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Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal that poses serious threats to human health. Rice is a major source of dietary Cd but how rice plants transport Cd to the grain is not fully understood. Here, we characterize the function of the ZIP (ZRT, IRT‐like protein) family protein, OsZIP2, in the root‐to‐shoot translocation of Cd and intervascular transfer of Cd in nodes. OsZIP2 is localized at the plasma membrane and exhibited Cd2+ transport activity when heterologously expressed in yeast. OsZIP2 is strongly expressed in xylem parenchyma cells in roots and in enlarged vascular bundles in nodes. Knockout of OsZIP2 significantly enhanced root‐to‐shoot translocation of Cd and alleviated the inhibition of root elongation by excess Cd stress; whereas overexpression of OsZIP2 decreased Cd translocation to shoots and resulted in Cd sensitivity. Knockout of OsZIP2 increased Cd allocation to the flag leaf but decreased Cd allocation to the panicle and grain. We further reveal that the variation of OsZIP2 expression level contributes to grain Cd concentration among rice germplasms. Our results demonstrate that OsZIP2 functions in root‐to‐shoot translocation of Cd in roots and intervascular transfer of Cd in nodes, which can be used for breeding low Cd rice varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unraveling uranium complexes has become a popular study topic in recent years to address the problem of spent fuel treatment. An important and promising investigation is the enantiomer separation of chiral organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) via uranyl‐containing receptors. Among them, malaoxon (MLX), as a chiral OP with high toxicity and good selectivity, is controversial because of the different toxicity differences caused by the R and S configurations to target and non‐target organisms. Therefore, it is crucial to explore effective methods for separating its enantiomers. In this work, a novel 2‐(9‐[1H‐pyrazole‐1‐carbonyl]‐1,10‐phenanthrolin‐2‐yl)‐1H‐inden‐1‐one (HPIDO) ligand, which combines with uranyl to form the chiral‐at‐uranium complex (Uranyl‐HPIDO receptor), was designed for the enantioseparation of R/S‐malaoxons (R/S‐MLXs). Based on density functional theory (DFT), we explored the potential coordination modes between the Uranyl‐HPIDO receptor and R/S‐MLXs at various sites. The analyses of bonding properties, orbital interactions, and weak interactions of intramolecular groups of the complexes, along with the study of thermodynamic properties, revealed that the Uranyl‐HPIDO receptor preferred to bind to the phosphoryl oxygen (O5) of R/S‐MLXs to form stable complexes. Good enantioseparations of the two enantiomers were achieved in various solvents (water, n‐Butanol, n‐Octanol, dichloromethane, propanoic acid, toluene, and cyclohexane); the separation factors (SFR/S) ranged 21–853, and the enantioselectivity coefficients (ESCR/S) were more than 95%. The findings could theoretically offer useful information and guidance for the separation of R/S‐MLXs, in addition to providing fresh concepts for the creation of novel uranyl receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive RFD-FTC-DCA system is proposed for the hypersonic vehicle with saturation constraints to resist the control surface damage, actuator faults, disturbances and parameter perturbation. Firstly, the hypersonic vehicle fault model is established. Secondly, the robust fault detection (RFD) observer is designed to detect the control surface damage and actuator faults accurately under the influences of disturbances and parameter perturbation. Thirdly, the fault-tolerant control (FTC) law is designed to resist the control surface damage, actuator faults, disturbances and parameter perturbation simultaneously. Finally, a dynamic control allocation (DCA) algorithm is designed to reallocate the FTC law and limit the deflection angle and velocity within saturation constraint. The comparison simulation results are presented to demonstrate that the RFD observer can detect the faults accurately and reduce false alarm rates effectively, the FTC law can resist the control surface damage, actuator faults, disturbances and parameter perturbation simultaneously, and the tracing errors of attack angle, side-slip angle and roll angle are only $ \pm 0.7^\circ $ ± 0.7 ∘ , $ \pm 0.2^\circ $ ± 0.2 ∘ and $ \pm 1.5^\circ $ ± 1.5 ∘ , respectively, and the DCA algorithm can reallocate the FTC law and limit the deflection angle and velocity within saturation values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma is a widely recognized plant-growth-promoting fungus that has been extensively utilized in various agricultural applications. However, research on the economic production of Trichoderma spores and their effects on tea cuttings must be further advanced. In this study, T. guizhouense NJAU 4742 (NJAU 4742) emerged as a growth-promoting strain for tea cuttings, and the spore-production conditions of NJAU 4742 attained through solid-state fermentation (SSF) using tea residues were optimized. In a pot experiment, nursery substrates containing different concentrations of NJAU 4742 spores were tested for their influence on tea cutting growth and the rhizosphere fungal community. The optimal conditions for spore yield were determined as a 7:3 (w/w) ratio of tea residue to rice bran, a material thickness of 3 cm, an inoculum concentration of 15% (v/w), and an incubation time of 4 days, resulting in a spore count of 1.8 × 109 CFU/g. Applying NJAU 4742 spore products significantly increased the biomass of tea cuttings and influenced the fungal community composition. Moreover, higher concentrations of NJAU 4742 spores yielded better growth performance, and applying nursery substrate with 1.0 × 107 CFU/mL spores was the most economically viable option. Notably, among the top ten fungal genera with the highest relative abundance, Trichoderma showed a positive correlation with the fresh weight of tea cuttings, while the others exhibited a negative correlation. Overall, utilizing tea residue for SSF to produce NJAU 4742 was a feasible approach, and the application of NJAU 4742 spores enhanced the growth of tea cuttings by increasing the relative abundance of Trichoderma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the distributed resource allocation problem of a second-order multi-agent system with external disturbances. The global network resource equality constraint is considered. A distributed algorithm with an exponential convergence rate is proposed based on an internal model for a known bounded disturbance. By using the active disturbance approach to design a reduced-order extended state observer, the proposed algorithm is modified to reject an unknown external disturbance. Moreover, exponential convergence is achieved through the Lyapunov theory when the disturbance is constant. When the differential of the disturbance is bounded, by adjusting the control parameter of the observer, the proposed algorithm converges to an arbitrarily small neighbourhood of the optimal solution. Finally, our simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the coherent signal environments caused by multipath propagation, the interference suppression performance of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers decreases sharply. In this paper, a robust space-time adaptive processing (STAP) method for GNSS receivers is proposed to suppress interferences in coherent signal environments, by using the modified space-time two-dimensional iterative adaptive approach (ST2D-IAA) spectrum estimation. This method applies the IAA algorithm to the ST2D signal model of GNSS receivers, and further modifies the ST2D-IAA algorithm to accurately estimate the power spectrum and noise power simultaneously. The space-time interference-plus-noise covariance matrix (STINCM) is reconstructed by using the estimated power spectrum and noise power in the interference angle region. Based on the reconstructed STINCM, we construct the STAP beamforming optimization problem for the space-time steering vector (STSV) error vector, and further correct the STSV of GNSS signal. Finally, the weight vector of STAP beamforming is calculated by using the reconstructed STINCM and the corrected STSV of GNSS signal. Simulation results show that the proposed method can suppress interferences in coherent signal environments and outperforms the current methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing whether data are from a normal distribution is a traditional problem and is of great concern for data analyses. The normality is the premise of many statistical methods, such as t-test, Hotelling T2 test and ANOVA. There are numerous tests in the literature and the commonly used ones are Anderson-Darling test, Shapiro-Wilk test and Jarque-Bera test. Each test has its own advantageous points since they are developed for specific patterns and there is no method that consistently performs optimally in all situations. Since the data distribution of practical problems can be complex and diverse, we propose a Cauchy Combination Omnibus Test (CCOT) that is robust and valid in most data cases. We also give some theoretical results to analyze the good properties of CCOT. Two obvious advantages of CCOT are that not only does CCOT have a display expression for calculating statistical significance, but extensive simulation results show its robustness regardless of the shape of distribution the data comes from. Applications to South African Heart Disease and Neonatal Hearing Impairment data further illustrate its practicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc (Zn) ion batteries are attractive for next generation batteries with high safety, yet their applications are still hindered by the uncontrollable dendrite formation and side reactions on Zn anode. Here, a polyzwitterion protective layer (PZIL) was engineered by polymerizing 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) in carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), which renders the following merits: the choline groups of MPC can preferentially adsorb onto Zn metal to avoid side reactions; the charged phosphate groups chelate with Zn2+ to regulate the solvation structure, further improving side reaction inhibition; the Hofmeister effect between ZnSO4 and CMCS can enhance the interfacial contact during electrochemical characterization. Consequently, the symmetrical Zn battery with PZIL can keep stable for more than 1000 hours under the ultra‐high current density of 40 mA cm−2. The PZIL confers the Zn/MnO2 full battery and Zn/active carbon (AC) capacitor with stable cycling performance under high current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc (Zn) ion batteries are attractive for next generation batteries with high safety, yet their applications are still hindered by the uncontrollable dendrite formation and side reactions on Zn anode. Here, a polyzwitterion protective layer (PZIL) was engineered by polymerizing 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) in carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), which renders the following merits: the choline groups of MPC can preferentially adsorb onto Zn metal to avoid side reactions; the charged phosphate groups chelate with Zn2+ to regulate the solvation structure, further improving side reaction inhibition; the Hofmeister effect between ZnSO4 and CMCS can enhance the interfacial contact during electrochemical characterization. Consequently, the symmetrical Zn battery with PZIL can keep stable for more than 1000 hours under the ultra‐high current density of 40 mA cm−2. The PZIL confers the Zn/MnO2 full battery and Zn/active carbon (AC) capacitor with stable cycling performance under high current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cervical lymph nodal necrosis (CNN) was an independent risk factor for treatment sensitivity and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). • Increasing the chemotherapy cycle can improve overall survival (OS) and distant metastasis‐free survival (DMFS) in patients with lower CNN ratio. • The treatment planning system (TPS) was used to delineate the volume of metastatic lymph nodes and the necrotic area of lymph nodes on magnetic resonance images (MRI), and calculate the corresponding necrotic proportion. • Our study not only carried out qualitative analysis but also quantitative analysis of CNN in NPC. Whether cervical lymph node necrosis (CNN) is an independent adverse prognostic factor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been determined. In this study, the CNN ratio was graded quantitatively to explore the prognostic value in NPC. We retrospectively reviewed a total of 648 pathologically confirmed as NPC. We outlined metastatic lymph nodes and necrotic area of lymph nodes slice by slice on the magnetic resonance images (MRI) cross section, and calculated the corresponding CNN ratio. The median CNN ratio (17.37 %) was taken as the cut-off point, 256 (39.51 %) patients were divided into CNN1 group (<17.37 %, n = 128) and CNN2 group (≥17.37 %, n = 128), 392 (60.49 %) patients without lymph nodes necrosis were CNN0. Among the CNN0, CNN1 and CNN2 groups, five-year overall survival (OS) was 82.4 %, 76.6 % and 71.1 %, locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) was 91.3 %, 91.1 % and 90.5 %, distant metastasis‐free survival (DMFS) was 83.7 %, 78.5 % and 68.7 %, progression-free survival (PFS) was 78.3 %, 71.7 % and 61.6 % respectively. By multivariate analysis, CNN was an independent prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.003), DMFS (P = 0.019) and PFS (P = 0.007). More than 3 cycles of chemotherapy significantly increased OS (P = 0.024) and DMFS (P = 0.015) in the CNN1 group. This study indicated that CNN is one of the factors with the negative prognosis of NPC. The CNN ratio might be used as one of the reference factors in the formulation of individualized treatment plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widely linear beamforming is known to outperform the conventional adaptive beamforming by fully employing the non-circularity of non-circular signals. In this paper, a robust widely linear beamformer (WLB) is proposed to achieve satisfactory output and robustness in low computational complexity. The augmented signal-of-interest (SOI) covariance matrix is built by performing integration over SOI angular sector. The principal eigenvector of the augmented SOI covariance matrix is taken as the SOI extended steering vector. The received signal vector is projected into the interference-plus-noise subspace to remove the SOI component and derive the augmented interference covariance matrix. The augmented noise covariance matrix is added to the derived augmented interference covariance matrix so that the augmented interference-plus-noise covariance matrix can be reconstructed. The proposed WLB possesses lower computational complexity than the state-of-the-art WLBs due to the avoidance of convex optimization programming. Numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed WLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) in water environments attracts more attention; however, the mechanisms involved in this process have not been clearly elucidated yet. In this study, the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by polydopamine modified Bi 2.15 WO 6 (PDA/BWO) under visible light was conducted. Kinetics results show that PDA apparently accelerates the reduction of Cr(VI). The quasi-first-order kinetic constant of Cr(VI) reduction by 5PDA/BWO is 70.0 times that of the original BWO, reaching 0.070 min−1. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman analyses confirm the formation of ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) complex [Bi(III) O C] between PDA and BWO. The formed Bi(III) O C complex enhances visible light response and narrows the bandgap of PDA/BWO. The photoelectrochemical and photoluminescent characterization further reveals that the formed Bi(III) O C complex inhibits the recombination of carriers, thus enhancing the photocatalytic reactivity of PDA/BWO. Electrons, are derived from three paths, including dye sensitization, LMCT and bandgap excitation, contribute to Cr(VI) reduction by PDA/BWO. This study provides new insights on the paths of Cr(VI) reduction by PDA/BWO under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the critical issues in genetic association studies is to evaluate the risk of a disease associated with gene–gene or gene–environment interactions. The commonly employed procedures are derived by assigning a particular set of scores to genotypes. However, the underlying genetic models of inheritance are rarely known in practice. Misspecifying a genetic model may result in power loss. By using some potential genetic variables to separate the genotype coding and genetic model parameter, we construct a model‐embedded score test (MEST). Our test is free of assumption of gene–environment independence and allows for covariates in the model. An effective sequential optimization algorithm is developed. Extensive simulations show the proposed MEST is robust and powerful in most of scenarios. Finally, we apply the proposed method to rheumatoid arthritis data from the Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 to further investigate the potential interaction effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has paid little attention to weakening of discontinuities with different joint wall material (DDJM) induced by wetting and drying cycles. Experimental investigations were conducted to examine the effects of wetting–drying cycles on weakening of three typical types of natural planar DDJM collected from a sliding-prone formation in the Three Gorges reservoir region of China. Deterioration of the corresponding four types of discontinuities with identical joint wall material (DIJM) were also been studied for comparison. The weakening laws of DDJM were revealed from macro- and microperspectives by testing on mineral compositions, microstructures and water absorption rate of joint walls as well as shear strength of discontinuities. The results indicate that the repeated wetting–drying cycles lead to obvious changes in microstructure and increases of macro water absorption rate for the studied joint walls with the changing degree closely related to their clay mineral contents; the peak shear strengths of DDJM gradually decreases with the wetting and drying cycles for a certain normal stress with the weakening rate between that of the DIJM with two joint wall materials of the DDJM, while closer to that of DIJM with the weak half materials of the DDJM; significant correlations have been found between the variation coefficient of rock microstructure of joint walls and the macrodeterioration coefficient of DDJM; the changing rates of multi-scale parameters before and after six wetting–drying cycles vary obviously, indicating the weakening is slowed down after six wetting–drying cycles for the studied discontinuities. Highlights: Effects of wetting-drying cycles on weakening discontinuities with different joint wall material were studied. Deterioration of the discontinuities with identical joint wall material were also been investigated for comparison. The weakening laws were revealed from macro and micro perspectives. Significant correlations have been found between the variation coefficient of microstructure of joint walls and the macro deterioration coefficient. The results could provide a basis to better understand the stability evolution of rock slopes with soft and hard rock interbedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of work safety accidents have exposed that accident has Domino Effect or Avalanche Effect: the chain reaction in system will be triggered when one critical node in system is disturbed, which will finally have an impact on large parts of the system. Exploring the interrelationships of elements on accident chain is very essential for studying the blocked mechanism of the accident. An improved model of dynamic of accident spreading in networks is proposed after analysing Complex Network theory and STDP mechanism. The model has the ability of independent learning of network edge weight, and finally achieves the purpose of strengthening causality and weakening non-causality. We can abstract three kinds of ideal structure networks from a large number of realistic work safety accidents: the random networks, the scale-free networks and small-word networks. This model is simulated and analysed on the three networks, respectively. The process of time dynamic evolution of accident spreading and edge weight is analysed. The simulation results are consistent with the characteristic of actual work safety accident, which indicate that the model can effectively simulate the process of accident spreading dynamics of actual work safety accident and the process of edge weights evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Salt Effect Coupled Vacuum Distillation process is first proposed. • The concentration of recovered HCl reached 9.66 mol/L, with a recovery rate of 86 %. • The molecular mechanism of salt effect in HCl-H 2 O distillation is first revealed. • Mobility of As(V) can be <2 % and As-Ca interaction avoids pollution of reused HCl. The escalating challenge of recycling and treating spent hydrochloric acid (HCl) in various industries, driven by stringent environmental regulations, necessitates urgent solutions for the reuse of spent HCl in industrial processes. However, the concentration and reuse of spent HCl have been impeded by azeotropism. In this study, an innovative salt effect coupled vacuum distillation process was introduced to enable the rapid and convenient recovery of HCl. Salts and vacuum environment both can be found to break the azeotropism effectively, augment the disparity in the dissociation abilities of HCl and H 2 O in clusters, and enhance the evaporation rate. Specifically, MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 salt systems were selected, achieving recovered HCl concentrations of 9.66 and 9.85 mol/L, with corresponding recovery rates of 86.45 % and 80.65 %, respectively. For the reuse of spent HCl from chlorinated distillation for extracting germanium (Ge), the presence of As(V) poses a risk to Ge recovery and potential contamination of the Ge product. Excellent resistance to As(Ⅴ) mobilization (<2%) was obtained in the CaCl 2 system. To comprehensively understand the salt's role in breaking azeotropism, molecular simulations were employed. The Mg2+/Ca2+ ions were observed to bind with H 2 O molecules in the solution, weakening the force between H 2 O and HCl, decreasing the dissociation energy of HCl molecules by 35 times (from 102.82 to 2.94 kJ/mol), and increasing the dissociation energy of H 2 O molecules from 52.5 to 61.5 kJ/mol. The proposed process integrates high HCl recovery with an ultra-azeotropic concentrating effect, offering a novel approach for reusing spent HCl in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Using IDL-DAPhen as a novel skeleton to design ligands, and study on Am(III)/Eu(III) separation with the ligands was carried out. • It was found that the coordination ability of carbonyl oxygen is stronger than that of pyridine nitrogen in the IDL-DAPhen ligands. • Discovering that IDL-DAPhen ligands modified with substituent groups lead to different coordination abilities and separation selectivity for Am (III)/Eu (III). • Reasonable use of a variety of novel qualitative and quantitative theoretical analysis methods (e.g.,IRI, IGMH and ETS-NOCV). There are the similar physical and chemical properties between the trivalent actinides (An(III)) and the lanthanides (Ln(III)), which makes the separation process very difficult for nuclear waste reprocessing. Designing efficient ligands with the strong ability to separate An(III)/Ln(III) is one of the ways to solve the problem, and various ligands with 1,10-Phenanthroline as the skeleton have become a hotspot in recent years. Herein we designed a series of novel ligands using (1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-diyl)bis(indolin-1-ylmethanones)(IDL-DAPhen) as a new skeleton. Using scalar relativistic density functional theory (DFT), we systematically unraveled the properties of four IDL-DAPhens modified with electron-donating groups (–CH 3 , –OCH 3) at different substitution sites, and explored the structures of the ligands L1, L2, L3 and L4, bonding properties and thermodynamic behaviors of their complexes coordinated with Am(III)/Eu(III). Molecular orbitals (MOs), IGMH, ETS-NOCV and other analyses showed that the selectivity of the four ligands to Am(III) was higher than that to Eu(III). The bond length, dihedral angle, WBI, QTAIM and thermodynamic results and other ones indicated that L3 and L4 with para -substituents have stronger coordination ability, while L1 and L3 with methyl-substituted exhibit better Am(III)/Eu(III) separation selectivity. The ΔΔ G values of L1 for Am(III)/Eu(III) reached −7.71, −7.77 and −11.57 kcal/mol in water, 1-octanol and aniline, respectively. This study provides theoretical guidance for the design of novel ligands for efficient separation of Am (III)/Eu (III), and could expand a new pathway for the design of ligands with better potential selectivity for An (III)/Ln (III) separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Level Ib-sparing IMRT is safe and feasible for NPC patients with level II rENE and/or MAD ≥2 cm. • Our study is the first to include patients with the involvement of the first echelon (FES, including the anterior half of the nasal and oral cavities) and/or the involvement of the submandibular gland (SMG) • Level Ib-sparing irradiation reduces acute mucositis and late dry mouth symptoms. To examine the feasibility of level Ib-sparing intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who had high-risk factors classified based on the International Guideline (IG). We evaluated 961 non-metastatic NPC cases based on IG recommendations for prophylactic Ib irradiation. Four high-risk factors were used to categorise patients into three cohorts: A, B, and C. Propensity score matching was used to balance baseline characteristics in Cohort C, resulting in a matched Cohort C. Recurrence rates at level Ib and regional relapse-free survival (RRFS) rates were evaluated. Among patients with negative Ib lymph nodes (LNs), 18, 54, 420, and 444 exhibited involvement of structures that drain to level Ib as the first echelon (FES), involvement of the submandibular gland (SMG), level II LNs with radiologic extranodal extension (rENE), and level II nodes with a maximal axial diameter (MAD) ≥ 2 cm, respectively. The recurrence rate was highest in Cohort A (11.1 %). Cohort B had no level Ib recurrence. In matched Cohort C, recurrence rates were low in both groups (Ib-sparing group: 0.6 % vs. Ib-covering group: 0.6 %, P > 0.999). No significant differences were observed in 5-year RRFS rates between the two groups in cohort A (p = 0.208), cohort B (p = 0.905), and matched cohort C (p = 0.423). Level Ib-sparing IMRT could be performed safely for NPC patients with level II LNs who had rENE and/or MAD ≥ 2 cm. Further research should determine the necessity of level Ib prophylactic irradiation for patients with FES or SMG involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetraploid fish are the key source of diploid gametes in polyploid breeding, and they can be induced by disrupting the first mitotic cell cleavage. In this study, the induction protocol of tetraploid by hydrostatic pressure shock and the viability of the tetraploid progenies were investigated in turbot, Scophthalmus maximus. Under water temperature of 14.5 ± 0.5 °C, fertilized diploid zygotes were treated by different combination of timing (65–90 min after fertilization, maf), pressure intensity (60–85 MPa), and duration (2–10 min), respectively. Ploidy level was determined by silver staining of NOR regions, karyotype analysis, and flow cytometry. The optimal protocol for the pressure shock induction was determined to be the combination of timing of 80 maf, 75 MPa of hydrostatic pressure, and 6 min of duration time. Two batches of tetraploid-induced progenies with a total of more than 73,000 morphologically normal larvae were produced. The hatching rates and tetraploidy rates of the two induction groups were 8.97% and 4.09% and 53.33% and 46.67% at 1 day after hatching (dah), respectively. At 150 dah, 1 out of 20 juveniles was identified as tetraploid by karyotype analysis. However, none of tetraploid juveniles was detected by the flow cytometry analysis among the 446 juveniles survived at 365 dah. This preliminary study provides the evidence supporting the large-scale production of tetraploid turbot progenies, thus encouraging further research on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a powerful method to compare two samples. The proposed method handles comparison of data by drawing inference from ROC curve model parameters. The method estimates parameters from a linear model framework on the empirical sensitivities and specificities. The consistent ROC parameters are then used to give a more powerful test than existing methods in several situations. In addition, we present a comprehensive statistic based on the Cauchy combination, which works well in all scenarios considered in this article. We also offer an efficient one‐layer wild permutation procedure to calculate the P‐value of our statistic. The method is particularly useful when the underlying continuous biomarker results are non‐normal. We illustrate the proposed methods in a neonatal audiology diagnostic example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a nonparametric Behrens-Fisher problem, a directional-sum test is proposed based on division-combination strategy. A one-layer wild bootstrap procedure is given to calculate its statistical significance. We conduct simulation studies with data generated from lognormal, t and Laplace distributions to show that the proposed test can control the type I error rates properly and is more powerful than the existing rank-sum and maximum-type tests under most of the considered scenarios. Applications to the dietary intervention trial further show the performance of the proposed test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief paper considers the exponential input‐to‐state stability (EISS) for delay reaction‐diffusion systems (DRDSs). The distributed input and boundary input are both included in the considered model. Boundary input is an important characteristic for DRDSs which are a kind of partial differential systems. Using Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional method and Wirtinger‐type inequality, a delay‐dependent sufficient condition is obtained to ensure the EISS of DRDSs. Besides the effect of time delay on the EISS, this sufficient condition also shows the effect of the diffusion term on the EISS and this is a significant property of reaction–diffusion systems differing from the ordinary differential systems. At last, numerical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The role of β-arrestin-1 in atherosclerosis was investigated. • Specific mechanisms related to autophagy were explored. • Theoretical basis of developing therapies for atherosclerosis was provided. Autophagy in atherosclerotic plaque macrophage contributes to the alleviation of atherosclerosis through the promotion of lipid metabolism. β-arrestins are multifunctional proteins participating various kinds of cellular signaling pathways. Here we aimed to determine the role of β-arrestin-1, an important member of β-arrestin family, in atherosclerosis, and whether autophagy was involved in this process. ApoE −/− β-arrestin-1 fl/flLysM-Cre mice were created through bone marrow transplantation for the atherosclerosis model with conditional myeloid knocking out β-arrestin-1. Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were used for the in vitro studies. Oil red O staining was used to detect the lesional area. F4/80, Masson trichrome and picro-Sirius red staining were applied for the determination of plaque stability. Real-time PCR was used for the detection of levels of lipid metabolism-related receptors. Electron microscopy and tandem fluorescent mRFP-GFP-LC3 plasmid was applied to test autophagy level. We found that β-arrestin-1 was highly increased in expression in plaque macrophage on the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Conditional myeloid knocking out β-arrestin-1 largely promotes plaque formation and vulnerability. In murine macrophage with lipid loading, knocking down β-arrestin-1 enhanced foam cell formation and levels of plasma and cellular cholesterol, while overexpressing β-arrestin-1 led to the opposite effects. The alleviative effects induced by macrophage β-arrestin-1 in atherosclerosis were involved in autophagy, based on the reduction of autophagy level with the knocking down of macrophage β-arrestin-1 and administration of autophagy inhibitors which largely attenuated the decreasing effect on foam cell formation. Our results demonstrated for the first time that macrophage β-arrestin-1 protected against atherosclerosis through the induction of autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the latest grid‐connected standard, the failure of IIDG (inverter‐interfaced distributed generator), represented by wind power and photovoltaic power, is characterized by strong nonlinear output. Therefore, the protection scheme based on the traditional fault characteristics is difficult to be applied to the distribution network with high permeability IIDG access. Based on the low voltage traversing operation characteristics of PQ control strategy IIDG, the work analyzed the distribution characteristics of positive sequence fault components in distribution network, and proposed a pilot protection scheme for distribution networks based on the comparison of current amplitudes on both sides of line. This scheme not only reduced the strict requirement of pilot protection for synchronous sampling of communication facilities, but also eliminated the influence of load current. Moreover, it had good practicability and economy without the protection and cooperation with other components. At the same time, in order to avoid the misoperation of amplitude ratio protection criterion for non‐fault line due to the existence of unmeasured load branches, the distribution characteristics of node branch current abrupt changes were used to establish the auxiliary criterion for node‐branch current mutation. It solved the action dead zone of the ratio protection criterion. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed protection principle was verified by DIgSILENT simulation. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the mean square exponential input-to-state stability (EISS) for stochastic delay reaction–diffusion neural networks (SDRDNNS). SDRDNNS with distributed input and boundary input are investigated. In addition, constant delay and time-varying delay are considered. With the help of Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional method, Itô formula and Wirtinger-type inequality, delay-dependent sufficient conditions on mean square EISS of SDRDNNS are presented. These sufficient conditions show the effects of time-delay and diffusion term on mean-square EISS. Moreover, by means of numerical simulation, the effectiveness of our theoretical results is illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a persistent H0-tension, now at more than ≳4σ level, between the local distance ladder value and the Planck cosmic microwave background measurement, in the context of flat Lambda-cold-dark-matter (ΛCDM) model. We reconstruct H(z) in a cosmological-model-independent way using three low-redshift distance probes including the latest data from baryon acoustic oscillation, supernova Ia (SN Ia) and gravitational lensing time-delay (GLTD) observations. We adopt general parametric models of H(z) and assume a Gaussian sound horizon at drag epoch, , from Planck measurement. The reconstructed Hubble constant H0,rec using Pantheon SN Ia and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) data are consistent with the Planck flat ΛCDM value. When including the GLTD data, H0,rec increases mildly, yet remains discrepant with the local measurement at ∼2.2σ level. With our reconstructions being blind to the dark sectors at low redshift, we reaffirm the earlier claims that the Hubble tension is not likely to be solved by modifying the energy budget of the low-redshift universe. We further forecast the constraining ability of future realistic mock BAO data from Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and GLTD data from Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, combining which, we anticipate that the uncertainty of H0,rec would be improved by ∼27%, reaching uncertainty level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical significance of the combination of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is unclear. This study investigated the predictive value of pretreatment NLR (pre-NLR) combined with pretreatment PLR (pre-PLR) for the survival and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 765 patients with non-metastatic NPC from two hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. The pre-NLR-PLR groups were as follows: HRG, high pre-NLR and high pre-PLR. MRG, high pre-NLR and low pre-PLR or low pre-NLR and high pre-PLR. LRG, neither high pre-NLR nor high pre-PLR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify the cutoff-value and discriminant performance of the model. We compared survival rates and factors affecting the prognosis among different groups. The 5-year overall survival (OS), local regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) of NPC patients in HRG were significantly poorer than those in MRG and LRG. The pre-NLR-PLR score was positively correlated with T stage, clinical stage, ECOG, and pathological classification. Multivariate cox regression analysis showed that pre-NLR-PLR scoring system, ECOG, pre-ALB, pre-CRP and pre-LMR were independent risk factors affecting 5-year OS, LRRFS and DMFS. The ROC curve showed that area under the curve (AUC) values of pre-NLR-PLR of 5-year OS, LRRFS and DMFS were higher than those of pre-NLR and pre-PLR. pre-NLR-PLR is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of NPC. The pre-NLR-PLR scoring system can be used as an individualized clinical assessment tool to predict the prognosis of patients with non-metastatic NPC more accurately and easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalysis plays a key role in the development of renewable energy technologies. Along with the design of electrocatalysts, the microenvironment around catalytic sites has received increasing attention because it affects the distribution and mass transport of reaction species and impacts the reaction kinetics. In this Concept article, we highlight some mechanistic insights into the effect of microenvironment on gas‐involving electrocatalytic reactions, including CO2 reduction, 2‐electron oxygen reduction, and hydrazine oxidation, demonstrating their sensitivity to the wetting properties of microenvironment. For reactions with a gaseous reactant, a moderately hydrophobic microenvironment can greatly enhance the mass transport of gaseous species to accelerate the reaction kinetics while improving the stability of gas‐diffusion electrodes. In contrast, for reactions with a liquid reactant and gaseous product, a hydrophilic microenvironment improves the exposure of catalytic sites to the reactant, while a hydrophobic microenvironment benefits the reaction on the other end by accelerating the diffusion and detachment of generated gas bubbles, which would otherwise block the catalytic sites from the reactant. These understandings and insights can provide important guidelines on the control and optimization of catalyst microenvironment for the development of efficient electrolyzers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For developing an interference type electromagnetic wave absorbing material with good ageing and temperature resistances, inductive SiC screens (ISCS) are formed by filling SiC powder in the highly–ordered and well–connected big pore channels of the quartz (SO) ceramics fabricated by inverse replication of polylactic acid (PLA) templates. The electromagnetic wave absorption performance of the ISCS/SO composites is greatly affected by the dimension of ISCS which could be easily adjusted by changing the lattice structure dimension of the templates. In the frequency range of 8.0–18.0 GHz, the ISCS/SO composites with the side length of SiC columns of 3 (5) mm and the interval between SiC columns of 9 (15) mm obtain a mean reflectivity of about −10 dB, little increased mean reflectivity of −9.6 (−9.7) dB after heat treating at 800 °C for 100 h, gradual increased mean reflectivity of −8.1 (−7.1) dB after heat treating at 900 °C for 100 h, and fast increased mean reflectivity after heat treating at temperatures above 1000 °C. The ISCS/SO composites are good structural interference type absorbing materials that could be used for a long time at temperatures below 800 °C and for a limited time at temperatures above 900 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular complications, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The contraction of renal arterial rings in mice was measured by a Multi Myograph System. The intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) was obtained by using a fluo‐4/AM dye and a confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results show that the U46619‐induced vasoconstriction of renal artery was completely blocked by a TXA2 receptor antagonist GR32191, significantly inhibited by a selective phospholipase C (PI‐PLC) inhibitor U73122 at 10 μmol/L and partially inhibited by a Phosphatidylcholine ‐ specific phospholipase C (PC‐PLC) inhibitor D609 at 50 μmol/L. Moreover, the U46619‐induced vasoconstriction was inhibited by a general protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor chelerythrine at 10 μmol/L, and a selective PKCδ inhibitor rottlerin at 10 μmol/L. In addition, the PKC‐induced vasoconstriction was partially inhibited by a Rho‐kinase inhibitor Y‐27632 at 10 μmol/L and was further completely inhibited together with a putative IP3 receptor antagonist and store‐operated Ca2+ (SOC) entry inhibitor 2‐APB at 100 μmol/L. On the other hand, U46619‐induced vasoconstriction was partially inhibited by L‐type calcium channel (Cav1.2) inhibitor nifedipine at 1 μmol/L and 2‐APB at 50 and 100 μmol/L. Last, U46619‐induced vasoconstriction was partially inhibited by a cell membrane Ca2+ activated C1− channel blocker 5‐Nitro‐2‐(3‐phenylpropylamino) benzoic acid (NPPB) at 50 and 100 μmol/L. Our results suggest that the U46619‐induced contraction of mouse intrarenal arteries is mediated by Cav1.2 and SOC channel, through the activation of thromboxane‐prostanoid receptors and its downstream signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract CDKL1 is a cyclin-dependent kinase-like kinase that is highly expressed in diverse types of cancer cells. However, the role of CDKL1 in the chemoresistance of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains largely undefined. Here, we explored the role of CDKL1 in the chemoresistance of the human OSCC cell line CAL27 to hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting revealed that exposure of CAL27 cells to HCPT led to a marked increase in the expression of CDKL1 at the mRNA and protein levels. Knockdown of CDKL1 significantly suppressed cell proliferation and induced cell cycle G0/G1 phase arrest in CAL27 cells based on the results of MTT and flow cytometry assays, respectively. CAL27 cells displayed attenuated biological activity of the cell population. After treatment with HCPT, whereas CDKL1 overexpression increased the resistance to HCPT of the remaining cells. Moreover, the western blot showed that the expression of cleaved-caspase 3 and phosphorylated ataxia telangiectasia mutated proteins was upregulated by HCPT treatment in CAL27 cells. Furthermore, CDKL1 overexpression partially reversed the inhibitory effects of HCPT in CAL27 cells. These results suggest that CDKL1 overexpression decreased the chemosensitivity of OSCC cells to HCPT, indicating a potential strategic approach for reversing the HCPT resistance in human OSCC. Highlights • The role of CDKL1 in the chemoresistance of the human OSCC cell line CAL27 to hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT). • Exposure of CAL27 cells to HCPT led to a marked increase in the expression of CDKL1. • Attenuated proliferation activity after treatment with HCPT. • CDKL1 overexpression increased the resistance to HCPT of the remaining cells. • CDKL1 overexpression partially reversed the inhibitory effects of HCPT in CAL27 cells. • CDKL1 overexpression decreased the chemosensitivity of OSCC cells to HCPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The herbicide acetochlor is used in most parts of the world and is frequently detected in agricultural land and surface water; however, knowledge on the neurotoxicity of acetochlor is limited. Here, to test the effects of acetochlor on zebrafish development and behaviour, zebrafish embryos were exposed to acetochlor from 6 h post-fertilization (hpf) to 24 hpf, and larvae at 6 days post-fertilization (dpf) were exposed to acetochlor for 24 h. Both were exposed to 5, 10, or 20 mg/L acetochlor. We found that acetochlor induced developmental abnormalities, locomotion variations and changes in the physiology and gene expression in the embryos and larvae. The abnormalities included spinal curvature, brain abnormalities, and the decreased formation of newborn neurons. Larval locomotion was decreased with increases in the absolute turn angle and sinuosity. Acetylcholinesterase activity reduced in both embryos and larvae, and the expression of genes that are involved in neurodevelopment and the neurotransmitter system altered. Acetochlor increased the production of ROS and the accumulation of MDA but decreased CAT activity in the embryonic brain. Additionally, acetochlor induced cell death in the brain and tail spinal cord, and the expression of the apoptosis-related genes Bcl2 and caspase 3 were significantly upregulated. Collectively, this is the first study to examine the molecular and physiological effects of acetochlor on neuronal development, and the potential mechanisms appear to be associated with oxidative stress and decreased AChE activity, which disrupt the expression of nervous system genes and apoptosis-related genes and finally lead to apoptosis and morphological malformations. Highlights • Acetochlor led to brain abnormalities of zebrafish embryos. • Acetochlor influenced the locomotor behaviour of zebrafish larvae. • Acetochlor induced ROS and apoptosis in the brain of zebrafish embryos. • Acetochlor induced neurotoxicity in early development stages of zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of traditional reconstruction-based robust adaptive beamformers may degrade when the array is not well calibrated. This performance degradation is mainly caused by the Capon spectrum estimator which can not estimate the spatial power spectrum accurately. In contrast to existing approaches, we propose two new reconstruction-based robust adaptive beamformers by using the accurate iterative adaptive approach (IAA) spectrum to combat the covariance matrix uncertainties and the steering vector mismatches. The first one employs the low-complexity IAA (IAA-LC) algorithm to obtain the interference power estimates and reconstruct the interference-plus-noise covariance matrix (INCM) with the computational complexity further reduced. The second one reconstructs the INCM by updating the power estimates corresponding to each interference steering vector with the use of knowledge-aided IAA (IAA-KA) algorithm. The desired signal steering vector is corrected by searching for the direction corresponding to the maximum power, which circumvents the use of optimization program. Simulation results show that our proposed beamformers outperform the others and can achieve the robust performance in the cases of array model mismatches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An activated carbon cloth/polymer–iodine (ACC/PVP–I2) composite was prepared by the “Betadine” method and employed as a high-performance cathode for rechargeable Li/I2 batteries. Due to the synergistic effect of ACC and PVP–I2, Li/I2 cells with ACC/PVP–I2 as the cathode exhibited superior electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NaOH-based hydrolysis of epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (ETA) was carried out in a batch reactor using ethanol/water system. The analytic technique, headspace-gas chromatography, was employed in order to follow the time evolution of ETA aqueous solution. Various effects on hydrolysis degree, such as, molar ratio of ethanol/water, NaOH concentration, reaction temperature, and dosage of hydrolysis product (2,3-dihydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride) were investigated. And then the kinetic model of the hydrolysis of ETA was developed and the possible mechanism of nucleophilic ring opening reaction was proposed. Furthermore, the model parameters of the process were also determined by data fitting. The results show that ETA hydrolysis follows the pseudo-first order law and kinetic model agrees well with the experimental results. Therefore, based on this kinetic model we could control the hydrolysis degree of ETA during ETA-involved cationic etherification of natural polymer in order to improve the etherification efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The NaOH-based hydrolysis kinetics of ETA in ethanol/water was conducted by headspace-gas chromatography technique. • The increase dosage of ethanol can promote the hydrolysis of ETA within 0.70 of the molar ratio of ethanol/water. • The hydrolysis product will enhance the hydrolysis rate. Abstract NaOH-based hydrolysis of epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (ETA) was carried out in a batch reactor using ethanol/water system. The analytic technique, headspace-gas chromatography, was employed in order to follow the time evolution of ETA aqueous solution. Various effects on hydrolysis degree, such as, molar ratio of ethanol/water, NaOH concentration, reaction temperature, and dosage of hydrolysis product (2,3-dihydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride) were investigated. And then the kinetic model of the hydrolysis of ETA was developed and the possible mechanism of nucleophilic ring opening reaction was proposed. Furthermore, the model parameters of the process were also determined by data fitting. The results show that ETA hydrolysis follows the pseudo-first order law and kinetic model agrees well with the experimental results. Therefore, based on this kinetic model we could control the hydrolysis degree of ETA during ETA-involved cationic etherification of natural polymer in order to improve the etherification efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the existence and locations of change points has been a broadly encountered task in many statistical application areas. The existing change point detection methods may produce unsatisfactory results for high‐dimensional data since certain distributional assumptions are made on data, which are hard to verify in practice. Moreover, some parameters (such as the number of change points) need to be estimated beforehand for some methods, making their powers sensitive to these values. Here, we propose a kernel‐based U$$ U $$‐statistic to identify change points (KUCP) for high dimensional data, which is free of distributional assumptions and sup‐parameter estimations. Specifically, we employ a kernel function to describe similarities among the subjects and construct a U$$ U $$‐statistic to test the existence of change point for a given location. The asymptotic properties of the U$$ U $$‐statistic are deduced. We also develop a procedure to locate the change points sequentially via a dichotomy algorithm. Extensive simulations demonstrate that KUCP has higher sensitivity in identifying existence of change points and higher accuracy in locating these change points than its counterparts. We further illustrate its practical utility by analyzing a gene expression data of human brain to detect the time point when gene expression profiles begin to change, which has been reported to be closely related with aging brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of adaptive beamformers is susceptible to the steering vector mismatches and covariance matrix uncertainties. In contrast to traditional subspace methods, the proposed subspace method is robust against model mismatches. The signal-plus-interference covariance matrix (SICM) is reconstructed by projecting the enhanced covariance matrix onto the signal-plus-interference subspace which is formed using the property of covariance matrix. The array steering vector is adjusted by projecting the presumed steering vector onto the signal subspace which is structured using the major eigenvectors of the enhanced covariance matrix. The major eigenvectors are selected when the correlation coefficient between the presumed steering vector and the eigenvector exceeds a certain threshold. By combining the reconstructed SICM with the adjusted array steering vector, the proposed beamformer can provide robust performance. In comparison with many existing robust techniques, the proposed method performs well in both high and low signal-to-noise ratio scenarios. Several examples are carried out to illustrate the superiority of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a new framework for explaining how the Chinese trust industry has expanded in spite of significant uncertainties in the Chinese Trust Law regarding the location of ownership of trust property. The new framework utilizes a social capital perspective. In addition, this article analyzes whether the transitional era of the trust industry might make it desirable for China to clarify the location of the ownership of trust property. Focusing on how the social network of the Chinese trust industry affects the behavior of related actors, this article argues that the network between active participants of the Chinese current trust industry constitutes a dense network, but with the transformation of Chinese trust industry, it seems possible that the Chinese new middle class as potential new players in the trust market will dilute the network from the periphery, while the network between the primary players in the market might become even denser. This article concludes that the ambiguity of the Trust Law concerning the location of the ownership of the trust property might not—in the short term—hinder the growth of this market, however, the clarification of the Trust Law on this issue might be desirable in order to promote the capacity of the trust market to develop, i.e. to facilitate the growth on the demand side. The successful resolution of the tension between these two competing pressures will determine the long-term growth of trust industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrite FeS 2 has long been used as commercial primary lithium batteries at room temperature. To achieve rechargeable FeS 2 battery, biomass-carbon@FeS 2 composites are prepared using green and renewable auricularia auricula as carbon source through the process of carbonization and sulfuration. The auricularia auricula has strong swelling characteristics to absorb aqueous solution which can effectively absorb Fe ions into its body. FeS 2 homogeneously distributed in biomass carbon matrix performs high electronic and ionic conductivity. The specific capacity of biomass-carbon@FeS 2 composites remains 850 mAh g −1 after 80 cycles at 0.5C and 700 mAh g −1 at the rate of 2C after 150 cycles. Biomass-carbon@FeS 2 composites exhibit high-rate capacity in lithium-ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the electrochemical performance of the CoS 2 cathode, a CoS 2 /reduced graphene oxide/multiwall carbon nanotubes (CoS 2 /rGO/MWCNTs) composite was synthesized. The mixture showed a high initial discharge capacity of 1562.6 mA h g −1 and a capacity of 884.9 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles at the current density of 100 mA g −1 which were higher than that of CoS 2 /rGO and CoS 2 /MWCNTs. The improved electrochemical performances were attributed to rGO and MWCNTs which ensured fast Li + and electronic transport in the composite. What’s more, rGO sheets wrapping tightly outside CoS 2 /MWCNTs in CoS 2 /rGO/MWCNTs composite accommodated volume expansion of CoS 2 and prevented CoS 2 gathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation and impaired secretion by lacrimal and salivary glands are hallmarks of the autoimmune disease, Sjögren’s Syndrome. These changes in the lacrimal gland promote dryness and inflammation of the ocular surface, causing pain, irritation and corneal damage. The changes that initiate and sustain autoimmune inflammation in the lacrimal gland are not well-established. Here we demonstrate that interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is significantly elevated in lacrimal gland and tears of the male NOD mouse, a model of autoimmune dacryoadenitis which exhibits many ocular characteristics of Sjögren’s Syndrome, by 12 weeks of age early in lacrimal gland inflammation. Working either with primary cultured lacrimal gland acinar cells from BALB/c mice and/or rabbits, in vitro IFN-γ treatment for 48 hr decreased expression of Rab3D concurrent with increased expression of cathepsin S. Although total cellular cathepsin S activity was not commensurately increased, IFN-γ treated lacrimal gland acinar cells showed a significant increase in carbachol-stimulated secretion of cathepsin S similar to the lacrimal gland in disease. In vitro IFN-γ treatment did not increase the expression of most components of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-mediated antigen presentation although antigen presentation was slightly but significantly stimulated in primary cultured lacrimal gland acinar cells. However, exposure of cultured human corneal epithelial cells to IFN-γ more robustly increased expression and activity of cathepsin S in parallel with increased expression and function of MHC class II-mediated antigen presentation. We propose that early elevations in IFN-γ contribute to specific features of ocular disease pathology in Sjögren’s Syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drilled displacement (DD) piles with a screw-shaped shaft (referred to as DD piles) are installed using a continuous full thread hollow rod (without a displacement body) inserted and advanced in the soil by both a vertical force and a torque. As a type of newly developed pile, current understanding of the bearing mechanism of DD piles is unsatisfactory, which restricts their further applications in engineering. The primary aim of this paper is to study the bearing mechanism of this type of pile using a numerical method. First, a numerical model for calculating the bearing capacity of the DD piles was created and validated by a laboratory test. Then, the effects of the parameters of pile–soil interface, soil strength, and pile geometrical parameters on the bearing mechanism of the DD piles were investigated in parametric studies. The results of parametric studies show that the limit shear stress on the pile–soil interface, the friction angle of surrounding sand, screw pitch, and thread width significantly influence the bearing capacity of the DD piles, whereas the friction coefficient at the pile–soil interface and the thread thickness have little effect. Based on the results of the parametric studies, the failure mechanism of the DD piles under vertical load is analyzed. Finally, an equation for predicting the ultimate bearing capacities of helical piles based on cylindrical shear failure was used for estimating the bearing capacity of the DD piles, and the calculated results were verified with the numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Owing to the prosperity of the internet of things (IoTs), indoor organic photovoltaic (IOPV) devices with substantial merits (e.g., light weight, portability, flexibility, semitransparency, operational stability) are emerging as reliable indoor photon harvesters to drive low-power electronic devices. In such cases, the effective utilization of indoor photons is significant, as indoor light intensity is much weaker than the standard 1-Sun illumination. Considerable efforts have been devoted to improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of indoor solar cells and modules in past few years. So far, the efficiency of indoor light harvesters has surpassed 30%, sufficient to power quite a few indoor off-grid electronic devices. Given that the expected efficiency optimization has already realized through various approaches, a critical review is significant for the appropriate applications of IOPV devices. Herein, we provide a detailed review of the basic knowledge of IOPV devices, current fabrication strategies, and further illustrate their multifunctional applications. Possible challenges and prospects of IOPV systems are presented elaborately for further developments and applications. Owing to the prosperity of the internet of things (IoTs), indoor organic photovoltaic (IOPV) devices with substantial merits (e.g., light weight, portability, flexibility, semitransparency, operational stability) are emerging as reliable indoor photon harvesters to drive low-power electronic devices. In such cases, the effective utilization of indoor photons is significant, as indoor light intensity is much weaker than the standard 1-Sun illumination. Considerable efforts have been devoted to improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of indoor solar cells and modules in past few years. So far, the efficiency of indoor light harvesters has surpassed 30%, sufficient to power quite a few indoor off-grid electronic devices. Given that the expected efficiency optimization has already realized through various approaches, a critical review is significant for the appropriate applications of IOPV devices. Herein, we provide a detailed review of the basic knowledge of IOPV devices, current fabrication strategies, and further illustrate their multifunctional applications. Possible challenges and prospects of IOPV system are presented elaborately for further developments and applications. [Display omitted] • Achievements of IOPV devices from device performance to multifunctional applications are summarized. • A summary is provided on the different PCE optimization strategies from three aspects. • Physical mechanism and progress of flexible, semi-transparent IOPV devices are reviewed. • Underlying challenges and future opportunities are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor that affects developing nerve cells in the fetus, infants, and children. miR-124 is a microRNA (miRNA) enriched in neuronal tissues, and VAMP3 (vesicle-associated membrane protein 3) has been reported to be an miR-124 target, although the relationship between NB and miR-124 or VAMP3 is unknown. Our current work identified that miR-124 levels are high in NB cases and that elevated miR-124 correlates with worse NB outcomes. Conversely, depressed VAMP3 correlates with worse NB outcomes. To investigate the mechanisms by which miR-124 and VAMP3 regulate NB, we altered miR-124 or VAMP3 expression in human NB cells and observed that increased miR-124 and reduced VAMP3 stimulated cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis, while increased VAMP3 had the opposite effects. Genome-wide mRNA expression analyses identified gene and pathway changes which might explain the NB cell phenotypes. Together, our studies suggest that miR-124 and VAMP3 could be potential new markers of NB and targets of NB treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the milling process, the wear area of the tool is often segmented using the traditional image processing method to quantify the tool wear value. However, these methods have the disadvantages of having weak anti-noise capabilities and low segmentation accuracy. Although the semantic segmentation network can achieve excellent segmentation accuracy, obtaining enough end mill wear images to support the semantic segmentation network's training is challenging due to the high acquisition cost of wear images. As a result, this paper suggests a small sample end mill wear area segmentation method based on transfer learning and generative adversarial networks to address the issue of insufficient samples of end mill wear images. In this paper, WGAN is used to generate wear images to expand the dataset with a few samples, and the transfer learning method is used to improve the generalization ability of the segmentation network and finally achieve small sample training. This approach increases mPA by 4.46% and mIOU by 8.97% when compared to merely using the semantic segmentation network for small sample training. According to experimental findings, this method not only has high stability and segmentation accuracy but also solves the problem of insufficient end mill wear image samples. The method proposed in this paper can be effectively applied to the intelligent detection of the tool wear state, improving the accuracy and stability of the measurement of the tool wear value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present a predicted force model of vibration-assisted broaching (VAB). Based on the geometric features and kinetic characteristics of broach, the model focuses on three important points: (i) the cutting force of single tooth, (ii) the number of teeth in contact with the workpiece, and (iii) the influence of simple harmonic motion (SHM). Firstly, according to the empirical approach (EA) and the shear angle (SA) theory, two kinds of single-tooth model of broaching are built. Secondly, considering the length of cutting edge and the number of cutting tooth, two multi-tooth models based on the single-tooth models are presented. Then, with the influence of broach motion, the models of VAB force are finally established. Verification experiments are conducted for the developed force model and show that the calculated results of SA model are more agreeing well with the experimental values when vibration frequency increased. In addition, the VAB model is helpful in the application of vibration broaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar as biofouling of Dreissena species (zebra mussels and quagga mussels) on infrastructure concrete prevalent in the USA and Europe, the freshwater mollusk Limnoperna fortunei has also caused biofouling and exhibits chemical and physical deterioration on concrete structures. Given that numerous inter-basin water diversion projects containing enormous concrete structures have been constructed in L. fortunei colonized regions, it is critical to study the concrete deterioration caused by the mussel fouling such that effective prevention strategies can be proposed. This study analysed the characteristics of concrete deterioration associated with the fouling. Analysis of the affected concrete structures indicated that the pores of different sizes increased, resulting in increased water absorption and carbonation depth, while the compressive strength of the concrete decreased as a consequence of the mussel colonization. Concentrations of aluminum, manganese and iron increased while calcium decreased in the mussel-colonized concrete. These changes are due to the physiological requirements of mussel growth and adhesion activities. L. fortunei adhesion removes the calcium from the surface of the concrete and accelerates the concrete deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) have the highest prevalence in women of reproductive age. The role of estrogen in TMDs and especially in TMDs related pain is not fully elucidated. Voltage-gated sodium channel 1.7 (Nav1.7) plays a prominent role in pain perception and Nav1.7 in trigeminal ganglion (TG) is involved in the hyperalgesia of inflamed Temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Whether estrogen could upregulate trigeminal ganglionic Nav1.7 expression to enhance hyperalgesia of inflamed TMJ remains to be explored. Methods: Estrous cycle and plasma levels of 17β-estradiol in female rats were evaluated with vaginal smear and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Female rats were ovariectomized and treated with 17β-estradiol at 0 μg, 20 μg and 80 μg, respectively, for 10 days. TMJ inflammation was induced using complete Freund’s adjuvant. Head withdrawal thresholds and food intake were measured to evaluate the TMJ nociceptive responses. The expression of Nav1.7 in TG was examined using real-time PCR and western blot. The activity of Nav1.7 promoter was examined using luciferase reporter assay. The locations of estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ), the G protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPR30), and Nav1.7 in TG were examined using immunohistofluorescence. Results: Upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and decrease in head withdrawal threshold were observed with the highest plasma 17β-estradiol in the proestrus of female rats. Ovariectomized rats treated with 80 μg 17β-estradiol showed upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and decrease in head withdrawal threshold as compared with that of the control or ovariectomized rats treated with 0 μg or 20 μg. Moreover, 17β-estradiol dose-dependently potentiated TMJ inflammation-induced upregulation of Nav1.7 in TG and also enhanced TMJ inflammation-induced decrease of head withdrawal threshold in ovariectomized rats. In addition, the estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780, partially blocked the 17β-estradiol effect on Nav1.7 expression and head withdrawal threshold in ovariectomized rats. ERα and ERβ, but not GPR30, were mostly co-localized with Nav1.7 in neurons in TG. In the nerve growth factor-induced and ERα-transfected PC12 cells, 17β-estradiol dose-dependently enhanced Nav1.7 promoter activity, whereas mutations of the estrogen response element at -1269/-1282 and -1214/-1227 in the promoter completely abolished its effect on the promoter activity. Conclusion: Estradiol could upregulate trigeminal ganglionic Nav1.7 expression to contribute to hyperalgesia of inflamed TMJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]