Cell-cell communication via ligand-receptor signaling is a fundamental feature of complex organs. Despite this, the global landscape of intercellular signaling in mammalian liver has not been ...elucidated. Here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing on non-parenchymal cells isolated from healthy and NASH mouse livers. Secretome gene analysis revealed a highly connected network of intrahepatic signaling and disruption of vascular signaling in NASH. We uncovered the emergence of NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs), which are marked by high expression of triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 (Trem2), as a feature of mouse and human NASH that is linked to disease severity and highly responsive to pharmacological and dietary interventions. Finally, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) serve as a hub of intrahepatic signaling via HSC-derived stellakines and their responsiveness to vasoactive hormones. These results provide unprecedented insights into the landscape of intercellular crosstalk and reprogramming of liver cells in health and disease.
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•Heterogeneity and plasticity of non-parenchymal cells in healthy and NASH liver•Landscape of intrahepatic ligand-receptor signaling at single-cell resolution•Emergence of Trem2+ NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs) in mouse and human NASH•Stellakine secretion and contractile response to vasoactive hormones by HSCs
This work illustrates the heterogeneity of liver non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) and their reprogramming during NASH pathogenesis. Using single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis, the authors mapped the landscape of the intrahepatic ligand-receptor signaling network and revealed two fundamental aspects of HSC biology: stellakine secretion and contractile response to vasoactive hormones. Hepatic vascular dysfunction and emergence of Trem2+ NASH-associated macrophages (NAMs) are two conserved features of mouse and human NASH.
A new bio-inspired algorithm, namely Bird Swarm Algorithm (BSA), is proposed for solving optimisation applications. BSA is based on the swarm intelligence extracted from the social behaviours and ...social interactions in bird swarms. Birds mainly have three kinds of behaviours: foraging behaviour, vigilance behaviour and flight behaviour. Birds may forage for food and escape from the predators by the social interactions to obtain a high chance of survival. By modelling these social behaviours, social interactions and the related swarm intelligence, four search strategies associated with five simplified rules are formulated in BSA. Simulations and comparisons based on eighteen benchmark problems demonstrate the effectiveness, superiority and stability of BSA. Some proposals for future research about BSA are also discussed.
•Habitat selection and compensation for Doppler effect are incorporated into algorithm.•Algorithm possesses the quantum search operator and mechanical search operator.•Self-adaptive local search is ...proposed.•Algorithm shows significant performance in comparison with more than 20 methods.
A novel bat algorithm (NBA) is proposed for optimization in this paper, which focuses on further mimicking the bats’ behaviors and improving bat algorithm (BA) in view of biology. The proposed algorithm incorporates the bats’ habitat selection and their self-adaptive compensation for Doppler effect in echoes into the basic BA. The bats’ habitat selection is modeled as the selection between their quantum behaviors and mechanical behaviors. Having considered the bats’ self-adaptive compensation for Doppler effect in echoes and the individual’s difference in the compensation rate, the echolocation characteristics of bats can be further simulated in NBA. A self-adaptive local search strategy is also embedded into NBA. Simulations and comparisons based on twenty benchmark problems and four real-world engineering designs demonstrate the effectiveness, efficiency and stability of NBA compared with the basic BA and some well-known algorithms, and suggest that to improve algorithm based on biological basis should be very efficient. Further research topics are also discussed.
•The analytical derivation of the moment enslavement scheme with good convergence.•Successful application to the 1D shear Alfvén wave in a broad range of β/me.•The development of the mixed ...particle-in-cell-particle-in-Fourier scheme in torus.•Simulations of toroid Alfvén eigenmodes using a widely studied ITPA case.
In this work, an implicit scheme for particle-in-cell/Fourier electromagnetic simulations is developed and applied to studies of Alfvén waves in one dimension and three dimensional tokamak plasmas. An analytical treatment is introduced to achieve efficient convergence of the iterative solution of the implicit field-particle system. First, its application to the one-dimensional uniform plasma demonstrates its applicability in a broad range of β/me values. Second, toroidicity induced Alfvén eigenmodes (TAE) are simulated in a three dimensional axisymmetric tokamak plasma, using the widely studied case defined by the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA) Energetic Particle (EP) Topical Group. The real frequency and the growth (or damping) rate of the TAE with (or without) EPs agree with previous results reasonably well. The full f electromagnetic particle scheme established in this work provides a possible natural choice for EP transport studies where large profile variation and arbitrary particle distribution functions need to be treated in kinetic simulations.
•Effective thermal conductivity of rock‐soil is critical for geothermal applications.•Various theoretical models are commented and justified in terms of advantages and limitations.•Theoretical and ...experimental approaches are analyzed and compared in detail.•Adoption of theoretical or experimental method in actual application is suggested.
In recent years, the utilization of geothermal energy through ground buried heat exchanger to provide heat source for buildings has become extremely attractive within China and all over the world. The effective thermal conductivity of the ground, which may affect the heat transfer process between the buried pipes and the surrounding rock-soil significantly, is a key parameter that governs the prediction of the system performance. This article reviews recently proposed methods to determine the effective thermal conductivities of different rock-soil types containing various substances. The applicabilities of various basic methods to include the effects of porosity, water content, material construction and etc. are documented. According to the deficiencies of basic models, the improved models take into account the effects of the temperature, saturation degree, detailed structure of rock-soil and other parameters to improve the accuracy of predictions. For certain types of rock-soil, experimental measurements are needed to improve the accuracy or verify the results of the improved model in the appropriate ranges of porosity and saturation degree. However, these measurements tend to be expensive and time consuming.
This study described the bioelectrochemistry of hemoglobin (Hb) at multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) noncovalently functionalized with biopolymers of sodium alginate (SA). The characteristics of ...Hb/SA–MWCNTs composite film were studied by using FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. Hb immobilized on SA–MWCNTs composite film retained its native secondary structure, achieved direct electron transfer with the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (ks) of (9.54±0.883)s−1 and showed excellent bioelectrocatalytic activity to the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. The amperometric response of the biosensor varied linearly with the H2O2 concentration ranging from 40 to 200μM, with a detection limit of 16.41×10−6M (S/N=3) and the good long-term stability. Finally, we applied this proposed method to investigate the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in real samples.
Drug-loaded electrospun nanofibers and films were fabricated in this study. The drug release of nanofibers was higher than that of films. The nanofibers possessed larger surface than films that drug ...could diffuse from the matrix easier. Additionally, amorphous state of drug in nanofibers and crystal in films made the different release behavior between nanofibers and films. Display omitted
▶ The release rate of FBF was found to increase with the increment of gelatin content. ▶ The FBF release rate of aligned nanofibrous scaffold was lower than that of randomly oriented scaffold. ▶ The crosslinking treatment decreased the burst release of FBF at initial release stage. ▶ The pH value of the buffer solution could affect the FBF release rate.
Drug (Fenbufen, FBF)-loaded poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated via electrospinning technique. The influences of gelatin content, fiber arrangement, crosslinking time and pH value of the buffer solution on FBF release behavior of the resulting nanofibrous scaffolds were investigated, with the corresponding FBF-loaded PLGA and PLGA/gelatin solvent-cast films as controls. The release rate of FBF was found to be increased with the increment of gelatin content for all the composite samples, and the FBF release rate of aligned nanofibrous scaffold was lower than that of randomly oriented scaffold. Moreover, the crosslinking treatment depressed effectively the burst release of FBF at initial release stage of PLGA/gelatin (9/1) nanofibrous scaffold. In addition, the pH value of the buffer solution could change the physical state of the polymer and affect the FBF release rate.
•A TiN(Ti2N)/Ti gradient alloying surface layer formed on C17200 alloy by plasma surface Ti-alloying and nitriding.•The surface hardness of Ti-N modified layer is significantly improved.•The ...electrical conductivity of C17200 alloy after plasma alloying and nitriding were investigated.•The modified layer after Ti-N duplex treatment shows an improved tribological property.
The duplex treatment of plasma Ti-alloying and plasma nitriding was applied on the surface of C17200 alloy to improve its wear resistance. C17200 substrate was alloyed with Ti using double glow plasma alloying to form a Ti-alloyed layer in its surface, and then treated by plasma nitriding to make a TiN(Ti2N) alloying layer based on the Ti-alloyed surface. The microstructure and formation mechanism were studied by using GDOES, XRD and SEM. The hardness, tribological property and electrical conductivity of C17200 alloy after plasma alloying and nitriding were investigated by mean of micro-hardness tester, friction and wear testers as well as impedance analyzers. Modulus of elasticity and the adhesive strength of TiN(Ti2N)/Ti composite layer were evaluated by nano-indenter and scratch tester. The result shows that a TiN(Ti2N)-Ti-Be-Cu composite layer with a thickness of 27μm is formed in the C17200 surface and is mainly composed of TiN, Ti2N, Cu(Ti) solid solution, etc. The composite alloying surface consists of the hard TiN(Ti2N)-rich layer on the top surface and Ti-Cu-Be diffusion layer, showing a strong adhesive strength with the C17200 substrate and a little decrease in the modulus of elasticity. A certain amount of Cu and Be together with TiN/Ti2N exists in the outmost, resulting in a better combination of wear resistance and conductive performance.