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Cervical cancer (CxCa) is the fourth most frequent cancer in women. This study aimed to determine the role and underlying mechanism of fibronectin type III domain‐containing protein 5 (FNDC5) in inhibiting CxCa growth. Experiments were performed in human CxCa tissues, human CxCa cell lines (HeLa and SiHa), and xenograft mouse model established by subcutaneous injection of SiHa cells in nude mice. Bioinformatics analysis showed that CxCa patients with high FNDC5 levels have a longer overall survival period. FNDC5 expression was increased in human CxCa tissues, HeLa and SiHa cells. FNDC5 overexpression or FNDC5 protein not only inhibited proliferation, but also restrained invasion and migration of HeLa and SiHa cells. The effects of FNDC5 were prevented by inhibiting integrin with cilengitide, activating PI3K with recilisib or activating Akt with SC79. FNDC5 inhibited the phosphorylation of PI3K and Akt, which was attenuated by recilisib. PI3K inhibitor LY294002 showed similar effects to FNDC5 in HeLa and SiHa cells. Intravenous injection of FNDC5 (20 μg/day) for 14 days inhibited the tumor growth, and reduced the proliferation marker Ki67 expression and the Akt phosphorylation in the CxCa xenograft mouse model. These results indicate that FNDC5 inhibits the malignant phenotype of CxCa cells through restraining PI3K/Akt signaling. Upregulation of FNDC5 may play a beneficial role in retarding the tumor growth of CxCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing heterostructures is an efficient strategy to develop high‐performance and robust electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, an ion‐impregnation method and an environmentally friendly in situ carbonization strategy are successively employed to fabricate a novel Co3Mo/Mo2C heterostructure anchored on nitrogen‐doped carbon (Co3Mo/Mo2C@NC). Thanks to the formation of heterostructure, the obtained Co3Mo/Mo2C@NC exhibits an enhanced catalytic performance toward OER with a low overpotential (282 mV @ 10 mA cm−2, 322 mV @ 50 mA cm−2, and 355 mV @100 mA cm−2) and robust stability (100 mA cm−2 for 200 h) in alkaline media. Detailed experimental results combined with theoretical calculations reveal the formation of a Co3Mo/Mo2C heterojunction interface can decrease the energy barrier of the rate‐determining step for intermediates during the OER process, thereby inherently enhancing the OER performance. This work presents a rational synthetic route for designing high‐performance heterostructures for energy conversion technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Glycerol, as a by-product, mainly derives from the conversion of many crops to biodiesel, ethanol, and fatty ester. Its bioconversion to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) is an environmentally friendly method. Continuous fermentation has many striking merits over fed-batch and batch fermentation, such as high product concentration with easy feeding operation, long-term high productivity without frequent seed culture, and energy-intensive sterilization. However, it is usually difficult to harvest high product concentrations. Results: In this study, a three-stage continuous fermentation was firstly designed to produce 1,3-PDO from crude glycerol by Clostridium butyricum, in which the first stage fermentation was responsible for providing the excellent cells in a robust growth state, the second stage focused on promoting 1,3-PDO production, and the third stage aimed to further boost the 1,3-PDO concentration and reduce the residual glycerol concentration as much as possible. Through the three-stage continuous fermentation, 80.05 g/L 1,3-PDO as the maximum concentration was produced while maintaining residual glycerol of 5.87 g/L, achieving a yield of 0.48 g/g and a productivity of 3.67 g/(L·h). Based on the 14 sets of experimental data from the first stage, a kinetic model was developed to describe the intricate relationships among the concentrations of 1,3-PDO, substrate, biomass, and butyrate. Subsequently, this kinetic model was used to optimize and predict the highest 1,3-PDO productivity of 11.26 g/(L·h) in the first stage fermentation, while the glycerol feeding concentration and dilution rate were determined to be 92 g/L and 0.341 h−1, separately. Additionally, to achieve a target 1,3-PDO production of 80 g/L without the third stage fermentation, the predicted minimum volume ratio of the second fermenter to the first one was 11.9. The kinetics-based two-stage continuous fermentation was experimentally verified well with the predicted results. Conclusion: A novel three-stage continuous fermentation and a kinetic model were reported. Then a simpler two-stage continuous fermentation was developed based on the optimization of the kinetic model. This kinetics-based development of two-stage continuous fermentation could achieve high-level production of 1,3-PDO. Meanwhile, it provides a reference for other bio-chemicals production by applying kinetics to optimize multi-stage continuous fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X and Y be Banach spaces. For A ∈ L(X), B ∈ L(Y), C ∈ L(Y, X), let MC be the operator matrix defined on X ⊕ Y by M C = ( A C 0 B ) ∈ L (X ⊕ Y) . In this paper we investigate the decomposability for MC. We consider Bishop's property (β), decomposition property (δ) and Dunford's property (C) and obtain the relationship of these properties between MC and its entries. We explore how σ*(MC) shrinks from σ*(A) ∪ σ*(B), where σ* denotes σβ,σδ,σC, σdec. In particular, we develop some sufficient conditions for equality σ*(MC) = σ*(A) ∪σ*(B). Besides, we consider the perturbation of these properties for MC and show that in perturbing with certain operators C the properties for MC keeps with A, B. Some examples are given to illustrate our results. Furthermore, we study the decomposability for ( 0 A B 0 ) . Finally, we give applications of decomposability for operator matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As severe conditions, acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) threaten human health. Inflammation and oxidative stress play a vital role in the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS. Sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) significantly contributes to mediating inflammatory responses. Nevertheless, the impact of SphK1 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered ALI/ARDS remains largely undetermined. In our current work, we explored the impact of SphK1 on ALI/ARDS using a mouse model. We studied whether it could reduce LPS-triggered inflammatory response and oxidative stress by suppressing SphK1 in ALI/ARDS. The mice were treated with the inhibitor of SphK1 (N,N-dimethylsphingosine, DMS) before intraperitoneal injection of LPS. Moreover, we assessed the survival rate, and several parameters, such as the lung wet/dry (W/D) ratio, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and the release of inflammatory cytokines. Western blotting analysis was adopted to evaluate the levels of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/serine/threonine kinase (AKT) pathways. We showed that the inhibitor of SphK1 not only ameliorated LPS-stimulated lung histopathological changes and W/D ratio of lung tissue but also elevated the survival rate, the SOD activity and decreased the MDA content, MPO activity, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in lung tissue. Taken together, SphK1 played an essential role in inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. The underlying mechanism might be linked to the activation and up-regulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in LPS-triggered ALI/ARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asprosin is a newly discovered adipokine that is involved in regulating metabolism. Sympathetic overactivity contributes to the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular diseases. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus plays a crucial role in the regulation of sympathetic outflow and blood pressure. This study was designed to determine the roles and underlying mechanisms of asprosin in the PVN in regulating sympathetic outflow and blood pressure. Experiments were carried out in male adult SD rats under anesthesia. Renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were recorded, and PVN microinjections were performed bilaterally. Asprosin mRNA and protein expressions were high in the PVN. The high asprosin expression in the PVN was involved in both the parvocellular and magnocellular regions according to immunohistochemical analysis. Microinjection of asprosin into the PVN produced dose-related increases in RSNA, MAP, and HR, which were abolished by superoxide scavenger tempol, antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin. The asprosin promoted superoxide production and increased NADPH oxidase activity in the PVN. Furthermore, it increased the cAMP level, adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity, and protein kinase A (PKA) activity in the PVN. The roles of asprosin in increasing RSNA, MAP, and HR were prevented by pretreatment with AC inhibitor SQ22536 or PKA inhibitor H89 in the PVN. Microinjection of cAMP analog db-cAMP into the PVN played similar roles with asprosin in increasing the RSNA, MAP, and HR, but failed to further augment the effects of asprosin. Pretreatment with PVN microinjection of SQ22536 or H89 abolished the roles of asprosin in increasing superoxide production and NADPH oxidase activity in the PVN. These results indicated that asprosin in the PVN increased the sympathetic outflow, blood pressure, and heart rate via cAMP–PKA signaling-mediated NADPH oxidase activation and the subsequent superoxide production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A hydroxyl-containing triazine-based conjugated microporous polymers was facilely synthesized. • The material showed high adsorption efficiency for fluoroquinolones. • Hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions dominate the extraction. • The proposed method was successfully achieved in environmental and food samples. Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are a category of broadly used antibiotics. Development of an effective and sensitive approach for determination of trace FQs in environmental and food samples is still challenging. Herein, the hydroxyl-containing triazine-based conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs-OH) was constructed and served as SPE absorbent for the efficient enrichment of FQs. Based on DFT simulations, the excellent enrichment capacity between CMPs-OH and FQs was contributed by hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions. In combination with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, the proposed approach exhibited a wide linear range (0.2–400 ng L−1), low detection limits (0.05–0.15 ng L−1), and good intraday and interday precisions under optimal conditions. In addition, the established method was effectively utilized for the determination of FQs in fourteen samples with recoveries between 82.6 % and 109.2 %. This work provided a feasible sample pretreatment method for monitoring FQs in environmental and food matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the assisted coherence distillation of two special classes of mixed states including the states with vanished basis-dependent discord in the incoherent basis of the second party and Werner two-qubit states via the sets of operations such as local incoherent operations and classical communication (LICC), local quantum-incoherent operations and classical communication (LQICC), separable incoherent operations (SI), and separable quantum-incoherent operations (SQI). We show that the assisted distillable coherence of the former can reach the upper bound, namely quantum-incoherent (QI) relative entropy via all the sets of operations considered above. In contrast, for the Werner two-qubit states the assisted distillable coherence is strictly smaller than the quantum-incoherent (QI) relative entropy. Our results also mean that the optimal rate of assisted coherence distillation of Werner two-qubit states can be achieved even in one-copy scenarios without the complex joint quantum operations on many copies. Finally, we discuss the coherence location in the multipartite system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The MOF-based adsorbent with QuEChER-oriented solvent adaptability and selectivity was designed and produced. • The similarity of structures and biological effects of targets was found by cheminformatics. • For anti-viral drugs, MOF-based adsorbent now spans from aqueous to organic solution. Due to the recent epidemic of viral diseases, the use and discharge of antiviral drugs and related compounds have increased, leading to the accumulation issues in living organisms. QuEChER-based methods are widely used in the pretreatment of biological samples. Hence it is important to develop adsorbents that are compatible with QuEChER-related organic solvents, and simultaneously exhibit high selectivity for enriching targeted compounds. In this study, a uracil structure (an RNA fragment) was introduced into the metal–organic framework (MOF) by one-pot synthesis at room temperature. The as-prepared MOF adsorbent showed good performance in acetonitrile, particularly for compounds with purine-like structures, such as anti-COVID-19 drug favipiravir and its analogues. The similarity of structures and drug-like properties were collected to analyze the common features and biological effects of these captured compounds by cheminformatics. Using shrimp meat extract as the sample matrix, the MOF-based membrane solid-phase extraction (MSPE) combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) achieved a limit of detection (LOD) at ppb level under a UV detector. This work introduced a novel approach to tuning the solvent adaptability and selectivity of MOF-based adsorbent for QuEChER applications. Along with our previous work, the solvent adaptability of MOF-based adsorbent now spans from aqueous to organic solution, offering a new option for the sample preparation of such contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strategy by exogenous addition of quorum sensing molecule farnesol to improve the production, antioxidant activity and antitumor activity of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) of Grifola frondosa by liquid fermentation was proposed in the study. The highest yield of EPS induced by farnesol was 1.25 g/L, which was 150% higher than that of the control. Four polysaccharides including EPS-C-0M, EPS-C-0.2M, EPS-F-0M and EPS-F-0.2M were extracted and purified under the conditions of control and farnesol respectively. The physicochemical properties, antioxidant activities and antitumor activities were studied. Their chemical composition differed in sugar, protein and uronic acid contents, and they were composed of six constituent monosaccharides with different ratios, with the average molecular weights of 1.12 × 103, 1.89 × 103, 1.41 × 103 and 2.02 × 103 kDa, respectively. They presented similar FT-IR spectra, but different surface morphology. Antioxidant experiments showed that they had strong scavenging activities on ABTS+, hydroxyl radical, O2− and DPPH radical. Antitumor experiments showed that they had strong inhibitory effects on human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells and human liver cancer cells (HepG 2) cells. Among the four polysaccharides, EPS-F-0.2M showed the highest antioxidant and antitumor activities, indicating that farnesol could regulate the biological activity of EPS by affecting structure and properties. These results demonstrated that appropriate adjustment of culture conditions had potential application in the development of polysaccharides with high antioxidant and antitumor activity. It provided a new strategy to enhance the production and bioactivity of edible and medicinal fungal polysaccharides by using quorum sensing molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Remodeling network is proposed for multi-view semi-supervised learning. • Reformed pseudo views are obtained to balance consistency and complementation. • Relations of original views are retained by using graph regularization. Multi-view semi-supervised classification (MSSC) focuses on exploring information from multiple views of labeled and unlabeled data to boost classification performance. However, most of the existing methods build models for each view individually, therefore, the potential relationship between different views can't be fully explored. Additionally, they either focus on the correlations for consistency or maximize the independence for complementarity. Consistency and complementarity are equally important for multi-view learning. Therefore, this work proposes a novel Graph-based Remodeling Network for MSSC (GRNet), which can explore the potential relationship of multiple views and balance the consistency and complementation adaptively. Specifically, this model integrates multiple views and then generates reformed pseudo views by an attention-based ensemble learning strategy. Moreover, to exploit the information of unlabeled data, this work introduces graph regularization for such a goal. Extensive experiments on several datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Windows are commonly the primary way for noise to enter the building environment. Most windows achieve higher sound insulation targets by simply increasing glass thickness or laminate. However, the glass thickness cannot be increased freely due to the window frame's limitation. This research selects eleven kinds of asymmetric insulating laminated glass (glass + polyvinyl butyral + glass + air + glass) within 27 mm, which are the typical thicknesses of window frames. The three pieces of glass have equal thicknesses. The half-space acoustics method investigated the acoustic properties and modal behavior of the glass with finite thickness. The results show that when PVB or three glass increases simultaneously, and the sound insulation of each glass can be improved by 0.9∼3.4 dB or 3.7∼21.8 dB at first resonant frequencies, respectively. The glass with the best sound insulation is 7 mm glass + 0.76 mm polyvinyl butyral + 7 mm glass + 5 mm air + 7 mm glass (7 + 0.76 + 7 + 5A + 7 for short). Its sound transmission loss (TL) is 38.5 dB from 125 to 4000 Hz and 16.8 dB in the first resonant frequency (200 Hz). In addition, its first resonant frequency is the highest among eleven kinds of glass, and the number of natural frequencies in the low frequency range is only 9. These findings can provide a basis for designing asymmetric insulating laminated glass to improve the low frequency noise reduction effect effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case confirmed on June 11, 2020 triggered an outbreak in Beijing, China after 56 consecutive days without a newly confirmed case. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were used to contain the source in Xinfadi (XFD) market. To rapidly control the outbreak, both traditional and newly introduced NPIs including large-scale management of high-risk populations and expanded severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) PCR-based screening in the general population were conducted in Beijing. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing's XFD market and inform future response efforts of resurgence across regions. Methods: A modified susceptible–exposed–infectious–recovered (SEIR) model was developed and applied to evaluate a range of different scenarios from the public health perspective. Two outcomes were measured: magnitude of transmission (i.e., number of cases in the outbreak) and endpoint of transmission (i.e., date of containment). The outcomes of scenario evaluations were presented relative to the reality case (i.e., 368 cases in 34 days) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Results: Our results indicated that a 3 to 14 day delay in the identification of XFD as the infection source and initiation of NPIs would have caused a 3 to 28-fold increase in total case number (31–77 day delay in containment). A failure to implement the quarantine scheme employed in the XFD outbreak for defined key population would have caused a fivefold greater number of cases (73 day delay in containment). Similarly, failure to implement the quarantine plan executed in the XFD outbreak for close contacts would have caused twofold greater transmission (44 day delay in containment). Finally, failure to implement expanded nucleic acid screening in the general population would have yielded 1.6-fold greater transmission and a 32 day delay to containment. Conclusions: This study informs new evidence that in form the selection of NPI to use as countermeasures in response to a COVID-19 outbreak and optimal timing of their implementation. The evidence provided by this study should inform responses to future outbreaks of COVID-19 and future infectious disease outbreak preparedness efforts in China and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the rich morphology of ZnO and cation‐exchange technology, regular dodecahedron‐like CeO2/ZnO was obtained by the calcination of Ce doped ZIF‐8 precursor in this study, and CeO2/ZnS was obtained by the in‐situ vulcanization of CeO2/ZnO. This design not only maintained the morphology of ZIF‐8, but also enhanced the oxidation‐reduction capacity of the catalyst. When the Ce content was 10 wt %, 10‐CeO2/ZnS sample showed the best photocatalytic hydrogen production performance in all X−CeO2/ZnS samples. Loading of co‐catalysts can effectively enhance the surface hydrogen reduction in photocatalytic water splitting by introducing a positive Schottky barrier. CuS was regarded as a promising cocatalyst to replace the noble metals due to its low cost and equivalent or even better performance. The in‐situ cation exchange method was used to load co‐catalyst CuS on the 10‐CeO2/ZnS composites to obtain the 10‐CeO2/ZnS‐CuS composites which had the large specific surface area, regular dodecahedral structure and much excellent photolysis of water to produce hydrogen characters. This work provided a new strategy for the advantages combining of co‐catalyst, p‐n junction as well as the porous structure to enhance the photocatalytic characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) has increased sharply due to its role as a monomer for the synthesis of polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). Although Clostridium butyricum is considered to be one of the most promising bioproducers for 1,3-PDO, its low productivity hinders its application on industrial scale because of the longer time needed for anaerobic cultivation. In this study, an excellent C. butyricum (DL07) strain was obtained with high-level titer and productivity of 1,3-PDO, i.e., 104.8 g/L and 3.38 g/(L•h) vs. 94.2 g/L and 3.04 g/(L•h) using pure or crude glycerol as substrate in fed-batch fermentation, respectively. Furthermore, a novel sequential fed-batch fermentation was investigated, in which the next bioreactor was inoculated by C. butyricum DL07 cells growing at exponential phase in the prior bioreactor. It could run steadily for at least eight cycles. The average concentration of 1,3-PDO in eight cycles was 85 g/L with the average productivity of 3.1 g/(L•h). The sequential fed-batch fermentation could achieve semi-continuous production of 1,3-PDO with higher productivity than repeated fed-batch fermentation and would greatly contribute to the industrial production of 1,3-PDO by C. butyricum. Key points: • A novel C. butyricum strain was screened to produce 104.8 g/L 1,3-PDO from glycerol. • Corn steep liquor powder was used as a cheap nitrogen source for 1,3-PDO production. • A sequential fed-batch fermentation process was established for 1,3-PDO production. • An automatic glycerol feeding strategy was applied in the production of 1,3-PDO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy around the world, and 90% of cases are squamous cell carcinomas. In this study, we performed a systematic investigation of the immunogenomic landscape to identify prognostic biomarkers for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We analyzed the expression profiles of immune‐related genes (IRGs) and clinical characteristics by interrogating RNA-seq data from 527 HNSCC patients in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) dataset, including 41 HPV+ and 486 HPV− samples. We found that differentially expressed immune genes were closely associated with patient prognosis in HNSCC by comparing the differences in gene expression between cancer and normal samples and performing survival analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed to annotate the biological functions of the differentially expressed immunogenomic prognosis-related genes. Two additional cohorts from the Oncomine database were used for validation. 65, 56 differentially expressed IRGs was associated with clinical prognosis in total and HPV- samples, respectively. Furthermore, we extracted 10, 11 prognosis-related IRGs from 65, 56 differentially expressed IRGs, respectively. They were significantly correlated with clinical prognosis and used to construct the prognosis prediction models. The multivariable ROC curves (specifically, the AUC) were used to measure the accuracy of the prognostic models. These genes were mainly enriched in several gene ontology (GO) terms related to immunocyte migration and receptor and ligand activity. KEGG pathway analysis revealed enrichment of pathways related to cytokine−cytokine receptor interactions, which are primarily involved in biological processes. In addition, we identified 63 differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs) from 4784 differentially expressed genes, and 16 edges involving 18 nodes were formed in the regulatory network between differentially expressed TFs and the high-risk survival-associated IRGs. B cell and CD4 T cell infiltration levels were significantly negatively correlated with the expression of prognosis-related immune genes regardless of HPV status. In conclusion, this comprehensive analysis identified the prognostic IRGs as potential biomarkers, and the model generated in this study may enable an accurate prediction of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mesoporous CdS/TiO2 composites were synthesized by a sol–gel method combined with solvothermal method. The material showed the gel block-like structures which were composed of heterogeneous spherical gel particles, the average size of the particles was about 14 nm, with specific surface area as 300.254 m2 g − 1 . The mesoporous CdS/TiO2 composites exhibited a wide absorption band to simulated sunlight whose adsorb wavelength reached to 550 nm, its absorption intensity and catalytic performance of photocatalytic water-producing hydrogenation were also increased with the increase of CdS contents. When the molar ratio of TiO2:CdS was 1:1, the photocatalytic activity reached the highest, and the average hydrogen production rate reached 2167.32 μ mol g − 1 h − 1 . Mesoporous CdS/TiO2 composites were synthesized by a sol–gel method combined with solvothermal method, and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated under visible light irradiation. The prepared material had larger specific surface and higher photogenerated electron hole separation rate. The average hydrogen production rate of the prepared material reached 2167.32 μmol⋅g–1⋅h–1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endotoxemia often results in systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), coagulation disturbance and acute lung injury (ALI), and such a condition is associated with the activation of platelets, leukocytes and vascular endothelial cells (VECs). P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) is a key regulatory molecule in the activation of platelets, leukocytes and VECs. However, it still remains largely unexplored whether PSGL-1 plays an important role in SIRS, coagulation dysfunction and ALI of endotoxemia. In the present study, we aimed to study the role of PSGL-1 in above-mentioned situations using endotoxemic mice. An endotoxemia model was established in BALB/c mice via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration. Moreover, the mice were simultaneously injected with PSGL-1 antibody for intervention. The survival rate, morphologic changes of lung tissues, platelet-leukocyte adhesion, tissue factor expression on leukocytes, fibrinogen deposition in lung tissues, serum levels of inflammatory factors and the activation of VECs were determined. The results showed that the aggregation and recruitment of platelets and leukocytes in lung tissues, the expression of tissue factor on leukocytes, the serum levels of inflammatory factors, the activation of VECs, and the fibrinogen deposition in lung tissues were increased in endotoxemic mice, which were significantly alleviated by administration of PSGL-1 antibody. Moreover, blockade of PSGL-1 markedly increased survival rate, and alleviated coagulation disturbance and lung injury in endotoxemic mice. Taken together, PSGL-1 played an important role in pathogenesis of SIRS and coagulation dysfunction and ALI in endotoxemic mice. • Endotoxemia was induced by LPS, and associated with inflammation and coagulopathy. • PSGL-1 can affect the aggregation and recruitment of platelets and leukocytes, the activation of VECs in endotoxemic mice. • PSGL-1 played an important role in pathogenesis of SIRS and coagulation dysfunction and ALI in endotoxemic mice [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Fuzzy correntropy is constructed. • A novel kernel fuzzy C-regression model clustering based on fuzzy correntropy is proposed. • Modified extended forgetting factor recursive least squares estimator is presented. • The proposed algorithm is applied for maneuvering target tracking. Abstract In this paper, we propose a novel recursive Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy semantic modeling approach for discrete state-space system. According to the information learning theoretic (ILT), the correntropy can capture the higher moments of the error probability distribution to deal with non-Gaussian noise. Considering the advantages of fuzzy theory and correntropy, fuzzy correntropy is constructed and a novel kernel fuzzy C-regression model clustering based on fuzzy correntropy is proposed to solve the premise parameter identification problem of the T-S fuzzy model. To the identification of the consequent part parameters of the T-S fuzzy model, a modified extended forgetting factor recursive least squares (MEFRLS) estimator is presented. Moreover, to evaluate the performance of the proposed fuzzy model, the proposed T-S fuzzy model is applied to solve the problem of maneuvering target tracking by incorporating the target feature semantic information. Finally, the experiment results show the proposed algorithm can effectively track a maneuvering target, and its performance is better than the exist algorithms, such as interacting multiple model Kalman filter (IMMKF), interacting multiple model unscented Kalman filter (IMMUKF), the interacting multiple model particle filter (IMMPF) and interacting multiple model Rao-Blackwellized particle filter the (IMMRBPF). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of uranium adsorbent was first extracted from the aerobic activated sludge of municipal wastewater treatment plant as raw material. The structure and surface morphology of EPS was characterized by FTIR, SEM-EDX, 3D-EEM, and XPS. The 3D-EEM spectra of EPS revealed that there are Tryptophan-like protein and Humus which can adsorb uranium in the EPS. The results of XPS indicated that the EPS surface contained active functional groups (COOH, CONH 2 ,-H 2 PO 4 , OH, NH 2 and so on) which all react with uranium, and the C, N, O elements play an important role in the reaction. The static batch test was used to study the adsorption behavior of uranium on the EPS, and the effects of pH, dosage of EPS and initial concentration of the solution on the removal of uranium by EPS were investigated. The adsorption isotherm, thermodynamics and kinetic models were used to match the mechanism of the interaction between EPS and uranium. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that the pH value had a great influence on the adsorption effect of EPS, and the optimal solution pH for uranium adsorption was around 6.0 with the removal efficiency of uranium was about 93% in the condition of neutral. Freundlich (R2 ≈ 0.997) and Langmuir (R2 ≈ 0.9931) models can get a good fitting effect, indicating that the adsorption of uranium by EPS had both monolayer adsorption and multilayer adsorption. EPS and uranium were combined disorderly and ion exchange mechanism could be involved. In this study, the active groups on the surface of EPS were also involved in the chemisorption process of uranium adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of EPS by Langmuir fitting was 333.3 mg/g. We conclude EPS is a potential adsorbent for radionuclide treatment. Highlights • A new EPS adsorbent has been first successfully extracted from aerobic activated sludge. • The adsorption capacity of EPS on uranium was higher compared to other biosorbents in the condition of neutral. • The EPS was characterized by some new ways such as SEM-EDX, 3D-EEM, and XPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite wide applications of bimetallic electrocatalysis in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) owing to their superior performance, the origin of the improved performance remains elusive. The underlying mechanism was explored by designing and synthesizing a series of stable metal–organic frameworks (MOFs: NNU‐21–24) based on trinuclear metal carboxylate clusters and tridentate carboxylate ligands. Among the examined stable MOFs, NNU‐23 exhibits the best OER performance; particularly, compared with monometallic MOFs, all the bimetallic MOFs display improved OER activity. DFT calculations and experimental results demonstrate that introduction of the second metal atom can improve the activity of the original atom. The proposed model of bimetallic electrocatalysts affecting their OER performance can facilitate design of efficient bimetallic catalysts for energy storage and conversion, and investigation of the related catalytic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite wide applications of bimetallic electrocatalysis in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) owing to their superior performance, the origin of the improved performance remains elusive. The underlying mechanism was explored by designing and synthesizing a series of stable metal–organic frameworks (MOFs: NNU‐21–24) based on trinuclear metal carboxylate clusters and tridentate carboxylate ligands. Among the examined stable MOFs, NNU‐23 exhibits the best OER performance; particularly, compared with monometallic MOFs, all the bimetallic MOFs display improved OER activity. DFT calculations and experimental results demonstrate that introduction of the second metal atom can improve the activity of the original atom. The proposed model of bimetallic electrocatalysts affecting their OER performance can facilitate design of efficient bimetallic catalysts for energy storage and conversion, and investigation of the related catalytic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), which are a new type of carbonaceous polymeric material, have attracted great interest because of their large surface area and high chemical and thermal stability. However, to the best of our knowledge, no work has reported the use of magnetic COFs as adsorbents for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) to enrich and determine environmental pollutants. This work aims to investigate the feasibility of using covalent triazine-based framework (CTF)/Fe2O3 composites as MSPE adsorbents to enrich and analyze perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) at trace levels in water samples. Under the optimal conditions, the method developed exhibited low limits of detection (0.62–1.39 ng·L-1), a wide linear range (5–4000 ng L-1), good repeatability (1.12–9.71%), and good reproducibility (2.45–7.74%). The new method was successfully used to determine PFCs in actual environmental water samples. MSPE based on CTF/Fe2O3 composites exhibits potential for analysis of PFCs at trace levels in environmental water samples.Magnetic covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) were used as magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbents for the sensitive determination of perfluorinated compounds in environmental water samples. PFBA perfluorobutyric acid, PFBS perfluorobutane sulfonate, PFDA perfluorodecanoic acid, PFDoA perfluorododecanoic acid, PFHpA perfluoroheptanoic acid, PFHxA perfluorohexanoic acid, PFHxS perfluorohexane sulfonate, PFNA perfluorononanoic acid, PFOA perfluorooctanoic acid, PFPeA perfluoropentanoic acid, PFUdA Perfluoroundecanoic acid [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The present study aimed to investigate whether puerarin regulated tissue factor (TF) expression induced by oxidative low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, and its mechanisms. Main methods TF expression at the mRNA level was determined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and its expression at the protein level, as well as other target proteins, was assessed by western blotting. Nitric oxide (NO) production was measured by a nitrate reduction method. Key findings Results demonstrated that treatment with ox-LDL (50 mg/l) for 24 h significantly increased ( P < 0.01) TF expression at the mRNA and protein levels in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Such an ox-LDL exposure also triggered the dephosphorylation of Akt, resulting in a reduction of NO production and activated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathways. Pre-treatment with puerarin (50–200 μM) for 1 h significantly attenuated the ox-LDL-induced TF expression, augmented the phosphorylation of Akt, with a resultant increase of the NO production, and inhibited the activation of ERK1/2 and NF-κB ( P < 0.01). However, this beneficial effect of puerarin (100 μM) was abolished by LY294002 (10 μM), an inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 μM), an inhibitor of NO synthase. Significance These results suggested that puerarin suppressed TF expression in HUVECs through activating the PI3K/Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling pathway and inhibiting the activation of ERK1/2 and NF-κB. These findings suggested that puerarin possessed certain anticoagulation and may be a potential novel therapeutic drug for thrombosis in coronary artery disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest worldwide regarding managing plantation forests in a manner that maintains or improves timber production, enhances ecosystem services, and promotes long-term sustainability of forest resources. We selected the Gan River Basin, the largest catchment of Poyang Lake and a region with a typical plantation distribution in South China, as the study region. We evaluated and mapped four important forest ecosystem services, including wood volume, carbon storage, water yield, and soil retention at a 30 × 30 m resolution, then quantified their trade-offs and synergies at the county and subwatershed scales. We found that the wood volume and carbon storage services, as well as the soil retention and water yield, exhibited synergistic relationships. However, the carbon storage displayed a trade-off relationship with the water yield. Additionally, we compared the beneficial spatial characteristics among dominant species in the study region. The results showed that the Chinese fir forest and the pine forest exhibited lower overall benefits than natural forests including the broad-leaved forest and the bamboo forest. To propose a suitable management strategy for the study region, method of spatial cluster analysis was used based on the four eco-services at the subwatershed scale. The basin was divided into four management groups instead of treating the region as a homogenous management region. Finally, we proposed more specific and diverse management strategies to optimize forest benefits throughout the entire region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aminosilanized magnetic carbon microspheres as a novel adsorbent were designed and fabricated. The adsorbent was used for the magnetic solid-phase extraction of bisphenols at trace levels from environmental water samples before liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The structure, surface, and magnetic behavior of the as-prepared aminosilanized magnetic carbon microspheres were characterized by elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The effects of the experimental parameters were investigated by the Plackett-Burman design, and then the parameters that were significant to the extraction efficiencies were optimized through a response surface methodology. The aminosilanized magnetic carbon microspheres exhibited high adsorption efficiency and selectivity for bisphenols. Under optimal conditions, low limits of detection (0.011-2.22 ng/L), and a wide linear range (2-3 orders of magnitude), good repeatability (4.7-7.8%, n = 5), and reproducibility (6.0-8.3%, n = 3) were achieved. The results demonstrate that the novel adsorbent possesses great potentials in the determination of trace levels of bisphenols in environmental water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate an uncertainty diagram and Kirkwood–Dirac (KD) nonclassicality based on discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in a d-dimensional system. We first consider the uncertainty diagram of the DFT matrix, which is a transition matrix from basis A to basis B. Here, the bases A ,   B are not necessarily completely incompatible. We show that for the uncertainty diagram of the DFT matrix, there is no "hole" in the region of the (n A , n B) plane above and on the line n A + n B = d + 1 . Then, we present where the holes are in the region strictly below the line and above the hyperbola n A n B = d . Finally, we provide an alternative proof of the conjecture about KD nonclassicality based on DFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemerin is an adipokine involved in regulating energy homeostasis and reproductive function. Excessive sympathetic activity contributes to hypertension, chronic heart failure and chronic renal disease. Hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is crucial in regulating sympathetic activity and blood pressure. The present study is designed to investigate the roles of chemerin in the PVN in regulating sympathetic activity and blood pressure and underlying mechanisms. Microinjections were performed in the bilateral PVN in male adult rats under anesthesia. Renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were continuously recorded. The PVN microinjection of chemerin-9, an active fragment of chemerin, increased RSNA and MAP, which were abolished by chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) antagonist α-NETA, a superoxide scavenger tempol, antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI) and apocynin. Immunofluorescence analyses showed that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors existed in most of cells of the PVN, and some of them co-existed with chemerin. The effects of chemerin-9 on RSNA and MAP were prevented by glutamate-binding site antagonist L-phenylalanine, NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801, and calcium channel blocker verapamil or nifedipine, but only attenuated by non-NMDA receptor antagonist CNQX. Moreover, chemerin-9 increased NADPH oxidase activity and superoxide production, which were prevented by α-NETA, MK-801, or verapamil. These results indicate that chemerin-9 in the PVN increases sympathetic activity and blood pressure via CMKLR1-dependent calcium influx, and glutamate receptor-mediated NADPH oxidase activation and subsequent superoxide production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demethylation potential of pollutants is arguably an innate component of their toxicity in environmental samples. A method was developed for determining the total demethylation potential of food samples (TDQ). The demethylation epigenetic toxicity was determined using the Hep G2 cell line transfected with pEGFP-C3 plasmids containing a methylated promoter of the EGFP reporter gene. The total demethylation potential of the sample extracts (the 5-AZA-CdR demethylation toxic equivalency) can be quantified within one week by using a standard curve of the 5-AZA-CdR demethylation agent. To explore the applicability of TDQ for environmental samples, 17 groundwater samples were collected from heavy polluted Kuihe river and the total demethylation potentials of the sample extracts were measured successfully. Meaningful demethylation toxic equivalencies ranging from 0.00050 to 0.01747 μM were found in all groundwater sample extracts. Among 19 kinds of inorganic substance, As and Cd played important roles for individual contribution to the total demethylation epigenetic toxicity. The TDQ assay is reliable and fast for quantifying the DNA demethylation potential of environmental sample extracts, which may improve epigenetic toxicity evaluations for human risk assessment, and the consistent consuming of groundwater alongside the Kuihe river pose unexpected epigenetic health risk to the local residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Differentiation of anomalous systemic artery to the left lower lobe (ASALLL) from pulmonary sequestration (PS) is essential, as ASALLL can be corrected by anastomosis, embolization, or ligation of the anomalous artery.Purpose: To compare computed tomography (CT) findings of ASALLL and PS in the left lower lobe (LLL).Materials and Methods: This study included 16 patients with ASALLL and 25 patients with PS in LLL confirmed by operative and pathologic findings.Results: Cough and sputum were more common in PS (84% and 60%, respectively) than in ASALLL (25% and 12.5%, respectively) (P < 0.05). Hemoptysis was more common in ASALLL (100%) than in PS (24%) (P < 0.05). The frequency of ground glass opacity (GGO), normal bronchial distribution, dilated left inferior pulmonary veins, and absence of the interlobar artery distal to the origin of the superior segmental artery in LLL differed significantly between ASALLL and PS. Mass was less common in ASALLL (0%) than in PS (88%) (P < 0.01). The mean diameter of the anomalous artery (11.88 ± 1.13 mm) in ASALLL was significantly larger than that (5.96 ± 0.98 mm) in PS (P < 0.01). The presence of anomalous artery arising from thoracic aorta was not different between ASALLL (100%) and PS (72%).Conclusion: Radiographic indications of ASALLL differ from those of PS in the LLL. Indications that may suggest ASALLL include an enlarged anomalous systemic artery arising from the thoracic aorta, dilated left inferior pulmonary veins, absence of the interlobar artery distal to the origin of the superior segmental artery, normal bronchial distribution, and GGO in the LLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient Escherichia coli expression system was established to obtain an appreciable quantity of antihypertensive peptide. The DNA-coding sequence for the Gly-Val-Tyr-Pro-His-Lys peptide was chemically synthesized and linked to form a ten-copy in tandem. It was cloned into the vector pET-15b and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The optimal conditions for maximal expression were verified and included the induction time and the concentration of isopropyl-β- d -thiogalactopyranoside. The recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography to greater than 95% purity, and further purification was achieved by High-performance Liquid Chromatography after cleavage with trypsin. The product was identified by Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry. The antihypertensive effects of the recombinant AHP were investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The in vivo results demonstrated that a single oral administration of this peptide in spontaneously hypertensive rats resulted in a significant reduction of systolic blood pressure at 2 h. Systolic blood pressure was stabilized 4 h later and remained at a low level for 24 h. This study provides a practical method to develop the peptide into functional foods or drugs for the prevention and treatment of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. Spindle and kinetochore-associated protein 1 (SKA1) is one subtype of SKA, whose protein can make spindle microtubules attach steadily to the kinetochore in the middle of mitosis. At present, there are fewer researches on the relationship between SKA1 expression and tumor development. Methods. In this study, immunohistochemical analysis was used to determine the expression of SKA1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and adjacent tissues. We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis to further verify the results. Results. We found that SKA1 expression was significantly higher in PTC tissues than normal adjacent tissues (P<0.05). There existed a significant correlation among a higher SKA1 expression, including lymphoid node (P=0.005), clinical stage (P=0.015), and extrathyroid invasion (P=0.004). Survival analysis showed high SKA1 expression in PTC patients more likely to relapse after surgery. Conclusion. High SKA1 expression is predictive of poor prognosis of PTC, implying that SKA1 may be a promising new target for targeted therapies for PTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new cadmium-thiocyanate complex, poly[4-(dimethylamino)pyridin-1-ium [di-μ-thiocyanato-κ2 N: S;κ2 S: N-thiocyanato-κ N-cadmium(II)]], {(C7H11N2)[Cd(NCS)3]} n, was synthesized by the reaction of cadmium thiocyanate and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine hydrochloride in aqueous solution. In the crystal structure, each CdII ion is square-pyramidally coordinated by three N and two S atoms from five different thiocyanate ligands, four of which are bridging. The thiocyanate ligands play different roles in the build up of the structure; one role results in the formation of [Cd2(NCS)2] building blocks, while the other links the building blocks and cations via N-H...S hydrogen bonds. The N-H...S hydrogen bonds and weak π-π stacking interactions are involved in the formation of both a two-dimensional network structure and the supramolecular network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α/γ may control inflammatory response by regulating the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Osthole may be a dual agonist of PPARα/γ, but whether or not osthole may inhibit inflammatory cytokines in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes is unclear. Objective: We investigated the action of osthole and its potential mechanisms in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Materials and methods: The 3T3-L1 adipocytes stimulated with LPS were cultured and treated with different concentrations of osthole. The inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cultured supernatants were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, and the protein expressions of PPARα/γ and NF-κB p65 in adipocytes were detected by the Western blot method, respectively. Results: Following treatment of adipocytes with osthole 0.1-1.6 μM, the TNF-α and IL-6 levels in cultured supernatants were decreased, and the NF-κB p65 protein expression in adipocytes was also decreased, while the PPARα/γ protein expressions were increased. After pretreatment of adipocytes with specific inhibitor(s) of PPARα and /or PPARγ, the inhibitory effects of osthole on TNF-α and IL-6 were decreased or almost cancelled, and the effects on NF-κB p65 protein expression also exhibited similar variations. Conclusion: Osthole could inhibit the TNF-α and IL-6 production in LPS-stimulated adipocytes, and its mechanism might be related to reduction of NF-κB expression via activation of PPARα/γ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the rumor spreading model with a function of forgetting rate changing over time in scale-free networks. The corresponding mean-field equations are derived. Further, numerical simulations are conducted on Renren Network, an online social platform, to better understand the performance of the model. Results show that forgetting rate has a significant impact on the final size of rumor spreading: the larger the initial forgetting rate or the faster the forgetting speed, the smaller the final size of the rumor spreading; The final size of rumor spreading is much smaller under variable forgetting rate compared to that under a constant forgetting rate. Simulations also show that the spreading speed is faster and the final size is smaller in scale-free network than in homogeneous network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on fatigue life in non-Newtonian thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) point contacts with spinning. A numerical procedure is developed and extended to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life. The results show that the effect of entraining velocity on the RCF life is closely related to ellipticity. The RCF life first decreases steeply and then gradually with increase in slide–roll ratio. However, the RCF life may increase slightly at a large slide–roll ratio. Spinning is beneficial for reduction of longitudinal friction coefficient; however, even for smooth surface contact, the RCF life can be slightly reduced by spinning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Current no effective therapy is available to halt the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Oxidative stress has been implicated in the etiology of PD. The present study evaluates the hypothesis that prevention of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced motor deficits by gastrodin might mainly result from its antioxidant property via interrupting extracellular signal regulated protein kinases (ERK) 1/2-nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway. Main methods Pretreatment of mouse model of PD is established by treating C57BL/6 mice with 4 doses of MPTP (30 mg/kg per day, i.p.), with gastrodin (60 mg/kg per day) administered by daily intraperitoneal injection for 2 weeks. Motor behavior of mice was monitored by open-field test and rotarod test. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to analyze the expression of genes. Key findings MPTP-induced motor deficits were partially and significantly forestalled by gastrodin. Gastrodin treatment prevented MPTP-induced oxidative stress, as measured by malondialdehyde in midbrain. Interestingly, MPTP-intoxicated mice treated with gastrodin robustly increased heme oxygenase 1, superoxide dismutase, glutathione levels, and Nrf2 nuclear translocation in striatum of MPTP-intoxicated mice. Furthermore, results herein suggest that the antioxidant pathway activated by gastrodin involves ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Significance Gastrodin protects midbrain of MPTP-intoxicated mice against oxidative stress, in part, through interrupting ERK1/2–Nrf2 pathway mechanism, which will give us an insight into the potential of gastrodin in terms of opening up new therapeutic avenues for PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Da-Huang-Fu-Zi-Tang (DHFZT) is a crucial TCM formula commonly used for the treatment of acute pancreatitis in Chinese clinical application. Our previous work found that DHFZT could act against pancreatic injury in rats with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). The goal of this paper was to study the underlying correlations between the chemical spectra and the protective effect of DHFZT on pancreatic acinar cell to reveal the real bioactive compounds in DHFZT. Materials and methods: The fingerprint chromatograms of rat serum after oral administration of DHFZT were established by UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS technique. At the same time, the model of anti-acute pancreatitis on cells was established by adding 10?7 mol/L cerulein to AR42J cell line, and the protective effects of the serum on pancreatic acinar cell from injury was evaluated by detecting the efficacy of amylase. Then, the spectrum–effect relationships between UHPLC fingerprints and anti-acute pancreatitis activities were evaluated using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) statistical method. The chromatogram separation was performed on a C18 reversed phase UHPLC column (2.1mm×100mm, 3.5?m, Agilent), the column temperature was set at 35°C. The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile with gradient elution. The serum samples were analyzed both in negative and positive ion mode. The mother and productive ions were scanned within the mass range of m/z 100–1200 and 50–1200, respectively. A thorough analysis of a great deal of information of the constituents in the rat serum was undertaken. The structure identification of the detected compounds was achieved by using high resolution MS values as well as the MS/MS fragments. Results: Eighteen peaks in rat serum after oral administration of DHFZT were detected within only 30min recorded chromatograms. The structure of the 18 compounds were then given out, of which 10 were the original form of compounds absorbed from DHFZT, 8 were the metabolites of the compounds existed in rat serum. According to the CCA results, talatisamine, rhein glucoside, rhein isomer methylation, hypaconine, hydroxyl-chrysophanol, emodin glucuronide conjugation, and chrysophanol glucuronide conjugation were finally found to be the main anti-acute pancreatitis components in DHFZT. Conclusions: The model presented in this paper successfully discovered the spectrum–effect relationships of DHFZT, which showed a representative way to discover the primary active ingredients from the complicated herbal drugs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Three new cadmium(II) coordination complexes have been synthesized. [•] The complexes were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. [•] The photoluminescent properties of the compounds were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We propose experiment and modeling of uniaxial fatigue for filled natural rubbers. [•] We study the relationship between tension fatigue and damage parameters. [•] All damage parameters discussed can correlate with tension fatigue life well. [•] The relation of tension fatigue and damage parameters is independent on specimens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low-dose dexamethasone has been widely used for the prevention of nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy and surgical procedures and to treat motion sickness due to its minimal adverse effects, but the mechanisms underlying its anti-motion sickness effects are poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that the endocannabinoid system is suppressed by motion sickness but stimulated by dexamethasone. The aim of the present study was to determine whether dexamethasone has an anti-motion sickness effect in rats and to elucidate the mechanism of this action. We used HPLC–MS/MS to measure the plasma concentrations of anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol+1-arachidonoylglycerol, and we employed real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and/or Western blot analysis to assay the expression of N-acylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine hydrolyzing phospholipase D, sn-1-selective diacylglycerol lipase, fatty acid hydrolase, monoacylglycerol lipase and endocannabinoid CB1 receptor in the dorsal vagal complex and stomach of rats exposed to a motion sickness protocol. The results showed that dexamethasone lowered the motion sickness index and restored the levels of endogenous cannabinoids and the expression of the endocannabinoid CB1 receptor, which declined after the induction of motion sickness, in the dorsal vagal complex and stomach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rheological properties of bubbly oil are measured under relatively low to high shear rates using a rheometer. A constitutive equation including shear rate and temperature is constructed and used to develop the bubbly lubrication model of journal bearings, in which cavitation algorithm is applied. The effects of air volume fraction and shear rate on bearing performance are analyzed. The results show that as volume fraction increases, maximum pressure, load capacity, friction force and leak flow increase slightly at lower shear rates, decline obviously at higher shear rates, but increase to a peak and then decrease at intermediate shear rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: Jeavons syndrome (JS) is one of the underreported epileptic syndromes and is characterized by eyelid myoclonia (EM), eye closure-induced seizures or electroencephalography (EEG) paroxysms, and photosensitivity. In the Western populations, it has been reported to be characterized by focal posterior, occipital predominant epileptiform discharges (OPEDs) or frontal predominant epileptiform discharges (FPEDs) followed by generalized EDs in both interictal and ictal EEG recordings. However, it is not clear if there are different clinical manifestations between OPEDs and FPEDs. The clinical and electrographic presentations in the Chinese population are largely unknown. Here, we report the clinical and electroencephalographic features of 50 Chinese patients with JS and evaluate for the presence of different clinical features between patients with OPEDs and patients with FPEDs. Methods: We identified 50 cases who met the Jeavons syndrome criteria from 4230 patients with epilepsy at Xijing Hospital, Xi'an, China from the period of January 2010 to November 2011. These patients underwent long-term 24-hour video-EEG recording. Brain imaging was performed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT). Webster IQ testing was performed to determine intellectual development. We reviewed and described the interictal abnormalities, ictal EEG pattern, and demographic, clinical, and neuroimaging findings of these 50 Chinese patients in Xi'an. We divided the 50 patients into two groups according to the predominance of EDs and analyzed their clinical features. Results: Twenty-five of these 50 patients were male. Twenty-two out of 32 patients in the group with FPEDs were male, and 3/18 patients in the group with OPEDs were male. The median age of EMA–EM onset in FPEDs was 8years and that in OPEDs was 5.8years. Eyelid myoclonia occurred in all the 50 patients. Twenty-one out of 32 patients in the group with FPEDs had EM with absences, and 14/32 of them had EM with eyeball rolling up. Two out of 18 patients in the group with OPEDs had EM with absences, and only 1 of 18 had EM with eyeball rolling up. Conclusion: Eyelid myoclonia with or without absences or JS diagnosis is easily missed and underreported in China. As an IGE, either the frontal or the occipital lobe may initiate generalized spike-and-wave discharges (GSWDs) and generalized seizures (GSs). There may be two subtypes of JS with distinctive clinical and electroencephalogrphic features: a predominantly male group with frontal predominant epileptiform discharges, eyelid myoclonia, and eyes rolling up and a predominantly female group with occipital predominant epileptiform discharges with eyelid myoclonia alone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT Rubber components are widely used in many fields because of their superior elastic properties. Fatigue failures, commonly encountered in rubber components, however, remain a critical issue. In this study, the effect of strain ratio R on the fatigue life of filled natural rubbers used in automotive mounts is investigated experimentally and numerically. A uniaxial tension/compression fatigue experiment was conducted on dumb-bell cylindrical rubber specimens subject to loads representing different R ratios. The experimental fatigue data are used to formulate two preliminary fatigue models based on peak strain and strain amplitude as the damage parameters. The deficiencies of these two models in predicting fatigue life over a wide range of R ratios are discussed, and an alternative life prediction model is proposed. The proposed model incorporates the effect of R ratio using an equivalent strain amplitude. It is shown that the proposed model could effectively predict fatigue life over a wide range of R ratios with an improved accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Caveolae are membrane microdomains where important signalling pathways are assembled and molecular effects transduced. In this study, we hypothesized that shear stress-mediated vasodilation (SSD) of mouse small coronary arteries (MCA) is caveolae-dependent. Methods and results MCA (80–150 μm) isolated from wild-type (WT) and caveolin-1 null (Cav-1−/−) mice were subjected to physiological levels of shear stress (1–25 dynes/cm2) with and without pre-incubation of inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase (L-NAME), cyclooxygenase (indomethacin, INDO), or cytochrome P450 epoxygenase (SKF 525A). SSD was endothelium-dependent in WT and Cav-1−/− coronaries but that in Cav-1−/− was significantly diminished compared with WT. Pre-incubation with L-NAME, INDO, or SKF 525A significantly reduced SSD in WT but not in Cav-1−/− mice. Vessels from the soluble epoxide hydrolase null (Ephx2−/−) mice showed enhanced SSD, which was further augmented by the presence of arachidonic acid. In donor–detector-coupled vessel experiments, Cav-1−/− donor vessels produced diminished dilation in WT endothelium-denuded detector vessels compared with WT donor vessels. Shear stress elicited a robust intracellular Ca2+ increase in vascular endothelial cells isolated from WT but not those from Cav-1−/− mice. Conclusion Integrity of caveolae is critical for endothelium-dependent SSD in MCA. Cav-1−/− endothelium is deficient in shear stress-mediated generation of vasodilators including NO, prostaglandins, and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids. Caveolae plays a critical role in endothelial signal transduction from shear stress to vasodilator production and release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) microsensor was presented as a carbon fiber microelectrode (CFME) coating for specifically recognizing xanthine (Xan). The polymeric film was obtained based on the imprinted procedure of electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of the template molecule Xan by cyclic voltammetry, and template was removed by magnetic stirring. Under the optimum conditions, a satisfactory molecularly binding selectivity of Xan was obtained from the MIPs microsensor with an imprinting factor (IF) of 6.63 and a linear response to concentration in certain ranges. The ranges are from 4.0×10−6 to 6.0×10−5 M and from 8.0×10−5 to 2.0×10−3 M with a detection limit of 2.5×10−7 M. Meanwhile, good stability (relative standard deviation [RSD]=3.2%, n =10) and reproducibility (RSD=2.0%, n =10) were observed, and recoveries ranging from 96.9 to 102.5% were calculated when applied to Xan determination in real blood serum samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of novel T4-Cd 4-x Zn x In 16 S 35 (x: 0 ~ 4) clusters prepared for photocatalysis. • 0D/2D heterostructure built by cluster-based quaternary sulfides and g-C 3 N 4. • Highly tunable photocatalytic activity achieved by finely regulated Cd2+:Zn2+ ratio. • Z-scheme heterojunction at the interface for enhanced photocatalytic activity. The lack of atomically precise models in traditional semiconductor materials impedes further understanding of photocatalytic process at atomic scale. Herein, a series of ultra-small T4-Cd 4-x Zn x In 16 S 35 (x: 0 ~ 4) metal chalcogenide supertetrahedral nanoclusters (MCSNs) aggregated quaternary ultra-small sulfide nanoparticles was successfully loaded on g-C 3 N 4 to build 0D/2D heterostructure for photocatalytic H 2 evolution. As MCSNs were tailorable at sub-nanometer level with fine-tuned ratio of Cd:Zn, the energy band structure of such models was highly adjustable and owing to the suitable band structure, enhanced photogenerated electron-hole separation efficiency and decreased interfacial charge transfer resistance of the heterojunction, optimized hydrogen production rate of 288 μmol g−1 h−1 was obtained for the T4-Cd 1 Zn 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterostructure, which is about 7 times than that of pristine g-C 3 N 4. This work not only provides a better understanding on energy band modulation of MCSNs-based photocatalysts at the atomic level, but also holds great promise for long-term impacts on creating new-type of photocatalysts based-on MCSNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]