Search

Let |$C$| be a smooth projective curve over |${{\mathbb{C}}}$|⁠. We link the periodicity of Hitchin's uniformizing Higgs bundle of |$C$| with the underlying arithmetic geometry of the curve. Some new relations are discovered. We also speculate on the whole class of periodic Higgs bundles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many biomolecular condensates, including transcriptional condensates, are formed in elastic mediums. In this work, we study the nonequilibrium condensate dynamics in a chromatin-like environment modeled as a heterogeneous elastic medium. We demonstrate that the ripening process in such an elastic medium exhibits a temporal power-law scaling of the average condensate radius, depending on the local stiffness distribution and different from Ostwald ripening. Moreover, we incorporate an active process to model the dissolution of transcriptional condensates upon RNA accumulation. Intriguingly, three types of kinetics of condensate growth emerge, corresponding to constitutively expressed, transcriptional-bursting, and silenced genes. Furthermore, the simulated burst frequency decreases exponentially with the local stiffness, through which we infer a lognormal distribution of local stiffness in living cells using the transcriptome-wide distribution of burst frequency. Under the inferred stiffness distribution, the simulated distributions of bursting kinetic parameters agree reasonably well with the experimental data. Our findings reveal the interplay between biomolecular condensates and elastic mediums, yielding far-reaching implications for gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Most studies of body size perception have been performed in adolescents, and most focus on gender differences in accurate perception of body size. This study investigated misperceptions of body sizes among males and females at different stages of adulthood in Taiwan. Designs: In-person home interviews were used to proportionally and randomly select 2095 adult men and women to answer the East Asian Social Survey. Participants were divided into 18–39, 40–64, and 65 + age groups. The main variables analyzed were self-perceived body size and standardized BMI. Results: Women, unlike men, were more likely to misperceive their body size as being overweight (OR = 2.92; p <.001). People with higher self-perceived social status were less likely to misperceive themselves as overweight (OR = 0.91; p =.01). People with college educations were 2.35 times more likely to overestimate their body size as being heavier than they were (p <.001) and less likely to underestimate it as being thinner than they were (OR = 0.45; p <.001). Women 18–35 and 36–64 years old were 6.96 and 4.31 times more likely (p <.001) to misperceive themselves as being overweight than women 65 or older, who were more likely to misperceive themselves as being too thin. There were no significant differences in body size misperceptions among the three age groups of adult men (p >.05). We found no different significant discrepancies between self-perceived body size and actual BMI between the older men and women (p =.16). However, younger and middle-aged men were 6.67 and 3.1 times more likely to misperceive themselves as being too thin than women in their same age groups (OR = 0.15 and OR = 0.32, respectively). Conclusions: Age and gender affect self-perceptions of body size in Taiwan. Overall, women are more likely than men to misperceive themselves as being too big, and men are more likely than women to misperceive themselves as too thin. Older women, however, were more likely to misperceive themselves as being too thin. Clinicians and health educators should know that people's perceptions and concerns regarding their body size vary by age and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict 3-Level version of European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire utility from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT), the study attempts to collect EQ-5D-3L and CAT data from COPD patients. Response mapping under a backward elimination procedure was used for EQ-5D score predictions from CAT. A multinomial logistic regression (MLR) model was used to identify the association between the score and the covariates. Afterwards, the predicted scores were transformed into the utility. The developed formula was compared with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models and models using Mean Rank Method (MRM). The MLR models performed as well as other models according to mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) evaluations. Besides, the overestimation for low utility patients (utility ≤ 0.6) and underestimation for near health (utility > 0.9) in the OLS method was improved through the means of the MLR model based on bubble chart analysis. In conclusion, response mapping with the MLR model led to performance comparable to the OLS and MRM models for predicting EQ-5D utility from CAT data. Additionally, the bubble charts analysis revealed that the model constructed in this study and MRM could be a better predictive model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a new Hodge theoretical characterization of the set of complex numbers that arises from the complete list, due to A. Beauville, of semistable families of elliptic curves over |${\mathbb {P}}^1$| with four singular fibers. The characterization is approached via a detailed analysis of the periodicity of the uniformizing Higgs bundle attached to |${\mathbb {P}}^1$| minus four points over the field of complex numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating disease with multiple contributing factors. Insulin‐like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), with a reciprocal function to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), is involved in airway inflammation. The exact relationship between IGF1R and AhR in lung fibrogenesis is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the cascade pathway involving IGF1R and AhR in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Experimental Approach The AhR and IGF1R expressions were determined in the lungs of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients and in a rodent fibrosis model. Pulmonary fibrosis was evaluated in bleomycin (BLM)‐induced lung injury in wild type and AhR knockout (Ahr−/−) mice. The effects of IGF1R inhibition and AhR activation in vitro on TGF‐β1‐induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in Beas2B cells and in vivo on BLM‐exposed mice were also examined. Key Results: There were increased IGF1R levels but AhR expression decreased in the lung of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients and BLM‐induced mice. Knockout of AhR aggravated lung fibrosis, while the use of IGF1R inhibitor and AhR agonist significantly attenuated such effects and inhibited TGF‐β1‐induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition in Beas2B cells. Both TGF‐β1 and BLM markedly suppressed AhR expression through endoplasmic reticulum stress and consequently, IGF1R activation. The IGF1R inhibitor and specific knockdown of IGF1R reversed the activation of the TGF‐β1 signal pathway. Conclusion and Implications: In the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, AhR and IGF1R play opposite roles via the TGF‐β/Smad/STAT signalling cascade. The AhR/IGF1R axis is a potential target for the treatment of lung injury and fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Facilitated by technological advances and the decrease in costs, it is feasible to gather subject data from several omics platforms. Each platform assesses different molecular events, and the challenge lies in efficiently analyzing these data to discover novel disease genes or mechanisms. A common strategy is to regress the outcomes on all omics variables in a gene set. However, this approach suffers from problems associated with high-dimensional inference. Results We introduce a tensor-based framework for variable-wise inference in multi-omics analysis. By accounting for the matrix structure of an individual's multi-omics data, the proposed tensor methods incorporate the relationship among omics effects, reduce the number of parameters, and boost the modeling efficiency. We derive the variable-specific tensor test and enhance computational efficiency of tensor modeling. Using simulations and data applications on the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), we demonstrate our method performs favorably over baseline methods and will be useful for gaining biological insights in multi-omics analysis. Availability and implementation R function and instruction are available from the authors' website: https://www..stat.ncsu.edu/~jytzeng/Software/TR.omics/TRinstruction.pdf. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a high-sensitivity refractive index and salinity sensor by using fiber-optic side-polishing and electron-beam evaporation techniques. Thin film coated on the flat surface of side-polished fibers can generate a lossy mode resonance (LMR) effect. A gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin film was prepared by an electron-beam evaporation with the ion assisted deposition method. The residual thickness of the side-polished fiber was 76.5 µm, and GZO film thickness of 69 nm was deposited on the flat surface of the side-polished fiber to fabricate LMR-based fiber sensors. The variation in the optical spectrum of LMR-based fiber sensors was measured by different refractive index saline solutions. The LMR wavelength shift is caused by the refractive index change, which is nearly proportional to the salinity. The corresponding sensitivity of the proposed fiber-optic sensor was 3059 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) for the refractive index range of 1.333 to 1.398. To evaluate the sensitivity of LMR salinity sensors, the saline solution salinities of 3.6%, 7.3%, 10.9%, 14.6%, 18.2% and 21.9% were measured in this work. The experimental result shows that the sensitivity of the proposed salinity sensor is 9.94 nm/%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of CuO content in Bi‐B‐Si‐Zn glass on the interfacial reaction between the glasses and FeSiCr alloy powder and NiCuZn ferrites, microstructure, and adhesion strength were investigated. For the FeSiCr alloy and glass interface, the iron in FeSiCr alloy dissolves into the glass and is oxidized into Fe3+ during heating. The copper ions in the glass are reduced to elemental copper near the interface to maintain charge neutrality. This leads to chemical bonding between the FeSiCr alloy and glass at 750°C under air atmosphere. The CuO in the glass increases the wettability and adhesion between the FeSiCr alloy and glass. The redox reaction inhibits crack propagation from Vickers indentations in the spherical copper‐rich precipitates near the interface, but the presence of pores in the glass layer would decrease the adhesion strength. In the FeSiCr alloy/glass/NiCuZn ferrites/glass/FeSiCr alloy structure, glass with 5 wt% CuO exhibited higher pulling strength. Moreover, the amount of elemental copper precipitates increased as the heat‐treatment temperature was increased to 800 and 850°C, leading to an increase in the glass and FeSiCr alloy adhesion strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) fracturing has become an accepted horizontal multistage stimulation technique due to its flexibility and high efficiency of extensive fracture placement. The downhole tool failure of AWJ fracturing becomes an issue in the massive hydraulic fracturing because of high velocity and proppant erosion. This paper proposed a 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based erosion model by considering high-velocity waterjet impact, proppant shear erosion, and specific inner structure of hydra-jet tool body. The discrete phase approach was used to track the proppant transport and its concentration distribution. Field observation provides strong evidence of erosion patterns and mechanisms obtained from CFD simulation. The results show that the erosion rate has a space dependence in the inner wall of the tool body. The severe erosion areas are primarily located at the entries of the nozzle. Evident erosion patterns are found including a 'Rabbit's ear' erosion at the upper-layer nozzles and a half bottom loop erosion at the lower-layer nozzles. Erosion mechanisms attribute to high flow velocity at the entry of nozzles and the inertia force of proppant. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the pumping rate is a primary factor contributing to erosion intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During development, organisms acquire three-dimensional (3D)shapes with important physiological consequences. While basic mechanisms underlying morphogenesis are known in eukaryotes,it is often difficult to manipulate them in vivo. To circumvent this issue, here we present a study of developing Vibrio cholerae biofilms grown on agar substrates in which the spatiotemporal morphological patterns were altered by varying the agar concentration. Expanding biofilms are initially flat but later under goa mechanical instability and become wrinkled. To gain mechanistic insights into this dynamic pattern-formation process, we developed a model that considers diffusion of nutrients and their uptake by bacteria, bacterial growth/biofilm matrix production,mechanical deformation of both the biofilm and the substrate,and the friction between them. Our model shows quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of biofilm expansion dynamics, and it accurately predicts two distinct spatiotemporal patterns observed in the experiments—the wrinkles initially appear either in the peripheral region and propagate inward (soft substrate/low friction) or in the central region and propagate out-ward (stiff substrate/high friction). Our results, which establish that nonuniform growth and friction are fundamental determinants of stress anisotropy and hence biofilm morphology, are broadly applicable to bacterial biofilms with similar morphologies and also provide insight into how other bacterial biofilms form distinct wrinkle patterns. We discuss the implications of forming undulated biofilm morphologies, which may enhance the avail-ability of nutrients and signaling molecules and serve as a “bethedging” strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging cracks is a direct way to learn the rock breaking mechanism beneath a PDC cutter. In this study, a series of linear cutting tests and precise observations of cracks were conducted. The formation of major cracks was captured in-situ with a high speed camera in the process of cutting rock sheets. Then the cracks under the cutting groove (subsurface cracks) were studied by reproducing the cutting groove after cutting some rock blocks and further observed by means of thin-section optical microscopy. Finally, the development sequence of the cracks and adjacent crushed zone was determined by recording the cutting process on a rock-like silica glass block. The results show that the shape of major cracks is mainly curved, both upward and downward curves were observed. The major cracks mainly initiate at the tip of the cutter when cutting sandstone and granite, while they initiate more randomly in marble. The length and angle of the subsurface cracks vary with the rocks: the subsurface cracks extend the longest in granite, while propagating more vertically in sandstone. Finally, it is determined that the major cracks initiate after the formation of crushed zone. And the initiation of major cracks will enlarge the crushed zone and lead to the initiation and propagation of the subsurface cracks. The results in this paper are expected to further reveal the rock breaking mechanism beneath a PDC cutter. • The shape and initiation position of the major cracks were recorded. • Experimental validation of the existence of subsurface cracks. • Detailed descriptionof subsurface cracks. • A complete crack pattern in the rock under a PDC cutteris proposed. • The development sequence of the cracks under a PDC cutter is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Targeted therapies have become important treatment options for cancer care in many countries. This study aimed to examine recent trends in utilization of antineoplastic drugs, particularly the use of targeted therapies for treatment of cancer, by geographic region in Taiwan (northern, midwestern, southern, and eastern regions and the outer islands).Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of antineoplastic agents using 2009-2012 quarterly claims data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Yearly market shares by prescription volume and costs for targeted therapies among total antineoplastic agents by region were estimated. We used multivariate regression model and ANOVA to examine variations in utilization of targeted therapies between geographic regions and used ARIMA models to estimate longitudinal trends.Results: Population-adjusted use and costs of antineoplastic drugs (including targeted therapies) were highest in the southern region of Taiwan and lowest in the outer islands. We found a 4-fold difference in use of antineoplastic drugs and a 49-fold difference in use of targeted therapies between regions if the outer islands were included. There were minimal differences in use of antineoplastic drugs between other regions with about a 2-fold difference in use of targeted therapies. Without considering the outer islands, the market share by prescription volume and costs of targeted therapies increased almost 2-fold (1.84-1.90) and 1.5-fold (1.26-1.61) respectively between 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, region was not significantly associated with use of antineoplastic agents or use of targeted therapies after adjusting for confounders. Region was associated with costs of antineoplastic agents but it was not associated with costs of targeted therapies after confounding adjustments.Conclusions: Use of antineoplastic drugs overall and use of targeted therapies for treatment of cancer varied somewhat between regions in Taiwan; use was notably low in the outer islands. Strategies might be needed to ensure access to cancer care in each region as economic burden of cancer care increase due to growing use of targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Acoustic emission has been recognized as a potentially advanced technique to monitor the efficiency of high-velocity waterjet rock drilling. Identification of AE multi-sources signals becomes fundamental to correlate AE singles and rock drilling efficiency. This paper presents a controlled experimental scheme and frequency analysis to identify different signal sources from waterjet impact and rock failure, respectively. Acoustic signals were decomposed into low, medium, and high-frequency signals by using the variational mode decomposition (VMD) approach. Results indicate that the waterjet impact generates a wideband acoustic signal. The frequency distribution of the high-frequency signals exhibited a strong diversity among four materials because of their different acoustic attenuation. Furthermore, the waterjet pressure did not change the frequency domain distribution of the material. An obvious reduction of the high-frequency signals was observed while waterjet rock drilling. Furthermore, the main frequency of high-frequency signals starts to be time-dependent that causes from the rock failure process. The high-frequency band presented a good correlation with the rate of penetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Fluid imbibition is a recognized strong phenomenon in tight shale that could greatly influences the dynamic failure behaviors. An experimental study was carried out to account for the influences of three typical drilling fluids (Air, Oil-based, and Water-based) on dynamic mechanics of tight shale. The collected samples were separated into three groups by the treatment of the distilled water saturation, white oil saturation, and drying, respectively. The dynamic properties involving Young's modulus, Compression strength, and specific energy consuming were experimentally measured by using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). Results confirm that the fluid imbibition phenomena perform a promising influence on dynamic rock mechanics of tight shale. There are very different responses induced by air dry, oil, and water imbibition on dynamic rock strength, cutting size, and energy consuming. Oil imbibition is capable to enhance the strength, achieve uniform size of cutting, and consume less specific energy to break unit volume of rock. Comparatively, water imbibition sharply reduces the strength and consumes much less specific energy. Air dry condition makes much bigger and non-uniform cuttings and consumes the most specific energy. Those observations are no longer the same with obtained knowledge from sandstone and concrete, which attribute to the nanoscale pore distribution and fluid sensitivity of tight shale. Highlights • Fluid imbibition performs a promising influence on dynamic rock mechanics. • Dynamic strength of shale varies with fluid types, pore structure, and clay minerals. • Capillary force and chemical deterioration is a pair of competitive relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let k be an algebraic closure of a finite field of odd characteristic. We prove that for any rank two graded Higgs bundle with maximal Higgs field over a generic hyperbolic curve X 1 {X_{1}} defined over k, there exists a lifting X of the curve to the ring W ⁢ (k) {W(k)} of Witt vectors as well as a lifting of the Higgs bundle to a periodic Higgs bundle over X / W ⁢ (k) {X/W(k)}. These liftings give rise to a two-dimensional absolutely irreducible representation of the arithmetic fundamental group π 1 ⁢ (X K) {\pi_{1}(X_{K})} of the generic fiber of X. This curve X and its associated representation is in close relation to the canonical curve and its associated canonical crystalline representation in the p-adic Teichmüller theory for curves due to S. Mochizuki. Our result may be viewed as an analogue of the Hitchin–Simpson's uniformization theory of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces via Higgs bundles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) bits account for most of the footage drilled in the oil field. Abundant information relating to cutter-rock interactions and rock breaking mechanism are provided by the cuttings and Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) in single cutter tests, which are crucial for insuring the longevity and rate of penetration (ROP) enhancement of PDC bits. In this paper, a series of linear cutting tests was conducted at different depths of cut, back rake angles and cutting speeds on three kinds of rock. The formation of cuttings was recorded frame by frame with a high-speed camera. Then, the cuttings were collected and divided into five groups by sieving. Finally, the mass fraction change of cuttings in each group was compared with the MSE variation. The results show that a PDC cutter does not move at a constant speed: relatively slower when crushing and faster when chipping, and crushing dominates almost the entire cutting process. The mass fraction of chunklike cuttings generated in chipping is increased with decreasing back rake angle, while increasing depth of cut and cutting speed; and the mass fraction of powderlike cuttings generated in crushing shows an opposite trend. Furthermore, because of the crystalloblastic texture and well-developed cleavages in calcite, far more chunklike cuttings and totally different fracture surfaces are found when cutting marble, compared with sandstone and granite. Finally, a strong correlation between the mass fraction of cuttings and MSE is found. This indicates that the mass fraction of cuttings could be deemed as a simple method to evaluate the efficiency of rock breaking by PDC cutters. The results in this paper are expected to provide guidelines to the selection of drilling practices and PDC bit design. Highlights • The formation process of cuttings in each cutting test was imaged frame by frame. • In an overall cutting process, more than 90% of the time was invested in crushing. • The effects of different parameters on the mass fraction of cuttings are analyzed. • MSE has a positive correlation with the mass fraction of powderlike cuttings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample size determination is essential during the planning phases of clinical trials. To calculate the required sample size for paired right-censored data, the structure of the within-paired correlations needs to be pre-specified. In this article, we consider using popular parametric copula models, including the Clayton, Gumbel, or Frank families, to model the distribution of joint survival times. Under each copula model, we derive a sample size formula based on the testing framework for rank-based tests and non-rank-based tests (i.e., logrank test and Kaplan- Meier statistic, respectively). We also investigate how the power or the sample size was affected by the choice of testing methods and copula model under different alternative hypotheses. In addition to this, we examine the impacts of paired-correlations, accrual times, follow-up times, and the loss to follow-up rates on sample size estimation. Finally, two real-world studies are used to illustrate our method and R code is available to the user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to help understand hydraulic fracture propagation in shale formations through numerical simulations. The hydraulic fracture propagation regime in shale is analyzed considering the anisotropic nature of the shale rock formation and slick-water fracturing fluid. It is determined that the dominant mechanism of hydraulic fracture propagation is the so-called transitional regime that is characterized by a negligibly small fluid lag region and zero fluid front pressure. For the modeling of the hydraulic fracture evolution over time, we assume orthotropic linear-elastic rock media and that the flow of the fracturing fluid is governed by the Reynold's lubrication equation. For the discretization of the coupled solid-fluid equations within the 2D plane-strain context we use the extended finite element method for the rock media and the finite volume method for the lubrication equation. The problem of the hydraulic fracture evolution over time is modeled as stable quasi-static crack growth where time is the result of upholding the mass conservation principle between the fluid inflow and the crack volume. The Picard iterative approach is used to solve the discrete non-linearly coupled solid-fluid equations. Our model is verified against several analytical solutions. Subsequently, a five-stage hydraulic fracturing problem is simulated to study the interactions between the different fractures. Results show that the on-going hydraulic fractures are attracted by the pre-existing hydraulic fractures as a result of the change of the local stress field relative to the initial in-situ stress field. For the cases considered, fracture deflections are found to be most extensive with decreasing fracture spacing and in-situ stress difference, but insensitive with the increasing the ratio of Young's moduli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of waterjet drilling technology requires further insight into the rock failure mechanisms under waterjet impingement. By combining acoustic emission (AE) sensing and underwater sound recording techniques, an online system for monitoring submerged waterjet drilling has been developed. For four types of sedimentary rocks, their AE characteristics and correlations to the drilling performance have been obtained through time-frequency spectrum analysis. The area under the power spectrum density curve has been used as the indicator of AE energy. The results show that AE signals from the fluid dynamics and the rock failure are in different ranges of signal frequency. The main frequencies of the rock failure are within the higher range of 100-200 kHz, while the frequencies of the fluid dynamics are below 50 kHz. Further, there is a linear relationship between the AE energy and the drilling depth irrespective of rock type. The slope of the linear relationship is proportional to the rock strength and debris size. Furthermore, the AE-specific energy is a good indicator of the critical depth drilled by the waterjet. In conclusion, the AE characteristics on the power density and dominant frequency are capable of identifying the waterjet drilling performance on the rock materials and are correlated with the rock properties, i.e., rock strength and cutting size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tartary buckwheat are very popular as an important functional food material and its cultivation is very widespread in our whole world, but there obviously lack works in the researches of genetic breeding for agricultural and medicinal utilization. The aim of this study is to obtain good germplasm resources for agricultural and medicinal use of tartary buckwheat ( Fagopyrum tataricum) by inducing the tetraploid plants. Results: Four cultivars of F. tataricum, that is, Qianwei 2#, Jinku 2#, Chuanqiao 1#, and Liuqiao 1# were selected to experiment. The tips of seedlings with two true leaves were treated by 0.25% (w/v) colchicine solution for 48, 72, and 96 h, respectively. The chromosome number of treated plants was determined by metaphase chromosome counting of root tip cells and PMCs (pollen mother cells) meiosis observation. Tetraploid induction successfully occurred in all three treatments with an efficiency ranging from 12.13 to 54.55%. The chromosome number of the diploid plants was 2 n = 2 x = 16, and that of the induced tetraploid plants was 2 n = 4 x = 32. The typical morphological and physiological qualities were compared between the control diploid and corresponding induced tetraploid plants. Results showed that the induced tetraploid plants had obviously larger leaves, flowers, and seeds. Moreover, the content of seed protein and flavonoid were also increased in the tetraploid plants. The pollen diameter and capsule size of diploid plants were significantly smaller than those of tetraploid plants. Conclusion: Fagopyrum tataricum can be effectively induced into tetraploids by colchicines. The tetraploid induction can produce valuable germplasm resources for breeding and is a practicable breeding way in F. tataricum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers Bayesian variable selection problems for binary responses via stochastic search variable selection and Bayesian Lasso. To avoid matrix inversion in the corresponding Markov chain Monte Carlo implementations, the componentwise Gibbs sampler (CGS) idea is adopted. Moreover, we also propose automatic hyperparameter tuning rules for the proposed approaches. Simulation studies and a real example are used to demonstrate the performances of the proposed approaches. These results show that CGS approaches do not only have good performances in variable selection but also have the lower batch mean standard error values than those of original methods, especially for large number of covariates. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study assessed the feasibility and results of revisional bariatric surgery at a low-volume unit. This case series analysis was conducted from January 2017 to August 2020; the revision group comprised patients treated for weight regain (n = 6), insufficient weight loss (n = 3), and various complications (n = 6). Clinical characteristics and 30-day outcomes were assessed and compared with those of primary bariatric procedures (control, n = 173). A total of 8.0% (15/188) of patients underwent revisional procedures and have a significantly lower body mass index (33.1 vs. 39.9 kg/m2) and fewer comorbidities than controls. Gastric bypass was the most prevalent revisional procedure. A significantly longer operative duration (155 and 96 min; p < 0.001), longer length of stay (3.7 and 2.4 days), and higher 30-day complication rate (20.0% vs. 4.6%) were found in the revision group. There were no open conversions or mortality. A total of 5/6 weight regain patients achieved excessive weight loss > 50% versus only one insufficient weight loss patient who reached this goal. Complications, including marginal ulcer, fistula, and postsleeve gastrectomy stenosis, were alleviated after revision. Revisional surgery appears to be feasible and effective in a low-volume practice in patients with weight regain and complications after primary bariatric procedures; however, the benefits should be weighed against the risks. More robust evidence is required to support ongoing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexoelectricity, the linear coupling of strain gradient and electric polarization, is inherently a size-dependent phenomenon. The energy storage function for a flexoelectric material depends not only on polarization and strain, but also straingradient. Thus, conventional finite-element methods formulated solely on displacement are inadequate to treat flexoelectric solids since gradients raise the order of the governing differential equations. Here, we introduce a computational framework based on a mixed formulation developed previously by one of the present authors and a colleague. This formulation uses displacement and displacementgradient as separate variables which are constrained in a 'weighted integral sense' to enforce their known relation. We derive a variational formulation for boundary-value problems for piezo- and/or flexoelectric solids. We validate this computational framework against available exact solutions. Our new computational method is applied to more complex problems, including a plate with an elliptical hole, stationary cracks, as well as tension and shear of solids with a repeating unit cell. Our results address several issues of theoretical interest, generate predictions of experimental merit and reveal interesting flexoelectric phenomena with potential for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship block transportation problems are crucial issues to address in reducing the construction cost and improving the productivity of shipyards. Shipyards aim to maximize the workload balance of transporters with time constraint such that all blocks should be transported during the planning horizon. This process leads to three types of penalty time: empty transporter travel time, delay time, and tardy time. This study aims to minimize the sum of the penalty time. First, this study presents the problem of ship block transportation with the generalization of the block transportation restriction on the multi-type transporter. Second, the problem is transformed into the classical traveling salesman problem and assignment problem through a reasonable model simplification and by adding a virtual node to the proposed directed graph. Then, a heuristic algorithm based on greedy algorithm is proposed to assign blocks to available transporters and sequencing blocks for each transporter simultaneously. Finally, the numerical experiment method is used to validate the model, and its result shows that the proposed algorithm is effective in realizing the efficient use of the transporters in shipyards. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the promising application of the proposed method to efficiently improve the utilization of transporters and to reduce the cost of ship block logistics for shipyards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peritoneal dissemination of tumor has high mortality and is associated with the loss of epithelial features, acquisition of motile mesenchymal morphology characteristics, and invasive properties by tumor cells. Melatonin is an endogenously produced molecule in all plant species that is known to exert antitumor activity, but to date, its underlying mechanisms and antiperitoneal metastasis efficacy is not well defined. This study determined the antiperitoneal dissemination potential of melatonin in vivo and assessed its association with the inhibition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition ( EMT) signaling mechanism by endoplasmic reticulum ( ER) stress, which may be a major molecular mechanism of melatonin against cancer. The results demonstrate that melatonin inhibited peritoneal metastasis in vivo and activated ER stress in Cignal ERSE Reporter Assay, organelle structure in transmission electron microscopy images, calpain activity, and protein biomarkers like p-elf2 α. Moreover, the overexpression of transcription factor C/ EBP β in gastric cancer interacted with NF κB and further regulates COX-2 expression. These were dissociated and downregulated by melatonin, as proven by immunofluorescence imaging, immunoprecipitation, EMSA, and Ch IP assay. Melatonin or gene silencing of C/ EBP β decreased the EMT protein markers (E-cadherin, Snail, and Slug) and Wnt/beta-catenin activity by Topflash activity, and increased ER stress markers. In an animal study, the results of melatonin therapy were consistent with those of in vitro findings and attenuated systemic proangiogenesis factor production. In conclusion, C/ EBP β and NF κB inhibition by melatonin may impede both gastric tumor growth and peritoneal dissemination by inducing ER stress and inhibiting EMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanopore structure and its multiscale feature significantly affect the shale-gas permeability. This paper employs fractal theory to build a shale-gas permeability model, particularly considering the effects of multiscale flow within a multiscale pore space. Contrary to previous studies which assume a bundle of capillary tubes with equal size, in this research, this model reflects various flow regimes that occur in multiscale pores and takes the measured pore-size distribution into account. The flow regime within different scales is individually determined by the Knudsen number. The gas permeability is an integral value of individual permeabilities contributed from pores of different scales. Through comparing the results of five shale samples, it is confirmed that the gas permeability varies with the pore-size distribution of the samples, even though their intrinsic permeabilities are the same. Due to consideration of multiscale flow, the change of gas permeability with pore pressure becomes more complex. Consequently, it is necessary to cover the effects of multiscale flow while determining shale-gas permeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the effects of exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA) treatment on germination, membrane lipid peroxidation, activities of antioxidant enzymes and ultra-structure of embryo cells of Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus L.) seeds with different moisture contents (4%, 10% and 16%) after ageing at 45°C for 48 h. Germination percentage and activities of enzymes declined, electrical conductivity value of seeds increased significantly as moisture content increased from 4% to 16%. However, ascorbic acid treatment had protective effects on alleviating the damage of ageing to seeds membrane integrity and structure of mitochondria, which was in accordance with the decrease of electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, especially for seeds with 10% moisture content. Ascorbic acid treatment significantly (P<0.05) inhibited the loss of seed germination at 10% moisture content, and correspondingly electrical conductivity decreased and activities of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) improved. In addition, ultra structure observation of embryo cells showed that serious damage occurred in seeds with 16% moisture content, including the broken cellular and nuclear membrane, pyknotic nucleolus and swollen mitochondria. Although activities of CAT, APX and GR were improved by the exogenous AsA, it had no obviously protective effect on integrity of membrane system and mitochondria. Seed moisture of Siberian wildrye played a vital role in the function of AsA, which provided an efficient treatment to deal with the antioxidant effects of storage and ageing at seed moisture of 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let M n , 2 n + 2 be the coarse moduli space of CY manifolds arising from a crepant resolution of double covers of P n branched along 2 n + 2 hyperplanes in general position. We show that the monodromy group of a good family for M n , 2 n + 2 is Zariski dense in the corresponding symplectic or orthogonal group if n ≥ 3 . In particular, the period map does not give a uniformization of any partial compactification of the coarse moduli space as a Shimura variety whenever n ≥ 3 . This disproves a conjecture of Dolgachev. As a consequence, the fundamental group of the coarse moduli space of m ordered points in P n is shown to be large once it is not a point. Similar Zariski-density result is obtained for moduli spaces of CY manifolds arising from cyclic covers of P n branched along m hyperplanes in general position. A classification towards the geometric realization problem of B. Gross for type A bounded symmetric domains is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a construction of associating a de Rham subbundle to a Higgs subbundle in characteristic p in the geometric case. As applications, we obtain a Higgs semistability result and a W2-unliftable result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a directed stochastic searching algorithm is defined. It is a root or optimal parameter searching algorithm with stochastic searching directions. This algorithm is especially relevant when the objective function is complex or is observed with errors. We prove that the resulting roots or estimators have well-controlled biases under certain conditions. We examine the proposed method by finding the maximum likelihood estimates for which the corresponding likelihood function has or does not have a closed-form representation in both the simulations and the real cases. Finally, the limitations and the consequences when multiple solutions exist are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A material is said to be flexoelectric when it polarizes in response to strain gradients. The phenomenon is well known in liquid crystals and biomembranes but has received less attention in hard materials such as ceramics. Here we derive the governing equations for a flexoelectric solid under small deformation. We assume a linear constitutive relation and use it to prove a reciprocal theorem for flexoelectric materials as well as to obtain a higher-order Navier equation in the isotropic case. The Navier equation is similar to that in Mindlin's theory of strain-gradient elasticity. We also provide analytical solutions to several boundary value problems. We predict size-dependent electromechanical properties and flexoelectric modulation of material behavior. Our results can be used to interpret experiments on flexoelectric materials which are becoming increasingly sophisticated due to the advent of nanoscale probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The static surface acidification experiment integrating SEM microstructure mapping and micromechanical test was proposed to understand the effects of rock microstructure on the fracture etching of geothermal dolomite reservoir. • The crystal structure and pores distribution highly influence on the fracture etching and the ultimate conductivity of geothermal dolomite reservoir. Acid etching in a naturally fractured carbonate formation is one of the most significant mechanisms to enhance the fluid conductivity in fractures. In this paper, an acid dissolution experiment has been employed to understand the influence of rock microstructure on the acid etching involving reaction rate, the morphology of acid corrosion, and the embedding strength of a fracture surface. Three typical dolomite samples with almost the same mineral composition but distinct microstructures were selected from the Wumishan Geothermal carbonate formation that is composed of dolomudstone, algal dolomudstone, and silt-to-fine crystalline dolostone. A couple of measurement approaches including the thin section, SEM, 3D laser scanning, and nano indentation tests were used to observe and quantify the microstructures, reaction rate, and embedding strength of the fracture surface. Microstructure characterization indicates that the dolomudstone contains much finer crystal particles and a loose microstructure compared to other two samples. On the contrary, the silt-to-fine crystalline dolostone reserves coarse crystal particles and a tight microstructure. The structure of algal dolomudstone falls in between those two mentioned cases. Results of acid dissolving reveal that rock microstructures offer control over the acid-rock reaction of dolomite. Specifically, the loose microstructure of dolomite depicts a fast acid reaction, a rough surface, but weak embedding strength, while the compact microstructure behaves as a slow acid reaction, a uniform etching, and with a strong embedding strength. The knowledge obtained from this study is valuable to optimize the acid dissolution strategy from the view of the microstructure analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We obtain all linear Chern number inequalities satisfied by any smooth complete intersection threefold with ample canonical bundle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight parasitoids,Cleptes semiauratus(L.) (Chrysididae),Himerta impunctaSheng,Polyblastus(Labroctonus)westringiHolmgren,Olesicampe erythropyga(Holmgren),Campodorussp. andMesochorussp. (Ichneumonidae),Tritneptis lophyrorum(Ruschka) (Pteromalidae) andMyxexoristopssp. (Tachinidae), reared from cocoons ofPristiphora erichsonii(Hartig) (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) in Changbai Mountains, Jilin Province in 2009–2010, are reported. Four hyperparasitoids ofP. erichsonii,Phygadeuon bidentatus(Uchida) andPhygadeuon rugulosusGravenhorst andTrichopriasp. (Diapriidae) reared fromMyxexoristopssp.,Phygadeuonsp. reared fromC. semiauratus, are reported for the first time. The account ratio of Chrysididae, Ichneumonidae, Tachinidae and Pteromalidae was 59.5, 5.6, 32.4 and 2.4%, respectively. The parasitism rates of parasitoids ofP. erichsoniiwere 31.5% in May 2009, 19.8% in October 2009 and 15.9% in June 2010. The emergence periods of parasitoids were from 16 May to 7 June 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is devoted to the study of the Higgs bundle associated with the universal abelian variety over the good reduction of a Shimura curve of PEL type. Due to the endomorphism structure, the Higgs bundle decomposes into the direct sum of Higgs subbundles of rank two. They are basically divided into two types: uniformizing type and unitary type. As the first application we obtain the mass formula counting the number of geometric points of the degeneracy locus in the Newton polygon stratification. We show that each Higgs subbundle is Higgs semistable. Furthermore, for each Higgs subbundle of unitary type, either it is strongly semistable, or its Frobenius pull-back of a suitable power achieves the upper bound of the instability. We describe the Simpson-Ogus-Vologodsky correspondence for the Higgs subbundles in terms of the classical Cartier descent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Personality traits have impacts on individuals'' response to stress and mood expression. The current study aimed to investigate the profile of personality traits in patients with bipolar disorders and major depressive disorder (MDD). Familial aggregation of personality traits in mood disorder families was also evaluated. Methods: We recruited 260 clinical patients of MDD (92), bipolar disorder-I and II (BP-I=111, BP-II=57), 190 first-degree relatives, and 180 controls. Four personality traits were assessed using the Eysenck and Tridimensional Personality Questionnaires, including Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), Harm Avoidance (HA), and Novelty Seeking (NS). The magnitude of familiality of personality traits in mood disorder families was evaluated by mixed models and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Results: Patients with mood disorders had lower E, and higher N, HA and NS than controls. Unaffected relatives were not differed from controls in the four personality traits. BP-I had higher E, NS and lower N, HA than MDD patients (p<0.01). The scale N further distinguished BP-I from BP-II (p=0.02) with lower N among BP-I patients. There exhibited moderate familiality in E (ICC=0.184–0.239) and HA (ICC=0.355) in bipolar disorder families. Limitation: Personality traits were accessed cross-sectionally without quantitatively controlled severity of mood symptoms. Conclusion: Different patterns of personality traits distinguish patients from unaffected individuals as well as separate diagnoses of mood disorders, indicating the usage of more comprehensive evaluation of personality traits in clinical settings. Familiality of extraversion and harm avoidance in bipolar disorder families provides insights for further investigating correlates of comorbid behavioral problems in bipolar disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Genetic diversity of 35 Fagopyrum populations belonging to thirteen taxa was studied using isozyme variation at 16 loci for nine enzyme systems (ADH, α-AMY, EST, GDH, GOT, IDH, MDH, PGM, and POD). The mean number of alleles per locus (A p) showed little variation, ranging from 1.38 to 1.71. The mean percentage of polymorphic (P) of the thirteen taxa was high, ranging from 68.75% to 93.75. The mean expected heterozygosity (He ) ranged from 0.21 to 0.37. Obvious grouping of populations according to taxonomic species was found in the cluster analysis, confirmed that the thirteen taxa studied were independent, with a clear boundary. Based on the dendrogram, the phylogenic relationship of Fagopyrum species are in agreement with the achene size were found, and it was inferred that southwestern China should be the original center of cultivated buckwheat. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of long-term applications of fertilizers and manure (1982 to 2003) and short-term irrigation level (2002 and 2003) on accumulation of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) in soil at Zhangye Oasis, China. The treatments included manure (M) and no manure (M0) as main plots; check (Ck), nitrogen (N), nitrogen + phosphorus (NP), and nitrogen + phosphorus + potassium (NPK) as subplots; and two amounts of irrigation (I1 and I2) as subsubplots. The application of N alone resulted in large NO3-N accumulation in soil, accounting for 6% of the applied N, and the lowest crop N recovery. Application of manure resulted in increased NO3-N in the soil profile compared to treatment with no manure, and the MN treatment resulted in the greatest amount of NO3-N in soil. Nitrogen applied with P and/or K reduced the amount of NO3-N in soil in both manure and no-manure treatments compared with N only. The unaccounted N was greatest (60%) in the N-alone treatment and lowest (30%) in the NPK treatment. When manure plus fertilizer were applied together, the unaccounted N ranged from 35%-42%. Based on results from only 2 years, greater amounts of irrigation (I2) caused greater leaching of NO3-N in the soil profile compared with I1, especially in treatments receiving manure. The implications of these findings are that these high amounts of accumulated NO3-N in surface and subsoil layers can be a potential threat to surface water, underground water, and air quality in the long run. This accumulated N in the soil profile can be used as a source of available N for future crops and should be recycled by using proper crop, soil, fertilizer, and water-management strategies/practices. The findings also suggest the need for further research to make an effective and efficient use of this accumulated NO3-N in the soil profile in order to save cost of N fertilizer application to future crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper we show an Arakelov inequality for semi-stable families of algebraic curves of genus over characteristic p with nontrivial Kodaira–Spencer maps. We apply this inequality to obtain an upper bound of the number of algebraic curves of p-rank zero in a semi-stable family over characteristic p with nontrivial Kodaira–Spencer map in terms of the genus of a general closed fiber, the genus of the base curve and the number of singular fibres. The parallel results for smooth families of Abelian varieties over k with -lifting assumption are also obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Flavonoid and icariin contents of 87 samples drawn from 21 accessions of seven species native to Guizhou, China, of the genus Epimedium were determined by means of ultraviolet and high-performance liquid chromatography. The contents differed significantly among the species and accessions. E. acuminatum, E. yinjiangense, E. myrianthum, E. wushanense, and E. simplicifloum had greater amounts of flavonoids and icariin than E. letorrhizum and E. luodianense. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acute abdominal pain during pregnancy is challenging, both from a diagnostic and management perspective. A non-localized, persistent pain out of proportion to physical examination is a sign that advanced imaging may be necessary. Mesenteric venous thrombosis in a pregnant patient is extremely rare, but if diagnosis is delayed, can be potentially fatal to both the mother and the fetus. We present here a pregnant patient in the tenth week of gestation with classic clinical manifestations of mesenteric vein thrombosis and the corresponding findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derive the extreme value distribution of the skew-symmetric family, the probability density function of the latter being defined as twice the product of a symmetric density and a skewing function. We show that, under certain conditions on the skewing function, this extreme value distribution is the same as that for the symmetric density. We illustrate our results using various examples of skew-symmetric distributions as well as two data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Correlation between the polarizations in the near-infrared and optical wavebands is studied with simultaneous observational data of blazars. It is found that the degree and angle of polarization in the near-infrared are correlated strongly with those in the optical. And so are the radiation fluxes at the two wavebands. It follows that the near-infrared radiation and polarization of blazars are mainly from synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons, and come from the same region as the optical waveband. Correlations between the three near-infrared color indices J-H, H-K and J-K are also studied using the 2MASS data. It is found that both J-H and H-K are strongly correlated with J-K, while there is no correlation between J-H and H-K. Lastly, we studied the color index magnitude relationship and found that the near-infrared spectrum gets flatter as the source gets brighter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Prediction of glioma is crucial to provide a precise treatment plan to optimize the prognosis of children with glioma. However, studies on the grading of pediatric gliomas using radiomics are limited. Meanwhile, existing methods are mainly based on only radiomics features, ignoring intuitive information about tumor morphology on traditional imaging features. This study aims to utilize multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify high-grade and low-grade gliomas in children and establish a classification model based on radiomics features and clinical features. A total of 85 children with gliomas underwent tumor resection, and part of the tumor tissue was examined pathologically. Patients were categorized into high-grade and low-grade groups according to World Health Organization guidelines. Preoperative multiparametric MRI data, including contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging, T2-weighted imaging, T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, diffusion-weighted images, and apparent diffusion coefficient sequences, were obtained and labeled by two radiologists. The images were preprocessed, and radiomics features were extracted for each MRI sequence. Feature selection methods were used to select radiomics features, and statistically significant clinical features were identified using t-tests. The selected radiomics features and conventional MRI features were used to train the AutoGluon models. The improved model, based on radiomics features and conventional MRI features, achieved a balanced classification accuracy of 66.59%. The cross-validated areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the classifier of AutoGluon frame were 0.8071 on the test dataset. The results indicate that the performance of AutoGluon models can be improved by incorporating conventional MRI features, highlighting the importance of the experience of radiologists in accurately grading pediatric gliomas. This method can help predict the grade of pediatric glioma before pathological examination and assist in determining the appropriate treatment plan, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, drugs, and gene surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the longitudinal trajectory of intrinsic capacity over a 3‐year period among long‐term care recipients in Taiwan, its association with functional decline and the onset of severe dependency. Methods: A total of 9448 individuals aged ≥50 years utilizing home and community‐based long‐term care services with complete data from three separate evaluations in Taiwan were included in the study. We carried out a latent class linear mixed model to identify heterogeneous patterns of intrinsic capacity over time, a mixed‐effects model to investigate their impact on activities of daily living and a Kaplan–Meier analysis to examine the onset year of severe dependency among different intrinsic capacity classes. Results: The results identified four classes sharing similar longitudinal the intrinsic capacity trajectories: "high‐stable" (20.13%), "normal‐stable" (40.58%), "sensory‐dysfunction" (29.53%) and "all‐dysfunction" (9.76%). Individuals with predisposing characteristics were associated with lower activities of daily living, with the exception of age and education level. In addition, the poor intrinsic capacity class (b from −16.94 to −6.61, P < 0.001) had a worse evolution in terms of activity of daily living scores, and was associated with an earlier onset of severe dependency in 2.5 years in the all‐dysfunction class. Conclusions: Heterogeneous patterns of intrinsic capacity that delay further functional decline are promising markers of function trajectories for a person‐centered care approach in long‐term care services. Targeting the needs of intrinsic capacity groups to prevent functional decline offer insights into: (i) strengthening function‐centered care modalities to delay severe dependency as individuals get older; and (ii) validating regular monitoring intrinsic capacity as an early warning system to achieve healthy aging. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 516–522. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the macroeconomic effects of government spending under lump-sum and income tax financing. Discussion on hypothetical economy; Equilibrium of a model economy; Methodology of the study; Conclusions.

Phase separation of multicomponent liquid mixtures plays an integral part in many processes ranging from industry to cellular biology. In many cases the morphology of coexisting phases is crucially linked to the function of the separated mixture, yet it is unclear what determines the morphology when multiple phases are present. We developed a graph theory approach to predict the topology of coexisting phases from a given set of surface energies, enumerate all topologically distinct morphologies, and reverse engineer conditions for surface energies that produce the target morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]