Magnetic and electrical transport properties in GdAlSi and SmAlGe

We conduct a detailed examination of the magnetic and electrical transport properties in GdAlSi and SmAlGe crystals,which possess a LaPtSi-type structure(space group I4_(1)md).The magnetic susceptibility data unambiguously reveal magnetic ordering below a characteristic transition temperature(T_(N)).For GdAlSi,a hysteresis loop is observed in the magnetization and magnetoresistance curves within the ab plane when the magnetic field is applied below T_(N),which is around32 K.Notable specific heat anomalies are detected at 32 K for GdAlSi and 6 K for SmAlGe,confirming the occurrence of magnetic transitions.In addition,the extracted magnetic entropy at high temperatures is consistent with the theoretical value of Rln(2J+1) for J=7/2 in Gd^(3+) and J=5/2 in Sm^(3+),respectively.SmAlGe also exhibits Schottky-like specific heat contributions.Additionally,both GdAlSi and SmAlGe exhibit positive magnetoresistance and a normal Hall effect.

Multiple Magnetic Phase Transitions and Critical Behavior in Single-Crystal SmMn_(2)Ge_(2)

Magnetic materials with noncollinear spin configurations have engendered significant interest in condensed matter physics due to their intriguing physical properties.We direct our attention towards the magnetic properties and critical behavior of single-crystal SmMn_(2)Ge_(2),an itinerant magnet with numerous temperature-dependent magnetic phase transitions.Notably,SmMn_(2)Ge_(2)displays significant magnetic anisotropy with easy magnetization direction switching from the c axis to the ab plane as temperature decreases.The critical behavior of the ferromagnetic transition occurring above room temperature is thoroughly examined.Reliable and self-consistent critical exponents,includingβ=0.292(2),γ=0.924(8),andδ=4.164(6),along with the Curie temperature T_c=347 K,are extracted through various methods,which provide evidence for the coexistence of multiple magnetic interactions in SmMn_(2)Ge_(2).Further analysis reveals that the magnetic interaction of SmMn_(2)Ge_(2)is a long-range type with the interaction distance decaying as J(r)~r^(-4.35).

Tuning Metallic Co0.85Se Quantum Dots/Carbon Hollow Polyhedrons with Tertiary Hierarchical Structure for High-Performance Potassium Ion Batteries

Potassium-ion batteries(KIBs)are a potential candidate to lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)but possess unsatisfactory capacity and rate properties.Herein,the metallic cobalt selenide quantum dots(Co0.85Se-QDs)encapsulated in mesoporous carbon matrix were designed via a direct hydrothermal method.Specifically,the cobalt selenide/carbon composite(Co0.85Se-QDs/C)possesses tertiary hierarchical structure,which is the primary quantum dots,the secondary petals flake,and the tertiary hollow micropolyhedron framework.Co0.85Se-QDs are homogenously embedded into the carbon petals flake,which constitute the hollow polyhedral framework.This unique structure can take the advantages of both nanoscale and microscale features:Co0.85Se-QDs can expand in a multidimensional and ductile carbon matrix and reduce the K-intercalation stress in particle dimensions;the micropetals can restrain the agglomeration of active materials and promote the transportation of potassium ion and electron.In addition,the hollow carbon framework buffers volume expansion,maintains the structural integrity,and increases the electronic conductivity.Benefiting from this tertiary hierarchical structure,outstanding K-storage performance(402 mAh g?1 after 100 cycles at 50 mA g?1)is obtained when Co0.85Se-QDs/C is used as KIBs anode.More importantly,the selenization process in this work is newly reported and can be generally extended to prepare other quantum dots encapsulated in edge-limited frameworks for excellent energy storage.

Effects of minor B addition on microstructure and properties of AlCoFeNi eutectic high-entropy alloy

The simultaneous strengthening of mechanical and magnetic properties is an ideal fabrication strategy for soft-magnetic materials. A non-equiatomic Al19Co20Fe20Ni41 eutectic high-entropy alloy was prepared to investigate the alloying effect of B on the microstructure evolution, phase formation, mechanical and soft-magnetic properties. With the increase in B content, the microstructures of(Al19Co20Fe20Ni41)100-xBx alloys transformed from the initial lamellar eutectic structure(x=0) to the divorced eutectic structure(x>0.6). Fine borides precipitated in the intergranular phase(x≥0.6). The hardness of alloys increased from HV 328.66 to HV 436.34 and the compression mechanical performance displayed a transition from plastic material to brittle material. The Al19Co20Fe20Ni41 alloy possesses good soft-magnetic properties, and the minor B addition has little effect on it. Increasing the resistivity can effectively reduce the eddy current loss when used as a soft-magnetic material.

Characterization of a Novel Gene, srpA, Conferring Resistance to Streptogramin A, Pleuromutilins, and Lincosamides in Streptococcus suis

Antimicrobial resistance is undoubtedly one of the greatest global health threats. The emergence of multidrug-resistant(MDR) Gram-positive pathogens, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium(VRE), and β-lactamase-resistant Streptococcus pneumonia, has severely limited our antibiotic arsenal. Numerous ribosome-targeting antibiotics, especially pleuromutilins, oxazolidinones, and streptogramins, are viewed as promising alternatives against aggressive MDR pathogens. In this study, we identified a new adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-binding cassete(ABC)-F family determinant, srp A, in Streptococcus suis(S. suis) by means of a comparative analysis of the whole-genome sequences of tiamulin(TIA)-resistant and TIA-sensitive bacteria. Functional cloning confirmed that the deduced gene can mediate cross-resistance to pleuromutilins, lincosamides, and streptogramin A in S. suis and S. aureus. A sequence alignment revealed that Srp A shares the highest amino acid identity with Vga(E)(36%) and shows canonical characteristics of ABC-F family members.In Srp A-ribosome docked compounds, the extended loop region of Srp A approaches the valnemulinbinding pocket in the ribosome peptidyl-transferase center and competes with bound valnemulin. A detailed mutational analysis of the loop residues confirmed that this domain is crucial for Srp A activity,as substitutions or truncations of this region affect the efficiency and specificity of antibiotic resistance.Intracellular antibiotics accumulation indicated that Srp A does not act as an efflux pump, while a ribosome binding assay supported the protective effects of Srp A on the ribosome by preventing antibiotic binding as well as displacing bound drugs. These findings clarify the mechanisms underlying resistance to ribosomal antibiotics.

Retrospective clinical analysis of MAID protocol as first-line treatment on 137 metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas patients

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy,adverse reaction and survival of MAID protocol as first-line treatment on 137 metastatic soft tissue sarcomas patients.Methods:One hundredand thirty-seven patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcoma were given MAID protocol chemotherapy which consists of ifosfamide at a total dose of 8-10 g/m2 in 4-5 days,adriamycin at a dose of 60 mg/m2 on first day and dacarbazine at a dose of 200 mg/m2/d in 4-5 days.Twenty one days were regarded as a cycle and 2-6 cycles were completed.The median cycle number was 4.Results:Four cases had complete remission(CR)(2.9%),thirteen cases achieved partial remission(PR)(9.5%),eighty-eight cases maintained a stable disease(SD)(64.2%),and thirty-two cases had progressive disease(PD)(23.4%).The overall response rate(RR) was 12.4%,disease control rate(DCR) was 76.6%.The progression-free survival(PFS) was 2-14 months and median PFS was 5.00 ± 1.12 months.The overall survival(OS) was 3-19 months and median OS was 8.00 ± 1.32 months.Three months PFS rate was 56.9%,six months PFS rate was 27.2% and one year PFS rate was 7.8%.Three months OS rate was 100.0%,six months OS rate was 41.5% and one year OS rate was 10.7%.The main adverse reactions were bone marrow supression,nausea/vomiting and alopecia.Other adverse reactions were seldom observed.Conclusion:The effect of MAID protocol as first-line treatment on metastatic soft tissue sarcomas patients was exact,the treatment can control disease progression effectively and the side effects can be tolerable.It was obviously very worthy in clinical use as one of the first-line chemotherapy protocols on advanced soft tissue sarcomas.

Multimodal 3D Convolutional Neural Networks for Classification of Brain Disease Using Structural MR and FDG-PET Images

The classification and identification of brain diseases with multimodal information have attracted increasing attention in the domain of computer-aided. Compared with traditional method which use single modal feature information, multiple modal information fusion can classify and diagnose brain diseases more comprehensively and accurately in patient subjects. Existing multimodal methods require manual extraction of features or additional personal information, which consumes a lot of manual work. Furthermore, the difference between different modal images along with different manual feature extraction make it difficult for models to learn the optimal solution. In this paper, we propose a multimodal 3D convolutional neural networks framework for classification of brain disease diagnosis using MR images data and PET images data of subjects. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach for classification of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal controls (NC) on the Alzheimer’s Disease National Initiative (ADNI) data set of 3D structural MRI brain scans and FDG-PET images. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method for AD vs. NC, MCI vs. NC are 93.55% and 78.92% accuracy respectively. And the accuracy of the results of AD, MCI and NC 3-classification experiments is 68.86%.

Mitochondrial energy metabolism in diabetic cardiomyopathy:Physiological adaption,pathogenesis,and therapeutic targets

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is defined as abnormal structure and function of the heart in the setting of diabetes,which could eventually develop heart failure and leads to the death of the patients.Although blood glucose control and medications to heart failure show beneficial effects on this disease,there is currently no specific treatment for diabetic cardiomyopathy.Over the past few decades,the pathophysiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy has been extensively studied,and an increasing number of studies pinpoint that impaired mitochondrial energy metabolism is a key mediator as well as a therapeutic target.In this review,we summarize the latest research in the field of diabetic cardiomyopathy,focusing on mitochondrial damage and adaptation,altered energy substrates,and potential therapeutic targets.A better understanding of the mitochondrial energy metabolism in diabetic cardiomyopathy may help to gain more mechanistic insights and generate more precise mitochondria-oriented therapies to treat this disease.

A theoretical study on gaseous pollutant flushing of natural ventilation driven by buoyancy forces in industrial buildings

The acceleration of industrialization worsening indoor environments of industrial buildings has drawn more attention in recent years.Natural ventilation can improve indoor air quality(IAQ)and reduce carbon emissions.To evaluate gaseous pollutant levels in industrial buildings for the development of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation,two theoretical models of pollutant flushing(Model I and Model II)are developed based on the existing thermal stratification theory in combination with the mixing characteristics of lower pollutant.The results show that indoor pollutant flushing is mainly dependent on the pollution source intensity and effective ventilation area.The mixing characteristics of lower pollutant has an important effect on pollutant stratification and evolution during ventilation,but it does not change the prediction results at steady state.When the dimensionless pollution source intensity is larger than 1,the pollution source should be cleaned up or other ventilation methods should be used instead to improve IAQ.In addition,the comparisons between Model I and Model II on instantaneous pollutant concentration are significantly influenced by the pollution source intensity,and the actual pollutant concentration is more likely to be between the predicted values of Model I and Model II.To reduce pollutant concentration to a required level,the pollution source intensity should be in a certain range.The theoretical models as well as the necessary conditions for ventilation effectiveness obtained can be used for the ventilation optimization design of industrial buildings.

Strong enhancement of methylene blue removal from binary wastewater by in-situ ferrite process

Dye wastewater containing heavy metal ions is a common industrial effluent with complex physicochemical properties. The treatment of metal-dye binary wastewater is difficult. In this work, a novel in-situ ferrite process （IFP） was applied to treat Methylene Blue （MB）-Cu（II） binary wastewater, and the operational parameters were optimized for MB removal. Results showed that the optimum operating conditions were OH/M of 1.72, Cu2＋/Fe2＋ ratio of 1/2.5, reaction time of 90 min, aeration intensity of 320 mL/min, and reaction temperature of 40℃. Moreover, the presence of Ca2＋ and Mg2＋ moderately influenced the MB removal. Physical characterization results indicated that the precipitates yielded in IFP presented high surface area {232.50 m2/g） and a multi-porous structure. Based on the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity toward MB was 347.82 mg/g for the precipitates produced in IFP, which outperformed most other adsorbents. Furthermore, IFP rapidly sequestered MB with removal efficiency 5 to 10 times greater than that by general ferrite adsorption, which suggested a strong enhancement of MB removal by IFP. The MB removal process by IFP showed two different high removal stages, each with a corresponding removal mechanism. In the first brief stage （〈5 min）, the initial high MB removal （～95%） was achieved by predominantly electrostatic interactions. Then the sweep effect and encapsulation were dominant in the second longer stage.

Toll-like receptor 4-mediated nuclear factor-κB activation in spinal cord contributes to chronic morphine-induced analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia in rats

Nuclear factor kappa B（NF-κB） in the spinal cord is involved in pro-infl ammatory cytokine-mediated pain facilitation. However, the role of NF-κB activation in chronic morphine-induced analgesic tolerance and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we found that the level of phosphorylated NF-κB p65（p-p65） was increased in the dorsal horn of the lumbar 4–6 segments after intrathecal administration of morphine for 7 consecutive days, and the p-p65 was co-localized with neurons and astrocytes. The expression of TNF-α and IL-1β was also increased in the same area. In addition, pretreatment with pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate（PDTC） or SN50, inhibitors of NF-κB, prevented the development of morphine analgesic tolerance and alleviated morphine withdrawal-induced allodynia and hyperalgesia. The increase in TNF-α and IL-1β expression induced by chronic morphine exposure was also partially blocked by PDTC pretreatment. In another experiment, rats receiving PDTC or SN50 beginning on day 7 of morphine injection showed partial recovery of the anti-nociceptive effects of morphine and attenuation of the withdrawal-induced abnormal pain. Meanwhile, intrathecal pretreatment with lipopolysaccharide from Rhodobacter sphae-roides, an antagonist of toll-like receptor 4（TLR4）, blocked the activation of NF-κB, and prevented the development of morphine tolerance and withdrawal-induced abnormal pain. These data indicated that TLR4-mediated NF-κB activation in the spinal cord is involved in the development and maintenance of morphine analgesic tolerance and withdrawalinduced pain hypersensitivity.

Dye removal by eco-friendly physically cross-linked double network polymer hydrogel beads and their functionalized composites

Hydrogels have attracted large attention in wastewater treatment fields due to their low-cost and good interaction with pollutants,among which novel double network hydrogel is an outstanding class.To expand the application of double network hydrogel in water treatment,in this study,eco-friendly physically cross-linked double network polymer hydrogel beads(DAP)are prepared and studied in depth on the mechanism of Methylene Blue(MB)adsorption;and then the polymer hydrogels are further functionalized by inorganic materials.MB adsorption on DAP favors alkaline condition which is due to the increase of electrostatic attraction and adsorption site,and it reaches equilibrium within 10 hr,which is faster than that of the single network hydrogel beads(SAP).Through thermodynamics study,the process shows to be an exothermic and spontaneous process.The adsorption isotherms are well fitted by Langmuir model,with a maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 1437.48 mg/g,which is larger than SAP(1255.75 mg/g).After being functionalized with common inorganic materials including activated carbon,Fe_3O_4and graphene oxide(GO),the composites show to have larger pore sizes and have obvious increases in adsorption capacity especially the one contains GO.Then the composites contains Fe_3O_4are used as heterogeneous Fenton catalyst which shows to have excellent performance in MB degradation.The results indicate the potential of polymer double network to be functionalized in environmental areas.

Joint Resource Allocation for Lifetime-aware Cooperative Multi-carrier DF System

In this paper,we study the problem of optimal resource allocation for lifetime maximization in an orthogonal-frequencydivision multiplexing(OFDM)system with decode-and-forward relay.The goal is to minimize total energy cost of the system by jointly optimizing power allocation,subcarrier pairing and relay selection.We present a heuristic solution that is composed of two parts.The first part is an optimal power allocation approach to allocate power to a subcarrier pair of the source and the relay.The second part is a modified Hungarian algorithm to make subcarrier pairing and relay selection.Evaluations show that the presented scheme outperforms other schemes in the total transmitted data and the network lifetime.

Roles of neddylation against viral infections

The ubiquitin-dependent proteasome pathway can be hijacked by certain viruses to maintain viral genome amplification.A key class of ubiquitin-E3s involved in this pathway is Cullin-RING ligases(CRLs),which are activated by an additional ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8.1 The process by which the ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8 is conjugated to its target proteins is officially named‘neddylation’.Consequently,neddylation inhibition,through the use of the pharmacological inhibitor MLN4924,might prevent viral genome amplification.

Statistical Analysis of Articles Published in China CDC Weekly——Worldwide,2019-2020

Introduction:This study analyzed views and downloads of articles published in China CDC Weekly from 2019 to 2020 as part of an evaluation of the academic level and quality of the journal.Methods:The study included articles published between November 29,2019 and December 25,2020 and evaluated views and downloads through February 9,2021 using standard bibliometrics.We conducted network analysis with VOSviewer software.Results:There were 283 articles from 101 institutions published in China CDC Weekly during the analysis period,among which 22(21.8%)institutions were overseas institutions.There were 220 unique first authors,with 1.28 articles per first author.There were 2,404,882 views and 58,760 downloads in total.The article with the highest view and download counts had 1,244,826 views and 38,978 downloads.Article types with more than 4,500 views per article were Vital Surveillance,Notes from the Field,and Preplanned Studies.Subjects with more than 3,500 views per article were epidemiology of infectious diseases,epidemiology of non-infectious diseases,and maternal and child health.Articles with descriptive research and articles discussing public health monitoring received more attention,shown by larger average per article page views.Discussion:Study results can help the editorial department improve the journal’s international influence through targeted measures,such as adjusting article types according to view and download analyses and increasing the proportion of international manuscripts selected.