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The assembly of complete and circularized mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) is essential for population genetics, phylogenetics and evolution studies. Recently, Song et al. developed a seed-free tool called MEANGS for de novo mitochondrial assembly from whole genome sequencing (WGS) data in animals, achieving highly accurate and intact assemblies. However, the suitability of this tool for marine fish remains unexplored. Additionally, we have concerns regarding the overlap sequences in their original results, which may impact downstream analyses. In this Letter to the Editor, the effectiveness of MEANGS in assembling mitogenomes of cartilaginous and ray-finned fish species was assessed. Moreover, we also discussed the appropriate utilization of MEANGS in mitogenome assembly, including the implementation of the data-cut function and circular detection module. Our observations indicated that with the utilization of these modules, MEANGS efficiently assembled complete and circularized mitogenomes, even when handling large WGS datasets. Therefore, we strongly recommend users employ the data-cut function and circular detection module when using MEANGS, as the former significantly reduces runtime and the latter aids in the removal of overlapped sequences for improved circularization. Furthermore, our findings suggested that approximately 2× coverage of clean WGS data was sufficient for MEANGS to assemble mitogenomes in marine fish species. Moreover, due to its seed-free nature, MEANGS can be deemed one of the most efficient software tools for assembling mitogenomes from animal WGS data, particularly in studies with limited species or genetic background information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella, is the most damaging potato pest in the world and is difficult to control as the larvae are internal feeders in the foliage and tubers. Entomopathogenic fungi that colonize plants as endophytes have lethal and sublethal pathological effects on insect pests. We show that Beauveria bassiana colonizes the aerial parts of potato plants endophytically after inoculation through soil drenching. Endophytic B. bassiana persisted in potato foliage for more than 50 days postinoculation. Bioassays indicated that foliage of B. bassiana‐inoculated potato plants were pathogenic against larvae of P. operculella. Sublethal experiments indicated that B. bassiana negatively affected the growth, development, and reproduction of P. operculella. Development experiments showed that the weight of P. operculella pupae reared on B. bassiana‐colonized potato plants (4.25 mg) was significantly less than that of those reared on uninoculated control plants (8.89 mg). Compared with newly eclosed larvae fed on control plants, those fed on B. bassiana‐inoculated plants had significantly lower survivorship, with only 17.8% developing to the adult stage. Oviposition of P. operculella females reared on B. bassiana endophytically colonized plants was significantly lower (35 eggs/female) than of those reared on uninoculated plants (115 eggs/female). This study demonstrates that endophytic B. bassiana can be a potential biological control agent for the control and management of P. operculella. Comparing pupal weights of P. operculella reared on potato plants inoculated with the B. bassiana strain GZGY‐1‐3 and on untreated control plants, pupae from the control plants were significantly heavier than those from treated plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potato tuber moth being an important tunnel-feeding pest of potato is responsible for significant crop yield losses worldwide. The endophytic Beauveria bassiana is a potential alternative for pest control and enhanced plant growth. In this context, using behavioral observations under laboratory conditions, we showed that larvae and adults strongly preferred to settle on control plants compared to B. bassiana-colonized ones. We observed that B. bassiana presence led to a strong increase in plant aboveground height (20% increase) as well as fresh weight (21.50% increase). Furthermore, the plants colonized by B. bassiana showed upregulated nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism pathways, whereas various metabolites produced from the arginine and proline metabolism pathway were downregulated. In term of plant phenotype and metabolomics analysis, endophytic B. bassiana not only reduced the risk of insect pests but also enhanced host plant quality. This method could be a potential tool for controlling Phthorimaea operculella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell envelope-targeting antibiotics are potent therapeutic agents against various bacterial infections. The emergence of multiple antibiotic-resistant strains underscores the significance of identifying potent antimicrobials specifically targeting the cell envelope. However, current drug screening approaches are tedious and lack sufficient specificity and sensitivity, warranting the development of more efficient methods. Genetic circuit-based whole-cell biosensors hold great promise for targeted drug discovery from natural products. Here, we performed comparative transcriptomic analysis of Streptomyces coelicolor M1146 exposed to diverse cell envelope-targeting antibiotics, aiming to identify regulatory elements involved in perceiving and responding to these compounds. Differential gene expression analysis revealed significant activation of VanS/R two-component system in response to the glycopeptide class of cell envelope-acting antibiotics. Therefore, we engineered a pair of VanS/R-based biosensors that exhibit functional complementarity and possess exceptional sensitivity and specificity for glycopeptides detection. Additionally, through promoter screening and characterization, we expanded the biosensor's detection range to include various cell envelope-acting antibiotics beyond glycopeptides. Our genetically engineered biosensor exhibits superior performance, including a dynamic range of up to 887-fold for detecting subtle antibiotic concentration changes in a rapid 2-h response time, enabling high-throughput screening of natural product libraries for antimicrobial agents targeting the bacterial cell envelope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become a global issue and is predicted to impact less-developed regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa, severely. Innovative, sustainable renewable energy systems are essential to mitigate climate change's effects and unlock the region's potential, especially with the increasing energy demands and population growth. The region relies heavily on fossil fuels, which calls for urgent action towards energy security and expansion. Hybrid floating solar photovoltaic-hydropower (FPV-HEP) technology has emerged as a cost-effective and transformative solution to accelerate the low-carbon energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa. The technology combines solar panels with existing hydropower infrastructure, ensuring energy security while reducing carbon emissions. This technology offers several benefits over conventional ground-mounted solar systems, including efficient land utilization, energy generation, and water conservation. However, its adoption remains challenging due to technical complexities and evolving regulatory frameworks. Despite these challenges, Nigerian energy professionals have preferred renewable alternatives, mainly distributed solar PV and FPV-HEP plants. This collective embrace of FPV and renewables reflects a growing understanding of their critical role in mitigating climate change through sustainable energy practices. This research aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge and assist policymakers in making informed decisions on adopting this technology. It also stimulates further research on this topic, offering a new potential solution to the ever-increasing demand for green energy in the region to meet their sustainable development needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancers resist targeted therapeutics by drug‐escape signaling. Multitarget drugs co‐targeting cancer and drug‐escape mediators (DEMs) are clinically advantageous. DEM coverage may be expanded by drug combinations. This work evaluated to what extent the kinase DEMs (KDEMs) can be optimally co‐targeted by drug combinations based on target promiscuities of individual drugs. We focused on 41 approved and 28 clinical trial small molecule kinase inhibitor drugs with available experimental kinome and clinical pharmacokinetic data. From the kinome inhibitory profiles of these drugs, drug combinations were assembled for optimally co‐targeting an established cancer target (EGFR, HER2, ABL1, or MEK1) and 9–16 target‐associated KDEMs at comparable potency levels as that against the cancer target. Each set of two‐, three‐, and four‐drug combinations co‐target 36–71%, 44–89%, 50–88%, and 27–55% KDEMs of EGFR, HER2, ABL1, and MEK1, respectively, compared with the 36, 33, 38, and 18% KDEMs maximally co‐targeted by an existing drug or drug combination approved or clinically tested for the respective cancer. Some co‐targeted KDEMs are not covered by any existing drug or drug combination. Our work suggested that novel drug combinations may be constructed for optimally co‐targeting cancer and drug escape by the exploitation of drug target promiscuities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of advanced manufacturing and information technologies, smart manufacturing has been proposed and gained wide attention. As the crucial section of achieving smart manufacturing, machining quality prediction aims to use data and statistical methods to predict the quality level of products or services during manufacturing, service provision, or product delivery. However, most data-driven methods suffer from using unimodal data, ignoring the complementary of other modal data, and using a single model in one prediction task, ignoring model unstable fluctuations corresponding to different features. To bridge these gaps, a novel self-adaptive hybrid approach is proposed for obtaining high accuracy of machining quality prediction in the industrial IoT environment. Firstly, a prototype system is designed to collect and perceive multimodal data in the manufacturing workshop/system, which enables the collection and perception of more comprehensive multimodal data of physical space. Secondly, the integration of sensors, data acquisition instruments, and ontology models is used to perform the process environment, which enables the construction of information space to store and transmit multimodal data. Meanwhile, the principal component analysis and model training sensed data are used to perform the machine learning model, which enables the construction of different information models. Thirdly, a probability model matrix-based self-adaptive hybrid prediction strategy is used to perform the machining quality prediction, which enables a better fitting degree for the quality prediction task. Finally, a real-life case study and extensive experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed self-adaptive hybrid approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of structural discontinuities in the subsurface environment often play a key role in the overall behaviour of such systems and their response to externally imposed conditions. Rock joints are one of such features that constitute the heterogeneity of rock masses. Akin to other forms of discontinuities, the characteristics of rock joints affect the performance of their parent rock masses, which are constituents of rock formations. The fracturing process is one of such key geo-mechanical phenomena that is inevitably influenced by pre-existing joints. A numerical technique implemented via a discrete element method (DEM) is herein adopted to evaluate two fundamental properties that control the shear and dilatancy responses of discontinuities. Though these properties are also assessed in isolation, their interdependency, which is a dominant factor, is investigated. As joint frictional resistance increases, it escalates the potential of the joint to attenuate the rate of fracture growth. On the other hand, an increase in joint dilatancy increases the intensity of fracturing. The impact of joint frictional resistance is more pronounced at high friction magnitudes, and in this range, the predominant influence of joint friction overwhelms any effect of joint dilatancy. Contrarily, at low joint frictional resistance, contributions from even a small magnitude of joint dilatancy increases the degree of fracturing. The inter-relationship between joint friction and dilatancy has influencing implications that govern the performance of rock masses. An inquiry into their combined contributions provides information prerequisite for a more accurate estimation and appraisal of fracture behaviour in underground systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The aim of this study is to compare Parkinson's disease (PD) treatment practices by movement disorder (MD) specialists across a decade, and to determine the factors that influence drug choice for the motor symptoms of PD in newly diagnosed drug-naïve patients. Methods. This prospective temporal analysis included patients seen at the National Neuroscience Institute in Singapore and diagnosed with PD by MD specialists in the years 2007 and 2017. Primary outcomes were use of specific PD drugs and changes in drug-prescribing patterns. Descriptive analyses and multivariable logistic regression models determined the extent to which patient characteristics were associated with type of PD treatment. Results. Of 230 patients with PD (mean (SD) age, 66.7 (10.3) years), 131 (57.0%) were male. From 2007 to 2017, the use of ergot dopamine agonists and anticholinergics decreased from 19.3% to 2.0% (P < 0.001) and from 12.0% to 2.7% (P = 0.004), respectively. The use of monoamine oxidase B inhibitors (MAOBI) increased from 13.3% to 25.2% (P = 0.033). The use of levodopa (LD)-sparing strategies decreased nonsignificantly from 33.7% to 24.5% (P = 0.133). Overall, 196 (85.2%) patients were initiated on symptomatic monotherapy, with LD being the most commonly prescribed. MAOBI was the most common drug used in combination therapy. Age ≤70 (adjusted OR, 11.9; 95% CI, 4.5–31.5) and Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stage <2 (adjusted OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.5–7.7) were independent factors for LD-sparing strategies. Non-LD prescriptions (13 of 92; 14.1%) were more likely to be discontinued compared to LD ones (6 of 149; 4.0%) (P = 0.005). Conclusions. Drug-prescribing patterns in PD have changed significantly through the last decade, influenced by emerging evidence and reports of adverse drug effects. Choosing drugs based on the patient's age and disease severity remain sound guiding principles across the years. It is important that international and national guidelines for pharmacotherapy in PD be updated consistently throughout different socioeconomic settings to optimize care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyene antibiotics, including amphotericin, nystatin, pimaricin, and tetramycin, are important antifungal agents. Increasing the production of polyenes and generation of their improved analogues based on the biosynthetic pathway engineering has aroused wide concern in application researches. Herein, tetramycin and nystatin, both of which share most of acyl-CoA precursors, are produced by Streptomyces hygrospinosus var. beijingensis CGMCC 4.1123. Thus, the intracellular malonyl-CoA is found to be insufficient for PKSs (polyketide synthases) extension of tetramycin by quantitative analysis in this wild-type strain. To circumvent this problem and increase tetramycin titer, the acyl-CoA competing biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) of nystatin was disrupted, and the biosynthetic genes of malonyl-CoA from S. coelicolor M145 were integrated and overexpressed in nys-disruption mutant strain (SY02). Moreover, in order to specifically accumulate tetramycin B from A, two copies of tetrK and a copy of tetrF were introduced, resulting in elevating tetramycin B fermentration titer by 122% to 865 ± 8 mg/L than the wild type. In this optimized strain, a new tetramycin derivative, 12-decarboxy-12-methyl tetramycin B, was generated with a titer of 371 ± 26 mg/L through inactivation of a P450 monooxygenase gene tetrG. Compared with tetramycin B, the new compound exhibited higher antifungal activity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Rhodotorula glutinis, but lower hemolytic toxicity to erythrocyte. This research provided a good example of employing biosynthetic engineering strategies for fermentation titer improvement of polyene and development of the derivatives for medicinal applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Giant cell tumour (GCT) of the bone is a rare, invasive benign bone tumour, which typically originates in the metaphyseal ends of long bones and rarely in the spine. Here, we report a rare case of recurrent GCT of the thoracic vertebra, which was managed by three-level total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) after denosumab therapy.Case Presentation: A 50-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of progressive lower back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed destruction of the T11 vertebra and a soft tissue mass. The patient underwent tumour resection. Computed tomography at the 2-year follow-up revealed relapse of the resected tumour, which had spread to the T12 vertebral body. Subsequently, denosumab therapy was administered to the patient for 1 year. The growth of the tumour was controlled, and its boundary line was clear. Thereafter, TES for the T10-T12 vertebrae was performed, and spinal reconstruction was completed through a one-stage single posterior approach. The patient's condition improved postoperatively, and no evidence of recurrence of GCT of the bone or spinal deformity was observed at the 32-month follow-up.Conclusions: Denosumab therapy contributed to tumour regression. Three-level TES may be an effective and feasible strategy for managing large recurrent GCTs of the spine after denosumab therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marbled rockfish Sebastiscus marmoratus is an ecologically and economically important marine fish species distributed along the northwestern Pacific coast from Japan to the Philippines. Here, next-generation sequencing was used to generate a whole genome survey dataset to provide fundamental information of its genome and develop genome-wide microsatellite markers for S. marmoratus. The genome size of S. marmoratus was estimated as approximate 800 Mb by using K-mer analyses, and its heterozygosity ratio and repeat sequence ratio were 0.17% and 39.65%, respectively. The preliminary assembled genome was nearly 609 Mb with GC content of 41.3%, and the data were used to develop microsatellite markers. A total of 191,592 microsatellite motifs were identified. The most frequent repeat motif was dinucleotide with a frequency of 76.10%, followed by 19.63% trinucleotide, 3.91% tetranucleotide, and 0.36% pentanucleotide motifs. The AC, GAG, and ATAG repeats were the most abundant motifs of dinucleotide, trinucleotide, and tetranucleotide motifs, respectively. In summary, a wide range of candidate microsatellite markers were identified and characterized in the present study using genome survey analysis. High-quality whole genome sequence based on the “Illumina+PacBio+Hi-C” strategy is warranted for further comparative genomics and evolutionary biology studies in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five coordination polymers (CPs) {[Zn4(FDA)4(H2O)12]}n (1) {[M(FDA)(azopy)·DMF]}n (2) [M = Zn (2a), Co (2b) and Cd (2c)] and {[Zn(FDA)(azopy)]·CH3CN·0.5DMF}n (3) have been harvested from furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (H2FDA) and 4,4′-azobispyridine (azopy), and structurally characterized by infrared spectra, elemental analysis, thermogravimentric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. CP 1 shows an interesting one-dimension chain structure. CP 2a and CP 2b are isostructural and demonstrate two-dimensional 4-connected sql topological structures where FDA2− connected the nearest Zn(II) ions to generate a one-dimension chain and the chains could be further linked by azopy. CP 2c significantly differs from CP 2a and CP 2b in coordination number as well as in the coordination mode of carboxylate groups. However CP 2c can generate the same two-dimensional sql structure as well. While CP 3 is an interesting pillared-layer three-dimensional two-fold interpenetrating framework with a pcu alpha-Po primitive cubic topology. The luminescence properties of CP 1, CP 2a, CP 2c and CP 3 are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical advantage of co‐targeting cancer drug escape has been indicated by the percentage of these co‐targeting drugs among all multi‐target drugs in clinics and clinical trials. This clinical advantage needs to be further interrogated from such perspectives as the clinical impact of multi‐target inhibition of drug‐escape mediators. This impact may be reflected by drug sales data, that is, multi‐target inhibition of higher number of drug‐escape mediators favors the expanded coverage of drug‐resistant patients leading to higher sales. We investigated whether this expectation is followed by the 25 FDA‐approved anticancer kinase inhibitors, which were divided into 11 groups of comparable therapeutic mechanisms and approval years. We found 19 (76%) drugs to follow and 3 (12%) drugs not to follow this expectation. The remaining two (8%) and one (4%) drugs cannot be assessed due to insufficient data and incomparability. Therefore, drug sales strongly indicate the clinical advantage of multi‐target inhibition of cancer drug escapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Trichomonas gallinae is a globally distributed protozoan parasite, mainly affect the upper avian digestive tract and can bring huge economic losses to pigeon industry. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and genotypes of T. gallinae in Beijing, China. A total of 569 samples of throat swabs of pigeon were collected from pigeon farms in Shunyi District, Fangshan District, Daxing District and Miyun District of Beijing. The overall prevalence was 28.30%. The significant difference in infection rates was not observed between regions, but was found between age groups. The highest prevalence was nestling pigeons (33.16%), followed by adolescent pigeons (30.05%) and breeding pigeons (20.59%). Moreover, genotype A and B of T. gallinae were identified by sequencing the ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 regions and phylogenetic analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report to display the prevalence and genotype of T. gallinae from Beijing, China. Highlights • First survey of the prevalence and genotyping of T. gallinae in domestic pigeons in Beijing, China. • The average infection rate is 28.30% and the highest prevalence was discovered in nestling pigeons. • Both genotype A and genotype B were identified in the present study. • The results of the present study will enrich the epidemiological data of T. gallinae infection in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing approaches are more frequently being used to link microbiota to important diseases and ecological changes. Many analyses have been used to compare the taxonomic and functional profiles of microbiota across habitats or individuals. While a large portion of metagenomic analyses focus on species-level profiling, some studies use strain-level metagenomic analyses to investigate the relationship between specific strains and certain circumstances. Metatranscriptomic analysis provides another important insight into activities of genes by examining gene expression levels of microbiota. Hence, combining metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses will help understand the activity or enrichment of a given gene set, such as drug-resistant genes among microbiome samples. Here, we summarize existing bioinformatics tools of metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data analysis, the purpose of which is to assist researchers in deciding the appropriate tools for their microbiome studies. Additionally, we propose an Integrated Meta-Function mapping pipeline to incorporate various reference databases and accelerate functional gene mapping procedures for both metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims It is recommended that patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) pursue a normal body weight, while the effects of body weight and weight change on prognosis are still controversial. The present study was to assess these effects using a large-scale population with CHD in China. Methods A total of 5276 patients with CHD were included from Jan 2000 to Dec 2014. Baseline and endpoint weights were measured. Outcomes including mortality and cardiovascular events were obtained. Results Relative to patients with normal weight, risks for adverse outcomes were lowest in overweight patients and similar in obese patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for all-cause death were 1.42 (1.06, 1.91) if overweight turned into normal weight and were 2.01 (1.28, 3.16) or 5.33 (2.81, 10.1) if obese turned into overweight or normal weight. Death risk increased with the extent of weight loss and moderate or large weight gain ( p <0.05 for all). Similar results were found when risks for cardiovascular mortality and events were considered. Furthermore, these results remained significant when the patients were stratified by several covariates and even when several definitions of weight change were considered. Conclusions Obesity did not increase adverse outcome risks in patients with CHD. Both weight loss and weight gain increased adverse outcome risks regardless of baseline body weight. The findings suggest that maintaining a stable weight may be a better strategy for the reduction of risks for cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause death in patients with CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wellbore drilling operations frequently entail the combination of a wide range of variables. This is underpinned by the numerous factors that must be considered in order to ensure safety and productivity. The heterogeneity and sometimes unpredictable behaviour of underground systems increases the sensitivity of drilling activities. Quite often the operating parameters are set to certify effective and efficient working processes. However, failings in the management of drilling and operating conditions sometimes result in catastrophes such as well collapse or fluid loss. This study investigates the hypothesis that optimising drilling parameters, for instance mud pressure, is crucial if the margin of safe operating conditions is to be properly defined. This was conducted via two main stages: first a deterministic analysis—where the operating conditions are predicted by conventional modelling procedures—and then a probabilistic analysis via stochastic simulations—where a window of optimised operation conditions can be obtained. The outcome of additional stochastic analyses can be used to improve results derived from deterministic models. The incorporation of stochastic techniques in the evaluation of wellbore instability indicates that margins of the safe mud weight window are adjustable and can be extended considerably beyond the limits of deterministic predictions. The safe mud window is influenced and hence can also be amended based on the degree of uncertainty and the permissible level of confidence. The refinement of results from deterministic analyses by additional stochastic simulations is vital if a more accurate and reliable representation of safe in situ and operating conditions is to be obtained during wellbore operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the efficiencies and mechanisms of the catalytic degradation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) first, in simulated laboratory conditions and then, in a commercial municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plant. Five commercially available V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 (VWTi) catalysts were tested. The degradation efficiency of PCDD/Fs in the simulated flue gas ranged 22.8–91.7% and was generally higher than that in the MSWI flue gas of 8.0–85.4%. The degradation efficiency of PCDD/Fs in the real flue gas of the MSWI plant was largely hindered by the complex composition of the flue gas, which could not be completely reproduced in the simulated laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the degradation of the higher chlorinated PCDD/Fs was easier compared to the lower chlorinated ones in the presence of the VWTi catalysts, which was primarily driven by the tendency of the higher chlorinated PCDD/Fs to be adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst and further destructed due to their lower vapor pressure. In addition, powdered catalysts should be preferred over the honeycomb shaped ones as they exposed higher PCDD/Fs degradation efficiencies under equal reaction conditions. The chemical composition and a range of the relevant to the study properties of the catalysts, such as surface area, crystallinity, oxidation ability, and surface acidity, were analyzed. The study ultimately supports the identification of the preferred characteristics of the VWTi catalysts for the most efficient degradation of toxic PCDD/Fs and elucidates the corresponding deactivation reasons of the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Total flavones from Rhododendron simsii Planch. (TFR) are the effective part extracted from the flowers of Rhododendron simsii Planch. and have obvious protective effects against cerebral ischemic or myocardial injuries in rabbits and rats. However, their mechanism of cardioprotection is still unrevealed. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of TFR on myocardial I/R injury and the underlying mechanism. Methods. TFR groups were treated by gavage once a day for 3 days at a dose of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg, respectively, and then the model of myocardial I/R injury was established. Myocardial infarction, ST-segment elevation, and the expression of UTR, ROCK1, ROCK2, and p-MLC protein in rat myocardium were determined at 90 min after reperfusion. UTR siRNA in vivo transfection and competition binding assay method were used to study the relationship between the protective effect of TFR and UTR. Results. The expression of UTR protein markedly decreased in myocardium of UTR siRNA transfection group rats. TFR could significantly reduce the infarct size and inhibit the increase of RhoA activity and ROCK1, ROCK2, and p-MLC protein expressions both in WT and UTR knockdown rats. The reducing rate of TFR in myocardial infarction area, RhoA activity, and ROCK1, ROCK2, and p-MLC protein expressions in UTR knockdown rats decreased markedly compared with that in WT rats. In addition, TFR had no obvious effect on the increase of ΣST in UTR knockdown rats in comparison with that in model group. In particular, TFR could significantly inhibit the combination of [I125]-hu-II and UTR, and IC50 was 0.854 mg/l. Conclusions. The results indicate that the protective effect of TFR on I/R injury may be correlated with its blocking UTR and the subsequent inhibition of RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable-release property and spreadability of microencapsulated pesticide on blades have attracted special interest mainly because they are related to the utilization of pesticide. In this work, polysiloxane sodium carboxylate (PSiSC) surfactant with double hydrophobic chains has been introduced for the first time into the capsule shell materials to improve the spreadability of the chlorpyrifos microcapsules on rice blades. The silicone chlorpyrifos microcapsules have been prepared with PSiSC/gelatin (GE)/sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) by complex coacervation method. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, laser particle size analyzer, fourier-transform infrared, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, contact angle measurement and UV/VIS spectrometer are used to characterize the silicone chlorpyrifos microcapsules. The PSiSC/NaCMC/GE microcapsules that exhibit the chlorpyrifos encapsulation rate of 50.8%, surface smooth, the mean diameter around 3.5 μm and shell thickness of 285 nm, fabricated with 1.2 mmol/L PSiSC surfactant at pH 4.6. The chlorpyrifos-loaded microcapsules are of remarkable sustainable-release property. The PSiSC/NaCMC/GE microcapsules own high spreadability on the rice blades, which promotes increasing the residual amount of chlorpyrifos microcapsules on hydrophobic blades, thereby improving the utilization of chlorpyrifos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fracturing phenomenon within the reservoir environment is a complex process that is controlled by several factors and may occur either naturally or by artificial drivers. Even when deliberately induced, the fracturing behaviour is greatly influenced by the subsurface architecture and existing features. The presence of discontinuities such as joints, artificial and naturally occurring faults and interfaces between rock layers and microfractures plays an important role in the fracturing process and has been known to significantly alter the course of fracture growth. In this paper, an important property (joint friction) that governs the shear behaviour of discontinuities is considered. The applied numerical procedure entails the implementation of the discrete element method to enable a more dynamic monitoring of the fracturing process, where the joint frictional property is considered in isolation. Whereas fracture propagation is constrained by joints of low frictional resistance, in non-frictional joints, the unrestricted sliding of the joint plane increases the tendency for reinitiation and proliferation of fractures at other locations. The ability of a frictional joint to suppress fracture growth decreases as the frictional resistance increases; however, this phenomenon exacerbates the influence of other factors including in situ stresses and overburden conditions. The effect of the joint frictional property is not limited to the strength of rock formations; it also impacts on fracturing processes, which could be particularly evident in jointed rock masses or formations with prominent faults and/or discontinuities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anfibatide (ANF) is a GPIb antagonist derived from the protein complex agglucetin. Previous studies have showed that it has protective effect on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, the mechanism of which is still unclear, however. The present study was designed to investigate the protective effect of ANF on cerebral I/R injury in rats and the possible mechanisms. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). ANF (1, 2, 4 μg/kg) was achieved by intravenous injection after 120 min of MCAO followed by 1 h, 24 h ,48 h and 72 h reperfusion. Neurological deficit, infarct volume, histopathology, neuronal apoptosis, NeuN and the expression of TLR4, total and phosphorylated c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK/p-JNK), Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, NF-κB protein in rat brain, the levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum were evaluated 72 h after reperfusion. ANF could significantly decrease neurological score, reduce the infarct volumes, ameliorate the histopathological alteration, attenuate the neuronal apoptosis and increase the fluorescence density of NeuN in the rat brain. Furthermore, ANF could obviously decrease the expression of TLR4, p-JNK, caspase-3, NF-κB , relative ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 in brain and the levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum. The results indicate that ANF has protective effect against cerebral I/R injury in rats and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the suppression of apoptosis through inhibiting TLR4/JNK/caspase-3 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Both glycated albumin (GA) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reflect the mean glucose levels. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships among GA, HbA1c, and arterial stiffness in the general population. Methods A total of 11,014 participants were included. Serum GA; HbA1c; and arterial stiffness indices, including brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), were measured. Single-factor and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to compare the predictive value of GA, HbA1c, and their combination for arterial stiffness. All analyses were stratified by sex. Results Men had a lower GA level than women. GA, HbA1c, and plasma glucose levels were correlated. The levels of baPWV and cSBP increased across sex-specific quartiles of GA and HbA1c ( P for trend < 0.001 for all). Both GA and HbA1c were positively related to elevated baPWV and cSBP after adjusting for conventional factors ( P < 0.05 for all). These relationships remained significant when participants were divided into groups with normal glucose tolerance, prediabetes, or diabetes. Regarding screening for elevated baPWV and cSBP, the values of the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for GA were similar to those for HbA1c in men but were lower than those for HbA1c in women. The combination of GA and HbA1c did not improve the AUC compared with HbA1c alone. Conclusions Both GA and HbA1c were associated with arterial stiffness. The predictive value of GA for arterial stiffness was similar in men but lower in women compared with that of HbA1c. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A triarylborane-based biphenyl, 4,4′-dibromo-2-dimesitylboryl-2′-(N,N-dimethylamino)biphenyl (Br2-BN-BPh), exhibits very unique temperature-dependent fluorescence behavior. Although Br2-BN-BPh is weakly emissive at room temperature, its fluorescence increases abruptly at a specific high temperature (68 °C in MOE, 88 °C in toluene). In addition, the fluorescence still remains very strong even after cooling to room temperature, providing the possibility of the fluorescence detection of a specific high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed a novel approach based on the 3D discrete element method (DEM) to simulate the progressive delamination in unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite laminates. A hexagonal packing strategy was used for modelling 0 ∘ representative plies, the interface between different plies was modelled with one bond and seven bonds following the conservation of energy principle and a power law. The number of representative layers and the stiffness of bonds within these layers were calibrated with a comparison of results obtained from finite element method and theoretical analysis. DEM simulations of delamination with both interface models were conducted on unidirectional composites for double cantilever beam (DCB), end-loaded split (ELS) and fixed-ratio mixed-mode (FRMM) tests. It was found that the seven-bond interface model has a better agreement with experimental data in all three tests than the one-bond interface model by adopting the proposed seven-bond arrangement in terms of the progressive delamination process. The main advantages of the present interface model are its simplicity, robustness and computational efficiency when elastic bonds are used in the DEM models. • 3D discrete element model with packed particles for anisotropic composite laminae. • A novel bond approach with discrete element method for progressive delamination. • Energy conservation principle based bond properties for interlaminar interface. • Mode-I, mode-II and mix-mode fracture are captured with progression failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate associations of novel cardiovascular markers with obesity in a general population.Methods: A total of 9361 individuals without diabetes or cardiovascular disease were studied between 2009 and 2012 in China. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), pulse pressure, and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) were assessed according to body mass index (BMI) levels and different BMI/metabolic syndrome (MetS) combinations.Results: 'Levels of hs-cTnT, baPWV, pulse pressure, and cSBP increased across BMI levels. Obesity was positively associated with these markers in multivariate models (P<0.05 for all). When stratified by MetS, these associations remained significant in the non-MetS group, and compared with normal weight participants, the obese participants had 1.87 (95% confidence interval: 1.48, 2.36), 1.27 (1.02, 1.57), 1.89 (1.39, 2.57), and 2.71 (2.11, 3.47) fold risks for having elevated hs-cTnT, baPWV, pulse pressure, and cSBP, respectively, and had 1.61 (1.26, 2.05), 1.75 (1.27, 2.42), 2.45 (1.46, 4.11), and 3.14 (2.13, 4.62) fold risks for having 1, 2, 3, and 4 elevated cardiovascular markers, respectively; while no relationship was observed between obesity and these novel markers in the MetS group, after multivariate adjustment. These results were unchanged when using a waist-hip ratio, body fat per cent, and visceral adiposity index to redefine obesity.Conclusions: Obesity was positively associated with novel cardiovascular markers (except NT-proBNP) in participants without MetS rather than in participants with MetS. Obese participants without MetS also had higher odds of having more number of elevated cardiovascular markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 21-year-old Chinese woman who was taken to the emergency department because of intermittent psychogenic seizure and was diagnosed with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis. Topics discussed include the diagnosis of pelvic mass through abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT), the trigger of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis by ovarian cystic teratoma, and the calcific components in the pelvic mass.

Background: Schwannomas located in the periportal region are extremely rare. Only 14 cases have been reported in the medical literature worldwide. Cases of porta hepatic schwannomas reported in the literature worldwide were reviewed. As a result, it is very challenging for surgeons to make a preoperative diagnosis due to its rarity and nonspecific imaging manifestations. Case Presentation: A 57-year-old Chinese female was admitted to our institution with complaint of upper abdominal distension and the abdominal CT in the local hospital revealed a hypodense mass in the porta hepatis. A fine needle aspiration (FNA) was made to confirm the diagnosis, but the result was just suggestive of spindle cell neoplasia. Eventually, the patient underwent surgery and postoperative pathology confirmed schwannoma in porta hepatis. The patient recovered uneventfully with no evidence of recurrence after a follow-up period of 41 months. Conclusions: It is essential for the final diagnosis of porta hepatic schwannomas to combine histological examination with immunohistochemistry after surgery. The main treatment of porta hepatic schwannomas is complete excision with free margins and no lymph node dissection. In some cases, biliary reconstruction or the proper hepatic and the gastroduodenal artery resection was performed because the tumor was inseparably attached to the extrahepatic bile duct or the proper hepatic and the gastroduodenal artery. Malignant transformation of schwannomas is very rare and the overall prognosis is satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The smallest diagnostically appropriate amount of contrast medium should be used in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA using 30 mL of 270 mg I/mL contrast material, 80 kVp, and iterative reconstruction (IR).Material and Methods: Eighty-two consecutive patients underwent CCTA with a prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch protocol. Forty-three patients were examined at 100 kVp with filtered back projection after 60 mL of 370 mg I/mL contrast material was administered. Another 39 patients were examined at 80 kVp with IR after 30 mL of 270 mg I/mL contrast material was administered. Subjective and objective image quality was evaluated for each patient. Radiation doses were estimated and compared.Results: Mean attenuation, noise and signal-to-noise ratio in 80 kVp group were significantly lower than in 100 kVp group (all P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), although a trend towards a lower CNR in 80 kVp group was observed (P = 0.099). The subjective image quality between the two groups was not significantly different (P = 0.905). The effective dose and iodine load in 80 kVp group were reduced by 54% and 64%, respectively, when compared with 100 kVp group.Conclusion: Prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA at 80 kVp with 30 mL of 270 mg I/mL contrast material and IR is feasible for patients with BMI less than 25 kg/m(2) and reduces radiation dose and iodine load when compared with the standard CCTA protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, knowledge about the impact of high-grain ( HG) feeding on rumen microbiota and metabolome is limited. In this study, a combination of the 454 pyrosequencing strategy and the mass spectrometry-based metabolomics technique was applied to investigate the effects of increased dietary grain (0%, 25% and 50% maize grain) on changes in whole ruminal microbiota and their metabolites using goat as a ruminant model. We observed a significant influence of HG feeding in shaping the ruminal bacterial community structure, diversity and composition, with an overall dominance of bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes along with a low abundance of Bacteriodetes in the HG group. High-grain feeding increased the number of ciliate and methanogens, and decreased the density of anaerobic fungi and the richness of the archaeal community. The metabolomics analysis revealed that HG feeding increased the levels of several toxic, inflammatory and unnatural compounds, including endotoxin, tryptamine, tyramine, histamine and phenylacetate. Correlation analysis on the combined datasets revealed some potential relationships between ruminal metabolites and certain microbial species. Information about these relationships may prove useful in either direct (therapeutic) or indirect (dietary) interventions for ruminal disorders due to microbial compositional shifts, such as ruminal acidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: SB-710411 is a rat selective urotensin-II (U-II) receptor antagonist, which can block U-II-induced contraction of the aorta and inhibit U-II-induced myocardial fibrosis in rats. However, the effect of SB-710411 on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is unclear. The present study was designed to investigate whether SB-710411 has a protective effect on myocardial I/R injury in rats and the possible mechanisms. Methods and Results: Myocardial I/R injury was induced by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Hemodynamic parameters, electrocardiogram (ECG), infarct size, histological alteration, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase-MB (CK-MB), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), RhoA, and the protein expressions of U-II receptor (UTR), ROCK1 and ROCK2 were evaluated. Cardiac I/R injury significantly up-regulated the expressions of UTR, ROCK1 and ROCK2 proteins in rat myocardium. SB-710411 1.0 and 2.0 μg/kg significantly reduced cardiac I/R-induced the infarct size and histological damage in rat myocardium, markedly inhibited the changes of hemodynamic parameters and the increases of ST-segment in ECG, the serum LDH and CK-MB activities and cTnI level in rats subjected to myocardial I/R injury. Furthermore, SB-710411 obviously prevented myocardial I/R-increased RhoA activity and UTR, ROCK1 and ROCK2 protein expressions. Conclusions: Our results indicate that cardiac I/R injury increases myocardial UTR expression, and SB-710411 has a potent protective effect on myocardial I/R injury in rats. The cardioprotection may be associated with the inhibition of UTR-RhoA/ROCK pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently hydraulic fracturing of rocks has received much attention not only for its economic importance but also for its potential environmental impact. The hydraulically fracturing technique has been widely used in the oil (EOR) and gas (EGR) industries, especially in the USA, to extract more oil/gas through the deep rock formations. Also there have been increasing interests in utilising the hydraulic fracturing technique in geological storage of CO2 in recent years. In all cases, the design and implementation of the hydraulic fracturing process play a central role, highlighting the significance of research and development of this technique. However, the uncertainty behind the fracking mechanism has triggered public debates regarding the possible effect of this technique on human health and the environment. This has presented new challenges in the study of the hydraulic fracturing process. This paper describes the hydraulic fracturing mechanism and provides an overview of past and recent developments of the research performed towards better understandings of the hydraulic fracturing and its potential impacts, with particular emphasis on the development of modelling techniques and their implementation on the hydraulic fracturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical behaviour of unidirectional fibre-reinforced polymer composites subjected to transverse tension was studied using a two dimensional discrete element method. The Representative Volume Element (RVE) of the composite was idealised as a polymer matrix reinforced with randomly distributed parallel fibres. The matrix and fibres were constructed using disc particles bonded together using parallel bonds, while the fibre/matrix interfaces were represented by a displacement-softening model. The prevailing damage mechanisms observed from the model were interfacial debonding and matrix plastic deformation. Numerical simulations have shown that the magnitude of stress is significantly higher at the interfaces, especially in the areas with high fibre densities. Interface fracture energy, stiffness and strength all played important roles in the overall mechanical performance of the composite. It was also observed that tension cracks normally began with interfacial debonding. The merge of the interfacial and matrix micro-cracks resulted in the final catastrophic fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The YCbCr (luminance, chrominance-blue, and chrominance-red) color space is adopted in video codecs or transmission, while the HSV (hue, saturation and value) color space is used in some video analysis algorithms. In this paper, a fast algorithm based on fixed-point digital signal processors (DSPs) is proposed for YCbCr to HSV conversion. Floating-point multiplications are replaced with fixed-point shifts, 16-bit fixed-point multiplications, and additions. To compensate for rounding error and convert floating-point multiplication into 16-bit fixed-point multiplication in the calculation, tables occupying 225bytes and 256bytes are established, respectively. According to the experimental results, the error caused by the proposal is within the acceptable range. At the same time, the proposed algorithm is about 10 times faster than traditional YCbCr to HSV conversion algorithm on a fixed-point digital signal processor (DSP) platform and about 1.41 times faster on a personal computer (PC) platform. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Combustion gases generated by a methane burner were used to create a simulated flue gas atmosphere. [•] Trace levels of gaseous benzene were catalytically oxidized under simulated flue gas condition. [•] Nano-TiO2-supported catalyst exhibited higher activity despite its lowest V content. [•] No competition effect between benzene oxidation and NO x reduction was observed. [•] Molecular structures of surface VO x species were investigated and activation energies were calculated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The EZSCAN test was recently developed to screen for early dysglycemia through an assessment of sudomotor function. Given the associations of dysglycemia and autonomic dysfunction with the development of arterial stiffness, EZSCAN may also detect early arterial stiffness. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of EZSCAN with arterial stiffness across blood glucose levels. Methodology and Principal Findings: A total of 5532 participants without diabetes or established cardiovascular disease were evaluated with EZSCAN. Their central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were also measured. Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to assess the association between the EZSCAN value and the cSBP, baPWV, and ABI measurements in all of the participants, with additional subgroup analysis that separated participants into a normal glucose tolerance (NGT) group and an impaired glucose regulation (IGR) group. The frequency of the IGRs increased with quartiles of the EZSCAN value (P for trend <0.0001). The levels of cSBP and baPWV increased while the levels of ABI decreased across quartiles of EZSCAN value in both NGT and IGR individuals (P for trend <0.0001 for all). In multivariable analyses, the EZSCAN value was positively associated with cSBP (log-transformed beta = 8.20, P<0.0001) and baPWV (log-transformed beta = 1.82, P<0.0001) but inversely associated with ABI (log-transformed beta = −0.043, P<0.0001) and was independent of conventional factors. Further adjustment for fasting and postprandial glucoses did not attenuate the associations. The results were also unchanged when stratified by IGR. Conclusions and Significance: The EZSCAN results were associated with arterial stiffness independent of conventional factors, blood glucose levels, and glucose tolerance status, suggesting a probable link between the EZSCAN value and arterial stiffness through autonomic dysfunction. The EZSCAN test may help us detect the development of arterial stiffness in high risk individuals to prevent unfavorable cardiovascular events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The American Heart Association's 2020 Strategic Goals define a new concept of cardiovascular health. However, the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health outside of the United States is unclear, and its relationship with psychological status has not been reported. Method: We included 9962 participants (mean age 47.1years; 44.2% women) from the survey of the Disease Risk Evaluation and Health Management study from October 2009 to Feb 2012. The prevalence of poor, intermediate, and ideal cardiovascular health levels were calculated, and psychological status was assessed using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Results: After adjusting for sex and age, only 0.5% of the participants met ideal levels of all 7 cardiovascular health metrics, and 26.9% presented with 5 to 7 ideal health metrics. Fasting plasma glucose was the most prevalent ideal metric (71.2%), whereas physical activity was the least prevalent (18.1%). Women had a significantly higher proportion of 5 to 7 ideal health metrics compared with men (40.4% versus 13.4% after adjusting for age), and the proportion of participants who had 5 to 7 ideal health metrics significantly decreased with age (P <0.001 for trend). Furthermore, the scores for depression, anxiety, and stress showed a negative correlation with the number of ideal health metrics, with regression coefficients of −0.07, −0.07, and −0.11, respectively (P <0.05). Conclusions: Few adults met ideal levels of cardiovascular health. Individuals, communities, and health-care providers in China should be better integrated to pay closer attention to primordial prevention of unhealthy lifestyles and psychological problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mitomycin has a unique chemical structure and contains densely assembled functionalities with extraordinary antitumor activity. The previously proposed mitomycin C biosynthetic pathway has caused great attention to decipher the enzymatic mechanisms for assembling the pharmaceutically unprecedented chemical scaffold. Herein, we focused on the determination of acyl carrier protein (ACP)-dependent modification steps and identification of the protein–protein interactions between MmcB (ACP) with the partners in the early-stage biosynthesis of mitomycin C. Based on the initial genetic manipulation consisting of gene disruption and complementation experiments, genes mitE, mmcB, mitB, and mitF were identified as the essential functional genes in the mitomycin C biosynthesis, respectively. Further integration of biochemical analysis elucidated that MitE catalyzed CoA ligation of 3-amino-5-hydroxy-bezonic acid (AHBA), MmcB-tethered AHBA triggered the biosynthesis of mitomycin C, and both MitB and MitF were MmcB-dependent tailoring enzymes involved in the assembly of mitosane. Aiming at understanding the poorly characterized protein–protein interactions, the in vitro pull-down assay was carried out by monitoring MmcB individually with MitB and MitF. The observed results displayed the clear interactions between MmcB and MitB and MitF. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor analysis further confirmed the protein–protein interactions of MmcB with MitB and MitF, respectively. Taken together, the current genetic and biochemical analysis will facilitate the investigations of the unusual enzymatic mechanisms for the structurally unique compound assembly and inspire attempts to modify the chemical scaffold of mitomycin family antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,8‐Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU) catalyzed Michael addition reactions between α,β‐unsaturated esters and benzophenone‐imines of glycine esters have been realized in THF at room temperature by using LiBr as an additive, effectively enabling the glutamation of phenols, thiophenols, secondary amines and imides. 3‐Substituted glutamic acid esters were obtained in excellent yields and diastereoselectivities (up to quantitative yield and >20 : 1 dr). These glutamic acid esters were readily converted into their corresponding pyroglutamic acid esters in high yields through acidic hydrolysis followed by lactamization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ctenothrips yangi sp. nov. is described from Southwestern China, where it causes severe damage to the leaves of Bryophyllum pinnatum (Saxifragales: Crassulaceae). This new species exhibits considerable variation in the position of the metanotal setae and campaniform sensilla. A detailed description of the larval stages is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Most biomarkers lack clinical sensitivity and specificity for predicting adverse outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). We identified potential predictors through proteomic analysis. Methods: Serum proteomic analysis was performed by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization protein chip technology in 409 patients with ACS. The primary endpoints were 30-day and 3-year occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization). Results: A m/z 4174.39 peak was associated with an increased incidence of 3-year events. In multivariate analysis, the m/z 4174.39 peak showed an independent correlation with 3-year (over 30-day) events (hazard ratio, 2.33; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23 to 4.39; P =0.009 for the fourth versus first quartile), while the creatine kinase MB fraction (CK-MB) and troponin T levels were associated with 30-day events ((ln CK-MB: hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.73; P =0.013); (ln troponin T: hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.64; P =0.002)). Conclusions: The m/z 4174.39 peak is a strong marker for predicting the long-term outcomes, and may correspond to a new biomarker, such as a member of the CXC chemokine family, and provide additional prognostic value in ACS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The presence of food-specific IgG antibodies in human serum may be useful for diagnosis of adverse food reactions. However, the clinical utility of tesing for such antibodies remains very controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels and population distribution of food-specific IgGs and their association with chronic symptoms in a large-scale Chinese population. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 21305 adult participants from different regions of China had 14 type of food- specific serum IgG antibodies that were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Among these, 5,394 participants were randomly chosen to complete follow-up questionnaire surveys on their dietary characteristics and chronic symptoms. The concentrations of food-specific IgGs against 14 foods ranged from a median (interquartile range) of 7.3 (3.8, 12.6) U/mL of pork-specfic IgG to 42.3 (28.8, 60.2) U/mL of crab-specific IgG. The concentration of food-specific IgGs was closely related to gender; after adjustment for region and age, women had higher concentrations of food-specific IgGs against all of the 14 foods except chicken (regression coefficient (95% CI): 0.01 (-0.003, 0.023); P = 0.129) and corn (0.002 (20.013, 0.016); P= 0.825). Similar results were also found in the relationship of geographic region to the food-specific IgG concentrations for the 14 foods. Chronic symptoms were negatively associated with the concentrations of a few food-specific IgGs, and were positively associated with the concentrations of other food-specific IgGs. Conclusions: The levels of food-specific IgGs were variable both in healthy and in symptomatic Chinese adults. These findings raise awareness that demographic factors, the type of food and specific chronic symptoms should be considered before food elimination treatment based on IgG testing in patients with chronic symptoms is used in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable energy development always involves complex optimization problems of design, planning, and control, which are often computationally difficult for conventional optimization methods. Fortunately, the continuous advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in an increasing number of heuristic optimization methods for effectively handling those complicated problems. Particularly, algorithms that are inspired by the principles of natural biological evolution and/or collective behavior of social colonies have shown a promising performance and are becomingmore and more popular nowadays. In this paper we summarize the recent advances in bio-inspired optimization methods, including artificial neural networks, evolutionary algorithms, swarm intelligence, and their hybridizations, which are applied to the field of sustainable energy development. Literature reviewed in this paper shows the current state of the art and discusses the potential future research trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bucket foundation platform is an important engineering design alternative in oil/gas field developments in the Bohai Sea because of its economic and structural characteristics. Severe ice-induced vibrations were observed on the Jinzhou 9-3E (JZ9-3E) bucket foundation platform in the Bohai Sea attributable to the ice action against the riser. A fixed ice-breaking cone was installed on the riser to reduce ice-induced vibrations. The ice-induced vibration response of the platform was observed and recorded. The observed data showed that the fixed ice-breaking cone can effectively reduce ice-induced vibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decomposition of toluene as a typical aromatic volatile organic compound was experimentally investigated in a rotating gliding arc discharge nonthermal plasma reactor. The experiments were conducted at a gas flow rate of 5.4-10.8 m3h-1. Important parameters, including applied voltage, gas flow rate, initial concentration, and water vapor concentration, were investigated. The results showed that a higher applied voltage results in higher toluene removal and higher power deposited into a discharge system; the decomposition achieved was highly dependent on the total gas flow rate. Under the fixed specific energy density (SED), both toluene removal efficiency and energy efficiency decrease with the increase in gas flow rate. The removal efficiency of toluene decreased with an increase in the initial concentration, whereas the absolute removal amount and energy efficiency increased. For example, the removal efficiency decreased from 77% to 56% with the initial toluene concentration ranging from 200 to 2000 m g-3 as the SED was 266 J L-1; the toluene removal efficiency evidently increased as the water vapor concentration increased from 0.5945 to 1708.3435 mg m-3. A dynamics model was developed to describe the relation of the removal efficiency with SED and initial concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Decomposition of toluene as a typical aromatic volatile organic compound was experimentally investigated in a rotating gliding arc discharge nonthermal plasma reactor. The experiments were conducted at a gas flow rate of 5.4–10.8 \m^3\h^-1. Important parameters, including applied voltage, gas flow rate, initial concentration, and water vapor concentration, were investigated. The results showed that a higher applied voltage results in higher toluene removal and higher power deposited into a discharge system; the decomposition achieved was highly dependent on the total gas flow rate. Under the fixed specific energy density (SED), both toluene removal efficiency and energy efficiency decrease with the increase in gas flow rate. The removal efficiency of toluene decreased with an increase in the initial concentration, whereas the absolute removal amount and energy efficiency increased. For example, the removal efficiency decreased from 77% to 56% with the initial toluene concentration ranging from 200 to 2000 \m g^-3 as the SED was 266 \J L^-1; the toluene removal efficiency evidently increased as the water vapor concentration increased from 0.5945 to 1708.3435 \mg m^-3. A dynamics model was developed to describe the relation of the removal efficiency with SED and initial concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

kinetic model is proposed for simulating the trajectory of a single milling ball in a planetary ball mill, and a model is also proposed for simulating the local energy transfer during the ball milling process under no-slip conditions. Based on the kinematics of ball motion, the collision frequency and power are described, and the normal impact forces and effective power are derived from analyses of collision geometry. The Hertzian impact theory is applied to formulate these models after having established some relationships among the geometric, dynamic, and thermophysical parameters. Simulation is carried out based on two models, and the effects of the rotation velocity of the planetary disk Ω and the vial-to-disk speed ratio ω/Ω on other kinetic parameters is investigated. As a result, the optimal ratio ω/Ω to obtain high impact energy in the standard operating condition at Ω = 800 rpm is estimated, and is equal to 1.15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gaseous 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCBz) was photocatalytically decomposed on a powdered TiO2 layer using UV-light, or the latter combined with ozone addition. The effect of various experimental parameters was studied, including inlet concentrations of ozone, UV irradiation or not, carrier gas (dry air or nitrogen) and treatment time period. A temperature of 150°C is selected, to replicate flue gas conditions after bag house filter. An optimum ozone addition of ca. 165ppm was established, higher concentrations barely improving photocatalytic removal. Possible pathways and mechanisms are discussed on the basis of the intermediate products identified, the chloride ions distribution in the effluent and catalyst surface, and a carbon conversion balance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), in brief dioxins, has seldom been addressed systematically in fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs). This study shows the amount and fingerprint of PCDD/Fs in fly ash from four different Chinese MSWIs, that is, three mechanical grate units and one circulating fluidized bed unit. In these fly ash samples, dioxins-related parameters (international toxic equivalent quantity, total amount of PCDD/Fs, individual isomer classes, and 17 toxic 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners) all tend to increase with decreasing particle size for mechanical grate incinerators, yet only for the finest fraction for fluidized bed units. Moreover, the fluidized bed incinerator seems superior to grate incineration in controlling dioxins, yet a comparison is hampered by internal differences in the sample, for example, the fluidized bed fly ash has much lower carbon and chlorine contents. In addition, the presence of sulfur from mixing coal as supplemental fuel to the MSW may poison the catalytic steps in dioxins formation and thus suppress the formation of dioxins. With more residual carbon and chlorine in the fly ash, it is easier to form dioxins during cooling. Nevertheless, there is no apparent relation between Fe, Cu, and Zn contents and that of dioxins in fly ash. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]