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High fecundity is a common characteristic of insect pests which increases the difficulty of population control. Serine/threonine kinase Akt is an indispensable component of the insulin signaling pathway. Silencing of LsAkt severely hinders reproduction in Lasioderma serricorne, a stored product insect pest. However, the post‐transcriptional pathway of LsAkt in L. serricorne remains unknown. This study identified 2 binding sites of miR‐9c‐5p and novel‐mir50 in the coding sequences of LsAkt. The expression profiles of 2 microRNAs (miRNAs) and LsAkt displayed an opposite pattern during the adult stages. Luciferase reporter assay showed that novel‐mir50 and miR‐9c‐5p could downregulate the expression of LsAkt. Overexpression of miR‐9c‐5p and novel‐mir50 by injection of mimics inhibited the expression of LsAkt and reduced oviposition, decreased egg hatchability, and blocked ovarian development. It also decreased the expression of genes involved in ovarian development (LsVg and LsVgR) and the nutritional signaling pathway (LsTOR, LsS6K, and Ls4EBP), and reduced the phosphorylation of Akt. Conversely, injection of miR‐9c‐5p and novel‐mir50 inhibitors induced the expressions of LsAkt, LsVg, LsVgR, LsTOR, LsS6K, and Ls4EBP, enhanced Akt phosphorylation level, and accelerated ovarian development. Injection of bovine insulin downregulated the expression of miR‐9c‐5p and novel‐mir50 and upregulated the LsAkt expression. It also rescued the reproductive development defects associated with miR‐9c‐5p/novel‐mir50 overexpression, forming a positive regulatory loop of insulin signaling. These results indicate that miR‐9c‐5p/novel‐mir50 regulates the female reproduction of L. serricorne by targeting Akt in response to insulin signaling. The data also demonstrate the effects of the insulin/miRNA/Akt regulatory axis in insect reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to observe the accelerated aging effect of 60Co gamma (γ) irradiation on poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) under extreme conditions and determine the influence of different media states on aging. PMMA samples were prepared at room temperature under varying media conditions, including air and deionized water immersion. Then, the samples were irradiated with different doses (50, 250, 500, and 1000 KGy) of 60Co γ-rays. The compositional changes of the PMMA samples exposed to the rays at different periods were determined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The light transmission of the samples was characterized through ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, and the surface wettability of the samples was assessed via water contact angle measurements. Surface and microscopic changes in material morphology were analyzed using optical microscopy, ImageJ software, and scanning electron microscopy. Relative molecular mass and glass transition temperature were analyzed via gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of the effect of 60Co γ irradiation on the aging properties of PMMA was performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers that two transceivers exchange orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals with the aid of multiple bidirectional amplify and forward (AF) relays. Unlike most researchers who care about sum rate maximization issues to improve transmission efficiency, we formulate a symbol error probability (SEP) minimization problem under total power constraint because high data rate may degrade SEP performance. A joint algorithm of power allocation and relay selection is proposed to study their impact on the SEP performance. The closed-form solution of power allocation is not a form of water filling widely used in the sum rate maximum problem. Both analytical and simulation results clearly demonstrate the superiority of our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate density of states (DOS) is essential for understanding charge carrier transport properties and then better developing the electronic and optoelectronic devices. Currently, Gaussian and exponential forms are the two most general DOS, which can be unified in the tail state of the state. However, Gaussian DOS at high concentrations is not applicable, as well as exponential DOS at low concentrations. To avoid the disadvantage of Gaussian and exponential form, based on the Poisson flow, a unified distribution form of the DOS have been developed to discuss the charge carrier transport. The proposed DOS is more consistent with the actual situation and exhibits better rationality under the whole range of carrier density. Otherwise, we for the first time introduced the entropy to analyze the disorder parameters. Based on the proposed DOS, the concentration and temperature dependence of mobility has been discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limited transparency of the inner decision-making mechanism in deep neural networks (DNN) and other machine learning (ML) models has hindered their application in several domains. In order to tackle this issue, feature attribution methods have been developed to identify the crucial features that heavily influence decisions made by these black box models. However, many feature attribution methods have inherent downsides. For example, one category of feature attribution methods suffers from the artifacts problem, which feeds out-of-distribution masked inputs directly through the classifier that was originally trained on natural data points. Another category of feature attribution method finds explanations by using jointly trained feature selectors and predictors. While avoiding the artifacts problem, this new category suffers from the Encoding Prediction in the Explanation (EPITE) problem, in which the predictor's decisions rely not on the features, but on the masks that selects those features. As a result, the credibility of attribution results is undermined by these downsides. In this research, we introduce the Double-sided Remove and Reconstruct (DoRaR) feature attribution method based on several improvement methods that addresses these issues. By conducting thorough testing on MNIST, CIFAR10 and our own synthetic dataset, we demonstrate that the DoRaR feature attribution method can effectively bypass the above issues and can aid in training a feature selector that outperforms other state-of-the-art feature attribution methods. Our code is available at https://github.com/dxq21/DoRaR. • Using generative model can solve the artifacts problem. • Maximizing loss achieved by non-selected features prevents information leakage. • Feature attribution methods evaluated by MoRF/LeRF order are naturally inconsistent. • iAUC or eAUC metric ignores feature interaction in more complicated scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the correlation between automobile exhaust, PM2.5, and air pollution to explore the rate of contribution of automobile exhaust to PM2.5 pollution and the effect of government regulation on automobile exhaust gas. The results show that the atmosphere is hazy and that car exhaust is the main cause of PM2.5 pollution. This paper divides the governance strategy into two methods: reducing the number of motor vehicles and reducing the emissions capacity of motor vehicles. It also analyses the effects of congestion control on public car travel and establishes a dynamic game model. To strengthen the influence of supervision on enterprises with regard to purifying devices and restrictions, this study also creates a "prisoner's dilemma" model. The final results of the study show that restriction measures can effectively relieve road pressure. Additionally, congestion costs can alleviate environmental pressure, but it is difficult to determine the costs, and the difficulty of implementation increases. Increasing enterprises' installation of purifying devices is not advisable or desirable in the short term. Finally, the paper offers some suggestions for the maintenance of the atmospheric environment and the management of automobile exhaust: (1) improve the national green transport system and environmental protection awareness; (2) advocate public transport as a mode of travel; and (3) reduce the use of buses and popularize new energy vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution mechanism behind low cycle fatigue crack propagation behavior subject to overload was investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The retardation effect after the overload application was investigated by using compact tension (CT) specimens. An analysis model was established to consider accumulative plastic damage for CT specimen under single tensile overload. An elastic-plastic numerical model is established, and the stress-strain field near the crack tip is quantified by different numerical parameters. The crack opening displacement was got to reflect the influence of overload on plasticity-induced crack closure, and the evolution mechanism and accumulative plastic damage were investigated by exploring the residual compressive stress near the crack tip. The results show that the residual compressive stress produced by the tensile overload has great influence on the retardation effect, and the large plastic deformation near the crack front region after an overload witnesses a more significant crack closure phenomenon. The magnitude of residual compressive stress near crack tip increases with the increasing overload ratio, that sharpens the retardation effect after single tensile overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution control as the background of a cost allocation method is based on the Shapley value to determine the core stakeholder, so fair pollution control projects and the establishment of the atmospheric pollution of governance cost allocation model are put forward for the solution of air pollution coordinated by the government supervision and the atmospheric pollution control collaborative group. The results show that the cost allocation model of air pollution control based on Shapley value is more reasonable, and the cost of stakeholders is reduced to a certain extent, and the risk of the participants is reduced so that it maximizes social benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demand of green communications of ultradense mobile devices (MDs), an energy-efficient mechanism, jointly considering the computation offloading and resource management, is designed to minimize the network-wide weighted energy consumption under the delay constraints of MDs for ultradense heterogeneous networks. Such a mechanism tightly integrates with the adjustment of computation capability and transmission power of MDs. Considering that the finally formulated problem is in a nonlinear and mixed-integer form, we design an effective algorithm to solve it. Specifically, by utilizing the powerful global searching capability of genetic algorithm (GA) and the accurate local searching capability of particle swarm optimization (PSO), the adaptive GA with diversity-guided is firstly used for coarse-grained search, and then adaptive PSO is utilized for fine-grained search. After that, some detailed analyses on the convergence, computation complexity and parallel implement are provided for algorithms. Simulation results show that the designed algorithm can achieve a lower network energy consumption than other offloading algorithms in general. At the same time, the numerical simulation also reveals that the designed algorithm may be more suitable for ultradense networks than existing algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of economy, the past decades have experienced more and more severe energy depletion and environmental pollution issues, hence it is urgent to develop more environmental-friendly energy devices, such as fuel cells, metal-air batteries, water electrolysis and so on. However, such devices have long been suffering from the sluggish reaction kinetics and high energy barriers, plus the conventional electrocatalysts used in these devices mostly are noble-metal-based materials, such as Pt/C, IrO 2 , and RuO 2. These noble-metal-based electrocatalysts possess significant disadvantages such as high price, limited reserves, and undesirable stability, and these factors together hinder their large-scale industrial application and the inhomogeneity of the catalyst structure at the atomic level also impose great challenges to disclose the underlying catalytic mechanism. Noble metal nanoclusters, as a promising type of electrocatalyst with definitive composition and structure, have been attracting increasingly research efforts. This review aims to summarize the recent achievements of molecular metal nanoclusters employed in electrocatalytic processes, with particular elaboration on oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as to unravel the catalytic mechanism and establish the relationship between its structure and functionality. Specifically, the size effect, the metal core configuration, charge effect, size effect, ligand effect, and metal-ligand binding motifs of the metal clusters that would impact the electrocatalytic performance are comprehensively discussed. In the end, the outlook and perspective including challenges and opportunities are proposed. We anticipate this review would be beneficial for gaining a deeper understanding of engineering nanoclusters for electrocatalysis and to expand its application in electrocatalysis. • The advantages using molecular metal clusters for electrocatalysis are highlighted. • Recent advances in ORR, HER, and OER by metal clusters are summarized. • Grand challenges and great opportunities in this field are elaborated. • It can stimulate more research efforts to advance this rapidly booming regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an adaptive power allocation and subcarrier pairing algorithm for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing based decode and forward cognitive radio networks, where primary and secondary users achieve spectrum sharing in the same frequency band. The secondary network tries to maximize its sum rate while ensuring that the interference introduced to the primary network is below an acceptable level. Although similar problems have been investigated in traditional cooperative communication networks, it's still an open issue in cognitive radio networks due to interference thresholds. The power consumed by the secondary network is not only limited by its own power peak, but also by the interference threshold of the primary user. Our proposed algorithm not only allocates power and pairs subcarriers reasonably, but also specifies the conditions under which the relaying link is superior to the direct transmission. Simulation results show that the sum rate of the proposed algorithm exceeds other methods and obtains a significant performance gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Although increasing evidence reveals the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its safety on Tourette Syndrome (TS) patients, whether TCM is indeed improving TS remains unclear. The purpose of the current study is to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM on treating TS patients. Method. An elaborate search strategy was conducted based on several databases including Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, CINAHL, CBM, VIP, CNKI, and Wanfang Data in order to identify the relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from their inception to as late as May 1st, 2020. General information and data needing analysis were extracted simultaneously for the necessity of various analyses such as descriptive analysis and metaquantitative analysis. Results. Forty-seven trials with 5437 TS patients in total were eventually included according to our criteria. All trials were conducted in China, and the publication years ranged from 2004 to 2017. In terms of clinical efficacy, clinical symptoms of patients with TCM were more likely to be improved compared with the control group (odds ratio, OR = − 1.29 , 95% confidence interval, CI: -2.54 to -0.06, I 2 = 0.00 %). As to the outcome of recurrence rate, the pooled results revealed that the TCM group was more inclined to stabilize the recurrence (OR = 0.44 , 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.78, I 2 = 0.00 %). Similar results were observed in adverse reaction (OR = 0.32 , 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.43, I 2 = 32.90 %). Conclusion. The results of our study recommend applying TCM to treat TS patients for better efficacy and safety. Results need to be interpreted cautiously due to certain limitations in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modified Simiaowan (MSM) is a six-herb formula that has been shown to be effective in gouty arthritis (GA) has been proven, but its regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated. To investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of MSM on gouty arthritis. Mouse J774A.1 macrophages were induced with Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and then stimulated with Adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) or Nigericin (Nig.) in presence or absence of MSM. Expression of key indicators of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway were investigated by western blot, ELISA and qRT-PCR. Fluorescence staining and flow cytometry were performed to detect intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Another study, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of MSM were evaluated in rats with monosodium urate (MSU) -induced gouty arthritis using ELISA, hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry, and oxidative stress kits to measure relevant inflammatory markers and oxidative stress-related biomarkers. ELISA and qRT-PCR results demonstrated that MSM effectively reduced the secretion and the mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Western blot results indicated that MSM can suppress the expression of NLRP3, an inflamasomes-related protein. In addition, MSM regulated the transition from M1 to M2 macrophages and upregulated the protein expression of Nrf2 and HO-1. The flow cytometry results and the fluorescence staining result were consistent with hypothesis that a large amount of ROS could be effectively cleared by MSM. However, the anti-inflammatory effect of MSM was attenuated after the use of ML385. In vivo experiments demonstrated that joint swelling was significantly attenuated and knee neutrophil infiltration was alleviated in rats given MSM. SOD and GSH-px levels were elevated significantly, while COX-2 and MDA levels decreased. The immunohistochemical results suggested that MSM could effectively inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and the regulation of macrophage polarization in rat synovial tissue, and remarkably enhance the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1. MSM has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on MSU-induced gouty arthritis. MSM alleviates GA through Nrf2/HO-1/ROS/NLRP3 signaling pathway. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tangeretin, a natural compound extracted from citrus plants, has been reported to have antiproliferative, antidiabetic, anti-invasive, and antioxidant properties. However, the role of tangeretin in diabetic retinopathy (DR) is unknown. In the present study, we investigated whether tangeretin had any effect on the expression of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells under high-glucose (HG) conditions. Our results illustrated that HG levels induced IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β1, and VEGF expression and that tangeretin significantly reduced HG-induced IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β1, and VEGF expression in human RPE cells. Moreover, tangeretin efficiently inhibited the activation of the protein kinase B (Akt) signalling pathway in HG-stimulated RPE cells. Therefore, tangeretin may serve a role in the treatment of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common causes of blindness globally. Proliferative DR (PDR), an advanced stage of DR, is characterized by the formation of fibrotic membranes at the vitreoretinal interface. The proliferation, migration, and secretion of extracellular matrix molecules in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells contribute to the formation of fibrotic membranes in PDR. Gremlin has been reported to be upregulated in response to elevated glucose levels in the retina of diabetic rat and bovine pericytes. However, the role of gremlin in PDR remains unclear. In the present study, the vitreous concentrations of gremlin were significantly higher in the PDR (67.79 ± 33.96) group than in the control (45.31 ± 12.31) group, and high glucose levels induced the expression of gremlin in RPE cells. The elevated expression of extracellular matrix molecules, such as fibronectin and collagen IV, was significantly reduced by gremlin siRNA in human RPE cells under high-glucose conditions. Thus, gremlin may play a vital role in the development of PDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is characterised by the contraction and growth of fibrotic membranes on the retina and within the vitreous body. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, a major cellular component of the fibrotic membrane, is one of the cell types that have been previously reported to associate with PVR pathogenesis. During PVR, RPE cells undergo increased cell proliferation, migration and the secretion of extracellular matrix molecules, such as fibronectin and type I collagen. A variety of cytokines and growth factors are involved in the formation of the fibrotic membrane. Although gremlin has been reported to serve an important role in the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in PVR, the relationship between gremlin and the expression of profibrogenic factors in human RPE cells remains unclear. In the present study, gremlin promoted RPE cell proliferation and the expression of type I collagen and fibronectin. In addition, knocking down gremlin expression by siRNA significantly suppressed the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1- and TGF-β2-induced expression of type I collagen and fibronectin in RPE cells. These findings suggest that gremlin may serve an important role in the development of PVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group recommendation has become highly demanded when users communicate in the forms of group activities in online sharing communities. These group activities include student group study, family TV program watching, friends travel decision, etc. Existing group recommendation techniques mainly focus on the small user groups. However, online sharing communities have enabled group activities among thousands of users. Accordingly, recommendation over large groups has become urgent. In this paper, we propose a new framework to accomplish this goal by exploring the group interests and the connections between group users. We first divide a big group into different interest subgroups, each of which contains users closely connected with each other and sharing the similar interests. Then, for each interest subgroup, our framework exploits the connections between group users to collect a comparably compact potential candidate set of media-user pairs, on which the collaborative filtering is performed to generate an interest subgroup-based recommendation list. After that, a novel aggregation function is proposed to integrate the recommended media lists of all interest subgroups as the final group recommendation results. Extensive experiments have been conducted on two real social media datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bifunctional nanocrystals with integrated plasmonic and catalytic activities hold great promise for analyzing chemical reactions by in situ surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This Minireview gives a brief introduction to the general strategies for designing such nanocrystals, followed by four typical examples, including their fabrication, characterization, and potential limitation. We then use the reduction of 4‐nitrothiophenol and oxidation of 4‐aminothiophenol as two model systems to demonstrate the capabilities of these bifunctional nanocrystals to monitor chemical reactions for the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and measurement of kinetics. We conclude with perspectives on further development of these bifunctional nanocrystals into a viable platform for investigating other types of catalytic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bifunctional nanocrystals with integrated plasmonic and catalytic activities hold great promise for analyzing chemical reactions by in situ surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This Minireview gives a brief introduction to the general strategies for designing such nanocrystals, followed by four typical examples, including their fabrication, characterization, and potential limitation. We then use the reduction of 4‐nitrothiophenol and oxidation of 4‐aminothiophenol as two model systems to demonstrate the capabilities of these bifunctional nanocrystals to monitor chemical reactions for the elucidation of reaction mechanisms and measurement of kinetics. We conclude with perspectives on further development of these bifunctional nanocrystals into a viable platform for investigating other types of catalytic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the precise performance of bidirectional amplify and forward (AF) based cooperative vehicular communication networks operating over cascaded Nakagami- $m$ fading environments with arbitrary positive real numbers $m$ , which have been proposed to be a realistically good description of the physical layer channel model of vehicular networks. Exact expressions are derived for four significant performances, namely moment generating function (MGF), higher order moments of signal to noise ratio (SNR), ergodic capacity and average symbol error probability (SEP), whose closed solutions have not been publicly reported. In order to obtain these accurate expressions, we turn our eyes to the MGF of inverse SNR instead of the usual probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF), which are unknown and difficult to acquire, as well as fail in deriving closed form solutions. Simulation results corroborate the correctness and tightness of the derived expressions, sharp contrast to the approximations and asymptotic values at a sufficiently high SNR region in previous works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The humanitarian damage caused by the unexploded submunitions is one of the hot issues of concern to the international community at present. A portion of the submunition that did not explode was caused by a break at the connection between the ribbon riveting and the fuze. According to the physical structure of the submunition and the trajectory into which it was ejected, we analyzed the forces of the submunition in flight, deduced the related mathematical models, and clarify the key elements of the mechanics. In this paper, the commercial simulation software was used to calculate the mechanical properties of the ribbon. And the variation regularity between drop velocity and straightening force of ribbon are revealed. And the response characteristics of different material ribbon with different sizes of riveting holes and riveting joints under tensile action were simulated. The simulation results show that, in the trajectory environment with 30 m/s~55 m/s typical stream speed, the tensile force of the ribbon is less than 300 N, and the application concentration of the connecting parts of the riveting joint and the ribbon will not cause the failure of the kevlar ribbon, but it will cause the failure of the nylon ribbon. In order to verify the variation of the tension of kevlar ribbons in different trajectory environments, we designed the experimental scheme of tension test of the ribbon straightening section of submunition and conducted experiments. Experimental results and numerical simulation results revealed the same law. This paper provides effective technical support for solving the problem of unexploded submunitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The humanitarian damage caused by the unexploded submunitions is one of the hot issues of concern to the international community at present. A portion of the submunition that did not explode was caused by a break at the connection between the ribbon riveting and the fuze. According to the physical structure of the submunition and the trajectory into which it was ejected, we analyzed the forces of the submunition in flight, deduced the related mathematical models, and clarify the key elements of the mechanics. In this paper, the commercial simulation software was used to calculate the mechanical properties of the ribbon. And the variation regularity between drop velocity and straightening force of ribbon are revealed. And the response characteristics of different material ribbon with different sizes of riveting holes and riveting joints under tensile action were simulated. The simulation results show that, in the trajectory environment with 30 m/s~55 m/s typical stream speed, the tensile force of the ribbon is less than 300 N, and the application concentration of the connecting parts of the riveting joint and the ribbon will not cause the failure of the kevlar ribbon, but it will cause the failure of the nylon ribbon. In order to verify the variation of the tension of kevlar ribbons in different trajectory environments, we designed the experimental scheme of tension test of the ribbon straightening section of submunition and conducted experiments. Experimental results and numerical simulation results revealed the same law. This paper provides effective technical support for solving the problem of unexploded submunitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy-driven water evaporation is a promising technique for clean water regeneration to tackle the world-wide water scarcity problem. Previous studies have revealed the important role of the bilayer structure in the solar energy-driven water evaporation, the top layer is the photothermal material, and the bottom porous material is used for water transportation and heat insulation. Herein, a new kind of the bilayer aerogel composed of hydrophilic ultralong hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanowire aergel and hydrophobic carbon nanotube (CNT) coating has been developed and demonstrated as a highly efficient self-floating evaporator for solar energy-driven photothermal water purification. The hydrophilic and highly porous HAP nanowire aerogel with a low thermal conductivity ensures excellent thermal management and high water evaporation rate, and the CNT coating layer enables highly efficient solar light absorption and energy conversion. With these structural merits, the as-prepared HAP/CNT bilayer aerogel has a high water evaporation rate of 1.34 kg m−2 h−1 and high water evaporation efficiency of 89.4% under solar light irradiation at a power density of 1 kW m−2. Additionally, the high-performance water purification function of the HAP/CNT bilayer aerogel is demonstrated by producing clean water from the actual seawater and simulated wastewater. The experimental results demonstrate the promising potential of the as-prepared HAP/CNT bilayer aerogel for high-performance solar energy-driven photothermal clean water regeneration. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho:YAlO3 (YAP) crystal with large size and good optical quality has been grown by the Czochralski method. Thermal properties of the as-grown Ho:YAP crystal have been investigated by measuring the temperature-dependent, anisotropic thermal expansion, specific heat, thermal diffusion, and thermal conductivity. The results show that Ho:YAP crystal possesses a large anisotropic thermal expansion and good thermal conductivity. The calculated average thermal expansion coefficients along a, b, and c axis are αa=9.18×10-6/K, αb=1.94×10-6/K, and αc=7.61×10-6/K from 293.15 to 770.15 K. The thermal conductivities along a, b, and c axis are up to 11.6, 9.9, and 12.3 W m-1 K-1 at 298.15 K. Compared with Ho: Y3Al5O12 (YAG), Ho:YAP crystal has a larger thermal conductivity along a axis from 298.15 to 568.15 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a vision-threatening disease. It is also a common complication resulting from surgery to correct rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Proliferation and migration of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and the secretion of extracellular matrix molecules play an important role in the formation of the preretinal membrane in PVR patients. Furthermore, upregulated expression of inflammatory cytokines within the vitreous or subretinal fluid of patients experiencing vitreoretinal disorders may aggravate the inflammatory response and be involved in the development of PVR. PVR is triggered by many inflammatory cytokines and growth factors. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), an inflammatory cytokine, is upregulated in the vitreous in PVR patients. However, there is little known concerning the connection between MIF and the expression of inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemotactic-1 (MCP-1), and the fibrogenic gene, collagen I, in human RPE cells. Cell proliferation, migration, and expression of IL-6, MCP-1 and collagen I were assessed using an MTT assay, a Transwell assay, real-time PCR analysis and ELISA kits. Western-blot analysis was used to detect phosphorylation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathways. The data revealed that MIF promoted the proliferation, migration and expression of IL-6, MCP-1 and collagen I, and phosphorylation of p38 and ERK signaling pathways in RPE cells in vitro. These findings suggest that MIF plays a proinflammatory and profibrotic role in the development of PVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to derive accurate outage probability expressions of a cognitive decode-and-forward (DF) relay system over the Nakagami-m fading channel. A secondary system and a primary system coexist in a spectrum sharing the environment. In order to protect the data transmission of the primary system, the transmission power of the secondary system cannot exceed the tolerable interference threshold of the primary system and its available peak power. In particular, we also consider the impact on the secondary system when the primary system turns on its transmitter. Simulation results align with our theoretical formulas very well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collisional deactivation of highly vibrationally excited NO2 and CS2 by a variety of buffer gases has been examined by time-resolved Fourier transform IR emission spectroscopy. The results show that there is a dramatic increase in the average energy removed per collision for NO2 excited above ∼10 000 cm-1 and for CS2 above ∼26 000 cm-1. These energies correspond to the origins of the lowest excited A 2B2/B 2B1 states of NO2 and the lowest excited R 3A2 state of CS2. Mixing between these excited electronic states with the ground electronic state enhances collisional relaxation by allowing the electronic transition dipole to contribute to collisional energy transfer. © 1995 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Renner–Teller coupling between the a 1A1 and b 1B1 states of CH2 on the rotational structure of the a 1A1 bending vibrational levels has been observed. Renner–Teller coupling causes a decrease in the A rotational constant of the a 1A1 (0,5,0) level, at 6400 cm-1 above the zero-point level, compared to the value extrapolated from the (0,v2,0) v2=0–4 levels. Excellent agreement is obtained between the experimentally determined A value for (0,5,0) and that predicted by ab initio calculations of Green et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 94, 118 (1991)]. The effect of Renner–Teller coupling on the A rotational constant of bending levels as low as v2=3 has also been detected. The barrier height to linearity in the a 1A1 state was also estimated by fitting the a 1A1 bending level term values to a harmonic plus Gaussian perturbation potential function, where the effects of orbital angular momentum were explicitly included to account for electronic-rotational coupling in the calculation. The value of 8600±400 cm-1 obtained is in good agreement with the ab initio result of 8800 cm-1. © 1995 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved Fourier transform infrared emission spectra, recorded after 475 nm excitation of NO2 in a CO2 or N2O bath, show IR emission from collisionally populated vibrational levels of the bath gas. The frequency of the observed bands proves that the emission arises from either the (1,00,1), (0,2l,1), and/or (0,00,2) levels of CO2 or N2O. From the pressure dependence of the emission intensity it was determined that these levels are populated by single collisions with excited NO2. Under typical conditions (1:10 ratio of NO2 to bath gas and 1–2 Torr total pressure) a steady state concentration is reached in our experiments where 0.016±0.006 multiply excited CO2 molecules, or 0.03±0.01 multiply excited N2O molecules were generated per laser excited NO2. A transition dipole coupling model is applied to explain these results, where the resonance conditions for vibration-to-vibration energy transfer are relaxed by extensive vibronic and vibrational couplings in highly excited NO2. In this model the energy-dependent transition dipole of excited NO2 is derived from the time-resolved IR emission spectra. The probability of Δv=1 energy transfer collisions for excited NO2 with CO2 or N2O can be accurately calculated. However, the number of multiply excited species produced (Δv>=1) is grossly underestimated. Analysis of the time-resolved data shows that the probability for Δv>=1 V–V energy transfer is ca. two orders of magnitude larger than the probability predicted by the dipole coupling model, and that NO2 molecules with energies as low as 5000 cm-1 have a non-negligible probability for exciting the overtone levels of CO2 and N2O. Finally, it was found that the dipole coupling model also underestimates the probability for the ΔE>=10 000 cm-1 supercollisions deduced in previous experiments (see Refs. ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared emission from highly vibrationally excited NO2, prepared by collision induced internal conversion, can be detected with 1 cm-1 spectral and 0.5 μs time resolution over the 800–10 000 cm-1 range by time-resolved Fourier transform emission spectroscopy. The energy distribution of vibrationally excited NO2 during collisional deactivation can be extracted from the emission spectra and shows that the energy loss per collision increases dramatically from <50 cm-1 below 13 000 cm-1 energy to 1300 cm-1 at 20 000 cm-1 energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersed fluorescence spectra from the CH2 b 1B1→a 1A1 band were recorded with time-resolution by Fourier transform emission spectroscopy after pulsed excitation of a single rotational level of the b 1B1 (0,160,0) state. Fluorescence observed from the initially excited level and from levels populated by rotational energy changing collisions with the bath gas (ketene) was used to deduce the state-to-state rate constants for rotational energy transfer and the state-resolved rate constants for total collisional removal of b 1B1 CH2. The observed propensity rules for rotational energy transfer—ΔJ=±2, ΔKa=0, and ΔKc=±2—are consistent with a quadrupole–dipole interaction between b 1B1 (0,160,0) CH2 and ketene. The existence of a quadrupole in the intermolecular interaction suggests that the structure of CH2 in the b 1B1 (0,160,0) state, averaged over the time of a collision, must be linear. The state-to-state rotational energy transfer rate constants range from approximately equal to the hard sphere gas kinetic rate to four times the gas kinetic rate, with the largest rate constants between rotational levels with the smallest energy gaps. Examination of fluorescence spectra recorded with polarization analysis shows that rotationally elastic (ΔJ=0)M changing collisions are negligible. State-resolved rate constants for reactive collisions between b 1B1 CH2 and ketene were obtained by subtracting the rotational energy transfer contribution from the total rate constants for collisional removal of b 1B1 CH2 (obtained from a Stern–Volmer analysis). These rate constants vary from one to five times the hard sphere gas kinetic rate, and increase with rotational energy for the levels studied. Their magnitudes show that CH2 is about two times as reactive in its b 1B1 state than its a 1A1 state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersed fluorescence spectra from the CH2 b 1B1 state to highly excited vibrational levels of the a 1A1 state were recorded by a new technique, Fourier transform dispersed fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectra obtained clearly show the advantages of using a Fourier transform spectrometer for dispersing fluorescence, namely emission over a wide spectral range can be efficiently detected with high sensitivity and resolution. These advantages allow four new vibrational levels in the CH2 a 1A1 state to be observed; the (2,0,0) and (0,5,0) vibrational overtones and the (1,2,0) and (1,3,0) combination bands. The vibrational term values for these levels are given, along with the harmonic frequencies and anharmonicities for the v1 and v2 modes. From the (0,5,0) term value an improved estimate of the barrier height to linearity in the CH2 a 1A1 state is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, in order to reduce the energy consumption and time of data transmission, the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and mobile edge caching technologies are jointly considered in mobile edge computing (MEC) networks. As for the cache-assisted vehicular NOMA–MEC networks, a problem of minimizing the energy consumed by vehicles (mobile devices, MDs) is formulated under time and resource constraints, which jointly optimize the computing resource allocation, subchannel selection, device association, offloading and caching decisions. To solve the formulated problem, we develop an effective joint computation offloading and task-caching algorithm based on the twin-delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm. Such a TD3-based offloading (TD3O) algorithm includes a designed action transformation (AT) algorithm used for transforming continuous action space into a discrete one. In addition, to solve the formulated problem in a non-iterative manner, an effective heuristic algorithm (HA) is also designed. As for the designed algorithms, we provide some detailed analyses of computation complexity and convergence, and give some meaningful insights through simulation. Simulation results show that the TD3O algorithm could achieve lower local energy consumption than several benchmark algorithms, and HA could achieve lower consumption than the completely offloading algorithm and local execution algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. cv. Yugu) is favoured by consumers for its high quality, attractive appearance, and good palatability. However, fruit rot is a prominent threat during postharvest storage, resulting in potentially substantial serious losses. In this study, we investigated the biocontrol efficacy of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Baf1 against fruit rot caused by Fusarium incarnatum in post-harvest Yugu muskmelon, and examined the underlying antagonistic mechanisms. Baf1 had more than 75% control effect on F. incarnatum in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Baf1 treatment effectively improved the fruit defense enzyme activities (PAL, POD, and PPO) and maintained the quality (weight loss, respiration rate, ascorbic acid and total soluble solid) of muskmelon during storage. A 5 mL/L lipopeptide extracted from Baf1 inhibited the hypha growth and conidia germination and production of F. incarnatum by 55%, 63.2%, and 65%, respectively, and caused hyphal malformation. The active antifungal substances of Baf1 were preliminarily identified as C13–C15 surfactins and C17 bacillomycin L based on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Thus, the biocontrol agent Baf1 showed great potential for inhibiting postharvest grey mould in muskmelons and could be a useful approach for enhancing the quality and storability of muskmelons. • Fusarium incarnatum is the pathogenic factor causing Yugu muskmelon fruit rot. • Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Baf1 reduced muskmelon fruit rot in vitro and in vivo. • Baf1 exhibited a broad-spectrum of antifungal activity against postharvest fruit rot. • Baf1 affected muskmelon defense enzymes and ascorbic acid and soluble solids levels. • Baf1 could be potentially useful as a suitable bio-control agent in harvested muskmelons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how social images and change detection techniques can be applied to identify the damage caused by natural disasters for disaster assessment. We propose a multi-step image matching-based framework (MSIM), which takes advantages of fast clustering, near duplicate image detection and robust boundary matching for the change detection in disasters. We first model the social images by exploiting their tags and locations. After that, we propose a recursive 2-means algorithm over the new data model, and refine the near duplicate detection by local interest point-based matching over image pairs in neighboring clusters. Finally, we propose a novel boundary representation model called relative position annulus (RPA), which is robust to boundary rotation, location shift and editing operations. A new RPA matching method is proposed by extending dynamic time wrapping (DTW) from time to position annulus. We have done extensive experiments to evaluate the high effectiveness and efficiency of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the general statistical performance of dual-hop variable gain amplify-and-forward relay over independently but not necessarily identically distributed Nakagami- m fading channels, where m = m′/2 and m′ is a positive integer. This model is flexible enough to encompass a great variety of fading environments, such as one-sided Gaussian distribution ( m′ = 1) and Rayleigh fading ( m′ = 2). Based on the configuration, we first present closed-form formulas for the cumulative distribution function and probability density function of the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a destination. Armed with these statistical results, we derive outage probability, moments of the SNR, and higher-order statistics of the capacity, which can be effectively used to elucidate system performance. To provide a further insight into relay systems, we characterize a general expression for average symbol error rate in the context of an additive white generalized Gaussian noise. Simulation results are fully consistent with our theoretical analysis. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathology of the fibrotic proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) membrane represents an excessive wound healing response characterised by cells’ proliferation, migration and secretion of extracellular matrix molecules (ECMs). Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are a major cellular component of the fibrotic membrane. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been reported to be involved in the development of PVR in vivo research. However, little is known about the role of ET-1 in RPE cells in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the role of ET-1 in the proliferation, migration and secretion of ECMs (such as type I collagen and fibronectin) in RPE cells in vitro. Our results illustrated that ET-1 promoted the proliferation, migration and secretion of ECMs through the protein kinase B (Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) signaling pathways in RPE cells in vitro. These findings strongly suggested that ET-1 may play a vital role in the development of PVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intracerebral neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is beneficial for delivering stem cell grafts effectively, however, this approach may subsequently result in brain injury and secondary inflammation. To reduce the risk of promoting brain injury and secondary inflammation, two methods were compared in the present study. Murine skulls were penetrated using a drill on the left side and a syringe needle on the right. Mice were randomly divided into three groups (n=84/group): Group A, receiving NSCs in the left hemisphere and PBS in the right; group B, receiving NSCs in the right hemisphere and PBS in the left; and group C, receiving equal NSCs in both hemispheres. Murine brains were stained for morphological analysis and subsequent evaluation of infiltrated immune cells. ELISA was performed to detect neurotrophic and immunomodulatory factors in the brain. The findings indicated that brain injury and secondary inflammation in the left hemisphere were more severe than those in the right hemisphere, following NSC transplantation. In contrast to the left hemisphere, more neurotrophic factors but less pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected in the right hemisphere. In addition, increased levels of neurotrophic factors and interleukin (IL)-10 were observed in the NSC transplantation side when compared with the PBS-treated hemispheres, although lower levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α were detected. In conclusion, the present study indicated that syringe needle skull penetration vs. drill penetration is an improved method that reduces the risk of brain injury and secondary inflammation following intracerebral NSC transplantation. Furthermore, NSCs have the potential to modulate inflammation secondary to brain injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome tough conditions currently used for the preparation of nanostructured hematite films on a conducting substrate, a rational and easy method of chemical etching involving Fe3+ release and material growth in the presence of OH− has been developed. By carefully tuning the parameters influencing the morphologies of hematite, including the synthetic procedure, the concentration of etching solution, temperature, etching time and the morphology controlling surfactant, hematite films grown on iron foil with various morphologies (e.g. nanorod, nanowire, ultrathin nanoflake and cauliflower-like shape) have been achieved. In particular, it is found that F− is an effective surfactant to control the morphology as well as the crystallization process of hematite. Ultrathin nanoflakes having a minimized feature size exhibit the best photocurrent of 0.5 mA cm−2 (1.23 V vs. RHE, RHE is reversible hydrogen electrode) among the samples tested as a result of facilitated hole diffusion to the electrolyte and thus lowered carrier recombination. Compared with pristine hematite, a nearly tripled photocurrent is observed when H2O2 is added in the electrolyte as a hole scavenger, suggesting the presence of a charge injection barrier in the surface of samples. According to this, the strategy of Co2+ treatment is utilized and the improved photocurrent is seen, likely due to the improved water oxidation kinetics and surface state passivation. We believe that this convenient and economical method can be extended to the synthesis of other alkaline metal oxide nanomaterials as long as the redox potential of S2O82−/SO42− is higher than Mn+/M (M refers to metal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the exact performance of hybrid radio frequency and free space optical cooperative amplify and forward communication networks in a cognitive radio environment, where secondary users cannot transmit signals at any power level since the existence of the primary users restrict the behavior of the secondary users within an acceptable and reasonable range. In particular, a secondary relay station connects a destination through a free space optical link, whose random characteristics follows a widely used gamma–gamma fading distribution with non zero pointing error to characterize the assignable effects of atmospheric turbulence. Different from the traditional analysis methods in probability theory based on cumulative distribution function or outage probability, the complicated integral domain division is avoided by virtue of the moment generating function of reciprocal signal to noise ratio. Under the maximum interference level constraint of the primary user, exact closed form expressions of moments of signal to noise ratio, ergodic capacity, higher order statistics of the capacity, and average bit error probability are derived naturally. Finally, simulation results are provided to flawlessly demonstrate the theoretical analysis. [Display omitted] • The precise performance analysis of hybrid radio frequency and free space optical communication systems is presented. • The moment generating function of the reciprocal signal to noise ratio is used. • The secondary relay station is assumed to suffer from the interference of the cochannel signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic triterpenoid methyl-2-cyano-3, 12-dioxooleana-1, 9(11)-dien-28-oate (CDDO-Me) has been shown as a promising agent against ovarian cancer. However, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that CDDO-Me directly interacts with Hsp90 in cells by cellular thermal shift assay. CDDO-Me treatment leads to upregulation of Hsp70 and degradation of Hsp90 clients (ErbB2 and Akt), indicating the inhibition of Hsp90 by CDDO-Me in cells. Knockdown of Hsp90 significantly inhibits cell proliferation and enhances the anti-proliferation effect of CDDO-Me in H08910 ovarian cancer cells. Dithiothreitol inhibits the interaction of CDDO-Me with Hsp90 in cells and abrogates CDDO-Me induced upregulation of Hsp70, degradation of Akt and cell proliferation inhibition. This suggests the anti-ovarian cancer effect of CDDO-Me is possibly mediated by the formation of Michael adducts between CDDO-Me and reactive nucleophiles on Hsp90. This study identifies Hsp90 as a novel target protein of CDDO-Me, and provides a novel insight into the mechanism of action of CDDO-Me in ovarian cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fate of arsenate ( AsV) generated by microbial arsenite ( AsIII) oxidation is poorly understood. A grobacterium tumefaciens wild-type strain ( GW4) was studied to determine how the cell copes with AsV generated in batch culture. GW4 grown heterotrophically with mannitol used AsIII as a supplemental energy supply as reflected by enhanced growth and increased cellular levels of NADH and ATP. Under low phosphate ( Pi) conditions and presence of AsIII oxidation, up to ∼ 50% of the resulting AsV was taken up and found associated with the periplasm, membrane or cytoplasm fractions of the cells. Arsenic was found associated with proteins and polar lipids, but not in nucleic acids or sugars. Thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis suggested the presence of arsenolipids in membranes, presumably as part of the bilayer structure of the cell membrane and replacing Pi under Pi-limiting conditions. The potential role of a Pi-binding protein ( PstS) for AsV uptake was assessed with the His-tag purified protein. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectra analysis suggests that PstS can bind AsV, but with lower affinity as compared with Pi. In early stationary phase cells, the AsV : Pi ratio was approximately 4.3 and accompanied by an altered cell ultrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged hyperglycemia is an important risk factor of the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Extracellular matrix molecules, such as fibronectin, collagen IV, and laminin, are associated with fibrotic membranes. In this study, we investigated the expression of fibronectin, collagen IV, and laminin in RPE cells under high glucose conditions. Furthermore, we also detected the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) under high glucose conditions in RPE cells. Our results showed that high glucose upregulated fibronectin, collagen IV, and laminin expression, and activated Akt in RPE cells. We also found that pretreatment with LY294002 (an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase) abolished high glucose-induced expression of fibronectin, collagen IV, and laminin in RPE cells. Thus, high glucose induced the expression of fibronectin, collagen IV, and laminin through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in RPE cells, and the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may contribute to the formation of fibrotic membrane during the development of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As one of the most common allergic diseases, allergic rhinitis (AR) has attracted wide attention all over the world. More appropriate treatment of AR should be explored thoroughly. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has attracted more attention in AR treatment. As a classical Chinese medicine prescription, Xiaoqinglong decoction (XQLD) has been commonly used in treating AR. Even though its therapeutic effect on AR has been clinically confirmed, more molecular mechanism remains to be further investigated. Our research aimed to investigate the therapeutic mechanism of XQLD for AR management. Methods: The study was evaluated in an ovalbumin sensitized mouse model and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was adopted to test the stability of XQLD's effective components. Results: The results confirmed the stability and safety of the effective components of XQLD. XQLD significantly downregulated the expression of HDACs (HDAC1, HDAC3, and HDAC4) and Th2 inflammatory factors (IL4, IL5, and IL13) in AR mice. XQLD and the HDAC inhibitor JNJ-26481585 promoted the expression of epithelial tight junction proteins (claudin-1 and ZO-1) and decreased the expression of mucins (Muc5ac and Muc5b) in the nasal mucosa of AR mice. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings present the beneficial effects of XQLD on AR and recovery of the nasal epithelium. We also identify the decreased HDAC as a potential target of XQLD for AR treatment. This study provides an important experimental proof for elucidating the therapeutic mechanism of XQLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (Clock) and brain and muscle ARNT-like 1 (Bmal1) are two core circadian clock genes. They form a heterodimer that can bind to the E-box element in the promoters of Period circadian protein (Per) and Cryptochrome (Cry) genes, thereby inducing the rhythmic expression of circadian clock control genes. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are type I transmembrane proteins belonging to the pattern recognition receptor (PRR) family. They can recognize a variety of pathogens and play an important role in innate immunity and adaptive immune responses. Recent studies have found that the circadian clock is closely associated with the immune system. TLRs have a certain correlation with the circadian rhythms; Bmal1 seems to be the central mediator connecting the circadian clock and the immune system. Research on Bmal1 and TLRs has made some progress, but the specific relationship between TLRs and Bmal1 remains unclear. Understanding the relationship between TLRs and Clock/Bmal1 genes is increasingly important for basic research and clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We propose a SCWR fuel assembly with two-row fuel rods between the hexagonal moderator channels. [•] The new concept can resolve the contradiction between uniform and sufficient moderation. [•] Structural size and thermal–hydraulic performance are taken account of in the fuel assembly. [•] Larger infinite multiplication factor and smaller local power peaking factor could be obtained. [•] Two two-row hexagonal fuel assembly concepts are proposed for the engineering application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abnormal neovascularization is an important cause of blindness in many ocular diseases, for which the etiology and pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Recent studies have revealed the diverse roles of noncoding RNAs in various biological processes and facilitated the research and development of the clinical application of numerous RNA drugs, including microRNAs. Here, we report the antiangiogenic activity of microRNA-29a (miR-29a) in three animal models of ocular neovascularization. The miR-29a knockout (KO) mice displayed enhanced vessel pruning, resulting in a decreased vascularized area during retinal development. In contrast, miR-29a deletion in adult mice accelerated angiogenesis in preclinical disease models, including corneal neovascularization, oxygen-induced retinopathy, and choroidal neovascularization, while the administration of agomir-29a ameliorated pathological neovascularization. Furthermore, miR-29a exerted inhibitory effects on endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation capacities. RNA sequencing analysis of retinas from miR-29a KO mice and RNA interference experiments identified platelet derived growth factor C and several extracellular matrix genes as downstream targets of miR-29a involved in regulating ocular angiogenesis. Our data suggest that miR-29a may be a promising clinical candidate for the treatment of neovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technical route of fuze self-neutralisation and self-deactivating of cluster submunitions is analyzed,and the self-neutralisation routes of two kinds of cluster submunition fuze are introduced. A reliability model of cluster submunition fuze is established, and the reliability of all the modules in the fuze is figured out using the experiment results, and the comprehensive firing rate and self-neutralisation rate are simulated using Monte Carlo method. The experiment and simulation results indicate that the reliability of fuze self-damage/self-neutralisation module is higher than that of firing device. Also, the fuze comprehensive firing rate of sub-munitions launched by multiple launch rocket system MLRS) is difficult to achieve 99%. Besides, self-neutralisation device is auto-checked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first asymmetric sulfa-Michael addition of thiols to 4,4,4-trifluorocrotonates for the construction of a stereogenic center bearing a unique trifluoromethyl group and a sulfur atom has been achieved in high yields and excellent enantioselectivities with a 1 mol % bifunctional organocatalyst. Subsequent transformation led to the expedient preparation of enantioenriched thiochroman-4-one and the key intermediate of the potent inhibitor of MMP-3, (R)-γ-trifluoromethyl γ-sulfone hydroxamate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]