Proposal for a New Method for Evaluating Polymer-Modified Bitumen Fatigue and Self-Restoration Performances Considering the Whole Damage Characteristic Curve.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps in knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to accommodate these two bitumen phenomena fully.

Engineering extracellular electron transfer pathways of electroactive microorganisms by synthetic biology for energy and chemicals production.

The excessive consumption of fossil fuels causes massive emission of CO, leading to climate deterioration and environmental pollution. The development of substitutes and sustainable energy sources to replace fossil fuels has become a worldwide priority. Bio-electrochemical systems (BESs), employing redox reactions of electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) on electrodes to achieve a meritorious combination of biocatalysis and electrocatalysis, provide a green and sustainable alternative approach for bioremediation, CO fixation, and energy and chemicals production.

Engineering extracellular polymer substrates biosynthesis and carbon felt-carbon nanotube hybrid electrode to promote biofilm electroactivity and bioelectricity production.

Organic-rich thin stillage is a significant by-product of the liquor brewing industry, and its direct release into the environment can cause severe water pollution. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer the possibility for converting organic matters in thin stillage into clean electricity. However, limited biofilm formation and conductivity are crucial bottlenecks in restricting the power harvest of MFCs.

In-vivo programmable acoustic manipulation of genetically engineered bacteria.

Acoustic tweezers can control target movement through the momentum interaction between an acoustic wave and an object. This technology has advantages over optical tweezers for in-vivo cell manipulation due to its high tissue penetrability and strong acoustic radiation force. However, normal cells are difficult to acoustically manipulate because of their small size and the similarity between their acoustic impedance and that of the medium.

Performance Assessment of Self-Healing Polymer-Modified Bitumens by Evaluating the Suitability of Current Failure Definition, Failure Criterion, and Fatigue-Restoration Criteria.

Fatigue cracking is a common form of flexible pavement distress, which generally starts and spreads through bitumen. To address this issue, self-healing elastomer (SHE) modified bitumens were elaborated to assess whether these novel materials can overcome the neat asphalt (NA) fatigue performance and whether the current failure definition, failure criterion, and fatigue-restoration criteria can fit their performance. All bitumens were subjected to short-term and long-term aging.

Graphene quantum dots induce cascadic apoptosis interaction with proteins associated with anti-oxidation after endocytosis by .

, the pathogen causing African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) in humans, causes debilitating diseases in many regions of the world, but mainly in African countries with tropical and subtropical climates. Enormous efforts have been devoted to controlling trypanosomiasis, including expanding vector control programs, searching for novel anti-trypanosomial agents, and developing vaccines, but with limited success. In this study, we systematically investigated the effect of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) on trypanosomal parasites and their underlying mechanisms.

Sonodynamic Therapy With Concentric Ultrasound Imaging Array for Precision Theranostics for Atherosclerotic Plaque.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a major cause of human disability and mortality. Our previous study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of sonodynamic therapy (SDT) on atherosclerotic plaques. However, traditional single-element therapeutic transducer has single acoustic field, and positioning therapeutic and imaging transducers in the same position is difficult during ultrasound imaging-guided SDT.

Engineering Shewanella oneidensis to efficiently harvest electricity power by co-utilizing glucose and lactate in thin stillage of liquor industry.

Thin stillage, rich in glucose and lactate, can seriously pollute water resources when directly discharged into the natural environment. Microbial fuel cells (MFC), as a green and sustainable technology, could utilize exoelectrogens to break down organics in wastewater and harvest electricity. Nevertheless, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, cannot utilize thin stillage for efficient power generation.

Engineering a newly isolated exoelectrogen from activated sludge, to enhance methyl orange degradation and bioelectricity harvest.

Electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) play important roles in biogeochemical redox processes and have been of great interest in the fields of energy recovery, waste treatment, and environmental remediation. However, the currently identified EAMs are difficult to be widely used in complex and diverse environments, due to the existence of poor electron transfer capability, weak environmental adaptability, and difficulty with engineering modifications, etc. Therefore, rapid and efficient screening of high performance EAMs from environments is an effective strategy to facilitate applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs).

SNP rs12794714 of CYP2R1 is associated with serum vitamin D levels and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA): a case-control study.

Purpose: Vitamin D (VD) deficiency seems to be associated with the risk of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Vitamin D receptor (VDR) and cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily R member 1 (CYP2R1) are two genes which are vital for VD metabolism and actions. However, whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these genes are correlated with the risk of RSA are poorly understood.

Enhanced Antimalarial Efficacy Obtained by Targeted Delivery of Artemisinin in Heparin-Coated Magnetic Hollow Mesoporous Nanoparticles.

Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases threatening half of the world population. With the deterioration of the parasiticidal effect of the current antimalarials, novel approaches such as screening of more specific inhibitors and targeted delivery of drugs have been under intensive research. Herein, we prepare hollow mesoporous ferrite nanoparticles (HMFNs) of 200 nm with ferromagnetic properties using a one-pot hydrothermal reaction.

Correction: A multi-center randomized prospective study on the treatment of infant bronchiolitis with interferon α1b nebulization.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

A multi-center randomized prospective study on the treatment of infant bronchiolitis with interferon α1b nebulization.

Background: The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main cause of bronchiolitis in infants and interferon (IFN) α is a commercial antiviral drug. The nebulization of IFN α1b could be a viable treatment method. In this study, the therapeutic effects and safety of IFN α1b delivery via nebulization in infant bronchiolitis were investigated in this multi-center prospective study.

In utero exposure to persistent and nonpersistent endocrine-disrupting chemicals and anogenital distance. A systematic review of epidemiological studies†.

Anti-androgenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can cross the placenta to modify early offspring sexual dimorphic markers. These changes are linked to anogenital distance (AGD), which is an androgen-sensitive anthropometric parameter used as a biomarker of perineal growth and caudal migration of the genital tubercle. This review aimed to summarize strength of evidence for associations of in utero exposure to EDCs with AGD and to identify gaps and limitations in the literature so as to inform future research.

Pulmonary invasive fungal disease and bacterial pneumonia: a comparative study with high-resolution CT.

Background: Early diagnosis of invasive fungal disease (IFD) is challenging. High-resolution computed tomography (CT) may improve IFD diagnosis; however, there are no definitive imaging signs for differentiating between bacterial pneumonia and IFD.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated CT images of 208 patients with IFD (n = 102) or bacterial pneumonia (n = 106).

Sensitive detection of low-abundance in-frame deletions in EGFR exon 19 using novel wild-type blockers in real-time PCR.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are associated with response of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the existing methods for detection of samples having rare mutations(i.e.

Clinical efficacy of bevacizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin combination chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical efficacy of bevacizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) combination chemotherapy in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: A total of 186 patients with advanced NSCLC who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from October 2013 to June 2016 were randomly divided into control group and observation group, with 93 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with GP chemotherapy, while patients in observation group were treated with intravenous infusion of bevacizumab combined with GP chemotherapy.

Rapid construction of multiple sgRNA vectors and knockout of the Arabidopsis IAA2 gene using the CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing technology.

IAA2 is a member of the Aux/IAA auxin responsive gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. No iaa2 mutant has been reported until now, thus hindering its further mechanistic investigations. The normal genomic editing technology of CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9) uses only a single guide RNA (sgRNA) to target one site in a specific gene, and the gene knockout efficiency is not high.