Fabrication of Mo-Doped WO₃ Nanorod Arrays on FTO Substrate with Enhanced Electrochromic Properties

Well-oriented and crystalline WO₃ nanorod arrays (WNRAs) decorated with Mo were synthesized on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate by the hydrothermal method. The effects of Mo doping, hydrothermal reaction time, and hydrothermal temperature on the morphologies and electrochromic properties of as-prepared WNRAs were studied thoroughly. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and chronoamperometry techniques were used to characterize the structures and properties of obtained WNRAs. The results demonstrate that the average diameter of the as-prepared WNRAs ranged from 30 to 70 nm. During the decoration of Mo on the WNRAs, the growth density of as-prepared WNRAs decreased and the surfaces became rough. However, the decorated Mo on WNRAs synthesized at 180 °C for 5 h with a Mo/W mole ratio of 1:40 exhibited better electrochromic properties than single WNRAs. They exhibited high optical modulation (61.7%), fast bleaching/coloring response times (3 s/9 s), high coloration efficiency values (73.1 cm²/C), and good cycling stability.

A Winner-Take-All Strategy for Improved Object Tracking

Recently, numerous state-of-the-art learning schemes are proposed for object tracking. However, typically, most methods can only solve certain type of challenges but are less effective for the rest-no single tracker is perfect for all challenges. In this paper, a winner-take-all (WTA) strategy is exploited to select a winner tracker (considering both accuracy and efficiency) from a set of prevailing methods to tackle the current challenge, according to features extracted from the current environment and an efficiency factor. To achieve this, a structural regression model to characterize the trackers is trained on a public dataset. By incorporating the complementary abilities from multiple trackers, the diversity of the model is improved so that the WTA tracker can tackle various unpredictable difficulties. Since only one tracker is selected at any time, the average efficiency of the proposed model is also higher than that of complex trackers in the tracker set. The proposed WTA framework is tested on two benchmark datasets as well as several long sequences, and extensive experimental results illustrate that WTA can significantly improve both the performance and the efficiency.

Angiotensin II aggravates lipopolysaccharide induced human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells permeability in high glucose status

Lung infection is one of the most common infections in diabetes mellitus and is characterized by increased pulmonary microvascular endothelial permeability. Local Angiotensin II (AngII) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. However, whether AngII can aggravate diabetic infectious lung injury is not clear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of AngII on the permeability of human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMVECs) challenged by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in high glucose states in vitro. HPMVECs were divided into five groups: a control group (CON), a high glucose group (HG), an LPS + high glucose group (LH), an LPS + high glucose + AngII group (LHA), and an LPS + high glucose + Losartan group (LHL). The HPMVECs permeability as well as the F-actin levels, cytoskeleton, apoptosis and TNF-α concentrations were evaluated. Compared to the CON group, the HG, LH and LHA groups had significantly higher cellular permeability, cellular apoptosis and TNF-α levels, with more extensive cytoskeletal damage and lower F-actin levels. Additionally, cells in the LHA group exhibited significantly elevated permeability, apoptosis and TNF-α concentrations, lower F-actin levels and more extensive cytoskeletal damage than either the LH or HG group. However, compared to the HG or LH group, the LHL group showed significantly lower cellular permeability, cell apoptosis, cytoskeletal damage and TNF-α concentrations and higher F-actin levels. This study suggests that in a diabetic infectious lung injury cellular model, AngII could aggravate the permeability of HPMVEC via F-actin dynamics and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, blocking the Angiotension II Type 1 Receptor could significantly alleviate the hyperpermeability of HPMVECs.

Site-Specific Incorporation of Selenocysteine Using an Expanded Genetic Code and Palladium-Mediated Chemical Deprotection

Selenoproteins containing the 21st amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) exist in all three kingdoms of life and play essential roles in human health and development. The distinct low p Ka, high reactivity, and redox property of Sec also afford unique routes to protein modification and engineering. However, natural Sec incorporation requires idiosyncratic translational machineries that are dedicated to Sec and species-dependent, which makes it challenging to recombinantly prepare selenoproteins with high Sec specificity. As a consequence, the function of half of human selenoproteins remains unclear, and Sec-based protein manipulation has been greatly hampered. Here we report a new general method enabling the site-specific incorporation of Sec into proteins in E. coli. An orthogonal tRNAPyl-ASecRS was evolved to specifically incorporate Se-allyl selenocysteine (ASec) in response to the amber codon, and the incorporated ASec was converted to Sec in high efficiency through palladium-mediated cleavage under mild conditions compatible with proteins and cells. This approach completely obviates the natural Sec-dedicated factors, thus allowing various selenoproteins, regardless of Sec position and species source, to be prepared with high Sec specificity and enzyme activity, as shown by the preparation of human thioredoxin and glutathione peroxidase 1. Sec-selective labeling in the presence of Cys was also demonstrated on the surface of live E. coli cells. The tRNAPyl-ASecRS pair was further used in mammalian cells to incorporate ASec, which was converted into Sec by palladium catalyst in cellulo. This robust and versatile method should greatly facilitate the study of diverse natural selenoproteins and the engineering of proteins in general via site-specific introduction of Sec.

[Effectiveness of distal femoral osteotomy assisted by three-dimensional printing technology for correction of valgus knee with osteoarthritis]

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of distal femoral osteotomy aided by three-dimensional (3D) printing cutting block for correction of vaglus knee with osteoarthritis.

Methods

Between January 2014 and January 2016, 12 patients (15 knees) with vaglus deformity and lateral osteoarhritis underwent medial closing wedge distal femoral osteotomy. There were 5 males and 7 females, aged 30-60 years (mean, 43.8 years). The mean disease duration was 6.6 years (range, 1-12 years). The unilateral knee was involved in 9 cases and bilateral knees in 3 cases. According to Koshino's staging system, 1 knee was classified as stage I, 9 knees as stage II, and 5 knees as stage III. The X-ray films of bilateral lower extremities showed that the femorotibial angle (FTA) and anatomical lateral distal femoral angle (aLDFA) were (160.40±2.69)° and (64.20±2.11)° respectively. Mimics software was used to design and print the cutting block by 3D printing technique. During operation, the best location of distal femoral osteotomy was determined according to the cutting block. After osteotomy, internal fixation was performed using a steel plate and screws.

Results

All incisions healed primarily; no complication of infection or deep vein thrombosis was observed. All patients were followed up 6-18 month (mean, 12.2 months). At 6 months after operation, the hospital for special surgery (HSS) score for knee was significantly improved to 89.07±2.49 when compared with preoperative score (65.27±1.49, t=-28.31, P=0.00); the results were excellent in 10 knees, good in 4 knees, and fair in 1 knee with an excellent and good rate of 93.3%. The bony union time was 2.9-4.8 months (mean, 3.3 months). Bone delayed union occurred in 1 case (1 knee). The postoperative FTA and aLDFA were (174.00±1.41)° and (81.87±1.06)° respectively, showing significant differences when compared with preoperative ones ( t=-18.26， P=0.00; t=-25.19, P=0.00). The percentage of medial tibial plateau in whole tibial plateau was 49.78%±0.59%, showing no significant difference when compared with intraoperative measurement (49.82%±0.77%, t=0.14, P=0.89).

Conclusion

3D printing cutting block can greatly improve the accuracy of distal femoral osteotomy, and ensure better effectiveness for correction of vaglus knee with osteoarthritis.

Early or late cranioplasty following decompressive craniotomy for traumatic brain injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of early (<3 months) cranioplasty (CP) and late CP (>3 months) on post-operative complications in patients receiving decompressive craniotomy (DC) for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods The Cochrane Library, PubMed and EMBASE databases were systematically searched for studies published prior to May 21, 2017. A meta-analysis examined post-operative overall complication rates, infection rates, subdural fluid collection and operating times according to early and late CP. Results Of the initial 1675 references, five studies, all cohort, involving a total of 413 patients, were selected for the review. There was no difference between early and late CP in post-operative overall complication rate (RR=0.68, 95%CI [0.36, 1.29]) and the post-operative infection rate (RR=0.50, 95%CI [0.20, 1.24]) in patients receiving DC for TBI. However, there was a significant difference in post-operative subdural effusion (RR=0.24, 95%CI [0.07, 0.78]) and mean operative time (mean difference = -33.02 min, 95%CI [-48.19, -17.84]) both in favour of early CP. Conclusions No differences were found between early and late CP in post-operative overall complications and procedural related infections in patients receiving DC for TBI, but early CP reduced the complication of subdural effusion and the mean operating time. These findings need to be confirmed by large, randomised controlled trials.

Macrophage Depletion Lowered Blood Pressure and Attenuated Hypertensive Renal Injury and Fibrosis

Monocyte/macrophage recruitment is closely associated with the degree of hypertensive renal injury. We investigated the direct role of macrophages using liposome-encapsulated clodronate (LEC) to deplete monocytes/macrophages in hypertensive renal injury. C57BL/6 mice were treated with a pressor dose of angiotensin (Ang, 1.4 mg/kg/day) II plus LEC or the PBS-liposome for 2 weeks. Ang II mice developed hypertension, albuminuria, glomerulosclerosis, and renal fibrosis. LEC treatment reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP), albuminuria, and protected against renal structural injury in Ang II mice. Ang II significantly increased renal macrophage infiltration (MOMA2⁺ cells) and the expression of renal tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin β1, which were significantly reduced in Ang II/LEC mice. Ang II increased renal oxidative stress and the expression of profibrotic factors transforming growth factor (TGF) β1 and fibronectin. Ang II also inhibited the phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase [phospho-endothelial nitric oxide synthesis (eNOS), ser1177]. LEC treatment reduced renal oxidative stress and TGFβ1 and fibronectin expressions, and increased phospho-eNOS expression in the Ang II mice. In Dahl rats of salt-sensitive hypertension, LEC treatment for 4 weeks significantly attenuated the elevation of SBP induced by high salt intake and protected against renal injury and fibrosis. Our results demonstrate that renal macrophages play a critical role in the development of hypertension and hypertensive renal injury and fibrosis; the underlying mechanisms may be involved in the reduction in macrophage-driven renal inflammation and restoration of the balance between renal oxidative stress and eNOS. Therefore, macrophages should be considered as a potential therapeutic target to reduce the adverse consequences of hypertensive renal diseases.

Multitarget Sparse Latent Regression

Multitarget regression has recently generated intensive popularity due to its ability to simultaneously solve multiple regression tasks with improved performance, while great challenges stem from jointly exploring inter-target correlations and input-output relationships. In this paper, we propose multitarget sparse latent regression (MSLR) to simultaneously model intrinsic intertarget correlations and complex nonlinear input-output relationships in one single framework. By deploying a structure matrix, the MSLR accomplishes a latent variable model which is able to explicitly encode intertarget correlations via -norm-based sparse learning; the MSLR naturally admits a representer theorem for kernel extension, which enables it to flexibly handle highly complex nonlinear input-output relationships; the MSLR can be solved efficiently by an alternating optimization algorithm with guaranteed convergence, which ensures efficient multitarget regression. Extensive experimental evaluation on both synthetic data and six greatly diverse real-world data sets shows that the proposed MSLR consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms, which demonstrates its great effectiveness for multivariate prediction.

Hetero-Manifold Regularisation for Cross-Modal Hashing

Recently, cross-modal search has attracted considerable attention but remains a very challenging task because of the integration complexity and heterogeneity of the multi-modal data. To address both challenges, in this paper, we propose a novel method termed hetero-manifold regularisation (HMR) to supervise the learning of hash functions for efficient cross-modal search. A hetero-manifold integrates multiple sub-manifolds defined by homogeneous data with the help of cross-modal supervision information. Taking advantages of the hetero-manifold, the similarity between each pair of heterogeneous data could be naturally measured by three order random walks on this hetero-manifold. Furthermore, a novel cumulative distance inequality defined on the hetero-manifold is introduced to avoid the computational difficulty induced by the discreteness of hash codes. By using the inequality, cross-modal hashing is transformed into a problem of hetero-manifold regularised support vector learning. Therefore, the performance of cross-modal search can be significantly improved by seamlessly combining the integrated information of the hetero-manifold and the strong generalisation of the support vector machine. Comprehensive experiments show that the proposed HMR achieve advantageous results over the state-of-the-art methods in several challenging cross-modal tasks.

Intestinal Microbiota and Kidney Diseases

Kidney diseases are common and the incidence rate is increasing. Gut microbiota is involved in metabolic and immune regulation of the host. Genetic, alimentary and environmental disease factors may change gut flora and increase opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria, contributing to immune or non-immune mediated kidney diseases including IgA nephropathy and diabetic nephropathy. Additionally, bacterial metabolites may be a source of uremic toxins. Thus, identification of diversity, composition, and metabolic and immunologic features of gut bacteria in chronic kidney diseases may help understand pathogenetic mechanism and develop therapy for diseases.

Genetically Encoding Fluorosulfate-l-tyrosine To React with Lysine, Histidine, and Tyrosine via SuFEx in Proteins in Vivo

Introducing new chemical reactivity into proteins in living cells would endow innovative covalent bonding ability to proteins for research and engineering in vivo. Latent bioreactive unnatural amino acids (Uaas) can be incorporated into proteins to react with target natural amino acid residues via proximity-enabled reactivity. To expand the diversity of proteins amenable to such reactivity in vivo, a chemical functionality that is biocompatible and able to react with multiple natural residues under physiological conditions is highly desirable. Here we report the genetic encoding of fluorosulfate-l-tyrosine (FSY), the first latent bioreactive Uaa that undergoes sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEx) on proteins in vivo. FSY was found nontoxic to Escherichia coli and mammalian cells; after being incorporated into proteins, it selectively reacted with proximal lysine, histidine, and tyrosine via SuFEx, generating covalent intraprotein bridge and interprotein cross-link of interacting proteins directly in living cells. The proximity-activatable reactivity, multitargeting ability, and excellent biocompatibility of FSY will be invaluable for covalent manipulation of proteins in vivo. Moreover, genetically encoded FSY hereby empowers general proteins with the next generation of click chemistry, SuFEx, which will afford broad utilities in chemical biology, drug discovery, and biotherapeutics.

Photodegradation of Moxifloxacin Hydrochloride Solutions under Visible Light Irradiation: Identification of Products and the Effect of pH on their Formation

The photodegradation study is essential for the phototoxicity assessment of fluoroquinolones. Various LC-MS techniques and ultraviolet (UV) lamp irradiation conditions have been used for the identification of their photodegradation products. In this study, visible light (400-760 nm) lamp irradiation was selected for the photodegradation of moxifloxacin (MOXI) hydrochloride solutions. Two photodegradation products were identified by LC-MS/MS at first, but one product could not be speculated from the mass spectrum and any known degradation mechanisms. To obtain an adequate amount for the structure elucidation, this unknown product was isolated by recrystallization and semi-preparative HPLC. Then, its structure was further identified by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and 2D-NMR. Based on spectral data, this new photodegradation product was unambiguously named as 7-[3-(3-aminopropyl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl]-1-cyclopropyl-6-fluoro-8-methoxy-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid, which was formed through the open of hexahydroxy N-containing heterocycle and the formation of two alkene bonds in pyrrole ring. The effects of solution pH value on the formation of photodegradation products were compared. Their production was minimum at pH 5.0 and maximum at pH 7.0. Because MOXI hydrochloride has been used extensively in clinical practice and visible light is the most possible light source that pharmaceutical products are exposed to, our study is important for the quality control of MOXI liquid preparations.

Relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior in Chinese nursing students

BACKGROUND

In the information-based economy, information literacy has become the foundation of scientific literacy, and provides the basis for innovative growth. Exploring the relationship between information-seeking behaviors and innovative behaviors of nursing students could help guide the development of information literacy education and training for nursing students. The relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior in nursing students has received little attention, however.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior of nursing students.

METHODS

Nursing students in Xiangya Medical School, Central South University and Medical School of Hunan Normal University in the Chinese Province of Hunan were surveyed with an information-seeking behavior scale and an innovative behavior scale.

RESULTS

A total of 1247 nursing students were included in the final analysis. The results showed that both information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior were significantly better in undergraduates than in junior college nursing students (P < .01), and in postgraduates than in undergraduates (P < .01). The overall level of nursing students' information-seeking behavior was positively related to innovative behavior (r = 0.63, P < .01), and the 7 dimensions of information-seeking behavior were also correlated with innovative behavior in varying degrees. Furthermore, information utilization was proved to be the strongest predictor of innovative behavior.

CONCLUSION

Information-seeking behavior is positively associated with innovative behavior among nursing students. There is a need to integrate information literacy education with information retrieval courses, especially in the aspects of information utilization, retrieval, and assessment.

Streptococcus suis DivIVA Protein Is a Substrate of Ser/Thr Kinase STK and Involved in Cell Division Regulation

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 is an important swine pathogen and an emerging zoonotic agent that causes severe infections. Recent studies have reported a eukaryotic-like Ser/Thr protein kinase (STK) gene and characterized its role in the growth and virulence of different S. suis 2 strains. In the present study, phosphoproteomic analysis was adopted to identify substrates of the STK protein. Seven proteins that were annotated to participate in different cell processes were identified as potential substrates, which suggests the pleiotropic effects of stk on S. suis 2 by targeting multiple pathways. Among them, a protein characterized as cell division initiation protein (DivIVA) was further investigated. In vitro analysis demonstrated that the recombinant STK protein directly phosphorylates threonine at amino acid position 199 (Thr-199) of DivIVA. This effect could be completely abolished by the T199A mutation. To determine the specific role of DivIVA in growth and division, a divIVA mutant was constructed. The ΔdivIVA strain exhibited impaired growth and division, including lower viability, enlarged cell mass, asymmetrical division caused by aberrant septum, and extremely weak pathogenicity in a mouse infection model. Collectively, our results reveal that STK regulates the cell growth and virulence of S. suis 2 by targeting substrates that are involved in different biological pathways. The inactivation of DivIVA leads to severe defects in cell division and strongly attenuates pathogenicity, thereby indicating its potential as a molecular drug target against S. suis.

P2Y12 deficiency in mouse impairs noradrenergic system in brain, and alters anxiety-like neurobehavior and memory

Purinergic receptor P2Y₁₂ (P2Y₁₂ ), a G protein-coupled purinergic receptor, is widely distributed in nervous system and involved in the progression of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. The central noradrenergic system actively participates in a number of neurophysiological processes. Nevertheless, whether there is any direct relevance between P2Y₁₂ and noradrenergic signal transduction remains unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that lack of P2Y₁₂ impaired noradrenergic signal transduction in mouse brain. Our results showed that P2Y₁₂ knockout (KO) mice exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior in the open-field test (OFT) and elevated plus maze test and displayed deficits in memory in the radial-arm maze test (RAMT) and Morris water maze test (MWMT). They also exhibited reduced locomotion in the OFT and MWMT. Moreover, loss of P2Y₁₂ decreased the level of noradrenaline and the expression of noradrenergic α receptors, subtypes α2 (ARα2b) in mouse cerebellum and hippocampus. Meanwhile, it hampered the protein kinase A (PKA)/cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling pathway in these brain regions. Taken together, our results showed for the first time that P2Y₁₂ KO altered the anxiety, memory and locomotion of mice, which was closely associated with abnormal state of noradrenergic system in the brain. The findings implicate that P2Y₁₂ plays an indispensable role in noradrenergic signal transduction; its deficit is insufficient to limit anxiety responses or supports cognitive performance and activity.