Impact of umbelliprenin-containing niosome nanoparticles on VEGF-A and CTGF genes expression in retinal pigment epithelium cells

AIM:To investigate the impact of niosome nanoparticles carrying umbelliprenin(UMB),an anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory plant compound,on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF-A)and connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)genes in a human retinal pigment epithelium(RPE)-like retina-derived cell line.METHODS:UMB-containing niosomes were created,optimized,and characterized.RPE-like cells were treated with free UMB and UMB-containing niosomes.The IC_(50)values of the treatments were determined using an MTT assay.Gene expression of VEGF-A and CTGF was evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction after RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis.Niosomes’characteristics,including drug entrapment efficiency,size,dispersion index,and zeta potential were assessed.Free UMB had an IC_(50)of 96.2μg/mL,while UMB-containing niosomes had an IC_(50)of 25μg/mL.RESULTS:Treatment with UMB-containing niosomes and free UMB resulted in a significant reduction in VEGF-A expression compared to control cells(P=0.001).Additionally,UMB-containing niosomes demonstrated a significant reduction in CTGF expression compared to control cells(P=0.05).However,there was no significant reduction in the expression of both genes in cells treated with free UMB.CONCLUSION:Both free UMB and niosome-encapsulated UMB inhibits VEGF-A and CTGF genes expression.However,the latter demonstrates significantly greater efficacy,potentially due to the lower UMB dosage and gradual delivery.These findings have implications for anti-angiogenesis therapeutic approaches targeting age-related macular degeneration.

Connecting the World for a Shared Future

The first China International Supply Chain Expo provided a perfect platform for strengthening the safety and stability of global industrial and supply chains.THE first China International Supply Chain Expo(CISCE)themed“connecting the world for a shared future”kicked off in Beijing on November 28,2023.The world’s first national-level exhibition with supply chains as its theme,the expo was divided into five areas representing five major supply chains and related services-smart vehicles,green agriculture,clean energy,digital technology,and healthy life.It also had a supply chain service exhibition area.

China's GCI to Shape Harmonious World by Connecting Cultures,Says Former Pakistani Minister

The China-proposed Global Civilisation Initiative(GCl)holds immense potential to shape a harmonious world through cultural connectivity,greater cooperation and mutual respect among nations,a former Pakistani Minister said.Cultural connectivity encourages inclusive coexistence and deters aggression by promoting mutual respect and understanding.By advocating these values,the GCl has inspired a new era of unity,understanding and peaceful coexistence on a global scale,Syed Jamal Shah,former Pakistan Minister for National Heritage and Culture,told Xinhua in a recent interview.

A Study on the Educational Model of Connecting Vocational and Undergraduate Education in Finance and Accounting Majors

This article studies the educational mode connecting vocational education and undergraduate education in finance and accounting majors,in response to the weak cultural foundation and poor course integration faced by current vocational school graduates after entering vocational undergraduate education.By adopting empirical research methods and selecting vocational college students majoring in finance and accounting and ordinary high school students as research objects,this study implements a series of teaching reform measures and conducts tracking surveys on the short-term and long-term effects of educational reforms.As a result,it was found that in the final survey of graduation destinations,34 vocational and technical college students were engaged in related work in their majors,accounting for 45.9%of all vocational and technical college students.This proves that the proposed transitional education model can effectively enhance the cultural foundation of vocational college students and provide new ideas for the cultivation of talents in finance and accounting majors.

RESEARCH ON VIRTUAL-PART-BASED CONNECTING ELEMENT MODELING

Based on the inner character analysis of interpart, detail modification andassembly relation of mechanical connecting element, the idea, which extends the feature modeling ofpart to the interpart feature modeling for assembly purpose, is presented, and virtual-part-basedconnecting element modeling is proposed. During the assembly modeling, base parts are modified bythe Boolean subtraction between the virtual part and the part to be connected. Dynamic matchingalgorithm, which is based on list database, is designed for dynamic extension and off-line editingof connecting part and virtual part, and design rules of connecting element is encapsulated by thevirtual part. A prototyped software module for rapid design of connecting elements is implementedunder self-developed CAD/CAM platform-SuperMan.

An efficient microreactor with continuous serially connected micromixers for the synthesis of superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles

A new microreactor with continuous serially connected micromixers(CSCM)was tailored for the coprecipitation process to synthesize Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles.Numerical simulation reveals that the two types of CSCM microchannels(V-typed and U-typed)proposed in this work exhibited markedly better mixing performances than the Zigzag and capillary microchannels due to the promotion of Dean vortices.Complete mixing was achieved in the V-typed microchannel in 2.7 s at an inlet Reynolds number of 27.Fe_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles synthesized in a planar glass microreactor with the V-typed microchannel,possessing an average size of 9.3 nm and exhibiting superparamagnetism,had obviously better dispersity and uniformity and higher crystallinity than those obtained in the capillary microreactor.The new CSCM microreactor developed in this work can act as a potent device to intensify the synthesis of similar inorganic nanoparticles via multistep chemical precipitation processes.

Connecting Quantum Contextuality and Genuine Multipartite Nonlocality with the Quantumness Witness

The Clauser Horne--Shimony-Holt-type noncontextuality inequality and the Svetliehny inequality are derived from the Alicki-van Ryn quantumness witness. Thus connections between quantumness and quantum contextuality, and between quantumness and genuine multipartite nonlocality are established.

Connecting tradition with modernity: Safety literature review

Road safety has long been considered as one of the most important issues.Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate crashes with significant progress,whereas most of the work concentrates on the lifespan period of roadways and safety influencing factors.This paper undertakes a systematic literature review from the crash procedure to identify the state-of-the-art knowledge,advantages and disadvantages of crash risk,crash prediction,crash prevention and safety of connected and autonomous vehicles(CAVs).As a result of this literature review,substantive issues in general,data source and modeling selection are discussed,and the outcome of this study aims to provide the summary of crash knowledge with potential insight into both traditional and emerging aspects,and guide the future research direction in safety.

Simulation analysis of wear characteristics of connecting rod bearing bush based on improved mixed lubrication model

The failure rate of crankpin bearing bush of diesel engine under complex working conditions such as high temperature,dynamic load and variable speed is high.After serious wear,it is easy to deteriorate the stress state of connecting rod body and connecting rod bolt,resulting in serious accidents such as connecting rod fracture and body damage.Based on the mixed lubrication characteristics of connecting rod big endbearing shell of diesel engine under high explosion pressure impact load,an improved mixed lubrication mechanism model is established,which considers the influence of viscoelastic micro deformation of bearing bush material,integrates the full film lubrication model and dry friction model,couples dynamic equation of connecting rod.Then the actual lubrication state of big end bearing shell is simulated numerically.Further,the correctness of the theoretical research results is verified by fault simulation experiments.The results show that the high-frequency impact signal with fixed angle domain characteristics will be generated after the serious wear of bearing bush and the deterioration of lubrication state.The fault feature capture and alarm can be realized through the condition monitoring system,which can be applied to the fault monitoring of connecting rod bearing bush of diesel engine in the future.

Modal and Thermal Analysis of a Modified Connecting Rod of an Internal Combustion Engine Using Finite Element Method

The connecting rod is one of the most important moving components in an internal combustion engine. The present work determined the possibility of using aluminium alloy 7075 material to design and manufacture a connecting rod for weight optimisation without losing the strength of the connecting rod. It considered modal and thermal analyses to investigate the suitability of the material for connecting rod design. The parameters that were considered under the modal analysis were: total deformation, and natural frequency, while the thermal analysis looked at the temperature distribution, total heat flux and directional heat flux of the four connecting rods made with titanium alloy, grey cast iron, structural steel and aluminium 7075 alloy respectively. The connecting rod was modelled using Autodesk inventor2017 software using the calculated parameters. The steady-state thermal analysis was used to determine the induced heat flux and directional heat flux. The study found that Aluminium 7075 alloy deformed more than the remaining three other materials but has superior qualities in terms of vibrational natural frequency, total heat flux and lightweight compared to structural steel, grey cast iron and titanium alloy.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of semi-solid squeeze casting ZL104 connecting rod

Semi-solid squeeze casting（SSSC） and liquid squeeze casting（LSC） processes were used to fabricate a ZL104 connecting rod, and the influences of the process parameters on the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated. Results showed that the tensile strength and elongation of the SSSC-fabricated rod were improved by 22% and 17%, respectively, compared with those of the LSC-fabricated rod. For SSSC, the average particle size（APS） and the shape factor（SF） increased with the increase of re-melting temperature（Tr）, whereas the tensile strength and elongation increased first and then decreased. The APS increased with increasing the mold temperature（Tm）, whereas the SF increased initially and then decreased, which caused the tensile strength and elongation to increase initially and then decrease. The APS decreased and the SF increased as squeezing pressure（ps） increased, and the mechanical properties were enhanced. Moreover, the optimal Tr, ps and Tm are 848 K, 100 MPa and 523 K, respectively.

Ensuring Secure Platooning of Constrained Intelligent and Connected Vehicles Against Byzantine Attacks:A Distributed MPC Framework

This study investigates resilient platoon control for constrained intelligent and connected vehicles(ICVs)against F-local Byzantine attacks.We introduce a resilient distributed model-predictive platooning control framework for such ICVs.This framework seamlessly integrates the predesigned optimal control with distributed model predictive control(DMPC)optimization and introduces a unique distributed attack detector to ensure the reliability of the transmitted information among vehicles.Notably,our strategy uses previously broadcasted information and a specialized convex set,termed the“resilience set”,to identify unreliable data.This approach significantly eases graph robustness prerequisites,requiring only an(F+1)-robust graph,in contrast to the established mean sequence reduced algorithms,which require a minimum(2F+1)-robust graph.Additionally,we introduce a verification algorithm to restore trust in vehicles under minor attacks,further reducing communication network robustness.Our analysis demonstrates the recursive feasibility of the DMPC optimization.Furthermore,the proposed method achieves exceptional control performance by minimizing the discrepancies between the DMPC control inputs and predesigned platoon control inputs,while ensuring constraint compliance and cybersecurity.Simulation results verify the effectiveness of our theoretical findings.

Effect of foot reflexology on an infant with sensorineural hearing loss:A case report

BACKGROUND Our study contributes to the further understanding of the mechanism of foot reflexology.Foot reflexology has been reported to affect hearing recovery,but no physiological evidence has been provided.This lack of evidence hampers the acceptance of the technique in clinical practice.CASE SUMMARY A girl was taken to North Sichuan Medical University Affiliated Hospital for a hearing screen by her parents.Her parents reported that her hearing level was the same as when she was born.The girl was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss(SNHL)by a doctor in the otolaryngology department.After we introduced the foot reflexology project,the parents agreed to participate in the experiment.After 6 months of foot reflexology treatment,the hearing threshold of the girl recovered to a normal level,below 30 dB.CONCLUSION Foot reflexology should be encouraged in clinical practice and for families of infants with SNHL.

Structural and functional connectivity of the whole brain and subnetworks in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury:predictors of patient prognosis

Patients with mild traumatic brain injury have a diverse clinical presentation,and the underlying pathophysiology remains poorly understood.Magnetic resonance imaging is a non-invasive technique that has been widely utilized to investigate neuro biological markers after mild traumatic brain injury.This approach has emerged as a promising tool for investigating the pathogenesis of mild traumatic brain injury.G raph theory is a quantitative method of analyzing complex networks that has been widely used to study changes in brain structure and function.However,most previous mild traumatic brain injury studies using graph theory have focused on specific populations,with limited exploration of simultaneous abnormalities in structural and functional connectivity.Given that mild traumatic brain injury is the most common type of traumatic brain injury encounte red in clinical practice,further investigation of the patient characteristics and evolution of structural and functional connectivity is critical.In the present study,we explored whether abnormal structural and functional connectivity in the acute phase could serve as indicators of longitudinal changes in imaging data and cognitive function in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.In this longitudinal study,we enrolled 46 patients with mild traumatic brain injury who were assessed within 2 wee ks of injury,as well as 36 healthy controls.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging data were acquired for graph theoretical network analysis.In the acute phase,patients with mild traumatic brain injury demonstrated reduced structural connectivity in the dorsal attention network.More than 3 months of followup data revealed signs of recovery in structural and functional connectivity,as well as cognitive function,in 22 out of the 46 patients.Furthermore,better cognitive function was associated with more efficient networks.Finally,our data indicated that small-worldness in the acute stage could serve as a predictor of longitudinal changes in connectivity in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.These findings highlight the importance of integrating structural and functional connectivity in unde rstanding the occurrence and evolution of mild traumatic brain injury.Additionally,exploratory analysis based on subnetworks could serve a predictive function in the prognosis of patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

Ultra Reliable Load-Aware Connection Management(LACM)Algorithm in WIA-FA Systems

The increasing demand for industrial automation and intelligence has put forward higher requirements for the reliability of industrial wireless communication technology.As an international standard based on 802.11,Wireless networks for Industrial Automation-Factory Automation(WIA-FA)greatly improves the reliability in factory automation scenarios by Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA).However,in ultra-dense WIA-FA networks with mobile users,the basic connection management mechanism is inefficient.Most of the handover and resource management algorithms are all based on frequency division multiplexing,not suitable for the TDMA in the WIA-FA network.Therefore,we propose Load-aware Connection Management(LACM)algorithm to adjust the linkage and balance the load of access devices to avoid blocking and improve the reliability of the system.And then we simulate the algorithm to find the optimal settings of the parameters.After comparing with other existing algorithms,the result of the simulation proves that LACM is more efficient in reliability and maintains high reliability of more than 99.8%even in the ultra-dense moving scenario with 1500 field devices.Besides,this algorithm ensures that only a few signaling exchanges are required to ensure load bal-ancing,which is no more than 5 times,and less than half of the best state-of-the-art algorithm.

A divergent pattern in functional connectivity: a transdiagnostic perspective

Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)is a popular tool used to investigate not only how the brain responds to specific stimuli during sensorimotor or cognitive tasks,but also brain activity at rest.The physics beyond this approach is based on the analysis of the blood oxygenation level-dependent signal.

MET receptor tyrosine kinase promotes the generation of functional synapses in adult cortical circuits

Loss of synapse and functional connectivity in brain circuits is associated with aging and neurodegeneration,however,few molecular mechanisms are known to intrinsically promote synaptogenesis or enhance synapse function.We have previously shown that MET receptor tyrosine kinase in the developing cortical circuits promotes dendritic growth and dendritic spine morphogenesis.To investigate whether enhancing MET in adult cortex has synapse regenerating potential,we created a knockin mouse line,in which the human MET gene expression and signaling can be turned on in adult(10–12 months)cortical neurons through doxycycline-containing chow.We found that similar to the developing brain,turning on MET signaling in the adult cortex activates small GTPases and increases spine density in prefrontal projection neurons.These findings are further corroborated by increased synaptic activity and transient generation of immature silent synapses.Prolonged MET signaling resulted in an increasedα-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid/N-methyl-Daspartate(AMPA/NMDA)receptor current ratio,indicative of enhanced synaptic function and connectivity.Our data reveal that enhancing MET signaling could be an interventional approach to promote synaptogenesis and preserve functional connectivity in the adult brain.These findings may have implications for regenerative therapy in aging and neurodegeneration conditions.

Elevating Localization Accuracy in Wireless Sensor Networks:A Refined DV-Hop Approach

Localization is crucial in wireless sensor networks for various applications,such as tracking objects in outdoor environments where GPS(Global Positioning System)or prior installed infrastructure is unavailable.However,traditional techniques involve many anchor nodes,increasing costs and reducing accuracy.Existing solutions do not address the selection of appropriate anchor nodes and selecting localized nodes as assistant anchor nodes for the localization process,which is a critical element in the localization process.Furthermore,an inaccurate average hop distance significantly affects localization accuracy.We propose an improved DV-Hop algorithm based on anchor sets(AS-IDV-Hop)to improve the localization accuracy.Through simulation analysis,we validated that the ASIDV-Hop proposed algorithm is more efficient in minimizing localization errors than existing studies.The ASIDV-Hop algorithm provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for localization in Wireless Sensor Networks.By strategically selecting anchor and assistant anchor nodes and rectifying the average hop distance,AS-IDV-Hop demonstrated superior performance,achieving a mean accuracy of approximately 1.59,which represents about 25.44%,38.28%,and 73.00%improvement over other algorithms,respectively.The estimated localization error is approximately 0.345,highlighting AS-IDV-Hop’s effectiveness.This substantial reduction in localization error underscores the advantages of implementing AS-IDV-Hop,particularly in complex scenarios requiring precise node localization.

Approximately Bi-Similar Symbolic Model for Discretetime Interconnected Switched System

Dear Editor,This letter concerns the development of approximately bi-similar symbolic models for a discrete-time interconnected switched system(DT-ISS).The DT-ISS under consideration is formed by connecting multiple switched systems known as component switched systems(CSSs).Although the problem of constructing approximately bi-similar symbolic models for DT-ISS has been addressed in some literature,the previous works have relied on the assumption that all the subsystems of CSSs are incrementally input-state stable.

Erratum to: Page numbers for articles in Journal of Mountain Science Volume 21 Issue 3

The original online version of this issue has wrong page range(361-716).The correct page range for this issue should be 719-1074.The page number for every article in this issue has also been corrected as follows:719-733 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8333-x Article title:Floristic composition and edaphic relationships in ferruginous campo rupestre reference ecosystems 734-753 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8399-5 Article title:Assessment of sediment connectivity using modelling and field-based approaches in the SlavíčRiver catchment(MoravskoslezskéBeskydy Mts,Czech Republic).