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To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cGMP-dependent protein kinase I (PRKG1) gene and gene-environment interactions with bronchial asthma in children. 109 asthma patients and 158 healthy controls from the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command were enrolled, based case–control study. The iMLDR® multiple SNP typing technique was applied to detect the genotypes of rs7903366, rs7081864, rs7070958 and rs7897633 in PRKG1 gene. The percentage of eosinophils (EOS%) in peripheral blood and serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) in the case group were also measured. Gene-environment interactions were examined using the generalized multi-factor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) method. There were polymorphisms in four SNPs of PRKG1 gene in the case and control groups. The genotype and allele frequencies distribution of rs7897633 demonstrated statistical significance (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in EOS% and IgE among genotypes at the four SNPs of PRKG1 gene (p > 0.05). The haplotypes CAGA and TGAC presented significant association with asthma risk (p < 0.05). The four-factor model indicated a potential gene-environment interaction in rs7897633, allergen exposure, residence, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure (p < 0.05). The rs7897633 in PRKG1 gene was associated with susceptibility to childhood asthma, and C allele is a protective factor. The haplotype CAGA had a protective effect against asthma risk and TGAC was linked to the high risk of developing asthma. Moreover, the interaction of rs7897633, allergen exposure, residence, and ETS exposure conferred susceptibility to childhood asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabric presents several advantages including excellent flexibility, lightweight, bend resilience, breathable properties, and significant price advantage compared to commercial low‐loss boards, providing a natural advantage for the preparation of flexible electromagnetic (EM) devices and wearable systems. A key challenge when using fabric as the substrate for active devices lies in the contradiction between the poor high‐temperature resistance of fabric materials and the welding requirements for semiconductor components, leading to a significant gap between flexible and traditional RF technology. Benefiting from the unique fiber structure of fabric materials, a conjecture is creatively proposed for integrating lumped components onto fabric substrates through the sewing method and successfully verifying its validity and stability. As an application, a fabric‐based smart metasurface (FSM) is designed and realized for potential portable EM protection applications. The proposed FSM has the advantage of good flexibility, low cost, and a high strength‐to‐weight ratio. By carefully designing the structure of the metasurface and also the sensing module, large‐angle stable EM performance is achieved, and the FSM can function well even under highly distorted conditions. The proposed method and product inspire promising application aspects in wearable electronics, portable EM protection, and related flexible RF technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud: Multiple studies have identified pathogenic germline variants in cancer susceptibility genes (CSGs) in Chinese lung cancer patients; however, accurate assessment of these variants' contributions to cancer predisposition is always hampered by the absence of data on the prevalence of these variants in the general population. It is necessary to conduct a large‐scale case–control study to identify CSGs that significantly increase the risk of lung cancer. Materials and methods: We performed targeted sequencing of a CSGs panel in 1117 lung cancer patients and 16,327 controls from the general Chinese population. Results: In comparison to controls, lung cancer patients had a considerably higher prevalence of pathogenic and likely pathogenic (P/LP) variations. Among lung cancer patients, 72% of P/LP variants carriers did not have a family cancer history, who would be ignored if germline testing was only provided for patients meeting family history‐based criteria. Furthermore, compared to individuals with late‐onset lung cancer, patients with early‐onset lung cancer had a considerably higher prevalence of P/LP variations. With odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 4‐fold (BRCA1: OR, 4.193; 95%CI, 1.382–10.768) to 29‐fold (TP53: OR, 29.281; 95%CI, 1.523–1705.506), P/LP variants in the BRCA1 and TP53 genes were discovered to be strongly related to increased lung cancer risk. Additionally, with ORs ranging from 7.322‐fold to infinity, we discovered 23 variations previously categorized as non‐P/LP variants were highly enriched in lung cancer patients. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that P/LP variants in BRCA1 and TP53 conferred increased risk of lung cancer in Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic heterostructures provide flexible ways to realize particular magnetic properties that possess both scientific and practical significance. Here, by first-principles calculation, we predict strong Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions (DMIs) by constructing CrI3/Metal heterostructures. The underlaying mechanisms are ascribed to the large spin-orbital coupling (SOC) of the I atom and the structural distortion in CrI3 layer caused by substrates. This is different from the traditional way that deposit magnetic films on substrate to generate DMI, wherein DMI is dominated by interlayer hybridization and large SOC of substrates. In addition, both Heisenberg exchange and magnetic anisotropy are modulated dramatically, such as Heisenberg exchange is nearly doubled on Au(111), and the out-of-plane magnetism is enhanced by 88% on Ir(111). Our work may provide a experimentally accessible strategy to induce DMI in layered magnetic materials, which will be helpful to the design of spintronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationship between polymorphisms of P2X3, P2X7 genes and environment interaction with susceptibility of childhood asthma. We conducted a matched case-control study with 170 cases and 175 healthy controls. The rs10896611, rs2276038, rs3781899 in P2X3 and rs1718119, rs3751143 in P2X7 polymorphisms were genotyped using the technique of an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction. Gene-gene, gene-environment and haplotype-environment interactions were tested using the generalized multi-factor dimensionality reduction method. There were no differences between cases and controls in allele or genotype frequencies of P2X3 and P2X7. The C/C, G/C genotypes of rs10896611, and C/C, C/T genotypes of rs2276038 and G/G, G/A genotypes of rs3781899 were associated with asthmatic cough (p > 0.05). The haplotype GCT of P2X3 reduced the risk of asthma (OR = 0.48, p = 0.048), and the haplotypes AGT (OR = 0.45, p = 0.001) and GCC (OR = 2.16, p = 0.002) were associated with asthmatic cough. The haplotype AA of P2X7 increased risk of asthma severity (p < 0.05). The three-locus model indicated a potential haplotype-environment interaction in GCT, ETS, and pet (p = 0.001). The rs10896611, rs2276038 and rs3781899 of P2X3 minor alleles increased the risk of asthmatic cough. Haplotype GCT of P2X3 was a protective factor for asthma, the haplotype AGT was a protective factor and GCC was a risk factor for asthma with cough. In addition, the interactions of haplotype GCT of P2X3, ETS and pet may increase an individual's susceptibility to asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the recognition and isolation of fullerenes, which are crucial for further exploration of their physical and chemical properties. Our goal is to investigate the potential recognition of the D5h–C70 fullerene using crown-shaped metal compositions through density functional theory calculations. We assess the effectiveness of fullerene C70 recognition by studying the binding energy. Additionally, various analyses were conducted, including natural bond order charge analysis and reduced density gradient analysis, to understand the interaction mechanism between the host and guest molecules. These investigations provide valuable insights into the nature of the interaction and the stability of the host–guest system. To facilitate the release of the fullerene guest molecule, the vis–NIR spectra were simulated for the host–guest structures. This analysis offers guidance on the specific wavelengths that can be utilized to release the fullerene guest from the host–guest structures. Overall, this work proposes a new strategy for the effective recognition of various fullerene molecules and their subsequent release from host–guest systems. These findings could potentially be applied in assemblies involving fullerenes, advancing their practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been effective in tendinopathy, the mechanisms by which MSCs promote tendon healing have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that MSCs transfer mitochondria to injured tenocytes in vitro and in vivo to protect against Achilles tendinopathy (AT). Methods: Bone marrow MSCs and H2O2-injured tenocytes were co-cultured, and mitochondrial transfer was visualized by MitoTracker dye staining. Mitochondrial function, including mitochondrial membrane potential, oxygen consumption rate, and adenosine triphosphate content, was quantified in sorted tenocytes. Tenocyte proliferation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation were analyzed. Furthermore, a collagenase type I-induced rat AT model was used to detect mitochondrial transfer in tissues and evaluate Achilles tendon healing. Results: MSCs successfully donated healthy mitochondria to in vitro and in vivo damaged tenocytes. Interestingly, mitochondrial transfer was almost completely blocked by co-treatment with cytochalasin B. Transfer of MSC-derived mitochondria decreased apoptosis, promoted proliferation, and restored mitochondrial function in H2O2-induced tenocytes. A decrease in reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (interleukin-6 and -1β) was observed. In vivo, mitochondrial transfer from MSCs improved the expression of tendon-specific markers (scleraxis, tenascin C, and tenomodulin) and decreased the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the tendon. In addition, the fibers of the tendon tissue were neatly arranged and the structure of the tendon was remodeled. Inhibition of mitochondrial transfer by cytochalasin B abrogated the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs in tenocytes and tendon tissues. Conclusions: MSCs rescued distressed tenocytes from apoptosis by transferring mitochondria. This provides evidence that mitochondrial transfer is one mechanism by which MSCs exert their therapeutic effects on damaged tenocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the climate constantly changing, plants suffer more frequently from various abiotic and biotic stresses. However, they have evolved biosynthetic machinery to survive in stressful environmental conditions. Flavonoids are involved in a variety of biological activities in plants, which can protect plants from different biotic (plant-parasitic nematodes, fungi and bacteria) and abiotic stresses (salt stress, drought stress, UV, higher and lower temperatures). Flavonoids contain several subgroups, including anthocyanidins, flavonols, flavones, flavanols, flavanones, chalcones, dihydrochalcones and dihydroflavonols, which are widely distributed in various plants. As the pathway of flavonoid biosynthesis has been well studied, many researchers have applied transgenic technologies in order to explore the molecular mechanism of genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis; as such, many transgenic plants have shown a higher stress tolerance through the regulation of flavonoid content. In the present review, the classification, molecular structure and biological biosynthesis of flavonoids were summarized, and the roles of flavonoids under various forms of biotic and abiotic stress in plants were also included. In addition, the effect of applying genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis on the enhancement of plant tolerance under various biotic and abiotic stresses was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to efficiently process big data at a low cost is a substantial challenge. Many efficient and economical data processing approaches have been proposed in the fields including business, scientific research, and public administration. Unfortunately, seismic data processing has not achieved the same level of devolvement in the field of oil exploration. While many storage architectures, such as network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN), have been widely used to process massive amounts of seismic data, these architectures are expensive in terms of bandwidth and capacity. In this paper, we propose a high-bandwidth and low-cost approach to fill this gap. NASStore is our data store built on NAS for processing seismic data. However, it cannot provide a high bandwidth at a low cost when it comes to data-intensive computing scenarios due to the massive bandwidth requirement and the huge volume of data to be stored. Distributed file systems, such as the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), offer an alternative approach to store data. It delivers high aggregate performance to user applications while running on inexpensive commodity hardware. In order to overcome the shortcomings of NASStore, we first present HDFSStore that is built on HDFS for processing seismic data. We then couple NASStore and HDFSStore to construct a new hybrid data store, called SeisStore, in which efficient parallel write, read, and update mechanisms are employed to improve the system performance. The experiment results show that SeisStore reduces the storage cost than NASStore by up to 23.20% and improves the access bandwidth than NASStore and HDFSStore by up to 478.84% and 16.99%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fucoidan and deep-sea water (DSW) are attractive marine resources for treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In this study, the regulation and mechanism associated with the co-administration of the two were first studied using T2DM rats, induced by a high fat diet (HFD) and streptozocin (STZ) injection. Results demonstrate that, compared to those with DSW or FPS alone, the orally administered combination of DSW and FPS (CDF), especially the high dose (H-CDF), could preferably inhibit weight loss, decrease levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and lipids, and improve hepatopancreatic pathology and the abnormal Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway. The fecal metabolomics data show that H-CDF could regulate the abnormal levels of metabolites mainly through the regulation of linoleic acid (LA) metabolism, bile acid (BA) metabolism, and other related pathways. Moreover, H-CDF could adjust the diversity and richness of bacterial flora and enrich bacterial groups, such as Lactobacillaceae and Ruminococcaceae UCG-014. In addition, Spearman correlation analysis illustrated that the interaction between the gut microbiota and BAs plays an essential role in the action of H-CDF. In the ileum, H-CDF was verified to inhibit activation of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR)–fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) pathway, which is regulated by the microbiota–BA–axis. In conclusion, H-CDF enriched Lactobacillaceae and Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, thereby changing BA metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, and other related pathways, as well as enhancing insulin sensitivity and improving glucose and lipid metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of our modified laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy for type III biliary atresia (BA) in children. Methods: A total of 56 type III BA patients underwent laparoscopic-modified Kasai procedure from January 2015 to July 2021. Conventionally control group of 45 BA patients from January 2012 to January 2016 were operated by open Kasai. The clinical data between the two groups were retrospectively compared. Results: The mean operating time was 235.5 ± 20.5 minutes (range, 210–275 minutes) in Group I, whereas 180.5 ± 25.5 minutes (range, 155–210 minutes) in Group II. The oral intake resumption was faster in Group I than that in Group II (mean 3.5 days versus 4.5 days). The follow-up time was mean 18.5 months in Group I and 24 months in Group II. The clearance of jaundice (total bilirubin <20 μmol/L) was significant different in Group I (78.6%) (44/56) versus that of Group II (74.3%) (33/45). The native liver survival rate was 71.4% (40/56) in Group I and was 66.7% (30/45) in Group II at the follow-up time, respectively. Conclusion: The laparoscopic-modified Kasai would improve the outcome of BA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, this study provided a serial multiple mediation model that examined how students' perceptions of teacher autonomy support (PTAS) relate to different achievement motivations (mastery and performance-approach goals), and further associate with students' intellectual risk-taking (IRT) engagement and academic performance (AP). A self-report questionnaire and a standardised science academic test were completed by 520 primary school students from China. The structural equation modelling revealed that the positive association between PTAS and students' AP was serially mediated by achievement motivations and then intellectual risk-taking engagement. Though the unexpected negative direct effects of PTAS on AP suggested the need to optimise autonomous instructional practices, the positive indirect and total effects highlighted the contributions of PTAS to students' achievement motivation and IRT engagement. The findings instantiated how autonomy support may promote students' achievement motivations and further influence their learning engagement and academic performance in science. This study would be valuable for educational researchers and practicing teachers as it extends our understanding of what factors are influential in promoting students' learning outcomes and how they correlate in science learning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at elucidating some characteristics of the shock wave overpressure generated by a non-traditional layered charge comprising an inner high-energy explosive and an outer polymer matrix composite. Two models for predicting the peak overpressure (Δpm) of the charge were established, namely, a model based on the initial parameters of the blast wave, and a model considering the weakening of the explosion energy through the introduction of polymer matrix cladding. The overpressure of a typical layered charge was experimentally measured for model validation. It was found that the difference between the Δpm predicted by the two models and the experimental data is less than 15.12% and 14.17%, respectively. The model that was established based on the conservation of energy law, is in best agreement with the experimental data under different cladding/charge mass ratios (αm). The model that was based on the initial parameters of the blast wave obtained a low predicted value when αm was 0.4–0.8, which is attributed to the non-uniformity of the gas-solid mixture during the explosive dispersion stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of Generalized Lorenz–Mie theory (GLMT), based on the expansion results of electromagnetic field radiation components of Bessel pincer light sheets beam acting on dielectric particles of arbitrary size, the expression of radiation force components in a Cartesian coordinate system is obtained by using the Maxwell stress tensor method. On the one hand, the effects of the refractive index and the equivalent radius of spherical particles on the distribution of radiation force are discussed; On the other hand, the influence of beam scaling parameter and beam order of Bessel pincer light sheets beam on the distribution of radiation force are investigated. The results indicate that the changes of particle's refractive index and effective radius only affect the distribution of radiation force. However, the beam scaling parameter and beam order of Bessel pincer light sheets beam have a very sharp impact on the convergence position, distribution range and bending degree far away from the wave source of the radiation force. Single-beam optical tweezers using the self-focusing and self-bending Bessel pincer light-sheets beam are crucial for applications such as single molecule biophysics, optical manipulation and particle separation/clearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erasure coding is extensively deployed in today’s data centers to tackle prevalent failures, because it can offer higher reliability at lower storage overhead than data replication. However, for each small write, erasure-coded storage systems have to perform a partial write to an entire erasure coding group, resulting in a time-consuming write-after-read. This paper presents DABRI, an erasure-coded hybrid write approach based on data delta for fast partial writes. DABRI uses data deltas that are the differences between latest data values and original data values, instead of parity deltas to recover the failed data. The data node sends the latest data instead of the parity delta to parity nodes for each partial write. The original data stored on the data node is read and sent to the parity nodes, only when the data stored on the parity nodes is insufficient to maintain the data reliability. This can bypass the computation of parity deltas and reduce the number of data reads. For a series of n partial writes to the same data, DABRI performs log-based updates for data and parity in the first write, performs in-place data updates and log-based parity updates for the last n-1 writes. In addition, the I/O between data nodes and parity nodes is scheduled for parallel I/O in each partial write. We implement an erasure-coded prototype storage system based on DABRI to perform performance evaluation. Experimental results running the real-world traces show that DABRI can significantly improve the I/O throughput, compared with the state-of-the-arts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ratiometric fluorescent probe for detecting H 2 S. • NIR emission wavelength and high energy transfer efficiency. • Excellent sensitivity and selectivity. • Achieving the detection of exogenous and endogenous H 2 S in living cells. Hydrogen sulfide is an important signaling molecule which plays a vital role in many biological processes. In this work, a novel near-infrared FRET (fluorescence resonance energy transfer) fluorescent probe was developed based on the rhodol derivative to detect H 2 S. The ratio of fluorescent intensity with the concentration of H 2 S exhibited an excellent linear relationship when probe LT responded to H 2 S. Probe LT exhibited excellent selectivity, sensitivity and anti-interference. LT was applied to sense endogenous and exogenous H 2 S in cells with great performance. Moreover, LT had the ability to target endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in Hela cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Four different flow behaviors and deformation mechanisms of PM superalloy with high γ′ content under isothermal compression were revealed. • The microstructure evolution for different flow behaviors were systematic analysis. • The effects of γ′ on the microstructure under different hot deformation conditions were demonstrated. • The evolution mechanisms of abnormally growing grains with high deformation storage energy were revealed. This study examines the flow behavior and deformation mechanism of a FGH4113A superalloy with high γ′ content for different strain rates (0.01–1 s−1) at sub-solvus (1030, 1080 °C), near-solvus (1130 °C), and sup-solvus temperatures (1180 °C). The results indicated that the alloy exhibits four different flow behaviors: rapid softening after reaching peak stress (at 1030–1080 °C), slow softening after reaching peak stress (at 1130–1180 °C/0.1–1 s−1), steady state flow (at 1130 °C/0.01 s−1), and continuous hardening (at 1180 °C/0.01 s−1). The strain rate sensitivity exponent decreases as the flow behavior transforms from dynamic softening to continuous hardening. Moreover, the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) fraction decreases with increasing strain rate at sub-solvus temperatures, where an inverse trend was observed at near- or sup-solvus temperatures. These observations are influenced by the interplay of continuous original grain boundary migration (COBM), DRX, and grain growth. Meanwhile, the primary γ′ phase has different roles under distinct deformation conditions. At sub-solvus temperature, the primary γ′ phase facilitates DRX, grain refinement, and coordinated plastic deformation. At near-solve temperature, the primary γ′ phase predominantly contributes to coordinated plastic deformation. At the sup-solvus temperature, the γ′ phase entirely dissolves, with the grains coarsened by COBM continuously undergoing compressed, exhibiting continuous hardening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis, caused by mycobacteria, continues to pose a substantial public health threat. Mycobacteria typically use cholesterol from the membranes of host macrophages as a carbon and energy source. Most genes that control cholesterol degradation are regulated by KstR, which is highly conserved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Through bioinformatic analysis, we found a typical global nitrogen regulator (GlnR)‐binding motif (CCGAC‐AACAGT‐GACAC) in the promoter region of kstR of M. smegmatis, and we determined its binding activity in vitro using electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Using RT‐qPCR, we found that nine genes involved in side‐chain or sterol‐ring oxidation were upregulated in a ΔglnR M. smegmatis strain compared to the WT strain and glnR‐complemented strains under nitrogen limitation. ATP assays in macrophages revealed that coordinated GlnR–KstR regulation significantly reduced the viability of M. smegmatis in macrophages. Thus, we found that various genes involved in cholesterol catabolism are regulated by GlnR via KstR in response to environmental nitrogen, and that they further affect the invasive ability of M. smegmatis. These findings revealed a novel regulatory mechanism of cholesterol catabolism, which may be useful in the development of new strategies for controlling tuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By tuning the applied potential of the UNCNs-900 electrode, we could easily tune the H 2 /CO ratios in clean syngas within a wide range with extra high FE: ∼100 %. And the maximum FE CO could reach 91 % which represented the highest values among the reported non-metallic carbon-based electrocatalysts for CO 2 reduction to syngas. Based on both experiments and DFT calculations, we have proved the pyridinic-N of UNCNs-900 is the active site of CO 2 RR, and graphitic-N may be the active site for HER. [Display omitted] • We have successfully prepared a highly active UNCN electrocatalyst using ug-C 3 N 4. • We were able to tailor the H 2 /CO ratio in the clean syngas products in a large range. • The maximum FE CO of the UNCNs-900 reached 91%. Developing nonmetallic carbon-based electrocatalysts that are affordable and have high activity and stability for carbon dioxide (CO 2) reduction to syngas is a new and challenging strategy for solving the energy crisis. Here, we prepared a highly active ultrathin nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanosheet (UNCN) electrocatalyst. By tuning the applied potential of the UNCN-900 (900 represents the carbonization temperature) electrode, we could tune the H 2 /CO ratio in clean syngas within a wide range with extra-high Faradic efficiency (FE). The maximum FE CO reached 91%, which represented the highest value among the reported nonmetallic carbon-based electrocatalysts for CO 2 reduction to syngas. According to the results of experiments and density functional theory calculations, we proved that pyridinic-N in UNCNs-900 is the active site of the CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) and that graphitic-N may be the active site for the hydrogen evolution reaction. These results provide a useful case for electrochemical CO 2 reduction to syngas with a tunable H 2 /CO ratio using nonmetallic carbon-based electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic value of shear wave elastography (SWE), fine needle aspiration (FNA) and BRAF gene detection (BRAFV600E gene mutation detection) in ACR TI-RADS 4 and 5 thyroid nodules. METHODS: SWE images, FNA cytological results and BRAF detection results of ACR TI-RADS 4 and 5 thyroid nodules confirmed by pathology were analyzed retrospectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to determine the best cutoff value of SWE Emax. In the combined diagnosis of SWE, FNA and BRAF, firstly, the nodules with BRAF gene mutation were included in the positive ones, secondly, the nodules with benign and malignant FNA were included in the FNA + SWE or FNA + SWE + BRAF negative and positive ones respectively, finally, for FNA uncertain nodules: those whose SWE Emax were less than or equal to the cutoff value were included in FNA + SWE or FNA + SWE + BRAF negative ones, and those whose SWE Emax were greater than the cutoff value were included in positive ones. The diagnostic efficacy of SWE, FNA, SWE + FNA, FNA + BRAF and their combination in ACR TI-RADS 4 and 5 thyroid nodules were compared. RESULTS: The ROC curve showed that the best cutoff value of SWE Emax was 40.9 kpa, and the area under ROC curve (AUC) was 0.842 (0.800∼0.885). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SWE were 76.3% (270/354), 75.5% (80/106) and 76.1% (350/460), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNA were 58.2% (206/354), 88.7% (94/106) and 65.2(300/460), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNA + BRAF were 95.5% (338/354), 88.7% (94/106) and 93.9% (432/460), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SWE + FNA were 85.9% (304/354), 98.1% (104/106) and 88.7% (408/460), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SWE + FNA + BRAF were 98.3% (348/354), 98.1% (104/106) and 98.3% (452/460), respectively. For the diagnostic accuracy, SWE + FNA + BRAF > FNA + BRAF > FNA + SWE > SWE > FNA, the difference was statistically significant (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For ACR TI-RADS 4 and 5 thyroid nodules, SWE and FNA have high diagnostic efficiency. For the diagnostic accuracy, FNA + BRAF is better than FNA + SWE. FNA combination with BRAF gene detection further improves the diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy of FNA. The combined application of the three is the best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new analytical model for the calculation of the shielding effectiveness of multilayer infinite metal meshes is proposed. This model is based on the previously developed one for single- and double-layer metal shielding grids. It enables accurate and fast calculations of the shielding effectiveness of multilayer metal meshes with different air interlayers in a wide frequency range. The proposed model considers the ratio of the wire diameter to the aperture size and the layer interspacing. The model is validated by comparison of the results of calculations with the HFSS simulation results. The model validity in a wide frequency range as well as its calculation speed far bigger than that for HFSS is demonstrated. The results of calculations show that the shielding effectiveness of metal meshes can be effectively improved by increasing the distance between the mesh layers and the ratio of the wire diameter to the aperture size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is proposed to calculate the transient coupling of a dielectric-coated wire above the rough soil surface under the high power electromagnetic (HPEM) pulse. The improved method is based on the domain decomposition technique, in which the dielectric-coated wire and the rough surface are allocated into the target subdomain and the rough surface subdomain, respectively. The reflected waveform from the rough surface is computed by applying the FDTD method combined with the time-domain Huygen's technique. The incident field on the target subdomain is calculated through the superposition of the excitation fields generated with the directly incident wave and the reflected wave from the rough surface. The near-field distribution and the energy-flux density (EFD) inside the dielectric-coated wire are simulated by running the FDTD in the target subdomain. The accuracy and high efficiency of the improved method are validated and demonstrated by comparing with the conventional FDTD method. Finally, the influences of some parameters related to the rough soil surface and dielectric-coated wire on the EFD are analyzed through the typical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• rs10787760 (G > A) in 3′UTR region of VAX1 gene is associated with an increased risk of non-syndromic cleft palate in northwest Chinese population. • The rs10787760 variant is associated with cleft lip and/or palate in northwest Chinese population and and carrying the A allele might increase the risk of NSCL/P in male. • The 3′UTR region of VAX1 carries mutation in rs10787760 affecting the secondary structure of its mRNA, which affects its mRNA expression. To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 3′UTR region of VAX1 , SYT14 and PAX7 genes and the risk of non-syndromic cleft palate (NSCLP) in a northwest Chinese population. A case-control study was conducted in 406 normal controls and 399 NSCLP patients. Using iMLDRTM genotyping technology, eight SNPs of three genes ((rs10787760, rs7086344 at VAX1), (rs1010113, rs851114, and rs485874 at PAX7), and (rs61820397, rs4609425, rs12133399 at SYT14)) were genotyped to investigate the differences in alleles and genotype distribution frequencies between NSCLP patients and healthy controls. RNA Folding Form software was used to predict RNA secondary structure and expression vectors were constructed to explore the function of the relevant SNP. The effect of SNP polymorphism of gene transcription and translation was assessed using qPCR and Western blot analysis. Key findings. Among the eight SNPs of three genes, rs10787760 of VAX1 gene was found to be associated with an increased risk of NSCLP (OR = 1.341, CI = 1.004–1.790) and the GA genotype of rs10787760 increased the risk of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) about 1.42 times (p < 0.05), and carrying the A allele might increase the risk of NSCL/P in male (OR = 1.356, 95 % CI = 1.010–1.823). But there was no association observed with cleft palate only (CPO). Cell function experiments revealed that the G to A mutation in rs10787760 up-regulated GFP- VAX1 transcriptional level by 2.39 and 3.13 times in two cell lines respectively, and enhance the protein expression of the VAX1 gene further. RNA secondary structure study showed that the rs10787760 (G > A) had two different secondary structures in 3′UTR region. The rs10787760 variant in the 3′UTR region of VAX1 gene is associated with CL/P in northwest Chinese population. We hypothesize that the machanism of it might be caused by the RNA differenct fold in the 3′UTR region caused by the polymorphism of the gene. Original Reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a graph H and an integer k ≥ 1 , the Gallai–Ramsey number G R k (H) is defined to be the minimum integer n such that every k -edge coloring of the complete graph K n contains either a rainbow (all different colored) triangle or a monochromatic copy of H. In this paper, we study Gallai–Ramsey numbers for graphs with chromatic number three such as K ̂ m for m ≥ 2 , where K ̂ m is a kipas with m + 1 vertices obtained from the join of K 1 and P m , and a class of graphs with five vertices, denoted by ℋ. We first study the general lower bound of such graphs and propose a conjecture for the exact value of G R k ( K ̂ m). Then we give a unified proof to determine the Gallai–Ramsey numbers for many graphs in ℋ and obtain the exact value of G R k ( K ̂ 4) for k ≥ 1. Our outcomes not only indicate that the conjecture on G R k ( K ̂ m) is true for m ≤ 4 , but also imply several results on G R k (H) for some H ∈ ℋ which are proved individually in different papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plasma sheath formed around a hypersonic vehicle traveling through the atmosphere will affect the quality of wireless signals. To fully grasp this effect, it is necessary to comprise the vehicle antennas in the investigations, which is considered in our work. Firstly, the discrete plasma sheath data is generated by using COMSOL. Then, combining the shift-operator Finite-Difference Time-Domain method and numerical methods such as the high-dimensional Lagrange interpolation, an electromagnetic algorithm designed for the discrete plasma sheath data is developed. Based on this, the influence of the plasma sheath on the radio wave propagation is studied under different flight condition. Results show that, due to the influence both of the plasma sheath and of the vehicle antenna, the radio waves exhibit rich propagation behaviors, such as the frequency-band shift and the tail diffraction, etc. Compared with other studies, the results in this paper more approximately reflect the propagation characteristics of radio waves in the hypersonic environment, and can provide a reference for the related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric plasma-sprayed tungsten coating is one of the most prospective plasma-facing materials used in the first wall of nuclear fusion devices since its low tritium inventory, good compatibility, and cost-effective. However, there are still some issues need to be addressed for the atmospheric plasma-sprayed tungsten coatings, such as high porosity and low thermal diffusivity. In this study, electron beam remelting treatments (EBRTs) have been used to modify the surface microstructure of atmospheric plasma-sprayed tungsten coatings, and the properties of the coatings such as porosity, oxygen content, microhardness, wear, and corrosion resistance are characterized and studied systematically. The experimental results revealed that a compact remelted layer with a columnar crystal structure is formed on the surface of the tungsten coating by EBRTs, and the porosity and oxygen content have been significantly reduced. The microhardness of the tungsten coating has nearly doubled after EBRTs. Comparing with the as-sprayed tungsten coating, the wear and corrosion resistance of the electron beam treated tungsten coatings have been considerably improved. Moreover, the thermal diffusivity has also been significantly enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoporosis is a widespread chronic disease characterized by low bone density. There is currently no gold standard treatment for osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to explore the role and mechanism of Astragaloside on osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Methods: MC3T3-E1 cells were divided into control and different dose of Astragaloside (10, 20, 40, 50, and 60 μg/ml). Then, ALP and ARS staining were performed to identify the effects of Astragaloside for early and late osteogenic capacity of MC3T3-E1 cells, respectively. Real-time PCR and western blot were performed to assess the ALP, OCN, and OSX expression. PI3K/Akt signaling pathway molecules were then assessed by Western blot. Finally, PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, was implemented to assess the mechanism of Astragaloside in promoting osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Results: Astragaloside significantly increased the cell viability than the control group. Moreover, Astragaloside enhanced the ALP activity and calcium deposition than the control groups. Compared with the control group, Astragaloside increased the ALP, OCN, and OSX expression in a dose-response manner. Western blot assay further confirmed the real-time PCR results. Astragaloside could significantly increase the p-PI3K and p-Akt expression than the control group. LY294002 partially reversed the promotion effects of Astragaloside on osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. LY294002 partially reversed the promotion effects of Astragaloside on ALP, OCN, and OSX of MC3T3-E1 cells. Conclusion: The present study suggested that Astragaloside promoted osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells through regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural healing ability of tendon is limited, and it cannot restore the native structure and function of tendon injuries. Tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) are a new type of pluripotent stem cells with multi-directional differentiation potential and are expected to become a promising cell-seed for the treatment of tendon injuries in the future. In this review, we outline the latest advances in the culture and identification of TDSCs. In addition, the influencing factors on the differentiation of TDSCs are discussed. Moreover, we aim to discuss recent studies to enhance TDSCs treatment of injured tendons. Finally, we identify the limitations of the current understanding of TDSCs biology, the main challenges of using their use, and potential therapeutic strategies to inform cell-based tendon repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Although low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) screening is used for the detection of lung cancer in a high-risk population, false-positive results of LDCT remain a clinical problem. Here, we developed a blood test of a novel panel of three established lung cancer methylation biomarkers for lung cancer detection. Short stature homeobox 2 gene (SHOX2), ras association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A), and prostaglandin E receptor 4 gene (PTGER4) methylation was analyzed in a training cohort of 351 individuals (197 controls, 154 cases) and validated from an independent cohort of 149 subjects (89 controls, 60 cases). The novel panel biomarkers distinguished between malignant and benign lung disease at high sensitivity and specificity: 87.0% sensitivity [95% CI 80.2–91.5%], 98.0% specificity [95% CI 94.9–99.4%]. Sensitivity in adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, and other lung cancer was 89.0%, 87.5%, 85.7%, and 77.8%, respectively. Notably, cancer patients in stage I and II showed high diagnostic sensitivity at 82.5% and 90.5%, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic efficiency did not show bias toward age, gender, smoking, and the presence of other (nonlung) cancers. The performance of the panel in the validation cohort confirmed the diagnostic value. These findings clearly showed that this panel of DNA methylation biomarkers was effective in detecting lung cancer noninvasively and may provide clinical utility in stand-alone or in combination with current imaging techniques to improve the diagnosis of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A subgridding unconditionally stable finite-element time-domain method based on local eigenvalue solution (SUSL-FETD) is proposed to solve multiscale modeling. In this method, subgridding elements are used to discrete a multiscale computational domain, and the explicit central-difference method is applied for temporal discretization. Compared with traditional elements, the subgridding elements have a more complex distribution of edges and nodes. Therefore, an efficient subgridding scheme is given to form the element matrix for each subgridding element. Such system matrices assembled by all element matrices are symmetric. The subgridding FETD (S-FETD) is then further developed into the subgridding unconditionally stable FETD (SUS-FETD) by filtering spatial unstable modes. It is time-consuming to obtain the unstable modes by global eigenvalue decomposition. In this article, the local eigenvalue decomposition is proposed to get the unstable modes, which further reduces the memory storage and computing time. Numerical examples certify that the proposed SUSL-FETD has high accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uniaxial perfectly matched layer (UPML), an important link in the numerical calculation of the discontinuous Galerkin time domain (DGTD), truncates the size of the computational domain and absorbs the outward‐travelling waves. In traditional DGTD, tetrahedral meshes are used to divide the computational domain. These meshes are also used in UPML. As the scope of the computational domain is wide, many meshes will be generated after the UPML division wraps the external part of the domain, thereby resulting in inefficient computation. The use of a UPML in DGTD form based on hexahedral meshes is proposed. The internal propagation and UPML regions are divided by a tetrahedral element and a hexahedral element, respectively. Among the relevant numerical examples given, a few cases are analysed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method: the high efficiency of the UPML with hexahedral mesh, attenuation of electromagnetic waves inside the UPML, and relative error of the electric field values at the observation points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests that C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and immune cells can predict sepsis severity in adult patients. However, the specific values of these indicators are not consistent in predicting prognosis.Methods: A retrospective study analyzed the medical records of 194 patients based on the concept of sepsis in 2016 (Sepsis 3.0) from January 2017 to December 2019. A comparative analysis of inflammatory factors associated with patients in the sepsis survival and the non-survival group was performed. The concentrations of CRP and PCT, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were measured. ROC curve was used to assess the diagnosis and analysis of the selected indices of sepsis. According to each index's cut-off value of the ROC curve, the patients were divided into two groups, and the prognosis was calculated.Results: Among the 194 patients, 32 died (16.49%), the median age of the patients was 79 (66.0, 83.3) years, and 118 were male (60.8%). Analysis of related inflammatory indicators showed that CRP, NLR, MLR, PLR, and CRP*PCT in the non-survival group were statistically higher than those in the survival group (all p values were < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that PCT, CRP, NLR, PLR, and CRP*PCT were all independent prognostic factors for patients. The ROC curve results showed that CRP*PCT had the best diagnostic value (AUC = 0.915). The cut-off values of PCT, CRP, NLR, PLR, MLR, and CRP*PCT were 0.25 ng/mL, 85.00 mg/L, 8.66, 275.51, 0.74%, and 5.85 (mg/L)2, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival estimate showed that patient prognosis between the CRP, PCT, NLR, PLR, and CRP*PCT was statistically different (all values P < 0.05, respectively). However, there was no statistically significant difference in gender and MLR (all values P > 0.05, respectively), grouping based on diagnostic cut-off values.Conclusions: In this study, inflammation-related markers PCT, CRP, NLR, MLR, PLR, and CRP*PCT can be used as independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with sepsis. Furthermore, except for MRL, these indicators have cut-off values for predicting patient death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emergence agitation (EA) is an adverse post‐operative complication that increases the risk for injury, self‐extubation, hemorrhages, and prolonged hospitalization. This meta‐analysis aims to define the risk factors for adult EA after general anesthesia and provide recommendations for clinical practice. Methods: Embase, PubMed, Medline, and the Cochrane Library databases were comprehensive retrieved. Observational studies that reported the risk factors for adult EA were enrolled. Review Manager 5.4 was used to analyze the extracted data. Results: Eighteen observational studies involving 16, 678 adult patients were enrolled in this study. Eighteen pre‐operative and nineteen intraoperative factors with unadjusted data, and five pre‐operative and five intraoperative factors with adjusted data were meta‐analyzed separately. Among them, seven factors (age, male, smoking, history of substance misuse, inhalational anesthesia, urinary catheter, complain of pain, or need analgesic drug use in post‐anesthetic care unit) were the risk factors no matter meta‐analyzed by unadjusted data or adjusted data. Intraoperative use of benzodiazepines was the risk factor when meta‐analyzed by adjusted data, but not unadjusted data. Moreover, age and inhalational anesthesia were not the risk factors when omitted one study for sensitivity analysis, and history of substance misuse could not do sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: Based on this meta‐analysis, male, smoking, urinary catheter, and post‐operative pain are the risk factors, while age, inhalational anesthesia, history of substance misuse, and intraoperative use of benzodiazepines are the possible risk factors for adult EA. Editorial Comment: This systematic review and meta‐analysis identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of agitation during emergence from general anesthesia. As might be expected, the strongest factors are generally things which are irritating or painful for patients, but cannot necessarily be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel type of photocatalyst SiW12/α-Fe2O3 created by combining SiW12 NPs and α-Fe2O3 nanorings was synthesized through a "step by step" method. The structure, composition, morphology and the interaction between SiW12 and α-Fe2O3 of the as-prepared composites are characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and UV spectroscopy, powder XRD, and SEM and XPS analyses. The results show that the SiW12 unit exhibits a 3D zeolite-like open-framework structure with inter-crossing channels, and the α-Fe2O3 nanorings with an average size of about 150 nm are well dispersed on SiW12 NPs. The UV-vis, photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance results suggest that SiW12/3%α-Fe2O3 nanohybrid exhibits broad spectral absorption and excellent electron transfer capability. Fe2O3 and POM in the composition system can promptly transfer electrons, avoiding the recombination of electron–hole pairs and supplying more reaction active sites. Photocatalytic tests manifested that the composites exhibited excellent and stable activities towards the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation, and the SiW12/3%α-Fe2O3 nanohybrid exhibited the best photocatalytic performance, which could reach 97.80% at pH = 6. The radical and hole trapping test results indicate that the hydroxyl radicals were identified as the main active species during the photodegradation process. Meanwhile, it is proved that the concentration of Cl− in the solution has important influence on the photocatalytic performance of the composites. Also, the migration step of ˙O2− radicals to ˙OH radicals and the influence mechanism of chloride ions during the photocatalytic process have been studied. Finally, the probable photocatalytic mechanism was investigated systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Multi‐particle dampers (M‐PD) can be potentially applied in civil engineering because of their good damping effect and wide frequency band. However, because of their complex nonlinear mechanical properties and the lack of a reasonable mechanical model, their development and application in practical engineering are limited. Therefore, without considering the accumulation of particles, an equivalent inertia single‐particle mechanical model (EISM) is proposed by introducing an inerter to consider the effect of particle rolling on the damping mechanism and performance. Dynamic analyses of the EISM single degree of freedom system in the non‐collision stage and the periodic motion after collision are performed based on the analytical solution. The influence of inertance on the frequency response curve of dynamic amplification factors in the no‐collision stage and the analytical solution for the symmetric two‐impacts‐per‐cycle motion are discussed in detail. Numerical simulations and experimental verification are conducted to verify the rationality of the above theoretical analysis. The results show that EISM can further clarify the nonlinear characteristics of M‐PD. The inertance has a significant influence on the frequency response curve of the dynamic amplification factors as well as the boundary conditions and stability of the analytical solution of the symmetric two‐impacts‐per‐cycle motion. The proposed EISM and the corresponding theoretical analysis in this study can theoretically support further analysis of the vibration reduction mechanism and design of M‐PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of ACR TI-RADS, Kwak TI-RADS, ATA guidelines and KTA/KSThR guidelines in combination with shear wave elastography (SWE) for thyroid nodules. METHODS: The retrospective study included 566 thyroid nodules with maximum diameter≥5 mm which confirmed by FNA cytology or/and surgical pathology. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Youden index of diagnosis of thyroid nodules by ACR TI-RADS, Kwak TI-RADS, ATA guidelines, KTA/KSThR guidelines and SWE were calculated. The ROC curve was drawn to determine the cut-off values of the four ultrasound classification systems and SWE Emax. The diagnostic efficacy of the four ultrasound classification systems in combination with SWE were calculated and compared with those of pre-combination. RESULTS: The ROC curves indicated that the cut-off value of ACR TI-RADS, Kwak TI-RADS, ATA guidelines, KTA/KSThR guidelines and Emax of SWE was TR5, 4c, high-suspicion, high-suspicion, and 41.7 kPa, respectively, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.907(0.879–0.934), 0904(0.876–0.932), 0.894(0.863–0.924), 0.888(0.856–0.919), 0.886(0.859–0.913), respectively. After combination with SWE, the the sensitivities of the four ultrasound classification systems for the diagnosis of nodules were improved, and the differences were statistically significant (all P≤0.001); the specificities were decreased, but the differences were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05); the accuracies were improved, but only the difference of ACR TI-RADS was statistically significant (x2 = 4.45, P = 0.035); the differences in the AUCs were not significant (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The four ultrasound classification systems and SWE all had high performance in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. The four classification systems in combination with SWE were all beneficial to the differential diagnosis of nodules, and ACR TI-RADS in combination with SWE was more effective, especially for TR3 and TR4 nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method based on the current density equation in a 3-D case is proposed for the simulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves in magnetized plasma. In this article, two paths are given for the derivation of time-domain iteration formulas, auxiliary differential equation method for the current density equation (ADE-JE) and LT-JE. The implementation is explained in detail. The proposed algorithm avoids additional data storage and has a relatively high calculation speed, which makes it a powerful tool for magnetized plasma. The algorithm is validated by numerical examples, such as the Faraday rotation effect test and time-varying example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study took 'context' as a focal point in the context-based approach and its investigation was anchored on an analytical framework, which is composed of three dimensions of context: origins, intentions, and occasions. Content analysis was employed as the research methodology with 878 contexts identified from 96 copies of awarded chemistry lesson plans being the analysis targets. The occurrence of context adopted in these chemistry lesson plans was analysed along the three dimensions, each of which comprises three sub-dimensions. For each dimension, content analysis focused on the proportion of three sub-dimensions, different proportions between junior and senior high schools, and the changing trends of the three sub-dimensions during the period from 2001 to 2020. As found in this study, discrepancies existed in the proportions of the sub-dimensions of origins, intentions, and occasions of context that were adopted by chemistry teachers, and some significant differences lay in chemistry teaching between junior and senior high schools. The findings are discussed against the social background in Macao, where this study took place. This study has provided several implications for the research and practice of the context-based approach in chemistry education and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel domain decomposition-finite difference time domain (DD-FDTD) method is proposed to improve the computation efficiency of the traditional finite difference time domain (FDTD) method in calculating composite scattering from a target above a rough surface. In this scheme, the target and the rough surface are placed into the target subdomain and the rough surface subdomain, respectively. The incident waves of the target subdomain, including the directly illuminated wave and the nonplanar reflected wave from the rough surface, are introduced by invoking the Huygens' principle and the equivalence principle. The FDTD method is executed in each subdomain to obtain the scattering fields of the target and the rough surface, and the scattering contribution of the rough surface from the reflected wave of target is taken into account. In comparison with the traditional FDTD method, the proposed method has significant advantages in saving memory usage and in reducing computation time, which is more efficient in solving the composite scattering problems with larger distance between target and rough surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method, called the SO-DGTD method, for solving time-dependent Maxwell's equations via the discontinuous Galerkin time domain (DGTD) method in dispersive media is presented. The shift operator (SO) method is used to represent the constitutive relations. This method has a universal equation for dispersive media models, i.e. the Debye model, the Drude model, and the Lorentz model. The algorithm is validated by studying the radar cross-section (RCS) of a hybrid dispersive sphere and a suddenly created plasma problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physics of spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) is widely studied for their intrinsic confinement of electromagnetic wave, leading to the useful applications of device miniaturization and signal integrity. As another imitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in microwave, effective SPPs (ESPPs) are excited inside the waveguide based on structural dispersion. Without using lossy plasmonic materials, slow wave property is achieved inside the waveguide for the interface confinement. In this work, for further enhancing the field confinement of SSPPs, the waveguide dispersion method is utilized on the structure of SSPPs. In this way, the techniques of ESPPs and SSPPs are feasibly combined for the first time, coining the name of “effective SSPPs (ESSPPs).” The dispersion relation of the ESSPPs is analyzed theoretically and numerically with the obvious field confinement. The structural dispersion makes the wavelength of ESSPPs reach 1/18 of the wavelength of SSPPs, which has potential applications for device miniaturization and signal integrity. Finally, two prototypes of the ESSPPs waveguide are fabricated on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) platform. The experimental results of the prototypes verify the stronger field confinement, indicating new possibilities to slow down the wave propagation with controllable confinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method, tetrahedral meshes are typically used to discretize the computational domain. However, due to their different topological structures, when tetrahedrons or hexahedrons of the same discrete scale are used to divide the same computational domain, there are more tetrahedral mesh units, resulting in higher temporal and spatial complexity. In this article, a hybrid mesh DGTD algorithm based on virtual elements for tetrahedra and hexahedra is proposed to improve the computational efficiency compared with the traditional DGTD method. The fine-structured computational domain and the outer region are computed using tetrahedral and hexahedral meshes, respectively. During calculation, the numerical flux of each interface element requires data from the other subdomain. In this article, virtual elements are established at each subdomain interface to enable the exchange of field values for ease of processing. Edge assignment or field interpolation is applied to sample points to create corresponding virtual units to calculate fringe fields. Finally, the field value of each virtual element is assigned to the corresponding real element for the numerical flux calculation. Numerical results verify the correctness and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a major threat on public health because of the increase of clinically isolated strains that exhibit resistance to many antibiotics. Therefore, development of new antibiotics for the treatment of MRSA infection is a sustained challenge. We have previously identified a ring‐opened bengamide analogue L472‐2 that displays moderate activity against the growth of S. aureus. In our previous work, we started from L472‐2 and identified a class of analogues containing alkynyl groups which have the potential to activate SaClpP activity but moderate antibacterial activity. Herein, we focused on the antibacterial activity of L472‐2, and a novel series of ring‐opened bengamide analogues were synthesized and their activities were evaluated against MRSA. By conducting a compact analysis of the structure‐activity relationships (SAR) of these analogues, we found that an adamantane ethanol ester bengamide 2j showed excellent antibacterial activity towards six S. aureus strains, including MRSA, while it does not activate ClpP. Therefore, these bengamide analogues represent a new class of candidates that suppress MRSA viability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An efficient dual-function fluorescent probe SN-F for SO 2 derivatives and H 2 S. • SN-F had a swift response (2 min), strong selectivity and anti-interference capability for SO 2 derivatives. • Probe SN-F had a wide linear range for H 2 S. • Probe SN-F had superior endoplasmic reticulum-targeting. As gas signaling molecules in organisms, SO 2 derivatives and H 2 S play crucial regulating roles in a series of physiological processes. Therefore, developing an assay that can accurately monitor the concentration of SO 2 derivatives and H 2 S in cells is extremely important for the research and treatment of related illnesses. A bifunctional probe SN-F based on FRET mechanism for SO 2 derivatives and H 2 S was designed. SN-F had a short response time to SO 2 (2 min), excellent anti-interference capability and selectivity in the non-organic solvent system (pH = 7.4), which was suitable for the determination of SO 2 derivatives in cells. SN-F had a wide linear range for H 2 S. Moreover, SN-F was applied in cell imaging successfully with high targeting ability to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and could monitor endogenous and exogenous H 2 S in cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive materials are functional structural materials that balance structural strength and reactivity, and their shock response is greatly influenced by the characteristics of reactive components. This article aims at understanding the shock compression and reaction of Al-Hf reactive materials with two values of the Al-Hf particle size ratio α (1 µm:10 µm and 10 µm:10 µm), which were prepared through hot pressing with a compactness (the ratio of density to theoretical maximum density) greater than 96.46%. The free surface velocity of the materials was measured in the impact velocity range of 279–865 m/s. The Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL), spall strength, and Hugoniot relationships under shock stresses of 1.83–14.46 GPa were analyzed on the basis of the microstructure and phase change. Continuous Al phase was formed in the sample with α = 0.1, while more Hf–Hf contact and crushed Hf appeared in the sample with α = 1. The velocity profiles presented clear signs of the linear growth to the HEL, the slow increase to the peak, and the subsequent pullback, indicating the transition from elastic to plastic and spall behavior. The HEL fluctuated significantly with increasing shock stress, while the spall strength first increased and then decreased. The sample with a continuous Al phase exhibited a lower HEL (0.52–0.97 GPa) and higher spall strength (0.31–0.46 GPa). The microstructure had a significant effect on the shock induced chemical reaction of the materials. Shock velocity was linearly related to particle velocity for the α = 0.1 sample, while a notable quadratic growth was observed for the α = 1 sample owing to self-reactions under the lower shock stress (5.32 GPa). The intermetallic Hf 4 Al 3 observed in the recovered product by X-ray diffraction further verified the phenomenon. • Nearly fully dense Al-Hf reactive material was prepared by hot pressing. • The effect of microstructure on the shock behaviors and reaction characteristics was investigated. • The sample with larger particle size of Al exhibited higher Hugoniot elastic limit and lower spall strength. • Intermetallic Al 4 Hf 3 was observed in the recovered samples, and sample with larger Al are more prone to reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multiple case study used the lens of identity to investigate how three beginning science teachers deal with practical work during their first two years of teaching careers in high school. In-depth data were collected from multiple sources for the three participants and data analysis was focused on the interactions between personal, interpersonal and situational dimensions when they taught with practical work. The six spaces in which the identity of Li, Zheng, and Zhang as beginning physics teachers with regard to practical work was presented emerged from the data: (1) personal characteristics; (2) beliefs about physics teachers, physics teaching, and practical work; (3) interaction with colleagues; (4) interaction with students; (5) curriculum materials; and (6) high-stakes examinations. Based on a combination of empirical data and insights from the literature, a conceptual framework was established for the identity of beginning science teachers with regard to practical work, which includes five aspects: personal characteristics, interactions with others, interactions with institutions, beliefs, and agency. The implications of this suggested framework for science teacher education are discussed in the last part of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of shear wave elastography (SWE) comnined with ACR TI-RADS categories for malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules with interminate FNA cytology. METHODS: The clinical data, sonographic features, ACR TI-RADS grading and shear wave elastography images of 193 patients of surgical pathologically proven thyroid nodules with interminate FNA cytology were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic efficacy of ACR TI-RADS categories, the maximum Young's modulus (Emax) of SWE and the combination of the two were calculated respectively. RESULTS: The ROC curves were drawn using surgical pathology results as the gold standard. The ROC curves indicated that the cut-off value of ACR TI-RADS and Emax of SWE was TR5 and 41.2 kPa respectively, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.864 (95% CI: 0.879–0.934) and 0.858 (95% CI: 0.796–0.920) respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ACR TI-RADS was 81.4% (127/156), 84.8% (31/37), and 81.9% (158/193), respectively. That of SWE Emax was 80.8% (126/156), 78.4% (29/37), and 80.3% (155/193), respectively. After SWE combined with ACR TI-RADS, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was 94.2% (147/156), 75.7% (28/37), and 90.7% (175/193), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ACR TI-RADS classification system and shear wave elastography had high diagnostic efficacy for thyroid nodules with interminate FNA cytology. The combination of the two could improve diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy, and could help to differentiate benign and malignant thyroid nodules with interminate FNA cytology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• KPNA3 is poorly expressed in neonatal rats with HIBD and cells exposed to OGD. • Overexpressed KPNA3 alleviates HIBD. • miR-134-5p aggravates HIBD both in vivo and in vitro by targeting KPNA3. • C/EBPα knockdown contributes to anesis of HIBD via miR-134-5p/KPNA3. • The study offers a novel insight into developing therapeutic strategies against HIBD. Hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) is a frequent cause of mortality and neurological handicaps in infants and children worldwide. To understand better the pathogenesis and management of HIBD, we established a HIBD model by common carotid artery ligation followed by systemic hypoxia in neonatal rats, and in other studies induced neuronal death in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells by 12 h of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). The level of KPNA3 declined in rats following experimental HIBD and in PC12 cells following OGD. KPNA3 overexpression protected neonatal rats against HIBD and PC12 cells against OGD-induced cell death. KPNA3 demonstrated to be the target of miR-134-5p could be activated by the transcriptional factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPα). The expression of miR-134-5p and C/EBPα was elevated in rats following experimental HIBD and in PC12 cells following OGD. In the parallel experiments, C/EBPα knockdown and miR-134 inhibition protected against HIBD pathology in neonatal rats and against OGD-induced neuronal death in PC12 cells. These findings reveal that the C/EBPα/miR-134-5p/KPNA3 axis mediates hypoxic-ischemic brain damage and neuronal death, thus presenting a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of human newborns at risk for HIBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between graphene and Ni(111) surface has been investigated systematically by density functional theory calculations, in which two different functionals PBE and optB88-vdW are used. PBE calculation indicates no binding between graphene and Ni(111) surface, while optB88-vdW, which is evidenced to consider van derWaals interaction reasonably, predicts the correct binding picture. The accurate potential energy surfaces suggest that top-fcc, bridge-top, and top-hcp are possible stable structures of graphene on Ni(111) surface, which are also found to have very close energies, in agreement with coexistence of different phases found experimentally. Different from PBE, the optB88-vdW functional predicts that top-fcc is the most stable configuration, following by bridgetop and then top-hcp, which is consistent with the surface distribution given by a statistical analysis of high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. The Dirac points are destroyed in chemisorbed phases of all stable structures. Further analysis indicates that strong hybridization between Ni-3d and C-2p orbitals and asymmetry induced by substrate are responsible for the gap opening at K point. The detailed binding mechanisms have been analysed using differential charge density and the STM images [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: To combat multidrug‐resistant Gram‐positive bacteria, new antimicrobials particularly those with novel mechanism of action are badly needed. Different with conventional antibiotics which are typical inhibitors, small‐molecule activators of bacterial ClpP represent a new class of antibiotics. No ClpP activator has been developed for clinical trial. Herein, we conducted a screening on our library of bengamide‐like ring‐opened analogues and found that L472‐2 possesses a low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against S.aureus and shows no activity for ClpP activation in vitro, but it displayed reduced antibacterial activity against S. aureus with clpP deletion. In order to obtain bengamide analogues that activate ClpP in vitro as well as possess antibacterial activity, we perform further structural modifications starting from L472‐2. Compound 37 remains the antimicrobial activity and activation of ClpP protein in vitro, which could be viewed as a new chemical scaffold for ClpP activators and worthy of further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]