The precise control over the locations of hot spots in a nanostructured ensemble is of great importance in plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy, chemical sensing, and super-resolution optical imaging. ...However, for multiparticle configurations over metal films that involve localized and propagating surface plasmon modes, the locations of hot spots are difficult to predict due to complex plasmon competition and synergistic effects. In this work, theoretical simulations based on multiparticle–film configurations predict that the locations of hot spots can be efficiently controlled in the particle–particle gaps, the particle–film junctions, or in both, by suppressing or promoting specific plasmonic coupling effects in specific wavelength ranges. These findings offer an avenue to obtain strong Raman signals from molecules situated on single crystal surfaces and simultaneously avoid signal interference from particle–particle gaps.
Microbes and microbiota dysbiosis are correlated with the development of lung cancer; however, the airway taxa characteristics and bacterial topography in synchronous multiple primary lung cancer ...(sMPLC) are not fully understood. The present study aimed to investigate the microbiota taxa distribution and characteristics in the airways of patients with sMPLC and clarify specimen acquisition modalities in these patients. Using the precise positioning of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB), we analyzed the characteristics of the respiratory microbiome, which were collected from different sites and using different sampling methods. Microbiome predictor variables were bacterial DNA burden and bacterial community composition based on 16sRNA. Eight non-smoking patients with sMPLC in the same pulmonary lobe were included in this study. Compared with other sampling methods, bacterial burden and diversity were higher in surface areas sampled by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Bacterial topography data revealed that the segment with sMPLC lesions provided evidence of specific colonizing bacteria in segments with lesions. After taxonomic annotation, we identified 4863 phylotypes belonging to 185 genera and 10 different phyla. The four most abundant specific bacterial community members detected in the airway containing sMPLC lesions were
, and
, which all peaked at the segments with sMPLC lesions. This study begins to define the bacterial topography of the respiratory tract in patients with sMPLC and provides an approach to specimen acquisition for sMPLC, namely BAL fluid obtained from segments where lesions are located.
For crushable sand, compared to non-crushable sand, this paper describes the experimental phenomenon of the opposite turning direction of stress–dilatancy curve after the peak stress ratio. Then, ...based on the first law of thermodynamics, we derive a new stress–dilatancy model which incorporates the derivatives of breakage energy and rearrangement energy to account for the opposite turning hook of crushable sand. In the framework of this model, the mechanism for opposite turning hook is attributable to the breakage-caused change of particle size distribution, which leads to the decrease of the critical stress ratio
M
and the decrease of the rearrangement-energy-related term. Our model is verified through our triaxial tests on crushable calcareous sand, non-crushable silica sand, and artificial particles, which well depicts the opposite turning phenomenon. Our model is also verified through other crushable sands from two existing literatures.
A reconfigurable multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna design for the smartphone with a metal frame capable of covering hepta-band LTE/WWAN is proposed. The proposed antenna has four monopole ...slots (two long slots and two short slots) etched on the top and bottom side of the system ground, respectively. Two PIN diodes are inserted into the two long monopole slots. When these two PIN diodes are OFF, the two long monopole slots can generate the desired lower-band (824–960 MHz) which can be applied in a 2 × 2 MIMO system. When these two PIN diodes are ON, the corresponding lengths of these two long slots are decreased to the same length as the short slots. Then these four ports can excite the desired upper-band (1710–2690 MHz) which can be used for a 4 × 4 MIMO system. In addition, the performances of the proposed antenna including the return loss, isolation, efficiency, envelop correlation coefficient, mean effective gain, and channel capacity are presented.
Tropical mountain river systems that drain rainforests and experience tropical monsoons typically demonstrate high runoff and discharge a disproportionate amount of particulate load to the world’'s ...oceans compared with other more temperate river systems. As a typical tropical small mountainous river with an broad continental shelf system and wave dominated environment, the Kelantan River is one of the few north-flowing streams in Southeast Asia that discharges into the broad and shallow continental shelf of South China Sea. The existence of seasonal variations of salinity, turbidity, and sediment composition indicate that coarse-grained sediments are deposited rapidly when terrestrial sediments delivered by the Kelantan River leave the river mouth. They are then reworked by wave action during the rainy season, leading to the development and rapid migration of barrier spits near the west side of the river mouth. Under the influence of the seasonal variations in the river plume, fine-grained sediments discharged into the sea by the Kelantan River are transported both along-shore and cross-shore, and most of them are deposited in the continental shelf area within 10 km of the river mouth, because of rapid removal of sediments from the river plume. The spatial distribution patterns of sediment composition, C/N ratio, terrestrial organic carbon content, and Sr/Al ratio also support our conclusion.
•Terrestrial materials are mainly buried near the estuary in small tropical mountainous river-shallow broad shelf system.•Wave action determines the coarse sediment transport that result in development and migration of sand spits.•River plume is the main controlling factor in fine-grain particle cross-shore and along-shore transport.
A large outbreak of dengue, with the most documented cases, occurred in Guangdong China in 2014. Epidemiological studies and phylogenetic analysis of the isolated dengue virus (DENV) showed this ...outbreak was attributed to multiple sources and caused by at least two genotypes of DENV-1 (Genotypes I and III) and two genotypes of DENV-2 (Cosmopolitan and Asian I Genotypes). A retrospective review and phylogenetic analysis of DENV isolated in Guangdong showed that DENV-1 Genotype I strains were reported continuously during 2004-2014, Genotype III strains were reported during 2009-2014 ; DENV-2 Cosmopolitan and Asian I Genotype strains were reported continuously during 2012-2014. At least 45,171 cases were reported in this outbreak, with 65.9% of the patients in the 21-55-year-old group. A trend toward a decrease in the daily newly emerged cases lagged by approximately 20 days compared with the mosquito density curve. Several epidemiological characteristics of this outbreak and the stably sustained serotypes and genotypes of DENV isolated in Guangdong suggest that Guangdong has been facing a threat of transforming from a dengue epidemic area to an endemic area. The high temperature, drenching rain, rapid urbanization, and pandemic of dengue in Southeast Asia may have contributed to this large outbreak of dengue.
N-terminal acetyltransferase (Nats) complex is responsible for protein N-terminal acetylation (Nα-acetylation), which is one of the most common covalent modifications of eukaryotic proteins. Although ...genome-wide investigation and characterization of Nat catalytic subunits (CS) and auxiliary subunits (AS) have been conducted in yeast and humans they remain unexplored in plants. Here we report on the identification of eleven genes encoding eleven putative Nat CS polypeptides, and five genes encoding five putative Nat AS polypeptides in Populus. We document that the expansion of Nat CS genes occurs as duplicated blocks distributed across 10 of the 19 poplar chromosomes, likely only as a result of segmental duplication events. Based on phylogenetic analysis, poplar Nat CS were assigned to six subgroups, which corresponded well to the Nat CS types (CS of Nat A-F), being consistent with previous reports in humans and yeast. In silico analysis of microarray data showed that in the process of normal development of the poplar, their Nat CS and AS genes are commonly expressed at one relatively low level but share distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. This exhaustive survey of Nat genes in poplar provides important information to assist future studies on their functional role in poplar.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) constitute the primary forms of chronic liver disease, and their incidence is progressively increasing with changes ...in lifestyle habits. Earlier studies have documented a correlation between the occurrence and development of prevalent mental disorders and fatty liver.
To investigate the correlation between fatty liver and mental disorders, thus necessitating the implementation of a mendelian randomization (MR) study to elucidate this association.
Data on NAFLD and ArLD were retrieved from the genome-wide association studies catalog, while information on mental disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, multiple personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia was acquired from the psychiatric genomics consortium. A two-sample MR method was applied to investigate mediators in significant associations.
After excluding weak instrumental variables, a causal relationship was identified between fatty liver disease and the occurrence and development of some psychiatric disorders. Specifically, the findings indicated that ArLD was associated with a significantly elevated risk of developing ADHD (OR: 5.81, 95%CI: 5.59-6.03,
< 0.01), bipolar disorder (OR: 5.73, 95%CI: 5.42-6.05,
= 0.03), OCD (OR: 6.42, 95%CI: 5.60-7.36,
< 0.01), and PTSD (OR: 5.66, 95%CI: 5.33-6.01,
< 0.01). Meanwhile, NAFLD significantly increased the risk of developing bipolar disorder (OR: 55.08, 95%CI: 3.59-845.51,
< 0.01), OCD (OR: 61.50, 95%CI: 6.69-565.45,
< 0.01), and PTSD (OR: 52.09, 95%CI: 4.24-639.32,
< 0.01).
Associations were found between genetic predisposition to fatty liver disease and an increased risk of a broad range of psychiatric disorders, namely bipolar disorder, OCD, and PTSD, highlighting the significance of preventive measures against psychiatric disorders in patients with fatty liver disease.
Hypertriglyceridemia is the third leading cause of acute pancreatitis (AP), and its incidence is increasing. Due to its relatively insidious etiology, it is easy to be ignored in the early stages. In ...China, Chaiqin Chengqi Decoction (CQCQD) has long been employed for treating AP.
To evaluate the effectiveness of CQCQD in patients diagnosed with mild/ moderately severe hypertriglyceridemic AP (HTG-AP).
In this study, the clinical data of 39 patients with HTG-AP admitted from January 2019 to November 2022 were collected. The changes of blood lipids, gastrointestinal symptoms, and abdominal pain before and after treatment were analyzed and compared between the two groups.
Twenty patients were treated with the conventional HTG-AP regimen, and 19 patients were additionally treated with CQCQD. After receiving treatment, the triglycerides (TG) level of the CQCQD group was lower than that of the CQCQD group (3.14 ± 0.25 mmol/L
4.96 ± 0.47 mmol/L,
< 0.01). After 3 d of treatment, the patients in the CQCQD group had more bowel movements than the control group (2.51 ± 0.25 times
1.00 ± 0.17 times,
= 0.01). The gastrointestinal function of most patients returned to normal, and the acute gastrointestinal injury score was significantly lower than that of the control group (0.11 ± 0.07
0.42 ± 0.11,
< 0.01).
In patients with HTG-AP, CQCQD can significantly reduce the TG level, shorten the recovery time of defecation, significantly improve the gastrointestinal function.
The water content of surface dead fuels is one of the most important indicators for forecasting fire danger and fire behaviors. We employed the timelag equilibrium water content methods (i.e. Nelson ...and Simard models) and the meteorological variable regression method to continuously measure the water content of surface dead fuels by one-hour time step from September to October in 2010 under Populus davidiana + Betula platyphylla, Picea koraiensis and the cutover lands (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica + Betula platyphylla) with different canopy densities in Pangu Forestry Bureau, the Great Xing'an Mountains, Heilongjiang Province, China. We established prediction models and obtained prediction errors. The models were also used to extrapolate the water contents of surface dead fuels under other forest stands and the extrapolation accuracy was analyzed. The results showed that the mean absolute error, the mean relative error and the mean square error root of Nelson model (0.0154, 0.104 and 0.0226) were lower than those of Simard model (0.0185, 0.117 and 0.0256). In terms of extrapolation effects, the mean absolute error, the mean relative error and the mean square error root of meteorological variable regression method (0.0410, 0.0300 and 0.0740) were lower than those of Simard model (0.610, 0.492 and 0.846), but they were higher than those of Nelson model (0.034, 0.021 and 0.0660). Such results indicated that the timelag equilibrium moisture content method by one-hour time step, especially Nelson model, was sui-table for the forest stands in the Great Xing'an Mountains. Although extrapolation could not reduce the prediction errors, it could help improve the prediction accuracy and the efficiency of the present models applied to different forest stands or in a larger scale. The modeling and extrapolation errors were closely related to species identity and canopy densities, thus the appropriate timelag equilibrium moisture content methods should be selected according to different forest stands and locations.
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