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Formic acid (FA) was used for reductive depolymerization of industrial corncob lignin via ethanol and Pt/C system. The highest yield of bio-oil obtained was 71.4% when the reaction was conducted at 260 °C with an FA/lignin ratio of 8 for 0.5 h. The bio-oil was composed of oligomers (Mw within 600 Da) and lignin depolymerized fragments (Mw beyond 600 Da). Reaction temperature was the most important factor affecting the properties of bio-oil. Although excessive temperature could increase the C/H ratio and higher heating value (HHV) of bio-oil, it would lead to repolymerization of lignin degraded fragments, thus resulting in a higher molecular weight of bio-oil. Additionally, alkylphenols were major products in bio-oil, and the amount of alkyl phenols could be increased by increasing the temperature and extending the retention time appropriately. This study reveals the effects of various reaction conditions on the yield and properties of bio-oil, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent upgrading of bio-oil to biofuels and aromatic chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, metal inert gas welding (MIG) was applied to 4 mm thick 6005A-T6 aluminum alloy welding. Compared with other parts, the hardness of the weld zone (WZ) was the lowest, about 67 HV. There was the Softening in WZ, which might make WZ the weakest zone. Then, fatigue tests were carried out on MIG welded joints. All the fatigue specimens fractured at the weld toe of the lap joint, and the fracture was characterized by a cleavage fracture. Crack closure induced by oxide was observed during the steady propagation of the fatigue crack. Impurities hindered crack propagation, changed the direction of crack propagation, and appeared in stepped fatigue strip distribution morphology; in the process of the main crack propagation, the initiation and propagation of small cracks were easily restricted and hindered by the main crack, which slowed down the propagation rate and even stopped the propagation directly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Pr3+/Ce3+ doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Y3Al5O12 or simply YAG) phosphors were synthesized to investigate the energy transfer between Pr3+ and Ce3+ for their potential application in a white light-emitting diode and quantum information storage and processing. The excitation and emission spectra of YAG:Pr3+/Ce3+ were measured and analyzed, and it revealed that the reabsorption between Pr3+ and Ce3+ was so weak that it can be ignored, and the energy transfer from Pr3+ (5d) to Ce3+ (5d) and Ce3+ (5d) to Pr3+ (1D2) did occur. By analyzing the excitation and the emission spectra, the energy transfer from Pr3+ (5d) to Ce3+ (5d) and Ce3+ (5d) to Pr3+ (¹D2) was examined in detail with an original strategy deduced from fluorescence dynamics and the Dexter energy transfer theory, and the critical distances of energy transfer were derived to be 7.9 A and 4.0 A for Pr3+ (5d) to Ce3+ (5d) and Ce3+ (5d) to Pr3+ (1D2), respectively. The energy transfer rates of the two processes of various concentrations were discussed and evaluated. Furthermore, for the purpose of sensing a single Pr3+ state with a Ce3+ ion, the optimal distance of Ce3+ from Pr3+ was evaluated as 5.60 Å, where the probability of success reaches its maximum value of 78.66%, and meanwhile the probabilities were evaluated for a series of Y3+ sites in a YAG lattice. These results will be of valuable reference for achievement of the optimal energy transfer efficiency in Pr3+/Ce3+ doped YAG and other similar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term or severe lack of protective factors is important in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative dementia. Progranulin (PGRN), a neurotrophic factor expressed mainly in neurons and microglia, has various neuroprotective effects such as anti-inflammatory effects, promoting neuron survival and neurite growth, and participating in normal lysosomal function. Mutations in the PGRN gene (GRN) have been found in several neurodegenerative dementias, including frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, PGRN deficiency and PGRN hydrolytic products (GRNs) in the pathological changes related to dementia, including aggregation of tau and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), amyloid-ß (Aß) overproduction, neuroinflammation, lysosomal dysfunction, neuronal death, and synaptic deficit have been summarized. Furthermore, as some therapeutic strategies targeting PGRN have been developed in various models, we highlighted PGRN as a potential anti-neurodegeneration target in dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision and real-time diagnosis of sucker rod pumping system (SRPS) is important for quickly mastering oil well operations. Deep learning-based method for classifying the dynamometer card (DC) of oil wells is an efficient diagnosis method. However, the input of the DC as a two-dimensional image into the deep learning framework suffers from low feature utilization and high computational effort. Additionally, different SRPSs in an oil field have various system parameters, and the same SRPS generates different DCs at different moments. Thus, there is heterogeneity in field data, which can dramatically impair the diagnostic accuracy. To solve the above problems, a working condition recognition method based on 4-segment time-frequency signature matrix (4S-TFSM) and deep learning is presented in this paper. First, the 4-segment time-frequency signature (4S-TFS) method that can reduce the computing power requirements is proposed for feature extraction of DC data. Subsequently, the 4S-TFSM is constructed by relative normalization and matrix calculation to synthesize the features of multiple data and solve the problem of data heterogeneity. Finally, a convolutional neural network (CNN), one of the deep learning frameworks, is used to determine the functioning conditions based on the 4S-TFSM. Experiments on field data verify that the proposed diagnostic method based on 4S-TFSM and CNN (4S-TFSMCNN) can significantly improve the accuracy of working condition recognition with lower computational cost. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to discuss the effect of data heterogeneity on the working condition recognition performance of SRPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time synchronization is critical for wireless sensors networks in industrial automation, e.g., event detection and process control of industrial plants and equipment need a common time reference. However, cyber-physical attacks are enormous threats causing synchronization protocols to fail. This paper studies the algorithm design and analysis in secure time synchronization for resource-constrained industrial wireless sensor networks under Sybil attacks, which cannot be well addressed by existing methods. A node-identification-based secure time synchronization (NiSTS) protocol is proposed. The main idea of this protocol is to utilize the timestamp correlation among different nodes and the uniqueness of a node’s clock skew to detect invalid information rather than isolating suspicious nodes. In the detection process, each node takes the relative skew with respect to its public neighbor as the basis to determine whether the information is reliable and to filter invalid information. The information filtering mechanism renders NiSTS resistant to Sybil attacks and message manipulation attacks. As a completely distributed protocol, NiSTS is not sensitive to the number of Sybil attackers. Extensive simulations were conducted to demonstrate the efficiency of NiSTS and compare it with existing protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of coordinated interactions between gut microbiota and the immune cells surveilling the intestine play a key role in shaping local immune responses and intestinal health. Gpr109a is a G protein-coupled receptor expressed at a very high level on innate immune cells and previously shown to play a key role in the induction of colonic regulatory T cells. In this study, we show that Gpr109a-/-Rag1-/- mice exhibit spontaneous rectal prolapse and colonic inflammation, characterized by the presence of an elevated number of IL-17-producing Rorγt+ innate lymphoid cells (ILCs; ILC3). Genetic deletion of Rorγt alleviated the spontaneous colonic inflammation in Gpr109a-/-Rag1-/- mice. Gpr109a-deficient colonic dendritic cells produce higher amounts of IL-23 and thereby promote ILC3. Moreover, the depletion of gut microbiota by antibiotics treatment decreased IL-23 production, ILC3, and colonic inflammation in Gpr109a-/-Rag1-/- mice. The ceca of Gpr109a-/-Rag1-/- mice showed significantly increased colonization by members of Bacteroidaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Prevotellaceae, Streptococcaceae, Christensenellaceae, and Mogibacteriaceae, as well as IBD-associated microbiota such as Enterobacteriaceae and Mycoplasmataceae, compared with Rag1-/- mice, housed in a facility positive for Helicobacter and murine norovirus. Niacin, a Gpr109a agonist, suppressed both IL-23 production by colonic DCs and ILC3 number in a Gpr109a-dependent manner. Collectively, our data present a model suggesting that targeting Gpr109a will be potentially beneficial in the suppression of IL-23-mediated immunopathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time synchronization is one of the key technologies in Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs), and clustering is widely used in WSNs for data fusion and information collection to reduce redundant data and communication overhead. Considering IWSNs' demand for low energy consumption, fast convergence, and robustness, this paper presents a novel Cluster-based Maximum consensus Time Synchronization (CMTS) method. It consists of two parts: intra-cluster time synchronization and inter-cluster time synchronization. Based on the theory of distributed consensus, the proposed method utilizes the maximum consensus approach to realize the intra-cluster time synchronization, and adjacent clusters exchange the time messages via overlapping nodes to synchronize with each other. A Revised-CMTS is further proposed to counteract the impact of bounded communication delays between two connected nodes, because the traditional stochastic models of the communication delays would distort in a dynamic environment. The simulation results show that our method reduces the communication overhead and improves the convergence rate in comparison to existing works, as well as adapting to the uncertain bounded communication delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a polarization phase shifting multi-loop Sagnac interferometer is created in order to produce two sets of linear orthogonal polarizations, one of which acts as the system’s dynamic reference beam for recording dynamic uncertainty events. The other served as the test beam to determine phase difference as the light passed through a sample. All optical waves traveled through two main compartments that minimized external vibrations, and after accounting for dynamic uncertainty effects, the error of the unwrapped phase was significantly improved. We demonstrated phase distribution both with and without recording the dynamic uncertainty of a flat glass and lenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of electron beam profile is one of the key objectives of electron optics, and the basis for design of the practical electron gun. In this paper, an improved model describing electron beam in Pierce gun with both space charge effects and emittance effects is proposed. The theory developed by Cutler and Hines is still applied for the accelerating region of the Pierce gun, while the motion equations of the electron beams in the anode aperture and drift tunnel are improved by modifying electron optics theory with emittance. As a result, a more universal and accurate formula of the focal length of the lens for the electron beam with both effects is derived for the anode aperture with finite dimension, and a modified universal spread curve considering beam emittance is introduced in drift tunnel region. Based on these improved motion equations of the electron beam, beam profiles with space charge effects and emittance effects can be theoretically predicted, which are subsequently approved to agree well with the experimentally measured ones. The developed model here is helpful to design more applicable Pierce guns at high frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reliability analysis is presented of a circular tunnel face driven by a pressurized shield in a highly fractured Hoek-Brown (HB) rock mass. A limit analysis approach is employed to define a limit state function (LSF) based on an advanced rotational mechanism. The objective is to analyze how different reliability methods, different assumptions about distribution types and correlation structures of the random variables, and different tunnel sizes and support pressures influence the computed reliability results. Results indicate that the reliability method has a limited influence on reliability results, hence suggesting that the LSF is not highly nonlinear and that a computationally efficient method can be employed; and that all random variables under consideration are resistance variables, with their assumed distribution types and correlation structures having a significant effect on the reliability results. This emphasizes the importance of an adequate characterization of geotechnical uncertainties for practical applications. This also confirms that the reliability of tunnel face stability increases significantly as the face support increases or the tunnel diameter decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a multi-decrypter encryption (MDE) scheme, a message encrypted under the public keys of multiple receivers can be recovered only when all the receivers designated by the sender are available (e.g. in a national security setting where a "Top Secret" document can only be decrypted and recovered when all the designated "keyholders" present the respective keys). Despite its effectiveness (i.e. without heavy computational overheads) in ensuring a message can only be read when all the designated parties are available, this is an under-researched topic (there are only two published MDE schemes in the literature, to the best of our knowledge). In this paper, we propose an efficient MDE scheme and prove its CCA2 security in the standard model under the decisional bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first introduce multiscale power (MSP) method to assess the power distribution of physiological signals on multiple time scales. Simulation on synthetic data and experiments on heart rate variability (HRV) are tested to support the approach. Results show that both physical and psychological changes influence power distribution significantly. A quantitative parameter, termed power difference (PD), is introduced to evaluate the degree of power distribution alteration. We find that dynamical correlation of HRV will be destroyed completely when PD>0.7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variable area cavitating venturi is an effective means to throttle the mass flow rate of liquid. The mass flow rate is a function of the upstream pressure, the pintle stroke, the density and saturation pressure of the liquid, independent of the downstream pressure. In this paper, a variable area cavitating venturi is designed and four different sets of experiments are conducted to investigate the performance of the variable area cavitating venturi. In these experiments, the mass flow rates are examined under different pintle positions, upstream pressures, downstream pressures and dynamic motions of the pintle. The experimental results indicate that the mass flow rate is independent of the downstream pressure when the ratio of the downstream pressure to upstream pressure is less than 0.8. The mass flow rate is almost linearly dependent on the pintle stroke for a constant upstream pressure. The discharge coefficient is a function of the pintle stroke, whereas the upstream and downstream pressures have rare influence on the discharge coefficient. The variable area cavitating venturi can control and measure the mass flow rate dynamically by determining the pintle stroke and the upstream pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate and intelligent identification of the working conditions of a sucker-rod pumping system is necessary. As onshore oil extraction gradually enters its mid-to late-stage, the cost required to train a deep learning working condition recognition model for pumping wells by obtaining enough new working condition samples is expensive. For the few-shot problem and large calculation issues of new working conditions of oil wells, a working condition recognition method for pumping unit wells based on a 4-dimensional time-frequency signature (4D-TFS) and meta-learning convolutional shrinkage neural network (ML-CSNN) is proposed. First, the measured pumping unit well workup data are converted into 4D-TFS data, and the initial feature extraction task is performed while compressing the data. Subsequently, a convolutional shrinkage neural network (CSNN) with a specific structure that can ablate low-frequency features is designed to extract working conditions features. Finally, a meta-learning finetuning framework for learning the network parameters that are susceptible to task changes is merged into the CSNN to solve the few-shot issue. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the trained ML-CSNN has good recognition accuracy and generalization ability for few-shot working condition recognition. More specifically, in the case of lower computational complexity, only few-shot samples are needed to fine-tune the network parameters, and the model can be quickly adapted to new classes of well conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Bone morphogenetic protein receptor II (BMPR-II) plays an important role in tumor's invasion and proliferation. In this study, we observed the effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting bone morphogenetic protein receptor II (BMPR-II) on the biological activities of human liver cells and explore its mechanism. Methods The molecular sequences of three siRNA targeting BMPR-IIwere designed and synthesized. In this study, there were 6 groups including group I (normal control), group II (blank control), group III (negative control) and group IV-VI (BMPR-II-siRNA-a, siRNA-b and siRNA-ctransfected cells, respectively). The levels of mRNA and protein of BMPR-II were determined to select the best sequence for BMPR-II silence. After liver cancer cells were transfected with the best sequence, proliferation and invasion of transfected cells were assessed, and apoptosis and cell cycle were detected. The expressions of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signal pathway-related proteins were observed after BMPR-II silence and BMPR-II silence combined with inhibiting MAPKs signal pathway, respectively. Results RT-PCR and Western blot indicated that BMPR-II expression was the highest in HepG2 among the three liver cancer lines (P < 0.01) and the lowest in group IV among the six groups (P < 0.01).MTT assay and transwell assay revealed that the numbers of cell growth and cell transmembrane were significantly lower in group IV than in control groups 48 h after cells were transfected (P < 0.05).Flow cytometer showed that apoptosis was the highest and cells were significantly blocked in S phase 48 h after cells were transfected in group IV (P < 0.01).Western blot indicated that the protein levels of p-P38(P < 0.01) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) (P < 0.01) were significantly decreased after BMPRII silence. The protein level of VEGF-C was significantly decreased in PD98059 + siRNABMPR- II-a and SB203580 + siRNA-BMPR-II-a groups (P < 0.01), especially in SB203580 + siRNA-BMPR-II-a group (P < 0.01). Conclusions siRNA targeting BMPR-IIcan markedly inhibit HepG2 proliferation and invasion, promote apoptosis and block HepG2 in S phase. Its mechanism may be that BMPR-II silence downregulates VEGF-C expression through MAPK/P38 and MAPK/ERK1/2 pathways, especially MAPK/P38. This study provides a new targeted therapy for liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with transmission rate and control codesign of wireless sensor networked control systems (WSNCS) with time-varying delay. Jointly designing transmission rate and control is an attractive paradigm for WSNCS, since the control performance of WSNCS is highly sensitive to resource-constrained communication networks. The main idea of devised scheme is searching an optimal event-triggered transmission condition on the premise that wireless link capacity constraint is satisfied and stability of systems is guaranteed. The main aim of devised scheme is to greatly optimize control performance of WSNCS. First, two wireless network architectures characterized by multihop and star topology are put forward. Secondly, a model of WSNCS with event-triggered transmission mechanism is constructed. It is followed by stability analysis of WSNCS to obtain the asymptotical stability condition of systems. And then a search algorithm is presented for transmission rate and control codesign. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

120 college athletes including 30 gymnasts, 30 ball players, 30 athletes in track and field, and 30 swimmers with different levels of sports skills were measured on the operation speed and accuracy of visual images in the present study. The results showed that there was a close relationship between sport skill level and the operation level of visual images. The higher the sport skill level was, the higher the operation level was. The gymnasts were faster in the operation of visual images than the other athletes, but there was no significant difference among athletes of other sports games in visual image operation. The athletes achieved great improvement in their ability of visual image, but there was no significant difference between different genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the microstructure and mechanical properties of MIG (Melt Inert Gas) lap welded 6005 aluminum alloy plates. Microstructure analysis (OM) of the joint showed that 15~30 μm small grains were observed at the fusion line. Mechanical analysis shows that the small grains are broken by shielding gas and molten pool flow force. Hardness test shows that there is a softening zone (41~43 HV) in HAZ much lower than BM and WZ. The low cycle fatigue test showed that the performance of lap joint decreased sharply, and the fatigue strength of weld decreased significantly, which was only 27.34% of the base metal. The fatigue fracture (SEM) of the weld observed slip band cracking and a large number of brittle fracture characteristics. Using the stress concentration factor K t for analysis, it was found that the cause of brittle fracture was mostly stress concentration. Lap joint stress concentration model appears in two ways: firstly, at the weld toe, the weld is subjected to eccentric force, secondly, there is a small gap between the two plates at the weld root, which cracks along the direction of 45° of the maximum shear stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service-oriented architectures make establishing comprehensive profiles of smart factories feasible. In this paper, an energy tree model is used to describe a profile that shapes energy system dynamics. The energy tree shows an overall and detailed profile that combines information communication technologies and ontology knowledge bases. A 7-level network protocol defines sustainable communication services for accumulating local information to maintain the global energy tree in real time. The communication protocol manages everchanging temporal and spatial misalignments by aligning groups of energy resources that are temporally or spatially related. Meanwhile, correlated domain information regarding industrial processes is formulized into ontology models. Ontology-based semantic contexts allocate knowledge-supported attributes to energy resources, including systems, resources, and users. The key objective of context awareness is to align attributes and to intensify couplings between different energy resources by decomposing and aggregating internal ontology models. Intertemporal and interspatial correlations of energy resources are made available by the cooperative transmission of ontology-based semantic contexts in the protocol framework. An informational architecture based on the conceptual energy tree finally can be established using incomplete measurement data and reasoning for large-scale industrial networks. A Smart Grid application instance is given to demo.strate the functionalities of energy tree dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New node deployment is inevitable in a wireless sensor network because nodes in the network may be lost, exhausted, or destroyed. To secure the new node deployment process, Kim and Lee (2009) proposed an enhanced novel access control protocol (ENACP) using the elliptic curve cryptography and the hash chain. We identified an inherent flaw in their design and demonstrated that ENACP is vulnerable to a new node masquerading attack and a legal node masquerading attack, in violation of their security claims. We hope that by identifying this design flaw, similar structural mistakes can be avoided in future designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the latest progress in kinetic energy harvesting for wide applications ranging from implanted devices and wearable electronic devices to mobile electronics and self-powered wireless network nodes. The advances in energy harvesters adopting piezoelectric and electromagnetic transduction mechanisms are presented. Piezoelectric generators convert mechanical strain on the active material to electric charge while electromagnetic generators make use of the relative motion between a conductor and a magnetic flux to induce charge in the conductor. The existent kinetic piezoelectric generators including human-powered and vibration-based devices are comprehensively addressed. In addition, the electromagnetic generators which include resonant, rotational, and "hybrid" devices are reviewed. In the conclusion part of this paper, a comparison between the transduction methods and future application trends is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compound orthogonal arrays (COAs) and single arrays are alternatives to the inner-outer arrays advocated by Taguchi for robust parameter design experiments. A criterion based on the wordtype pattern and strength of COAs is proposed to select optimal COAs. Single arrays are classified into prodigal single arrays (PSAs) and economical single arrays (ESAs) according to their relative estimation capacities, and various optimality criteria, again based on the wordtype pattern, are proposed for selecting optimal single arrays. Useful optimal COAs, PSAs, and ESAs are constructed and tabulated as convenient references for experimenters in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regression with a high-dimensional predictor vector, it is important to estimate the central and central mean subspaces that preserve sufficient information about the response and the mean response. Using the Fourier transform, we have derived the candidate matrices whose column spaces recover the central and central mean subspaces exhaustively. Under the normality assumption of the predictors, explicit estimates of the central and central mean subspaces are derived. Bootstrap procedures are used for determining dimensionality and choosing tuning parameters. Simulation results and an application to a real data are reported. Our methods demonstrate competitive performance compared with SIR, SAVE, and other existing methods. The approach proposed in the article provides a novel view on sufficient dimension reduction and may lead to more powerful tools in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender controversies and stigmatization on the internet occur from time to time. This research analyzes the "Yang Li Event" by crawling 10,507 posts on Weibo and sampling 184 reviews on the Zhihu website. Sentiment analysis verifies male-female netizens' attitudes are polarized and reveals that negative emotion is dominant on the Internet. Male netizens' posts use various rhetoric to construct the images of radical and pseudo-feminists, which is in turn placed in the contemporary China socio-cultural context for interpretation. This article argues that the contemporary masculine crisis is a kind of self-cognition crisis caused by a misperception of gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new class of RNA molecules whose function is largely unknown. There is a growing evidence that circRNAs play an important regulatory role in the progression of a variety of human cancers. However, the exact roles and the mechanisms of circRNAs in gastric cancer are not clear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism of hsa_circ_0005556. Materials and Methods: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of hsa_circ_0005556, miR-4270, and matrix metalloproteinase-19 (MMP19) in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. The expression of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer cells was silenced by lentivirus, and cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and tumorigenesis in nude mice were assessed to evaluate the function of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer. Results: The expression of hsa_circ_0005556 in gastric cancer tissues and gastric cancer cell lines was higher compared to normal controls. In vitro, the downregulation of hsa_circ_0005556 significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells. In vivo, the downregulation of hsa_circ_0005556 suppressed tumor growth in nude mice. Conclusions: Our study shows that the hsa_circ_0005556/miR-4270/MMP19 axis is involved in proliferation, migration, and invasion of gastric cancer cells through the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) is impacting the world's connectivity landscape. More and more IoT devices are connected, bringing many benefits to our daily lives. However, the influx of IoT devices poses non-trivial challenges for the existing cloud-based computing paradigm. In the cloud-based architecture, a large amount of IoT data is transferred to the cloud for data management, analysis, and decision making. It could not only cause a heavy workload on the cloud but also result in unacceptable network latency, ultimately undermining the benefits of cloud-based computing. To address these challenges, researchers are looking for new computing models for the IoT. Edge computing, a new decentralized computing model, is valued by more and more researchers in academia and industry. The main idea of edge computing is placing data processing in nearedge devices instead of remote cloud servers. It is promising to build more scalable, low-latency IoT systems. Many studies have been proposed on edge computing and IoT, but a comprehensive survey of this crossover area is still lacking. In this survey, we first introduce the impact of edge computing on the development of IoT and point out why edge computing is more suitable for IoT than other computing paradigms. Then, we analyze the necessity of systematical investigation on the edge-computing-driven IoT (ECDriven-IoT) and summarize new challenges occurring in ECDriven-IoT. We categorize recent advances from bottom to top, covering six aspects of ECDriven-IoT. Finally, we conclude lessons learned and propose some challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain multiple speed ratios, a synthesis methodology of planetary gear trains (PGTs) with multiple operating degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) is proposed based on the variable structure method. Variable structure of PGT is accomplished by changing the fixed interconnection edge. First, PGTs with two operating DOFs are synthesized with a deduction method based on the relationship between the number of planetary gear sets (PGSs) and number of fixed interconnection edges. Next, connection characteristics of fixed interconnection edges are defined as frequency of utilization to construct original speed ratios of the two operating DOFs schemes. The connection characteristics are then obtained based on the power flow analysis. PGT graph model with connection characteristic is built to provide guidance in the design of varying structure. Finally, multispeed PGTs with multiple operating DOFs are synthesized based on the graph model and lever analogy. A design example for three-PGS PGTs is considered to highlight capabilities of the variable structure method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the fabrication and performance of a room-temperature NO2 gas sensor based on a WO3 nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure. The W18O49 nanowires are synthesized directly from a sputtered tungsten film on a porous silicon (PS) layer under heating in an argon atmosphere. After a carefully controlled annealing treatment, WO3 nanowires are obtained on the PS layer without losing the morphology. The morphology, phase structure, and crystallinity of the nanowires are investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Comparative gas sensing results indicate that the sensor based on the WO3 nanowires exhibits a much higher sensitivity than that based on the PS and pure WO3 nanowires in detecting NO2 gas at room temperature. The mechanism of the WO3 nanowires/PS hybrid structure in the NO2 sensing is explained in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We previously reported that antofloxacin-based bismuth quadruple therapy was safe and effective for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication. It is not clear whether the addition of Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) to antofloxacin-based quadruple therapy can improve the eradication rate of H. pylori and reduce adverse events. Objective: To investigate the effect of adding S. boulardii to antofloxacin-based quadruple therapy on the eradication rate of H. pylori and the adverse events. Design: Single-center, prospective randomized controlled study. Methods: A total of 172 patients with H. pylori infection were randomly assigned to the test and control groups. Patients in the control group (?? = 86) received antofloxacin-based bismuth quadruple therapy for 14 days. On this basis, cases in the test group (?? = 86) received S. boulardii 500 mg b.i.d. The eradication rate of H. pylori and adverse events were observed 4 weeks after the treatment. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the eradication rates of H. pylori and frequency of diarrhea between the test group and control group (?? > 0.05). The duration of diarrhea in the test group was significantly shorter than in the control group (?? < 0.001). In addition, the two groups exhibited similar adverse event rates for epigastric pain, abdominal distention, dizzy, vomiting, and rash (?? > 0.05). The severity of adverse reactions was similar between the two groups (?? > 0.05), and most of them had mild adverse events. Conclusion: Although the addition of S. boulardii to antofloxacin-based quadruple therapy could not improve the eradication rate of H. pylori, it could shorten the time of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and reduce the incidence of diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Hip fracture is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, especially among the elderly. Current evidence on the association between cigarette smoking and mortality in hip-fracture patients is controversial. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on this association. METHODS The databases Medline/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for studies that estimated the effect of smoking on the risk of mortality in hip-fracture patients. Pooled analyses were conducted of the associations, expressed in relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic. Study quality was assessed by the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and publication bias was evaluated by a funnel plot, Begg's and Egger's tests. Subgroup analyses were performed by study design, race/ethnicity, age ≥60 years, smoking status, and follow-up period. RESULTS A total of six articles involving 3739 hip-fracture patients were included in the meta-analysis. Our results indicate that ever-active smoking was significantly associated with an increased risk of death in hip-fracture patients (pooled RR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.08--1.46). In further subgroup analysis, the risk of death was significantly higher in ever-active smokers than in never smokers in White participants (pooled RR=1.23; 95% CI: 1.05--1.44) and elderly aged ≥60 years (pooled RR=1.19; 95% CI: 1.01--1.40), with no significant association in Asian participants (pooled RR=1.42; 95% CI: 0.95--2.11). Current smokers had more risk of death than never smokers (pooled RR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.08--1.46). The association was significant in follow-up periods of ≤1 year (pooled hazard ratio, HR=1.34; 95% CI: 1.05--1.71), 3 years (pooled HR=1.22; 95% CI: 1.05--1.43), and 5 years (pooled HR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.08--1.46). CONCLUSIONS Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of mortality in hip-fracture patients, especially in elderly patients aged ≥60 years, current smokers, and White participants. With the extension of follow-up period, the effect on mortality of smoking is profound and lasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• To investigate whether the defects in SLMed-Ti-6AL-4V affect the microstructure and properties after heat treatment. • The defects with the greatest influence on the microstructure, phase composition and properties after heat treatment were identified, and the influencing process of the defects was explained. • The formation mechanism of defects in SLMED-TI-6AL-4V was explained. In this paper, the selective laser melting (SLM) Ti-6Al-4V sample with defects is heat treated (HT). The heat treatment temperatures are 750 °C, 850 °C, and 950 °C. The three temperatures are kept for 2 h, and then air cooling (AC) is used for treatment. Observe the changes in microstructure, phase composition, hardness, and tensile properties. The results show that the existence of defects will not affect the overall change trend of the microstructure, hardness and phase composition of the Ti-6Al-4V sample after heat treatment. However, there are obvious changes in the surrounding of two kinds of defects, which are the surface defects with large area and the lack of fusion (LOF) defects that are communicated with the outside world and extend to the inside of the sample. These two types of defects water, oil and air are easy to enter, and the defects are not easy to remove, heating will produce a large amount of hydrogen. Hydrogen enters the sample through defects, resulting in a large number of β phase around the two types of defects, and white around the defects. The hardness near the defect decreased significantly, and the closer the distance, the more the hardness decreased. A large amount of hydrogen entered into the Ti-6Al-4V sample, resulting in the appearance of new phase δ phase in the phase composition, resulting in the decrease of tensile strength（TS）and yield strength (YS) of the tensile properties after heat treatment, and the obvious decrease of elongation (EL). Moreover, among the various defects, the most important influence on the phase composition and tensile properties is the LOF defect that communicates with the outside world and extends to the inside of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) plaque is an important component of rice roots because it influences the uptake and transport of cadmium (Cd) in rice. In this study, a hydroponic experiment was developed to investigate the influence of phosphorus (P) on the formation of iron plaque on the root surface as well as the influence on Cd uptake in rice plants. Three important results were obtained, as follows. (1) During the formation of iron plaque induced by exogenous Fe, P supply was beneficial for the iron plaque formation, but it restrained the Cd retention capability, resulting in a decrease in Cd in iron plaque by 35.48–61.93%, and leading to an increase in Cd in rice roots from 72.13 mg kg−1 to 112.78 mg kg−1 (2) After the iron plaque induction, the formation of iron plaque was inhibited by P supply, resulting in the amount of iron plaque decreasing by 18.46–54.57%, and the Cd in iron plaque decreased by 3.93–31.78%. Then, the Cd retention capability and the prevention effect simultaneously decreased, and as a result, the Cd in rice roots increased from 100.83 mg kg−1 to 146.03 mg kg−1 (3) Without exogenous Fe induction, P sufficiency continued to increase the amount of iron plaque and decrease the Cd in iron plaque, and increase the Cd in rice plants. These results suggested that P supply increases the amount of iron plaque, which is ineffective for Cd retention, such as non-reddish-brown iron plaque (NIP), and then decreases the capacity of iron plaque to retain Cd. Additionally, the P supply decreased the amount of formed iron plaque, causing the decreasing prevention effect. Therefore, excessive application of P fertilizer should be avoided in Cd-contaminated paddy fields. During the iron plaque inducted by exogenous Fe, P supply increased the amount of iron plaque, but it restrained the Cd retention capability, resulting in a decrease in Cd in iron plaque, and leading to an increase in Cd in rice plants. [Display omitted] • P supply increased the amount of iron plaque but decreased its Cd retention capacity. • P supply dissolved the formed iron plaque causing the prevention effect declining. • P supply increased the Cd in rice plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Difluorooxymethylene-bridged (CF2O) liquid crystal (LC) with low viscosity is prepared and used as a fast response LC material. When the material is mixed with isothiocyanato LCs with high birefringence, the viscoelastic coefficient of the mixture decreases evidently and, accordingly, the response performance increases. While the concentration of CF2O LCs is about 7%, the LC mixture approximately maintains high birefringence and exhibits a fastest response performance that is 14% higher than that of pure isothiocyanato LCs. Therefore, the LC material and mixing method could find useful applications in optical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microgrids (MGs) are presented as a cornerstone of smart grids. With the potential to integrate intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) in a flexible and environmental way, the MG concept has gained even more attention. Due to the randomness of RES, load, and electricity price in MG, the forecast errors of MGs will affect the performance of the power scheduling and the operating cost of an MG. In this paper, a combined stochastic programming and receding horizon control (SPRHC) strategy is proposed for microgrid energy management under uncertainty, which combines the advantages of two-stage stochastic programming (SP) and receding horizon control (RHC) strategy. With an SP strategy, a scheduling plan can be derived that minimizes the risk of uncertainty by involving the uncertainty of MG in the optimization model. With an RHC strategy, the uncertainty within the MG can be further compensated through a feedback mechanism with the lately updated forecast information. In our approach, a proper strategy is also proposed to maintain the SP model as a mixed integer linear constrained quadratic programming (MILCQP) problem, which is solvable without resorting to any heuristics algorithms. The results of numerical experiments explicitly demonstrate the superiority of the proposed strategy for both island and grid-connected operating modes of an MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overmoded surface wave oscillator (SWO) is one of the promising devices to generate highpower millimeter and subterahertz waves for its merits of high efficiency and easy fabrication. But the employed slow wave structure with large diameter may introduce mode competition as the adverse effects. Therefore, the mode competition and selection in the overmoded surface wave oscillator are investigated in detail in this paper. By using the theoretical analysis and particle-in-cell simulation, the potential transverse mode and axial mode competition is pointed out, and the physical mechanisms and methods for mode selection are investigated. At last, the results are verified in the design of a 0.14 THz overmoded SWO without mode competition, which can generate the output power up to 70MW at the frequency of 146.3 GHz with conversion efficiency almost 20% when beam voltage and current are, respectively, about 313 kV and 1.13 kA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overmoded O-type Cerenkov generators using annular electron beams are facing the problem of multi-modes output due to the inevitable structural discontinuities. A simple but effective method to achieve the pure TM01 mode output is applied on the 0.14 THz overmoded surface wave oscillator (SWO) in this paper. In spite of still using an overmoded slow wave structure to ensure the easy fabrication, the followed smooth circular waveguide is shrinkingly tapered to the output waveguide with appropriate radius that it cuts off other higher modes except TM01 mode. Moreover, the modified device here has the same power capacity as the previous one according to the numerical analysis. By optimized lengths of the transition waveguide and tapered waveguide, particle-in-cell simulation results indicate that the subterahertz wave with output power increased 14.2% at the same frequency is obtained from the proposed SWO under the previous input conditions, and importantly, the output power is all carried by TM01 mode as expected. Further simulation results in the pulse regime confirm the feasibility of the optimized structure in the actual experiments. This simple and viable design is also applicable to overmoded devices in the lower frequency band of subterahertz wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blufensin1 (Bln1) has been identified as a susceptibility factor of basal defense mechanisms which is unique to the cereal grain crops barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum aestivum), rice (Oryza sativa), and rye (Secale cereale). However, the molecular mechanisms through which Bln1 regulates the wheat immune response are poorly understood. In this study, we found that TaBln1 was significantly induced by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) virulent race CYR31 infection. Knockdown of TaBln1 expression by virus-induced gene silencing reduced Pst growth and development, and enhanced the host defense response. In addition, TaBln1 was found to physically interact with a calmodulin, TaCaM3, on the plasma membrane. Silencing TaCaM3 with virus-induced gene silencing increased fungal infection areas and sporulation and reduced wheat resistance to the Pst avirulent race CYR23 (incompatible interaction) and virulent race CYR31 (compatible interaction). Moreover, we found that the accumulation of TaCaM3 transcripts could be induced by treatment with chitin but not flg22. Silencing TaCaM3 decreased the calcium (Ca2+) influx induced by chitin, but silencing TaBln1 increased the Ca2+ influx in vivo using a noninvasive micro-test technique. Taken together, we identified the wheat susceptibility factor TaBln1, which interacts with TaCaM3 to impair Ca2+ influx and inhibit plant defenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Although some research papers have suggested that smoking may increase mortality in patients with sepsis, no evidence has been produced in this regard. This systematic research evaluated the risk of death in patients with sepsis who were smokers to facilitate better clinical decision making. METHODS This is a systematic review registered in PROPERO (CRD42022296654). Searches were conducted to identify suitable studies from the databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials from January 1980 to June 2021. Two independent reviewers screened the articles using keywords and extracted the data. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. The primary endpoints included the mortality of patients with sepsis. RESULTS Five studies involving 2694 participants were included in our study. Among the five included articles, three studies had an NOS score of 6, while the other two had an NOS score of 7. The results showed that a significantly higher risk of death was observed in smokers with sepsis compared with non-smokers with sepsis (hazard ratio, HR=1.62; 95% CI: 1.11-2.37, p=0.01). Among the patients followed for more than 2 months, the mortality rate of smokers was significantly higher (2.33 times) than that of non-smokers (HR=2.33; 95% CI: 1.83-2.96, p<0.01). The difference in mortality did not reach statistical significance when the follow-up period was shorter than 2 months (HR=1.22; 95% CI: 0.96-1.56, p=0.10). CONCLUSIONS Smoking increased mortality in patients with sepsis when the follow-up period was longer than 2 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, energy harvesting has been emerging as a promising technique to prolong the lifetime for wireless sensor nodes. Most existing efforts address the design of energy harvesting and sensor node subsystem separately or ignore some real-world constraints. In this paper, we study how to codesign the two subsystems and how to jointly manage energy harvesting, storage, and usage. We first propose a novel system architecture for energy harvesting which employs several supercapacitors to eliminate the conflicts on charging and discharging among different system components. Then, we present a method to schedule their charging and discharging, which is proved to be able to guarantee zero waste of the harvested energy if the battery is not full. Third, we propose an optimal algorithm to minimize different components' capacity and two heuristic algorithms to maximize the system reward. We conduct extensive experiments based on real-life data traces. Results show that the proposed system architecture can harvest more energy compared to the state of the art, and the capacity optimization algorithm can choose the most suitable size for each system component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the average dielectric permittivity ([?]) in the Maier-Meier theory for calculating the dielectric anisotropy (De) of nematic liquid crystals. For the reason that [?] of nematics has the same expression as the dielectric permittivity of the isotropic state, the Onsager equation for isotropic dielectric was used to calculate it. The computed [?] shows reasonable agreement with the results of the numerical methods used in the literature. Molecular parameters, such as the polarizability and its anisotropy, the dipole moment and its angle with the molecular long axis, were taken from semi-empirical quantum chemistry (MOCPAC/AM1) modeling. The calculated values of De according to the Maier-Meier equation are in good agreement with the experimental results for the investigated compounds having different core structures and polar substituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been reported to be a promising source of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in various cancers. However, further research in this area is needed due to the limitations of circulating extracellular vesicles detection methods. Using the Single Molecule array (SiMoa) technology, we developed two extracellular vesicle detection assays, CD9-CD63 and PD-L1-CD63, to determine circulating universal EVs and PD-L1 positive EVs, respectively. A total of 164 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients were retrospectively included in this study. Compared with healthy volunteers (n = 25), elevated CD9-CD63 and PD-L1-CD63 signals were detected in the plasma of DLBCL patients (n = 164). High CD9-CD63 signals was associated with molecular subtype, extranodal site and treatment response in DLBCL. A high PD-L1-CD63 signal was also associated with certain clinical features, including extranodal site and treatment response. CD9-CD63 and PD-L1-CD63 signals were found to be important prognostic factors for both progression-free and overall survival. Furthermore, PD-L1-positive EVs were found in all patients, though PD-L1 protein expression was positive in only 35.4% (17/48) of tumor biopsies. No correlation was found between circulating PD-L1+ EVs and soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) levels. Our results show that plasma universal EV and PD-L1-positive EV levels are significantly elevated in DLBCL and might serve as biomarkers for predicting survival outcomes in DLBCL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TNF ligand-related molecule 1A (TL1A) is a vascular endothelial growth inhibitor to reduce neovascularization. Lack of apoE a expression results in hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis. In this study, we determined the precise effects of TL1A on the development of atherosclerosis and the underlying mechanisms in apoE-deficient mice. After 12 weeks of pro-atherogenic high-fat diet feeding and TL1A treatment, mouse aorta, serum, and liver samples were collected and used to assess atherosclerotic lesions, fatty liver, and expression of related molecules. We found that TL1A treatment significantly reduced lesions and enhanced plaque stability. Mechanistically, TL1A inhibited formation of foam cells derived from vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) but not macrophages by activating expression of ABC transporter A1 (ABCA1), ABCG1, and cholesterol efflux in a liver X receptor-dependent manner. TL1A reduced the transformation of VSMCs from contractile phenotype into synthetic phenotypes by activating expression of contractile marker α smooth muscle actin and inhibiting expression of synthetic marker osteopontin, or osteoblast-like phenotype by reducing calcification. In addition, TL1A ameliorated high-fat diet-induced lipid metabolic disorders in the liver. Taken together, our work shows that TL1A can inhibit the development of atherosclerosis by regulating VSMC/foam cell formation and switch of VSMCphenotypes and suggests further investigation of its potential for atherosclerosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because downscaling tools are needed to support climate change mitigation and adaptation practices, the guarantee of their credibility is of vital importance. To evaluate downscaling results, one needs to select a set of effective and nonoverlapping indices that reflect key system attributes. However, this subject is still insufficiently researched. With this study, we propose a diagnostic framework that evaluates the credibility of precipitation downscaling using five different attributes: spatial, temporal, trend, extreme, and climate event. A daily variant of the bias-corrected spatial downscaling approach is used to downscale daily precipitation from the GFDL-ESM2G climate model at 148 stations in the Yangtze River basin in China. Results prove that this framework is effective in systematically evaluating the performance of downscaling across the Yangtze River basin in the context of climate change and exacerbating climate extremes. Moreover, results also indicate that the downscaling approach adopted in this study yields good performance in correcting spatiotemporal bias, preserving trends, approximating extremes, and characterizing climate events across the Yangtze River basin. The proposed framework can be beneficial to planners and engineers facing issues relevant to climate change assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce and demonstrate a new structure of polarisation grating which can substantially enlarge the deflection angle. We derive the polarisation state of a beam passing through the reflective composite polarisation grating by Jones matrix and build a rigorous simulation about the deflection angle of reflective composite polarisation grating using finite-element analysis. The theoretical diffraction efficiency of the reflective composite polarisation grating can reach up to 90%. The experimental result of deflection angle of the reflective composite polarisation grating is consistent with that of simulation. The reflective composite polarisation grating could be expected to be applied in augment reality system, spectroscopy, optical telecommunications, non-mechanical beam steering and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional liquid crystal polarisation grating based on twist liquid crystal has been demonstrated and fabricated by polarisation holography in this paper. The maximal diffraction efficiency of the second order is up to 90%. And the two-dimensional liquid crystal polarisation grating has the properties of electrically tenability and polarisation tenability. The two-dimensional polarisation grating diffracts light into a spot array. Different direction diffraction light is with different polarisation states. The intensity of the different orders diffraction light is optically controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present research on strain transfer in optical fiber sensors focuses on high-precision, point-bonded fiber Bragg grating sensors. The spatial resolution of a traditional distributed fiber optic sensor (DOFS) reaches submeter or meter, and strain transfer in these sensors is rarely noticed. The accuracy of the DOFS based on optical frequency domain reflectometry used in our paper is improved significantly compared to previous sensors. It has an accuracy of 0.1 and a spatial resolution of 1 mm. Therefore, the strain transfer performance of such a high-precision DOFS should be investigated further. We fixed a DOFS on a host structure using an adhesive, and the factors influencing strain transfer were studied, including the "endpoint effect," bond length, shear modulus of the coating and adhesive layers, and thickness of the adhesive layer. A theoretical strain transfer model for a DOFS was designed and the theoretical strain transfer coefficient was calculated using numerical simulations. Furthermore, an evaluation of the theoretical model was implemented using a uniform strength beam. The experimental results are consistent with the simplified two-layer strain transfer model presented in our paper. The effect of the bond length on strain transfer is summarized from experimental and numerical simulation results, i.e., a larger adhesive length leads to a higher strain transfer coefficient and smaller "endpoint effect." If the shear modulus of the fiber coating layer and the glue is high, we obtain a high train transfer coefficient and small "endpoint effect." These conclusions provide a useful reference for the application of DOFS in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polarisation grating (PG) based on the hybrid photo-aligned double-frequency liquid crystal has been demonstrated and fabricated in this paper. The single-order diffraction efficiency is above 95% for circular polarisation incident light. The PG can be driven by 2.5 V/µm electric field with alternating frequency and has no Freedericksz transition threshold. In response time, the rise time and decay time are 650 and 950 , respectively; the sub-millisecond can be achieved under a low driving voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-wavelength light sources with stroboscopic illumination technique were applied in a process of photoelastic modulated ellipsometry to retrieve two-dimensional ellipsometric parameters of thin films on a silicon substrate. Two laser diodes were alternately switched on and modulated by a programmable pulse generator to generate four short pulses at specific temporal phase angles in a modulation cycle, and short pulses were used to freeze the intensity variation of the PEM modulated signal that allows ellipsometric images to be captured by a charge-coupled device. Although the phase retardation of a photoelastic modulator is related to the light wavelength, we employed an equivalent phase retardation technique to avoid any setting from the photoelastic modulator. As a result, the ellipsometric parameters of different wavelengths may be rapidly obtained using this dual-wavelength ellipsometric system every 4 s. Both static and dynamic experiments are demonstrated in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thioredoxin reductase (TR) can help pathogens resist oxidative-burst injury from host immune cells by maintaining a thioredoxin-reduction state during NADPH consumption. TR is a necessary virulence factor that enables the persistent infection of some parasites. We performed bioinformatics analyses and biochemical assays to characterize the activity, subcellular localization, and genetic ablation of Toxoplasma gondii TR (TgTR), to shed light on its biologic function. We expressed the TgTR protein with an Escherichia coli expression system and analyzed its enzyme activity, reporting a Km for the recombinant TgTR of 11.47-15.57 μM, using NADPH as a substrate, and 130.48-151.09 μM with dithio-bis-nitrobenzoic acid as a substrate. The TgTR sequence shared homology with that of TR, but lacked a selenocysteine residue in the C-terminal region and was thought to contain 2 flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) domains and 1 NADPH domain. In addition, immunoelectron microscopy results showed that TgTR was widely dispersed in the cytoplasm, and we observed that parasite antioxidant capacity, invasion efficiency, and proliferation were decreased in TR-knockout (TR-KO) strains in vitro, although this strain still stimulated the release of reactive oxygen species release in mouse macrophages while being more sensitive to H2O2 toxicity in vitro. Furthermore, our in vivo results revealed that the survival time of mice infected with the TR-KO strain was significantly prolonged relative to that of mice infected with the wild-type strain. These results suggest that TgTR plays an important role in resistance to oxidative damage and can be considered a virulence factor associated with T. gondii infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]