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Taking advantage of fact that the surface electrons of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can be effectively released even at a low voltage bias, we demonstrate an improvement in the electrochemical performance of nanosized Prussian Blue (PB)-based secondary batteries through the incorporation of bare Ag or Ni NPs in the vicinity of the working PB NPs. It is found that the capacity for electrochemical energy storage of the 17 nm PB-based battery is significantly higher than the capacity of 10 nm PB-based, 35 nm PB-based or 46 nm PB-based batteries. There is a critical PB size for the highest electrochemical energy storage efficiency. The full specific capacity CF of the 17 nm PB-based battery stabilized to 62 mAh/g after 130 charge–discharge cycles at a working current of IW = 0.03 mA. The addition of 14 mass percent of Ag NPs in the vicinity of the PB NPs gave rise to a 32% increase in the stabilized CF. A 42% increase in the stabilized CF could be obtained with the addition of 14 mass percent of Ag NPs on the working electrode of the 35 nm PB-based battery. An enhancement in CF was also found for electrodes incorporating bare Ni NPs but the effect was smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical and non-contrast computed tomography (CT) features of patients with benign pulmonary subsolid nodules (SSNs) with a solid component ≤ 5 mm and their development trends via follow-up CT. Methods: We retrospectively collected 436 data from patients who had SSNs with a solid component ≤ 5 mm, including 69 with absorbable benign SSNs (AB-SSNs), 70 with nonabsorbable benign SSNs (NB-SSNs), and 297 with malignant SSNs (M-SSNs). Models 1, 2, and 3 for distinguishing the different types of SSNs were then developed and validated. Results: Patients with AB-SSNs were younger and exhibited respiratory symptoms more frequently than those with M-SSNs. The frequency of nodules detected during follow-up CT was in the following order: AB-SSNs > NB-SSNs > M-SSNs. NB-SSNs were smaller than M-SSNs, and ill-defined margins were more frequent in AB-SSNs than in NB-SSNs and M-SSNs. Benign SSNs exhibited irregular shape, target sign, and lower CT values more frequently compared to M-SSNs, whereas the latter demonstrated bubble lucency more commonly compared to the former. Furthermore, AB-SSNs showed more thickened interlobular septa and satellite lesions than M-SSNs and M-SSNs had more pleural retraction than AB-SSNs (all p < 0.017). The three models had AUCs ranging 0.748–0.920 and 0.790–0.912 in the training and external validation cohorts, respectively. A follow-up CT showed nodule progression in four benign SSNs. Conclusions: The three SSN types have different clinical and imaging characteristics, with some benign SSNs progressing to resemble malignancy. Critical relevance statement: A good understanding of the imaging features and development trends of benign SSNs may help reduce unnecessary follow-up or interventions. This retrospective study explores the CT characteristics of benign SSNs with a solid component ≤ 5 mm by comparing AB-SSNs, NB-SSNs, and M-SSNs and delineates their development trends via follow-up CT. Key points: 1. Different subsolid nodule types exhibit distinct clinical and imaging features. 2. A miniscule number of benign subsolid nodules can progress to resemble malignancy. 3. Knowing the clinical and imaging features and development trends of benign subsolid nodules can improve management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estrogen receptor (ESR) gene and follicle-stimulating hormone β (FSHβ) gene are responsible for litter traits. The present study aimed to verify the polymorphisms of ESR and FSHβ and assess their effects on the litter traits in 201 Large White pigs. Four SNPs (g.C669T, g.A1296G, g.C1665T and g.A1755G) were found in ESR. The TT genotype at g.C1665T locus and AA genotype at g.A1755G locus could significantly increase the total litter size of the first litter of American Large White pigs (p < 0.05). Eight SNPs were found in exon 3 of FSHβ. The AA genotype at g.A511G locus, AA and AG genotypes at g.A617G locus, CC and CT genotypes at g.C630T locus, CT and TT genotypes at g.C652T locus, CT and TT genotypes at g.C735T locus, AA and AG genotypes at g.A746G, AA and AG genotypes at g.A921G and CT genotype at g.C678T could significantly increase the litter size of different strains of Large White pigs (p < 0.05). Our study revealed that the genetic variations of ESR and FSHβ were closely related to the litter trait of Large White pigs. Therefore, ESR and FSHβ genes could be used as molecular markers for the genetic selection of Large White pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common age-related degenerative joint disease. Inflammaging, linking inflammation and aging, is found in senescent cells with the secretions of matrix-degrading proteins and proinflammatory cytokines. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) plays a very important role in OA progression. However, there remains no effective way to suppress OA progression, especially by suppressing inflammaging and/or the chondrocyte SASP. Recent studies have shown that exosomes derived from hypoxia-cultured BMSCs can regenerate cartilage in OA animal models. Some reports have further indicated that exosomes secreted from MSCs contribute to the efficacy of MSC therapy in OA. However, whether hypoxia-cultured ADSC-secreted exosomes (hypoxia-ADSC-Exos) can alleviate the chondrocyte SASP or OA progression remains unclear. Accordingly, we hypothesized that hypoxia-ADSC-Exos have a beneficial effect on the normal functions of human articular chondrocytes (HACs), can attenuate the SASP of OA-like HACs in vitro, and further suppress OA progression in rats. Hypoxia-ADSC-Exos were derived from ADSCs cultured in 1% O2 and 10% de-Exo-FBS for 48 h. The molecular and cell biological effects of hypoxia-ADSC-Exos were tested on IL1-β-induced HACs as OA-like HACs in vitro, and the efficacy of OA treatment was tested in ACLT-induced OA rats. The results showed that hypoxia-ADSC-Exos had the best effect on GAG formation in normal HACs rather than those cultured in normoxia or hypoxia plus 2% de-Exo-FBS. We further found that hypoxia-ADSC-Exos alleviated the harmful effect in OA-like HACs by decreasing markers of normal cartilage (GAG and type II collagen) and increasing markers of fibrous or degenerative cartilage (type I or X collagen), matrix degradation enzymes (MMP13 and ADAMT5), and inflammatory cytokines (TNFα and IL-6). More importantly, intra-articular treatment with hypoxia-ADSC-Exos suppressed OA progression, as evidenced by the weight-bearing function test and cartilage GAG quantification in ACLT rats. Moreover, through NGS and bioinformatic analysis, seven potential miRNAs were found in hypoxia-ADSC-Exos, which may contribute to regulating cellular oxidative stress and attenuating cell senescence. In summary, we demonstrated that hypoxia-ADSC-Exos, carrying potent miRNAs, not only improve normal HAC function but also alleviate HAC inflammaging and OA progression. The results suggest that hypoxia-ADSC-Exo treatment may offer another strategy for future OA therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is associated with high rates of mortality in the intensive care unit and accompanied by systemic inflammatory reactions, secondary infections, and multiple organ failure. Biological macromolecules are drugs produced using modern biotechnology to prevent or treat diseases. Indeed, antithrombin, antimicrobial peptides, interleukins, antibodies, nucleic acids, and lentinan have been used to prevent and treat sepsis. In vitro, biological macromolecules can significantly ameliorate the inflammatory response, apoptosis, and multiple organ failure caused by sepsis. Several biological macromolecules have entered clinical trials. This review summarizes the sources, efficacy, mechanism of action, and research progress of macromolecular drugs used in the prevention and treatment of sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new study examines how Helicoverpa armigera females detect chemicals released by conspecific eggs in order to avoid laying more eggs on the same substrate. This work opens new avenues for basic research inquiries and offers a potential strategy for controlling insect pests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of air temperature is of great significance to outdoor activities and daily life. However, it is important and more challenging to predict air temperature in complex terrain areas because of prevailing mountain and valley winds and variable wind directions. The main innovation of this paper is to propose a regional temperature prediction method based on deep spatiotemporal networks, designing a spatiotemporal information processing module to align temperature data with regional grid points and further transforming temperature time series data into image sequences. Long Short-Term Memory network is constructed on the images to extract the depth features of the data to train the model. The experiments demonstrate that the deep learning prediction model containing the spatiotemporal information processing module and the deep learning prediction module is fully feasible in short-term regional temperature prediction. The comparison experiments show that the model proposed in this paper has better prediction results for classical models, such as convolutional neural networks and LSTM networks. The experimental conclusion shows that the method proposed in this paper can predict the distribution and change trend of temperature in the next 3 h and the next 6 h on a regional scale. The experimental result RMSE reached 0.63, showing high stability and accuracy. The model provides a new method for local regional temperature prediction, which can support the planning of production and life in advance and tend to save energy and reduce consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dual-channel supply chain, the relationship between the electronic direct selling channel and the traditional selling channel is situated in an antagonistic game. The present study used the master-slave game model to analyze the dual-channel supply chain structure, where the manufacturer is the leader of the game, and the seller is the follower of the game. Based on the game analysis theory, the game order of manufacturer and seller is analyzed in the state of demand information sharing. The decision model of each member in the dual-channel supply chain is constructed, and the optimal production decision and product price decision under the demand information sharing between the seller and the manufacturer are determined by the reverse induction method. The expected economic benefits of both are calculated, respectively. The experimental results showed that the economic benefit of the model is higher than that of the traditional demand information nonsharing model, which could enhance the economic benefit of the manufacturer and the seller at the same time and alleviate the contradiction between the electronic direct selling channel and the traditional selling channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipid droplets (LDs) are known as an essential cellular organelle for lipid storage and metabolism. Fluorescent probes for imaging LDs are vital for studying the role of LDs in cells, and therapeutics targeting LDs may contribute to the fight against diseases induced by abnormal lipid metabolism. Although some commercial dyes (e.g., Nile Red and BODIPY 493/503) have been widely used for LD labeling, they exhibit unsatisfactory spectroscopic properties and specificity. This review mainly discusses LD-targeting fluorescent probes classified by their applications in imaging and theranostics. We also introduce the preparation processes and structural characteristics of these probes, as well as various photophysical mechanisms/phenomena utilized in their design. The current limitations and future research directions in this field are also proposed. We hope that this review will have implications for the future development of LD-targeting fluorescent probes for various practical applications. [Display omitted] • All kinds of lipid droplet (LD)-targeting fluorophores are included. • The photophysical mechanisms/phenomena and design strategies are introduced. • The preparation, properties, and therapeutic effects are described. • The limitations and future directions of LD-targeting fluorophores are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable ultra-short-term wind speed forecasts are essential for wind power consumption and scheduling and are an effective way to promote carbon neutrality. Wind farms are usually located in complex terrain with abundant wind resources, where traditional numerical weather forecasting and statistical methods are no longer sufficient to meet the demand. This study aims to address this challenge through a deep learning approach, and proposes a multisite collaborative deep learning (MS-CDL) based method. In the proposed wind speed forecasting model, state-of-the-art spatiotemporal mining algorithms and a framework of multi-task learning are used to mine deep spatiotemporal features in wind speed data using collaborative learning and knowledge sharing among multiple sites related by proximity. One-step-ahead and multi-step-ahead wind speed forecasting were conducted in realistic complex terrain scenarios, and the experimental results show that the proposed model requires only a small amount of computational resources and cost to achieve excellent forecasting results. For the T+1 horizon using data for the four seasons of 2018, MAE for the MS-CDL model was less than it was for the single-site models CNN, LSTM and CNN-LSTM respectively by 16.5%, 11.0% and 7.5%; respective decreases in RMSE were 19.3%, 13.1% and 7.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropeptides are the most diverse messenger molecules in metazoans and are involved in regulation of daily physiology and a wide array of behaviors. Some neuropeptides and their cognate receptors are structurally and functionally well conserved over evolution in bilaterian animals. Among these are peptides related to gastrin and cholecystokinin (CCK). In mammals, CCK is produced by intestinal endocrine cells and brain neurons, and regulates gall bladder contractions, pancreatic enzyme secretion, gut functions, satiety and food intake. Additionally, CCK plays important roles in neuromodulation in several brain circuits that regulate reward, anxiety, aggression and sexual behavior. In invertebrates, CCK-type peptides (sulfakinins, SKs) are, with a few exceptions, produced by brain neurons only. Common among invertebrates is that SKs mediate satiety and regulate food ingestion by a variety of mechanisms. Also regulation of secretion of digestive enzymes has been reported. Studies of the genetically tractable fly Drosophila have advanced our understanding of SK signaling mechanisms in regulation of satiety and feeding, but also in gustatory sensitivity, locomotor activity, aggression and reproductive behavior. A set of eight SK-expressing brain neurons plays important roles in regulation of these competing behaviors. In males, they integrate internal state and external stimuli to diminish sex drive and increase aggression. The same neurons also diminish sugar gustation, induce satiety and reduce feeding. Although several functional roles of CCK/SK signaling appear conserved between Drosophila and mammals, available data suggest that the underlying mechanisms differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between frozen hydrometeors and latent heating in model simulations and evaluates the capability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to reproduce the observed frozen hydrometeors and their relationship to tropical cyclone (TC) intensification. Previous modeling studies have emphasized the importance of both the amount and location of latent heating in modulating the evolution of TC intensity. However, the lack of observations limits a full understanding of its importance in the real atmosphere. Idealized simulations using WRF indicate that latent heating is strongly correlated to the amount of ice water content, suggesting that ice water content can serve as an observable proxy for latent heat release in the mid- to upper troposphere. Based on this result, satellite observations are used to create storm-centered composites of ice water path as a function of TC intensity. The model reasonably captures the vertical and horizontal distribution of ice water content and its dependence upon TC intensity, with differences typically less than 20%. The model also captures the signature of increased ice water content for intensifying TCs, suggesting that observations of ice water content provide a useful diagnostic for understanding and evaluating model simulations of TC intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the sole causes of death in lung cancer patients. This study combined with single-cell RNA-seq analysis to identify tumor stem-related prognostic models to predict the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma, chemotherapy agents, and immunotherapy efficacy. mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi) was determined by One Class Linear Regression (OCLR). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected by limma package. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis in GSE123902 dataset was performed using Seurat package. Weighted Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) was built by rms package. Cell differentiation ability was determined by CytoTRACE. Cell communication analysis was performed by CellCall and CellChat package. Prognosis model was constructed by 10 machine learning and 101 combinations. Drug predictive analysis was conducted by pRRophetic package. Immune microenvironment landscape was determined by ESTIMATE, MCP-Counter, ssGSEA analysis. Tumor samples have higher mRNAsi, and the high mRNAsi group presents a worse prognosis. Turquoise module was highly correlated with mRNAsi in TCGA-LUAD dataset. scRNA analysis showed that 22 epithelial cell clusters were obtained, and higher CSCs malignant epithelial cells have more complex cellular communication with other cells and presented dedifferentiation phenomenon. Cellular senescence and Hippo signaling pathway are the major difference pathways between high- and low CSCs malignant epithelial cells. The pseudo-temporal analysis shows that cluster1, 2, high CSC epithelial cells, are concentrated at the end of the differentiation trajectory. Finally, 13 genes were obtained by intersecting genes in turquoise module, Top200 genes in hdWGCNA, DEGs in high- and low- mRNAsi group as well as DEGs in tumor samples vs. normal group. Among 101 prognostic models, average c-index (0.71) was highest in CoxBoost + RSF model. The high-risk group samples had immunosuppressive status, higher tumor malignancy and low benefit from immunotherapy. This work found that malignant tumors and malignant epithelial cells have high CSC characteristics, and identified a model that could predict the prognosis, immune microenvironment, and immunotherapy of LUAD, based on CSC-related genes. These results provided reference value for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A facile and straightforward strategy was used to prepare carbon dots (CDs) using catechol as carbon source in one-pot hydrothermal method. The synthesis method is simple without any doping and modification and the prepared CDs do not require any post-processing. Characterizations of the obtained CDs indicated that they had high crystallinity and higher quantum yield (QY, 32%) than most non-functionalized and non-doped CDs. Noticeably, the fluorescence of CDs could be quenched with hypochlorite (ClO−) by oxidation of the residual pyrocatechol groups on the surface to o -benzoquinone exhibiting high sensitivity and selectivity for ClO−. The assay covered a linear range from 0.1 to 10 μM with a low detection limit of 30 nM. The results showed that the CDs provided a promising potential tool for the detection of ClO− in real water samples. Graphical abstract Non-doped and non-modifized CDs using catechol as a single carbon source was synthesized as ClO− sensor, based on the oxidation of the remaining catechol groups on the surface of CDs to o -quinone. Image 1 Highlights • The use of CDs for anions detection is far less than that of metal ions detection. • We prepared non-doped and unmodified fluorescent CDs with high QY using catechol. • The fluorescence of CDs was closely related to the presence of ClO−. • The proposed CDs could be used as sensor for ClO− sensitively and selectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Automated scheme for pressurized water reactor loading pattern design. • Premature convergence in QEA is relieved by modifying its evolutionary mechanism and the decoding scheme to construct an LP. • Self-regulated learning is incorporated to acquire information that can expedite better LP search. • Results from several experiments illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approaches. Abstract Reactor-core loading pattern (LP) design is a task performed during refueling to rearrange the spent and newly refilled fuel assemblies (FAs). To attain sufficient cycle length while complying with safety constraints, LP design is not easy, with its difficulty growing exponentially as the number of FAs increases. Attempts to enable design automation have been made with various metaheuristic optimization algorithms. Among them, quantum-inspired algorithms have received much attention because of their small required population of individuals and superior search capability, although the problem of premature convergence also accompanies their applications in LP design. In this paper, a quantum evolutionary algorithm (QEA)-based automated scheme is proposed for LP design in pressurized water reactors. First, the premature convergence in QEA is relieved by modifying its evolutionary mechanism and the decoding scheme to construct an LP. Next, self-regulated learning is incorporated to acquire information that can expedite better LP search so that more satisfactory LPs can be found. The design capability of the proposed scheme is demonstrated with a reference cycle of the Maanshan nuclear power plant, and the results from several experiments illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Algorithms for NPP faulty sensor detection, isolation and signal reconstruction. • An anomaly is detected and discriminated with Hotelling's T 2 test and IQR method. • An SBS-based approach is adopted to isolate all the faulty sensors. • The MVAR-based methods allow the readings of faulty sensors to be reconstructed. • Efficacy of the algorithms is verified with data from the Maanshan NPP simulator. Abstract The widespread sensors in a nuclear power plant (NPP) provide vital support to its operation. Any fault in these sensors can be a severe issue, threatening the safety of the NPP. Thus, the detection and isolation of the problematic sensors and the reconstruction of their readings are essential. In this study, several algorithms for sensor fault detection, isolation, and signal reconstruction are proposed. Through simultaneously monitoring changes in the recordings from sensors of the same type, an anomaly can be detected while the preset thresholds are exceeded. No subjective reasoning is required in setting the thresholds. To prevent improper recovery actions, an interquartile range-based scheme is employed to avoid falsely linking the variations in sensor readings caused by an initiating event (IE) to those caused by sensor faults. Moreover, via a sequential backward selection-based approach, the faulty sensors can be effectively isolated without the need for checking all the installed ones when the variations are deemed to be caused by sensor faults. Lastly, multivariate autoregressive model-based approaches are introduced to reconstruct the readings of faulty sensors either when an NPP is in normal operation or during the occurrence of an IE. Results of experiments using data generated by a simulator of the Maanshan NPP in Taiwan are provided to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cold-start link prediction has been a hot issue in complex network. Different with most of existing methods, this paper utilizes multiple interactions to predict a specific type of links. In this paper, multiple interactions are abstracted as multi-relational networks, and robust principle component analysis is employed to extract low-dimensional latent factors from sub-networks. Then a distribution free independence test, projection correlation, is introduced to efficiently analyze dependence between target and auxiliary sub-networks. Furthermore, associated auxiliary networks are exploited for cold-start link prediction, which aims to forecast potential links for new/isolated nodes in target sub-networks. Experimental results on 8 bioinformatics datasets validate rationality and effectiveness of the method. Highlights • An efficient method for network dependence analysis is proposed via projection correlation. • Two kind of methods with multiple interactions are proposed for cold-start link prediction. • It is promosing for cold start link prediction to establish regression between latent factors of sub-networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlight • A pressure relief method for circular tunnel under anisotropic stresses was promoted. • An analytical solution for the method was obtained using the complex variable theory. • A relation between maximum stress ratio and lateral pressure coefficient was found. • The plastic zone around the opening under anisotropic stresses was estimated. Abstract It is likely that a great number of excavation-induced failures, including rock burst, are activated in a highly anisotropic in situ stress field. Pressure-relief technologies are employed popularly as effective approaches of treating the induced failures, but there is a lack of study on their mechanisms in terms of the relief effect and distribution of the plastic zone. This paper proposes a pressure-relief method of grooving relief slots in the roof and floor of a circular opening considering the non-uniform stress distribution around a circular opening under anisotropic far-field stress. A conformal mapping method and complex variable theory are adopted to obtain a closed-form solution for released openings, stress ratios of the unreleased to released openings are used to describe the release effect, and effects of the lateral pressure coefficient and slot depth are discussed. Additionally, a negative exponential relation between the maximum stress ratio and the rock depth is found. On the basis of the elastic solution, this paper presents an approach of finding the distribution of the plastic zone around a non-circular opening for an anisotropic in situ stress state using the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, and investigates the release effect on the plastic zone for different lateral pressure coefficients and slot depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract When large deformation occurs in a tunnel, resulting in the primary lining intruding into the tunnel clearance, an appropriate treatment method is critically important to ensure that the tunnel can be completed on time and safely. This paper investigates the optimal treatment timing and technique for replacing the deformed primary lining. For this purpose, a two-stage numerical approach is employed for a severe tunnel collapse accident occurring on the Jinhong Highway. In the first stage, a global tunnel model is constructed using the finite difference method (FDM). The parameters are calibrated by the synthetic rock mass (SRM) approach, laboratory testing and field data. The continuously yielding (CY) joint model is used in the SRM, and its parameters are derived by the joint direct shear test. In the second stage, a local model encompassing the discrete fracture network (DFN) is constructed using the discrete element method (DEM) in the collapsed zone. Based on the DEM, the influence of the primary lining rehabilitation on the failure of the rock masses is analyzed. The local model is used to study the optimal rehabilitation timing, the optimum rehabilitation duration and the reasonable length of each replacement cycle. The following three conclusions are drawn. (1) The optimal rehabilitation timing is when the deformation of the rock masses reaches 90% of the total deformation. (2) There is a time threshold for the duration of the rehabilitation; if the duration is less than this value, the impact on the surrounding rock is small and almost the same. However, if the duration exceeds this value, the damage to the rock mass will increase as the duration increases. (3) The reasonable length of every replacement cycle should be less than the steel support spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Hyaluronan (HA) is an important extracellular matrix component in the early stage of chondrogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the application of an HA microenvironment for human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs)-based articular cartilage regeneration. HA-enriched fibrin (HA/Fibrin) hydrogels were synthesized and characterized for use as HA microenvironments. The cell viability and chondrogenic gene expression of hADSCs cultured in HA/Fibrin (HA/Fibrin/hADSC) and Fibrin (Fibrin/hADSC) hydrogels were tested in vitro. A chondral defect created in osteochondral core explants ex vivo was used to test chondral defect regeneration by HA/Fibrin/hADSC or Fibrin/hADSC hydrogels. The results showed that HA/Fibrin hydrogels exhibited an increased swelling ratio and matrix stiffness and a smoother surface with more interconnected pores than in Fibrin hydrogels. The viability of hADSCs in HA/Fibrin/hADSC hydrogels was not altered, but they exhibited higher chondrogenic gene expression than those in Fibrin/hADSC hydrogels. For chondral defect regeneration, the HA/Fibrin/hADSC hydrogels exhibited the most cartilaginous tissue neo-formation, chondral integration and sGAG content in the surrounding tissue. This study demonstrated that an HA microenvironment enhances hADSC-mediated cartilage regeneration in chondral defects and thus may be used for ADSC-based articular cartilage tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictions of subgrade settlement are important in engineering construction. However, current settlement prediction methods are often unsatisfactory; therefore, the Richards model, which is widely used in the biological field, is introduced in this paper to predict subgrade settlement. To improve the prediction accuracy of soft soil subgrade settlement, the settlement properties of soft soil subgrade and the characteristics of the Richards model are analyzed, and a form of the Richards model based on the bidirectional difference-weighted least-squares (BD-WLS) method is proposed. The performance of the BD-WLS method is verified via comparison with traditional methods of parameter estimation. Moreover, a case study is used to evaluate the predictive effectiveness of the Richards model based on the optimal parameter estimation method. The results show that the Richards model can reduce the mean absolute error by 2.15% on average and improve the prediction accuracy by 22.14% on average compared to other available models. Thus, the Richards model is considered suitable for simulating and predicting the settlement of soft soil subgrade, and it has excellent application potential for settlement prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To ensure fast dynamics and the stability of multiple distributed generator units (DGUs) in DC microgrids, communication links among the controllers of DGUs are generally adopted. However, those communication channels are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. To alleviate this hassle, a Kalman Filter (KF)-based distributed cyber-attack mitigation strategy, which is highly involved in both primary and secondary control, is proposed in this paper. The KF, as a robust state estimator, is utilized to accurately estimate the authentic terminal voltages and currents of the DGUs. Based on the discrepancies between the estimated and measured parameters of the systems under cyber-attacks, the proposed control can adaptively compensate the attack signals via an adaptive proportional integral (API) controller and a fractional API (FAPI) controller in cyber-attack-mitigation layers. The main advantage of using the proposed control scheme compared to conventional schemes is the fast dynamic response. The simulation results verify this merit by comparing the adopted KF and comparing it with conventional artificial neural networks (ANN), while the experimental results validate that effectiveness of the proposed control and showcase the superiority of the FAPI control in terms of its perfect compensation for different types of cyber-attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The susceptibilities of three field populations of pink stem borer (PSB), Sesamia inferens (walker) to diamide insecticides, chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide, were evaluated in this study. The results showed that these PSB field populations were still sensitive to the two diamide insecticides after many years of exposure. To further understand PSB and diamide insecticide, the full-length ryanodine receptor (RyR) cDNA (named as SiRyR), the molecular target of diamide insecticides was cloned from PSB and characterized. The SiRyR gene contains an open reading frame of 15,420 nucleotides, encoding 5140 amino acid residues, which shares 77% to 98% sequence identity with RyR homologous of other insects. All hallmarks of RyR proteins are conserved in the SiRyR protein, including the conserved C-terminal domain with the consensus calcium-biding EF-hands (calcium-binding motif), the six transmembrane domains, as well as mannosyltransferase, IP3R and RyR (pfam02815) (MIR) domains. Real-time qPCR analysis revealed that the highest mRNA expression levels of SiRyR were observed in pupa and adults, especially in males. SiRyR was expressed at the highest level in thorax, and the lowest level in wing. The full genetic characterization of SiRyR could provide useful information for future functional expression studies and for discovery of new insecticides with selective insecticidal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the study of the nonlinear damped wave equation utt+Δ2u−Δu−ωΔut+α(t)ut=up−2u, in a bounded domain with smooth boundary. The blow-up of solutions are investigated under some conditions. Both lower and upper bounds for the blow-up time are derived when blow-up occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To prevent escalation of an initiating event into a severe accident, promptly detecting its occurrence and precisely identifying its type are essential. In this study, several multivariate algorithms for initiating event detection and identification are proposed to help maintain safe operations of nuclear power plants (NPPs). By monitoring changes in the NPP sensing variables, an event is detected when the preset thresholds are exceeded. Unlike existing approaches, recordings from sensors of the same type are simultaneously considered for detection, and no subjective reasoning is involved in setting these thresholds. To facilitate efficient event identification, a spatiotemporal feature extractor is proposed. The extracted features consist of the temporal traits used by existing techniques and the spatial signature of an event. Through an F-score-based feature ranking, only those that are most discriminant in classifying the events under consideration will be retained for identification. Moreover, an untrained event isolation scheme is introduced to avoid relating an untrained event to those in the event dataset so that improper recovery actions can be prevented. Results from experiments containing data of 12 event classes and a total of 125 events generated using a Taiwan’s Maanshan NPP simulator are provided to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, interaction data have accumulated exponentially in many fields and provide a new opportunity for cold start link prediction. It seems necessarily to take full advantages of diversified information. However, correlation between different interactions has to be pre-tested. Therefore, this paper abstracts complex systems as multi-relational networks, and employs latent space network model to extract low-dimensional factors of sub-networks and adopts likelihood ratio test to examine correlation between factors. Then, regression between target sub-networks and correlated auxiliary sub-networks could be established for cold start link prediction. Experiments on 8 bioinformatic data sets validate the effectiveness and potential of our strategy for network correlation analysis and cold-start link prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the structure and amount of cloud water content are associated with tropical cyclone (TC) intensity change using the CloudSat Tropical Cyclone (CSTC) dataset. Theoretical and modeling studies have demonstrated the importance of both the magnitude and vertical structure of latent heating in regulating TC intensity. However, the direct observations of the latent heat release and its vertical profile are scarce. The CSTC dataset provides the opportunity to infer the vertical profile of the latent heating from CloudSat retrievals of cloud ice water content (IWC) and liquid water content (LWC). It is found that strengthening storms have ~20% higher IWC than weakening storms, especially in the midtroposphere near the eyewall. These differences in IWC exist up to 24 h prior to an intensity change and are observed for all storm categories except major TCs. A similar analysis of satellite-observed rainfall rates indicates that strengthening storms have slightly higher rainfall rates 6 h prior to intensification. However, the rainfall signal is less robust than what is observed for IWC, and disappears for lead times greater than 6 h. Such precursors of TC intensity change provide observationally based metrics that may be useful in constraining model simulations of TC genesis and intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octopamine, the invertebrate counterpart of adrenaline and noradrenaline, controls and modulates many physiological and behavioral processes in protostomes. It mediates its effects by binding to specific receptors belonging to the superfamily of G-protein coupled receptors. We report the cloning of a cDNA from the brown planthopper ( Nloa2b2 ) sharing high similarity with members of the OA2B2 receptor class. Activation of NlOA2B2 by octopamine increased the production of cAMP in a dose-dependent manner (EC 50 = 114 nM). Tyramine also activated the receptor but with much less potency than octopamine. Using a series of known agonists and antagonists of octopamine receptors and cAMP measurements, we observed a rather unique pharmacological profile of NlOA2B2. The potency ranking of the tested agonists was naphazoline > clonidine. The activated effect of octopamine is abolished by co-incubation with epinastine, mianserin, phentolamine, methiothepin, butaclamol or methysergide. Nloa2b2 was expressed in different developmental stages and in various tissues including female reproductive regions known to be involved in egg-laying behavior. Using in vivo pharmacology and RNAi methodology, we demonstrated that interference of NlOA2B2 signaling pathway had a strong impact on the egg-laying behavior of female brown planthopper. The data presented here mark the first comprehensive study—from gene to behavior—of a OA2B2 receptor in the rice brown planthopper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post heat treatment is essential for additively manufactured alloys to eliminate residual stress and in some cases further improve mechanical performance. This study systematically investigated the hardening response of a Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo alloy processed by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) to a one-step heat treatment. The results revealed significant hardening at both 500 °C and 650 °C. Most notably, an ultra-high peak-hardness of 563VHN was achieved within 5 mins of heat treatment at 650 °C due to a unique martensite-decomposed α+β microstructure consisting of alternating long β laths that are ∼5 nm thick and α laths that are ∼35 nm thick, and within the α laths are also short β laths that are ∼2 nm thick with an ∼11 nm inter-spacing. The influence of both types of β laths on the α lath thickness was established and related to the ultra-high hardness observed, which provides new insight for the design of new metastable LPBF-processed Ti alloys. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment for sepsis and its complications in the clinic is primarily in the forms of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, and antioxidant drugs. Kombucha, a traditional fermented beverage rich in tea polyphenols and organic acids, offers several benefits including bacteriostasis, anti-inflammation ability, and boosting the immune system. Currently, research on kombucha is primarily focused on its antibacterial and antioxidant properties; however, in-depth exploration of the involved mechanisms is lacking. Herein, turmeric, Paeoniae alba, and black tea were used as fermentation substrates to detect the bacteriostatic and antioxidant activities of the fermentation broth and evaluate its anti-inflammatory effects on RAW264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPSs). The results showed that fermentation enhanced the antibacterial activity of turmeric against E. coli and S. aureus and that of Paeoniae alba against S. aureus. Turmeric black tea exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. The fermentation broth of turmeric and turmeric black tea significantly reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines induced by LPSs. Our results showed that using turmeric and Paeoniae alba culture media as substrates can enhance the anti-inflammatory effects of fermentation broth and provide a new strategy for developing anti-inflammatory substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), a soluble glycosylated protein in the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, plays a role in tumor and inflammatory diseases. Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the dysregulation of the response to infection. Currently, no specific drug that can alleviate or even cure sepsis in a comprehensive and multi-level manner has been found. DcR3 is closely related to sepsis and considerably upregulated in the serum of those patients, and its upregulation is positively correlated with the severity of sepsis and can be a potential biomarker for diagnosis. DcR3 alone or in combination with other markers has shown promising results in the early diagnosis of sepsis. Furthermore, DcR3 is a multipotent immunomodulator that can bind FasL, LIGHT, and TL1A through decoy action, and block downstream apoptosis and inflammatory signaling. It also regulates T-cell and macrophage differentiation and modulates immune status through non-decoy action; therefore, DcR3 could be a potential drug for the treatment of sepsis. The application of DcR3 in the treatment of a mouse model of sepsis also achieved good efficacy. Here, we introduce and discuss the progress in, and suggest novel ideas for, research regarding DcR3 in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a serious disease with high mortality and has been a hot research topic in medical research in recent years. With the continuous reporting of in-depth research on the pathological mechanisms of sepsis, various compounds have been developed to prevent and treat sepsis. Natural small-molecule compounds play vital roles in the prevention and treatment of sepsis; for example, compounds such as resveratrol, emodin, salidroside, ginsenoside, and others can modulate signaling through the NF-κB, STAT3, STAT1, PI3K, and other pathways to relieve the inflammatory response, immunosuppression, and organ failure caused by sepsis. Here, we discuss the functions and mechanisms of natural small-molecule compounds in preventing and treating sepsis. This review will lay the theoretical foundation for discovering new natural small-molecule compounds that can potentially prevent and treat sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are members of the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel (cysLGIC) superfamily, mediating fast synaptic cholinergic transmission in the central nervous system in insects. Insect nAChRs are the molecular targets of economically important insecticides, such as neonicotinoids and spinosad. Identification and characterization of the nAChR gene family in the rice striped stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, could provide beneficial information about this important receptor gene family and contribute to the investigation of the molecular modes of insecticide action and resistance for current and future chemical control strategies. We searched our C. suppressalis transcriptome database using Bombyx mori nAChR sequences in local BLAST searches and obtained the putative nAChR subunit complementary DNAs (cDNAs) via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends methods. Similar to B. mori, C. suppressalis possesses 12 nAChR subunits, including nine α-type and three β-type subunits. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed the expression profiles of the nAChR subunits in various tissues, including the brain, subesophageal ganglion, thoracic ganglion, abdominal ganglion, hemocytes, fat body, foregut, midgut, hindgut and Malpighian tubules. Developmental expression analyses showed clear differential expression of nAChR subunits throughout the C. suppressalis life cycle. The identification of nAChR subunits in this study will provide a foundation for investigating the diverse roles played by nAChRs in C. suppressalis and for exploring specific target sites for chemicals that control agricultural pests while sparing beneficial species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiating event identification is essential in managing nuclear power plant (NPP) severe accidents. In this paper, a novel two-stage feature extraction scheme that incorporates the proposed sensor type-wise block projection (stBP) and deflatable sequential forward selection (dSFS) is used to elicit the discriminant information in the data obtained from various NPP sensors to facilitate event identification. With the stBP, the primal features can be extracted without eliminating the interrelations among the sensors of the same type. The extracted features are then subjected to a further dimensionality reduction by selecting the sensors that are most relevant to the events under consideration. This selection is not easy, and a combinatorial optimization technique is normally required. With the dSFS, an optimal sensor set can be found with less computational load. Moreover, its sensor deflation stage allows sensors in the preselected set to be iteratively refined to avoid being trapped into a local optimum. Results from detailed experiments containing data of 12 event categories and a total of 112 events generated with a Taiwan’s Maanshan NPP simulator are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates and is the most abundant monoamine present in the central nervous system of insects. A complement of functionally distinct dopamine receptors mediate the signal transduction of dopamine by modifying intracellular Ca 2+ and cAMP levels. In the present study, we pharmacologically characterized three types of dopamine receptors, CsDOP1, CsDOP2 and CsDOP3, from the rice striped stem borer, Chilo suppressalis . All three receptors show considerable sequence identity with orthologous dopamine receptors. The phylogenetic analysis also clusters the receptors within their respective groups. Transcript levels of CsDOP1 , CsDOP2 and CsDOP3 were all expressed at high levels in the central nervous system, indicating their important roles in neural processes. After heterologous expression in HEK 293 cells, CsDOP1, CsDOP2 and CsDOP3 were dose-dependently activated by dopamine and synthetic dopamine receptor agonists. They can also be blocked by different series of antagonists. This study offers important information on three dopamine receptors from C. suppressalis that will provide the basis for forthcoming studies investigating their roles in behaviors and physiology, and facilitate the development of new insecticides for pest control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionotropic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride channel receptors mediate rapid inhibitory neurotransmission in vertebrates and invertebrates. GABA receptors are well known to be the molecular targets of synthetic insecticides or parasiticides. Three GABA receptor-like subunits, LsLCCH3, LsGRD and LS8916, of the small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), a major insect pest of crop systems in East Asia, had been identified and characterized in this study. All three genes were cloned using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). They shared common structural features with known Cys-loop ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs): the well-conserved dicysteine-loop structures, an extracellular N-terminal domain containing six distinct regions (loops A–F) that form the ligand binding sites and four transmembrane regions (TM1–4). Additionally, temporal and spatial transcriptional profiling analysis indicated that Lslcch3 was significantly higher than the other two genes. All of them were expressed at higher levels in fifth-instar nymph and adults than in eggs and from first- to fourth-instar nymph. They were predominantly expressed in the heads of 2-d old female adults. These findings enhanced our understanding of cys-loop LGIC functional characterization in Hemiptera and provided a useful basis for the development of improved insecticides that targeting this important agricultural pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra-articular injection of dexamethasone (Dex) is occasionally used to relieve pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Dex induces terminal differentiation of chondrogenic mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and causes impaired longitudinal skeletal growth in vivo. Parathyroid hormone 1-34 (PTH 1-34) has been shown to reverse terminal differentiation of osteoarthritic articular chondrocytes. We hypothesized that Dex induces terminal differentiation of articular chondrocytes and that this effect can be mitigated by PTH 1-34 treatment. We tested the effect of Dex on terminal differentiation in human articular chondrocytes and further tested if PTH 1-34 reverses the effects. We found that Dex treatment downregulated chondrogenic-induced expressions of SOX-9 , collagen type IIa1 ( Col2a1 ), and aggrecan and reduced synthesis of cartilaginous matrix (Col2a1 and sulfated glycosaminoglycan) synthesis. Dex treatment upregulated chondrocyte hypertrophic markers of collagen type X and alkaline phosphatase at mRNA and protein levels, and it increased the cell size of articular chondrocytes and induced cell death. These results indicated that Dex induces terminal differentiation of articular chondrocytes. To test whether PTH 1-34 treatment reverses Dex-induced terminal differentiation of articular chondrocytes, PTH 1-34 was co-administered with Dex. Results showed that PTH 1-34 treatment reversed both changes of chondrogenic and hypertrophic markers in chondrocytes induced by Dex. PTH 1-34 also decreased Dex-induced cell death. PTH 1-34 treatment reduces Dex-induced terminal differentiation and apoptosis of articular chondrocytes, and PTH 1-34 treatment may protect articular cartilage from further damage when received Dex administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactor-core loading pattern (LP) design aims to find an adequate arrangement of fresh and burnt fuel assemblies (FAs) such that fuel utilization can be maximized while meeting safety constraints. Since many possible patterns are to be evaluated, the task is difficult, and its difficulty grows exponentially with increasing number of FAs. As a result, manually searching for an adequate LP is prohibitively time-consuming, and an automated approach for LP design is essential. This paper proposes an automated approach for pressurized water reactor (PWR) LP design. The proposed approach, a two-stage scheme that combines quantum evolutionary algorithm (QEA) and tabu search (TS), simultaneously possesses the capabilities of exploration and exploitation and can be effectively employed for LP design with less computational load. To demonstrate the design capability of the proposed approach, a reference cycle of the Maanshan nuclear power plant (NPP) in Taiwan is selected. For the same cycle, LP design is performed solely with QEA as well for performance comparison. Results from several experiments illustrate the efficacy and performance of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inguinal endometriosis can present as a rare tumor when it occurs outside the abdomen and pelvis. We present a patient with a painful tumor in the right inguinal region, where its diagnosis was made before the operation. This enabled a conservative excisional surgery to be performed. The literature is reviewed and the diagnosis as well as management are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hierarchically porous carbon is synthesized via topological changing strategy. • Single Fe atom catalyst was successfully synthesized by pore confined method. • The Fe-SA/HPC showed superior catalytic activity toward ORR. • The excellent performance is clarified by the DFT theory. • The active site is optimized by the synergistic effect of defects and graphite-N. The requirement of sustainable energy is of great significance for easing the energy shortage crisis, in which the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in metal-air batteries and fuel cells plays a crucial role in efficient energy conversion. The development of noble-metal-free, efficient, and stable ORR electrocatalysts is highly desirable but remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report an atomically dispersed Fe and N co-doped hierarchically porous carbon (Fe-SA/HPC) catalyst derived from two-dimensional leaf-like ZIF-L with preeminent ORR activity. The Fe-SA/HPC catalyst, benefitting from hierarchically porous structure and rich highly-dispersed active sites of FeN x , put up ORR performance with a half-wave potential (E 1/2) of 0.91 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte. The current density with a 0.382 mg cm−2 loading of catalyst in a rotating disk electrode (RDE) test can reach 24.65 mA cm−2 at 0.8 V, which is nearly twice that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the co-regulation of defects and graphitic nitrogen can optimize the local electronic redistribution for active sites and endow them with a lower free-energy barrier towards the ORR. This work provides certain inspiration for the development of highly reactive atomic metal catalysts through rational topology structure engineering and nitrogen moiety regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of diabatic heating in tropical cyclone ring structure evolution. A full-physics three-dimensional modeling framework is used to compare the results with two-dimensional modeling approaches and to point to limitations of the barotropic instability theory in predicting the storm vorticity structure configuration. A potential vorticity budget analysis reveals that diabatic heating is a leading-order term and that it is largely offset by potential vorticity advection. Sawyer-Eliassen integrations are used to diagnose the secondary circulation (and corresponding vorticity tendency) forced by prescribed heating. These integrations suggest that diabatic heating forces a secondary circulation (and associated vorticity tendency) that helps maintain the original ring structure in a feedback process. Sensitivity experiments of the Sawyer-Eliassen model reveal that the magnitude of the vorticity tendency is proportional to that of the prescribed heating, indicating that diabatic heating plays a critical role in adjusting and maintaining the eyewall ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Extracellular recordings of multi-unit neural activity have become indispensable in neuroscience research. The analysis of the recordings begins with the detection of the action potentials (APs), followed by a classification step where each AP is associated with a given neural source. A feature extraction step is required prior to classification in order to reduce the dimensionality of the data and the impact of noise, allowing source clustering algorithms to work more efficiently. New method In this paper, we propose a novel framework for multi-sensor AP feature extraction based on the so-called Matched Subspace Detector (MSD), which is shown to be a natural generalization of standard single-sensor algorithms. Results Clustering using both simulated data and real AP recordings taken in the locust antennal lobe demonstrates that the proposed approach yields features that are discriminatory and lead to promising results. Comparison with existing method(s) Unlike existing methods, the proposed algorithm finds joint spatio-temporal feature vectors that match the dominant subspace observed in the two-dimensional data without needs for a forward propagation model and AP templates. Conclusions The proposed MSD approach provides more discriminatory features for unsupervised AP sorting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the growth and the exponent of convergence of the sequence of φ-points of meromorphic solutions of the linear differential equations and with entire coefficients $A_{j}(z)$, $j=0,1,\ldots,k$ and $F(z)$, where $k\geq2$, $A_{0}(z)A_{k}(z)\not\equiv0$, $\varphi(z)$ is a meromorphic function of finite order, and there is only one dominant coefficient $A_{k}(z)$ of the maximal order, which is also a Fabry gap series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium acts as a second messenger in many cell types, including insect hemocytes. Intracellular calcium level has a definite role in innate and adaptive immune signaling. Biogenic amines such as octopamine (OA), tyramine (TA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) play various important physiological roles in insects by activating distinct G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that share a putative seven transmembrane domain structure. OA and 5-HT have been shown that can mediate insect hemocytic immune reactions to infections and invasions. Here, we showed that TA increase hemocyte spreading in the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis . Furthermore, we cloned a cDNA encoding a tyramine receptor type 2 from the hemocytes in the C. suppressalis , viz., CsTA2 , which shares high sequence similarity to members of the invertebrate tyramine receptor family. The CsTA2 receptor was stably expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, and its ligand response has been examined. Receptor activation with TA induced a dose-dependent increase in intracellular Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ) in cells, with an EC 50 value of 18.7 ± 5.3 nM, whereas OA, DA, 5-HT and other potential agonists did not have this response. The mRNA is present in various tissues including nerve cord, hemocytes, fat body, midgut, Malpighian tubules, and epidermis in the larval stage. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry assay displayed that CsTA2 was detected and presented on hemocytes. We also showed that TA induced Ca 2+ release from the hemocytes of C. suppressalis . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The octopamine and tyramine, as the invertebrate counterparts of the vertebrate adrenergic transmitters, control and modulate many physiological and behavioral processes. Both molecules mediate their effects by binding to specific receptors belonging to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors. So far, four families of octopamine and tyramine receptors have been reported. Here, we described the functional characterization of one putative octopamine/tyramine receptor gene from the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis. By a mechanism of alternative splicing, this receptor gene (CsOA3) encodes two molecularly distinct transcripts, CsOA3S and CsOA3L. CsOA3L differs from CsOA3S on account of the presence of an additional 30 amino acids within the third intracellular loop. When heterologously expressed, both receptors cause increases of intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The short form, CsOA3S, was activated by both octopamine and tyramine, resulting in decreased intracellular cAMP levels ([cAMP]i) in a dose-dependent manner, whereas dopamine and serotonin are not effective. However, CsOA3L did not show any impact on [cAMP]i. Studies with series of agonists and antagonists confirmed that CsOA3 has a different pharmacological profile from that of other octopamine receptor families. The CsOA3 is, to our knowledge, a novel family of insect octopamine receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to investigate the finite time blow-up of solutions with supercritical boundary/interior sources and nonlinear boundary/interior damping. First, we prove that if the interior and boundary sources dominate their corresponding damping terms, then every weak solution blows up in finite time with positive initial energy. Second, without any restriction on the boundary source, we prove the finite time blow-up of solutions, provided that the interior sources dominate both interior and boundary damping and the initial energy is nonnegative. A similar result has been shown when the boundary source is absent. Moreover, in the absence of the interior sources, we prove that the solution grows as an exponential function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The topological features of disease genes and non-disease genes were widely utilized in disease genes prediction. However, previous studies neglected to exploit essential genes to distinguish disease genes and non-disease genes. Therefore, this paper firstly takes essential genes as reference to analyze the topological properties of human genes with protein–protein interaction network. Empirical results demonstrate that nonessential disease genes are topologically more important and closer to the center of the network than other genes (unknown genes, which are deemed as non-disease genes in disease genes prediction). Although disease genes are closer to essential genes, we find that the influence of disease genes on essential genes is similar with other genes, or even weaker. Further, we generate new topological features according to our findings and validate the effectiveness of combining the additional features for detecting disease genes. In addition, we find that the k-shell index (ks) of protein–protein network follows a power law distribution, and the function of the proteins with the largest ks may deserve further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The initial boundary value problem for a system of nonlinear viscoelastic wave equations with degenerate damping and source terms in a bounded domain is considered. Under some assumptions on the relaxation functions, degenerate damping and source terms, we obtain the decay rate of the energy function for certain initial data. This improves earlier results in the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: During oviposition many parasitoid wasps inject various factors, such as polydnaviruses (PDVs), along with eggs that manipulate the physiology and development of their hosts. These manipulations are thought to benefit the parasites. However, the detailed mechanisms of insect host-parasitoid interactions are not fully understood at the molecular level. Based on recent findings that some parasitoids influence gene expression in their hosts, we posed the hypothesis that parasitization by a braconid wasp, Cotesia chilonis, influences the expression of genes responsible for development, metabolism and immune functions in the fatbody and hemocytes of its host, Chilo suppressalis. Methodology/Principal Findings: We obtained 39,344,452 reads, which were assembled into 146,770 scaffolds, and 76,016 unigenes. Parasitization impacted gene expression in fatbody and hemocytes. Of these, 8096 fatbody or 5743 hemocyte unigenes were down-regulated, and 2572 fatbody or 1452 hemocyte unigenes were up-regulated. Gene ontology data showed that the majority of the differentially expressed genes are involved in enzyme-regulated activity, binding, transcription regulator activity and catalytic activity. qPCR results show that most anti-microbial peptide transcription levels were up-regulated after parasitization. Expression of bracovirus genes was detected in parasitized larvae with 19 unique sequences identified from six PDV gene families including ankyrin, CrV1 protein, cystatin, early-expressed (EP) proteins, lectin, and protein tyrosine phosphatase. Conclusions: The current study supports our hypothesis that parasitization influences the expression of fatbody and hemocyte genes in the host, C. suppressalis. The general view is that manipulation of host metabolism and immunity benefits the development and emergence of the parasitoid offsprings. The accepted beneficial mechanisms include the direct impact of parasitoid-associated virulence factors such as venom and polydnavirus on host tissues (such as cell damage) and, more deeply, the ability of these factors to influence gene expression. We infer that insect parasitoids generally manipulate their environments, the internal milieu of their hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]