High color purity red phosphors of Ca1−3/2xEuxTiO3 and Ca1−2xEuxLixTiO3 (0 < x ≤ 0.3) are synthesized via a solid‐state reaction method. The red emission photoluminescence intensity and color purity ...are enhanced by the incorporation of Li+ into CaTiO3:Eu3+. The Li+ doping increases the emission probability from 5D0 state, increases photoluminescence intensity by 1.6 times, increases color purity to 92.1%, and shortens the decay time. With increasing Eu3+ and Li+ content, the color coordinates approach the ideal red chromaticity values, coming closer than commercial Y2O2S:Eu3+ red phosphor.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A detailed understanding of chemotherapy is determined by the response of cell to the formation of the drug-target complex and its corresponding sudden or eventual cell death. However, visualization ...of this early but important process, encompassing the fast dynamics as well as complex network of molecular pathways, remains challenging. Herein, we report that the nanomechanical traction force is sensitive enough to reflect the early cellular response upon the addition of chemotherapeutical molecules in a real-time and noninvasive manner, due to interactions between chemotherapeutic drug and its cytoskeleton targets. This strategy has outperformed the traditional cell viability, cell cycle, cell impendence as well as intracellular protein analyses, in terms of fast response. Furthermore, by using the nanomechanical traction force as a nanoscale biophysical marker, we discover a cellular nanomechanical change upon drug treatment in a fast and sensitive manner. Overall, this approach could help to reveal the hidden mechanistic steps in chemotherapy and provide useful insights in drug screening.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Magnetic stiffness determines the stability of a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnetic levitation system. The quantitative properties of the physical and geometrical parameters that affect ...the stiffness of HTS levitation systems should be identified for improving the stiffness by some effective methods. The magnetic stiffness is directly related to the first-order derivative of the magnetic force with respect to the corresponding displacement, which indicates that the effects of the parameters on the stiffness should be different from the relationships between the forces and the same parameters. In this paper, we study the influences of some physical and geometrical parameters, including the strength of the external magnetic field (
B
0
) produced by a rectangular permanent magnet (PM), critical current density (
J
c
), the PM-to-HTS area ratio (
α
), and thickness ratio (
β
), on the lateral stiffness by using a numerical approach under zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) conditions. In the first and second passes of the PM, the lateral stiffness at most of lateral positions essentially increases with
B
0
increasing and decreases with
β
increasing in ZFC and FC. The largest lateral stiffness at every lateral position is almost produced by the minimum value of
J
c
, which is obviously different from the lateral force–
J
c
relation. The
α
-dependent lateral stiffness changes with some parameters, which include the cooling conditions of the bulk HTS, lateral displacement, and movement history of the PM. These findings can provide some suggestions for improving the lateral stiffness of the HTS levitation system.
Lion swarm optimization (LSO) inspired by the natural division of labor among lion king, lionesses and lion cubs in a lion group, i.e., lion king guarding, lionesses hunting and lion cubs following, ...is a relatively novel swarm intelligent optimization technique. Due to its remarkable performance, the canonical LSO has been extensively researched. However, how to balance contradictions between the exploration and the exploitation and alleviate the premature convergence are two critical concerns that need to be dealt with in the LSO study. To address these two drawbacks, enhance the optimization performance, and broaden its application domain, an improved lion swarm optimization algorithm with chaotic mutation strategy and a boundary mutation strategy (CBLSO) is proposed in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, a chaotic mutation strategy based on chaotic cubic mapping is designed to enhance the exploration ability of the algorithm, while the boundary mutation strategy based on the concept of multilevel parallel is adopted to manage boundary constraint violations, which is beneficial for improving the exploitation ability of the algorithm. The proposed CBLSO is evaluated on 56 classic test functions and 30 CEC2014 benchmark functions, and is compared with quite a few state-of-the-art algorithms regarding often-used performance metrics. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the embedded strategies on balancing the exploration and the exploitation. Furthermore, the proposed CBLSO is applied to the optimal dispatch problem of cascade hydropower stations based on a novel constraints handling method designed in this paper to validate its good practicability and performance. The experimental results of a case study on the optimal dispatch problem of China's Wujiang cascade hydropower stations indicate that the proposed CBLSO can produce better and more reliable optimal results than the canonical LSO and other comparison algorithms with competitive speed. Thus, we can conclude that the proposed CBLSO is a competitive and effective alterative tool to solve complex numerical optimization problems and real-world optimization with complicated constraints.
Hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) plays important roles in viral replication and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. HBx is a rapid turnover protein and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway has been ...suggested to influence HBx stability as treatment with proteasome inhibitors increases the levels of HBx protein and causes accumulation of the polyubiquitinated forms of HBx. Deubiquitinases (DUBs) are known to act by removing ubiquitin moieties from proteins and thereby reverse their stability and/or activity. However, no information is available regarding the involvement of DUBs in regulation of ubiquitylation-dependent proteasomal degradation of HBx protein. This study identified the deubiquitylating enzyme USP15 as a critical regulator of HBx protein level. USP15 was found to directly interact with HBx via binding to the HBx region between amino acid residues 51 and 80. USP15 increased HBx protein levels in a dose-dependent manner and siRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous USP15 reduced HBx protein levels. Increased HBx stability and steady-state level by USP15 were attributable to reduced HBx ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Importantly, the transcriptional transactivation function of HBx is enhanced by overexpression of USP15. These results suggest that USP15 plays an essential role in stabilizing HBx and subsequently affects the biological function of HBx.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The skin provides protection against environmental stress. However, intrinsic and extrinsic aging causes significant alteration to skin structure and components, which subsequently impairs molecular ...characteristics and biochemical processes. Here, we have conducted an immunohistological investigation and established the proteome profiles on nude mice skin to verify the specific responses during aging caused by different factors. Our results showed that UVB‐elicited aging results in upregulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and strong oxidative damage in DNA, whereas chronological aging abolished epidermal cell growth and increased the expression of caspase‐14, as well as protein carbonylation. Network analysis indicated that the programmed skin aging activated the ubiquitin system and triggered obvious downregulation of 14‐3‐3 sigma, which might accelerate the loss of cell growth capacity. On the other hand, UVB stimulation enhanced inflammation and the risk of skin carcinogenesis. Collectively, functional proteomics could provide large‐scale investigation of the potent proteins and molecules that play important roles in skin subjected to both intrinsic and extrinsic aging.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Accumulation and deposition of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) in the brain is a primary cause of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ is generated from amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) through ...sequential cleavages first by β-secretase and then by γ-secretase. Inhibiting β-secretase activity is believed to be one of the most promising strategies for AD treatment. In the present study, we found that a resveratrol trimer, miyabenol C, isolated from stems and leaves of the small-leaf grape (Vitisthunbergii var. taiwaniana), can markedly reduce Aβ and sAPPβ levels in both cell cultures and the brain of AD model mice. Mechanistic studies revealed that miyabenol C affects neither protein levels of APP, the two major α-secretases ADAM10 and TACE, and the γ-secretase component Presenilin 1, nor γ-secretase-mediated Notch processing and TACE activity. In contrast, although miyabenol C has no effect on altering protein levels of the β-secretase BACE1, it can inhibit both in vitro and in vivo β-secretase activity. Together, our results indicate that miyabenol C is a prominent β-secretase inhibitor and lead compound for AD drug development.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Altered sensation (including paresthesia, dysesthesia and hypoesthesia) after mandibular implant surgery may indicate transient or permanent injury of the inferior alveolar nerve and the mental ...branch, and considerably lower patients' satisfaction about the therapy. Previous studies have shown a great degree of variability on the incidence of altered sensation. We here reported the incidence of altered sensation after mandibular implant surgery based on a meta-analysis of 26 articles published between 1990.1.1 and 2016.1.1. Study quality and risk of bias was assessed and the studies with a lower score were excluded in the meta-analysis. Data synthesis was performed using the logistic-normal random-effect model. The meta-analyses revealed that the short-term (10 days after implant placement) and long-term (1 year after implant placement) incidence was 13% (95% CI, 6%-25%) and 3% (95% CI, 1%-7%), respectively. (2) For the patients who initially reported altered sensation, 80% (95% CI, 52%-94%) of them would return to normal sensation within 6 months after surgery, and 91% (95% CI, 78%-96%) of them would return to normal sensation one year after surgery. We concluded that dentist-patient communication about the risk of altered sensation is critical to treatment planning, since the short-term incidence of altered sensation is substantial (13%). When a patient reports altered sensation, regular assessment for 6 months would help tracing the changes of symptoms. In terms of long-term follow-up (1 year after surgery), the incidence is much lower (3%) and most patients (91%) would return to normal sensation.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Increased soil organic carbon (OC) in China has been reported in the past two decades, suggesting the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide into soil, mitigating climate change and improving ...soil health. On the other hand, soil pH decrease had also been reported nationwide. If the two are related, the strategy of increasing soil OC could negatively affect soil quality for food production and the environment. We investigate this thread based on large-scale soil survey data from two provinces with typical soil and cropping patterns in the east and south of China, Jiangsu (102,600 km2) and Guangdong (177,900 km2). The data include >5000 observations from soil surveys conducted over the past four decades, i.e., the 1980s, 2006–2007, and 2010–2011. Using spatiotemporal modelling, we show that across Jiangsu province, the topsoil OC on average has increased from 8.5 g kg−1 to 9.9 g kg−1 from 1980 to 2000 and a further increase to 12.6 g kg−1 in 2010. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in average pH from 7.63 to 6.90. In Guangdong, there was an overall increase in average topsoil OC content from 14.2 g kg−1, 16.5 g kg−1, and 20.2 g kg−1 with a decrease in average pH from 5.58, 4.90, and 4.98. Based on the spatiotemporal modelling results, the structural equation modelling analysis shows that OC and pH changes were significantly correlated and linked by increased soil N content. On croplands, soil N content was mainly attributed to N fertiliser application. The pH decrease was particularly significant in the east of China where the soils were neutral in pH. We recommend that more revolutionary means be taken to sequestrate atmospheric carbon into soil as the current OC increase due to increasing crop productivity via a high rate of nitrogen application may have a potential acidification effect.
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•Topsoil organic carbon increased 15–27 % in east and south of China during 1980–2010.•The organic carbon increase was accompanied by soil pH decrease of 0.62–0.71 units.•Nitrogen increase was the main connection between changes in organic carbon and pH.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The spatial and temporal organization of genome duplication, also referred to as the replication program, is defined by the distribution and the activities of the sites of replication initiation ...across the genome. Alterations to the replication profile are associated with cell fate changes during development and in pathologies, but the importance of undergoing S phase with distinct and specific programs remains largely unexplored. We have recently addressed this question, focusing on the interplay between the replication program and genome maintenance. In particular, we demonstrated that when cells encounter challenges to DNA synthesis, the organization of DNA replication drives the response to replication stress that is mediated by the ATR/Rad3 checkpoint pathway, thus shaping the pattern of genome instability along the chromosomes. In this review, we present the major findings of our study and discuss how they may bring new perspectives to our understanding of the biological importance of the replication program.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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