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The MS6.8 earthquake occurred in Luding County, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China at 12:52 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2022, is preliminarily analyzed in terms of regional tectonics, historical earthquakes, sequence characteristics and focal mechanism solutions. The results show that: 1) The magnitude difference ΔM between the main shock and the maximum aftershock, the energy ratio ER of the main shock to the aftershocks, the p-value and the estimated Mmax-value indicate that the MS6.8 Luding earthquake sequence can be divided into the main shock-aftershock type (MAT). 2) The spatial distribution of the aftershocks, their corresponding b-value and expected maximum magnitude are obviously segmented, which reflect the complexity of the seismogenic tectonics. 3) According to the focal mechanisms obtained from the HASH program, the geometry distribution of the sequence, and the relationship between the sequence and the nearby faults, it can be inferred that the Moxi fault segment of the Xianshuihe fault zone is the seismogenic tectonics of the MS6.8 Luding earthquake sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The target coordinate measurement system features an extensive range of key applications. In many highprecision measurement systems wide scope, high precision and multiple cameras are used. However, the objective of this paper is to enhance the measurement accuracy and range of a monocular target owing to its portability and convenience. A systematic simulation of linear, planar and stereo target structures was carried out to investigate target structures. Based on our simulation results, the 3D target is more accurate and robust to tilt due to rich information available from 3D locations of the markers. To overcome the limitation in the measurement range for the monocular target, ideas of coded stereo target are presented in this paper. The measured coordinates can be calculated from only part of the markers, effectively enlarging the measurement range at short object distances. A stereo coded target system is designed based on this method and is compared to an ordinary monocular target. Stability experiments were conducted under different object distances and poses, which have shown that the Z direction accuracy of the stereo target is at least 23.8% or 10% higher than that of the 1D or 2D target, respectively. Additionally, the ranging experiment revealed that the measurement accuracy of the coded stereo target is 23.5% or 59.2% higher than that of the non-coded 1D or 2D target when measuring the Z direction and the distance of the far field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The south of Hunan is rich in low temperature geothermal water resources, yet their formation mechanism has not been well investigated. This study focused on the occurrence conditions of geothermal water and estimation the thermal reservoir temperature and the circulation depth of geothermal water in this area. The hydrogeochemical analyses of 23 geothermal water samples are proceeded with the help of Origin, PHREEQC and Aquachem software. The results show that the main hydrochemical type of geothermal water in the study area is HCO3·SO4–Ca·Mg and HCO3–Na. The δD and δ18O of the geothermal water samples show a linear right-up trend, indicating the geothermal waters were recharged by meteoric water. The mineral saturation index was calculated by PHREEQC, which indicated that the quartz and chalcedony minerals were close to the saturation state. The reservoir temperature range of geothermal water is estimated to be 38–122°C by using a silica (quartz) geothermometer, with an average of 73°C. The geothermal water circulation depth range calculated by the geothermal gradient is 1–4 km, with an average of 2.13 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional order partial differential equations have a wide range of applications in image processing. The solution of partial differential equations is generally obtained using the finite difference method, which still requires improvement in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. In this work, a multi‐scale interpolative wavelet operator is constructed by means of Shannon‐Cosine wavelets with interpolation, smoothness, compact support and other excellent properties. We use the wavelet operator instead of the finite difference operator to solve fractional‐order partial differential equations. The proposed method can limit the artefacts and remove the noises appeared in the processed images effectively. In addition, for the loss of texture in the denoised image, we enhance the image by employing fractional order differential equations to improve the quality of the image. Finally, the biological sections images are taken as the examples to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The on-ramp area has been a hot spot for research as a bottleneck area. In this paper, an on-ramp cooperative merging control strategy is proposed to make full use of active cooperative vehicles, and alleviate the negative influence of merging on the main road. First, a two-stage framework is proposed to illustrate the merging strategy. At the vehicle level, the cooperative merging controllers of vehicles are designed based on an optimization algorithm that considers the penalty function. At the traffic level, the cooperative distance of the upstream and downstream vehicles at the main road target merging position are optimized to improve merging efficiency. Meanwhile, to ensure the implementation of the proposed strategy in mixed traffic, we propose a method to determine the lead vehicles based on the proximity principle. Numerical experiments were performed to verify the fully proactive and cooperative merging (FPCM) strategy, the effectiveness of the vehicle cooperative controllers, the necessity of optimizing the cooperative distance, the effect of different velocities on the main road and ramp, and the effectiveness of determining the lead vehicles. In the case of multivehicle merging, the proposed strategy can improve merging efficiency by 44.42% and save fuel consumption by 39.11%. In the case of a single merging vehicle, the optimized proposed strategy can improve merging efficiency by 48.4% and save fuel consumption by 31.4%. Finally, the simulation experiments for the different maximum speeds of vehicles show that a sufficient speed adjustment range can improve the advantages of the strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the force characteristics of novice athletes and professional athletes in completing a cross spike at position four from the perspective of electromyographic characteristics. Methods: Ten novice and ten professional athletes were selected as subjects. The electromyographic characteristics of the athletes were obtained by the Noraxon Ultium electromyography (EMG) and compared. Results: In the first stage, i.e., the takeoff stage, the activation level of the rectus abdominis and external abdominal obliques was significantly higher in the professional group (p < 0.05). During the second stage, i.e., the stage of flying to hit the ball, the professional group had a higher integrated electromyography (iEMG) value in the trapezius. Moreover, it showed significantly higher muscle contribution from the rectus abdominis (5.59 ± 1.58%), external abdominal obliques (3.67 ± 1.21%), and trapezius (10.12 ± 2.61%) compared to the novice group (p < 0.05). In the third stage, i.e., the stage of landing and buffering, p < 0.05 in the comparison of the iEMG values of trapezius and gluteus maximus between the two groups. Moreover, the professional group exhibited higher muscle activation levels in all muscles except for the gastrocnemius, compared to the novice group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Professional athletes display superior muscle coordination and more effective muscle force generation in the trunk and lower limbs during the execution of the jump spike action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilised an experimental design to examine the moderating effect of cognitive biases (availability of information and herd effect) on the relationship between product-harm crisis and perceived betrayal. In a series of three studies involving 596 young adults (college students: n = 386; female = 51.04%, male= 48.96%; mean age = 21.18 years, SD = 3.50 years) and general population: (n = 210; female= 47.60%, male= 52.40%; mean age= 31.76 years, SD = 12.79 years) we compared whether the single enterprise product-harm crisis perception, group product-harm crisis would lead to higher perceived betrayal. Results from regression analysis and ANOVA indicate that product-harm crisis perceptions predicted perceived betrayal. Group product-harm crisis led to higher perceived betrayal than that of single enterprise product-harm crisis. More importantly, the availability of information and herd effect strengthened the influence of product-harm crisis on perceived betrayal. The present findings are consistent with the theory of attribution of responsibility on crisis management and suggests a need for inclusive crisis management strategies under different perceived crises and cognitive states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity research has advanced by testing expectations of ecological and evolutionary hypotheses through the linking of large-scale genetic, distributional, and trait datasets. The rise of molecular systematics over the past 30 years has resulted in a wealth of DNA sequences from around the globe. Yet, advances in molecular systematics also have created taxonomic instability, as new estimates of evolutionary relationships and interpretations of species limits have required widespread scientific name changes. Taxonomic instability, colloquially "splits, lumps, and shuffles," presents logistical challenges to large-scale biodiversity research because (1) the same species or sets of populations may be listed under different names in different data sources, or (2) the same name may apply to different sets of populations representing different taxonomic concepts. Consequently, distributional and trait data are often difficult to link directly to primary DNA sequence data without extensive and time-consuming curation. Here, we present RANT: Reconciliation of Avian NCBI Taxonomy. RANT applies taxonomic reconciliation to standardize avian taxon names in use in NCBI GenBank, a primary source of genetic data, to a widely used and regularly updated avian taxonomy: eBird/Clements. Of 14,341 avian species/subspecies names in GenBank, 11,031 directly matched an eBird/Clements; these link to more than 6 million nucleotide sequences. For the remaining unmatched avian names in GenBank, we used Avibase's system of taxonomic concepts, taxonomic descriptions in Cornell's Birds of the World, and DNA sequence metadata to identify corresponding eBird/Clements names. Reconciled names linked to more than 600,000 nucleotide sequences, ~9% of all avian sequences on GenBank. Nearly 10% of eBird/Clements names had nucleotide sequences listed under 2 or more GenBank names. Our taxonomic reconciliation is a first step towards rigorous and open-source curation of avian GenBank sequences and is available at GitHub, where it can be updated to correspond to future annual eBird/Clements taxonomic updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of global urbanization over a long time series is increasingly important for sustainable development goals. The harmonized time-series nighttime light (NTL) composites by fusing multi-source NTL observations provide a long and consistent record of the nightscape for characterizing and understanding the global urban dynamics. In this study, we generated a global dataset of annual urban extents (1992-2020) using consistent NTL observations and analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of global urban dynamics over nearly 30 years. The urbanized areas associated with locally high- intensity human activities were mapped from the time-series global NTL imagery using a new stepwise-partitioning framework. This framework includes three components: (1) clustering of NTL signals to generate potential urban clusters; (2) identification of optimal thresholds to delineate annual urban extents; and (3) check of temporal consistency to correct pixel-level urban dynamics. We found that the global urban land area percentage to the Earth's land surface raised from 0.22 % to 0.69 % in 1992 and 2020, respectively. Urban dynamics over the past three decades at the continent, country, and city levels exhibit various spatiotemporal patterns. Our resulting global urban extents (1992-2020) were evaluated using other urban remote sensing products and socioeconomic data. The evaluations indicate that this dataset is reliable for characterizing spatial extents associated with intensive human settlement and high-intensity socioeconomic activities. The dataset of global urban extents from this study can provide unique information to capture the historical and future trajectories of urbanization, and understand and tackle the urbanization impacts on food security, biodiversity, climate change, and public well-being and health. This dataset can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16 602224.v1 (Zhao et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies a fuze radome system applied to millimeter waves. The system consists of feed antenna, radome, planar FSS array or curve conformal array. Microstrip antenna is used as the feed antenna. Based on the principle of equispaced and equal period respectively, cross units loading single layer dielectric form planar and curve FSS array. The FSS radome system can improve the permeability of hood to electromagnetic waves (EM) of passband, and reduce the interference of complex EM in the external environment to the system. The FSS radome will not deteriorate radiation characteristics of the feed antenna. The planar FSS radome has a passband of 98.2 GHz to 101.55 GHz with -10dB relative bandwidth of 3.35%. The curve FSS radome has a passband of 96.3 GHz to 101.8 GHz with -10dB relative bandwidth of 5.5%. In addition, the radiation characteristics of the proposed system are analyzed. It is found that the radiation pattern of the antenna is basically consistency before and after loading the radome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection caused neurological complications and male infertility, leading to the accumulation of antigen-specific immune cells in immune-privileged organs (IPOs). Thus, it is important to understand the immunological responses to ZIKV in IPOs. We extensively investigated the ZIKV-specific T cell immunity in IPOs in Ifnar1-/- mice, based on an immunodominant epitope E294-302 tetramer. The distinct kinetics and functions of virus-specific CD8+ T cells infiltrated into different IPOs were characterized, with late elevation in the brain and spinal cord. Single epitope E294-302-specific T cells can account for 20-60% of the total CD8+ T cells in the brain, spinal cord, and testicle and persist for at least 90 days in the brain and spinal cord. The E294-302-specific TCRaßs within the IPOs are featured with the majority of clonotypes utilizing TRAV9N-3 paired with diverse TRBV chains, but with distinct aß paired clonotypes in 7 and 30 days post-infection. Specific chemokine receptors, Ccr2 and Ccr5, were selectively expressed in the E294-302-specific CD8+ T cells within the brain and testicle, indicating an IPO-oriented migration of virus-specific CD8+ T cells after infection. Overall, this study adds to the understanding of virus-specific CD8+ T cell responses for controlling and clearing ZIKV infection in IPOs. IMPORTANCE The immune-privileged organs (IPOs), such as the central nervous system and testicles, presented pathogenicity and inflammation after Zika virus (ZIKV) infection with infiltrated CD8+ T cells. Our data show that CD8+ T cells keep up with virus increases and decreases in immune-privileged organs. Furthermore, our study provides the first ex vivo comparative analyses of the composition and diversity related to TCRa/ß clonotypes across anatomical sites and ZIKV infection phases. We show that the vast majority of TCRa/ß clonotypes in tissues utilize TRAV9N-3 with conservation. Specific chemokine expression, including Ccr2 and Ccr5, was found to be selectively expressed in the E294-302-specific CD8+ T cells within the brain and testicle, indicating an IPO-oriented migration of the virus-specific CD8+ T cells after the infection. Our study adds insights into the anti-viral immunological characterization and chemotaxis mechanism of virus-specific CD8+ T cells after ZIKV infection in different IPOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With development of economy, the problem of traffic congestion is becoming more and more serious, which has caused economic losses and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to put forward reasonable solutions through the study of traffic flow theory. This paper proposes a new hydrodynamic model of traffic flow considering the drivers’ sensory memory and a new corresponding feedback control scheme. Through the stability analysis of the model, the stability conditions are derived. The obtained phase-plot shows that the sensory memory of drivers can affect the instability region, and the new feedback control term will reduce the unstable region. The numerical simulations by analyzing the short-term, long-term behaviors and hysteresis loop of traffic flow verify the impacts of the drivers’ sensory memory and the control sign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of monitoring an electric power system by placing as few measurement devices in the system can be formulated as a power dominating set problem in graph theory. The power domination number of a graph is the minimum cardinality of a power dominating set. Xu and Kang [On the power domination number of the generalized Petersen graphs, J. Comb. Optim. 22 (2011) 282-291] study the exact power domination number for the generalized Petersen graph P(3k, k), and propose the following problem: determine the power domination number for the generalized Petersen graph P(4k, k) or P(ck, k). In this paper we give the power domination number for P(4k, k) and present a sharp upper bound on the power domination number for the generalized Petersen graph P(ck, k). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Several studies have investigated the association of breastfeeding status with offspring mortality in Africa, but most studies were from one center only or had limited statistical power to draw robust conclusions. METHODS: Data came from 75 nationally representative cross-sectional Demographic and Health Surveys in 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa conducted between 2000 and 2016. Our study relied on 217 112 individuals aged 4 days to 23 months for breastfeeding pattern analysis, 161 322 individuals aged 6 to 23 months for breastfeeding history analysis, and 104 427 individuals aged 12 to 23 months for breastfeeding duration analysis. RESULTS: Compared with children aged 4 days to 23 months exclusively breastfed in the first 3 days of life, those not breastfed had a high risk of mortality at <2 years of age (odds ratio [OR] = 13.45; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.43-15.83). Young children who were predominantly breastfed or partially breastfed had moderately increased risk of mortality at,2 years of age (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.03-1.21 for predominant pattern; OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 0.99-1.27 for partial pattern). Compared with children aged 6 to 23 months who were breastfed within the first 6 months of life, those not breastfed had a high risk of mortality (OR = 5.65; 95% CI = 4.27-7.47). Compared with children aged 12 to 23 months who were breastfed for $6 months, those who were breastfed for shorter periods had a higher risk of mortality (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.45-5.32 for duration of <3 months; OR = 5.28, 95% CI = 3.24-8.61 for those who were not breastfed). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age recommended by the World Health Organization for reducing mortality of children <2 years old in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. However, the role of ERS in psoriasis is still unclear. Aim: To examine ERS in psoriasis keratinocytes and to assess the association of ERS with skin inflammation response. Material and methods: We investigated ERS in keratinocytes of normal skin, lesional and perilesional psoriasis vulgaris (PV) skin tissues using transmission electron microscope (TEM) examination, Western blot and immunostaining analysis. Results: By TEM examination, we found that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in psoriatic keratinocytes was ultrastructurally abnormal, with changes in ER morphology and the ER expansion. Using Western blot and immunostaining analysis, we showed that the expression of ERS-associated proteins, such as BiP, CHOP and XBP1, was enhanced in PV epidermis compared to the healthy skin. Moreover, abundant TNF-a protein was correlated to the increased BiP, CHOP and XBP1 expression in PV epidermis. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that PV keratinocytes have an increased ERS, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of PV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to develop a novel model to extract the hydrolysed proteins from chicken bones. Firstly, an effective model was set up to detect the degree of hydrolysis with papain by response surface method. Next, the fatty acids of Maillard reaction products were identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). After that, the relationship between the fatty acids of Maillard reaction products and the substrate of Maillard reaction was analysed in details. The main research results are as follows: the top three influencing factors on enzyme hydrolysis degree were time (2.5 h), temperature (63 °C) and bone size (1.9 cm); a total of 19 types of free fatty acids were spotted in enzymatic hydrolysis, including 2.56% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), 54.92% of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and 39.63% of saturated fatty acids (SFAs). It is concluded that more MUFAs in meat can enhance the special aroma of chicken in Maillard reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild abalone (Family Haliotidae) populations have been severely affected by commercial fishing, poaching, anthropogenic pollution, environment and climate changes. These issues have stimulated an increase in aquaculture production; however production growth has been slow due to a lack of genetic knowledge and resources. We have sequenced a draft genome for the commercially important temperate Australian 'greenlip' abalone (Haliotis laevigata, Donovan 1808) and generated 11 tissue transcriptomes from a female adult abalone. Phylogenetic analysis of the greenlip abalone with reference to the Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) indicates that these abalone species diverged approximately 71 million years ago. This study presents an in-depth analysis into the features of reproductive dysfunction, where we provide the putative biochemical messenger components (neuropeptides) that may regulate reproduction including gonad maturation and spawning. Indeed, we isolate the egg-laying hormone neuropeptide and under trial conditions induce spawning at 80% efficiency. Altogether, we provide a solid platform for further studies aimed at stimulating advances in abalone aquaculture production. The H. laevigata genome and resources are made available to the public on the abalone 'omics website, http://abalonedb.org. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous expansion of the market of device-free localization in smart cities, the requirements of device-free localization technology are becoming higher and higher. The large amount of high-dimensional data generated by the existing device-free localization technology will improve the positioning accuracy as well as increase the positioning time and complexity. The positions required from single target to multi-targets become a further increasing difficulty for device-free localization. In order to satisfy the practical localizing application in smart city, an efficient multi-target device-free localization method is proposed based on a sparse coding model. To accelerate the positioning as well as improve the localization accuracy, a sparse coding-based iterative shrinkage threshold algorithm (SC-IA) is proposed and a subspace sparse coding-based iterative shrinkage threshold algorithm (SSC-IA) is presented for different practical application requirements. Experiments with practical dataset are performed for single-target and multi-targets localization, respectively. Compared with three typical machine learning algorithms: deep learning based on auto encoder, K-nearest neighbor, and orthogonal matching pursuit, experimental results show that the proposed sparse coding-based iterative shrinkage threshold algorithm and subspace sparse coding-based iterative shrinkage threshold algorithm can achieve high localization accuracy and low time cost simultaneously, so as to be more practical and applicable for the development of smart city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: It has been argued that metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) does not increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study examines the association of MHO with carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), a proxy of CVD risk, in children and adolescents.Research Design and Methods: Data were available for 3,497 children and adolescents aged 6-17 years from five population-based cross-sectional studies in Brazil, China, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Weight status categories (normal, overweight, and obese) were defined using BMI cutoffs from the International Obesity Task Force. Metabolic status (defined as "healthy" [no risk factors] or "unhealthy" [one or more risk factors]) was based on four CVD risk factors: elevated blood pressure, elevated triglyceride levels, reduced HDL cholesterol, and elevated fasting glucose. High cIMT was defined as cIMT ≥90th percentile for sex, age, and study population. Logistic regression model was used to examine the association of weight and metabolic status with high cIMT, with adjustment for sex, age, race/ethnicity, and study center.Results: In comparison with metabolically healthy normal weight, odds ratios (ORs) for high cIMT were 2.29 (95% CI 1.58-3.32) for metabolically healthy overweight and 3.91 (2.46-6.21) for MHO. ORs for high cIMT were 1.44 (1.03-2.02) for unhealthy normal weight, 3.49 (2.51-4.85) for unhealthy overweight, and 6.96 (5.05-9.61) for unhealthy obesity.Conclusions: Among children and adolescents, cIMT was higher for both MHO and metabolically healthy overweight compared with metabolically healthy normal weight. Our findings reinforce the need for weight control in children and adolescents irrespective of their metabolic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Approximately, one-third of adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are refractory to initial induction chemotherapy and relapse occurs in most patients who achieve remission. This study evaluates the efficacy of decitabine in the management of refractory or relapsed AML. Methods: After literature search in electronic databases (Google Scholar, Embase, Ovid, and PubMed) studies were selected by following pre-determined eligibility criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to achieve effect sizes of complete remission (CR) rate, response rate (RR), and median survival after therapy. Subgroup analyses were performed with regards to use of decitabine with either epigenetics-based therapy, molecular therapy or chemotherapy. Results: Twenty studies were included (310 patients; age 55.1 years [95% confidence interval (CI): 43.8, 66.4]; 57% [52%, 63%] males). Overall RR was 46.1% [95% CI: 36.1%, 56.1%]. Overall CR rate was 23.5% [95% CI: 22.1%, 24.9%] but was 14.85% [95% CI: 3.8%, 25.9%] for decitabine with epigenetics-based therapies, 15.4% [95% CI: 6.7%, 24.0%] for decitabine with immunotherapy or molecular therapy, 34.8% [95% CI: 18.7%, 50.9%] for decitabine with chemotherapy, and 37.5% [36.4%, 38.7%] for decitabine with chemotherapy and molecular therapy. Median survival was 7.2 months [95% CI: 5.17, 9.3]. Major adverse events were neutropenia, nausea/vomiting, infections, fatigue, febrile neutropenia, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia, anemia, anorexia, leukopenia, hemorrhage, and hyperglycemia. Conclusion: Decitabine in combination with chemotherapy or molecular therapy has shown efficacious properties in refractory or relapsed AML patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to uneven illumination and dim environment in the tunnel, the monitored image is blurred, which makes it difficult to recognise the traffic status. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the tunnel image in advance. In this study, a fast image enhancement algorithm based on imaging model constraint is proposed. First, the method uses the combination of global atmospheric light and partitioned atmospheric light to estimate the local atmospheric light. Second, the transmission is estimated based on the formula derived from the imaging model constraints. Third, the method uses a constant instead of illumination to balance tunnel image illumination. Last, the tunnel image is enhanced according to the imaging model. Experimental and comparative analysis results show that the proposed method can rapidly and effectively enhance the tunnel image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2013, influenza A/H7N9 has emerged as the commonest avian influenza subtype causing human infection, and is associated with a high fatality risk. However, the characteristics of immune memory in patients who have recovered from H7N9 infection are not well understood. We assembled a cohort of forty-five H7N9 survivors followed for up to 15 months after infection. Humoral and cellular immune responses were analyzed in sequential samples obtained at 1.5-4 months, 6-8 months and 12-15 months post-infection. H7N9-specific antibody concentrations declined over time, and protective antibodies persisted longer in severely ill patients admitted to ICU and patients presenting with ARDS than that in patients with mild disease. Frequencies of virus-specific IFN-γ secreting T cells were lower in critically ill patients requiring ventilation than those in patients without ventilation within four months after infection. The percentages of H7N9-specific IFN-γ secreting T cells tended to increase over time in patients ≥60 years or critically ill patients requiring ventilation. Elevated levels of antigen-specific CD8+ 46 T cells expressing lung-homing marker CD49a were observed at 6-8 months after H7N9 infection compared to samples obtained at 1.5-4 months. Our findings indicate the prolonged reconstruction and evolution of virus-specific T cell immunity in older or critically ill patients, and provide implications for T-cell directed immunization strategies. Importance Avian influenza A H7N9 remains a major threat to public health. However, no previous studies have determined the characteristics and dynamics of virus specific T cell immune memory in patients who have recovered from H7N9 infection. Our findings showed that establishment of H7N9-specific T cell memory after H7N9 infection was prolonged in older and severely affected patients. Severely ill patients mounted lower T cell responses in the first 4 months after infection, while T cell responses tended to increase over time in older and severely ill patients. Higher levels of antigen-specific CD8+ 61 T cells expressing the lung-homing marker CD49a were detected at 6-8 months after infection. Our results indicated a long term impact of H7N9 infection on virus-specific memory T cells. These findings advance our understanding of the dynamics of virus-specific memory T cell immunity after H7N9 infection, relevant to the development of T cell based universal influenza vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teeth are vertebrate-specific, highly specialized organs performing fundamental functions of mastication and speech, the maintenance of which is crucial for orofacial homeostasis and is further linked to systemic health and human psychosocial well-being. However, with limited ability for self-repair, the teeth can often be impaired by traumatic, inflammatory, and progressive insults, leading to high prevalence of tooth loss and defects worldwide. Regenerative medicine holds the promise to achieve physiological restoration of lost or damaged organs, and in particular an evolving framework of developmental engineering has pioneered functional tooth regeneration by harnessing the odontogenic program. As a key event of tooth morphogenesis, mesenchymal condensation dictates dental tissue formation and patterning through cellular self-organization and signaling interaction with the epithelium, which provides a representative to decipher organogenetic mechanisms and can be leveraged for regenerative purposes. In this review, we summarize how mesenchymal condensation spatiotemporally assembles from dental stem cells (DSCs) and sequentially mediates tooth development. We highlight condensation-mimetic engineering efforts and mechanisms based on ex vivo aggregation of DSCs, which have achieved functionally robust and physiologically relevant tooth regeneration after implantation in animals and in humans. The discussion of this aspect will add to the knowledge of development-inspired tissue engineering strategies and will offer benefits to propel clinical organ regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: KLRG1 is a marker of terminally differentiated CD8+ T cells in viral infection, but its role in human Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection remains elusive.Methods: A set of cohorts of patients with tuberculosis was designed, and the expression profiles and functions of KLRG1+CD4+ T cells were determined with and without antibody blocking.Results: KLRG1 expression on CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in patients with active tuberculosis, compared with healthy controls and patients without tuberculosis. Upon M. tuberculosis-specific stimulation, the ability to secrete interferon γ, interleukin 2, and tumor necrosis factor α was significantly greater in KLRG1-expressing CD4+ T cells than in their KLRG-negative counterparts and was accompanied by a decreased proportion of regulatory T cells and increased Akt signaling. However, KLRG1-expressing CD4+ T cells had a shorter life-span, which was associated with a higher apoptosis rate but a similar proliferative response. Blockade of KLRG1 signaling significantly enhanced interferon γ and interleukin 2 secretion without affecting either cell apoptosis or multiplication. Addition of a specific Akt inhibitor prevented this increased cytokine response, implicating the Akt signaling pathway.Conclusions: Our study delineated the profile of KLRG1+CD4+ T cells in patients with tuberculosis and suggests that M. tuberculosis infection drives CD4+ T cells to acquire increased effector function in a terminally differentiated state, which is restrained by KLRG1 via KLRG1/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, experimental techniques have been developed to prepare and characterize chemical agents for augmenting injectivity in low permeability reservoirs. First, chemical agents are selected, formulated, and optimized on the basis of interfacial tension (IFT), scale inhibition ratio, and clay particle size distribution and specific surface area. The spinning drop method is utilized to measure the IFT between crude oil and the formulated solution, while contact angle between brine and rock surface is measured to examine effect of the chemical agents on the rock wettability. Also, scale inhibition ratio and antiswelling ratio are, respectively, measured by performing static-state scale inhibition experiments and centrifugation experiments. Then, displacement experiments are conducted to evaluate injectivity improvement after one pore volume (PV) of such formulated chemical agents has been injected into a core plug. It is found that the optimized solution consists of 0.15 wt% fluorocarbon surfactant FC-117, 4.00wt% isopropanol, 1.20x10-3 wt% scale inhibitor 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA), and 1.50 wt% clay stabilizer diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DMDAAC). The IFT between crude oil and the optimized solution can be reduced to 5.36 x 10-3 mN/m within a short time, while the scale inhibition ratio and antiswelling ratio are measured to be 94.83% and 86.96%, respectively. It is found from comprehensive evaluation experiments that such a formulated and optimized solution can not only alter the rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet but also reduce the scale formation of the reservoir brine. In addition, it is shown from displacement experiments that the pressure is decreased by 34.67% after the injection of such formulated solution. When the formulated solution contains 0-300,000 mg/L sodium chloride (NaCl) and 0-5000 mg/L calcium chloride (CaCl2) at 50-90 °C, the IFT between crude oil and the formulated solution can be reduced to lower than 10-2 mN/m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the synergistic effect of alloying elements neodymium (Nd) and dysprosium (Dy) on the ignition-proof performance of AZ91D alloy. The ignition-proof mechanism of AZ91D-3Nd-xDy (x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5wt.%) alloy was discussed in depth through ignition-proof testing and microstructure observation. The results showed that the AZ91 D-3Nd-2Dy alloy exhibited the highest ignition-point of 893 K, increased by 69 K as compared to the AZ91D alloy. The ignition-proof mechanism of Nd and Dy additions lay in three aspects: (1) the formation of denser oxide film consisting of Dy203 and MgO improves the oxidation resistance of the alloy, (2) the great reduction of the low melting-point phase β-Mg17AI12, which leads to the decrease in the oxygen diffusion channels, and (3) the newly formed high melting-point phases (AI2Nd and AI2Dy), which block the oxygen diffusion channels and prevent the chemical reaction of Mg and oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Investigate subtle fibrosis similarities and differences in adult and pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using second harmonic generation (SHG). Methods: SHG/two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging quantified 100 collagen parameters and determined qFibrosis values by using the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) Clinical Research Network (CRN) scoring system in 62 adult and 36 pediatric NAFLD liver specimens. Results: Six distinct parameters identified differences among the NASH CRN stages with high accuracy (area under the curve, 0835-0.982 vs 0.885-0.981, adult and pediatric). All portal region parameters showed similar changes across early stages 0, 1C, and 2, in both groups. Parameter values decreased in adults with progression from stage 1A/B to 2 in the central vein region. In children, aggregated collagen parameters decreased, but nearly all distributed collagen parameters increased from stage 1A/B to 2. Conclusions: SHG analysis accurately reproduces NASH CRN staging in NAFLD, as well as reveals differences and similarities between adult and pediatric collagen deposition not captured by currently available quantitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox imbalance is established in various human diseases. Treatment of intestinal epithelial cells with hyperoxia for a prolonged period of time may cause serious effects on redox balance. Secretory component (SC) protein is secreted by intestinal epithelial cells, and has a vital role in mucosal immune systems and intestinal defense. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on intestinal epithelial cells and intestinal epithelial SC protein under hyperoxic conditions. Caco.2 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or 85% O2 (hyperoxia) for 24 h. Flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry staining, western blot analysis and reverse transcription.quantitative polymerase chain reaction were performed to detect the expression levels of SC protein. Significantly increased apoptosis and mortality rates were observed in hyperoxia. and H2O2.treated Caco.2 cells, as compared with the untreated control cells (P<0.05). Protein and mRNA expression levels of SC were significantly increased in hyperoxia. and H2O2.treated groups, as compared with the control group (P<0.05). During hyperoxia, intestinal epithelial cells were destroyed and ROS levels increased. Therefore, the results of the present study suggested that ROS might have an important role in intestinal injury in hyperoxic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms and effect of Beclin-1 on autophagy, proliferation and apoptosis in the colorectal cancer (CRC) HCT116 and SW620 cells. Beclin-1 was silenced by RNA interference (RNAi) in HTC116 and SW620 cells. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot were used to measure the expression of Beclin-1. The percentage of apoptotic cells was analyzed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry (FCM). Cell cycle and cell proliferation were analyzed by FCM and the MTT assay. The present study created 3 groups in the two cell lines, consisting of the targeting siRNA (TS) group, in which Beclin-1 was partially silenced, non-specific siRNA (NS) group and control group (CG; without transfection). By siRNA transfection, the mRNA and protein level of Beclin-1 in the TS group were significantly inhibited compared with the NS group and CG (P<0.05). After 0, 24, 48 and 72 h, the survival rate of the cells in the TS group was significantly decreased compared with the survival rate of the cells in the NS group and CG, as detected by CCK-8 methods (P<0.05). FCM and MTT results showed the apoptotic rate of the cells in the TS group was significantly decreased compared with the rate in the NS group and CG (P<0.05), and the proliferation of the cells in the NS group was evidently increased compared with the CG. In conclusion, Beclin-1 played an important role in regulating autophagy, proliferation and apoptosis in HCT116 and SW620 cells. The inhibition of Beclin-1 by RNAi suppressed the autophagic activity and proliferation, but promoted apoptosis in CRC cells. Beclin-1 was the new target of gene therapy for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemical fungicides are widely used to control crop diseases, but these chemicals have adverse effects. They destroy the ecological environment and even have toxic effects on human beings. In this context, the development of botanical pesticides is relevant. One potential botanical pesticide is chelerythrine, a main alkaloid of Chelidonium majus L., which has high antitumor, fungistasis, and antiphlogosis bioactivity. Objective: This study was designed to present an ultrasonic extraction method for chelerythrine and spore germination experiments to inhibit pathogenic fungi. Fungistasis of chelerythrine is now centralized in basic microbiology experiments, such as observing bacteriostatic rings. This study investigates chelerythrine based on pathogenic fungal spore germination and the influence of germ tube elongation. Materials and Methods: Samples of C. majus L., which were wild used in this experiment, were picked from Harbin experimental forest farm of Northeast Forestry University. An L9 (34) orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the ultrasonic extraction method. All the plant pathogenic fungus strains used in the experiment were preservation strains of Northeast Forestry University Microbial preservation center. Pathogenic fungi were cultivated by joining chelerythrine with and observed germ tube growth and spore germination. Results: The optimum ultrasonication extraction process for chelerythrine has a liquid/solid ratio of 1:8, 35 min of extraction time, 85% of ultrasonic frequency, and 75% of ethanol concentration. When the concentration of chelerythrine was 1.7 × 10-2 mg/ml, the inhibition rates of Septoria microspora Speg. spores and Curvularia lunata were 96.67% and 84.94%, respectively. Moreover, when the concentration of chelerythrine was 1.7 × 10-6 mg/ml, the inhibition rates of S. microspora spores and C. lunata were 47.64% and 12.05%, respectively. Conclusion: Fungistasis activity reached a high level with 1.7 × 10-6 mg/ml of chelerythrine. Chelerythrine has the characteristics of less dosage and obvious fungistasis and has a good prospect for botanical fungicide development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Ru(II)-complex-based bulk nanomaterials have received considerable attention in electrochemiluminescent (ECL) assays owing to their strong ECL signals, the ECL efficiency of these nanomaterials was quite low since the bulk nanomaterials brought about a serious inner filter effect and excess inactive emitters. Herein, hollow porous polymeric nanospheres of a self-enhanced ruthenium complex (abbreviated as Ru-HPNSs) were prepared with a polyethylenimine-ruthenium complex precursor to greatly decrease the inner filter effect and minimize inactive emitters, which significantly improved the ECL efficiency. On the basis of the novel Ru-HPNSs as efficient ECL tags and target-catalyzed hairpin hybridization as signal amplification strategy, an ultrasensitive ECL aptasensor was constructed for the detection of mucin 1 (MUC1), which showed excellent linear response to a concentration variation from 1.0 fg/mL to 100 pg/mL with the limit of detection down to 0.31 fg/mL. It is worth mentioning that this work opened a new avenue for developing high-performance ECL nanomaterials as well as ultrasensitive ECL biosensors for clinical and biochemical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) has been suggested to be present in various malignant tumors and associated with tumor nutrition supply and metastasis, leading to poor prognosis of patients. Notch1 has been demonstrated to contribute to VM formation in hepathocellular carcinoma (HCC). Celastrus orbiculatus extract (COE), a mixture of 11 terpenoids isolated from the Chinese Herb Celastrus orbiculatus Vine, has been suggested to be effective in cancer treatment. Aim of the study In the current study, experiments were carried out to examine the effect of COE on VM formation and HCC tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo . Materials and methods CCK-8 assay and Nikon live-work station were used to observe the viability of malignant cells treated with COE. Cell invasion was examined using Transwell. Matrigel was used to establish a 3-D culture condition for VM formation. Changes of mRNA and protein expression were examined by RT-PCR and Western Blot respectively. Tumor growth in vivo was monitored using in vivo fluorescence imaging device. PAS-CD34 dual staining and electron microscopy were used to observe VM formation. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was used to examine Notch1 and Hes1 expression in tumor tissues. Results Results showed that COE can inhibit HCC cells proliferation and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. VM formation induced by TGF-β1 was blocked by COE. In mouse xenograft model, COE inhibited tumor growth and VM formation. Both in vitro and in vivo studies showed that COE can downregulate expression of Notch1 and Hes1. Conclusion The current results indicate that COE can inhibit VM formation and HCC tumor growth by downregulating Notch1 signaling. This study demonstrates that COE is superior to other anti-angiogenesis agents and can be considered as a promising candidate in HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palivizumab, a humanized murine monoclonal antibody that recognizes antigenic site II on both the prefusion (pre-F) and postfusion (post-F) conformations of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) F glycoprotein, is the only prophylactic agent approved for use for the treatment of RSV infection. However, its relatively low neutralizing potency and high cost have limited its use to a restricted population of infants at high risk of severe disease. Previously, we isolated a high-potency neutralizing antibody, 5C4, that specifically recognizes antigenic site Ø at the apex of the pre-F protein trimer. We compared in vitro and in vivo the potency and protective efficacy of 5C4 and the murine precursor of palivizumab, antibody 1129. Both antibodies were synthesized on identical murine backbones as either an IgG1 or IgG2a subclass and evaluated for binding to multiple F protein conformations, in vitro inhibition of RSV infection and propagation, and protective efficacy in mice. Although 1129 and 5C4 had similar pre-F protein binding affinities, the 5C4 neutralizing activity was nearly 50-fold greater than that of 1129 in vitro. In BALB/c mice, 5C4 reduced the peak titers of RSV 1,000-fold more than 1129 did in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. These data indicate that antibodies specific for antigenic site Ø are more efficacious at preventing RSV infection than antibodies specific for antigenic site II. Our data also suggest that site Ø-specific antibodies may be useful for the prevention or treatment of RSV infection and support the use of the pre-F protein as a vaccine antigen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate data on gross domestic product (GDP) at pixel level are needed to understand the dynamics of regional economies. GDP spatialization is the basis of quantitative analysis on economic diversities of different administrative divisions and areas with different natural or humanistic attributes. Data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), carried by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, are capable of estimating GDP, but few studies have been conducted for mapping GDP at pixel level and further pattern analysis of economic differences in different regions using the VIIRS data. This paper produced a pixel-level (500 m 500 m) GDP map for South China in 2014 and quantitatively analyzed economic differences among diverse geomorphological types. Based on a regression analysis, the total nighttime light (TNL) of corrected VIIRS data were found to exhibit R2 values of 0.8935 and 0.9243 for prefecture GDP and county GDP, respectively. This demonstrated that TNL showed a more significant capability in reflecting economic status (R2 > 0.88) than other nighttime light indices (R2 < 0.52), and showed quadratic polynomial relationships with GDP rather than simple linear correlations at both prefecture and county levels. The corrected NPP-VIIRS data showed a better fit than the original data, and the estimation at the county level was better than at the prefecture level. The pixel-level GDP map indicated that: (a) economic development in coastal areas was higher than that in inland areas; (b) low altitude plains were the most developed areas, followed by low altitude platforms and low altitude hills; and (c) economic development in middle altitude areas, and low altitude hills and mountains remained to be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Molluscs, including snails, are prone to parasite infection, which can lead to massive physiological and behavioural changes, yet many of the molecular components involved remain unresolved. Central to this point is the neural system that in snails consists of several ganglia that regulate the animals' physiology and behaviour patterns. The availability of a genomic resource for the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata provides a mean towards the high throughput analysis of changes in the central nervous system (CNS) following infection with Schistosoma miracidia. Results: In this study, we performed a proteomic analysis of the B. glabrata CNS at pre-patent infection, providing a list of proteins that were further used within a protein-protein interaction (PPI) framework against S. mansoni proteins. A hub with most connections for both non-infected and infected Biomphalaria includes leucine aminopeptidase 2 (LAP2), which interacts with numerous miracidia proteins that together belong to the immunoglobulin family of cell adhesion related molecules. We additionally reveal the presence of at least 165 neuropeptides derived from the precursors of buccalin, enterin, FMRF, FVRI, pedal peptide 1, 2, 3 and 4, RYamide, RFamide, pleurin and others. Many of these were present at significantly reduced levels in the snail's CNS post-infection, such as the egg laying hormone, a neuropeptide required to initiate egg laying in gastropod molluscs. Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrates that LAP2 may be a key component that regulates parasite infection physiology, as well as establishing that parasite-induced reproductive castration may be facilitated by significant reductions in reproduction-associated neuropeptides. This work helps in our understanding of molluscan neuropeptides and further stimulates advances in parasite-host interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection occurs in animals and humans. It manifests primarily as a local skin lesion, which can be treated with antibiotics. Systemic infection with E. rhusiopathiae is rare, with low occurrence of bacteremia. We describe a case of E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia leading to shock and rash all over the body in a 49-year-old man with a history of finger puncture by a puffer fish bone. Interestingly, the E. rhusiopathiae cultured in this patient's blood was resistant to multiple drugs, including penicillin G, vancomycin, and gentamicin. The patient was treated successfully with ertapenem and ceftriaxone. Although a few cases of E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia have been reported recently, cases of multidrug-resistant E. rhusiopathiae bacteremia are extremely rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capturing CO2 to mitigate carbon emission is an outstanding challenge. The design and synthesis of new porous materials capable of selectively capturing CO2 are critical to sequestrate the rising atmospheric CO2. Herein we report a dye encapsulating approach to tune the CO2 capture capability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). A new mesoporous MOF material CZJ-10 and three dye-encapsulated composite MOF materials RB@CZJ-10, CR@CZJ-10, and melanin@CZJ-10 are investigated for their ability to capture CO2. We show that the interior pore space of CZJ-10 can be functionalized with different dyes, which allow exploration of the effect of increasing CO2 uptakes of the MOF. This work offers a promising approach for the development of new composite materials to sequestrate CO2 molecules. Additionally, CZJ-10 demonstrates high catalytic efficiency on CO2 chemical conversion to form cyclic carbonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have rapidly generated a large volume of genomic data. To aid the development and evaluation of new statistical models and computational methods, NGS-based simulators have been proposed to construct better experimental workflows. However, the comparative performance of these NGS simulators remains unclear. In this review, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of NGS simulators for various sequencing techniques, including DNA sequencing, metagenomic sequencing, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq and bisulfite sequencing for methylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the oscillatory singular stress field around a crack tip, interface fracture has some peculiar features. This paper is focused on two of them. One can be reflected by a proposed paradox that geometrically similar structures with interface cracks under similar loadings may have different failure behaviors. The other one is that the existing fracture parameters of the oscillatory singular stress field, such as a complex stress intensity factor, exhibit some nonobjectivity because their phase angle depends on an arbitrarily chosen length. In this paper, two objective and independent fracture parameters are proposed which can fully characterize the stress field near the crack tip. One parameter represents the stress intensity with classical unit of stress intensity factors. It is interesting to find that the loading mode can be characterized by a length as the other parameter, which can properly reflect the phase of the stress oscillation with respect to the distance to the crack tip. This is quite different from other crack tip fields in which the loading mode is usually expressed by a phase angle. The corresponding failure criterion for interface cracks does not include any arbitrarily chosen quantity and, therefore, is convenient for comparing and accumulating experimental results, even existing ones. The non-self-similarity of the stress field near an interface crack tip is also interpreted, which is the major reason leading to many differences between the interfacial fracture and the fracture in homogenous materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The robotic riveting system requires a rivet robotic positioning process for rivet-in-hole insertions, which can be divided into two stages: rivet path-following and rivet spot-positioning. For the first stage, varying parameter-linear sliding surfaces are proposed to achieve robust rivet path-following against robot errors and external disturbances of the robotic riveting system. For the second stage, a second-order sliding surface is applied to attain accurate rivet spot-positioning within a finite time required by the riveting process. In order to improve the dynamic performance of the robot riveting system, the motion of robot end-effector between the two adjacent riveting spots has been properly designed. Overall, the proposed control scheme can guarantee not only the stability of the robot control system but also the robust rivet path-following and quick rivet spot-positioning in the presence of the robot errors and external disturbances of the robotic riveting system. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the problem of dissipative lag synchronization (LS) for two identical Lur'e systems with unknown external disturbances. The disturbances are supposed to be generated by the exogenous systems with and without time-delay. Based on the disturbance-observer-based control method, the linear matrix inequality technique and the dissipativity theory, the disturbance observers are developed to ensure the boundedness of the disturbance error dynamics and the dissipativity of the resultant LS error system. By using the sliding-mode control (SMC) approach, an integral-type sliding surface function is constructed and a dissipative SMC law is established to render the disturbance rejection and realize LS between the master and slave systems, and an integral sliding-mode controller is designed to guarantee the reachability of the specified sliding surface. Finally, the Chua's circuit is used as a numerical example to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside is the major active substance of Puhuang, a traditional herb medicine widely used in clinical practice to tackle many chronic diseases. However, little is known about the interactions between this ingredient and intestinal flora. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry together with automated data analysis software (Metabolynx?) was used for analysis of the metabolic profile of isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside by the isolated human intestinal bacteria. The parent and three meta-bolites isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin and quercetin were detected and identified based on the characteristics of their deprotonated molecules. These metabolites indicated that isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside was firstly deglycosylated to isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside and subsequently to the aglycone isorhamnetin, and the latter was demethylated to quercetin. The majority of bacteria such as Escherichia sp. 23 were capable of converting isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside to considerable amounts of aglycone isorhamnetin and further to minor amounts of quercetin, while minor amounts of isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside were detected in minority of bacterial samples such as Enterococcus sp. 30. The metabolic pathway and metabolites of isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside by the different human intestinal bacteria were firstly investigated. Furthermore, the metabolites of isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside might influence the effects of traditional herb medicines. Thus, our study is helpful to further unravel how isorhamnetin-3-O-neohesperidoside and Puhuang work in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a life-threatening non-tumorous disease characterized by progressive fibrosis and worsening lung function. Various drugs, such as bleomycin, can contribute to lung injury and PF, with lung injury potentially occurring in 10% of bleomycin users. Bleomycin is the most commonly used drug in the establishment of an animal model of PF in rats. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) serve an important role in controlling tissue organization and fibrosis following injury. The present study examined the effect of bosentan on fibrotic lung tissue in rats administrated with bleomycin. In total, 48 Wistar rats were administrated with bleomycin, with or without bosentan, while the control rats received saline. The lung tissues were microscopically examined by staining with hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichome. ELISA was also used to detect the MMP-9 and TIMP-1 concentrations in the plasma. The results indicated that the bosentan-treated groups on the next day and the 15th day showed significant reversal of pathological findings. In addition, the concentrations of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 appeared to be altered following bosentan treatment, improving the bleomycin-induced PF. Masson's trichome staining showed high collagen deposition in the lung tissue sections, which may be a direct result of the activity of MMP-9 and TIMP-1. Furthermore, the deposition of collagen was significantly inhibited in bosentan-treated groups. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that bosentan inhibited lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin and it may be used as an inhibitor of PF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a novel technique for three-dimensional (3D) imaging of inner cavities in complex parts with improved accuracy and efficiency, which follows the principle of positron annihilation and is based on the mechanism of γ-photon detection. First, a working medium is labelled with radionuclide and injected into the inner cavity of the target complex part, where β+decay of the radionuclide occurs and positrons are emitted. Then, a lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate (LYSO) detection ring is used to count the total number of γ-photons that are released from the positron annihilation. Finally, accurate 3D imaging of the inner cavity is achieved by applying an image fusion scheme to a series of two-dimensional (2D) images, each of which represents the optimal maximum likelihood estimate model (MLEM) to the γ-photon data captured by the LYSO detection ring. Compared to traditional imaging techniques, the proposed technique not only overcomes the major limitations of γ-photon excitation and 3D image reconstruction, but also implements an angle-traversal approach for accurate γ-photon single-scattering correction to enhance the imaging resolution. The results of two experimental tests demonstrate the superiorities of the new 3D imaging technique in both testing efficiency and accuracy, indicating its great potential as a non-destructive testing tool for effective inner structure analysis and defect location in industrial complex parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schistosoma species are responsible for the disease schistosomiasis, a highly prevalent helminthic disease that requires a freshwater snail as intermediate host. The S. mansoni free-living miracidium must utilize olfaction to find a suitable snail host, and certain types of rhodopsin G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ionotropic receptors (IRs) have been identified as olfactory receptors in other animal phyla. The Schistosoma genome project, together with the recent availability of proteomic databases, allowed for studies to explore receptors within S. mansoni, some of which may contribute to host finding. Results: We have identified 17 rhodopsin-type GPCR sequences in S. mansoni belonging to four subclasses, including ligand-specific GPCRs (i.e. neuropeptide and opsin). RT-PCR demonstrated the expression of nine out of the 17 GPCRs in the free-living miracidia, each of which have been characterized for homology to S. haematobium. Among the nine GPCRs, two are predicted as Gq-opsins. We also describe the characterization of a Schistosomaencoded IR based on similarity with other species IR and conservation of IR-like domains. Schistosoma mansoni IR is expressed in miracidia at 3 and 6 h post-hatch. Conclusions: The identification of receptors in S. mansoni miracidia, presented here, contributes not only to further understanding of Schistosoma biology and signal transduction but also provides a basis for approaches that may modify parasite behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate a multiuser multiple-input single-output relay system with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer, where the received signal is divided into two parts for information decoding and energy harvesting (EH), respectively. Assuming that both base station (BS) and relay station (RS) are equipped with multiple antennas, we study the joint transceiver design problem for the BS beamforming vectors, the RS amplify-and-forward transformation matrix, and the power splitting (PS) ratios at the single-antenna receivers. The aim is to minimize the total transmission power of the BS and the RS under both signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and EH constraints. First, an iterative algorithm based on alternating optimization (AO) and with guaranteed convergence is proposed to successively optimize the transceiver coefficients. This AO-based approach is then extended into a robust transceiver design against norm bounded errors in channel state information (CSI), by using semidefinite relaxation and the S-procedure. Second, a novel design scheme based on switched relaying (SR) is proposed that can significantly reduce the computational complexity and overhead of the AO-based designs while maintaining a similar performance. In the proposed SR scheme, the RS is equipped with a codebook of permutation matrices. For each permutation matrix, a latent transceiver is designed, which consists of BS beamforming vectors, optimally scaled RS permutation matrix, and receiver PS ratios. For the given CSI, the optimal latent transceiver with the lowest total power consumption is selected for transmission. We propose concave-convex procedure-based and subgradient-type iterative algorithms, respectively, to design the latent transceivers under perfect and imperfect CSI. Simulation results are presented to validate the effectiveness of all the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) encode the guardian molecules to control cell growth. The genomic alteration of TSGs may cause tumorigenesis and promote cancer progression. So far, investigators have mainly studied the functional effects of somatic single nucleotide variants in TSGs. Copy number variation (CNV) is another important form of genetic variation, and is often involved in cancer biology and drug treatment, but studies of CNV in TSGs are less represented in literature. In addition, there is a lack of a combinatory analysis of gene expression and CNV in this important gene set. Such a study may provide more insights into the relationship between gene dosage and tumorigenesis. To meet this demand, we performed a systematic analysis of CNVs and gene expression in TSGs to provide a systematic view of CNV and gene expression change in TSGs in pan-cancer. Results: We identified 1170 TSGs with copy number gain or loss in 5846 tumor samples. Among them, 207 TSGs tended to have copy number loss (CNL), from which fifteen CNL hotspot regions were identified. The functional enrichment analysis revealed that the 207 TSGs were enriched in cancer-related pathways such as P53 signaling pathway and the P53 interactome. We further performed integrative analyses of CNV with gene expression using the data from the matched tumor samples. We found 81 TSGs with concordant CNL events and decreased gene expression in the tumor samples we examined. Remarkably, seven TSGs displayed concordant CNL and gene down-regulation in at least 50 tumor samples: MTAP (212 samples), PTEN (139), MCPH1 (85), FBXO25 (67), SMAD4 (64), TRIM35 (57), and RB1 (54). Specifically to MTAP, this concordance was found in 14 cancer types, an observation that is not much reported in literature yet. Further network-based analysis revealed that these TSGs with concordant CNL and gene down-regulation were highly connected. Conclusions: This study provides a draft landscape of CNV in pan-cancer. Our findings of systematic concordance between CNL and down-regulation of gene expression may help better understand the TSG biology in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]