in a catalyst-graphite system under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions. We find that the diamond nucleation, growth rate, crystal orientation, and morphology are significantly influenced by the original seeds. The smooth surfaces of seeds are beneficial for the fabrication of high-quality diamond. Our results reveal that the diamond morphology is mainly determined by the original shape of seeds in the early growth stage, but it has an adjustment process during the growth and leads to well symmetry. Additionally, we have also established the growth model for the twinned diamond grown on several seeds, and proposed the possible growth processes by tracking the particular shapes of seeds before and after treatment under HPHT conditions. These results suggest that the shape-controlled synthesis of diamond with well morphology can be realized by employing certain suitable diamond seeds. This work is expected to play an important role in the preparation of trustworthy diamond-based electronic and photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acute and chronic inflammatory states are associated with many changes in intracellular iron metabolism including sequestration of iron in the mononuclear-phagocyte system (MPS) and a decline in serum iron. Previous work in rodent models of acute inflammation has demonstrated inflammation-induced downregulation of intestinal and MPS iron exporter, ferroportin 1, mRNA and protein. In addition, these models have also demonstrated hepatic induction of mRNA of the small 25 amino acid peptide hepcidin. Hepcidin has been hypothesized to be the mediator of iron- and inflammation-induced changes in iron metabolism. The molecular details of the connection between iron metabolism, hepcidin and inflammation have become clearer with the recent finding of hepcidin-induced internalization and degradation of FPN1. The work presented here demonstrates that the lipopolysaccharide-induced splenic macrophage FPN1 mRNA downregulation is not dependent upon the action of a single cytokine such as IL-6, IL-1 or TNF-α because mice deficient in these pathways downregulate FPN1 normally. Furthermore, hepcidin is also synthesized in the spleen of normal mice and induced by lipopolysaccharide. Additionally, in vitro, splenic adherent cells produce hepcidin in response to lipopolysaccharide in an IL-6-dependent manner. There appear to be both probable transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of FPN1 expression by lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation. The former effect is on mRNA expression and is independent of hepcidin, whereas the latter is IL-6- and hepcidin-dependent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The cellular iron exporter ferroportin 1 is expressed in both the duodenum and in cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Expression of ferroportin 1 protein on the cell surface is regulated by the interaction of ferroportin 1 with hepcidin. Hepcidin treatment of cells results in internalization and lysosomal degradation of cell surface ferroportin 1. Recently, ferroportin 1 mutations leading to hemochromatosis (HFE4) have been identified. HFE4 differs from classical hemochromatosis in that there is a greater amount of macrophage iron sequestration. The data presented here demonstrate that HFE4 mutations are heterogeneous in their effects on protein function. Some mutations result in loss of function with partial protein sequestration in the ER. Others are indistinguishable from native ferroportin 1 and have a similar ability to deplete transfected cells of iron as evidenced by activation of the iron-response proteins and cellular ferritin depletion. Significantly, all mutants appear to be unresponsive to hepcidin and do not demonstrate the expected internalization on exposure to hepcidin. The clinical phenotypes observed in patients may be secondary to cell-type-specific defects in hepcidin-mediated inhibition of ferroportin 1 expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACTThe newly described iron transporter, ferroportin (MTP1, IREG1), is expressed in a variety of tissues including the duodenum and cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). In the MPS, ferroportin is hypothesized to be a major exporter of iron scavenged from senescent erythrocytes. Changes in iron metabolism, including the sequestration of iron in the MPS, are characteristic of both acute and chronic inflammation and these conditions induce changes in ferroportin expression. In a mouse model of acute inflammation, LPS administration is associated with reduced MPS ferroportin protein and mRNA expression. In addition, the ferroportin 5′ UTR also has an iron-responsive element that binds to the iron-response proteins, but whether there is a role for this IRE in inflammation induced regulation of ferroportin has been unclear. A luciferase reporter gene under the control of the mouse ferroportin promoter and 5′ UTR was used to determine if this 5′ UTR conferred IRE-dependent regulation on this reporter gene. Stimulation of reporter gene transfected RAW 264.7 cells (a mouse macrophage cell line) with LPS resulted in IRE-dependent inhibition of luciferase production. Inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase abrogated the IRE-dependent effect of LPS. In addition, direct treatment of RAW 264.7 and with NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine resulted in IRE-dependent down-regulation of luciferase expression. The effect of NO was consistent with IRP1/IRE mediated translation block. There are most likely both inflammation-mediated transcriptional and post-transcriptional (IRE-dependent) mechanisms for inhibiting ferroportin expression in MPS cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several soil samples were used to study how the characteristics of natural organic matter (NOM) affect sorption of organic compounds. These soils contains different amounts and types of NOM. Aromaticity of NOM (percentage of aromatic carbons) was determined from solid-state CPMAS [sup 13]C NMR spectra and the soil effective polarity was computed from the equation developed by Xing et al. Naphthalene was used to examine the sorption characteristics of NOM. Both aromaticity and polarity of NOM strongly affected sorption of naphthalene. Old NOM showed higher affinity than that in the surface, young soils. Sorption increased with increasing aromaticity and decreasing polarity. Thus, the sorption coefficients of organic contaminants cannot be accurately predicted without some consideration of NOM characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of radiation on the Ca2+ signaling system in HSY cells transfected with the Bcl‐2 or Bcl‐XL gene were studied. Bcl‐2 overexpression did not alter carbachol (CCh)‐elicited initial increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i), but Bcl‐XL overexpression dramatically reduced this response. Exposure to 10 Gy γ‐ray did not alter basal [Ca2+]i. By contrast, the CCh‐stimulated initial [Ca2+]i increase was reduced at 0.5 and 4 h post‐irradiation in all cell types and remained decreased at 24 h in wild‐type and control‐transfected cells, but recovered in Bcl‐2‐ and Bcl‐XL‐transfectants. The formation of inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (IP3) in response to CCh at 4‐h post‐irradiation was decreased in wild‐type and control‐transfected cells, but not in Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐XL transfectants. The capacity of the IP3‐sensitive Ca2+ store was significantly reduced by radiation in all cells except Bcl‐XL transfectants. Ca2+ influx after stimulation with CCh was suppressed by exposure to radiation in wild‐type and control‐transfected cells, but not in Bcl‐2‐ and Bcl‐XL‐transfectants. However, radiation enhanced Ca2+ influx activated by thapsigargin in all cell types. These results suggest that 1) radiation diminishes IP3 formation and Ca2+release in response to CCh, but potentiates the store‐operated Ca2+ influx; and 2) overexpression of Bcl‐2 or Bcl‐XL partially protects cells from radiation‐induced inhibition of Ca2+ signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under investigation in this manuscript is the coupled Hirota equations, which describe the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in a birefringent fiber or collision of the two waves arisen by severe weather in deep ocean. Based on the generalized Darboux transformation derived before, we obtain the semirational solutions, and properties of the solitons are discussed in detail: Elastic collisions between/among the two/three solitons on the zero-intensity background are shown in figures, which means that the solitons propagate with the stable amplitudes and velocities during the collisions. Also, inelastic collisions between/among the two/three solitons are illustrated, and some of the solitons travel with amplitudes changed. Furthermore, the bound states among the three solitons are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and patient acceptability of burn therapy with Chinese Medicinals in treating pain induced by lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LDH) in community. Methods: All 684 cases of LDH were provided with Chinese Medicinal burn therapy treatment in this research. The visual analogue scoring (VAS) was applied to evaluate the lumbago and the quality of life of patients before and after treatment. Moreover, logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the influence factors of curative effect. Results: The total effective rate of analgesia was 77.2%. The total effective rate of patients with severe pain and disease course ≤6 months before the treatment was 91.8 and 90.9%, which was significantly higher than that of patients with mild and moderate pain group (70.7%) with the course of disease >6 months (76.1%). The more severe the lower back pain, the better the curative effect (OR = 4.877), and the shorter the disease course of lumbago, the better (OR = 0.256) the curative effect. The overall effective rate of improvement was 79.7, 80.2 and 80.3%, respectively on the effects of daily life, daily work and walking ability. The incidence of adverse reactions was 3.5%. The patients' satisfaction and approval degree of technical treatment were 84.0 and 86.3%. Conclusions: The treatment with Chinese Medicinal burn therapy to relieve pain induced by LDH was safe and effective. Moreover, patient's compliance was better; the degree of acceptance was high. In addition, the technique is easy to master by doctors in a basic hospital setting, and is suitable for promotion in primary health care institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of MCM-41 supported functionalized ionic liquids doped with copper species were prepared, characterized and evaluated as catalysts in the Biginelli reaction. Most of these supported ionic liquids perform well in the reaction, especially the multifunctional copper coordinated MCM-41 supported heterogeneous catalysts (0.5)IL-TiCl 5 @MCM-41@Cu(15) and (0.5)IL-HSO 4 @MCM-41@Cu(15). The catalytic tests revealed that (0.5)IL-HSO 4 @MCM-41@Cu(15) was the best and powerful catalyst in the Biginelli reaction for the preparation of 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones with high to excellent yields. The catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture by filtration and reused in six consecutive cycles without significant loss in catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the use of RNG k-ε turbulence model, SIMPLEC algorithm and CFD software, the turbulent flow in an axial flow impeller was numerically simulated in the clear water (single-phase) and the sandy water (solid-liquid twophase) conditions. The distributions of solid concentration, velocity and pressure on the impeller of an axial flow pump were analyzed at the same particle diameter but different volume concentrations in sandy water. And these distributions were comparatively analyzed under the clear water and the sandy water conditions. According to the simulation results, the axial pump impeller will be damaged more easily and quickly in sandy water than in clear water. And the area more prone to damage on the axial flow impeller is predicated. The predicted vulnerable parts in an axial flow impeller are consistent with that in actual projects. This study shows that the numerical simulation results are the same as the actual situation, and it has guiding significance for the wear design of the axial flow pump. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deal with the problem that many products in discrete manufacturing factories had flexible process design which had increased the complexity of scheduling, this paper proposed the FPJSP as an extension of JSP, and built the mathematical model for the new scheduling problem to shorten the production cycle. It proposed the hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) to solve the model. According to the characteristics of FPJSP, it designed the genetic algorithm (GA) with improved chromosome encoding schema and genetic operators. In combination with the variable neighborhood search algorithm (VNS), it designed four neighborhood structures to enable dynamic neighborhood search and improve the neighborhood search performance of GA. The experiment shows the effectiveness and optimize performance of the proposed HGA for solving FPJSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore diamond synthesis with a series of experiments using an Fe-Ni catalyst and a P3N5 additive in the temperature range of 1250-1550 0C and the pressure range of 5.0-6.3 GPa. We also investigate the influence of nitrogen on diamond crystallization. Our results show that the synthesis conditions (temperature and pressure) increase with the amount of P3N5 additive increasing. The nitrogen impurity can significantly influence the diamond morphology. The diamonds stably grow into strip and lamellar shapes in the nitrogen-rich environment. The Fourier-transform infrared spectrum shows that the nitrogen concentration increases rapidly with the content of P3N5 additive increasing. By spectrum analysis, we find that with the increase of the nitrogen concentration, the Ib-type nitrogen atoms can aggregate in the A-centre form. The highest A-centre nitrogen concentration is approximately 840 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the superconducting (SC) property and high-robustness of structural stability of kagome CsV3Sb5 under in situ high pressures. For the initial SC-I phase, its Tc is quickly enhanced from 3.5 K to 7.6 K and then totally suppressed at P ∼ 10 GPa. With further increasing pressure, an SC-II phase emerges at P ∼ 15 GPa and persists up to 100 GPa. The Tc rapidly increases to the maximal value of 5.2 K at P = 53.6 GPa and slowly decreases to 4.7 K at P = 100 GPa. A two-dome-like variation of Tc in CsV3Sb5 is concluded here. The Raman measurements demonstrate that weakening of E2g mode and strengthening of E1g mode occur without phase transition in the SC-II phase, which is supported by the results of phonon spectra calculations. Electronic structure calculations reveal that exertion of pressure may bridge the gap of topological surface nontrivial states near EF, i.e., disappearance of Z2 invariant. Meanwhile, the Fermi surface enlarges significantly, consistent with the increased carrier density. The findings here suggest that the change of electronic structure and strengthened electron-phonon coupling should be responsible for the pressure-induced reentrant SC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their unique structure properties, most of the electrides that possess extra electrons locating in interstitial regions as anions are insulators. Metallic and superconducting electrides are very rare under ambient conditions. We systematically search possible compounds in Ca–S systems stabilized under various pressures up to 200 GPa, and investigate their crystal structures and properties using first-principles calculations. We predict a series of novel stoichiometries in Ca–S systems as potential superconductors, including P21/m Ca3S, P4mbm Ca3S, Pnma Ca2S, Cmcm Ca2S, Fddd CaS2, Immm CaS3 and C2/c CaS4. The P4mbm Ca3S phase exhibits a maximum Tc value of ∼20 K. It is interesting to notice that the P21/m Ca3S and Pnma Ca2S stabilized at 60 and 50 GPa behave as superconducting electrides with critical temperatures Tc of 7.04 K and 0.26 K, respectively. More importantly, our results demonstrate that P21/m Ca3S and Pnma Ca2S are dynamically stable at 5 GPa and 0 GPa, respectively, indicating a high possibility to be quenched to ambient condition or synthesized using the large volume press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many kinds of drugs induce pseudo-allergic reactions due to activation of mast cells. We investigated the anti-pseudo-allergic effect of andrographolide (Andro). The effects of Andro on pseudo-allergic reactions were investigated in vivo and in vitro. Andro suppressed compound 48/80 (C48/80) induced pseudo-allergic reactions in mice in a dose-dependent manner. Andro also inhibited C48/80-induced local inflammatory reactions in mice. In vitro studies revealed that Andro reduced C48/80-induced mast cells degranulation. Human phospho-kinase array kit and western blotting showed that Andro could inhibit pseudo-allergic responses via the calcium signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary factor regulating the composition of the microbial community in the rhizosphere is carbon (C) efflux from root systems, which fundamentally influences microbial functions in the rhizosphere, such as biodegradation, plant growth, and rhizosphere signalling. However, information regarding the incorporation of plant-C by the bacterial community in the rhizosphere is limited, particularly in soybean. Soybean plants were grown in rhizo-boxes containing low- or high-organic C (C org ) Mollisols and labelled with 13 CO 2 at the flowering stage. After soil DNA was extracted from the rhizosphere, 13 C-DNA was separated from 12 C-DNA using the stable isotope probing method, followed by pyrosequencing analysis. Between soils, significant differences in the abundance of genera incorporating 13 C in the rhizosphere were observed, with Aquincola , Dechloromonas , Massilia , Amycolatopsis , Delftia , Magnetospirillum , Psychrobacter , Ochrobactrum , Pseudoxanthomonas and Niastella showing greater relative abundances in low-C org soil ( p < 0.05) compared to high-C org soil. However, the opposite trend was observed for Enhydrobacter , Flavisolibacter , Propionibacterium and Staphylococcus. Correspondingly, the number of operational taxonomic units in each genus varied between soils. Soil type greatly affected the flow of plant-C into rhizospheric bacterial community. The plant-C metabolizing bacteria may contribute to the transformation of rhizodeposits in the soil and soil C sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In application, it is vitally important to study the characteristics of unit generating capacity and stability within on-cam zone of the low head turbine. According to the actual position of the guide vane and blade. This paper performed theoretical analysis of hydraulic loss and stability. Experimentally, we investigated this topic with the numerical simulation and test the theoretic value in the real instruments. We found out that the greater the deviation from the on-cam point, the more complex the draft tube vortex structure, and the larger area the vortex core occupied, the lower efficiency of the system. Within the on-cam zone, the farther it is from the on-cam point, the more are the flow separation vortexes. At the same time, it appears a rule that the vortex core frequency evolves from a single frequency doubling to guild vane frequency multiplier (×16), finally to runner frequency multiplier (×4). It also appears a rule that with the vortex core evolving with time, the pressure fluctuation is increasing, and at the on-cam point, the percentage of deviation in the guide vane opening and percentage increase in pressure fluctuation is approximately linearly distributed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims Liver graft injury and tumor recurrence are the major challenges of liver transplantation for the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we aimed to explore the role and mechanism of liver graft injury mobilizing regulatory T cells (Tregs), which lead to late phase tumor recurrence after liver transplantation. Methods The correlation among tumor recurrence, liver graft injury and Tregs mobilization were studied in 257 liver transplant recipients with HCC and orthotopic rat liver transplantation models. The direct roles of CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling on Tregs mobilization and tumor recurrence were investigated in CXCL10 −/− and CXCR3 −/− mice models with hepatic IR injury. Results Clinically, patients received the graft with graft weight ratio (GWR) <60% had higher HCC recurrence after liver transplantation than the recipients with GWR ⩾60% graft. More circulating Tregs and higher intragraft TLR4/CXCL10/CXCR3 levels were detected in recipients with GWR <60% graft. These results were further validated in rat transplantation model. Foxp3 + cells and expressions of TLR4, CXCL10, TGFβ, CTLA-4 and CD274 were increased in rat liver tumor tissues from small-for-size graft group. In mouse model, the mobilization and recruitment of Tregs were decreased in TLR4 −/− , CXCL10 −/− and CXCR3 −/− mice compared to wild-type mice. Moreover, less CXCR3 + Tregs were recruited into liver in CXCL10 −/− mice after hepatic IR injury. The knockout of CXCL10 and depletion of Tregs inhibited tumor recurrence after hepatic IR injury. Conclusion CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling upregulated at liver graft injury directly induced the mobilization and intragraft recruitment of Tregs, which further promoted HCC recurrence after transplantation. Lay summary There were positive correlation among tumor recurrence, circulating Tregs and liver graft injury after human transplantation for HCC patients. The knockout of CXCL10 decreased hepatic recruitment of CXCR3 + Tregs and late phase tumor recurrence after hepatic IR injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide with a poor prognosis of limited survival. The role of regulatory B cell (Breg), a new important B cell subset, in HCC progression remains unclear. We firstly found that the percentage of B cells at tumor margin was significantly higher than that in tumor and non-tumor regions. Especially, increased intrahepatic B cells at tumor margin were positively associated with tumor invasive features and more tumor recurrence. Besides, HCC patients had a significantly higher percentage of circulating Bregs than healthy people. Increased circulating Bregs were correlated with advanced tumor staging, tumor multiplicity and venous infiltration. Next, we firstly revealed that human Bregs promoted HCC tumor growth independent of Tregs in SCID mice. The migration of Bregs from blood into tumor was also confirmed in mice. Finally, we further explored the molecular mechanism of Bregs promoting proliferation and migration of HCC cells in vitro . Bregs promoted HCC growth and invasiveness by directly interacting with liver cancer cells through the CD40/CD154 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving living donor liver transplantation appear to possess significantly higher tumor recurrence than the recipients receiving deceased donor liver transplantation. The underlying mechanism for HCC recurrence after transplantation remains unclear. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of small-for-size liver graft injury on HCC recurrence after transplantation. Methods: The correlation between tumor recurrence, liver graft injury, CXCL10 expression and endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mobilization was studied in 115 liver transplant recipients and rat orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) models. The direct role of CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling on EPC mobilization was investigated in CXCL10 −/− mice and CXCR3 −/− mice. The role of EPCs on tumor growth and angiogenesis was further investigated in an orthotopic liver tumor model. Results: Clinically, patients with small-for-size liver grafts (<60% of standard liver weight, SLW) had significantly higher HCC recurrence (p =0.04), accompanied by more circulating EPCs and higher early-phase intragraft and plasma CXCL10 levels, than the recipients with large grafts (⩾60% of SLW), which were further validated in rat OLT models. Circulatory EPC mobilization was reduced after liver injury both in CXCL10 −/− mice and CXCR3 −/− mice in comparison to wild-type controls. CXCL10 recruited EPCs in dose-dependent and CXCR3-dependent manners in vitro. Early-phase EPC/CXCL10 injection enhanced orthotopic liver tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis in nude mice. Conclusions: Post-transplant enhanced CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling in small-for-size liver grafts directly induced EPC mobilization, differentiation and neovessel formation, which further promotes tumor growth. Targeting CXCL10/CXCR3 signaling may attenuate early-phase liver graft injury and prevent late-phase tumor recurrence/metastasis after transplantation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background and aims: Organic amendments are an option in enhancing soil biological productivity. Limited research exists on the effects of long-term cattle manure addition on low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) concentrations in corn ( Zea mays L) and soybean ( Glycine max L.) fields in the region of soil erosion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential influence of cattle manure on the LMWOAs concentration in erosion soil. Methods: A field experiment was established in Hailun city, Northeast China to determine the impact of long-term cattle manure addition on the total amounts of main LMWOAs in eroded Mollisol fields. There were three levels of simulated-erosion, which removed 0, 10 and 30 cm of topsoil. Two soil amendments were: (1) chemical fertilizer at the rate normally used by farmers in the region and (2) chemical fertilizer plus 15,000 kg ha (dry weight basis) of cattle manure. Main LMWOAs in soil were assessed at the flowering stage of soybean and the jointing stage of corn. Principle results: Compared to chemical fertilizer alone, 7-years of repeated cattle manure addition significantly increased total amounts of main LMWOAs in rhizosphere about 9-70 times and bulk soil about 6-62 times. The magnitude of increase by cattle manure was in the order of oxalate>malate>malonate>lactate>maleate in corn plots, and oxalate>malate>malonate>lactate in soybean plots. In comparison, cattle manure and topsoil removal had larger effect on LMWOAs concentrations in corn plot than soybean plot. The addition of cattle manure application and top soil removal had significant independent influence on main LMWOAs concentration in soil solution. Conclusion: This study suggested that addition of cattle manure would be an effective approach in modifying soil biological properties through the increases in low-molecular-weight organic acids to eroded Chinese Mollisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of diamond crystals doped with hydrogen is successfully synthesized using LiH as the hydrogen source in a catalyst-carbon system at a pressure of 6.0 GPa and temperature ranging from 1255 ° to 1350 °. It is shown that the high temperature plays a key role in the incorporation of hydrogen atoms during diamond crystallization. Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy reveals that most of the hydrogen atoms in the synthesized diamond are incorporated into the crystal structure as sp3 -CH2-symmetric (2850 cm-1) and sp3 CH2-antisymmetric vibrations (2920 cm-1). The intensities of these peaks increase gradually with an increase in the content of the hydrogen source in the catalyst. The incorporation of hydrogen impurity leads to a significant shift towards higher frequencies of the Raman peak from 1332.06 cm-1 to 1333.05 cm-1 and gives rise to some compressive stress in the diamond crystal lattice. Furthermore, hydrogen to carbon bonds are evident in the annealed diamond, indicating that the bonds that remain throughout the annealing process and the vibration frequencies centred at 2850 and 2920 cm-1 have no observable shift. Therefore, we suggest that the sp3 C-H bond is rather stable in diamond crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is associated with a high potential of tumor recurrence and metastasis, leading to poor prognosis. Cell motility is an important factor in the progression and metastasis of cancers. Recently, Fascin has been linked to tumor progression by induction of cell motility. However, the precise roles of Fascin in OSCC have not been elucidated clearly. The aim of this study was to analyze the roles of Fascin in OSCC progression using OSCC clinical samples. We demonstrated that Fascin over-expression was found in OSCC clinical samples and its expression was significantly associated with nodal metastasis (p =0.027), tumor recurrence (p <0.001) and poor patients’ overall survival (p =0.013). Consistently, Fascin proteins were detected in all OSCC cell lines with the expression level corresponding to the invasion ability. To specifically investigate the mechanism of Fascin in OSCC, we examined the E-cadherin expression in the same set of OSCC specimens. Fascin was negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression (p =0.018, r =−0.513). In conclusion, our findings suggested that Fascin over-expression might enhance OSCC aggressiveness, possibly by interacting with E-cadherin expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Because of the unique layered structure, black phosphorus (BP) provides a possibility of relatively independent control in electrical and thermal conductivity for thermoelectrical applications. It is therefore of great interest to realize high-performance BP-based thermoelectrics as flexible non-toxic and ultralight devices in spite of the low energy conversion efficiency and structural instability of the bulk BP. In this work, we systematically study the thermoelectric properties for the two-dimensional BP from mono-layer up to quad-layer by first-principles calculations and Boltzmann transport theory. It can be concluded from the calculations that the thermoelectric performance of BP nanosheets can be effectively optimized by tuning the layer thickness. We reveal that the maximum ZT values at 300 and 500 K can reach up to 0.45 and 0.90 in p -type bi-layer BP along armchair direction, respectively, around 5 times higher than that of the bulk at room temperature. The high performance in bi-layer BP is mainly attributed to its highly anisotropic and degenerate carrier pockets. Accordingly, we further propose that the formation of BP/h-BN heterostructure can enhance ZT up to 1.2 at 500 K, which facilitates the real application of thin BP for flexible and eco-friendly thermoelectrics. • Black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets can be effectively optimized by tuning the layer thickness. • An obviously improved ZT of around 1.0 is predicted in bi-layer BP, compared with the bulk counterpart. • High ZT of bi-layer BP is mainly attributed to its unique anisotropic and highly degenerate band structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical therapies are the first-line treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the high incidence of tumor metastasis after liver surgery remains a severe problem. We aim to investigate the roles and the underlying mechanism of YQ23, stabilized non-polymeric diaspirin cross-linked tetrameric hemoglobin, in liver tumor metastasis after major hepatectomy and partial hepatic ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury.Methods: An orthotopic liver tumor model in Buffalo rat was established using the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line McA-RH7777. Major hepatectomy for tumor-bearing lobe and partial hepatic I/R injury were performed at two weeks after orthotopic liver tumor implantation. YQ23 (0.2 g/kg) was administered at 1 hour before ischemia and immediately after reperfusion. Blood samples were collected at day 0, 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 for detection of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and regulatory T cells (Tregs).Results: Our results showed that YQ23 treatment effectively inhibited intrahepatic and lung metastases together with less tumor angiogenesis at 4 weeks after major hepatectomy and partial hepatic I/R injury. The levels of circulating EPCs and Tregs were significantly decreased in YQ23 treatment group. Furthermore, YQ23 treatment also increased liver tissue oxygenation during hepatic I/R injury. Up-regulation of HO1 and down-regulation of CXCR3, TNF-α and IL6 were detected after YQ23 treatment.Conclusions: YQ23 treatment suppressed liver tumor metastasis after major hepatectomy and partial hepatic I/R injury in a rat liver tumor model through increasing liver oxygen and reducing the populations of circulating EPCs and Tregs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]