Determinations of the Configuration of C-20 in Derivatives of Adynerin Using DFT/HF Methods

The configurations of C-20 in derivatives of novel 5α-adynerin type,co-existing glycoside in pair,were identified with the calculated chemical shifts of carbon at the B3LYP/6-311＋G（2d,p）level.These glycosides are unusual cardic aglycones without the common olefin bond in ring E.

AN INVESTIGATION OF PEDIGREES OF 110 PATIENTS WITH GRAVES' DISEASE AND THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DETERMINATIONS OF ANTITHYROID ANTIBODIES OF THEIR FIRST-DEGREE RELATIVES

Eight hundred and ten pedigree members of 110 patients with Graves' disease were studied. In 700 first-egree relatives, inquiry of medical history, physical examination (including eyes, thyroid, heart rate, etc), thyroid function tests (serum T3, T4 and TSH levels), determinations of thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) and thyroid microsomal antibodies (TmAb) were performed. For male (female) probands, the incidence of Graves' disease in male (female) first-degree relatives were investigated and their serum TgAb and TmAb were analysed. The incidence of these two kinds of autoantibodies in the male (female) first-egree relatives of familial and nonfamilial Graves' disease were analysed. Eighteen persons with positive TgAb and TmAb from 5 pedigrees had been followed up one year after initial determinations. Our results suggest that the positive rates of TgAb and TmAb in the first-egree relatives of Graves' disease were coincident with the incidence of Graves' disease, and the positive results of TgAb and TmAb in the first-egree relatives of Graves' disease may be an indicator of pre-raves' disease or pre-utoimmune thyroid diseases.

Comparison of Artificial Neural Networks with Partial Least Squares Regression for Simultaneous Determinations by ICP-AES

Simultaneous determination of several elements （U, Ta, Mn, Zr and W） with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry （ICP-AES） in the presence of spectral interference was performed using chemometrics methods. True comparison between artificial neural network （ANN） and partial least squares regression （PLS） for simultaneous determination in different degrees of overlap was investigated. The emission spectra were recorded at uranium analytical line （263.553 nm） with a 0.06 nm spectral window by ICP-AES. Principal component analysis was applied to data and scores on 5 dominant principal components were subjected to ANN. A 5-5-5 （input, hidden and output neurons） network was used with linear transfer function after both hidden and output layers. The PI,S model was trained with five latent variables and 20 samples in calibration set. The relative errors of predictions （REP） in test set were 3.75% and 3.56% for ANN and PLS respectively.

Facile Synthesis of ZnO-Au Nanopetals and Their Application for Biomolecule Determinations

Using dextran as both reductant and stabilizing agent, nanopetals(ZnO-Au NPs) were easily synthesized and possessed a petal-like morphology. The feature structure and size of such ZnO-Au NPs were adjustable by regulating the amount of chloroauric acid(HAuCl4). Moreover, the electrochemical property of the obtained NPs was evaluated by being immobilized on the glassy carbon electrode(GCE), which performed both high sensitivity and stability in dopamine(DA) determinations. Furthermore, the as-prepared ZnO-Au NPs could also detect DA and uric acid(UA) simultaneously in the mixture without interference, indicating good selectivity and showing promising potential in biosensing.

Prevalence and determinations of physical inactivity among public hospital employees in Shanghai, China： a cross-sectional study

This study aims to explore the prevalence and determinations of physical inactivity among hospital employees in Shanghai, China. A cross-sectional study of 4612 employees aged 19 to 68years was conducted through stratified cluster sampling from different classes of Shanghai hospitals in 2011. The total physical activity was evaluated using the metabolic equivalent according to the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Among the participants, 38.5%, 32.3%, and 64.6% of the employees are inactive at work, commuting, and taking leisure time, respectively. Up to 41.8% of the men and 37.8% of the women （P = 0.012） are physically inactive. When the age and educational level are adjusted, male doctors and medical technicians show a higher percentage of physical inactivity than male workers in logistics （P = 0.001）. Among females, employees who are working in second- and third-class hospitals show a higher proportion of physical inactivity than those who are working in community health care centers. Logistic regression analyses show that the odds ratios （ORs） of leisure-time physical inactivity associated with the intensity of physical activity at work are 2.259, 2.897, and 4.266 for men （P 〈 0.001） and 2.456, 3.259, and 3.587 for women （P 〈 0.001）, respectively. The time during commuting activities is significantly associated with leisure-time physical inactivity in either sex （OR = 2.116 for men and 2.173 for women, P 〈 0.001）. Hospital employees, particularly doctors and medical technicians, show a higher proportion of physical inactivity than other inhabitants in Shanghai. The time and intensity of activity at work and commuting are associated with leisure-time activities.

Quantitative analysis of FRET assay in biology New developments in protein interaction affinity and protease kinetics determinations in the SUMOylation cascade

Forster resonance energy transfer （FRET） techniques have been widely used in biological studies in vitro andin vivo and are powerful tools for elucidating protein interactions in many regulatory cascades. FRET occurs between oscillating dipoles of two fluorophores with overlapping emission and excitation wavelengths and is dependent on the spectroscopic and geometric properties of the donor-acceptor pair. Various efforts have been made to develop quantitative FRET methods to accurately determine the interaction affinity and kinetics parameters. SUMOylation is an important post-translational protein modification with key roles in multiple biological processes. Conjugating SUMO to substrates requires an enzymatic cascade. Sentrin/SUMO-specific proteases （SENP） act as endopeptidases to process the pre-SUMO or an isopeptidase to deconjugate SUMO from its substrate. Here we also summarize recent developments of theoretical and experimental procedures for determining the protein interaction dissociation constant, Kd, and protease kinetics parameters, kcat and Kin, in the SUMOylation pathway. The general principles of these quantitative FRET-based measurements can be applied to other protein interactions and proteases.

Comparison of direct and indirect determinations of dynamic ventilation rate in a modern dairy free stall barn

Reliable estimation of the ventilation rate(VR)in intensive livestock buildings is necessary for studying building environmental control strategies and predicting indoor air quality and air emissions.As direct air exchange measurements are time-consuming and expensive,it is environmentally inefficient to measure livestock building VR continuously in practice.Hence,indirect VR estimation methods have been widely used in modelling environmental control and air emissions,and also to measure airflow in the field.The accuracy of indirect measurement methods needs to be evaluated by comparing with direct measurements.In this study,the direct and indirect methods of determining hourly and daily mean VRs were applied to a mechanically-ventilated dairy free stall barn monitored by the 24-month National Air Emissions Monitoring Study.The direct method was used to continuously monitor fan rotational speeds,and differential static pressures,coupled with periodic in-situ fan performance assessments,to calculate the VR.The indirect method consisted of estimating the VR using CO2 concentration measurements and the CO2 mass balance method.The average daily and hourly means(mean±SD)of directly measured barn ventilation rates for two years were(246±73)m3/s and(245±77)m3/s,respectively.The average daily and hourly means(mean±SD)of barn ventilation rates estimated by the CO2 mass balance method were(287±93.4)m3/s and(287±118)m3/s,respectively.Correlation analyses showed a strong correlation between the indirect CO2 mass balance method and direct measurement methods(r=0.93 for daily means and r=0.85 for hourly means).

DETERMINE评分与急性心肌梗死PCI术预后关系的分析

探讨DETERMINE评分(病理性Q波导联数*2+碎裂QRS波导联数+T波倒置导联数)与急性心肌梗死患者经皮冠状动脉介入(PCI)术后预后的关系。方法 选择2021.1-2022.12在我院住院接受PCI治疗的急性心肌梗死患者206例,根据预后情况分为预后良好组(165例)和预后不良组(41例)。比较两组患者的临床资料及DETERMINE评分,采用多因素Logistic回归法分析影响急性心肌梗死PCI术后预后的相关因素;创建受试者工作特征曲线(ROC),分析DETERMINE评分对急性心肌梗死PCI术后预后的预测价值。分析急性心肌梗死PCI术预后不良的影响因素。结果 与预后良好组比较,预后不良组糖尿病史、心律失常史比例及DETERMINE评分、年龄、体重指数、左室射血分数、糖化血红蛋白、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇、总胆固醇水平均显著升高,差异具有统计学意义;二元Logistic回归分析显示DETERMINE评分、心律失常史、体重指数、糖化血红蛋白、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇是冠心病患者PCI手术预后不良的独立危险因素(OR=1.443~15.658,P<0.05)。结论 DETERMINE评分与冠心病PCI术预后相关,需引起临床关注。

A Coordinate-Free Approach to the Design of Generalized Griffis-Duffy Platforms

Architectural singularity belongs to the Type II singularity,in which a parallel manipulator(PM)gains one or more degrees of freedom and becomes uncontrollable.PMs remaining permanently in a singularity are beneficial for linearto-rotary motion conversion.Griffis-Duffy(GD)platform is a mobile structure admitting a Bricard motion.In this paper,we present a coordinate-free approach to the design of generalized GD platforms,which consists in determining the shape and attachment of both the moving platform and the fixed base.The generalized GD platform is treated as a combination of six coaxial single-loop mechanisms under the same constraints.Owing to the inversion,hidden in the geometric structure of these single-loop mechanisms,the mapping from a line to a circle establishes the geometric transformation between the fixed base and the moving platform based on the center of inversion,and describes the shape and attachment of the generalized GD platform.Moreover,the center of inversion not only identifies the location of rotation axis,but also affects the shape of the platform mechanism.A graphical construction of generalized GD platforms using inversion,proposed in the paper,provides geometrically feasible solutions of the manipulator design for the requirement of the location of rotation axis.

Silencing transformer and transformer-2 in Zeugodacus cucurbitae causes defective sex determination with inviability of most pseudomales

transformer is a switch gene for sex determination in many insects, which cooperates with transformer-2 that is expressed in both sexes to regulate female differentiation, particularly in dipterans. Zeugodacus cucurbitae(Coquillett) is a very destructive pest worldwide, however, its sex determination pathway remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that the female sex ratio is sharply reduced with knockdown of either transformer or transformer-2 by RNA interference in early embryos of Z. cucurbitae. Most of the males grown from the embryos with transient transformer and transformer-2 suppression mated with wild-type females and produced mixed sex progeny, with one exception that produced only female progeny, and all of the few remaining males failed to mate with wild-type females and produced no progeny. The exceptional male and those males with mating failure were XX pseudomales as determined by the detection of Y chromosome-linked Maleness-on-the-Y, indicating that most XX pseudomales are not viable. The phenotypes of transformer and transformer-2 suggest that they play a key role in regulating sex determination and are required for female sexual development of Z. cucurbitae. Our results will be beneficial to the understanding of sex determination in Z. cucurbitae and can facilitate the development of genetic sexing strains for its biological control.

Review of the Low-Lying Excited Baryons ∑^(*)(1/2^(-))

Strong empirical and phenomenological indications exist for large sea-quark admixtures in the low-lying excited baryons.Investigating the low-lying excited baryon ∑^(*)(1/2^(-))is important for determining the nature of the low-lying excited baryons.We review the experimental and theoretical progress on the studies of the ∑^(*)(1/2^(-)).

foxl2l is a germ cell-intrinsic gatekeeper of oogenesis in zebrafish

Zebrafish serve as a valuable model organism for studying germ cell biology and reproductive processes.The AB strain of zebrafish is proposed to exhibit a polygenic sex determination system,where most males initially develop juvenile ovaries before committing to male fate.In species with chromosomal sex determination,gonadal somatic cells are recognized as key determinants of germ cell fate.Notably,the loss of germ cells in zebrafish leads to masculinization,implying that germ cells harbor an intrinsic feminization signal.However,the specific signal triggering oogenesis in zebrafish remains unclear.In the present study,we identified foxl2l as an oocyte progenitor-specific gene essential for initiating oogenesis in germ cells.Results showed that foxl2l-knockout zebrafish bypassed the juvenile ovary stage and exclusively developed into fertile males.Further analysis revealed that loss of foxl2l hindered the initiation of oocyte-specific meiosis and prevented entry into oogenesis,leading to premature spermatogenesis during early gonadal development.Furthermore,while mutation of the pro-male gene dmrt1 led to fertile female differentiation,simultaneous disruption of foxl2l in dmrt1 mutants completely blocked oogenesis,with a large proportion of germ cells arrested as germline stem cells,highlighting the crucial role of foxl2l in oogenesis.Overall,this study highlights the unique function of foxl2l as a germ cell-intrinsic gatekeeper of oogenesis in zebrafish.

Ionization Potential Depression Model for Warm/Hot and Dense Plasmas

For warm/hot and dense plasmas(WDPs),ionization potential depression(IPD)plays a crucial role in determining its ionization balance and understanding the resultant microscopic plasma properties.A sophisticated and unified IPD model is necessary to resolve those existing discrepancies between theoretical and experimental results.However,the applicability of those widely used IPD models nowadays is limited,especially for the nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium(non-LTE)dense plasma produced by short-pulse laser.In this work,we propose an IPD model that considers inelastic atomic processes,in which three-body recombination and collision ionization processes are found to play a crucial role in determining the electron distribution and IPD for a WDP.This IPD model is validated by reproducing latest experimental results of Al plasmas with a wide-range condition of 70 eV–700 eV temperature and 0.2–3 times solid density,as well as a typical non-LTE system of hollow Al ions.It is demonstrated that the present IPD model has a significant temperature dependence due to the consideration of the inelastic collision processes.With a lower computational cost and wider application range of plasma conditions,the proposed model is expected to provide a promising tool to study the ionization balance and the atomic processes,as well as the related radiation and particle transports properties of the WDP.

DSAS:A new macromolecular substructure solution program based on the modified phase-retrieval algorithm

Considering the pivotal role of single-wavelength anomalous diffraction(SAD) in macromolecular crystallography,our objective was to introduce DSAS,a novel program designed for efficient anomalous scattering substructure determination.DSAS stands out with its core components:a modified phase-retrieval algorithm and automated parameter tuning.The software boasts an intuitive graphical user interface(GUI),facilitating seamless input of essential data and real-time monitoring.Extensive testing on DSAS has involved diverse datasets,encompassing proteins,nucleic acids,and various anomalous scatters such as sulfur(S),selenium(Se),metals,and halogens.The results confirm DSAS’s exceptional performance in accurately determining heavy atom positions,making it a highly effective tool in the field.

STARLIKENESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SINE HYPERBOLIC FUNCTION

Let q_(λ)(z)=1+λsinh(ζ),0<λ<1/sinh(1)be a non-vanishing analytic function in the open unit disk.We introduce a subclass S^(*)(q_(λ))of starlike functions which contains the functions f such that zf'/f is subordinated by q_(λ).We establish inclusion and radii results for the class S^(*)(q_(λ))for several known classes of starlike functions.Furthermore,we obtain sharp coefficient bounds and sharp Hankel determinants of order two for the class S^(*)(q_(λ)).We also find a sharp bound for the third Hankel determinant for the caseλ=1/2.

TOEPLITZ DETERMINANTS IN ONE AND HIGHER DIMENSIONS

In this study,we derive the sharp bounds of certain Toeplitz determinants whose entries are the coefficients of holomorphic functions belonging to a class defined on the unit disk U.Furthermore,these results are extended to a class of holomorphic functions on the unit ball in a complex Banach space and on the unit polydisc in C^(n).The obtained results provide the bounds of Toeplitz determinants in higher dimensions for various subclasses of normalized univalent functions.

Unraveling the regulatory network of flower coloration in soybean:Insights into roles of GmMYBA3 and GmMYBR1

Anthocyanins play crucial roles in pollen protection and pollinator attraction in flowering plants.However,the mechanisms underlying flower color determination and whether floral anthocyanin regulators participate in other processes remain largely unresolved in soybeans(Glycine max).In this study,we investigated the genetic components and mechanisms governing anthocyanin biosynthesis in soybean flowers.Molecular and genetic studies have characterized two antagonistic regulators,the positive activator GmMYBA3 and the negative repressor GmMYBR1,that modulate the gene expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis in soybean flowers.Further findings revealed a regulatory interplay between GmMYBA3 and GmMYBR1 bridged by GmTT8a,highlighting the complexity of anthocyanin regulation in different soybean organs.Exploration of additional soybean cultivars demonstrated the universality of GmMYBA3 and GmMYBR1 in regulating floral anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes,with GmF3’5’H identified as a crucial determinant of white flower color.This study provides a molecular mechanism underlying soybean flower color determination,paving the way for the molecular modification of soybean flowers to probably enhance their resistance to abiotic stresses and attractiveness to pollinators.

Influence of O-O formation pathways and charge transfer mediator on lipid bilayer membrane-like photoanodes for water oxidation

Inspired by the function of crucial components in photosystemⅡ(PSⅡ),electrochemical and dyesensitized photoelectrochemical(DSPEC)water oxidation devices were constructed by the selfassembly of well-designed amphipathic Ru(bda)-based catalysts(bda=2,2'-bipyrdine-6,6'-dicarbonoxyl acid)and aliphatic chain decorated electrode surfaces,forming lipid bilayer membrane(LBM)-like structures.The Ru(bda)catalysts on electrode-supported LBM films demonstrated remarkable water oxidation performance with different O-O formation mechanisms.However,compared to the slow charge transfer process,the O-O formation pathways did not determine the PEC water oxidation efficiency of the dyesensitized photoanodes,and the different reaction rates for similar catalysts with different catalytic paths did not determine the PEC performance of the DSPECs.Instead,charge transfer plays a decisive role in the PEC water oxidation rate.When an indolo[3,2-b]carbazole derivative was introduced between the Ru(bda)catalysts and aliphatic chain-modified photosensitizer in LBM films,serving as a charge transfer mediator for the tyrosine-histidine pair in PSⅡ,the PEC water oxidation performance of the corresponding photoanodes was dramatically enhanced.

Effects of water and nitrogen rate on grain-filling characteristics under high-low seedbed cultivation in winter wheat

A high-efficiency mode of high-low seedbed cultivation(HLSC)has been listed as the main agricultural technology to increase land utilization ratio and grain yield in Shandong Province,China.However,limited information is available on the optimized water and nitrogen management for yield formation,especially the grain-filling process,under HLSC mode.A three-year field experiment with four nitrogen rates and three irrigation rates of HLSC was conducted to reveal the response of grain-filling parameters,grain weight percentage of spike weight(GPS),spike moisture content(SMC),and winter wheat yield to water and nitrogen rates.The four nitrogen rates were N1(360 kg ha^(-1) pure N),N2(300 kg ha^(-1) pure N),N3(240 kg ha^(-1) pure N),and N4(180 kg ha^(-1) pure N),respectively,and the three irrigation quotas were W1(120 mm),W2(90 mm),and W3(60 mm),respectively.Results showed that the determinate growth function generally performed well in simulating the temporal dynamics of grain weight(0.989<R^(2)<0.999,where R2 is the determination coefficient).The occurrence time of maximum filling rate(T_(max))and active grain-filling period(AGP)increased with the increase in the water or nitrogen rate,whereas the average grain-filling rate(G_(mean))had a decreasing trend.The final 1,000-grain weight(FTGW)increased and then decreased with the increase in the nitrogen rates and increased with the increase in the irrigation rates.The GPS and SMC had a highly significant quadratic polynomial relationship with grain weight and days after anthesis.Nitrogen,irrigation,and year significantly affected the T_(max),AGP,G_(mean),and FTGW.Particularly,the AGP and FTGW were insignificantly different between high seedbed(HLSC-H)and low seedbed(HLSC-L)across the water and nitrogen levels.Moreover,the moderate water and nitrogen supply was more beneficial for grain yield,as well as for spike number and grain number per hectare.The principal component analysis indicated that combining 240-300 kg N ha^(-1) and 90^(-1)20 mm irrigation quota could improve grain-filling efficiency and yield for the HLSC-cultivated winter wheat.

On a special type of Ma-Minda function

We introduce a primitive class of analytic functions,by specializing in many well-known classes,classify Ma-Minda functions based on its conditions and their interesting geomet-rical aspects.Further,study a newly de ned subclass of starlike functions involving a special type of Ma-Minda function introduced here for obtaining inclusion and radius results.We also establish some majorization,Bloch function norms,and other related problems for the same class.