Preparation of multicore millimeter-sized spherical alginate capsules to specifically and sustainedly release fish oil

Specific and sustained release of nutrients from capsules to the gastrointestinal tract has attracted many attentions in the field of food and drug delivery.In this work,we reported a monoaxial dispersion electrospraying-ionotropic gelation technique to prepare multicore millimeter-sized spherical capsules for specific and sustained release of fish oil.The spherical capsules had diameters from 2.05 mm to 0.35 mm with the increased applied voltages.The capsules consisted of uniform(at applied voltages of≤10 k V)or nonuniform(at applied voltages of>10 k V)multicores.The obtained capsules had reasonable loading ratios(9.7%-6.3%)due to the multicore structure.In addition,the obtained capsules had specific and sustained release behaviors of fish oil into the small intestinal phase of in vitro gastrointestinal tract and small intestinal tract models.The simple monoaxial dispersion electrospraying-ionotropic gelatin technique does not involve complicated preparation formulations and polymer modification,which makes the technique has a potential application prospect for the fish oil preparations and the encapsulation of functional active substances in the field of food and drug industries.

A Preliminary Study on a Specifically Expressed Arabidopsis Promoter in Vascular Bundle

From a population of about 3500 single plants in Arabidopsis promoter trapping bank, one plant whose GUS-gene had been specifically expressed in vascular bundle, was screened by the method of gus tissue staining. The T-DNA flanking sequence was amplified using TAIL-PCR. This band will be purified and connected to TA cloning vector. After sequencing and searching in the genebank, its function will be demonatrated through transformation.

Effect of specifically-adsorbed polysulfides on the electron transfer kinetics of sodium metal anodes

Room-temperature sodium-sulfur(RT Na-S)batteries hold great promise for large-scale energy storage applications owing to the high energy density and earth-abundance of Na and S.However,the dissolution and migration of sodium polysulfides,uncontrollable Na dendrite growth,and the lack of studies on Na electrodeposition kinetics have hindered the development of these batteries.Herein,we reveal the mechanism of sodium polysulfides on the Na plating/stripping kinetics using a three-electrode system.First,the kinetic behavior deviates from the commonly supposed Butler-Volmer model,which is well described by the Marcus model.In addition,the specific adsorption of polysulfides on the sodium electrode surface is a key factor influencing the kinetics.Higher-order polysulfides(S_(8)^(2-)and S_(6)^(2-))exhibit distinct specific adsorption behaviors because of their high adsorption energies compared to lower-order polysulfides(S_(4)^(2-)and S_(2)^(2-)).The electrostatic effect caused by specific adsorption can accelerate the kinetics,whereas the blocking effect can slow the kinetics.Thus,this competitive relationship enables low concentrations of high-order polysulfides to stimulate kinetics.This implies that a weak shuttle effect is beneficial for obtaining a stable Na deposition in RT Na-S batteries.An in-depth understanding of the Na electrodeposition kinetics provides beneficial clues for future metal sodium/electrolyte interface designs.

Identifying peptides that specifically bind to MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells

Objective To use phage display technique to screen for small polypeptides that specifically bind to MDA-MB-468 cells.Methods A random heptapeptide phage display library was used for in vitro screening against target MDA-MB-468 cells.SC1180 cells were used for subtractive selection.High-affinity phage DNA was extracted,and peptides were sequenced.Results(1)The original library capacity of the polypeptide library was 2×10^13 pfu/mL,and phage titer was determined over 4 rounds.The average library capacity was 1.8×10^13 pfu/mL.(2)Subtractive screening showed that the phage library volume of each round was 1.8×10^12 pfu/mL,and that there was an enrichment effect in each subsequent round.Screening was stopped after the fourth round.(3)PCR results showed that the size of 39 products(78.0%)and 11 products(22%),were 300 bp and 258 bp,respectively.Thirty positive phages were selected for DNA extraction and sequencing,and the corresponding amino acid sequence was LMTRXSK.The sequence had no homology with known genes or proteins.Conclusion Using the phage display technique,we identified that the short polypeptide,LMTRXSK,specifically binds MDA-MB-468 human breast cancer cells.

Estimating Biological Age with DNA Methylation Clocks

Recently,a research team led by researchers from the Beijing Institute of Genomics and Institute of Zoology,both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences,and their collaborators from the Quzhou Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University developed innovative epigenetic clocks specifically for Chinese populations,offering a more tailored approach to measuring biological age among Chinese population(doi:10.1093/procel/pwae011).

Transcriptional regulation in the development and dysfunction of neocortical projection neurons

Glutamatergic projection neurons generate sophisticated excitatory circuits to integrate and transmit information among different cortical areas,and between the neocortex and other regions of the brain and spinal cord.Appropriate development of cortical projection neurons is regulated by certain essential events such as neural fate determination,proliferation,specification,differentiation,migration,survival,axonogenesis,and synaptogenesis.These processes are precisely regulated in a tempo-spatial manner by intrinsic factors,extrinsic signals,and neural activities.The generation of correct subtypes and precise connections of projection neurons is imperative not only to support the basic cortical functions(such as sensory information integration,motor coordination,and cognition)but also to prevent the onset and progression of neurodevelopmental disorders(such as intellectual disability,autism spectrum disorders,anxiety,and depression).This review mainly focuses on the recent progress of transcriptional regulations on the development and diversity of neocortical projection neurons and the clinical relevance of the failure of transcriptional modulations.

Enzyme-Triggered Fluorescence Turn-on： A Probe for Specifically Imaging Ovarian-Cancer-Related γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase

A fluorescent turn-on probe for specifically targeting γ-glutamyltranspeptidase （GGT） was designed and synthe- sized by integrating boron-dipyrromethene （BODIPY） as a chromophore and glutathione （GSH） as the GGT sub- strate. GGT-catalyzed the cleavage of the γ-glutamyl bond and generated the aromatic hydrocarbon transfer between the sulfur and the nitrogen atom in BODIPY, leading to distinct optical changes. Such specific responsiveness pro- vides an easily distinguishable fluorescence signal to visualize the GGT activity in living cells and differentiate GGT-positive cancer cells from GGT-negative cells.

A novel saliva-based miRNA profile to diagnose and predict oral cancer

Oral cancer (OC) is the most common form of head and neck cancer. Despite the high incidence and unfavourable patient outcomes, currently, there are no biomarkers for the early detection of OC. This study aims to discover, develop, and validate a novel saliva-based microRNA signature for early diagnosis and prediction of OC risk in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD).The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) miRNA sequencing data and small RNA sequencing data of saliva samples were used to discover differentially expressed miRNAs. Identified miRNAs were validated in saliva samples of OC (n=50), OPMD (n=52), and controls(n=60) using quantitative real-time PCR. Eight differentially expressed miRNAs (miR-7-5p, miR-10b-5p, miR-182-5p, miR-215-5p,miR-431-5p, miR-486-3p, miR-3614-5p, and miR-4707-3p) were identified in the discovery phase and were validated. The efficiency of our eight-miRNA signature to discriminate OC and controls was:area under curve (AUC):0.954, sensitivity:86%, specificity:90%,positive predictive value (PPV):87.8%and negative predictive value (NPV):88.5%whereas between OC and OPMD was:AUC:0.911,sensitivity:90%, specificity:82.7%, PPV:74.2%and NPV:89.6%. We have developed a risk probability score to predict the presence or risk of OC in OPMD patients. We established a salivary miRNA signature that can aid in diagnosing and predicting OC,revolutionising the management of patients with OPMD. Together, our results shed new light on the management of OC by salivary miRNAs to the clinical utility of using miRNAs derived from saliva samples.

Gamma oscillations and their role in orchestrating balance and communication following stroke

Induced brain oscillations in the gamma range have recently garnered attention due to their reported neuroprotective effects in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.This method differs from pharmacological approaches by tapping into the neuronal population dynamics that underlie the homeostatic processes in the brain that are crucial for the recovery of function.Recently,induced gamma-range oscillations have been used to improve cerebral blood flow,motor function,and synaptic plasticity in a mouse model of focal stroke,highlighting the broad potential of recruiting intrinsic recovery processes for the treatment of neurological conditions.Addressing open questions,such as the frequency specificity of the benefits,will shed light on the intrinsic processes involved and allow clinicians to optimize recovery after stroke.

Linear magnetoresistance and structural distortion in layered SrCu_(4-x)P_(2) single crystals

We report a systematic study on layered metal SrCu_(4-x)P_(2) single crystals via transport, magnetization, thermodynamic measurements and structural characterization. We find that the crystals show large linear magnetoresistance without any sign of saturation with a magnetic field up to 30T. We also observe a phase transition with significant anomalies in resistivity and heat capacity at T_(p)~140 K. Thermal expansion measurement reveals a subtle lattice parameter variation near Tp, i.e.,?L_(c)/L_(c)~0.062%. The structural characterization confines that there is no structure transition below and above T_(p). All these results suggest that the nonmagnetic transition of SrCu_(4-x)P_(2) could be associated with structural distortion.

Durable K-ion batteries with 100%capacity retention up to 40,000 cycles

Currently,the major challenge in terms of research on K-ion batteries is to ensure that they possess satisfactory cycle stability and specific capacity,especially in terms of the intrinsically sluggish kinetics induced by the large radius of K+ions.Here,we explore high-performance K-ion half/full batteries with high rate capability,high specific capacity,and extremely durable cycle stability based on carbon nanosheets with tailored N dopants,which can alleviate the change of volume,increase electronic conductivity,and enhance the K+ion adsorption.The as-assembled K-ion half-batteries show an excellent rate capability of 468 mA h g^(−1) at 100 mA g^(−1),which is superior to those of most carbon materials reported to date.Moreover,the as-assembled half-cells have an outstanding life span,running 40,000 cycles over 8 months with a specific capacity retention of 100%at a high current density of 2000 mA g^(−1),and the target full cells deliver a high reversible specific capacity of 146 mA h g^(−1) after 2000 cycles over 2 months,with a specific capacity retention of 113%at a high current density of 500 mA g^(−1),both of which are state of the art in the field of K-ion batteries.This study might provide some insights into and potential avenues for exploration of advanced K-ion batteries with durable stability for practical applications.

Accurate diagnosis of severe coronary stenosis based on resting magnetocardiography: a prospective, single-center, cross-sectional analysis

OBJECTIVE To evalu ate the role of resting magnetocardiography in identifying seve re coronary artery stenosis in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.METHODS A total of 513 patients with angina symptoms were included and divided into two groups based on the extent of coronary artery disease determined by angiography:the non-severe coronary stenusis group(<70% stenosis) and the severe coronary stenosis group(≥70% stenosis).The diagnostic model was constructed using magnetic field map(MFM) parameters,either individually or in combination with clinical indicators.The performance of the models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves,accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value(PPV) and ne gative predictive value(NPV).Calibration plots and decision curve analysis were performed to investigate the clinical utility and performance of the models,respectively.RESULTS In the severe coronary stenosis group,QR_MCTDd,S_MDp,and TT_(MA)C_(50) were significantly higher than those in the non-severe coronary stenosis group(10,46±10.66 vs,5.11±6.07,P <0.001;7.2±8.64 vs.4.68±6.95,P=0.003;0.32±57.29 vs.0.26±57.29,P <0.001).While,QR_MV_(amp),R_(MA),and T_(MA) in the severe coronary stenosis group were lower(0.23±0.16 vs.0.28±0.16,P<0.001;55.06±48.68 vs.59.24±53.01,P<0.001;51.67±39.32 vs. 60.45±51.33,P <0.001).Seven MFM parameters were integrated into the model,resulting in an area under the curve of 0.810(95% CI:0.765-0.855).The sensitivity,specificity,PPV,NPV,and accurecy were 71.7%,80.4%,93.3%,42.8 %,and 73.5%;respectevely.The combined model exhibited an area under the curve of 0.845(95% CI:0.798-0.892).The sensitivity,specificity,PPV,NPV,and accuracy were 84.3%,73.8%,92.6%,54.6%,and 82.1%;respectively.Calibration curves demonstrate d excellent agreement between the nomogram prediction and actual observation.The decision curve analysis showed that the c ombine d model provided greater net benefit compared to the magnetocardingraphy model.CONCLUSIONS The novel quantitative MFM parameters,whether used individually or in combination with clinical indicators,have been shown to effectively pre dict the risk of severe coronary stenosis in patients presenting with angina-like symptoms.Magnetocardiography,an emerging non-invasive diagnostic tool,warrants further exploration for its potential in diagnosing coronary heart disease.

Energy dissipation mechanism and ballistic characteristic optimization in foam sandwich panels against spherical projectile impact

This study systematically examines the energy dissipation mechanisms and ballistic characteristics of foam sandwich panels(FSP)under high-velocity impact using the explicit non-linear finite element method.Based on the geometric topology of the FSP system,three FSP configurations with the same areal density are derived,namely multi-layer,gradient core and asymmetric face sheet,and three key structural parameters are identified:core thickness(t_(c)),face sheet thickness(t_(f))and overlap face/core number(n_(o)).The ballistic performance of the FSP system is comprehensively evaluated in terms of the ballistic limit velocity(BLV),deformation modes,energy dissipation mechanism,and specific penetration energy(SPE).The results show that the FSP system exhibits a significant configuration dependence,whose ballistic performance ranking is:asymmetric face sheet>gradient core>multi-layer.The mass distribution of the top and bottom face sheets plays a critical role in the ballistic resistance of the FSP system.Both BLV and SPE increase with tf,while the raising tcor noleads to an increase in BLV but a decrease in SPE.Further,a face-core synchronous enhancement mechanism is discovered by the energy dissipation analysis,based on which the ballistic optimization procedure is also conducted and a design chart is established.This study shed light on the anti-penetration mechanism of the FSP system and might provide a theoretical basis for its engineering application.

A comparison of model choice strategies for logistic regression

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to develop and compare model choice strategies in context of logistic regression.Model choice means the choice of the covariates to be included in the model.Design/methodology/approach:The study is based on Monte Carlo simulations.The methods are compared in terms of three measures of accuracy:specificity and two kinds of sensitivity.A loss function combining sensitivity and specificity is introduced and used for a final comparison.Findings:The choice of method depends on how much the users emphasize sensitivity against specificity.It also depends on the sample size.For a typical logistic regression setting with a moderate sample size and a small to moderate effect size,either BIC,BICc or Lasso seems to be optimal.Research limitations:Numerical simulations cannot cover the whole range of data-generating processes occurring with real-world data.Thus,more simulations are needed.Practical implications:Researchers can refer to these results if they believe that their data-generating process is somewhat similar to some of the scenarios presented in this paper.Alternatively,they could run their own simulations and calculate the loss function.Originality/value:This is a systematic comparison of model choice algorithms and heuristics in context of logistic regression.The distinction between two types of sensitivity and a comparison based on a loss function are methodological novelties.

Comparative utility of vestibular function tests in patients with peripheral and central vestibular dysfunction

Background: Bithermal caloric irrigation, video head impulse test(vHIT), and rotational testing are commonly used to assess peripheral vestibular function, but the relative clinical utility of each test in differentiating patients with peripheral vestibulopathy is debated.Objectives: To determine whether(1) the combination of two or more vestibular tests enhances diagnostic utility over a single test;(2) abnormal test results on vestibular tests correlate with one another.Methods: Retrospective analysis of data collected from multidisciplinary vestibular clinics at two academic medical centers from 2016 to 2022.Results: 150 patients(54.10 ± 15.09 years, 88 females) were included. No individual test was significantly better at predicting the presence of peripheral vestibular damage(p > 0.05). vHIT test results improved significantly when combined with either the caloric test(p = 0.007) or rotary chair test(p = 0.039). Caloric and rotational testing had high sensitivity(74.65% and 76.06%, respectively) and specificity(83.54% and 78.48%, respectively). vHIT demonstrated excellent specificity(89.87%) but poor sensitivity(47.89%). Caloric, vHIT, and rotary chair tests results did not correlate with one another(p > 0.05).Conclusions: Vestibular function tests have comparable diagnostic utility, yet each offers unique advantages. Caloric and rotational testing may be best suited for screening peripheral damage and vHIT may function ideally as a confirmatory test.

Two-Stream Approximation to the Radiative Transfer Equation:A New Improvement and Comparative Accuracy with Existing Methods

Mathematical modeling of the interaction between solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere is formalized by the radiative transfer equation(RTE), whose resolution calls for two-stream approximations among other methods. This paper proposes a new two-stream approximation of the RTE with the development of the phase function and the intensity into a third-order series of Legendre polynomials. This new approach, which adds one more term in the expression of the intensity and the phase function, allows in the conditions of a plane parallel atmosphere a new mathematical formulation of γparameters. It is then compared to the Eddington, Hemispheric Constant, Quadrature, Combined Delta Function and Modified Eddington, and second-order approximation methods with reference to the Discrete Ordinate(Disort) method(δ –128 streams), considered as the most precise. This work also determines the conversion function of the proposed New Method using the fundamental definition of two-stream approximation(F-TSA) developed in a previous work. Notably,New Method has generally better precision compared to the second-order approximation and Hemispheric Constant methods. Compared to the Quadrature and Eddington methods, New Method shows very good precision for wide domains of the zenith angle μ 0, but tends to deviate from the Disort method with the zenith angle, especially for high values of optical thickness. In spite of this divergence in reflectance for high values of optical thickness, very strong correlation with the Disort method(R ≈ 1) was obtained for most cases of optical thickness in this study. An analysis of the Legendre polynomial series for simple functions shows that the high precision is due to the fact that the approximated functions ameliorate the accuracy when the order of approximation increases, although it has been proven that there is a limit order depending on the function from which the precision is lost. This observation indicates that increasing the order of approximation of the phase function of the RTE leads to a better precision in flux calculations. However, this approach may be limited to a certain order that has not been studied in this paper.

Old-growth mixed dipterocarp forests show variable losses and gains in aboveground biomass and standing carbon over forty years

Background:No studies have documented long-term trends in aboveground biomass(AGB)for mixed-dipterocarp forests(MDF),the dominant rain forest type in tropical wet equatorial Asia.In our study,we sought to document such trends over forty years across three sites representing lowland to lower montane elevations.Methods:To do this,we established fifty 100 m×25 m plots in 1978 across three sites sampled along an elevation gradient,identified as mature old-growth forest.We measured trees for diameter at breast height that we identified to species and tagged.We took wood samples to calculate species wood-specific gravity.We re-measured plots in 1998 and again in 2018.Results:We show standing AGB for all sites combined to be 517.52 Mg·ha^(-1)in 1978,but this declined by 17%over 40 years to 430.11 Mg·ha^(-1).No differences exist among sites in AGB primarily because of considerable within site variation;but interactions of time with site show declines across sites were not uniform,one remained about the same.Relatively few species represented a high proportion of the AGB with the top five species comprising between 34%and 65%,depending upon site and year sampled.One species,Mesua nagassarium,represented a disproportionately large amount of AGB and decline over time,particularly at the low elevation site.Conclusions:Our results are directly relevant to estimating AGB and standing carbon sequestered in MDF.Our study is the first to demonstrate varying but overall,declining trends in amounts of AGB among forests making predictions of biomass and standing carbon in MDF difficult over wide regions.

Enhancing Relational Triple Extraction in Specific Domains:Semantic Enhancement and Synergy of Large Language Models and Small Pre-Trained Language Models

In the process of constructing domain-specific knowledge graphs,the task of relational triple extraction plays a critical role in transforming unstructured text into structured information.Existing relational triple extraction models facemultiple challenges when processing domain-specific data,including insufficient utilization of semantic interaction information between entities and relations,difficulties in handling challenging samples,and the scarcity of domain-specific datasets.To address these issues,our study introduces three innovative components:Relation semantic enhancement,data augmentation,and a voting strategy,all designed to significantly improve the model’s performance in tackling domain-specific relational triple extraction tasks.We first propose an innovative attention interaction module.This method significantly enhances the semantic interaction capabilities between entities and relations by integrating semantic information fromrelation labels.Second,we propose a voting strategy that effectively combines the strengths of large languagemodels(LLMs)and fine-tuned small pre-trained language models(SLMs)to reevaluate challenging samples,thereby improving the model’s adaptability in specific domains.Additionally,we explore the use of LLMs for data augmentation,aiming to generate domain-specific datasets to alleviate the scarcity of domain data.Experiments conducted on three domain-specific datasets demonstrate that our model outperforms existing comparative models in several aspects,with F1 scores exceeding the State of the Art models by 2%,1.6%,and 0.6%,respectively,validating the effectiveness and generalizability of our approach.

Experimental and numerical investigation on alternatives to sandy gravel

The NATO agreement STANAG 4569 defines the protection levels for the occupants of logistic and light armored vehicle.The Allied Engineering Publication,AEP-55,Volume 2 document outlines the test conditions for underbelly improvised explosive device(IEDs),which must be buried in water-saturated sandy gravel.The use of sandy gravel has some drawbacks,for instance reproducibility,time consumption,and cost.This paper focuses on the investigation of four alternatives to sandy gravel,which could produce similar specific and cumulative impulses:a concrete pot filled with water,a concrete pot filled with quartz sand,a steel pot without filling and a concrete pot filled with glass spheres(diameter 200μm—300μm)and different water contents.The impulses are measured with a ring technology developed at the Fraunhofer EMI.A numerical soil model based on the work of Marrs,2014 and Fi serov a,2006 and considering the soil moisture was used to simulate the experiments with glass spheres at different water contents,showing much better agreement with the experiments than the classical Laine&Sandvik model,even for high saturation levels.These results can be used to create new test conditions at original scale that are more cost-effective,more reproducible and simpler to manage in comparison to the current tests carried out with STANAG sandy gravel.

One stone two birds:electrochemical and colorimetric dual-mode biosensor based on copper peroxide/covalent organic framework nanocomposite for ultrasensentive norovirus detection

Norovirus(NoV)is regarded as one of the most common causes of foodborne diarrhea in the world.It is urgent to identify the pathogenic microorganism of the diarrhea in short time.In this work,we developed an electrochemical and colorimetric dual-mode detection for NoV based on the excellent dual catalytic properties of copper peroxide/COF-NH_(2)nanocomposite(CuO_(2)@COF-NH_(2)).For the colorimetric detection,NoV can be directly detected by the naked eye based on CuO_(2)@COF-NH_(2)as a laccase-like nonazyme using“peptide-NoV-antibody”recognition mode.The colorimetric assay displayed a wide and quality linear detection range from 1 copy/mL to 5000 copies/mL of NoV with a low limit of detection(LOD)of 0.125 copy/mL.For the electrochemical detection of NoV,CuO_(2)@COF-NH_(2)showed an oxidation peak of copper ion from Cu^(+)to Cu^(2+)using“peptide-NoV-antibody”recognition mode.The electrochemical assay showed a linear detection range was 1-5000 copies/mL with a LOD of 0.152 copy/mL.It's worthy to note that this assay does not need other electrical signal molecule,which provide the stable and sensitive electrochemial detection for NoV.The electrochemical and colorimetric dual-mode detection was used to detect NoV in foods and faceal samples,which has the potential for improving food safety and diagnosing of NoV-infected diarrhea.