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Sea cucumber-derived fungi have attracted much attention due to their capacity to produce an incredible variety of secondary metabolites. Genome-wide information on Aspergillus micronesiensis H39 obtained using third-generation sequencing technology (PacBio-SMRT) showed that the strain contains nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-like gene clusters, which aroused our interest in mining its secondary metabolites. 11 known compounds (1–11), including two γ-aromatic butenolides (γ-AB) and five cytochalasans, were isolated from A. micronesiensis H39. The structures of the compounds were determined by NMR and ESIMS, and comparison with those reported in the literature. From the perspective of biogenetic origins, the γ-butyrolactone core of compounds 1 and 2 was assembled by NRPS-like enzyme. All of the obtained compounds showed no inhibitory activity against drug-resistant bacteria and fungi, as well as compounds 1 and 2 had no anti-angiogenic activity against zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing application of digital education in intangible cultural heritage (ICH), user acceptance of digital technology needs further investigation. In this study, a mobile AR system for ICH education was developed to understand user acceptance of digital technology. This study developed a conceptual model and hypotheses based on cultural awareness, generic learning outcomes (GLOs), and the technology acceptance model, aiming to construct an appropriate digital learning model for ICH. The results of the study indicated that the reliability and validity of the measurement model were satisfactory. In addition, the importance of external variables was confirmed. Cultural awareness and GLOs affected users' perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. In addition, perceived usefulness and ease of use had a positive effect on attitudes toward the use, which in turn had a positive effect on behavioural intention to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation with enzymolytic soybean meal (ESBM) on broilers fed low crude protein (CP) diets. Methods: A total of 360 one-day-old broilers were randomly assigned to six treatments with 6 replicates per treatment and 10 chicks per replicate for a period of 42 days. Chicks were fed a basal standard high-CP diet as a positive control (PC), a low-CP diet (reducing 10 g/kg CP from the PC) as a negative control (NC), or an NC + 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, or 2.0% ESBM diet. Results: Compared to chicks fed the PC, chicks fed the NC had a decreased body weight gain (BWG, p<0.05) from 1 to 42 days, but supplementation with 2.0% ESBM restored BWG (p<0.05) and even linearly improved the feed conversion rate (FCR, p<0.05). Digestibility of CP and ether extract was increased (p<0.05) in chicks fed a 1.0% ESBM diet compared to the PC. With increasing levels of ESBM, nitrogen (N) excretion decreased (p<0.05). The addition of ESBM to the diet did not affect (p>0.05) serum concentrations of total protein, albumin and total cholesterol but led to a descending trend in triglycerides and an ascending trend in calcium and urea N at 42 days (p<0.10). There were no differences (p>0.05) in villus height (VH), crypt depth (CD), and VH/CD (V/C) of the duodenum and jejunum between the PC and NC at both 21 days and 42 days, while increasing dietary ESBM levels linearly (p<0.05) decreased CD and increased V/C of the duodenum and jejunum at both 21 days and 42 days. Conclusion: The findings indicated that ESBM could be used in broiler low-CP diets to improve production performance, decrease N excretion, and enhance intestinal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and clinical correlates of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in bronchiectasis are not entirely clear. We aimed to profile the ARGs in sputum from adults with bronchiectasis, and explore the association with airway microbiome and disease severity and subtypes. In this longitudinal study, we prospectively collected 118 sputum samples from stable and exacerbation visits of 82 bronchiectasis patients and 19 healthy subjects. We profiled ARGs with shotgun metagenomic sequencing, and linked these to sputum microbiome and clinical characteristics, followed by validation in an international cohort. We compared ARG profiles in bronchiectasis according to disease severity, blood and sputum inflammatory subtypes. Unsupervised clustering revealed a Pseudomonas predominant subgroup (n = 16), Haemophilus predominant subgroup (n = 48), and balanced microbiome subgroup (N = 54). ARGs of multi-drug resistance were over-dominant in the Pseudomonas-predominant subgroup, while ARGs of beta-lactam resistance were most abundant in the Haemophilus-predominant subgroup. Pseudomonas-predominant subgroup yielded the highest ARG diversity and total abundance, while Haemophilus–predominant subgroup and balanced microbiota subgroup were lowest in ARG diversity and total abundance. PBP-1A, ksgA and emrB (multidrug) were most significantly enriched in Haemophilus-predominant subtype. ARGs generally correlated positively with Bronchiectasis Severity Index, fluoroquinolone use, and modified Reiff score. 68.6% of the ARG-clinical correlations could be validated in an independent international cohort. In conclusion, ARGs are differentially associated with the dominant microbiome and clinical characteristics in bronchiectasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The protein encoded by ring finger protein 157 (RNF157) is known to function as an E3 ubiquitin ligase. However, whether the level of RNF157 expression in breast cancer correlates with prognosis and immune cell infiltration among breast cancer patients remains to be further explored. Methods: In this study, publicly available datasets were used for evaluating RNF157 expression in different tumors compared with normal samples. Several independent datasets were screened for investigating the relationship between RNF157 and breast cancer survival, different mutation profiles, and tumor immune cell infiltration. We conducted a pathway enrichment analysis to identify signaling pathways associated with RNF157. Results: Analysis of public and online databases revealed that RNF157 expression markedly decreased in breast cancer tissue samples compared to non-carcinoma counterparts. Consistently, immunohistochemistry assays also demonstrated this RNF157 down-regulation in breast cancer samples. RNF157 up-regulation could predict the improved survival of breast cancer cases. Further, different RNF157 expression level groups exhibited different mutational profiles. Pathway enrichment profiling of RNF157-related genes suggested its possible involvement in regulating breast cancer via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data and genomic enrichment analysis showed that RNF157 downregulated several genes positively associated with the MAPK signaling pathway. We also explored RNF157 expression and immune cell infiltration in breast cancer and found that RNF157 mRNA levels were negatively related to non-T immune cell infiltration. Conclusion: According to our work, RNF157 may be a promising diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the deformation and instability of the layered floor of weakly cemented soft rock roadway, taking the mining roadway of Meihuajing Mine as the engineering background, the deformation and instability mechanism of the floor and the control measures of the surrounding rock under different stratum combination conditions are studied by using the methods of field investigation, numerical calculation and field test. The results show that: (1) the layered characteristics of surrounding rock in weakly cemented soft rock roadways are significant, and the combination structure of floor rock strata is complex and changeable. Under the influence of engineering disturbance, the roadway has a tendency of large deformation, especially floor heave. (2) The buckling instability of the layered floor is caused by the layered weakening effect, and the unstable zone, the substable zone and the stable zone are formed successively from the shallow to the deep. With the increase of the layer thickness, the integrity of the layered floor is improved, the layered weakening effect is reduced, and the overall stability of the layered floor is improved. (3) The existence of weak interlayer further degrades the integrity of layered floor, and the progressive failure of floor rock mass layer by layer is more significant under the influence of layered weakening effect. (4) The relatively hard rock stratum in the composite structure plays an important role in controlling the deformation and failure of the floor, playing the role of "local key stratum." (5) Based on the cooperative control countermeasure of roof–rib–floor surrounding rock, the support technology of roof and ribs supported by blots mesh beam cable + floor supported by bolts grouting hardening + full section shotcrete is proposed. The results of numerical calculation and field test show that the support scheme greatly improves the stability of layered floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Celastrol is a promising antitumor drug candidate, but the poor water solubility and cytotoxicity limit its clinical application. Herein, we synthesized a Celastrol (Cel)-chitosan oligosaccharide (CSO) conjugate (Cel-CSO) for drug delivery. Celastrol was conjugated to a CSO backbone via amide bond formation, which was verified by infrared spectrum (IR) analyses. The Cel-CSO contained -10wt% of Celastrol showed excellent aqueous solubility (18.6mg/mL) in comparation with the parent Celastrol. Cel-CSO significantly inhibited tumor growth, induced apoptosis, and effectively suppressed tumor metastasis in human pancreatic cancer cells (BxPC-3). While the cytotoxicity of Cel-CSO in hepatic cells (HL7702) was lower than that of the free Celastrol. Cel-CSO enhanced the anticancer efficacy, promoted the circulation time of Celastrol, and reduced the subacute toxicity, which indicated that CSO can be a promising Celastrol delivery system for pancreatic cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro fermentation profiles of different soybean oligosaccharides (SBOs) and their effects on skatole production and cecal microbiota of broilers. Methods: Five SBOs with varying main component contents were fermented using an in vitro batch incubation inoculated with broiler cecal microbiota. Gas production was recorded automatically, skatole, indole and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography, and microbial changes were analyzed using 16S DNA gene sequencing. Results: The addition of SBOs increased (p<0.05) gas production, suggesting bacterial growth-stimulating activities. In addition, the concentrations of indole were significantly (p<0.05) decreased after SBO supplementation, and SBO III, with higher sucrose and stachyose contents, decreased (p<0.05) the skatole level. Our results also revealed that the fermentation of SBOs by cecal microbiota produced (p<0.05) SCFAs, which were dominated by propionic acid, butyrate acid and lactic acid compared to the control. In addition, SBO III increased (p<0.05) the abundance of Firmicutes and Subdoligranulum and decreased that of Bacteroides. Conclusion: These results suggest that SBOs with higher sucrose and stachyose contents are promising prebiotics in modulating gut microbiota and reducing odor emission in broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-step scheme is presented for estimating the chloride diffusivity of pure cement paste. In the scheme, gel pores are included in the solid skeleton, composed of calcium hydroxide, unhydrated cement and calcium silicate hydrate, while capillary pores and the solid skeleton constitute pure cement paste. In combination with percolation theory, the effective medium method was modified to formulate the chloride diffusivities of the solid skeleton and pure cement paste sequentially. Detailed analysis was conducted to calibrate the percolation exponent for the high-diffusivity phase and the chloride diffusivity of the pore solution. Comparisons with various test results were made to verify the proposed scheme. Unlike existing analytical methods, the physical properties, volume fractions and morphological relationships of various phase constituents and the shapes, percolation behaviour and different roles of gel and capillary pores are all taken into account simultaneously. The calibrated chloride diffusivity of the pore solution was found to be considerably close to that derived by molecular dynamics simulation, suggesting that the scheme represents a more realistic pure cement paste. The scheme can reasonably evaluate the chloride diffusivity of pure cement paste at medium and long curing ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the complex function method and the conformal mapping technique, the scattering of SH waves caused by a semi-cylindrical canyon in a radially inhomogeneous density half-space is studied analytically. During the solution, model of a semi-cylindrical canyon is established in a semi-infinite inhomogeneous media. And the Helmholtz equation with a variable coefficient is transformed into a standard Helmholtz equation by conformal mapping technique. Then the infinite algebraic equations are constructed to satisfy the stress boundary conditions on the surface of semi-cylindrical canyon. Finally, the incident waves, reflected waves and scattering waves induced by canyon topography in half space are solved. According to the numerical results, influences of the concave topography and the inhomogeneous medium on ground motion are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical model of the basic roof fracture structure is established on the basis of key block theory to study the roof breaking mechanism of gob-side entry retaining under roof cutting and pressure relief, and the analytical formula of roof support resistance is derived when the key block of the basic roof is stable. The influence of roof cutting angle and cutting height on roof support resistance is also analyzed. Determining the cutting seam parameters of the retained roadway roof is necessary to identify the support resistance of the roadway roof due to the correlation between the roof cutting parameters and the support resistance. Taking the II 632 haulage drift of the Hengyuan coal mine as the engineering background, FLAC3D numerical simulation is used in this paper to analyze the influence of different roof cutting angles and cutting heights on the surrounding rock structure evolution of retained roadways. Results show that the roof cutting angle and cutting height respond to the support resistance of the retained roadway roof, and the support resistance required by the roof increases with the roof cutting angle and cutting height. This condition ensures that the side roof of the gob can be cut off smoothly, and the support resistance required by the roof of retained roadways is within a reasonable range. Through theoretical and numerical simulation analysis, the reasonable roof cutting height of II 632 haulage drift is 8 m and the roof cutting angle is 15°. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results reveal that the required support resistance to maintain the stability of the roadway roof is 0.38 MPa. The supporting scheme of the roof of the II 632 haulage drift in the Hengyuan coal mine is then designed. Finally, the field industrial test is used for verification. The borehole imaging results show that the overall line of the retained roadway roof is small based on the description of field monitoring results. The deformation of the surrounding rock surface of the retained roadway is less than 100 mm, and the roadway is 40 m from the lagging working face. The deformation rate of surrounding rock decreases with the increase in distance from the working face. The integrity of the retained roadway roof is good, and the deformation of the surrounding rock is effectively controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many forms of Intangible Culture Heritage (ICH) are fast disappearing. The Lantern Festival is an important part of Chinese tradition and a critical ICH of Taiwan. However, few young people attend ICH activities. Given the importance of ICH education, this study describes what participants learned after lantern exhibitions that combined Augmented Reality (AR), mobile websites, and Paper-based Exhibition Brochures. This study evaluated what a cohort of college students (n = 115) learned about ICH through experiments and questionnaires. The results show that the public understood ICH better through digital technology. All participants thought that applying AR to ICH was good for the public to gain more information on lantern culture, although it took a lot of time to learn the new technology. The results also encouraged the application of AR to engage in ICH education. Therefore, a large number of digital technologies that are popular among young people should be used as part of ICH education in order to improve their cultural awareness and learning motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of effective signatures is crucial to predict the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The investigation aimed to identify a new signature for AML prognostic prediction by using the three-gene expression (octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), POU domain type 5 transcription factor 1B (POU5F1B) and B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site-1 pseudogene 1 (BMI1P1). The expressions of genes were obtained from our previous study. Only the specimens in which three genes were all expressed were included in this research. A three-gene signature was constructed by the multivariate Cox regression analyses to divide patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of the three-gene signature (area under ROC curve (AUC) = 0.901, 95% CI: 0.821-0.981, P<0.001) indicated that it was a more valuable signature for distinguishing between patients and controls than any of the three genes. Moreover, white blood cells (WBCs, P=0.004), platelets (PLTs, P=0.017), percentage of blasts in bonemarrow(BM) (P=0.011) and complete remission (CR, P=0.027) had significant differences between two groups. Furthermore, high-risk group had shorter leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) than low-risk group (P=0.026; P=0.006), and the three-gene signature was a prognostic factor. Our three-gene signature for prognosis prediction in AML may serve as a prognostic biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cilia rotation-driven nodal flow is crucial for the left-right (L-R) break in symmetry in most vertebrates. However, the mechanism by which the flow signal is translated to asymmetric gene expression has been insufficiently addressed. Here, we show that Hedgehog (Hh) signalling is asymmetrically activated (L

A method of simultaneous separation and indirect ultraviolet detection of different valence iron ions Fe2+ and Fe3+ by using ionic liquids as mobile phase additives and ultraviolet absorption reagents on a cation exchange column functionalized with carboxylic acid group was developed. The effects of ionic liquids, organic acids, detection wavelength, etc. on separation and detection of Fe2+ and Fe3+ were investigated and the mechanism was discussed. The pyridinium and imidazolium ionic liquids were not only ultraviolet absorption reagents of indirect ultraviolet detection but also effective components for separating Fe2+ and Fe3+. The separation and detection of Fe2+ and Fe3+ can be achieved using 0.5 mmol/L pyridinium ionic liquid−1.2 mmol/L methanesulfonic acid as the mobile phase. The determination of Fe2+ and Fe3+ had a good linear relationship in the concentration range of 1−100 mg/L. The limits of detection of Fe2+ and Fe3+ were 0.12 and 0.09 mg/L, respectively. This method was applied to the actual sample detection in the field of medical analysis. The spiked recoveries were between 97.3 and 99.5%, and the relative standard deviations were less than 0.6%. The method is simple, accurate, and reliable, and is an analytical method with universal and practical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotrema cangshanense X.X.Zhu, H.L.Zheng & J.S.Ma, a new species from western Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated here. It is similar to I. utriforme, I. forrestianum, I. cucurbitoides and I. obliquum The major differences between them are outlined and discussed. A detailed description, along with line drawings, photographs, habitat and distribution, as well as a comparison to morphologically similar species, is also provided. Meanwhile, the new taxon is assessed as Vulnerable (VU D2), according to the IUCN Red List criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensegrities have exhibited great importance and numerous applications in many mechanical, aerospace, and biological systems, for which symmetric configurations are preferred as the tensegrity prototypes. Besides the well-known prismatic tensegrities, another ingenious group of tensegrities with high symmetry is the truncated regular polyhedral (TRP) tensegrities, including Z-based and rhombic types. Although Z-based TRP tensegrities have been widely studied in the form-finding and application issues, rhombic TRP tensegrities have been much less reported due to the lack of explicit solutions that can produce their symmetric configurations. Our former work presented a unified solution for the rhombic TRP tensegrities by involving the force-density method which yet cannot control structural geometric sizes and may produce irregular shapes. Here, using the structural equilibrium matrix-based form-finding method, we establish some analytical equations, in terms of structural geometric parameters and force-densities in elements, to directly construct the self-equilibrated, symmetric configurations of rhombic TRP tensegrities, i.e., tetrahedral, cubic/octahedral, and dodecahedral/icosahedral configurations. Moreover, it is proved, both theoretically and numerically, that all of our obtained rhombic TRP tensegrities are super-stable and thus can be stable for any level of the force-densities without causing element material failure, which is beneficial to their actual construction. This study helps to readily design rhombic tensegrities with high symmetry and develop novel biomechanical models, mechanical metamaterials, and advanced mechanical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial peptides have broad-spectrum killing activities against bacteria, enveloped viruses, fungi and several parasites via cell membrane permeation and exhibit primarily immunomodulatory and anti-infective functions in their interactions with host cells. However, the mechanism underlying their anti-inflammatory activity remains to be elucidated. L-K6, an analog of temporin-1CEb isolated from the skin secretion of Rana chensinensis, has demonstrated a wide range of antimicrobial activities against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. In this study, the potent anti-inflammatory mechanism of L-K6 and its analogs in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human macrophage U937 cells were evaluated. We found that L-K6 suppressed the expression of inflammatory factors by two downstream signaling components in the MyD88-dependent pathway, including the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and the NF (nuclear factor)-κB signaling pathway, but its analog L-K5, which had the same amino acid sequence as L-K6 but no Lys residue at the -COOH terminal, only inhibited the phosphorylation of I-κB and NF-κB. Importantly, L-K6 and L-K5 were actively taken up by U937 cells through an independent cell membrane disruption mechanism and were eventually localized to the perinuclear region. The L-K6 uptake process was mediated by endocytosis, but L-K5 was specifically taken up by U937 cells via TLR4 endocytosis. Our results demonstrated that L-K6 can neutralize LPS and diassociate LPS micelles to inhibit LPS from triggering the proinflammatory signaling pathway, and by partially inhibiting inflammatory responses by the intracellular target. However, L-K5 may mainly inhibit proinflammatory responses by intracellular reporters to modulate the NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the anterior-posterior fate specification of insects, anterior fates arise in a nonelongating tissue (called the "blastoderm"), and posterior fates arise in an elongating tissue (called the "germband"). However, insects differ widely in the extent to which anterior-posterior fates are specified in the blastoderm versus the germband. Here we present a model in which patterning in both the blastoderm and germband of the beetle Tribolium castaneum is based on the same flexible mechanism: a gradient that modulates the speed of a genetic cascade of gap genes, resulting in the induction of sequential kinematic waves of gap gene expression. The mechanism is flexible and capable of patterning both elongating and nonelongating tissues, and hence converting blastodermal to germband fates and vice versa. Using RNAi perturbations, we found that blastodermal fates could be shifted to the germband, and germband fates could be generated in a blastoderm-like morphology. We also suggest a molecular mechanism underlying our model, in which gradient levels regulate the switch between two enhancers: One enhancer is responsible for sequential gene activation, and the other is responsible for freezing temporal rhythms into spatial patterns. This model is consistent with findings in Drosophila melanogaster, where gap genes were found to be regulated by two nonredundant "shadow" enhancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is the major resin monomer that is released from incomplete polymerized dental restorative and adhesive biomaterials during dental therapy. Autophagy and apoptosis are biologically connected and the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis is complex under various circumstances. This study aimed to determine whether autophagy is activated by HEMA and further explore the function of autophagy during the HEMA-induced apoptosis of dental mesenchymal cells (DMCs).We exposed DMCs to different concentrations of HEMA. Cell viability showed a time- and concentration-dependent decrease when exposed to HEMA. We showed that HEMA exposure increased autophagic vacuoles and the expression of autophagic biomarkers (Beclin1, Atg5 and LC3). Pre-incubated with autophagy inhibitors (3-methyladenine and chloroquine) significantly prevented HEMA-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, HEMA initiated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expression and nuclear translocation, whereas the NF-κB inhibitor (Bay 11-7082) markedly suppressed HEMA-induced autophagic activation and apoptosis. As is consistent with the in vitro results, HEMA treatment resulted in dental pulp tissue toxicity and activation of typical autophagic vacuoles in the tooth slice organ culture model ex vivo. In summary, we demonstrated that NF-κB signaling functioned upstream of HEMA-inducecd autophagy in DMCs and that the activation of NF-κB-autophagy axis was responsible for HEMA-induced apoptosis. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms of resin monomer-mediated dental pulp damage during dental treatment, highlighting the activation of NF-κB-autophagy axis as an important mechanism of HEMA-mediated apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coiled-coil, a basic folding pattern of native proteins, was previously demonstrated to be associated with the specific spatial recognition, association, and dissociation of proteins and can be used to perfect engineering peptide model. Thus, in this study, a series of amphiphiles composed of heptads repeats with coiled-coil structures was constructed, and the designed peptides exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. Circular dichroism and biological assays showed that the heptad repeats and length of the linker between the heptads largely influenced the amphiphile's helical propensity and cell selectivity. The engineered amphiphiles were also found to efficiently reduce sessile P. aeruginosa biofilm biomass, neutralize endotoxins, inhibit the inflammatory response, and remain active under physiological salt concentrations. In summary, these findings are helpful for short AMP design with a highly therapeutic index to treat bacteria-induced infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neolithic transition, defined as the shift from a hunter-gatherer economy into the one based on agricultural activities, is assumed to have resulted in extensive human population growths. Despite major progress has been made by archaeologists in the use of archaeobotanic data to reconstruct a reliable time frame of Neolithic transition in China, the roles played by Neolithic transition in East Asian demographic history are not yet well understood. This paper offers a perspective on the issues regarding when and how the East Asian population expanded and its consequences. Considering diverse genetic evidences, we revealed that, in East Asia, there were at least two population expansion events in the Paleolithic Era and notably, the latter Paleolithic expansion and climate improvement after Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, about 15 ka) might together facilitate the emergence of agriculture. In comparison to the Paleolithic expansion, Neolithic expansion had its own characteristics, such as stronger expansion dynamics and sex-specific expansion pattern. According to the Y-chromosome-based tree in our recent studies, we found strong signals of partial paternal lineage expansions during or after the Neolithic transition, for instance, O3a2c1a-F5 (Oα), O3a2c1-F46 (Oβ), O3a1c1-F11 (Oγ), C3a1-F2613 (Cα), Q1a1-M120 (Qα), and O1a1a1-F78 (Oδ), suggesting the influence of a strong bottleneck caused by cultural changes. Finally, we discussed the relationship between major East Asian paternal lineages and linguistic families, as well as early archeology cultures, linking the Daxi culture to the modern Hmong-Mien populations, the Liangzhu Culture and/or Songze Culture to modern Austronesian and Daic populations, and Yangshao Culture, Dawenkou Culture and/or Longshan Culture, and Hongshan Culture to modern Sino-Tibetan populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tg ROP18 induces the activated murine BV2 microglia cells to polarize to M1 phenotype. • Tg ROP18 upregulates the expression of pro-inflammatory factor in activated BV2 microglia cells via NF-κB signal pathway. • Tg ROP18 interacts with p65 and up-regulates its phosphorylation level at S536. Toxoplasma gondii , an opportunistic pathogenic protozoan, exhibits a strong predilection to infect the brain, causing severe neurological diseases, such as toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE), in immunocompromised patients. Microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain, is reported to play important roles in regulating the neuroinflammation mediated by T. gondii infection. Here we demonstrated that the tachyzoites of T. gondii RH strain could significantly upregulate the expression levels of microglial M1 phenotype markers including IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, iNOS and IL18 in activated murine BV2 microglia cells, which were regulated by T. gondii rhoptry protein 18 (Tg ROP18). Moreover, we found that Tg ROP18 could enhance the expression of M1 phenotype markers in activated murine BV2 microglia cells via activating NF-κB signal pathway. Additionally, Tg ROP18 was suggested to interact with the host p65 in activated murine BV2 microglia cells and induce the phosphorylation of p65 at S536. In summary, the present study demonstrated that Tg ROP18 could promote the activated microglia to polarize to M1 phenotype and enhanced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors via activating NF-κB signal pathway, which could contribute to elucidating the mechanism underlying the neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia in the brain with T. gondii infection. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A multi-step scheme is proposed for evaluating the elastic stiffness of partially leached cement paste. • Two microstructure models are constructed for analyzing partially dissolved CH and partially decalcified C S H. • The validity of the scheme is verified with experimental data, micromechanical model and computer simulations. A multi-step scheme is developed for evaluating the degradation of elastic stiffness of cement paste in contact with pure, deionized water. In the multi-step scheme, two primary stages in the leaching process, calcium hydroxide (CH) dissolution and calcium silicate hydrate (C S H) decalcification, are taken into account. For CH dissolution, a two-phase interpenetrating material model is constructed to derive the elastic moduli of partially dissolved CH. For C S H decalcification, a two-phase concentric sphere is used to formulate the elastic moduli and additional capillary porosity of partially decalcified C S H. After the validity of the multi-step scheme is verified with three sets of data, the effects of water/cement ratio and volume ratio of C S H to CH on the elastic modulus of partially leached cement paste are evaluated. Compared with existing analytical methods, C S H decalcification is considered. A two-phase interpenetrating material model is proposed to describe the CH dissolution process and to compute the elastic modulus of partially dissolved CH. It is found from the sensitivity analysis that the relationship between the elastic modulus and capillary porosity of partially leached cement paste lies on a single master curve for different water/cement ratios and volume ratios of C S H to CH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolution problem is always a hot topic in the mathematical biology field. In this paper, we investigate the evolutionary effects of selective disturbance on an evolving trait (e.g. body size and maturation age) of the predator individuals in one-predator two-prey community. By using methods of adaptive dynamics and population dynamics we construct an invasion fitness function and obtain the conditions for evolutionary branching and evolutionary stability under selective disturbance in both monomorphic and dimorphic populations. We further conduct a size-selective disturbance function founded on chi-square distribution to study evolutionary stable coexistence, and considering the evolutionary branching and evolutionary stability by using theoretic analysis and numerical simulations. The evolutionary results from a biological point of view show that (1) two strategies could gradually evolve to form a single ancestral strategy, moreover, higher levels of polymorphism cannot build up during evolution, that is, following first evolutionary branching two species will eventually evolve into two generalist species and reach an evolutionary stable coexistence; (2) smaller disturbance could touch off higher levels of dimorphism during evolution, while large disturbance can go against evolutionary branching and advance evolutionary stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C43H128N38O21, orthorhombic, Pbca (no. 61), a=19.556(4) Å, b=20.105(4) Å, c=20.573(4) Å, V =8089(3) ų, Z =4, Rgt(F)=0.0592, wRref(F²)=0.1028, T =296 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) Mission completed four seasonal deployments (August 2016, February 2017, October 2017, May 2018), each with regular 0.2-12 km profiling through transecting the remote Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. Additional data are acquired also for the Southern Ocean and Artic basin, as well as two flights over Antarctica. ATom in situ measurements provide a near-complete chemical characterization of the ~140,000 10-second (80 m by 2 km) air parcels measured along the flight path. This paper presents the Modeling Data Stream (MDS), a continuous gap-filled record of the 10-s parcels containing the chemical species needed to initialize a gas-phase chemistry model for the budgets of tropospheric ozone and methane. Global 3D models have been used to calculate the Reactivity Data Stream RDS), which is comprised of the chemical reactivities (production and loss) for methane, ozone, and carbon monoxide, through 24-hour integration of the 10-s parcels. These parcels accurately sample tropospheric heterogeneity and allow us to partially deconstruct the spatial scales and variability that defines tropospheric chemistry from composition to reactions. This paper provides a first look and analysis of the up-to-date MDS and RDS data including all four deployments (Prather et al., 2023, doi: 10.7280/D1B12H). ATom's regular profiling of the ocean basins allows for weighted averages to build probability densities for key species and reactivities presented here. These statistics provide climatological metrics for global chemistry models, for example, the large-scale pattern of ozone and methane loss in the lower troposphere, and the more sporadic hot spots of ozone production in the upper troposphere. The profiling curtains of reactivity also identify meteorologically variable and hence deploymentspecific hot spots of photochemical activity. Added calculations of the sensitivities of the production and loss terms relative to each species emphasize the few dominant species that control the ozone and methane budgets, and whose statistical patterns should be key model-measurement metrics. From the sensitivities, we also derive linearized lifetimes of ozone and methane on a parcel-by-parcel basis and average over the basins, providing an observational basis for these previously model-only diagnostics. We had found that most model differences in the ozone and methane budgets are caused by the models calculating different climatologies for the key species such as O3, CO, H2O, NOx, CH4 plus T, and thus these ATom measurements provide a substantial contribution to the understanding of model differences and even identifying model errors in global tropospheric chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Blending of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and polyether-block-amide elastomer (PEBA) to obtain a blend with excellent overall properties. • A polyurethane with one end blocked with an isocyanate group and one end blocked with two epoxy groups was prepared as a compatibilizer for TPU/PEBA blending systems. • The mechanical properties of TPU/PEBA blends are related to their compatibility, and improving their compatibility can improve their mechanical properties. In this work, to improve the mechanical properties of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyether-block-amide elastomer (PEBA) was used to modify it through a blending method. Due to the low compatibility of the two, a polyurethane with one end blocked with an isocyanate group and one end blocked with two epoxy groups was prepared as a compatibilizer, named as E-PU-I. And a series of TPU/PEBA blends with different components were prepared using a torque rheometer, and the effects of E-PU-I on the microstructure, phase interface interaction, rheological properties and mechanical properties of the blends were investigated. It proves that E-PU-I improves the compatibility between TPU and PEBA, resulting in more uniform dispersion of PEBA in TPU and smaller particle size, thus improving the overall performance of the blends. In addition, when the critical E-PU-I content is around 3.2 parts, the mechanical properties of the blends have been significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on its condensed-matter properties, crystal structure, and metallurgy, which includes a phase diagram with six allotropic phases, plutonium is one of the most complicated pure elements in its solid state. Its anomalous properties, which are indicative of a very strongly correlated state, are related to its special position in the periodic table, which is at the boundary between the light actinides that have itinerant 5f electrons and the heavy actinides that have localized 5f electrons. As a foundational study to probe the role of local electronic correlations in Pu, we use the local-density approximation together with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the electronic structure of a single Pu atom that is either substitutionally embedded in the bulk and or adsorbed on the surface of a Th host. This is a simpler case than the solid phases of Pu metal. For the Pu impurity atom we have found a Kondo resonance peak, which is an important signature of electronic correlations, in the local density of states around the Fermi energy. Furthermore, we show that the peak width of this resonance is narrower for Pu atoms at the surface of Th than for those in the bulk due to a weakened Pu-5f hybridization with the ligands at the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is one of the most effective and sensitive techniques in gene expression assay, for which selection of reference genes is a prerequisite. In teleost species, such as Chinese perch, the expression profiling of miRNAs as reference genes for RT-qPCR has not been intensively studied. In the present study, the expression profiles of six miRNAs (miR-101a, miR-146a, miR-22a, miR-23a, miR-26a and let-7a) and one small nuclear RNA (U6) were assayed with RT-qPCR in different adult tissues, developmental stages and growth conditions of Chinese perch, Siniperca chuatsi. The analyses revealed that embryonic developmental stage is an important variability factor in the expression stability of miRNAs. All six miRNAs exhibited better expression consistency than U6 in most of the conditions examined, and therefore, they may be more suitable as a reference gene for miRNA quantification. When different tissues and developmental stages were considered, miR-22a demonstrated the most consistent expression pattern, and the best combination of reference genes was miR-22a and miR-23a. Our study offers useful data for selecting miRNAs as reference genes for RT-qPCR analysis of miRNAs in teleost fishes under different conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pim-1 (Provirus integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 1) belongs to the Ser/Thr kinase family and plays a pivotal role in occurrence and development of oncogenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that Pim-1 phosphorylates RUNX3 and alters its subcellular localization. However, few studies have concerned the implications of Pim-1 in the salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). In this study, we aimed to clarify the function of Pim-1 in ACC in vitro. Meanwhile, we measured the levels of Pim-1 and RUNX3 in the ACC tissues. The correlations between Pim-1/RUNX3 levels and clinical parameters were also analyzed. Methods: SACC-83 and SACC-LM cells were transfected with the Pim-1 siRNA. Pim-1 mRNA and protein expression were measured using real-time PCR and immnuoblot, respectively. Cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 assay. Cell cycle, apoptosis, and mitochondrial membrane potential were detected by flow cytometry. Effects of Pim-1 on cells? invasion were evaluated by transwell migration assay. Pim-1 and RUNX3 levels in ACC tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. Results: Pim-1 siRNA reduces cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, causes cell cycle arrest through cell cycle related proteins (Cyclin D1 and CDK4), mitochondrial depolarization, and decreases invasive ability in SACC-83 and SACC-LM cells. Pim-1 and RUNX3 levels are significantly relevant and associated with T-stage and nerve invasion in the ACC tissues. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the oncogenic role of Pim-1 in ACC. The findings also suggest that Pim-1 may serve as a neoteric therapeutic target and potential prognostic marker for ACC cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Several previous studies have reported the role variant of ERCC1 rs3212986 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms in the risk of glioma, but the results of these studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the role of ERCC1 rs3212986 and ERCC2 rs13181 on the risk of glioma. Methods: A comprehensive research was conducted through the databases of Pubmed, EMBASE and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) platforms until June 1, 2014, including 14 eligible casecontrol studies. Results: Our meta-analysis found that ERCC1 rs3212986 AA genotype was significantly associated with increased risk of glioma compared with CC genotype, and the pooled OR (95%CI) was 1.29(1.07-1.55). By subgroup analysis, ERCC1 rs3212986 AA genotype was found to be significantly correlated with increased glioma risk in Chinese population (OR=1.37, 95%CI=1.07, 1.55), Similarly, we found that ERCC2 rs13181 GT and TT genotypes were significantly associated with increased risk of glioma in Chinese population, with ORs(95%CI) of 1.47(1.17-1.85) and 1.50(1.02-2.22). But ERCC1 rs3212986 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms had no significant association with glioma risk in Caucasian populations. By begg's funnel plot, we found that no publication bias was existed in this meta-analysis. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggested that ERCC1 rs3212986 and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphism play an important risk factor for brain tumor development in Chinese population, but no association in Caucasian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal oxides (TMOs>) exhibit many emergent phenomena ranging from high-temperature superconductivity and giant magnetoresistance to magnetism and ferroelectricity. In addition, when TMOs are interfaced with each other, new functionalities can arise, which are absent in individual components. Here, we report results from first-principles calculations on the magnetism at the BiFeO3/ YBa2Cu3O7 interfaces. By comparing the total energy for various magnetic spin configurations inside BiFeO3, we are able to show that a metallic ferromagnetism is induced near the interface. We further develop an interface exchange-coupling model and place the extracted exchange coupling interaction strengths, from the first-principles calculations, into a resultant generic phase diagram. Our conclusion of interfacial ferromagnetism is confirmed by the presence of a hysteresis loop in field-dependent magnetization data. The emergence of interfacial ferromagnetism should have implications to electronic and transport properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Visfatin, a novel adipokine, is predominantly produced by visceral adipose tissue and exists in intracellular and extracellular compartments. The intracellular form of visfatin is proved to be nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase ( NAMPT) and exhibits neuroprotection through maintaining intracellular NAD+ pool. However, whether extracellular form of visfatin has NAMPT activity and the effect of extracellular visfatin in cerebral ischemia are unknown. Methods and Results Plasma concentrations of visfatin, NAD+, and ATP were increased in mice upon cerebral ischemia. Cultured glia, but not neuron, was able to secrete visfatin. Oxygen-glucose deprivation ( OGD) stress increased the secretion of visfatin from glia. Extracellular recombinant mouse wild-type visfatin, but not mouse H247A-mutant enzymatic-dead visfatin, had NAMPT enzymatic function in vitro. Treatment of wild-type visfatin, but not H247A-mutant enzymatic-dead visfatin, significantly attenuated detrimental effect of OGD on the cell viability and apoptosis in both cultured mouse neuron and glia. Treatment of neutralizing antibody, abolished the protective effect of extracellular visfatin on cell viability, but failed to block the antiapoptotic effect of extracellular visfatin. At last, we observed that plasma visfatin concentrations decreased in 6-month-old but not 3-month-old SHR- SP compared with that in age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats. Inhibition of NAMPT enzymatic function of visfatin (by FK866) accelerated the occurrence of stroke in SHR- SP. Conclusions Extracellular visfatin has NAMPT enzymatic activity and maybe be neuroprotective just as intracellular visfatin in cerebral ischemic injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background RASopathies are a group of disorders related to Noonan syndrome that with dysregulated RAS-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Noonan syndrome (NS, OMIM# 163950) is a both phenotypically and genotypically variable disorder. We and other researchers have demonstrated that copy number variations underlie a small percentage of patients with RASopathies. Results In a cohort of 12 clinically characterized patients with congenital heart defect (CHD) and features suggestive of Noonan syndrome or Noonan like syndrome without known causative gene mutation, we performed an Illumina SNP-array analysis to identify the pathogenic copy number variations (Human660W-Quad Chip, Beadstation Scanner and GenomeStudio V2011 software). We identifed two rare copy number variations harboring genes involved in RAS- MAPK signaling pathway of RASopathy. One is a 24 Mb duplication of 12q24.1-24.3 containing PTPN11 and the other is a 183 kb deletion of 10q25.2 including SHOC2. The SNP-array results were further validated by quantitative PCR (qPCR). This is might be the first report suggesting that haploinsufficiency of SHOC2 can result in a RASopathy-like phenotype. Conclusions Our findings provide additional support that copy number variations containing disease-causing genes of RAS/MAPK pathway play a minor role in RASopathies or related disorders. We recommend the use of microarrays in Noonan syndrome like patients without identified mutations in the causative genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of dislocation dissociation on the evolution of Frank—Read (F-R) sources is studied using a three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics simulation (3D-DDD). The classical Orowan nucleation stress and recently proposed Benzerga nucleation time models for F-R sources are improved. This work shows that it is necessary to introduce the dislocation dissociation scheme into 3D-DDD simulation, especially for simulations on micro-plasticity of small sized materials with low stacking fault energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological phase of newly found matter has aroused wide interests, especially related with the external periodical modulating. With the help of the Floquet theory, we investigate the possibility of externally manipulating the topological property in a HgTe/CdTe quantum well system with the polarized optical field. We give the phase diagram, showing that by modulating the parameters of the polarized optical field, especially the phase, the topological phase transition can be realized in the QW and lead to the so-called Floquet topological insulator. When the optical field is weak, the driven QSH state of QW is robust with the optical field. However, when the optical field is relatively larger, the group velocity of edge states and the gap between the bulk states exhibit certain oscillations. The implications of our results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By investigating the nonequilibrium transport across a metal/superconductor junction in both nonrelativistic and relativistic cases, we reveal that the asymmetric Andreev reflection with anisotropic superconductors is able to induce electric and thermal Hall-like effects in the absence of a magnetic field. That is, a longitudinal electric voltage or temperature bias can inducetransverse electric or thermal currents merely through the asymmetric Andreev reflection, respectively. In particular, a transverse thermoelectric effect, i.e., the Ettingshausen-like effect, is identified, although the conjugate Nernst effect is absent. The direction change of these electric and thermal Hall-like currents is also discussed. The Hall-like effects uncovered here do not require the conventional time-reversal symmetry breaking but, rather, originate from the mirror symmetry breaking with respect to the interface normal due to the anisotropic paring symmetry of the superconductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the orbital-selective superconducting pairing in a five-orbital t -J1-J2 model for iron pnictides. Depending on the orbital selectivity of electron correlations and the orbital characters along the Fermi surface, the superconducting gap in an A1g pairing state may exhibit anisotropy. This anisotropy varies with the degree of J1-J2 magnetic frustration. In the superconducting state, the frequency dependence of the dynamical spin susceptibility at the antiferromagnetic wave vector (π,0) shows a resonance, whose width is enhanced by the orbital selectivity of the superconducting gap. When the degree of the orbital selectivity is sufficiently strong, the resonance peak may be split in two. We discuss the implications of our results on the recent angle-resolved photoemission and neutron-scattering measurements in several superconducting iron pnictides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] An analytical solution is derived for predicting the chloride diffusivity in concrete. [•] The ITZ percolation effect and the Hashin–Shtrikman bounds are considered. [•] The effects of the thickness of and chloride diffusivity in ITZ on the chloride diffusivity in concrete are quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the nonequilibrium transport for the asymmetric and negative differential magnon tunneling driven by temperature bias. We demonstrate that the many-body magnon interaction that makes the magnonic spectrum temperature-dependent is the crucial factor for the emergence of rectification and negative differential spin Seebeck effects in magnon tunneling junctions. When magnonic junctions have temperature-dependent density of states, reversing the temperature bias is able to give asymmetric spin currents and increasing temperature bias could give an anomalously decreasing magnonic spin current. We show that these properties are relevant for building spin Seebeck diodes and transistors, which could play important roles in controlling information and energy in magnonics and spin caloritronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling heat flow by phononic nanodevices has received significant attention recently because of its fundamental and practical implications. Elementary phononic devices such as thermal rectifiers, transistors, and logic gates are essentially based on two intriguing properties: heat diode effect and negative differential thermal conductance. However, little is known about these heat transfer properties across metal-dielectric interfaces, especially at nanoscale. Here we analytically resolve the microscopic mechanism of the nonequilibrium nanoscale energy transfer across metal-dielectric interfaces, where the inelastic electron-phonon scattering directly assists the energy exchange. We demonstrate the emergence of heat diode effect and negative differential thermal conductance in nanoscale interfaces and explain why these novel thermal properties are usually absent in bulk metal-dielectric interfaces. These results will generate exciting prospects for the nanoscale interfacial energy transfer, which should have important implications in designing hybrid circuits for efficient thermal control and open up potential applications in thermal energy harvesting with low-dimensional nanodevices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the nonequilibrium energy transport across a topological insulator superconductor junction by deriving an interfacial heat current formula through the scattering wave approach. Several anomalous thermal properties are uncovered, such as thermal energy's Klein tunneling, asymmetric Kapitza resistance, and negative differential thermal resistance. We expect these findings will have potential applications for energy control in various hybridized mesoscopic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the coherent excitations of a composite fermion operator fiσ(-1)ni..., where fiσ is the fermion operator for interacting electrons and ni... is the number operator of electrons with the opposite spin. In the two-impurity Anderson model, we show that the excitation of this composite fermion has a finite spectral weight near the Fermi energy in the regime dominated by intersite spin exchange coupling where the Kondo fixed point is prevented. From scattering off this coherent composite fermion mode, the excitation of the regular fermion fiσdevelops a pseudogap and its self-energy is singular. Conversely, when the regular fermion develops Kondo resonance in the Kondo resonance regime, the excitation of the composite fermion develops a pseudogap instead. We argue that the composite fermion could develop a Fermi surface but "hidden" from charge excitations in lattice generalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystalline linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI) is a fascinating polymer that can be used as a catalyst, template and scaffold in order to direct the formation of silica with controllable compositions and spatial structures under mild conditions. Considering the crystallization and assembly of LPEI is temperature-dependent, we adopted different accelerated cooling processes of a hot aqueous solution of LPEI in order to modulate the LPEI crystalline aggregates. We then used them in the hydrolytic condensation of alkoxysilane. A series of silica with nanofibrils, nanotubes and nanowire-based structures were achieved simply by the LPEI aggregates which were pre-formed in defined cooling processes. These specific one-dimensional nanoscale structures assembled into microscale fibers-, sheet- and platelet-like coalescences. Furthermore, the deposition kinetics was also researched by the combination of other characterizations (e.g., pH measurement, 29Si MAS NMR). As a preliminary application, the hybrids of LPEI@SiO2 were used not only as an agent for reducing PtCl4 2- into Pt but also as host for loading Pt nanoparticles. The Pt-loaded silica showed good catalytic properties in the reduction of Rhodamine B by dimethylaminoborane (DMAB) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria and fungi are threatening human health all over the world. It is an increasingly serious problem that the efficacies of some antibacterial and antifungal agents have been weakened by the drug resistance of some bacteria and fungi, which makes a great need for new antibiotics. Sesquiterpenoids, with abundant structural skeleton types and a wide range of bioactivities, are considered as good candidates to be antibacterial and antifungal agents. In the past decades, many sesquiterpenoids were isolated from plants and fungi that exhibited good antibacterial and antifungal activities. In this review, the names, source, structures, antibacterial and antifungal degrees, and mechanisms of sesquiterpenoids with antibacterial and antifungal activity from 2012 to 2022 are summarized, and the structure-activity relationship of these sesquiterpenoids against bacteria and fungi is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Owing to its importance in the durability assessment and design of reinforced concrete structures exposed to chloride-ladden environments, it is essential to determine the chloride diffusivity in concrete. This paper presents a numerical method for predicting the chloride diffusivity in concrete with aggregate shape effect. To reduce the number of elements, an equivalent aggregate model is constituted by modeling the aggregate as inclusion and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) as matrix and the chloride diffusivity in equivalent aggregate is derived analytically. Based on the simulated mesostructure of concrete, the lattice model is applied to the analysis of chloride diffusion in concrete. In this analysis, the physical properties of each phase constituent are taken into account in the formation of element matrix of bar elements. After the validity of the developed numerical method is verified with two independent sets of experimental results, the effect of aggregate shape on the chloride diffusivity in concrete is evaluated in a quantitative manner. It is found that, when the aspect ratio of elliptical aggregate particles increases from 1 to 3, the chloride diffusivity in concrete decreases by 6.48%, 8.94%, and 10.67% for a given chloride diffusivity ratio of ITZ to cement paste at 2, 6, and 10, respectively. The paper concludes that the numerical method developed in the paper can predict the chloride diffusivity in concrete with an average relative error smaller than 7% for the two selected verification examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Within the framework of nonequilibrium Green's functions, we investigate the thermoelectric transport in a single molecular junction with electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions. By transforming into a displaced phonon basis, we are able to deal with these interactions nonperturbatively. Then, by invoking the weak tunneling limit, we are able to calculate the thermoelectricity. Results show that at low temperatures, resonances of the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, occur around the sides of resonances of electronic conductance but drop dramatically to zero at exactly these resonant points. We find ZT can be enhanced by increasing electron-phonon coupling and Coulomb repulsion, and an optimal enhancement is obtained when these two interactions are competing. Our results indicate a great potential for single molecular junctions as good thermoelectric devices over a wide range of temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present first-principles multiband spin susceptibility calculations within the random-phase approximation for four isostructural superconducting PuCoIn5, PuCoGa5, PuRhGa5, and nonsuperconducting UCoGa5 actinides. The results show that a strong peak in the spin-fluctuation dressed self-energy is present around 0.5 eV in all materials, which is mostly created by 5f electrons. These fluctuations couple to the single-particle spectrum and give rise to a peak-dip-hump feature, characteristic of the coexistence of itinerant and localized electronic states. Results are in quantitative agreement with photoemission spectra. Finally, we show that the studied actinides can be understood within the rigid-band filling approach, in which the spin-fluctuation coupling constant follows the same materials dependence as the superconducting transition temperature Tc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]