A color center in c-BN which is isoelectronic to diamond NV⁻ is predicted based on first-principles electronic structure calculations using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof hybrid functional. The defect ...consists of a substitutional oxygen and an adjacent boron vacancy (O(N)-V(B)). We find that the O(N)-V(B) center is optically accessible with a zero-phonon line of about 1.6 eV. The O(N)-V(B) center also shares much of the characteristics of the GC-2 center often observed in c-BN. A prominent vibronic coupling peak is predicted to be around 55 meV, which is in excellent agreement with the characteristic phonon frequency (56 meV) observed in the luminescence spectra of the GC-2 center.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
It was short of research on the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) residues in the soils of Hong Kong. Sixty-six representative soil samples were collected from the 46 sites covering five types of land ...uses in Hong Kong. Hexachlorohexanes (HCH) and 7 Stockholm Convention OCPs were analyzed by gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a Nickel 63 electronic capture detector (μECD). The results presented that HCH and 5 Stockholm Convention pesticides were detected in Hong Kong soils although the detectable ratio varies to a great extent. The concentration sequence of the five detectable OCPs was HCH
>
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
>
hexachlorobenzene (HCB)
≈
Endrin
>
α-endosulfan. Among the OCPs and their homologues or isomers, β-HCH and
p,
p′-DDE were the two predominant substances according to the concentrations and detectable ratios, concentrations of which in soils were averagely 6.12
μg
kg
−1 and 0.41
μg
kg
−1 respectively. Soil horizon samples of 0–10
cm, 10–30
cm and >30
cm depth were selected from nine soil profiles to demonstrate the depth distributions of DDT and HCH in soil profiles. Concentrations of HCH tended to increase gradually from the topsoil to bottom layer while the lowest concentration of DDT is usually found in the subsoil (10–30
cm) in most sampling sites. In addition, close correlations of pH(KCl) and total organic carbon (TOC) with HCH indicated an effect on the residues of HCH caused by these two soils properties, but such relationships were not found with DDT or other OCPs.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Post-COVID-19 symptoms have become a significant global health concern. This study focused on assessing the prevalence, severity, and care preference of post-COVID-19 symptoms, as well as identifying ...determinants to inform evidence-based policy on post-COVID-19 in Vietnam. A national cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2022 among 12,361 recovered COVID-19 patients, providing the largest dataset on health status after COVID-19 in Vietnam. The study utilized ordered logistic, Poisson regression, Multilevel linear random-effects models, and Multilevel random effects ordered logistic model to identify factors associated with various aspects of post-COVID-19 conditions. Results showed that the average number of post-COVID-19 symptoms was approximately 3, with fatigue and headache being the most common symptoms. The number of post-COVID-19 symptoms varied by province, decreased with age, and was significantly correlated with the duration of infection. Age, infection period, underlying conditions, telehealth utilization, and geographical location were identified as significant determinants of post-COVID-19 symptoms. The study concluded that improving resource allocation and health-seeking behavior in underserved areas could help address differences in health outcomes and improve post-COVID-19 control in Vietnam.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Allergic asthma is associated with excessive T helper type 2 (Th2) cells activation and airway hyperreactivity (AHR), implicated in the context of significant morbidity and mortality. Soluble ...ST2, a member of the interleukin (IL)‐1 receptor family, has been shown to play a critical role in modulation of inflammatory disorders, yet the function of soluble ST2 in allergic inflammation remains unclear. In this study, we examined the possibility of regulating ovalbumin (OVA)‐challenged airway inflammation by recombinant adenovirus‐mediated sST2‐Fc (Ad‐sST2‐Fc) gene transfer. Single intranasal administration of Ad‐sST2‐Fc before allergen challenge in OVA‐immunized mice profoundly reduced serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E secretion, eosinophil infiltration and concentrations of IL‐4, IL‐5 and IL‐13 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid compared with administration of a control Ad vector. Histopathological examination of the lungs revealed that sST2‐Fc over‐expression markedly suppressed allergen‐induced peribronchial inflammation and disruption of the alveolar architecture. Moreover, the beneficial effect of sST2‐Fc in allergic lung inflammation is related to blocking the IL–33/ST2L signalling. Taken together, these results suggested that administration of Ad‐sST2‐Fc gene transfer may have therapeutic potential for the immunomodulatory treatment of OVA‐mediated allergic pulmonary diseases.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose: DicomPack aims to provide a Perl DICOM library to isolate DICOM complexity and facilitate creation of DICOM applications. Methods: DicomPack was initially designed for research projects to ...process and exchange radiotherapy medical images and treatment plans among research institutions, as well as between treatment planning systems and Open Radiological Archiving and Communication System (ORACS) research database. DicomPack uses an extensible internal data structure to store any encoded information observing DICOM's tag/element structure. Therefore, DicomPack either populates a data structure by DICOM information or converts a populated data structure into DICOM format. In this way, DicomPack creates a DICOM file either from scratch or using an existing DICOM template upfront. And this design also enables DicomPack to handle nested sequence data and multi‐frame images easily. Along with DicomPack∷IO, DicomPack∷Network provides a comprehensive solution of exchanging DICOM information through DIMSE (DICOM Message Service) protocol. Its callback plugin design provides a universal interface to all DIMSE commands (DIMSE‐C and DIMSE‐N). Each time a new DIMSE command needs to be implemented, users only need to provide callback procedures to answer some basic questions, such as where to retrieve/store DICOM information. In addition, DicomPack provides examples, e.g., DicomDumper, DicomAnonymizer, DicomStore, under DicomPack∷Util to demonstrate how to develop DICOM applications through DicomPack. Results: Conclusions: DicomPack is a pure Perl package, which means DicomPack only has dependency on core Perl functions. As free software, DicomPack can be redistributed and/or modified as Perl. The easiest way to install DicomPack is through cpan.org (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network). However, DicomPack is in no way intended to to interpret DICOM information and/or enforce DICOM conformance, which will be up to application developers.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The gearbox is designed with the static strength design theory. However, it cannot accurately reflect the dynamic characteristics of its components under different task conditions, and the ...limitations of traditional measuring methods and testing means, make it very difficult to study the reliability and life prediction of the components of the gearbox at random loads, resulting in a large gap between the actual and design lives, which seriously affects the gearbox reliability. The multibody kinetics simulation method is used to simulate the gearbox kinetics in different gears of a test site, and the alternating load of the gearbox main shaft is obtained. Based on MSC.Patran software, the fatigue life prediction for the gearbox is investigated; the optimal design of gearbox gears is studied to provide important data for improving the gearbox reliability.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been reported involving in the occurrence and development of hypertension. However, to date, few data are available on the correlation between serum RBP4 level ...and blood pressure (BP) in prehypertension. Therefore, this association was investigated in prehypertensive Chinese. Overall, 160 subjects with prehypertension (Pre-HT group) and 160 subjects with normal BP (NBP group) were recruited in this study. The subjects were divided into the following four subgroups according to body mass index (BMI): obese Pre-HT subgroup; non-obese Pre-HT subgroup; obese NBP subgroup; and non-obese NBP subgroup (n=80 in each). Anthropometric parameters, systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP) and several biochemical parameters were measured. Fasting insulin was evaluated by radioimmunoassay. Serum RBP4 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Pre-HT group had higher levels of serum RBP4 level than did the NBP group (P<0.001). Moreover, higher RBP4 levels were identified in the obese Pre-HT subgroup relative to the non-obese Pre-HT subgroup (P=0.005). However, no difference in RBP4 level was identified between the obese and the non-obese NBP subgroups (P=0.317). RBP4 level was positively correlated with BMI (r=0.226, P=0.001), SBP (r=0.468, P<0.001) and DBP (r=0.358, P<0.001) after adjustment for age, sex, smoking status and alcohol consumption. The results of the multiple regression analyses demonstrated that RBP4 level was independently associated with SBP (β=0.427, P<0.001) and DBP (β=0.338, P<0.001). In conclusion, serum RBP4 level was significantly higher and closely associated with BP in prehypertensive Chinese.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated cellular metabolic responses to tissue-specific and whole-body stimuli play a vital role in the control of energy homeostasis. As a cellular ...energy-sensing mechanism, AMPK activation stimulates glucose uptake and fat oxidation, while it suppresses lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis. The cumulative effects of AMPK activation lead to beneficial metabolic states in liver, muscle and other peripheral tissues that are critical in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders. Activators of AMPK that target selected tissues hold potential as novel therapeutics for diseases in which altered energy metabolism contributes to aetiology.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present accretion disk size measurements for 15 luminous quasars at 0.7 ≤ z ≤ 1.9 derived from griz light curves from the Dark Energy Survey. We measure the disk sizes with continuum reverberation ...mapping using two methods, both of which are derived from the expectation that accretion disks have a radial temperature gradient and the continuum emission at a given radius is well described by a single blackbody. In the first method we measure the relative lags between the multiband light curves, which provides the relative time lag between shorter and longer wavelength variations. From this, we are only able to constrain upper limits on disk sizes, as many are consistent with no lag the 2 level. The second method fits the model parameters for the canonical thin disk directly rather than solving for the individual time lags between the light curves. Our measurements demonstrate good agreement with the sizes predicted by this model for accretion rates between 0.3 and 1 times the Eddington rate. Given our large uncertainties, our measurements are also consistent with disk size measurements from gravitational microlensing studies of strongly lensed quasars, as well as other photometric reverberation mapping results, that find disk sizes that are a factor of a few (∼3) larger than predictions.
Young leaves of tropical trees frequently appear red in color, with the redness disappearing as the leaves mature. During leaf expansion, plants may employ photoprotective mechanisms to cope with ...high light intensities; however, the variations in anthocyanin contents, nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), and photorespiration during leaf expansion are poorly understood. Here, we investigated pigment contents, gas exchange, and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence in
Woodfordia fruticosa
leaves during their expansion. Young red leaves had significantly lower Chl content than that of expanding or mature leaves, but they accumulated significantly higher anthocyanins and dissipated more excited light energy through NPQ. As the leaves matured, net photosynthetic rate, total electron flow through PSII, and electron flow for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate oxygenation gradually increased. Our results provided evidence that photorespiration is of fundamental importance in regulating the photosynthetic electron flow and CO
2
assimilation during leaf expansion.
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FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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