Treatment with β-sitosterol ameliorates the effects of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by suppressing cholesterol overload, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis

β-Sitosterol is a type of phytosterol that occurs naturally in plants.Previous studies have shown that it has anti-oxidant,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,immunomodulatory,and anti-tumor effects,but it is unknown whetherβ-sitosterol treatment reduces the effects of ischemic stroke.Here we found that,in a mouse model of ischemic stroke induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion,β-sitosterol reduced the volume of cerebral infarction and brain edema,reduced neuronal apoptosis in brain tissue,and alleviated neurological dysfunction;moreover,β-sitosterol increased the activity of oxygen-and glucose-deprived cerebral cortex neurons and reduced apoptosis.Further investigation showed that the neuroprotective effects ofβ-sitosterol may be related to inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by intracellular cholesterol accumulation after ischemic stroke.In addition,β-sitosterol showed high affinity for NPC1L1,a key transporter of cholesterol,and antagonized its activity.In conclusion,β-sitosterol may help treat ischemic stroke by inhibiting neuronal intracellular cholesterol overload/endoplasmic reticulum stress/apoptosis signaling pathways.

Genome-wide association with transcriptomics reveals a shade-tolerance gene network in soybean

Shade tolerance is essential for soybeans in inter/relay cropping systems.A genome-wide association study(GWAS)integrated with transcriptome sequencing was performed to identify genes and construct a genetic network governing the trait in a set of recombinant inbred lines derived from two soybean parents with contrasting shade tolerance.An improved GWAS procedure,restricted two-stage multi-locus genome-wide association study based on gene/allele sequence markers(GASM-RTM-GWAS),identified 140 genes and their alleles associated with shade-tolerance index(STI),146 with relative pith cell length(RCL),and nine with both.Annotation of these genes by biological categories allowed the construction of a protein–protein interaction network by 187 genes,of which half were differentially expressed under shading and non-shading conditions as well as at different growth stages.From the identified genes,three ones jointly identified for both traits by both GWAS and transcriptome and two genes with maximum links were chosen as beginners for entrance into the network.Altogether,both STI and RCL gene systems worked for shade-tolerance with genes interacted each other,this confirmed that shadetolerance is regulated by more than single group of interacted genes,involving multiple biological functions as a gene network.

The Role of Jasmonates as Antibulbing Substances in the Bulb Formation of Onion

Onion plants form spherical bulbs under long-day conditions.Substances regulating bulb formation remain unknown.In the course of chemical studies on the bulb formation,α-linolenic acid was isolated from onion extracts as an antibulbing substance,the amount of which was synchronized with the bulb formation.Since allene oxide synthase inhibitor canceled the antibulbing activity ofα-linolenic acid,it was disclosed that jasmonic acid concerns this regulation.Structure-activity-relationship study revealed that its(3R,7S)stereochemistry is necessary for showing its antibulbing activity.It is concluded that(3R,7S)-jasmonate derived fromα-linolenic acid actually participates in the regulation of bulb formation.

Γ-半群的L-反模糊理想

给出了L-反模糊子半群和L-反模糊Γ-子半群的定义,并研究了Γ-半群的L-反模糊理想的基本性质.进一步得到Γ-半群的L-模糊子集是L-反模糊双Γ-理想的充分必要条件.

Radiometric Characteristics of the Landsat Collection 1 Dataset

This study evaluates the long-term radiometric performance of the USGS new released Landsat Collection 1 archive, including the absolute calibration of each Landsat sensor as well as the relative cross-calibration among the four most popular Landsat sensors. A total of 920 Landsat Collection 1 scenes were evaluated against the corresponding Pre-Collection images over a Pseudo-Invariant Site, Railroad Valley Playa Nevada, United States (RVPN). The radiometric performance of the six Landsat solar reflective bands, in terms of both Digital Numbers (DNs) and at-sensor Top of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, on the sensor cross-calibration was examined. Results show that absolute radiometric calibration at DNs level was applied to the Landsat-4 and -5 TM (L4 TM and L5 TM) by –1.119% to 0.126%. For L4 TM and L5 TM, the cross-calibration decreased the radiometric measurement level by rescaling at-sensor radiance to DN values. The radiometric changes, –0.77% for L4 TM, 0.95% for L5 TM, –0.26% for L7 ETM+, and –0.01% for L8 OLI, were detected during the cross-calibration stage of converting DNs into TOA reflectance. This study has also indicated that the long-term radiometric performance for the Landsat Collection 1 archive is promising. Supports of these conclusions were demonstrated through the time-series analysis based on the Landsat Collection 1 image stack. Nevertheless, the radiometric changes across the four Landsat sensors raised concerns of the previous Landsat Pre-Collection based results. We suggest that Landsat users should pay attention to differences in results from Pre-Collection and Collection 1 time-series data sets.

The Mathematical and Physical Theory of Rational Human Intelligence: Complete Empirical-Digital Properties;Full Electrochemical-Mechanical Model (Part I: Mathematical Foundations)

The design of this paper is to present the first installment of a complete and final theory of rational human intelligence. The theory is mathematical in the strictest possible sense. The mathematics involved is strictly digital—not quantitative in the manner that what is usually thought of as mathematics is quantitative. It is anticipated at this time that the exclusively digital nature of rational human intelligence exhibits four flavors of digitality, apparently no more, and that each flavor will require a lengthy study in its own right. (For more information,please refer to the PDF.)

Nutritional and Antioxidant Evaluation and Effect of Eggplant Consumption on Anthropometric and Hematologic Parameters in Wistar Rats

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional quality of green and purple eggplant, their antioxidant activity and their nutritional efficacy on Wistar rats. For nutritional quality, the parameters measured are dry matter, protein, lipid, ash, carbohydrate, iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and energy content. For antioxidant activity, the parameters measured are 50% DDPH free radical inhibition concentration and total polyphenol content. Nutritional efficacy was evaluated in rats fed the control diet and in rats fed the three treated diets containing eggplant meal obtained by replacing 5%, 10%, and 15% of the control diet. The parameters measured are the amount consumed, the weight of the animal and target organs, and hematologic parameters. The results of the nutritional analysis show the following values: 13.31% protein, 2.66% lipids, 0.84% calcium, 0.12% magnesium, 0.43% phosphorus for the Solanum aethiopicum L. species and 13.47% protein, 3.66% lipids, 0.36% calcium, 0.22% magnesium, 0.35% phosphorus for the Solanum melongena L. species. In terms of antioxidant activity, we obtained DDPH inhibition percentages of 40.28 mg/ml for Solanum aethiopicum L. and 12.42 mg/ml for Solanum melongena L., respectively. Finally, hematologic and anthropometric tests showed that for the different diets used, weight loss and an increase in hematologic parameters were observed in the rats tested. This study showed that eggplant has interesting nutritional characteristics and antioxidant activity, contributing to an increase in weight and anthropometric parameters.

Irrigation regimes modulate non-structural carbohydrate remobilization and improve grain filling in rice(Oryza sativa L.)by regulating starch metabolism

Recently developed ‘super’ rice cultivars with greater yield potentials often suffer from the problem of poor grain filling, especially in inferior spikelets. Here, we studied the activities of enzymes related to starch metabolism in rice stems and grains, and the microstructures related to carbohydrate accumulation and transportation to investigate the effects of different water regimes on grain filling. Two ‘super’ rice cultivars were grown under two irrigation regimes of well-watered(WW) and alternate wetting and moderate soil drying(AWMD). Compared with the WW treatment,the activities of ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase(AGPase), starch synthase(StSase) and starch branching enzyme(SBE), and the accumulation of non-structural carbohydrates(NSCs) in the stems before heading were significantly improved, and more starch granules were stored in the stems in the AWMD treatment. After heading, the activities of α-amylase, β-amylase, sucrose phosphate synthase(SPS) and sucrose synthase in the synthetic direction(SSs)were increased in the stems to promote the remobilization of NSCs for grain filling under AWMD. During grain filling, the enzymatic activities of sucrose synthase in the cleavage direction(SSc), AGPase, StSase and SBE in the inferior spikelets were increased, which promoted grain filling, especially for the inferior spikelets under AWMD.However, there were no significant differences in vascular microstructures. The grain yield and grain weight could be improved by 13.1 and 7.5%, respectively, by optimizing of the irrigation regime. We concluded that the low activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism is the key limitation for the poor grain filling, as opposed to the vascular microstructures, and AWMD can increase the amount of NSC accumulation in the stems before heading, improve the utilization rate of NSCs after heading, and increase the grain filling, especially in the inferior spikelets, by altering the activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism.

A Hybrid Optimization Approach of Single Point Incremental Sheet Forming of AISI 316L Stainless Steel Using Grey Relation Analysis Coupled with Principal Component Analysiss

We investigated the parametric optimization on incremental sheet forming of stainless steel using Grey Relational Analysis(GRA) coupled with Principal Component Analysis(PCA). AISI 316L stainless steel sheets were used to develop double wall angle pyramid with aid of tungsten carbide tool. GRA coupled with PCA was used to plan the experiment conditions. Control factors such as Tool Diameter(TD), Step Depth(SD), Bottom Wall Angle(BWA), Feed Rate(FR) and Spindle Speed(SS) on Top Wall Angle(TWA) and Top Wall Angle Surface Roughness(TWASR) have been studied. Wall angle increases with increasing tool diameter due to large contact area between tool and workpiece. As the step depth, feed rate and spindle speed increase,TWASR decreases with increasing tool diameter. As the step depth increasing, the hydrostatic stress is raised causing severe cracks in the deformed surface. Hence it was concluded that the proposed hybrid method was suitable for optimizing the factors and response.

Ultrafine ordered L1_(2)-Pt-Co-Mn ternary intermetallic nanoparticles as high-performance oxygen-reduction electrocatalysts for practical fuel cells

The long-range periodically ordered atomic structures in intermetallic nanoparticles(INPs)can significantly enhance both the electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)compared to the disordered atomic structures in ordinary solid-solution alloy NPs.Accordingly,through a facile and scalable synthetic method,a series of carbon-supported ultrafine Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)ternary INPs are prepared in this work,which possess the"skin-like"ultrathin Pt shells,the ordered L1_(2) atomic structure,and the high-even dispersion on supports(L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(x)Mn_(1-x)/~SPt INPs/C).Electrochemical results present that the composition-optimized L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C exhibits the highest electrocata lytic activity among the series,which are also much better than those of the pristine ultrafine Pt/C.Besides,it also has a greatly enhanced electrochemical stability.In addition,the effects of annealing temperature and time are further investigated.More importantly,such superior ORR electrocatalytic performance of L1_(2)-Pt_3Co_(0.7)Mn_(0.3)/~SPt INPs/C are also well demonstrated in practical fuel cells.Physicochemical characterization analyses further reveal the major origins of the greatly enhanced ORR electrocata lytic performance:the Pt-Co-Mn alloy-induced geometric and ligand effects as well as the extremely high L1_(2) atomic-ordering degree.This work not only successfully develops a highly active and stable ordered ternary intermetallic ORR electrocatalyst,but also elucidates the corresponding"structure-function"relationship,which can be further applied in designing other intermetallic(electro)catalysts.

Ecological Analysis of Leontice L. Species Distributed in the Navoi Region, Kyzyl-Kum Desert (Uzbekistan)

Leontice L. is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Berberidaceae family. Our research was conducted in Navoi region. The article presents an ecological analysis of Leontice L. species in the Navoi region. The genus Leontice grows mainly in mountainous areas and some are distributed in arid climates. According to the information that 2 species have been identified in Navoi region, these species are plants with flavanoids healing properties. Leontice species have been used in traditional medicine since ancient times in ethnobotany. The presence of this species was discovered during the research and Leontice has identified numerous unique compounds, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, with potential medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antiviral effects. According to ecological analysis, the Leontice genus thrives on stony, gravelly, and fine-grained mountain slopes and ridges, foothills, mountains, rocks, colorful rock outcrops, rocky slopes, and sandy, clay, and gravel deserts.

Effects of mesoclimate and microclimate variations mediated by high altitude and row orientation on sucrose metabolism and anthocyanin synthesis in grape berries

Climate change and extreme weather pose significant challenges to the traditional viticulture regions.Emerging high-altitude grape-producing regions with diverse orientations have shown great potential in coping with this challenge.Stable,high-quality wine grape production may be achieved by synchronizing the meso-and microclimate.To clarify the role of high altitude and row orientation in meso-and microclimate and the response of berries to it,we evaluated seven years(2012-2018)of climate data,two years of basic grape(Cabernet Sauvignon,Vitis vinifera L.)quality,and one-year microclimate from veraison to harvest.By comparing two locations(Sidon 2047 m,Sinon 2208 m)in Yunnan Province,China,we found that the average temperature has been stable at approximately 15℃ for seven years,with no extreme weather or,noticeable global warming.The light intensity(LI)in the north-south(NS)was more balanced than the east-west(EW)direction,and the east-west to the south(EW-S)canopy side was almost higher than the other sides.High LI was associated with high photosynthetically active radiation(PAR),ultraviolet(UV),and infrared(IR)light and vice versa.The north-south to the east(NS-E)and east-west to the north(EWN)sides were characterized by lower LI and higher UV and IR light,and higher total anthocyanin content.Most anthocyanin synthesis-related genes,for example,VvF3'H and VvF3'5'H,were highly expressed in NS-E from veraison to maturity.Perhaps UV and IR light induced their expression.This study provides new insights on the role of differently orientated rows in controlling grape quality due to varied light quality.The findings are globally significant,particularly in the context of climate change,and offer fresh insights into berry physiological responses and decision-making for the management of existing vineyards.

Identifying influential spreaders in social networks: A two-stage quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with Lévy flight

The influence maximization problem aims to select a small set of influential nodes, termed a seed set, to maximize their influence coverage in social networks. Although the methods that are based on a greedy strategy can obtain good accuracy, they come at the cost of enormous computational time, and are therefore not applicable to practical scenarios in large-scale networks. In addition, the centrality heuristic algorithms that are based on network topology can be completed in relatively less time. However, they tend to fail to achieve satisfactory results because of drawbacks such as overlapped influence spread. In this work, we propose a discrete two-stage metaheuristic optimization combining quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with Lévy flight to identify a set of the most influential spreaders. According to the framework,first, the particles in the population are tasked to conduct an exploration in the global solution space to eventually converge to an acceptable solution through the crossover and replacement operations. Second, the Lévy flight mechanism is used to perform a wandering walk on the optimal candidate solution in the population to exploit the potentially unidentified influential nodes in the network. Experiments on six real-world social networks show that the proposed algorithm achieves more satisfactory results when compared to other well-known algorithms.

ON DE FINETTI'S OPTIMAL IMPULSE DIVIDEND CONTROL PROBLEM UNDER CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

Motivated by recent advances made in the study of dividend control and risk management problems involving the U.S.bankruptcy code,in this paper we follow[44]to revisit the De Finetti dividend control problem under the reorganization process and the regulator's intervention documented in U.S.Chapter 11 bankruptcy.We do this by further accommodating the fixed transaction costs on dividends to imitate the real-world procedure of dividend payments.Incorporating the fixed transaction costs transforms the targeting optimal dividend problem into an impulse control problem rather than a singular control problem,and hence computations and proofs that are distinct from[44]are needed.To account for the financial stress that is due to the more subtle concept of Chapter 11 bankruptcy,the surplus process after dividends is driven by a piece-wise spectrally negative Lévy process with endogenous regime switching.Some explicit expressions of the expected net present values under a double barrier dividend strategy,new to the literature,are established in terms of scale functions.With the help of these expressions,we are able to characterize the optimal strategy among the set of admissible double barrier dividend strategies.When the tail of the Lévy measure is log-convex,this optimal double barrier dividend strategy is then verified as the optimal dividend strategy,solving our optimal impulse control problem.

Optimizing Average Electric Power During the Charging of Lithium-Ion Batteries Through the Taguchi Method

In recent times, lithium-ion batteries have been widely used owing to their high energy density, extended cycle lifespan, and minimal self-discharge rate. The design of high-speed rechargeable lithium-ion batteries faces a significant challenge owing to the need to increase average electric power during charging. This challenge results from the direct influence of the power level on the rate of chemical reactions occurring in the battery electrodes. In this study, the Taguchi optimization method was used to enhance the average electric power during the charging process of lithium-ion batteries. The Taguchi technique is a statistical strategy that facilitates the systematic and efficient evaluation of numerous experimental variables. The proposed method involved varying seven input factors, including positive electrode thickness, positive electrode material, positive electrode active material volume fraction, negative electrode active material volume fraction, separator thickness, positive current collector thickness, and negative current collector thickness. Three levels were assigned to each control factor to identify the optimal conditions and maximize the average electric power during charging. Moreover, a variance assessment analysis was conducted to validate the results obtained from the Taguchi analysis. The results revealed that the Taguchi method was an eff ective approach for optimizing the average electric power during the charging of lithium-ion batteries. This indicates that the positive electrode material, followed by the separator thickness and the negative electrode active material volume fraction, was key factors significantly infl uencing the average electric power during the charging of lithium-ion batteries response. The identification of optimal conditions resulted in the improved performance of lithium-ion batteries, extending their potential in various applications. Particularly, lithium-ion batteries with average electric power of 16 W and 17 W during charging were designed and simulated in the range of 0-12000 s using COMSOL Multiphysics software. This study efficiently employs the Taguchi optimization technique to develop lithium-ion batteries capable of storing a predetermined average electric power during the charging phase. Therefore, this method enables the battery to achieve complete charging within a specific timeframe tailored to a specificapplication. The implementation of this method can save costs, time, and materials compared with other alternative methods, such as the trial-and-error approach.

Composition Analysis and Identification of Ancient Glass Products Based on L1 Regularization Logistic Regression

In view of the composition analysis and identification of ancient glass products, L1 regularization, K-Means cluster analysis, elbow rule and other methods were comprehensively used to build logical regression, cluster analysis, hyper-parameter test and other models, and SPSS, Python and other tools were used to obtain the classification rules of glass products under different fluxes, sub classification under different chemical compositions, hyper-parameter K value test and rationality analysis. Research can provide theoretical support for the protection and restoration of ancient glass relics.

HB-Continuous Mappings in L-Topological Space

In this paper, we introduce and study the notion of HB-closed sets in L-topological space. Then, HB-convergence theory for L-molecular nets and L-ideals is established in terms of HB-closedness. Finally, we give a new definition of fuzzy H-continuous [1] which is called HB-continuity on the basis of the notion of H-bounded L-subsets in L-topological space. Then we give characterizations and properties by making use of HB-converges theory of L-molecular nets and L-ideals.

Anti-Diabetic Activity of an Extract of Syzygium Jambolanum - A Review

Syzygium jambolanum is a promising natural treatment for diabetes.The potential benefits of S jambolanum for diabetes include lowering blood sugar levels,increasing insulin sensitivity,protecting pancreatic beta cells,and slowing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream.The anti-diabetic activity of the crude extract of S jambolanum was evaluated in L6 myotubes and the lipid deposition in tissue was measured using Nile red Staining.Nile red staining confirmed that a considerable quantity of lipids had been deposited in the tissue treated with a crude extract of S jambolanum,comparable to the quantity of lipids deposited with a standard drug known as Rosiglitazone.This study analyzed the anti-diabetic activity of a crude extract of S jambolanum to understand its potential as a feedstock for extracting bioactive constituents to screen for bioactive molecules in the treatment of diabetes.

A Comparative Analysis of Syntactic Complexity in Applied Linguistics Abstracts Written by Chinese Novice Writers and Native English Advanced Writers

The rhetorical structure of abstracts has been a widely discussed topic, as it can greatly enhance the abstract writing skills of second-language writers. This study aims to provide guidance on the syntactic features that L2 learners can employ, as well as suggest which features they should focus on in English academic writing. To achieve this, all samples were analyzed for rhetorical moves using Hyland’s five-rhetorical move model. Additionally, all sentences were evaluated for syntactic complexity, considering measures such as global, clausal and phrasal complexity. The findings reveal that expert writers exhibit a more balanced use of syntactic complexity across moves, effectively fulfilling the rhetorical objectives of abstracts. On the other hand, MA students tend to rely excessively on embedded structures and dependent clauses in an attempt to increase complexity. The implications of these findings for academic writing research, pedagogy, and assessment are thoroughly discussed.

316L不锈钢/CK22碳钢爆炸焊接管的数值模拟

为研究不同炸药量对爆炸焊接不锈钢316L/碳钢CK22复合管的影响,采用ANSYS/LS-DYNA软件结合ALE流固耦合算法对不同炸药内径下复合管的爆炸焊接过程进行数值模拟,建立316L/CK22双金属管可焊接窗口,利用后处理软件LS-PrePost导出焊接过程中碰撞压力、塑性变形、碰撞速度等动态参数。结果表明:炸药厚度小于0.505 cm时碰撞速度在可焊接窗口外,在复合时发生回弹焊接失败,药厚大于0.505 cm时均能较好复合,模拟与实验吻合,证明焊接窗口对爆炸焊接实验的较好指导意义;模拟碰撞速度与理论值误差在3.2%~9.5%,证明数值模拟爆炸焊接复合管的可靠性。