Summary
In this paper, the problem of boundary finite‐time stabilization is considered for reaction‐diffusion systems (RDSs). First, a full‐domain controller is designed, and sufficient conditions ...are given to ensure finite‐time stability of RDSs under the designed controller. Then, for practical applications, a boundary controller is designed to obtain finite‐time stability. By virtue of the finite‐time stability lemma, criteria are presented to guarantee the finite‐time stability of RDSs for the Neumann boundary conditions and the mixed boundary conditions. As an extension to uncertain RDSs, robust finite‐time stabilization is studied, and criterion is obtained under the boundary control. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed design techniques.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Lubricant infused surfaces (LISs) are promising platforms to address the icing problems, but their long-term stability remains a significant challenge. In this study, a durable LIS with photothermal ...response and reversible solid/liquid transformation was fabricated to rapidly thaw frost accumulation and reduce ice accretion. The newly designed LIS was manufactured by infusing low-melting cocoa oil and efficient photothermal Fe3O4 nanoparticles into anodized aluminum oxide substrate. Upon irradiation with infrared light, the Fe3O4 nanoparticles could absorb light energy and melt the solid lubricant into slippery liquid. The dual actions of surface heating and slipperiness of melted lubricant promoted the thawing of frost/ice and de-adhesion of ice block. Additionally, the durability of LIS was strengthened by the combination of the self-healing effect of the melted lubricant, and the robustness of the solid state. The hydrophobic lubricant diminished the lubricant loss during repeating freezing/unfreezing cycles and withstood longtime flowing water impact. The proposed concept of switchable hydrophobic/slippery lubricant will advance the design of durable LISs and provide a promising LIS platform for deicing application.
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•The lubricant infused surface was fabricated by infusing cocoa oil and Fe3O4 into anodic aluminum oxide.•The lubricant could be melted by heating at 46 °C due to the photothermal effect of Fe3O4.•The surface possessed low ice adhesion (0.3 KPa) and efficient defrost/deicing performance.•The melted lubricant repaired the defects and the solid lubricant could withstand fluid impact.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
To profile RNA expression in gastric cancer by anatomic subsites as an initial step in identifying molecular subtypes and providing targets for early detection and therapy.
We performed transcriptome ...analysis using the Affymetrix GeneChip U133A in gastric cardia adenocarcinomas (n = 62) and gastric noncardia adenocarcinomas (n = 72) and their matched normal tissues from patients in Shanxi Province, and validated selected dysregulated genes with additional RNA studies. Expression of dysregulated genes was also related to survival of cases.
Principal Component Analysis showed that samples clustered by tumor vs. normal, anatomic location, and histopathologic features. Paired t-tests of tumor/normal tissues identified 511 genes whose expression was dysregulated (P<4.7E-07 and at least two-fold difference in magnitude) in cardia or noncardia gastric cancers, including nearly one-half (n = 239, 47%) dysregulated in both cardia and noncardia, one-fourth dysregulated in cardia only (n = 128, 25%), and about one-fourth in noncardia only (n = 144, 28%). Additional RNA studies confirmed profiling results. Expression was associated with case survival for 20 genes in cardia and 36 genes in noncardia gastric cancers.
The dysregulated genes identified here represent a comprehensive starting point for future efforts to understand etiologic heterogeneity, develop diagnostic biomarkers for early detection, and test molecularly-targeted therapies for gastric cancer.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The optimal timing for initiating renal replacement therapy (RRT) in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) remains controversial.
We conducted a meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis (TSA) ...of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using PUBMED, Cochrane Library databases, and Web of Science (from January 1, 1985, to August 21, 2016). Adult patients with AKI who received RRT with different timing were included. The primary outcome was mortality. The secondary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) and hospital LOS.
We included 9 RCTs with a total of 1636 participants. No differences between the early RRT group and the late RRT group were found with respect to mortality (38% vs 41.4%; relative risk, 0.93; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.74-1.18). However, TSA showed that the cumulative Z-curve did not cross either the conventional boundary for benefit or the trial sequential monitoring boundary, indicating insufficient evidence. Similarity, there were no findings of benefits in terms of reduction in the ICU LOS (standard difference in the means, -0.32 days; 95% CI, -0.71 to 0.07 days) and hospital LOS (standard difference in the means, -1.11 days; 95% CI, -2.28 to 0.06 days). Meanwhile, the results of TSA did not confirm this conclusion.
Although conventional meta-analysis showed that early initiation of RRT in patients with AKI was not associated with decreased mortality, ICU LOS and hospital LOS, TSA indicated that the data were far too sparse to make any conclusions. Therefore, well-designed, large RCTs are needed.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Nicotine analysis is essential to medicine, toxicology and the tobacco industry. However, no simple, portable and disposable method was developed to meet their demands. Here, we report a simple, ...rapid and disposable silica nanochannel (SAN)-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for nicotine analysis by simply assembling a SAN electrode with a paper cover. The sensing principle of the disposable sensor is based on the size exclusion effect and charge selectivity, which obviously prolong the sensor service time. We find that the sensor exhibits good specificity to nicotine, and most of the complex matrices are unlikely to impact the detection. The performance of the disposable sensor in cigarettes, e-cigarettes, nicotine gums, and lozenges is fully validated, showing satisfactory linearity, sensitivity (a limit of detection of 27.82 nM), and accuracy (a recovery between 96.00% and 106.51%). The disposable sensor can be potentially applied for on-site nicotine analysis.
A simple, rapid and disposable electrochemiluminescence sensor was developed for on-site nicotine analysis.
Type II ganoderic acids (GAs) produced by the traditional medicinal mushroom Ganoderma are a group of triterpenoids with superior biological activities. However, challenges in the genetic ...manipulation of the native producer, low level of accumulation in the farmed mushroom, the vulnerabilities of the farming-based supply chain, and the elusive biosynthetic pathway have hindered the efficient production of type II GAs. Here, we assemble the genome of type II GAs accumulating G. lucidum accession, screen cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) identified from G. lucidum in baker's yeast, identify key missing CYPs involved in type II GAs biosynthesis, and investigate the catalytic reaction sequence of a promiscuous CYP. Then, we engineer baker's yeast for bioproduciton of GA-Y (3) and GA-Jb (4) and achieve their production at higher level than those from the farmed mushroom. Our findings facilitate the further deconvolution of the complex GA biosynthetic network and the development of microbial cell factories for producing GAs at commercial scale.
Purpose
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐guided radiation therapy (RT) treatment planning is limited by the fact that the electron density distribution required for dose calculation is not readily ...provided by MR imaging. We compare a selection of novel synthetic CT generation algorithms recently reported in the literature, including segmentation‐based, atlas‐based and machine learning techniques, using the same cohort of patients and quantitative evaluation metrics.
Methods
Six MRI‐guided synthetic CT generation algorithms were evaluated: one segmentation technique into a single tissue class (water‐only), four atlas‐based techniques, namely, median value of atlas images (ALMedian), atlas‐based local weighted voting (ALWV), bone enhanced atlas‐based local weighted voting (ALWV‐Bone), iterative atlas‐based local weighted voting (ALWV‐Iter), and a machine learning technique using deep convolution neural network (DCNN).
Results
Organ auto‐contouring from MR images was evaluated for bladder, rectum, bones, and body boundary. Overall, DCNN exhibited higher segmentation accuracy resulting in Dice indices (DSC) of 0.93 ± 0.17, 0.90 ± 0.04, and 0.93 ± 0.02 for bladder, rectum, and bones, respectively. On the other hand, ALMedian showed the lowest accuracy with DSC of 0.82 ± 0.20, 0.81 ± 0.08, and 0.88 ± 0.04, respectively. DCNN reached the best performance in terms of accurate derivation of synthetic CT values within each organ, with a mean absolute error within the body contour of 32.7 ± 7.9 HU, followed by the advanced atlas‐based methods (ALWV: 40.5 ± 8.2 HU, ALWV‐Iter: 42.4 ± 8.1 HU, ALWV‐Bone: 44.0 ± 8.9 HU). ALMedian led to the highest error (52.1 ± 11.1 HU). Considering the dosimetric evaluation results, ALWV‐Iter, ALWV, DCNN and ALWV‐Bone led to similar mean dose estimation within each organ at risk and target volume with less than 1% dose discrepancy. However, the two‐dimensional gamma analysis demonstrated higher pass rates for ALWV‐Bone, DCNN, ALMedian and ALWV‐Iter at 1%/1 mm criterion with 94.99 ± 5.15%, 94.59 ± 5.65%, 93.68 ± 5.53% and 93.10 ± 5.99% success, respectively, while ALWV and water‐only resulted in 86.91 ± 13.50% and 80.77 ± 12.10%, respectively.
Conclusions
Overall, machine learning and advanced atlas‐based methods exhibited promising performance by achieving reliable organ segmentation and synthetic CT generation. DCNN appears to have slightly better performance by achieving accurate automated organ segmentation and relatively small dosimetric errors (followed closely by advanced atlas‐based methods, which in some cases achieved similar performance). However, the DCNN approach showed higher vulnerability to anatomical variation, where a greater number of outliers was observed with this method. Considering the dosimetric results obtained from the evaluated methods, the challenge of electron density estimation from MR images can be resolved with a clinically tolerable error.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Chelonus formosanus Sonan is an important egg‐larval parasitoid of noctuid moths and a potential candidate for understanding interactions between host and parasitoid mediated by polydnavirues (PDVs). ...We sequenced and annotated the mitochondrial genome of C. formosanus, which is 15,466 bp in length and possesses 38 mitochondrial genes. However, unlike most animal mitochondrial genomes, it contains one extra trnF gene. There are five transfer RNA (tRNA) rearrangement events compared with the ancestral gene order, which is a novel rearrangement type in Hymenoptera for all published mitogenomes so far. Phylogenetic trees supported C. formosanus from the subfamily Cheloninae was closely related to the subfamily Cardiochilinae and Microgastrinae.
This study obtained the complete mitochondrial genome of Chelonus formosanus, provided a thorough description of its genome features and constructed phylogenetic relationships among major Braconidae lineages.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Plants are known to respond to Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B: 280-320 nm) by generating phenolic metabolites which absorbs UV-B light. Phenolics are extraordinarily abundant in
leaves and are ...considered, together with pleasant volatile terpenoids, as primary flavor determinants in tea beverages. In this study, we focused on the effects of UV-B exposure (at 35 μW cm
for 0, 0.5, 2, and 8 h) on tea transcriptional and metabolic alterations, specifically related to tea flavor metabolite production. Out of 34,737 unigenes, a total of 18,081 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) due to UV-B treatments were identified. Additionally, the phenylpropanoid pathway was found as one of the most significantly UV-B affected top 20 KEGG pathways while flavonoid and monoterpenoid pathway-related genes were enhanced at 0.5 h. In the UVR8-signal transduction pathway,
was suppressed at both short and long exposure of UV-B with genes downstream differentially expressed. Divergent expression of
at different treatments could have differentially altered structural and regulatory genes upstream of flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Suppression of
at 0.5 h could have led to the up-regulation of structural
, and
genes resulting in accumulation of specialized metabolites at a shorter duration of UV-B exposure. Specialized metabolite profiling revealed the correlated alterations in the abundances of catechins and some volatile terpenoids in all the treatments with significant accumulation of specialized metabolites at 0.5 h treatment. A significant increase in specialized metabolites at 0.5 h treatment and no significant alteration observed at longer UVB treatment suggested that shorter exposure to UV-B led to different display in gene expression and accumulation of specialized metabolites in tea shoots in response to UV-B stress. Taken together, our results indicated that the UV-B treatment applied in this study differentially altered the UVR8-signal transduction, flavonoid and terpenoid pathways at transcriptional and metabolic levels in tea plants. Our results show strong potential for UV-B application in flavor improvement in tea at the industrial level.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Additionally, TBI induces AD‐like amyloid β (Aβ) plaque pathology within days of injury potentially resulting ...from massive accumulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in damaged axons. Here, progression of Aβ accumulation was examined using brain tissue from 23 cases with post‐TBI survival of up to 3 years. Even years after injury, widespread axonal pathology was consistently observed and was accompanied by intra‐axonal co‐accumulations of APP with its cleavage enzymes, beta‐site APP cleaving enzyme and presenilin‐1 and their product, Aβ. However, in marked contrast to the plaque pathology noted in short‐term cases post TBI, virtually no Aβ plaques were found in long‐term survivors. A potential mechanism for Aβ plaque regression was suggested by the post‐injury accumulation of an Aβ degrading enzyme, neprilysin. These findings fail to support the premise that progressive plaque pathology after TBI ultimately results in AD.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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