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In recent years, there has been a considerable amount of research on visual evoked potential (VEP)-based brain–computer interfaces (BCIs). However, it remains a big challenge to detect VEPs elicited by small visual stimuli. To address this challenge, this study employed a 256-electrode high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) cap with 66 electrodes in the parietal and occipital lobes to record EEG signals. An online BCI system based on code-modulated VEP (C-VEP) was designed and implemented with thirty targets modulated by a time-shifted binary pseudo-random sequence. A task-discriminant component analysis (TDCA) algorithm was employed for feature extraction and classification. The offline and online experiments were designed to assess EEG responses and classification performance for comparison across four different stimulus sizes at visual angles of 0.5°, 1°, 2°, and 3°. By optimizing the data length for each subject in the online experiment, information transfer rates (ITRs) of 126.48 ± 14.14 bits/min, 221.73 ± 15.69 bits/min, 258.39 ± 9.28 bits/min, and 266.40 ± 6.52 bits/min were achieved for 0.5°, 1°, 2°, and 3°, respectively. This study further compared the EEG features and classification performance of the 66-electrode layout from the 256-electrode EEG cap, the 32-electrode layout from the 128-electrode EEG cap, and the 21-electrode layout from the 64-electrode EEG cap, elucidating the pivotal importance of a higher electrode density in enhancing the performance of C-VEP BCI systems using small stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, underwater electrical explosions of aluminum wires of various sizes were carried out with an initial energy storage of ∼53.5 kJ. Two piezoelectric probes were adopted to record the pressure waveforms. The experiments were divided into different discharge types, and the statistical properties of the electrical and shock-wave parameters of the different discharge types were compared. The experimental results show that there are three discharge types, called type A (breakdown type), type B (transition type), and type C (matched type). The three types differ in the resistance characteristics of the plasma channel during the plasma growth process, which are determined from the average electrical field strength and the remaining energy in the circuit at the peak voltage. Shock waves from type C discharges are more likely to exhibit a higher peak pressure, a larger impulse, and a higher energy density than the other types. However, using a matched wire that matches a specific discharge type, a high peak pressure, large impulse, and high energy density can also be achieved under type A or type B discharges. For example, the maximum peak pressures at ∼33 cm under type B and type C discharges are 38.7 and 42.4 MPa, respectively. These results provide significant guidance for load selection in underwater electrical wire explosion engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disruptive technology has profoundly affected the market environment and business patterns. Traditional and emerging industries are willing to adopt it to nurture their innovation activities and achieve competitive advantage. However, traditional technological innovation theory cannot give accurate guidance because of the peculiarities of disruptive technology. Thus, in this study, we explore the diffusion mechanism of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technological innovation from the perspective of disruptive innovation. We implement maximum likelihood fitting methods and the goodness-of-fit test to analyse the network's degree distribution characteristics through evolution. Results illustrate that the connection mechanism changes through the evolution process. In particular periods, preferential attachment does not work. Dominant technologies will lose their position with the emergence of disruptive technologies, hence replaced by them. The findings will provide practical suggestions to firms in facilitating their strategic decision-making when faced with disruptive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an initial energy storage of approximately 53.5 kJ, experiments on underwater electrical explosions of metallic wire and thin-wall tube were conducted. Two sets of controlled experiments were designed, and the wire and tube for each set were of the same length, cross-sectional area, and material. Load voltage, circuit current, and shock wave pressure were measured and analyzed, and electric power, energy deposition, and energy deposition rate were also calculated and investigated. Experimental results indicated that the underwater electrical tube explosion (UETE) always has higher and earlier local resistance peak, voltage peak, and electric power peak, as well as faster phase transition and ionization process than the underwater electrical wire explosion (UEWE). In addition, the energy deposition rate from the beginning of discharge or the decrease in current to the voltage peak is significantly increased when replacing a wire with a tube. For the shock-wave characteristics, the peak pressure, energy density, and impulse of the shock wave generated by UETE are greater than that generated by UEWE. The peak pressure at ∼33 cm increased from 21.1 to 24.5 MPa in the first set and from 18.1 to 21.7 MPa in the second when a tube was used instead of a wire. These experimental results help us understand the physical process of UETE and provide an alternative methodology for load design in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical properties of an ultrahigh temperature ceramic (UHTC) made up of ZrB 2 , SiC and graphite flake (ZrB 2 -SiC-G) are explored by ultrahigh-temperature uniaxial tension, combined with in-situ monitoring of the fracture behavior. The results suggest an inconsistent property degradation of ZrB 2 -SiC-G at 1200–2000 °C. Significant degradation in tensile modulus is observed at 1400 °C, which differs from the strength degradation that mainly occurs at 1800 °C. Moreover, ZrB 2 -SiC-G is elastically fractured at 1200 °C, 1400 °C and 1600 °C, which is interrupted at 1800 °C and 2000 °C. At the temperature range, severe plasticity takes place, which reduces the bearing capacity of this material. The brittle-to-ductile transition is well ascertained by in-situ observation of the fracture behavior at 1200–2000 °C. Finally, the constitutive relation of modulus and strength is built by coupling the effect of temperature. It can be integrated in finite element models and is useful for structural design of UHTC based thermal protection systems of hypersonic vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α and β are the two key parameters of the rainfall intensity-duration (ID) threshold curve for debris flow; the antecedent effective precipitation (AEP) poses influence on the ID threshold curve through changing α and β. It is critical to explore the correlations of α ~ AEP and β ~ AEP in order to quantify the influence of antecedent precipitation on ID threshold. However, the quantitative relationship between the AEP and the two parameters is still undetermined. In this study, a hydrological process–based numerical model that can derive the ID threshold curve is adopted to address this issue. Jiangjia Gully (JJG) in Dongchuan District of Yunnan Province, China, was chosen as the study area. The analysis results show that a higher AEP can provide favorable hydrological conditions for runoff generation and solid material resource recharge in JJG, but it do not always mean that the ID threshold condition for triggering debris flow is decreased. As for JJG, only after AEP > 40 mm, the AEP and ID threshold condition for triggering debris flow will be completely negatively correlated; when 15 mm ≤ AEP ≤ 40 mm, the solid material supply is rapidly increased by the AEP, a stronger hydrodynamic condition is required to transform them into debris flow meaning that the ID threshold condition for triggering debris flow is enhanced in JJG, and this positive correlation between them persists until the two ID threshold curves intersect in the I-D coordinate system. AEP will significantly change the position of the threshold curve in the I-D coordinate system, and the change law of the position of the ID threshold curve can be described by the functions of α ~ AEP and β ~ AEP. Due to the two functions, the ID threshold curve can regularly move in the I-D coordinate system rather than a conventional threshold curve stay the same regardless of AEP variation; it is beneficial to improve the prediction capacity of the ID threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph attention networks (GATs) have been shown effectively for representation learning. However, existing GATs only employ the first-order attention mechanism and thus fail to fully exploit and learn node's contextual feature representations. To address this issue, we propose a novel Graph Context-Attention Network (GCAN) via low and high order aggregation for representation learning. The proposed model fully exploits both low-order and high-order information of nodes for representation learning by employing high-order attention mechanism and adversary regularization constraints. The main benefit of the proposed method is that it can effectively capture the discriminative feature differences among node representations while enhancing the diversity and richness of node features. Thus it can alleviate the issue of over-smoothing in the network learning. We perform extensive experiments on nine datasets and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and better performance of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A model‐free incremental adaptive fault‐tolerant control (FTC) scheme is proposed for a class of nonlinear systems with actuator faults. To deal with actuator faults and guarantee the approximate optimal performance of the nominal nonlinear system without any prior knowledge of system dynamics, a single‐network incremental adaptive dynamic programming (SIADP) algorithm based on incremental neural network observer is developed to design an active fault‐tolerant control (AFTC) policy. An approximate linear time‐varying system is obtained by incremental nonlinear technique, in which the relevant matrix parameters are identified by recursive least square estimation. Then, a SIADP algorithm‐based fault‐tolerant controller is developed. Based on the redundancy characteristic and function of actuators, a grouping scheme of actuators is introduced. An incremental neural network observer is designed to approximate the actuator faults. The novel SIADP scheme is constructed with a simplified single critic neural network to shorten the learning time and decrease the computational burden in the control process, in which the norm of the weight estimations of critic neural network is updated. Moreover, based on the Lyapunov theorem, the uniformly ultimately bounded stability of the closed‐loop incremental system is proved. Finally, simulations are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed FTC scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the implementation of hydraulic fracturing technologies, the oil recovery in tight oil reservoirs is still poor. In this study, cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants of various sorts were investigated to improve oil recovery in tight carbonate cores from the Middle Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin. Petrophysical investigations were performed on the samples prior to the imbibition and core-flooding experiments. The composition of the minerals was examined using the XRD technique. To investigate the pore-size distribution and microstructures, nitrogen adsorption and SEM techniques were applied. The next step involved brine and surfactant imbibition for six Bakken cores and two Berea sandstone cores. The core samples were completely saturated with Bakken crude oil prior to the experiments. The core plugs were then submerged into the brine and surfactant solutions. The volume of recovered oil was measured using imbibition cells as part of experiments involving brine and surfactant ingestion into oil-filled cores. According to the findings, oil recovery from brine imbibition ranges from 4.3% to 15%, whereas oil recovery from surfactant imbibition can range from 9% to 28%. According to the findings, core samples with more clay and larger pore diameters produce higher levels of oil recovery. Additionally, two tight Bakken core samples were used in core-flooding tests. Brine and a separate surfactant solution were the injected fluids. The primary oil recovery from brine flooding on core samples is between 23% and 25%, according to the results. The maximum oil recovery by second-stage surfactant flooding is approximately 33% and 35%. The anionic surfactants appear to yield a better oil recovery in tight Bakken rocks, possibly due to their higher carbonate mineral concentrations, especially clays, according to both the core-scale imbibition and flooding experiments. For studied samples with larger pore sizes, the oil recovery is higher. The knowledge of the impacts of mineral composition, pore size, and surfactant types on oil recovery in tight carbonate rocks is improved by this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a main place for student activities on campus, outdoor spaces have positive impacts on students' physical and mental health. Namely, outdoor heat and comfort are of great significance to improve activity quality. Here, four unique outdoor spaces were studied to explore the varying effects on human thermal comfort during hot-summer and cold-winter periods. Distinct outdoor spaces (fully open, semi-open, semi-enclosed, and fully enclosed areas) from the southern campus of Anhui Jianzhu University were chosen. The PET was used as a metric for measuring thermal comfort and analyzing correlated spatiotemporal distributions. The results showed that outdoor thermal comfort was derived from multiple factors, including vegetation, underlying surface materials, building presence, and wind-heat environment. Notably, high correlations between Tmrt and thermal comfort were revealed, where such temperatures of places with trees or building shade were low; thus, PET was low. Further, Ws showed a significantly negative correlation with PET. Of the four outdoor space forms, the fully enclosed location had the lowest thermal comfort level, while the semi-enclosed spaces showed the highest level of body comfort. Therefore, semi-enclosed space (U-shaped) is recommended in campus planning and construction. Accordingly, an improved strategy was proposed based on experimental transformation for fully enclosed spaces. The thermal comfort after optimization was simulated to provide references for outdoor space thermal comfort improvement during seasonal extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a model-free incremental adaptive optimal control scheme is proposed for nonlinear systems in presence of disturbance and input time-delay. The linear time-varying approximate model of the nonlinear system is obtained by incremental method, in which the relevant matrix parameters are identified by recursive least squares (RLS) estimation. A time-delay matrix function is constructed by neural network (NN) to eliminate the input time-delay, and the external disturbance of nonlinear system is dealt with by H ∞ optimal control; incremental adaptive dynamic programming (IADP) algorithm is used to get the control law by solving Hamilton–Jacobi–Isaacs (HJI) equation. Convergence analysis of the proposed control scheme is provided. Simulations are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The durability of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has always been a major obstacle in its commercialization process and effective degradation prediction can improve this problem to a certain extent. Data-driven degradation prediction model is one of the most effective prediction methods available, which is able to ignore the structure of the PEMFC itself and rely solely on the data to make predictions, greatly simplifying the prediction process. Echo state network (ESN), as one of the data-driven methods, has received much attention for its low computational complexity and fast convergence in the degradation prediction of PEMFC. In this paper, the multi-reservoir echo state network with mini reservoir (MRM) degradation prediction model of PEMFC is proposed. The structure of MRM is that the main reservoirs are stacked in a layer and the mini reservoir is in the next level to collect and organize the main reservoir states. In addition, in order to improve the prediction accuracy, this paper firstly uses Savitzky-Golay (SG) filter to process the original data, and then investigates the influence of two important parameters, the number of main reservoirs and the number of main reservoir neurons, on the prediction accuracy and finds the optimal number of main reservoirs and main reservoir neurons for this model using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Finally, the effectiveness of the model is verified on different lengths of training sets under both static and dynamic conditions. The results show that the model has higher accuracy and better robustness in the PEMFC degradation prediction compared with other models. • A PEMFC degradation prediction model of multi-reservoir echo state network with mini reservoir was proposed. • The effect of two significant model parameters on prediction accuracy was investigated. • Optimal model parameters were determined using a particle swarm optimization algorithm. • The effect of different training set lengths on prediction accuracy was investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichophyton mentagrophytes is a zoophilic dermatophyte that can cause dermatophytosis in humans and animals. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered as a promising agent to overcome the drug-resistance of T. mentagrophytes. Our findings suggest that cationic antimicrobial peptide (ACP5) not only possesses stronger activity against T. mentagrophytes than fluconazole, but also shows lower toxicity to L929 mouse fibroblast cells than terbinafine. Notably, its resistance development rate after resistance induction was lower than terbinafine. The present study aimed to evaluate the fungicidal mechanism of ACP5 in vitro and its potential to treat dermatophyte infections in vivo. ACP5 at 1 ×MIC completely inhibited T. mentagrophytes spore germination in vitro. ACP5 severely disrupts the mycelial morphology, leading to mycelial rupture. Mechanistically, ACP5 induces excessive ROS production, damaging the integrity of the cell membrane and decreasing the mitochondrial membrane potential, causing irreversible damage in T. mentagrophytes. Furthermore, 1% ACP5 showed similar efficacy to the commercially available drug 1% terbinafine in a guinea pig dermatophytosis model, and the complete eradication of T. mentagrophytes from the skin by ACP5 was verified by tissue section observation. These results indicate that ACP5 is a promising candidate for the development of new agent to combat dermatophyte resistance. [Display omitted] • ACP5 display high activity against T. mentagrophytes. • ACP5 showed significant inhibition of spores and hyphae of T. mentagrophytes. • ACP5 has multiple mechanisms of action against T. mentagrophytes , such as cell membrane damage, induction of ROS generation and decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. • ACP5 significantly reduces the symptoms of dermatophytosis infections and eradicates T. mentagrophytes in the skin, showing similar efficacy to the clinical drug terbinafine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus anodes are a promising for fast‐charging high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries because of their high specific capacity (2596 mAh g–1) and suitable lithiation potential (0.7 V vs Li+/Li). To solve the large volumetric change and inherent poor electrical conductivity, various carbon‐based materials have been studied for loading P. However, the local aggregation of Li ions and electrons in P particles especially in the fast‐charging process induces an uneven lithiation reaction and the great transient stress, leading to poor fast‐charging performance. Herein, bismuth nanoparticles are implanted into a P/graphite (P/C) composite using ball milling. The Bi anode works as a small Li reservoir for trapping Li in the lithiation process and emitting Li in delithiation process prior to P anode, because the Bi anode has a starting lithiation/delithiation potential that is a little bit higher/lower than the P anode. Moreover, the low Li diffusion barrier in Bi and the stable interface between Bi and P enhance the Li reservoir effect of Bi, which promotes fast and uniform lithiation/delithiation reactions and avoids continuous cracking of the Bi‐P/C electrode. Therefore, the Bi‐P/C anode provides a high fast‐charging capacity of 1755.7 mAh g–1 at 7.8 A g–1 (5.2 C) and a high capacity retention of 86.3% after 300 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aneurysm shrinkage is clinically observed after successful endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). However, global understanding of post‐operative aneurysm evolutions remains weak. In this work, we propose to study these effects using numerical simulation. We set up a 3D finite‐element model of post‐EVAR vascular adaptation within an open‐source finite‐element code, which was initially developed for growth and remodeling (G&R). We modeled the endograft with a set of uniaxial prestrained springs that apply radial forces on the inner surface of the artery. Constitutive equations, momentum balance equations, and equations related to the mechanobiology of the artery were formulated based on the homogenized constrained mixture theory. We performed a sensitivity analysis by varying different selected parameters, namely oversizing and compliance of the stent‐graft, gain parameters related to collagen G&R, and the residual pressure in the aneurysm sac. This permitted us to evaluate how each factor influences post‐EVAR vascular adaptation. It was found that oversizing, compliance or gain parameters have a limited influence compared to that of the residual pressure in the aneurysm sac, which was found to play a critical role in the stability of aneurysm after stent‐graft implantation. An excessive residual pressure larger than 50 mmHg can induce a continuous expansion of the aneurysm while a moderate residual pressure below this critical threshold yields continuous shrinkage of the aneurysm. Moreover, it was found that elderly patients, with relatively lower amounts of remnant elastin in the arterial wall, are more sensitive to the effect of residual pressure. Therefore, these results show that elderly patients may present a higher potential risk of aortic sac expansion due to intra‐aneurysm sac pressure after EVAR than younger patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A nonlinear mixed model for reliability of aviation cables with non-constant shape parameters is established. • The aviation cable reliability modelling with small accelerated life test data is investigated. • Uncertainty of the Weibull scale parameter is considered. In this paper, a reliability model of aviation cables that using nonlinear mixed model and Bayesian estimation is proposed. Considering the small sample character of accelerated life test data, the sample is expanded by Bootstrap method, least square regression is used to get the initial Weibull distribution parameters, and non-constant shape parameter is got by maximum likelihood estimation. Then, considering the uncertainty of the scale parameter, a nonlinear mixed model is established, and Bayesian estimation based on the prior information is used to make the reliability model more accurately. Accelerated life test case study is given to illustrate the performance of the proposed method under temperature and vibration stresses. Simulation results indicate the effectiveness of proposed model compared with nonlinear mixed model or Bayesian estimation individually. The proposed model can be extended to the reliability modelling of other insulated cables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, an immunological arabinan, LCP70-2A, was isolated from Ligusticum chuanxiong for the first time. The absolute molecular weight of LCP70-2A was determined to be 6.46 × 104 g/mol using the HPSEC-MALLS-RID method. The absolute configuration of arabinose in LCP70-2A was determined to be L-configuration. Physicochemical characterization revealed that LCP70-2A was a homogeneous polysaccharide and had a backbone of (1 → 5)-linked α -L-Ara f with terminal α -L-arabinose residues at position O -2 and O -3. Molecular conformation analysis showed that LCP70-2A was a branching polysaccharide with a compact coil chain conformation in 0.1 M NaCl solution. In addition, in vitro cell assays showed that LCP70-2A can activate macrophages by enhancing the phagocytosis and potentiating the secretion of immunoregulatory factors including NO, TNF- α , IL-6, and IL-1 β. Furthermore, LCP70-2A was proved to promote the production of ROS and NO using the zebrafish model, suggesting that LCP70-2A can be further developed as a candidate supplement for immunological enhancement. Unlabelled Image • A novel polysaccharide (LCP70-2A) was isolated from the rhizome of L. chuanxiong. • LCP70-2A was determined to be an arabinan. • LCP70-2A increased the levels of NO, IL-6, IL-1 β , and TNF- α in RAW264.7 cells. • LCP70-2A was proven to enhance the immunoregulatory activity of zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, NaSn0.02Ti1.98(PO4)3/C composite material was prepared by spray drying method combined with high-temperature calcination, which can improve the electrochemical performance of NaTi2(PO4)3. The doping of Sn4+ increases the lattice spacing of NaTi2(PO4)3, thereby accelerating the diffusion coefficient of Na+. The carbon doped on NaTi2(PO4)3 reduces the charge transfer impedance and enhances the ion diffusion coefficient. As a result, NaSn0.02Ti1.98(PO4)3/C exhibits improved electrochemical performance. The specific capacity for the initial discharge of NaSn0.02Ti1.98(PO4)3/C at 1C, 5C, 10C and 20C rates are 108 mAh/g, 86 mAh/g, 76.3 mAh/g, and 71.4 mAh/g, respectively. After 1400 cycles at 10C, the capacity of the material decreases to 64.3 mAh/g, with a capacity retention rate of 84.2%. Therefore, NaSn0.02Ti1.98(PO4)3/C exhibits fast charge/discharge performance as well as cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A one-pot approach was developed to prepare carbon doped WO 3-x ultrathin nanosheets. • The sample exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity toward the aerobic oxidation of amines. • Possible mechanisms are proposed. It is an important chemical transformation for oxidation of amines to imines, on account of very important versatile applications of imines in organic synthesis. Here, we develop a convenient way to synthesize carbon doped WO 3−x ultrathin nanosheets via an acid-assisted one-pot process. The carbon doped WO 3−x ultrathin nanosheets exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of amines to corresponding imines under visible light irradiation at room temperature. The high catalytic performance is attributed to remarkable visible light absorption ability and effective absorption of molecular oxygen and substrates. Rich oxygen-vacancies existing in the carbon doped WO 3-x ultrathin nanosheets may play an important role, because oxygen-vacancies not only change the band structure but also act as catalytic sites to activate molecular oxygen by photoproduct electrons to generate superoxide radicals. Both photoproduct holes and superoxide radicals play important role for the oxidation of amines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the critical challenges encountered when modeling solidification processes is to achieve a concurrent and efficient computation of fluid flow and solid mechanics. Several detrimental casting defects justify this development: cracks, either as a result of stresses built at surface or sub-surface in solidified regions during the filling stage of ingot casting, or due to hot tears deep in the mushy zone during solidification; macrosegregation, as a result of thermo-solutal convection flows and possible deformation of solid. It is therefore of crucial importance to provide for a global and synthetic analysis of casting processes considering a single numerical modeling that includes coupling between fluid flow and solid mechanics. A two-step solution strategy combining fluid flow and solid mechanics has been developed. A partitioned formulation is used, performing at each time increment, separately a solid-oriented resolution and a fluid-oriented resolution. Liquid flow (natural convection or forced flow during ingot filling stage), solidification shrinkage as well as thermally induced deformation of the solid regions are taken into account. The paper presents the numerical formulation in a level set finite element context, and associated validation tests. Application in a practical case corresponding to an ingot filling is proposed in order to investigate the solidification process and associated fluid flow and stress evolutions. Some discussions on computation time and other numerical aspects are also developed at the end in order to show the potential improvements of this methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, cellulose pulp and urea were used to synthesize cellulose carbamate (nitrogen content reaches 4.5%) by low-cost and environmentally friendly solid-liquid phase method. Cellulose carbamate fluid was prepared by using sodium hydroxide aqueous solution as solvent. The fluid was regenerated and formed in a coagulation bath, and finally a regenerated cellulose membrane with high transparency and separation ability was obtained. The simple chemical treatment of cellulose not only greatly increased the mass fraction of cellulose dissolution (It has reached 15%) and retains the original crystal form and thermal stability of cellulose. The surface of the membrane was relatively dense, and the inside has regular microchannel. The factors affect the transparency and water flux of regenerated cellulose membranes were discussed by orthogonal experimental range analysis. The ability of the regenerated cellulose membrane to reject dyes was tested. The results showed that the rejection of methyl blue and congo red reached 100%, and the rejection rate of methyl orange reached 60%. The oil/water separation ability and the anti-pollution ability of the regenerated cellulose membrane were tested. The oil/water separation effect reached 100%. This membrane may have application prospect in water treatment, biotechnology. • Preparation of cellulose carbamate with the nitrogen content reaches 4.5%. • Dissolve the cellulose carbamate with a sodium hydroxide solution • Explored an experimental protocol that allowed the membrane to have a transparency of 96.5%. • The membrane has a rejection rate of 100% for methyl blue and congo red,methyl orange reaches 60%. • The membrane has separation effect of 100% on oil/water emulsion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In landslide analysis it is necessary to first define and extract slope units from remotely sensed data. When this is done using hydrological process analysis, there can be complications caused by apparent sudden changes in slope gradient, resulting in the assumption of homogeneity of regional slope stability not being met. This issue is addressed in this paper with the proposal of a novel slope unit extraction method, which is derived from morphological image analysis (MIA) and results in the extraction of homogeneous slope units (HSU). It is thus referred to as the MIA-HSU method. In this method, slope units are defined as small, closed and homogeneous in 3D space. The MIA method uses logical algorithms, such as expansion and erosion, to extract slope units. Jiangjia Gully, Yunnan Province, China was selected to test the MIA-HSU method. Results indicate that slope units extracted by this method overcome defects of sudden changes in slope gradient and are able to identify geographical features meaningful for further landslide analysis. The MIA-HSU method presents a more uniform slope and aspect, and is better suited to regional landslide analysis than data obtained using the hydrological process analysis method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a type I allergic reaction, which mediated by immunoglobulin E immediately when an individual with a special constitution is exposed to a same allergen for second time, whose pathogenesis has not been clarified yet, and closely related to genes, immune cells and cytokines. Pathogenesis of AR become more deeper and more accurate due to rapid develop-ment of molecular biology and second-generation gene sequencing technology. Current studies have found that miR-155 and transcription factor GATA3 have important regulatory effects on occurrence and development of AR, then affect dominant differentiation of CD4+T lymphocytes and proliferation of ILC2. This article discusses and reviews pathogenesis of AR, which mainly focuses on miR-155/GATA3 pathway and effects of related upstream genes and downstream regulatory substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water mist (WM) is currently an important environmentally friendly fire extinguishing agent, offering a distinct advantage in efficiently cooling and inhibiting the thermal runaway (TR) behavior of lithium battery (LIB). Numerous studies have explored the additives of WM to extinguish LIB fires more efficiently. However, the inhibition mechanism of WM containing additives on TR of LIB has not been revealed clearly, and the principle of adding additives remains to be further studied. In this study, three types of non-ionic surfactants are examined and their effects on the maximum temperature during TR and the cooling time of WM are compared. The results indicate that foam induced by the additives has certain advantages in mitigating LIB TR. Further the defoamer is used to modify the foaming performance of the additive solution, and it is found that an appropriate increase in the brittleness of the foam can greatly decrease the highest temperature of the battery during TR moment. These findings can serve as a valuable reference for future applications of WM with additives in the design of battery fire suppression systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anemarrhena asphodeloides polysaccharide (AAP70-1) was reported to have immunomodulatory effects in our previous report. To further improve the immunomodulatory effects of AAP70–1, an A. asphodeloides polysaccharide-zinc complex (AAP-Zn) was synthesized using a ZnCl 2 modification method, and the potential mechanisms by which AAP-Zn activates macrophages were investigated. The results showed that the structural features of AAP-Zn were similar to those of AAP70–1 with a Zn content of 0.2 %, confirming that Zn mainly interacted with AAP70–1 by forming Zn O coordination bonds and Zn...OH bonds. In addition, the administration of AAP70–1 and AAP-Zn effectively improved the immunomodulatory effects by enhancing phagocytosis and upregulating the mRNA expression of cytokines (TNF- α , IL-6, IL-1 β , and IL-18), as well as increasing the production levels of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in zebrafish embryos. The intracellular mechanism by which AAP-Zn activates macrophages was found to involve activation of the NF- κ B and MAPK signaling pathways. Our findings suggested that AAP-Zn may be a potential immunopotentiator in the field of biomedicine or functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional sensors for debris flow monitoring suffer from several drawbacks including low service life, low reliability in long-distance data transfer, and stability in severe weather conditions. Recently, fiber Bragg grating (FBG)-based sensors have been developed to monitor debris flows. However, they can be easily damaged by the impact forces of boulders within debris flow. This paper presents a new FBG-based device to measure the strain induced by the impact force of debris flow with high reliability and effectiveness. The effects of the impact forces of debris flows have been investigated. Then, the relationship between the strain and the debris flow energy correlating with the damage to building structures has been established. It is shown that this new FBG-based device is capable of monitoring and warning about debris flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Shale oil is a significant unconventional energy resource worldwide. Shale formations are complex systems, with both inorganic and organic content and porosities. Oil saturation in a shale oil formation consists of two components: inorganic saturation (free oil-dominated) and organic saturation (ad- and absorbed oil-dominated). Shale porosity includes inorganic and organic porosities. There is no reported research that identifies the two porosities and saturations. We therefore recently performed, for the first time, two types of vacuum-imbibition tests - water imbibition and oil imbibition - on 20 shale oil rock samples to distinguish these two porosities and two saturations. In case of 100% oil saturated, the final imbibed oil volume in oil imbibition test represents the total oil content that a sample can hold, the final imbibed water volume in water imbibition test represents the inorganic content, and the difference between the two represents the organic content. Helium saturation tests were conducted to determine the total pore volume in shale rock samples. The content of ad- and absorbed oil is obtained from the difference between the total imbibed oil volume and the pore volume. The difference between the organic content and the ad−/absorbed oil content represents the organic pore volume, thereby obtaining the organic and inorganic porosities. Our results indicate that, for the shale rock samples tested, the maximum possible oil content in organic matter ranges from 6% to 55% of the total oil content, and 50% to 90% of the organic oil content is ad- and absorbed in kerogen. The organic porosity ranges from 2% to 50% of the total porosity. Both the organic oil saturation and the organic porosity exhibit a growing trend with total organic carbon of shale rock samples. Highlights • A new method (vacuum-imbibition) was established to distinguish organic and inorganic saturations and porosities. • Organic matter in shale has high oil saturation and mainly in ad- and absorbed state. • There exist positive correlations between organic saturation and organic porosity with TOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the flame merging process of two parallel rectangular fire sources with ground effect. The experiments were carried out with different burner sizes (aspect ratio w / d = 1–3), heat release rates per unit area Q ″ and burner spacings s. It is found that the flame interaction is weak when w / d = 1 and the flame merging process could be further divided into four states. The relationship between the flame merging probability P and the dimensionless burner spacing s / Z f 0 (Z f 0 is the flame height of one single fire) could be described by the Boltzmann function. The coefficient a and b of the function have definite physical significance and increase with w / d. An exponential function correlates a , b and w / d , and a semi-empirical model of P is established. A correction factor C constructed with P and A s = 0 / d (A s = 0 : short side length of the overall fire source when s = 0) is proposed to correct the dimensionless heat release rate Q ˙ d *. Thus, the characteristic dimension d of one single fire could be applied to the whole flame merging process. A semi-empirical formula is developed to describe the relationship between the dimensionless flame height L / d and C Q ˙ d *. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc metal batteries hold great promise for large‐scale energy storage because of their high safety, rich material resources and low cost. However, the freeze of aqueous electrolytes hinders low‐temperature operation of the batteries. Here, aqueous localized anion‐cation aggregated electrolytes composed of Zn(BF4)2 as the salt and tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the diluent, are developed to improve the low‐temperature performance of the Zn anode. THF promotes the inclusion of BF4− in the solvation sheath of Zn2+, facilitating the formation of ZnF2‐rich solid‐electrolyte‐interphase. THF also affects the hydrogen bonding between neighboring H2O molecules, effectively lowering the freezing point. Therefore, the full cells of Zn||polyaniline (PANI) exhibit an ultralong cycle life of 8000 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.99 % at −40 °C. Impressively, the pouch cells display a high capacity retention of 86.2 % after 500 cycles at −40 °C, which demonstrates the great prospect of such electrolytes in cold regions. This work provides new insights for the design of low‐temperature aqueous electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc metal batteries hold great promise for large‐scale energy storage because of their high safety, rich material resources and low cost. However, the freeze of aqueous electrolytes hinders low‐temperature operation of the batteries. Here, aqueous localized anion‐cation aggregated electrolytes composed of Zn(BF4)2 as the salt and tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the diluent, are developed to improve the low‐temperature performance of the Zn anode. THF promotes the inclusion of BF4− in the solvation sheath of Zn2+, facilitating the formation of ZnF2‐rich solid‐electrolyte‐interphase. THF also affects the hydrogen bonding between neighboring H2O molecules, effectively lowering the freezing point. Therefore, the full cells of Zn||polyaniline (PANI) exhibit an ultralong cycle life of 8000 cycles with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.99 % at −40 °C. Impressively, the pouch cells display a high capacity retention of 86.2 % after 500 cycles at −40 °C, which demonstrates the great prospect of such electrolytes in cold regions. This work provides new insights for the design of low‐temperature aqueous electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental analysis on the flame characteristics of multiple fires burning by tests of square fire array consisting of even number of equidistant burners, using propane as the fuel. We propose to use the temperature along the centerline of fire array, instead of visual observations, to identify flame merging and examine the characteristics of flame structure under different states of flame merging. It is revealed that with decreasing flame spacing, the flames undergo a physical transition in the centerline temperature of the fire array, induced by the formation of the fuel-rich region in the lower region above the burner surface. Analyses on fuel-rich region and axial temperature, in a quantitative way, provide physical details of the changes of flame structure when the flames that burn on discrete fuel beds undergo physical transition to become one single flame with decreasing flame spacing. It is inferred from the temperature data that the air entrainment is more restricted with increasing merging level of flames. A new method in terms of the centerline temperature of fire array is proposed to determine the critical heat release rate for the onset of flame merging. It is found that the heat release rate Q ˙ D ∗ , using the fire array size D as the characteristic length scale, can be used to correlate the flame height of a merged fire array. It is further indicated that a general linear form L / D = 3.7 Q ˙ D ∗ 2 / 5 − c can be used as a general correlation of flame height for fire arrays in different merging levels, in which the parameter c characterizes the deviation from the Heskestad curve under different flame spacings. For non-merged fire array, the flame heights of separate flames mainly depend on the heat release rate, while the flame spacing and the number of flames have minor effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have proposed chemical modification of Protein A (ProA) chromatography ligands with polyethylene glycol (PEGylation) as a strategy to increase the resin selectivity and robustness by providing the ligand with a steric repulsion barrier against non-specific binding. Here, we report on robustness and selectivity benefits for Repligen CaptivA PriMAB resin with ligands modified with 5.2 kDa and 21.5 kDa PEG chains, respectively. PEGylation of ProA ligands allowed the resin to retain a higher percentage of static binding capacity relative to the unmodified resin upon digestion with chymotrypsin, a representative serine protease. The level of protection against digestion was independent of the PEG molecular weight or modification extent for the PEGylation chemistry used. Additionally, PEGylation of the ligands was found to decrease the level of non-specific binding of fluorescently labeled bovine serum albumin (BSA) aggregates to the surface of the resin particles as visualized via confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The level of aggregate binding decreased as the PEG molecular weight increased, but increasing the extent of modification with 5.2 kDa PEG chains had no effect. Further examination of resin particles via CLSM confirmed that the PEG chains on the modified ligands were capable of blocking the “hitchhiking” association of BSA, a mock contaminant, to an adsorbed mAb that is prone to BSA binding. Ligands modified with 21.5 kDa PEG chains were effective at blocking the association, while ligands modified with 5.2 kDa PEG chains were not. Finally, ligands with 21.5 kDa PEG chains increased the selectivity of the resin against host cell proteins (HCPs) produced by Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells by up to 37% during purification of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) from harvested cell culture fluid (HCCF) using a standard ProA chromatography protocol. The combined work suggests that PEGylating ProA chromatography media is a viable pathway for increasing both resin lifetime and host cell impurity clearance in downstream bioprocessing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical modification of Protein A (ProA) chromatography ligands with polyethylene glycol (PEGylation) has been proposed as a strategy to increase the process selectivity and resin robustness by providing the ligand with a steric repulsion barrier against non-specific binding. This article comprises a comprehensive study of IgG adsorption and transport in Repligen CaptivA PriMAB resin with PEGylated ProA ligands that are modified using 5.2 and 21.5 kDa PEG chains. We studied the impact of the molecular weight of the PEG as well as the extent of PEGylation for the 5.2 kDa PEG modification. In all cases, PEGylation of ProA ligands decreases the resin average pore size, particle porosity, and static binding capacity for IgG proportional to the volume of conjugated PEG in the resin. Resin batch uptake experiments conducted in bulk via a stirred-tank system and with individual resin particles under confocal laser scanning microscopy suggests that PEGylation introduces heterogeneity into IgG binding kinetics: a fraction of the IgG binding sites are transformed from typical fast association kinetic behavior to slow kinetic behavior. pH gradient elution experiments of an IgG molecule on the modified resins show an increase in IgG elution pH for all modified resins, implying a decrease in IgG-ProA binding affinity on modification. Despite losses in static binding capacity for all resins with PEGylated ligands, the loss of dynamic binding capacity at 10% breakthrough (DBC 10% ) ranged more broadly from almost 0–47% depending on the PEG molecular weight and the extent of PEGylation. Minimal losses in DBC 10% were observed with a low extent of PEGylation with a smaller molecular weight PEG, while higher losses were observed at higher extents of PEGylation and with higher molecular weight PEG due to decreased static binding capacity and increased mass transfer resistance. This work provides insight into the practical implications for resin performance if PEGylation is considered as a strategy for selectivity enhancement in affinity chromatography with macromolecular ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achyranthes bidentata is an important Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of osteoporosis. In this study, A. bidentata polysaccharide (ABPB), which was extracted with alkali from the root of A. bidentata at room temperature, significantly increased the bone mineral density, bone mineral content, trabecular thickness, trabecular number and biomechanical properties of ovariectomized (OVX) rats, indicating that ABPB had prominent curative effects on osteoporosis in OVX rats. A novel polysaccharide (ABPB-3) was purified from ABPB, and its structure was characterized as a repeating unit consisting of →4)- α - d -Gal p A-(1→, →2,4)- α - l - R ha p -(1→, →5)- α - l -Ara f -(1→, →2,3,5)- α - l -Ara f -(1→, →3)- β - d -Gal p -(1→, →3,4,6)- β - d -Gal p -(1→, terminated with α - l -Ara f , α - l - R ha p and β - d -Gal p . Up to now, there were no literature reports relevant to the structure of ABPB-3. In the zebrafish model of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP), ABPB-3 significantly increased the relative fluorescence intensity of the skull bone mass in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating that it stimulated bone formation activity. Thus, ABPB and ABPB-3 have the potential to be used for the anti-osteoporosis medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alessandro Capone (2011) makes an attempt to provide a unified picture for Relevance Theory and Default Semantics by supporting the idea of the division of labor between these two approaches; that is, both are needed and are complementary subparts of a superordinate theory. We argue against Capone's account by recapitulating the two concepts of explicatures and default meanings, and maintain that Relevance Theory and Default Semantics are both derived from reconceptualizing Grice's generalized conversational implicature . These theories provide different approaches to such additional meanings of uttered sentences by holding different theoretical positions. Therefore, it is hard to draw a picture of them as unified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern Integrated Circuits (IC) design flow, from specification to chip fabrication, various security threats are emergent. These range from malicious modifications in the design, to the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, during layout or fabrication, or to the packaging. Of particular concern are modifications made to third-party IP cores and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) chips where no Register Transfer Level (RTL) code or golden models are available. While chip level reverse engineering techniques can help rebuild circuit gate-level netlist from fabricated chips, there still lacks a netlist reverse engineering tool which can recover the full functionality of the rebuilt netlist. Toward this direction, we develop a tool, named Reverse Engineering Finite State Machine (REFSM), that helps end-users reconstruct a high-level description of the control logic from a flattened netlist. We demonstrate that REFSM effectively recovers circuit control logic from netlists with varying degrees of complexity. Experimental results also show that the REFSM can easily identify malicious logic from a flattened (or even obfuscated) netlist. Supported by REFSM, another tool, called Reverse Engineering Hardware Obfuscation for Protection (REHOP), is developed to enhance gate-level netlist security without learning the RTL code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is currently known about the role of lipid metabolism in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), warranting further study. The present study sought to investigate the correlation between lipid metabolism and renal function as well as renal pathological grade/score in DKD patients. A total of 224 patients diagnosed with DKD by pathological examination were retrospectively analyzed, of which 74 patients were further evaluated by DKD pathological grade/score. ANOVA was used to investigate serum lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a)] levels in DKD patients with different chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between Lp (a) and renal function-related indicators. The DKD pathological grade/score was also evaluated with this method. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of Lp (a) in assessing renal function and pathological changes. There were significant differences in Lp (a) levels among different CKD stages (H = 17.063, p = 0.002) and glomerular grades (H = 12.965, p = 0.005). Lp (a) levels correlated with serum creatinine (p = 0.000), blood urea nitrogen (p = 0.000), estimated glomerular filtration rate (p = 0.000), 24-h proteinuria (24hUPro, p = 0.000), urine microalbumin (p = 0.000), urine albumin creatinine ratio (p = 0.000), glomerular basement membrane thickness (p = 0.003), and glomerular grade (p = 0.039). ROC curve demonstrated good performance of Lp (a) as an indicator to assess CKD stage 4–5 (AUC = 0.684, p = 0.000), 24hUPro > 3.5 g (AUC = 0.720, p = 0.000), and glomerular grade III-IV (AUC = 0.695, p = 0.012). Elevated levels of Lp (a) are associated with decreased GFR, increased proteinuria, and renal pathological progression, suggesting they could be used to monitor changes in DKD patients. • Serum lipoprotein (a) is associated with glomerular filtration rate and renal pathological grade in diabetic kidney disease. • Lipoprotein (a) is an indicator that reflect changes in renal function and pathology in diabetic kidney disease. • Active regulation of serum lipoprotein (a) could be prospective for the treatment of diabetic kidney disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Omeprazole (OM) is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist and a proton pump inhibitor that is used to treat humans with gastric acid related disorders. Recently, we showed that OM induces NAD (P) H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) via nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent mechanism. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is another cytoprotective and antioxidant enzyme that is regulated by Nrf2. Whether OM induces HO-1 in fetal human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMEC) is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that OM will induce HO-1 expression via Nrf2 in HPMEC. OM induced HO-1 mRNA and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner. siRNA-mediated knockdown of AhR failed to abrogate, whereas knockdown of Nrf2 abrogated HO-1 induction by OM. To identify the underlying molecular mechanisms, we determined the effects of OM on cellular hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) levels since oxidative stress mediated by the latter is known to activate Nrf2. Interestingly, the concentration at which OM induced HO-1 also increased H 2 O 2 levels. Furthermore, H 2 O 2 independently augmented HO-1 expression. Although N -acetyl cysteine (NAC) significantly decreased H 2 O 2 levels in OM-treated cells, we observed that OM further increased HO-1 mRNA and protein expression in NAC-pretreated compared to vehicle-pretreated cells, suggesting that OM induces HO-1 via H 2 O 2 -independent mechanisms. In conclusion, we provide evidence that OM transcriptionally induces HO-1 via AhR - and H 2 O 2 - independent, but Nrf2 - dependent mechanisms. These results have important implications for human disorders where Nrf2 and HO-1 play a beneficial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our ongoing process of discovering bioactive macromolecules, a homogeneous polysaccharide (FOP80-1) was first purified from Fomes officinalis. FOP80-1 with molecular weight of 4560 Da was mainly composed of →3)- d -Gal p -(1→, →4)- β - d -Man p -(1→, →6)- α - d -Glc p -(1→, →3,6)- d -Glc p -(1→, and t-- d -Glc p. Besides the structure features, the anti-tumor activity and potential mechanism of FOP80-1 were also investigated. The cellular and zebrafish experiments revealed that FOP80-1 inhibited tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis by increasing ROS, arresting cell cycle, inducing apoptosis, and suppressing angiogenesis. Corresponding to the inhibition of angiogenesis, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments revealed that FOP80-1 had good affinity with VEGF, a crucial protein to regulate angiogenesis. Molecular docking indicated that FOP80-1 could interact with the protein VEGF. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At 16:30 (Beijing time) on August 3rd, 2014, an Ms 6.5 earthquake occurred in Ludian County in Yunnan Province, China. The Ludian earthquake triggered a collapse in Chapingzi, right bank of the Niulanjiang River, and a landslide in Hongshiyan at the left bank on the same location. These events occurred 1.5 km downstream of the Hongshiyan hydropower station. Debris deposits from the collapse and the landslide blocked the river channel and formed a landslide dam. In this study, the Hongshiyan landslide dam induced by the Ludian earthquake was chosen as the study case to discuss integrated landslide dam management and its potential hydropower uses. After emergency management measures are carried out, further analysis shows the outflow through the Hongshiyan landslide dam is manageable, which indicate safety issues are controllable. Two management schemes are discussed in this paper: one that uses the Hongshiyan landslide dam for power generation and one that removes the debris deposit. The result shows that using the strengthened landslide dam for power generation is feasible and economically sound. This research estimate a capital recovery period of approximately 3 to 4 years with an investment-return ration of 1:40, which is considered a significant economic benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) transcriptionally induces phase I (cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1) and phase II (NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) detoxifying enzymes. The effects of the classical and nonclassical AhR ligands on phase I and II enzymes are well studied in human hepatocytes. Additionally, we observed that the proton pump inhibitor, omeprazole (OM), transcriptionally induces CYP1A1 in the human adenocarcinoma cell line, H441 cells via AhR. Whether OM activates AhR and induces the phase II enzyme, NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), in fetal primary human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMEC) is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that OM will induce NQO1 in HPMEC via the AhR. The concentrations of OM used in our experiments did not result in cytotoxicity. OM activated AhR as evident by increased CYP1A1 mRNA expression. However, contrary to our hypothesis, OM increased NQO1 mRNA and protein via an AhR-independent mechanism as AhR knockdown failed to abrogate OM-mediated increase in NQO1 expression. Interestingly, OM activated Nrf2 as evident by increased phosphoNrf2 (S40) expression in OM-treated compared to vehicle-treated cells. Furthermore, Nrf2 knockdown abrogated OM-mediated increase in NQO1 expression. In conclusion, we provide evidence that OM induces NQO1 via AhR-independent, but Nrf2-dependent mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperoxia contributes to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in human preterm infants and a similar lung phenotype characterized by alveolar simplification in newborn mice. Omeprazole (OM) is a proton pump inhibitor that is used to treat humans with gastric acid related disorders. OM-mediated aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation attenuates acute hyperoxic lung injury (HLI) in adult mice. Whether OM activates pulmonary AhR and protects C57BL/6J newborn mice against hyperoxia-induced developmental lung (alveolar and pulmonary vascular simplification, inflammation, and oxidative stress) injury (HDLI) is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that OM will activate pulmonary AhR and mitigate HDLI in newborn mice. Newborn mice were treated daily with i.p. injections of OM at doses of 10 (OM10) or 25 (OM25) mg/kg while being exposed to air or hyperoxia (FiO2 of 85%) for 14 days, following which their lungs were harvested to determine alveolarization, pulmonary vascularization, inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular injury, and AhR activation. To our surprise, hyperoxia-induced alveolar and pulmonary vascular simplification, inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular injury were augmented in OM25-treated animals. These findings were associated with attenuated pulmonary vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 expression and decreased pulmonary AhR activation in the OM25 group. We conclude that contrary to our hypothesis, OM decreases functional activation of pulmonary AhR and potentiates HDLI in newborn mice. These observations are consistent with our previous findings, which suggest that AhR activation plays a protective role in HDLI in newborn mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease of premature infants that is characterized by alveolar simplification and decreased lung angiogenesis. Hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress and inflammation contributes to the development of BPD in premature infants. Adrenomedullin (AM) is an endogenous peptide with potent angiogenic, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Whether AM regulates hyperoxic injury in fetal primary human lung cells is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that AM-deficient fetal primary human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMEC) will have increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and cytotoxicity compared to AM-sufficient HPMEC upon exposure to hyperoxia. Adrenomedullin gene ( Adm ) was knocked down in HPMEC by siRNA-mediated transfection and the resultant AM-sufficient and -deficient cells were evaluated for hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, cytotoxicity, and Akt activation. AM-deficient HPMEC had significantly increased hyperoxia-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cytotoxicity compared to AM-sufficient HPMEC. Additionally, AM-deficient cell culture supernatants had increased macrophage inflammatory protein 1α and 1β, indicating a heightened inflammatory state. Interestingly, AM deficiency was associated with an abrogated Akt activation upon exposure to hyperoxia. These findings support the hypothesis that AM deficiency potentiates hyperoxic injury in primary human fetal HPMEC via mechanisms entailing Akt activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scalar implicature is a cutting-edge issue in linguistic pragmatics. The study is intended to argue that, within Saussure's thought of language as a system, scalar implicature is manifested as the system-based meaning, i.e., it is generated by the language system. It maintains that the notion of “scalar implicature” as one type of “associative implicature” should be integrated into the coherent theoretical model formulated in this study, thereby also rescuing Horn's theory on scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation The 3D structures of RNA play a critical role in understanding their functionalities. There exist several computational methods to study RNA 3D structures by identifying structural motifs and categorizing them into several motif families based on their structures. Although the number of such motif families is not limited, a few of them are well-studied. Out of these structural motif families, there exist several families that are visually similar or very close in structure, even with different base interactions. Alternatively, some motif families share a set of base interactions but maintain variation in their 3D formations. These similarities among different motif families, if known, can provide a better insight into the RNA 3D structural motifs as well as their characteristic functions in cell biology. Results In this work, we proposed a method, RNAMotifComp, that analyzes the instances of well-known structural motif families and establishes a relational graph among them. We also have designed a method to visualize the relational graph where the families are shown as nodes and their similarity information is represented as edges. We validated our discovered correlations of the motif families using RNAMotifContrast. Additionally, we used a basic Naïve Bayes classifier to show the importance of RNAMotifComp. The relational analysis explains the functional analogies of divergent motif families and illustrates the situations where the motifs of disparate families are predicted to be of the same family. Availability and implementation Source code publicly available at https://github.com/ucfcbb/RNAMotifFamilySimilarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth, fast charging, Li reservoirs, lithium-ion batteries, phosphorus anodes Bi Works as a Li Reservoir for Promoting the Fast-Charging Performance of Phosphorus Anode for Li-Ion Batteries (Adv. Keywords: bismuth; fast charging; Li reservoirs; lithium-ion batteries; phosphorus anodes EN bismuth fast charging Li reservoirs lithium-ion batteries phosphorus anodes 1 1 1 05/23/22 20220519 NES 220519 B Li-Ion Batteries b In article number 2103888, Jie Sun and co-workers report the development of a Bi anode that works as a small Li reservoir for trapping/emitting Li in lithiation/delithiation processes prior to that of the P anode. [Extracted from the article]

Hyperoxia contributes to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. Activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) protects adult and newborn mice against hyperoxic lung injury by mediating increases in the expression of phase I (cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A) and phase II (NADP(H) quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1)) antioxidant enzymes (AOE). AhR positively regulates the expression of RelB, a component of the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) protein that contributes to anti-inflammatory processes in adult animals. Whether AhR regulates the expression of AOE and RelB, and protects fetal primary human lung cells against hyperoxic injury is unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that AhR-deficient fetal human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMEC) will have decreased RelB activation and AOE, which will in turn predispose them to increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death compared to AhR-sufficient HPMEC upon exposure to hyperoxia. AhR-deficient HPMEC showed increased hyperoxia-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and cell death compared to AhR-sufficient HPMEC. Additionally, AhR-deficient cell culture supernatants displayed increased macrophage inflammatory protein 1α and 1β, indicating a heightened inflammatory state. Interestingly, loss of AhR was associated with a significantly attenuated CYP1A1, NQO1, superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1), and nuclear RelB protein expression. These findings support the hypothesis that decreased RelB activation and AOE in AhR-deficient cells is associated with increased hyperoxic injury compared to AhR-sufficient cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RNAs play various roles, not only as the genetic codes to synthesize proteins, but also as the direct participants of biological functions determined by their underlying high-order structures. Although many computational methods have been proposed for analyzing RNA structures, their accuracy and efficiency are limited, especially when applied to the large RNAs and the genome-wide data sets. Recently, advances in parallel sequencing and high-throughput chemical probing technologies have prompted the development of numerous new algorithms, which can incorporate the auxiliary structural information obtained from those experiments. Their potential has been revealed by the secondary structure prediction of ribosomal RNAs and the genome-wide ncRNA function annotation. In this review, the existing probing-directed computational methods for RNA secondary and tertiary structure analysis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]