Search

Our paper addresses the challenge of generalized zero-shot learning, where the label of a target image may belong to either a seen or an unseen category. Previous methods for this task typically learn a joint embedding space where image features and their corresponding class prototypes are directly aligned. However, this can be difficult due to the inherent gap between the visual and semantic space. To overcome this challenge, we propose a novel learning framework that relaxes the alignment requirement. Our approach employs a metric learning-based loss function to optimize the visual embedding model, allowing for different penalty strengths on within-class and between-class similarities. By avoiding pair-wise comparisons between image and class embeddings, our approach achieves more flexibility in learning discriminative and generalized visual features. Our extensive experiments demonstrate the superiority of our method with performance on par with the state-of-the-art on five benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Qualified malaria diagnosis competency has contributed to the great achievement of malaria elimination in China. After eliminating malaria, it is still critical to the prevention of re-establishment of malaria transmission in China. This study was aimed to assess the malaria detection competency at national and provincial levels in China at the beginning of malaria post-elimination phase. Methods: In the present study, different competency assessment activities on the laboratory malaria diagnosis were carried out for national and provincial malaria diagnostic laboratories based on the WHO scoring schedules, including malaria microscopy or nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT), at the beginning of malaria post-elimination phase (2021–2022) in China. Results: A total of 60 slides for malaria microscopy and 10 specimen for NAAT were included into the WHO External Quality Assessments of malaria parasite qualitative detection and species identification, and the scoring rate was 96.6% (microscopy: 171/177) and 85.0% (NAAT: 17/20), respectively. Moreover, 124 samples were included into the national NAAT quality assessment, and an accuracy of 87.9% (109/124) was found without significance among reference laboratories and non-reference laboratories. Conclusions: The findings suggest that there is still a need for sustained strengthening of malaria detection competency, particularly in the areas of parasite counting and detection of low-density parasitemia, to ensure prompt detection of the sources of infection and accurate identification of Plasmodium species, and contribute to case management and focus disposal, thereby effectively preventing the malaria re-establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: To investigate the effect of melatonin (MEL) on the depression behavior in mice induced by chronic restraint stress (CRS). METHODS: Forty-eight SPF-grade male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group (;i=12) and CRS group (n-36). The mice in CRS group were further divided into 3 groups (n-12) : CRS+vehicle group, CRS+fluoxetine (FLX) group, and CRS+MEL group. Mouse depression model was established by the CRS method for 14 d, and then the depression-like behaviors were observed for modeling validation. After 14 d of drug intervention combined with CRS, the behaviors were detected again. Nissl staining, RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence staining were performed in mouse brain tissues. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the weight changes of the mice in CRS group were significantly lowered, the immobility time of forced swimming and tail suspension tests was significantly increased, the consumption rate of sugar water decreased significantly, and the central time and movement distance in open-field test decreased significantly (P<0.01). Compared with CRS+vehicle group, the depression-like behaviors induced by CRS were successfully reversed by the drugs in both CRS+FLX and CRS+MEL groups. Furthermore, compared with CRS+vehicle group, the mRNA levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), and the protein levels of BDNF, phosphorylated ERK1/2 and CREB were increased significantly in both CRS+FLX and CRS+MEL groups (P«X 01). The results of Nissl staining showed that the neurons in CRS+vehicle group were irregularly arranged, and the number of Nissl bodies was decreased (P<0. 01). The neuron status and number of Nissl bodies in both CRS+FLX and CRS+MEL groups were significantly improved (P<0. 01). Immunofluorescence staining showed that the number of c-Fos-positive cells in the frontal cortex and hippocampal CA1 region of the mice in CRS+vehicle group was significantly larger than that in control group (P< 0.01). Conversely, the number of c-Fos-positive cells in CRS+FLX and CRS+MEL groups was significantly smaller than that in CRS+vehicle group (P<0. 01). CONCLUSION: Melatonin can significantly alleviate depression-like behavior induced by CRS in mice, which may be related to the activation of BDNF-ERK-CREB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell fusion plays a critical role in cancer progression and metastasis. However, effective modulation of the cell fusion behavior and timely evaluation on the cell fusion to provide accurate information for personalized therapy are facing challenges. Here, it demonstrates that the cancer cell fusion behavior can be efficiently modulated and precisely detected through employing a multifunctional delivery vector to realize cancer targeting delivery of a genome editing plasmid and a molecular beacon-based AND logic gate. The multifunctional delivery vector decorated by AS1411 conjugated hyaluronic acid and NLS-GE11 peptide conjugated hyaluronic acid can specifically target circulating malignant cells (CMCs) of cancer patients to deliver the genome editing plasmid for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) knockout. The cell fusion between CMCs and endothelial cells can be detected by the AND logic gate delivered by the multifunctional vector. After EGFR knockout, the edited CMCs exhibit dramatically inhibited cell fusion capability, while unedited CMCs can easily fuse with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) to form hybrid cells. This study provides a new therapeutic strategy for preventing cancer progression and a reliable tool for evaluating cancer cell fusion for precise personalized therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the parameter estimation problem for bilinear stochastic systems with autoregressive moving average (ARMA) noise using the stochastic gradientmethod. First, the identification model is derived by eliminating the state variables. Based on the obtained identification model, a multi-innovation generalized extended stochastic gradient (MI-GESG) algorithm is proposed using the multi-innovation identification theory. Furthermore, to enhance the parameter estimation accuracy, a maximum likelihood based MI-GESG (ML-MI-GESG) algorithm is developed by using the maximum likelihood identification principle. Finally, an illustrative simulation example is provided to testify the proposed algorithms. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms for identifying bilinear systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodia elata, a traditional Chinese medicine belonging to the Orchidaceae family, contains several major components such as gastrodin, polysaccharides of Gastrodia elata, and parish in. The pharmacological studies conducted on Gastrodia elata have revealed a variety of therapeutic properties, including antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, analgesic, and sedative-hypnotic properties. Thus, in this paper, we summarized the pharmacological effects of Gastrodia elata’s major components, namely gastrodin, polysaccharides of Gastrodia elata, parish in, and different types of Gastrodia elata extracts, on cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, hyperglycemia, myocardial ischemia, myocardial hypoxia, myocarditis, and heart failure. Additionally, we conclude the mechanisms through which these active ingredients exert their therapeutic effects, including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and nitric oxide regulation. We provide insights into the therapeutic potential of Gastrodia elata with a detailed review of its pharmacological effects and molecular targets in cardiovascular disease protection and therapy, and can better understand the effect of traditional medicines in cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current methods for extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNA analysis mostly require RNA extraction, which results in a multi-step, time-consuming workflow. This study reports an extraction-free method that combines thermolysis treatment of EVs with a one-pot EXTRA-CRISPR assay, enabling the vastly simplified analysis of EV miRNAs with a comparable performance to that of the extraction-based assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of multi-view SAR target location, the greater the difference in viewing angles, the higher the target location accuracy. However, this makes it difficult to match the same target between the SAR images with different viewing angles. The performance of traditional SAR image-matching algorithms will deteriorate or even fail to match the images correctly when the viewing angle is gradually increased. To solve this problem, a fast SAR matching method for the SAR images with large viewing angles based on inertial navigation information and neighborhood structure consensus (ININSC) is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, the key targets are detected in the SAR images by using the maximum connected domain algorithm and the K-means clustering algorithm, and the connected domain centroid of the target is taken as a feature point. The approximate position of the key targets after the viewing angle change is found through inertial navigation information, and then accurate and fast matching is achieved by using the consensus of the neighborhood topological structure of the key targets. The measured data sets demonstrate that compared with traditional SAR image-matching algorithms, the proposed ININSC algorithm solves such a problem that SAR images cannot be accurately matched under the differences at large viewing angles and has better robustness and timeliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decidualization, denoting the transformation of endometrial stromal cells into specialized decidual cells, is a prerequisite for normal embryo implantation and a successful pregnancy in human. Here, we demonstrated that knockout of Gαq lead to an aberrantly enhanced inflammatory state during decidualization. Furthermore, we showed that deficiency of Gαq resulted in over-activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling, due to the decreased expression of NFκBIA, which encode the IκB protein and is the negative regulator for NF-κB. Mechanistically, Gαq deficiency decreased the Protein kinase D (PKD, also called PKCμ) phosphorylation levels, leading to attenuated HDAC5 phosphorylation and thus its nuclear export. Aberrantly high level of nuclear HDAC5 retarded histone acetylation to inhibit the induced NFκBIA transcription during decidualization. Consistently, pharmacological activation of the PKD/PKCμ or inhibition of the HDAC5 restored the inflammatory state and proper decidual response. Finally, we disclosed that over-active inflammatory state in Gαq-deficient decidua deferred the blastocyst hatching and adhesion in vitro, and the decidual expression of Gαq was significantly lower in women with recurrent pregnancy loss compared with normal pregnancy. In brief, we showed here that Gαq as a key regulator of the inflammatory cytokine’s expression and decidual homeostasis in response to differentiation cues, which is required for successful implantation and early pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein degradation is critical for brain function through processes that remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the in vivo function of the 20S neuronal membrane proteasome (NMP) in the brain of Xenopus laevis tadpoles. With biochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy, we demonstrated that NMPs are conserved in the tadpole brain and preferentially degrade neuronal activity--induced newly synthesized proteins in vivo. Using in vivo calcium imaging in the optic tectum, we showed that acute NMP inhibition rapidly increased spontaneous neuronal activity, resulting in hypersynchronization across tectal neurons. At the circuit level, inhibiting NMPs abolished learning-dependent improvement in visuomotor behavior in live animals and caused a significant deterioration in basal behavioral performance following visual training with enhanced visual experience. Our data provide in vivo characterization of NMP functions in the vertebrate nervous system and suggest that NMP- mediated degradation of activity-induced nascent proteins may serve as a homeostatic modulatory mechanism in neurons that is critical for regulating neuronal activity and experience-dependent circuit plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discriminative correlation filter (DCF) tracking algorithms are commonly used for visual tracking. However, we observed that different spatio-temporal targets exhibit varied visual appearances, and most DCF-based trackers neglect to exploit this spatio-temporal information during the tracking process. To address the above-mentioned issues, we propose a three-way adaptive spatio-temporal correlation filtering tracker, named ASCF, that makes fuller use of the spatio-temporal information during tracking. To be specific, we extract rich local and global visual features based on the Conformer network, establish three correlation filters at different spatio-temporal locations during the tracking process, and the three correlation filters independently track the target. Then, to adaptively select the correlation filter to achieve target tracking, we employ the average peak-to-correlation energy (APCE) and the peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSR) to measure the reliability of the tracking results. In addition, we propose an adaptive model update strategy that adjusts the update frequency of the three correlation filters in different ways to avoid model drift due to the introduction of similar objects or background noise. Extensive experimental results on five benchmarks demonstrate that our algorithm achieves excellent performance compared to state-of-the-art trackers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An anisotropic complementary metantenna (ACMA) is proposed for the integration of low sidelobe radiation and low in-band co-polarized (IBCP) scattering with the aid of characteristic mode analysis (CMA). With the guidance of CMA, the proposed ACMA evolving from a conventional metantenna (MTA) not only generates a coding phase distribution for low scattering but also restores broadside radiation modes like a uniform MTA. With the IBCP conditions set to $x$ -polarization and the band around 9 GHz, the ACMA is constructed by mixing two types of double-layer anisotropic complementary metasurface (MTS) unit cells. Two desired characteristic modes of ACMA are simultaneously excited by a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity through dual bow-tie slots. Both the simulation and experiments demonstrate that the proposed ACMA achieves both the $x$ -polarized broadside radiation with sidelobe level below −18.9 dB and IBCP scattering levels below −17.8 dB over the frequency range from 8.87 to 9.78 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shear-thinning hydrogels have emerged for endoscopic submucosal dissection, while wound intervention after surgery has rarely been mentioned. Herein, a catechol-modified chitosan hydrogel with shear-thinning property was developed for simultaneously facilitating endoscopic submucosal dissection and postoperative wound healing. Benefiting from the shear-thinning and self-healing characteristics, the asprepared hydrogel showed easily endoscopic injectability. It also performed very well as submucosal cushion, which could remain above 70% after injection for 120 min in ex vivo porcine large intestine model. In fact, the cushion height of normal saline dramatically decreased to 46% of the initial height at 30 min. Ag nanoparticles encapsulated into the network endowed the hydrogel with almost reached 100% antibacterial effect against E. coli and S. aureus. The hemolysis ratio of the hydrogel was calculated to be as low as 0.8%. Combined with good hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility, the as-prepared hydrogel displayed much higher in vivo wound closure and healing efficacy than normal saline. These results demonstrated the superiority of the shear-thinning chitosan hydrogel in facilitating clinical endoscopic submucosal dissection surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer (OC) is among the most malignant tumors of the female reproductive system. The role of autophagy in cancer is complex, and the functional relationship between autophagy-related genes and OC remains unclear. Here, the prognostic value of autophagy-related genes in OC and relationships between autophagy and immune function were evaluated. OC data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Human Autophagy Database were obtained to identify autophagy-related genes. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to construct a prognostic model based on autophagy-related genes. Relationships between risk scores and clinical traits were evaluated. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Cytoscape were used to analyze gene functions and their effects on the immune microenvironment. Relationships between autophagy genes and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficients, and lncRNAs corresponding to the autophagy-related genes associated with OC prognosis were used to construct a model. Relationships between risk scores and survival and prognosis were evaluated. Finally, a gene set enrichment analysis was performed. Seven autophagy-related genes (CAPN1, CDKN1B, DNAJB1, GNAI3, MTMR14, RHEB, and SIRT2) were identified as independent predictors of prognosis. Three lncRNAs corresponding to autophagy genes independently influenced prognosis. Autophagy genes are closely related to immunity. Fifteen immune cell types showed different levels of infiltration between the high- and low-risk groups. Moreover, immune cell infiltration differed between the high- and low-risk groups based on the model. Our analysis of genes and lncRNAs related to prognosis clarifies the role of autophagy in OC and provides a theoretical basis for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple cortical areas including the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are activated during itch signal processing, yet cortical representation of itch perception remains unknown. Using novel miniature two-photon microscopic imaging in free-moving mice, we investigated the coding of itch perception in S1. We found that pharmacological inactivation of S1 abolished itch-induced scratching behavior, and the itch-induced scratching behavior could be well predicted by the activity of a fraction of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, suggesting that a subpopulation of S1 pyramidal neurons encoded itch perception, as indicated by immediate subsequent scratching behaviors. With a newly established optogenetics-based paradigm that allows precisely controlled pruritic stimulation, we found that a small fraction of S1 neurons exhibited an ignition-like pattern at the detection threshold of itch perception. Our study revealed the neural mechanism underlying itch perceptual coding in S1, thus paving the way for the study of cortical representation of itch perception at the single-neuron level in freely moving animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel array of radiation and scattering function-integrated metasurface antenna (RSIMA) elements is proposed, simulated, and measured for radiation beam scanning and two examples of in-band co-polarized (IBCP) scattered field shaping. The RSIMA consists of a slot-connected metasurface (SCMS) subarray of $3\times $ 3 unit cells and a substrate integrated slot waveguide (SISW). When illuminated by plane waves, each SCMS unit cell can independently obtain a wide range of reflection phases by tuning structural parameters. When excited by the coaxial port of SISW, the SCMS subarray will also act as a radiation carrier of RSIMA. Moreover, the layout change of SCMS subarray will not significantly affect the radiation performance of RSIMA. Based on the principle of phase compensation and the phase superposition method, the phase distribution for two examples of scattered field shaping can be designed. In simulations and experiments, the array of 12 $\times12$ RSIMAs radiates an IBCP beam scanning over ±31.5° in the E-plane and shapes the IBCP scattered fields into a deflected vortex beam (DVB) and a deflected high-gain multi-beam (DHMB). It is worth mentioning that the SCMS layout change between two examples of scattered field shaping does not significantly affect the radiation performance of the RSIMA array. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residual stresses could affect the ability of components to bear loading conditions and also the performance. The researchers considered workpiece surface as a plane and ignored the effect of surface topography induced by the intermittent cutting process when modeling residual stresses. The aim of this research develops an analytical model to predict workpiece residual stresses during intermittent machining by correlating the effect of surface topography. The relative motions of tool and workpiece are analyzed for modeling thermal-mechanical and surface topography. The influence of dynamic cutting force and thermal on different positions of surface topography is also considered in the analytical model. Then, the residual stresses model with the surface topography effect can be developed in intermittent cutting. The analytical models of dynamic cutting force, surface topography, and residual stresses are verified by the experiments. The variation trend of evaluated values of the residual stress of workpiece is basically consistent with that of measured values. The compressive residual stress of the workpiece surface in highest point of the surface topography is higher than that in the lowest point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to gain a better understanding of the surface gradient effect on the electronic properties of ZnO tapered nanowires (TNWs), we establish an analytical relationship to elucidate the band offset and dielectric change by considering the joint effect from the nanowire size and surface gradient based on the atomic-bond-relaxation correlation mechanism and the Kramers-Kronig relation. It is found that a pronounced blue shift of the bandgap and dielectric suppression of ZnO TNWs are shown compared to those of NWs with a cylindrical shape. Our results are validated by comparing them with the available evidence, suggesting that the developed method is helpful for shape design on tunable electronic properties of nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompt and precise diagnosis of patients is an essential component of malaria control and elimination strategies, it is even more vital for the prevention of malaria re-establishment in the post elimination phase. After eliminating malaria in China, the strategy for prevention of malaria re-establishment was updated in a timely manner from the elimination strategy focusing on each case/focus to the prevention of re-establishment focusing on timely identification of the source of infection. However, there are numerous challenges, such as the persistent large number of imported malaria cases, the long-term threat of border malaria, unknown levels of asymptomatic infections and Plasmodium falciparum HRP2/3 gene deletions, and the continuous spreading of antimalarial drug resistance. Meanwhile, the detection capacity also need to be further improved to meet the timely detection of all sources of infection, otherwise it is bound to occur introduced malaria cases and malaria re-establishment in the presence of malaria vector mosquitoes. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously strengthen the malaria detection competency at all levels, promote the research and development on the malaria parasitological testing technologies, thus improving the timely detection of various sources of infection, and preventing the re-establishment of malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A robust method is proposed to alleviate the effect of traffic data with outliers. • A comprehensive traffic flow prediction indicator system is established in this paper. • We hybridize polynomial and Gaussian kernel to build nonlinear version of our method. • Parameters of the proposed method are optimized by Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm. A novel least squares twin support vector regression method is proposed based on the robust L 1 -norm distance to alleviate the negative effect of traffic data with outliers. Although there is some known work for the short-term traffic flow prediction problems, their efficacy depends heavily on the collected traffic data, which are often affected by various external factors (e.g. weather, traffic jam or accident), leading to errors and missing data. This makes it difficult to pick an effective method that accurately predicts the traffic state. As a contribution of this paper, an iterative algorithm is designed to solve the non-smooth L 1 -norm terms of our method; its convergence also proved. Further, a comprehensive traffic flow indicator system based on speed, traffic flow, occupancy and ample degree is utilized in this paper. We also extend the proposed method to a nonlinear version by hybridizing the polynomial kernel and radial basis function kernel, where the weight coefficient of hybrid kernel is determined by the change tendency of traffic data. To promote the prediction performance, the parameters of our nonlinear method are optimized by adaptive fruit fly optimization algorithm. Extensive experiments on real traffic data are performed to evaluate our model. The results indicate that the newly constructed model yields better prediction performance and robustness than other models in various experimental settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, machine learning theory has set off a wave of research in the field of radar signal processing. In this study, a novel algorithm for sea‐surface target detection based on a stacked autoencoder (SAE) is proposed, which has already been applied in the authors' coastal defense radar system. In the proposed algorithm, the sea surface echo data are cut into a large number of two‐dimensional (2‐D) images through a sliding window, mapping the cell under test (CUT) and the 2‐D images one by one and performing classification or detection from the perspective of 2‐D signal processing. Experimental results of simulated data and real radar data show that the proposed algorithm based on the SAE has better target detection performance compared with the traditional cell averaging constant false alarm rate (CA‐CFAR) algorithm. Besides, the proposed algorithm shows certain interference suppression ability in real data processing. As far as it is known, there is no public report on the detection of 2‐D sea surface targets based on the SAE algorithm in coastal defense radar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical model is developed to explore the shape-dependent electronic and optoelectronic properties of silicon nanostructure solar cells, including nanocones (NCs), nanowires (NWs), and truncated-nanocones (TNCs), on the basis of atomic-bond-relaxation consideration and detailed balance principle. It is found that the inhomogeneous NCs can not only make the band gap shrink gradually from the top to the bottom, but also suppress the surface recombination and enhance light absorption. Moreover, the optimal performance of silicon nanostructures can be achieved through modulating the geometrical parameters. Strikingly, the SiNCs show the highest solar conversion efficiency compared with that of NWs and TNCs under identical conditions, which suggest that this kind of nanostructures could be expected to be applicable for the new-typed and friendly alternative solar cell unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bletilla is an Orchidaceae genus with high medical value, including detumescence, antibacterial, and hemostasis. In this study, detailed estimates of ploidy level, karyotype, and genome size were first obtained, and a comprehensive cytological analysis was carried out to better understand the evolution of the genus. The karyotypes of Bletilla were mainly composed of metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes with lengths ranging from 1.25 to 4.93 lm. There was moderate cytological variation in Bletilla (chromosome number 2n = 32 to 76). Diploid with 2n = 34 and 2n = 36 was detected in Bletilla ochracea and Bletilla formosana, respectively, whereas diploid (2n = 32) was dominant in Bletilla striata, dysploidy (2n = 34, 2n = 36) and polyploid (2n = 48, 51, 64, 76) variations were also observed. Three species had a relatively symmetric karyotype, and which of B. ochracea was more asymmetry. The genome size (1C-values) varied from 2.94 pg (B. striata) to 3.33 pg (B. ochracea), of which B. ochracea was significantly larger than the others (P < 0.05). A positive correlation (P < 0.01) between 1Cx vs. haploid chromosome length (HCL) and asymmetry coefficient of karyotypes (AsK%) was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary somatosensory cortex (S1) plays a critical role in processing multiple somatosensations, but the mechanism underlying the representation of different submodalities of somatosensation in S1 remains unclear. Using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging that simultaneously monitors hundreds of layer 2/3 pyramidal S1 neurons of awake male mice, we examined neuronal responses triggered by mechanical, thermal, or pruritic stimuli. We found that mechanical, thermal, and pruritic stimuli activated largely overlapping neuronal populations in the same somatotopic S1 subregion. Population decoding analysis revealed that the local neuronal population in S1 encoded sufficient information to distinguish different somatosensory submodalities. Although multimodal S1 neurons responding to multiple types of stimuli exhibited no spatial clustering, S1 neurons preferring mechanical and thermal stimuli tended to show local clustering. These findings demonstrated the coding scheme of different submodalities of somatosensation in S1, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the processing and integration of multimodal somatosensory information in the cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, demyelinating, and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Here we report the temporal and spatial evolution of various functional neurons during demyelination in a cuprizone (CPZ)-induced mouse model. CPZ did not significantly induce the damage of axons and neurons after 2 wk of feeding. However, after 4-6 wk of CPZ feeding, axons and neurons were markedly reduced in the cortex, posterior thalamic nuclear group, and hippocampus. Simultaneously, the expression of TPH+ tryptophan neurons and VGLUT1+ glutamate neurons was obviously decreased, and the expression of TH+ dopaminergic neurons was slightly decreased in the tail part of the substantia nigra striatum, whereas the number of ChAT+ cholinergic neurons was not significantly different in the brain. In the second week of feeding, CPZ caused a higher level of glutamate secretion and upregulated the expression of EAAT2 on astrocytes, which should contribute to rapid and sufficient glutamate uptake and removal. This finding reveals that astrocyte-driven glutamate reuptake protected the CNS from excitotoxicity by rapid reuptake of glutamate in 4-6 wk of CPZ feeding. At this stage, although NG2+ oligodendroglia progenitor cells (OPCs) were enhanced in the demyelination foci, the myelin sheath was still absent. In conclusion, we comprehensively observed the temporal and spatial evolution of various functional neurons. Our results will assist with understanding how demyelination affects neurons during CPZ-induced demyelination and provide novel information for neuroprotection in myelin regeneration and demyelinating diseases. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our results further indicate temporal and spatial evolution of various functional neurons during the demyelination in a cuprizone (CPZ)-induced mouse model, which mainly occur 4-6 wk after CPZ feeding. At the same time, the axonal compartment is damaged and, consequently, neuronal death occurs, while glutamate neurons are lost obviously. The astrocyte-mediated glutamate reuptake could protect the neurons from the excitatory effects of glutamate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deeper insight into shape-dependent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Si nanowire (SiNW) solar cells with polygonal cross-sectional shapes, including trigon, tetragon, hexagon, and circle, has been explored based on the atomic-bond-relaxation approach and detailed balance principle. It has been found that the surface effect induced by the loss-coordination atoms located at edges and surfaces, as well as the thermal effect, plays the dominant roles for the band shift and PCE of SiNWs due to the lattice strain occurrence at the self-equilibrium state. Our predictions are consistent with the available evidences, providing an important advance in the development of Si-based nanostructures for the desirable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergence and spread of multidrug resistance poses a significant risk to malaria control and eradication goals in the world. There has been no indigenous malaria cases reported in China since 2017, and China is approaching national malaria elimination. Therefore, anti-malarial drug resistance surveillance and tracking the emergence and spread of imported drug-resistant malaria cases will be necessary in a post-elimination phase in China. Methods: Dried blood spots were obtained from Plasmodium falciparum-infected cases returned from Africa to China between 2012 and 2015, prior to anti-malarial drug treatment. Whole DNA were extracted and known polymorphisms relating to drug resistance of pfcrt, pfmdr1 gene, and the propeller domain of pfk13 were evaluated by nested PCR and sequencing. The haplotypes and prevalence of these three genes were evaluated separately. Chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test were used to evaluate differences among the different sub-regions of Africa. A P value < 0.05 was used to evaluate differences with statistical significance. The maps were created using ArcGIS. Results: A total of 731 P. falciparum isolates were sequenced at the pfcrt locus. The wild type CVMNK was the most prevalent haplotype with prevalence of 62.8% and 29.8% of the isolates showed the triple mutant haplotype CVIET. A total of 434 P. falciparum isolates were successfully sequenced and pfmdr1 allelic variants were observed in only codons 86, 184 and 1246. Twelve haplotypes were identified and the prevalence of the wild type pfmdr1 NYD was 44.1%. The single mutant pfmdr1 in codons 86 and 184 was predominant but the haplotype NYY with single mutation in codon 1246 was not observed. The double mutant haplotype YFD was common in Africa. About 1,357 isolates were successfully sequenced of pfk13-propeller domain, the wild type was found in 1,308 samples (96.4%) whereby 49 samples (3.6%) had mutation in pfk13. Of 49 samples with pfk13 mutations, 22 non-synonymous and 4 synonymous polymorphic sites were confirmed. The A578S was the most common mutation in pfk13-propeller domain and three mutations associated with artemisinin resistance (M476I, R539T, P553L) were identified in three isolates. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that could give insight into potential issues with anti-malarial drug resistance to inform national drug policy in China in order to treat imported cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] An all-fiber-optic system for rapid detection of antibiotic concentration, based on an optical enzyme biosensor with microfiber interferometer (MFI) and fiber gratings (FBGs) power variation, is proposed and experimentally validated. During the experiment, β-lactamase(β-LS) is fixed on the polyaniline (PANI)-coated optical fiber by cross-linking through glutaraldehyde (GA) covalent bonding. β-LS can hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics to generate acidic by-products that transform polyaniline from the form of the emerald base to emerald salt, which results in the surface refractive index (RI) variation of MFI, to convert MFI wavelength and FBGs power macroscopic change for feedbackingly detecting the concentration of β-lactam antibiotics. The detection of amoxicillin (AMX) in deionized water at concentrations in the range of 0.01–100 nM resulted in a wavelength change sensitivity of 0.6 nm/nM, and FBGs power difference change sensitivity of 1.3 dB/nM, with a detection limit LOD = 0.04 nM in real food and urine samples. The sensing system by the same calibration technique can detect antibiotic concentrations in different substances (tap water, milk and artificial urine). This developed all-fiber-optic system can be used as a rapid solution for the measurement of β-lactam antibiotic residues in food and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting dense rotating objects accurately from remote sensing images is an emerging task in object detection. To increase the applicability of existing algorithms in the above tasks, an optimized anchor-free network optimized by a dual attention mechanism (DAM) and gate multiscale feature fusion (GMFF) is designed. The DAM module is composed of two attention mechanisms with different functions. This part can enhance the backbone network's ability to extract and model information at different levels and reduce the accuracy loss caused by object density changes in the image. The GMFF module uses the gating structure to realize adaptive transmission and integration of multiscale information. Through this module, the useless information in features will be filtered, and the key information will be retained. Several experiments are designed to verify the feasibility of the algorithm. Compared with the baseline model, adding DAM and GMFF to the dense rotating object extraction task in remote sensing images improves the model accuracy by 3.5% and 2.1%, respectively, while adding two modules simultaneously, and the accuracy increases from 79.1% to 84.3%. In conventional object extraction tasks, such as dataset for object detection in aerial images and HRSC2016, our method has the highest accuracy compared to other similar algorithms, with 76.5% and 90.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The air-entraining capabilities of polycarboxylate superplasticisers (PCEs) with different functional groups were systematically analysed. Using different molecular PCEs, the evolution process from bubbles in fresh cement mortar to pores in hardened cement mortar was investigated, considering their effects on mortar workability and mechanical performance. The results showed that PCEs with various functional groups have different air-entraining capabilities. PCEs with ester groups decreased the surface tension and significantly promoted the air-entraining capability, resulting in a notable increase of air content in fresh cement mortar. PCEs with sulfonic acid groups increased the surface tension and remarkably decreased the air content in the fresh cement mortar. A higher air-entraining capability benefits the dispersing properties of PCEs and therefore the PCEs with ester groups performed better in dispersibility in comparison with the PCEs with sulfonic acid groups. The stability of bubbles entrained in fresh cement mortar leads to differences in the pore structure of hardened cement mortar. The PCEs with ester groups diminished the size of large bubbles, leading to significantly decreased porosity of the hardened mortar. PCEs with sulfonic acid groups in the backbone barely optimised the pore structure, with a large amount of large pores remaining in the hardened mortar. Decreased porosity and pore size hence led to higher compressive strength of the hardened cement mortar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thylakoid membrane is a highly complex membrane system in plants and plays crucial roles in the biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus and plant development. However, the genetic factors involved in chloroplast development and its relationship with intracellular metabolites are largely unknown. Here, a rice (Oryza sativa) chlorotic and necrotic leaf1 (cnl1) mutant was identified and map-based cloning revealed that a single base substitution followed by a 6-bp deletion in the ATP-binding cassette transporter I family member7 (OsABCI7) resulted in chlorotic and necrotic leaves with thylakoid membrane degradation, chlorophyll breakdown, photosynthesis impairment, and cell death in cnl1. Furthermore, the expression of OsABCI7 was inducible under lower temperatures, which severely affected cnl1 chloroplast development, and etiolated cnl1 seedlings were unable to recover to a normal green state under light conditions. Functional complementation and overexpression showed that OsABCI7 could rescue the cnl1 chlorotic and necrotic phenotype. OsABCI7 interacted with HIGH CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE222 (OsHCF222) to regulate cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis for thylakoid membrane stability. OsABCI7 localized to thylakoid membranes, while OsHCF222 targeted to endoplasmic reticulum and chloroplasts. Exogenous application of ascorbic acid eased the yellowish leaf phenotype by increasing chlorophyll content and alleviating ROS stress in cnl1. Unlike cnl1, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated OsHCF222 knockout lines showed chlorotic leaves but were seedling lethal. Our results provide insight into the functions of ABC transporters in rice, especially within the relationship between ROS homeostasis and stability of thylakoid membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), caused by FMD virus (FMDV), is a highly contagious epidemic disease, which is controlled primarily by prophylactic vaccination and serological monitoring after vaccination. Here, we have developed a solid-phase competition ELISA (SPCE) method based on virus-like particles (VLPs) of FMDV serotype A. The use of VLPs in the SPCE assay as a replacement for inactivated FMDV provides a high level of biosafety. The SPCE showed high concordance rates when compared with the virus neutralization test and liquid-phase blocking ELISA for testing clinical serum samples and successive serological monitoring (kappa = 0.925). Thus, this SPCE is an alternative method for post-immunization detection of antibodies against FMDV serotype A, with high specificity and sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The key process of sexual reproduction is the successful fusion of the sperm and egg cell. Distinct from dynamic and flagellated animal sperm cells, higher flowering plant sperm cells are immotile. Therefore, plants have evolved a novel reproductive system to achieve fertilization and generate progenies. Plant sexual reproduction consists of multiple steps, mainly including gametophyte development, pollen–pistil recognition, pollen germination, double fertilization and postfertilization. During reproduction, active production, consumption and recycling of cellular components and energy are critically required to achieve fertilization. However, the underlying machinery of cellular degradation and turnover remains largely unexplored. Autophagy, the major catabolic pathway in eukaryotic cells, participates in regulating multiple aspects of plant activities, including abiotic and biotic stress resistance, pathogen response, senescence, nutrient remobilization and plant development. Nevertheless, a key unanswered question is how autophagy regulates plant fertilization and reproduction. Here, we focus on comparing and contrasting autophagy in several key reproductive processes of plant and animal systems to feature important distinctions and highlight future research directions of autophagy in angiosperm reproduction. We further discuss the potential crosstalk between autophagy and programmed cell death, which are often considered as two disconnected events in plant sexual reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify the genetic context and the transferability of the multiresistance gene lsa(E) in Listeria monocytogenes.Methods: MICs were determined by broth microdilution. Transferability of lsa(E) was investigated by conjugation, electrotransformation and natural transformation. The lsa(E)-carrying plasmid was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq and PacBio RSII platforms. The presence of translocatable units (TUs) was examined by PCR.Results: The 85 555 bp non-conjugative multiresistance plasmid pNH1 from L. monocytogenes harboured nine antimicrobial resistance genes including a multiresistance gene cluster, consisting of the genes aphA3, erm(B), aadE, spw, lsa(E) and lnu(B), and in addition the genes dfrG, tet(S) and catA8 were also located on plasmid pNH1 The multiresistance gene cluster, and each of the genes tet(S), catA8 and cadA were flanked by IS1216 elements. PCR identified four types of TUs, consisting of either the multiresistance gene cluster and one copy of IS1216, the catA8 gene and one copy of IS1216, or both, but also the tet(S) gene and one copy of IS1216, respectively. Natural transformation into Streptococcus mutans UA159 yielded transformants that harboured a novel 13 208 bp transposon, designated Tn6659. This transposon consisted of the multiresistance gene cluster bounded by IS1216 copies. All transformants displayed elevated MICs of the respective antimicrobial agents. At the integration site in the transformants, 8 bp direct target duplications (5'-ATTCAAAC-3') were found immediately up- and downstream of Tn6659.Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this novel multiresistance gene cluster and the gene catA8, flanked by IS1216 elements located on a plasmid of L. monocytogenes. Moreover, a novel functionally active multiresistance transposon was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel method to extend the scanning range of planar phased arrays based on a phase gradient metasurface. The phase gradient metasurface is developed by the generalized Snell’s law, which can irregularly tailor the direction of propagation of the traversing electromagnetic waves. The proposed transmission gradient phase metasurface (TGPMS) uses bidirectional expansion of the scanning range in a phased array application. The TGPMS consists of periodic and multilayer subwavelength elements that contribute to a wide range of transmission phase shift and multiple incident angular stability. The design is verified experimentally with a compact microstrip phased array that is integrated with the proposed TGPMS. Results demonstrate that the TGPMS extends the scanning range of the integrated array symmetrically, from [−36°, 38°] to [−56°, 60°]. The proposed TGPMS has additional desirable characteristics, such as high transmission, polarization insensitivity, tunable transmission phases in a wide range, and transmission phase stability for waves incident at different angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a new approach based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors toward measuring instantaneous and continuous changes of residual strain and stress in glass during glass-to-metal (GTM) sealing process. The GTM seal consists of three components which include stainless steel housing, borosilicate sealing glass and Kovar pin. The temperature cycle of sealing process was from room temperature (20 °C) to 880 °C, and then back to 20 °C. It was found that residual strain in glass increased rapidly at the glass transition region and gradually reached an asymptotic value with the decrease of temperature. The axial residual stress measured by the FBG sensor was 194.35 MPa at 20 °C. In addition, finite element modeling (FEM) was conducted to provide theoretical support. Stress modeling revealed that axial residual stress at the location of sensor was 145.47 MPa. The experimental determination of the residual stress is highly consistent with the theoretical calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing Xenopus tadpoles, the optic tectum begins to receive patterned visual input while visuomotor circuits are still undergoing neurogenesis and circuit assembly. This visual input regulates neural progenitor cell fate decisions such that maintaining tadpoles in the dark increases proliferation, expanding the progenitor pool, while visual stimulation promotes neuronal differentiation. To identify regulators of activity-dependent neural progenitor cell fate, we profiled the transcriptomes of proliferating neural progenitor cells and newly differentiated neurons using RNA-Seq. We used advanced bioinformatic analysis of 1,130 differentially expressed transcripts to identify six differentially regulated transcriptional regulators, including Breast Cancer 1 (BRCA1) and the ETS-family transcription factor, ELK-1, which are predicted to regulate the majority of the other differentially expressed transcripts. BRCA1 is known for its role in cancers, but relatively little is known about its potential role in regulating neural progenitor cell fate. ELK-1 is a multifunctional transcription factor which regulates immediate early gene expression. We investigated the potential functions of BRCA1 and ELK-1 in activity-regulated neurogenesis in the tadpole visual system using in vivo time-lapse imaging to monitor the fate of GFP-expressing SOX2+ neural progenitor cells in the optic tectum. Our longitudinal in vivo imaging analysis showed that knockdown of either BRCA1 or ELK-1 altered the fates of neural progenitor cells and furthermore that the effects of visual experience on neurogenesis depend on BRCA1 and ELK-1 expression. These studies provide insight into the potential mechanisms by which neural activity affects neural progenitor cell fate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Air pollution is a major risk factor for planetary health and has long been suspected of predisposing humans to respiratory diseases induced by pathogens like influenza viruses. However, epidemiological evidence remains elusive due to lack of longitudinal data from large cohorts. OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to quantify the short-term association of influenza incidence with exposure to ambient air pollutants in Chinese cities. METHODS: Based on air pollutant data and influenza surveillance data from 82 cities in China over a period of 5 years, we applied a two-stage time series analysis to assess the association of daily incidence of reported influenza cases with six common air pollutants [particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), NO2, SO2, CO, and O3], while adjusting for potential confounders including temperature, relative humidity, seasonality, and holiday effects. We built a distributed lag Poisson model for one or multiple pollutants in each individual city in the first stage and conducted a meta-analysis to pool city-specific estimates in the second stage. RESULTS: A total of 3,735,934 influenza cases were reported in 82 cities from 2015 to 2019, accounting for 72.71% of the overall case number reported in the mainland of China. The time series models for each pollutant alone showed that the daily incidence of reported influenza cases was positively associated with almost all air pollutants except for ozone. The most prominent short-term associations were found for SO2 and NO2 with cumulative risk ratios of 1.094 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.054, 1.136] and 1.093 (95% CI: 1.067, 1.119), respectively, for each 10 μg/m³ increase in the concentration at each of the lags of 1–7 d. Only NO2 showed a significant association with the daily incidence of influenza cases in the multipollutant model that adjusts all six air pollutants together. The impact of air pollutants on influenza was generally found to be greater in children, in subtropical cities, and during cold months. DISCUSSION: Increased exposure to ambient air pollutants, particularly NO2, is associated with a higher risk of influenza-associated illness. Policies on reducing air pollution levels may help alleviate the disease burden due to influenza infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is to estimate the bounds for the maximum allowable sampling interval (MASI) and the coarsest quantisation density (CQD) that guarantee the stability of non-linear systems with multi-input signals sampled and logarithmic quantised. First of all, hybrid feedback systems are proposed to describe the non-linear control systems. Then a sufficient condition is provided to ensure that the systems are uniformly globally exponentially stable. A crucial step is to find a novel Lyapunov function to verify the stability conditions in the sense of the hybrid framework. Meanwhile, explicit bounds for the MASI and CQD are obtained to guarantee stability. Furthermore, in the case of no quantisation or no sampling, some special stability criteria can be also obtained. Finally, some examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low temperature process of cold dew wind (from September 19 to 27 in 2011) for late rice production was dynamically monitored by using CLDAS temperature, combined with the background information of rice cultivation from multi-source satellite database together with an reference to the monitoring indexes of cold dew wind disaster to verify the precision of CLDAS data, so as to provide a reference for monitoring chilling damage caused by cold dew wind in late rice production in Guangxi. The results showed that the cold wind dew caused heavy damage to an area of 3 159.76 km², moderate damage to an area of 559.77 km² and light damage to an area of 2 452.14 km². The correlation coefficients between CLDAS inversion temperature and actual temperature of 12 verification meteorological stations were all larger than 0.93, and the difference in daily average temperature was 0.3 °C. The time difference between maximum and minimum temperature provided by CLDAS and corresponding actual temperature from 12 meteorological stations was less than 1 h. The temperature data provided by CLDAS wa in accordance with actual temperature data. With an advantage of rapidly, minutely and accurately monitoring the grade distribution of local cold dew wind disaster for late rice, CLDAS can be used in monitoring cold dew wind in late rice production in Guangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies XiPuXinJu, a Hakka-enclosed house that is located in the Longgang District, Shenzhen, China. By analysing the building's development history and transformation process, it is proven that XiPuXinJu has both the characteristics of traditional Hakka-enclosed houses and is obviously influenced by Guangfu architecture from the Han culture from ancient central China. XiPuXinJu is typical of western Canton with important historical value; its development is a microcosm of the destiny of numerous unlisted historical buildings that have survived the torrent of urbanization. The main problems faced by XiPuXinJu are (1) stripped environmental elements; (2) weakened traditional architectural style, with the need to improve quality and living comfort; and (3) high vacancy rate. This paper suggests solutions for the activated re-utilization of XiPuXinJu with regard to three aspects: environmental reconstruction, building renovation and the implementation of new functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Ten amaryllidaceous alkaloids were isolated from L. radiata. • A significant aphicidal activity of L. radiata extract and alkaloids was reported for the first time. • AChE has a great possibility to be the target site for the aphicidal action of amaryllidaceous alkaloids. Abstract Aphids are one of the most destructive and economically important pests of plants on earth, causing severe financial losses worldwide. The extensive and unscientific use of insecticides has resulted in a universal zooming insecticide resistance among aphids across regions and substantial detrimental influences on the environment. This study investigates the insecticidal activity of alkaloids from L. radiata against A. citricola. The crude extract of Lycoris radiate showed a remarkable aphicidal activity against A. citricola. Ten known amaryllidaceous alkaloids were obtained according to the bioassay-guided isolation. The structures of these known alkaloids were identified as amabiline (1), deoxydihydrotazettine (2), deoxytazettine (3), 3-epimacronine (4), galanthamine (5), 11-hydroxygalanthamine (6), N -allylnorgalanthamine (7), 11 β -hydroxygalanthamine (8), lycorine (9) and colchicine (10). The results of aphicidal bioassay against A. citricola showed that compounds 1 - 9 exhibited considerable aphicidal activity with LD 50 values of 67.44, 76.33, 78.30, 96.70, 17.47, 32.60, 4.92, 20.33, 70.41 ng/aphid. N -Allylnorgalanthamine (7) possessed the highest aphicial activity, which was comparable with the commercial pesticide methomyl (2.91 ng/aphid). The results of in vivo AChE assay revealed that N -allylnorgalanthamine showed an obvious inhibitory effect on AChE in A. citricola in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The in vitro inhibition of AChE activity by N -allylnorgalanthamine was remarkable with an IC 50 value of 2.1 × 10−8 M, which was 104 times stronger than the positive control methomyl with an IC 50 value of 4.2 × 10–4 M. Meanwhile, N -allylnorgalanthamine can lead to an increase of the activities of SOD and CAT. The present work comprises the first report on insecticidal action of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids. N -Allylnorgalanthamine displayed a significant inhibition on AChE in Aphis citricola both in vivo and vitro. The insecticidal L. radiata extracts can be possibly used for controlling pests and isolated compounds, designing for new pesticides, can be the promising temples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: The gut-vascular barrier (GVB) has recently been depicted to dampen the bacterial invasion of the bloodstream. The intestinal mucosa is a tissue rich in small vessels including capillaries. In this study, the protective effect of berberine on GVB in small bowel mucosa was investigated. Methods: The rat cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis model was employed to evaluate the effect of berberine on serum endotoxin level and intestinal vascular permeability to Evans blue in vivo. The rat intestinal microvascular endothelial cells (RIMECs) treated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to assess the effect of berberine on endothelial permeability to FITC-labeled dextran, transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER), and tight junction (TJ) and adherens junction (AJ) expression in vitro. Results: After 24-hr CLP operation the serum endotoxin concentration and gut vascular permeability were significantly increased, while berberine markedly reduced endotoxin level and vascular leakage. In vitro, LPS not only dramatically increased endothelial permeability of RIMECs to FITC-dextran, but also decreased TEER and inhibited claudin-12, beta-catenin and VE-cadherin expression. These effects of LPS were antagonized by berberine. In addition, our in vivo and vitro studies also confirmed that the effect of berberine on GVB could be partially abolished by ICG001. Conclusion: Berberine exerted a protective effect on GVB function in sepsis, which was strictly related to the modulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clausena lansium ( Lour.) Skeels is an attractive shrub or small tree, a member of the Rutaceae family. The seeds, leaves and roots of this plant have been used as herbal medicines for a long time. In this study, seven amides were isolated from the seeds of Clausena lansium . The antifungal assay indicated that lansiumamide B ( 4 ) and lansiumamide C ( 2 ) displayed the highest antifungal activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum with EC 50 values of 4.95 and 13.24 μg/mL, which were both lower than that of carbendazim (EC 50  = 0.64 μg/mL). The structure-activity relationships of these amides were investigated using assays to measure their in vitro antifungal activities against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum . The effect of the most potent compound lansiumamide B on morphology and physiology of S. sclerotiorum were also evaluated. Lansiumamide B caused cell rupture and mycelial abnormalities of S. sclerotiorum , and its curative efficacy (75.17%) against S. sclerotiorum infection was better than that of carbendazim (56.57%). This study demonstrated that amides isolated from C. lansium possessed the potential to be exploited as botanical fungicides for commercial application or can be used as templates for designing new fungicides with novel action modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A miniature Fabry-Perot fiber-optic sensor is demonstrated for high-performance relative humidity (RH) detection. This sensor is constructed by fusing a single-mode fiber to a small section of capillary coating the end with a hydroxyethyl cellulose film (HEC). The effects of capillary length and hydroxyethyl cellulose concentration on the RH response are investigated to obtain the preferential condition with capillary length of 102 μm and HEC concentration of 0.03 g/ml. A testing RH sensitivity of 1.24 nm/%RH can be achieved in the range of 48%RH to 60%RH. Simultaneously, small hysteresis errors are demonstrated in the tests with increasing and decreasing RH values. The dynamic measurements reveal a response time of 1.61 s and a recovery time of 2.1 s. The high sensitivity, good stability and simple fabrication process of the sensor make it promising for practical applications of relative humidity sensors. • RH sensor includes Fabry-Perot interferometer and capillary coated hydroxyethyl cellulose film. • The sensor has a fast response with a response time of 1.61 s and a recovery time of 2.1 s. • The sensor achieves a RH sensitivity of 1.24 nm/%RH in the range of 48%RH to 60%RH. • The sensor has high sensitivity, low hysteresis error, and good stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a scheme of outlier detectionaided supervised learning (ODASL) is proposed for analyzing the radiation pattern of a thinned cylindrical conformal array (TCCA), considering the impact of mutual coupling. The ODASL model has the advantage in speed improvement and memory consumption reduction, which enables a quick generation of the synthesis results with good generalization. The utilization of the active element pattern (AEP) technique in the model also contributes to the prediction of the array performance involving mutual coupling. The effectiveness of the ODASL model is demonstrated through a numerical example of the 12-element TCCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through on-the-spot survey and research on the actual situation of agricultural cooperatives and the conditions of production and living of farmers and herdsmen in Nagqu, Tibet, going through a lot of literature, this paper studies and analyzes the development of local cooperative organizations of farmers and herdsmen, understands the actual benefits of cooperative organizations to farmers and herdsmen, aims to increase the income of farmers and herdsmen, and thus puts forward the main problems and measures on agricultural cooperatives in Nagqu area, in order to offer some suggestions for farmers and herdsmen to get rid of poverty through the conclusion of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]