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Elevated serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels are associated with the development of native coronary atherosclerosis. We aimed to establish a new method for the simultaneous detection of hs-CRP and Lp(a) to predict the development of atherosclerosis. A one-step time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TRFIA) with europium(III) (Eu

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignancy that is becoming increasingly common in adolescents. OS stem cells (OSCs) form a dynamic subset of OS cells that are responsible for malignant progression and chemoradiotherapy resistance. The unique properties of OSCs, including self-renewal, multilineage differentiation and metastatic potential, 149 depend closely on their tumor microenvironment. In recent years, the likelihood of its dynamic plasticity has been extensively studied. Importantly, the tumor microenvironment appears to act as the main regulatory component of OS cell plasticity. For these reasons aforementioned, novel strategies for OS treatment focusing on modulating OS cell plasticity and the possibility of modulating the composition of the tumor microenvironment are currently being explored. In this paper, we review recent studies describing the phenomenon of OSCs and factors known to influence phenotypic plasticity. The microenvironment, which can regulate OSC plasticity, has great potential for clinical exploitation and provides different perspectives for drug and treatment design for OS.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have the potency to function as modulators in the process of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This investigation was performed to decipher the mechanism of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs)-derived EVs in myocardial I/R injury with the involvement of microRNA-129 (miR-129). HUVECs-secreted EVs were collected and identified. An I/R mouse model was developed, and cardiomyocytes were used for vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion model establishment. Differentially expressed miRNAs in myocardial tissues after EV treatment were assessed using microarray analysis. The target relationship between miR-129 and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was identified using a dual-luciferase assay. Gain- and loss-function studies regarding miR-129 were implemented to figure out its roles in myocardial I/R injury. Meanwhile, the activation of the nuclear factor-kappa-binding (NF-κB) p65 signaling and NOD-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was evaluated. EVs diminished the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes and the secretion of inflammatory factors, and all these trends were reversed by miR-129 reduction. miR-129 bound to the 3'-untranslated region of TLR4 directly. The NF-κB p65 signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome were abnormally activated after I/R injury, whose impairment after EVs was partially restored by miR-129 downregulation. This study illustrated that EVs could carry miR-129 to mitigate myocardial I/R injury via downregulating TLR4 and disrupting the NF-κB signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome.

To enable the use of anthocyanins in food with high oil content, bilberry anthocyanins were acylated with cinnamic acids to address their poor lipid solubility. Structural analyses based on Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses indicated that cinnamic acids were efficiently grafted onto 6-OH of glucoside and galactoside and 5-OH of arabinose through an esterification reaction. The higher the dose of the acylating agent, the higher the acylation degree (AD) and the lower the total anthocyanidin content (TAC) of bilberry anthocyanins. An-Ci4 presented the highest AD value (6.61%), and An-Ci3 exhibited the lowest TAC value (50.16 mg/g). After acylating with lipophilic cinnamic acids, the lipid solubility of acylated bilberry anthocyanins significantly improved. The color of the native bilberry anthocyanin solution dissolved in ethyl acetate and dioxane was transparent. By contrast, the acylated anthocyanin solution dissolved in these solvents was unmistakably red. In terms of the antioxidant activity, acylated bilberry anthocyanins demonstrated inferior performance in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) clearance but a better inhibition ratio in β-carotene bleaching assay compared with native bilberry anthocyanins. As AD value increased, the DPPH clearance of acylated anthocyanins decreased and their inhibition ratio increased in β-carotene bleaching assay.

Background: The initiation of Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) results in rapid and profound hypogonadism, resulting in significant bone and muscle loss, increasing the risk for osteoporosis (OP), falls, and fractures. Despite this, there exist very low rates of guideline adherent care regarding bone health in this population. We developed and implemented a healthy bone prescription tool entitled BoneRx to facilitate the uptake of guideline-concordant bone health care into practice and increase patient awareness and promote the uptake of health bone behaviours (HBBs). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional pre-BoneRx implementation (n = 143) vs. post-implementation (n = 149) cohort study to evaluate the impact on (i) bone health care, patient engagement in HBB, and patient knowledge and health beliefs regarding OP. Results: There was a significant difference pre- vs. post BoneRx implementation on receipt of baseline BMD (34.7% vs. 59.5%, p < 0.0001) and bone health counselling (32.4% vs. 59.9%, p < 0.0001). More participants in the post-BoneRx implementation cohort reported taking vitamin D supplements 57% vs. 81% (p < 0.001) and calcium supplements 39% vs. 61% (p < 0.001). Physical activity levels also significantly increased (p = 0.021). No differences were detected in OP knowledge or feelings of OP susceptibility, seriousness, or health motivation. Conclusion: BoneRx is a simple, cost-effective, and acceptable strategy that could improve the care of PCa survivors receiving ADT.

Although PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are widely used as first-line treatment for patients with advanced tumors or as adjuvant therapy for patients with early-stage tumors, their efficacy is only 15-60%. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that biomarkers such as PD-L1 expression levels, microsatellite instability, and tumor mutation burden may assist in predicting the anti-tumor efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. However, their clinical application value is limited, and there is currently a dearth of specific clinical markers to monitor or predict the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Recently, studies have exposed that the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors is positively correlated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs), suggesting that the latter may effectively predict anti-tumor efficacy. While there are controversies, a systematic understanding of the reasons and influencing factors of its correlation is still lacking. Therefore, this review aimed to introduce and discuss the latest research on the correlation between the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors and irAEs. We identified that this positive correlation might be related to adipose tissue, T cells, pharmacokinetic characteristics, and antigen spread. In addition, the severity of irAEs, the duration of the use of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, the comprehensive evaluation method of the severity of irAEs, and the genetic determinants are potentially the most significant bias factors when evaluating this correlation.

Piezoresistive effect is crucial in a pressure sensor design. Therefore, a theoretical model that can accurately predict the gauge factor ( GF) of graphene pressure sensors should be designed. In this study, the function relationship between the relative change in resistance and the strain was established using the Fermi velocity as the intermediate variable. A theoretical model that can be used for various substrates was established after considering the anisotropic properties of graphene and the principle of action of pressure sensors. Tests on the graphene pressure sensor device fabricated using semiconductor technology revealed that the GF [ GF = (ΔR/R)/ε] of the device was 1.14, which was within the theoretical prediction range (1.06–2.08). Furthermore, the reported Poisson's ratio values of various substrates were substituted into the calculation formula of the GF. The results revealed that the predicted value was highly consistent with the experimental test results. This result indicated that the theoretical model suitable for predicting the GF of graphene pressure sensors with various substrates is universal. This theory can provide theoretical guidance for the development of high-sensitivity graphene pressure sensors.

The Gamma-Ray Integrated Detectors (GRID) is a space mission concept dedicated to monitoring the transient gamma-ray sky in the energy range from 10 keV to 2 MeV using scintillation detectors onboard CubeSats in low Earth orbits. The primary targets of GRID are the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the local universe. The scientific goal of GRID is, in synergy with ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors such as LIGO and VIRGO, to accumulate a sample of GRBs associated with the merger of two compact stars and study jets and related physics of those objects. It also involves observing and studying other gamma-ray transients such as long GRBs, soft gamma-ray repeaters, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, and solar flares. With multiple CubeSats in various orbits, GRID is unaffected by the Earth occultation and serves as a full-time and all-sky monitor. Assuming a horizon of 200 Mpc for ground-based GW detectors, we expect to see a few associated GW-GRB events per year. With about 10 CubeSats in operation, GRID is capable of localizing a faint GRB like 170817A with a 90% error radius of about 10 degrees, through triangulation and flux modulation. GRID is proposed and developed by students, with considerable contribution from undergraduate students, and will remain operated as a student project in the future. The current GRID collaboration involves more than 20 institutes and keeps growing. On August 29th, the first GRID detector onboard a CubeSat was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit and is currently under test., accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy

Tissue dynamics require regulated interactions between adherens junctions and cytoskeletal networks. For example, myosin-rich adherens junctions recruit the cytohesin Arf-GEF Steppke, which down-regulates junctional tension and facilitates tissue stretching. We dissected this recruitment mechanism with structure-function and other analyses of Steppke and Stepping stone, an implicated adaptor protein. During Drosophila dorsal closure, Steppke's coiled-coil domain was necessary and sufficient for junctional recruitment. Purified coiled-coil domains of Steppke and Stepping stone heterodimerized through a hydrophobic surface of the Steppke domain. This mapped surface was required for Steppke's junctional localization and tissue regulation. Stepping stone colocalized with Steppke at junctions, and was required for junctional Steppke localization and proper tissue stretching. A second conserved region of Stepping stone was necessary and largely sufficient for junctional localization. Remarkably, this region could substitute for the Steppke coiled-coil domain for junction localization and regulation, suggesting the main role of the Steppke coiled-coil domain is linkage to the junctional targeting region of Stepping stone. Thus, coiled-coil heterodimerization with Stepping stone normally recruits Step to junctions. Intriguingly, Stepping stone's junctional localization also seems partly dependent on Steppke.

This paper focuses on the lane-changing trajectory planning (LTP) process in the automatic driving technologies. Existing studies on the LTP algorithms are primarily the static planning method in which the states of the surrounding vehicles of a lane-changing vehicle are assumed to keep unchanged in the whole lane-changing process. However, in real-world traffic, the velocities of the surrounding vehicles change dynamically, and the lane-changing vehicle needs to adjust its velocity and positions correspondingly in real-time to maintain safety. To address such limitations, the dynamic lane-changing trajectory planning (DLTP) model is proposed in the limited literature. This paper proposes a novel DLTP model consisting of the lane-changing starting-point determination module, trajectory decision module and trajectory generation module. The model adopts a time-independent polynomial trajectory curve to avoid the unrealistic assumptions on lane-changing velocities and accelerations in the existing DLTP model. Moreover, a rollover-avoidance algorithm and a collision-avoidance algorithm containing a reaction time are presented to guarantee the lane-changing safety of automated vehicles, even in an emergent braking situation. The field lane-changing data from NGSIM data are used to construct a real traffic environment for lane-changing vehicles and verify the effectiveness of the proposed model, and CarSim is applied to investigate the traceability of the planned lane-changing trajectories using the proposed model. The results indicate that an automated vehicle can complete the lane-changing process smoothly, efficiently and safely following the trajectory planned by the proposed model, and the planned velocity and trajectory can be well-tracked by automated vehicles.

Peroxisomal proliferation is highly stimulated during the biosynthesis of mycotoxins and plant infection by Fusarium graminearum. Currently, the functions of the peroxisome in these cellular processes are poorly understood. In this study, we applied genetic, cell biological and biochemical analyses to investigate the functions of the peroxisomes. We constructed targeted deletion of docking machinery components, including FgPex13, FgPex14 and the filamentous fungal specific peroxin FgPex33. Our results indicated that peroxisome dysfunction resulted in a shortage of acetyl-CoA, the precursor of trichothecene biosynthesis, and subsequently decreased deoxynivalenol (DON) production. Deletion mutants of ΔFgPex13, ΔFgPex14 or ΔFgPex33 showed an increased accumulation of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced phosphorylation of MAP (Mitogen-Activated Protein) kinase FgMgv1. In addition, mutants of the docking peroxin exhibited increased sensitivity toward host oxidative bursts and cell wall integrity stress agents and reduced virulence on host plants. More importantly, we found for the first time that FgPex14 is required for pexophagy in F. graminearum. Overall, our study suggests that peroxisomes play critical roles in DON biosynthesis and virulence in F. graminearum.

The effects of four sand contents on the compressive, flexural and splitting-tensile strength of cement mortars were evaluated. Moreover, we experimentally investigated the pore structure of cement mortar brought about by changing the sand content and water/cement ratio. The changes in the pore structure were quantified by measuring the porosity and pore size distribution obtained by using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) technique. The test results show that the strengths of cement mortar increase with increasing sand content. It is also suggested that the traditional water/cement ratio law can be applied to cement mortar with different sand contents, provided that a slight modification is introduced. Sand content is an important parameter influencing the pore structure of cement mortar. Moreover, there is a good relationship between the pore structure and strength of cement mortar.

The Wedding Spectacle Across Contemporary Media and Culture: Something Old, Something New, edited by Jilly Boyce Kay, Melanie Kennedy, and Helen Wood, scrutinizes the patent discord between the inc...

In this work, a new finite element (FE) model calibration method of concrete dams based on strong-motion records and multivariate relevant vector machines (MRVM) is proposed. The modal features of a dam are extracted using second order blind identification (SOBI) based method at first. For some selected combinations of uncertain parameters of the FE model using the Latin hypercube design, the corresponding structural modal features are calculated using the finite element method (FEM). With these data, a procedure to calibrate the uncertain parameters of a dam’s dynamic FE model is developed. By taking the uncertain parameters as inputs and the calculated structural modal features using FEM as outputs, the MRVM model is trained to record the complex relationship between them. Then, the genetic algorithm (GA) is adopted to solve the optimization problem corresponding to the dynamic FE model calibration problem, and the trained MRVM model, instead of FEM, is used to obtain the modal parameters of a dam for different feasible solutions during the optimization search process to improve the computational efficiency. Using the simulated seismic response records of a numerical example the accuracy, robustness and computation efficiency of the proposed dynamic FE model calibration method is verified. The analysis result using the strong-motion records of a realistic concrete dam indicates that the proposed dynamic FE model calibration method has good performance.

Author(s): Yuan, K; Zhu, Q; Zheng, S; Zhao, L; Chen, M; Riley, WJ; Cai, X; Ma, H; Li, F; Wu, H; Chen, L | Abstract: Land-use and land-cover change significantly modify local land-surface characteristics and water/energy exchanges, which can lead to atmospheric circulation and regional climate changes. In particular, deforestation accounts for a large portion of global land-use changes, which transforms forests into other land cover types, such as croplands and grazing lands. Many previous efforts have focused on observing and modeling land–atmosphere–water/energy fluxes to investigate land–atmosphere coupling induced by deforestation. However, interpreting land–atmosphere–water/energy-flux responses to deforestation is often complicated by the concurrent impacts from shifts in land-surface properties versus background atmospheric forcings. In this study, we used 29 paired FLUXNET sites, to improve understanding of how deforested land surfaces drive changes in surface-energy-flux partitioning. Each paired sites included an intact forested and non-forested site that had similar background climate. We employed transfer entropy, a method based on information theory, to diagnose directional controls between coupling variables, and identify nonlinear cause–effect relationships. Transfer entropy is a powerful tool to detective causal relationships in nonlinear and asynchronous systems. The paired eddy covariance flux measurements showed consistent and strong information flows from vegetation activity (gross primary productivity (GPP)) and physical climate (e.g. shortwave radiation, air temperature) to evaporative fraction (EF) over both non-forested and forested land surfaces. More importantly, the information transfers from radiation, precipitation, and GPP to EF were significantly reduced at non-forested sites, compared to forested sites. We then applied these observationally constrained metrics as benchmarks to evaluate the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land model (ELM). ELM predicted vegetation controls on EF relatively well, but underpredicted climate factors on EF, indicating model deficiencies in describing the relationships between atmospheric state and surface fluxes. Moreover, changes in controls on surface energy flux partitioning due to deforestation were not detected in the model. We highlight the need for benchmarking model simulated surface-energy fluxes and the corresponding causal relationships against those of observations, to improve our understanding of model predictability on how deforestation reshapes land surface energy fluxes.

Aim at improving the poor stability of natural anthocyanins applied in intelligent color indicator packing materials, anthocyanins from blueberry was acylated with maleic anhydride through means of solid-phase grafting method. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis demonstrated that maleic acid was successfully grafted onto blueberry anthocyanins. All the four acylated anthocyanins (with different acylated degree) were better in stability, but were slightly less efficient at scavenging the DPPH radical, compared with their native non-acylated form. An-MA2 (acylated degree was 7.68%) got the lowest color loss (27.62% at 19th day), 23.19% lower than that of An-MA0 (native anthocyanins). After reacting with maleic anhydride, anthocyanins kept its pH-color response characteristics and showed distinct color differences at different pH value. In addition, the NH3 response characteristics of acylated anthocyanins were similar to those of non-acylated anthocyanins, but lagged slightly in response speed.

Vadose zone has been proven as an essential buffer zone for aquifer recharge. However, most previous researches associated with vadose zone influence of groundwater recharge concern granular porous media aquifers. Despite of the massive karst formations on surface of earth, the role of karst vadose zone on affecting recharge to the underneath karst aquifer is largely unknown. The objective of this study is to conceptualize and understand the influence of a thick karst vadose zone on groundwater recharge in a regional karst formation. In this work, an integrated field and numerical investigation on such a thick vadose zone above the regional karst aquifer is conducted, where the field component of the investigation involves survey and observation of hydraulic heads and spring discharge, and the numerical component of the investigation involves coupled unsaturated–saturated modeling exercises. The numerical simulation works are conducted by building the following three models: Model 1, a coupled saturated–unsaturated model; Model 2, a coupled saturated–unsaturated model without preferential infiltration; Model 3, a saturated flow model without vadose zone process. The influence of the vadose zone on groundwater recharge is analyzed by comparing the results of those three models. The comparison results of the spring discharge/groundwater level-time curves show that in karst area with a thick vadose zone like the study area, considering vadose zone will improve the simulation results significantly and the slow (diffusive) flow plays a major role in controlling groundwater recharge. The comparison of the recharge-time curves shows that the thick karst vadose zone has a significant buffer effect on pattern and timing of recharge. Parameters of the vadose zone, which controls the infiltration process, are analyzed and prioritized. Our analysis suggests that the infiltration rate has a great influence on groundwater recharge and the specific yield of the deep seated unconfined aquifer affects not only the amount of recharge but also its time lag.

In this study, cutin extracted from lotus leaf was incorporated with low-methoxy pectin and chitosan to prepare hydrophobic edible composite membranes. Results showed that the formation and microstructure of the membranes were affected by the addition of lotus leaf cutin, which filled the gap between chitosan and low-methoxyl pectin. This addition results in obvious changes in the composite packaging membranes and weakens crystal peaks. According to the contact angle measurement, the hydrophobicity of composite packaging membranes was enhanced by the addition of lotus leaf cutin increasing the contact angle from 61.8° to 90.3°. With the increased cutin addition from 0 g to 3 g, water absorption was significantly decreased from 48.83 % to 41.64 %, whilst water vapour permeability increased from 12.91 g/cm2·d to 16.18 g/cm2·d. Simultaneously, the tensile strength and fracture elongation were improved from 5.43 MPa and 95.6 % to 5.96 MPa and 128 %. The thermal stability of composite packaging membranes was also enhanced by the incorporation of lotus leaf cutin.

This article developed a multi-methods approach in the particular branch of Communication Studies (fandom studies) to understand the transcultural fans' engagement. It has creatively deployed three research methods to unpack the Chinese fans of a British TV series- Sherlock. Research methods of autoethnography, netnography and qualitative interviews have been largely employed to test the loyalty of the author as an acafan, Chinese fans' online activity and fans' self-disclosure as a self-claimed fan. The multi-methods worked effectively to help draw the conclusion that the self-claimed fans were not fans as what the existing literature has defined. The creative combination of three methods greatly facilitated the future research of fan studies to identify fans as a focal point of the research. Este artículo expone un enfoque multi-método en la rama específica de los estudios de comunicación sobre el fenómeno fandom para entender el engagement con fans transculturales. Así, se han desarrollado tres métodos de investigación para analizar a los fans chinos de la serie de televisión británica Sherlock. La autoetnografía, la netnografía y la entrevistas cualitativas se han empleado en gran medida para probar la lealtad del autor como acafán (un académico que también es fan), la actividad online de los fans chinos y la actividad divulgadora de los que se autoproclaman como fans. Estos distintos métodos nos permiten llegar a la conclusión de que un porcentaje significativo de los que se autoproclaman fan, no lo hacen en el sentido estricto utilizado por la literatura existente. La combinación de los tres métodos facilita enormemente las futuras investigaciones sobre los fans, ubicándolos en el punto central de la investigación.