Operando Decoding Ion-Conductive Switch in Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel by Nanodiamond-Based Quantum Sensing.

Thermal-responsive hydrogels are developed as ion-conductive switchs for energy storage devices, however, the molecule mechanism of switch on/off remains unclear. Here, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel is synthesized as a model material and nanodiamond (ND) based quantum sensing for phase change study is developed. First, micro-scale phase separation with cross-linked mesh structure after sol-gel transition is visualized in situ and water molecules are trapped by polymer chains and on a chemically "frozen" state.

Villification of the intestinal epithelium is driven by Foxl1.

The primitive gut tube of mammals initially forms as a simple cylinder consisting of the endoderm-derived, pseudostratified epithelium and the mesoderm-derived surrounding mesenchyme. During mid-gestation a dramatic transformation occurs in which the epithelium is both restructured into its final cuboidal form and simultaneously folded and refolded to create intestinal villi and intervillus regions, the incipient crypts. Here we show that the mesenchymal winged helix transcription factor Foxl1, itself induced by epithelial hedgehog signaling, controls villification by activating BMP and PDGFRa as well as planar cell polarity genes in epithelial-adjacent telocyte progenitors, both directly and in a feed- forward loop with Foxo3.

Villification of the intestinal epithelium is driven by Foxl1.

The primitive gut tube of mammals initially forms as a simple cylinder consisting of the endoderm-derived, pseudostratified epithelium and the mesoderm-derived surrounding mesenchyme. During mid-gestation a dramatic transformation occurs in which the epithelium is both restructured into its final cuboidal form and simultaneously folded and refolded to create intestinal villi and intervillus regions, the incipient crypts. Here we show that the mesenchymal winged helix transcription factor Foxl1, itself induced by epithelial hedgehog signaling, controls villification by activating BMP and PDGFRα as well as planar cell polarity genes in epithelial-adjacent telocyte progenitors, both directly and in a feed-forward loop with Foxo3.

Line-Features-Based Pose Estimation Method for the Disc Cutter Holder of Shield Machine.

To achieve automatic disc cutter replacement of shield machines, measuring the accurate pose of the disc cutter holder by machine vision is crucial. However, under polluted and restricted illumination conditions, achieving pose estimation by vision is a great challenge. This paper proposes a line-features-based pose estimation method for the disc cutter holder of the shield machine by using a monocular camera.

Complete mitochondrial genome of (Osteichthyes: Triglidae) with phylogenetic consideration.

The complete mitochondrial genome of was sequenced in this study. The genome sequence is 16,512 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 22 genes, two genes, and one control region. Overall base composition is 26.

Pose Determination of the Disc Cutter Holder of Shield Machine Based on Monocular Vision.

The visual measurement system plays a vital role in the disc cutter changing robot of the shield machine, and its accuracy directly determines the success rate of the disc cutter grasping. However, the actual industrial environment with strong noise brings a great challenge to the pose measurement methods. The existing methods are difficult to meet the required accuracy of pose measurement based on machine vision under the disc cutter changing conditions.

Optimized scheme for paired transverse corrective forces in S-shaped scoliosis via ultrasound and application in Chêneau brace: a pilot study.

Background: There is currently no consensus on the optimal positions of the transverse corrective forces (TCFs) for scoliosis braces.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore an optimal scheme of placing paired TCF for S-shaped adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and its feasibility in Chêneau brace (CB) treatment.

Study Design: Cross-over feasibility pilot trial.

A Comparative Transcriptional Landscape of Two Castor Cultivars Obtained by Single-Molecule Sequencing Comparative Analysis.

Castor ( L.) is an important non-edible oilseed crop. Lm-type female strains and normal amphiprotic strains are important castor cultivars, and are mainly different in their inflorescence structures and leaf shapes.

MRISCs protect colonic stem cells from inflammatory damage.

Increasing evidence suggest functional roles of subepithelial mesenchymal niche cells in maintaining intestinal stem cells and in modulating the pathogenesis of various intestinal diseases in mammals. A recent study reported the discovery of a new population of stromal cells in mice termed MAP3K2-Regulated Intestinal Stromal Cells (MRISCs); these cells reside at the base of colonic crypt and function to protect colonic stem cells during colonic inflammation by expressing the Wnt agonist R-spondin1 (Rspo1).

The cellular niche for intestinal stem cells: a team effort.

The rapidly self-renewing epithelium in the mammalian intestine is maintained by multipotent intestinal stem cells (ISCs) located at the bottom of the intestinal crypt that are interspersed with Paneth cells in the small intestine and Paneth-like cells in the colon. The ISC compartment is also closely associated with a sub-epithelial compartment that contains multiple types of mesenchymal stromal cells. With the advances in single cell and gene editing technologies, rapid progress has been made for the identification and characterization of the cellular components of the niche microenvironment that is essential for self-renewal and differentiation of ISCs.

Adaptive-Neuro-Fuzzy-Based Information Fusion for the Attitude Prediction of TBMs.

In a tunneling boring machine (TBM), to obtain the attitude in real time is very important for a driver. However, the current laser targeting system has a large delay before obtaining the attitude. So, an adaptive-neuro-fuzzy-based information fusion method is proposed to predict the attitude of a laser targeting system in real time.

Robust internal model control of servo motor based on sliding mode control approach.

This paper proposes a robust internal model control (IMC) based on sliding mode control (SMC) approach for high-performance motion control of a servo motor subject to uncertainties and/or disturbances. The proposed control strategy considers not only the simplicity and intuition of the IMC-based controller for a prescribed tracking performance but also the effectiveness of the SMC scheme to guarantee the robustness of the servo system. Since the performance of the IMC-based controller can be analyzed via a SMC structure, a robust control law based on the SMC technique is introduced into the IMC scheme to decrease the sensitivity to uncertainties and enhance the resistance to disturbances.

Reviewing Clinical Effectiveness of Active Training Strategies of Platform-Based Ankle Rehabilitation Robots.

Objective: This review aims to provide a systematical investigation of clinical effectiveness of active training strategies applied in platform-based ankle robots.

Method: English-language studies published from Jan 1980 to Aug 2017 were searched from four databases using key words of "Ankle" AND "Robot" AND "Effect OR Improv OR Increas." Following an initial screening, three rounds of discrimination were successively conducted based on the title, the abstract, and the full paper.

A Feasibility Study of SSVEP-Based Passive Training on an Ankle Rehabilitation Robot.

Objective: This study aims to establish a steady-state visual evoked potential- (SSVEP-) based passive training protocol on an ankle rehabilitation robot and validate its feasibility.

Method: This paper combines SSVEP signals and the virtual reality circumstance through constructing information transmission loops between brains and ankle robots. The robot can judge motion intentions of subjects and trigger the training when subjects pay their attention on one of the four flickering circles.

BMI1 and MEL18 Promote Colitis-Associated Cancer in Mice via REG3B and STAT3.

Background & Aims: Polycomb group proteins are epigenetic factors that silence gene expression; they are dysregulated in cancer cells and contribute to carcinogenesis by unclear mechanisms. We investigated whether BMI1 proto-oncogene, polycomb ring finger (BMI1), and polycomb group ring finger 2 (PCGF2, also called MEL18) are involved in the initiation and progression of colitis-associated cancer (CAC) in mice.

Methods: We generated mice containing floxed alleles of Bmi1 and/or Mel18 and/or Reg3b using the villin-Cre promoter (called Bmi1, Mel18, DKO, and TKO mice).

Identification of olfactory receptor genes in the Japanese grenadier anchovy .

Olfaction is essential for fish to detect odorant elements in the environment and plays a critical role in navigating, locating food and detecting predators. Olfactory function is produced by the olfactory transduction pathway and is activated by olfactory receptors (ORs) through the binding of odorant elements. Recently, four types of olfactory receptors have been identified in vertebrate olfactory epithelium, including main odorant receptors (MORs), vomeronasal type receptors (VRs), trace-amine associated receptors (TAARs) and formyl peptide receptors (FPRs).

A dynamic in vivo-like organotypic blood-brain barrier model to probe metastatic brain tumors.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the uptake of many neuro-therapeutic molecules, presenting a formidable hurdle to drug development in brain diseases. We proposed a new and dynamic in vivo-like three-dimensional microfluidic system that replicates the key structural, functional and mechanical properties of the blood-brain barrier in vivo. Multiple factors in this system work synergistically to accentuate BBB-specific attributes-permitting the analysis of complex organ-level responses in both normal and pathological microenvironments in brain tumors.

[Microdevice for the investigation of high-glucose induced lifespan and the protective effect of polydatin in C. elegans].

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been widely used as a model organism for biomedical research due to its sufficient homology with human at molecular or genomic level. In this work, we describe a microfluidic device not only to investigate the response of C.

Modeling type 2 diabetes-like hyperglycemia in C. elegans on a microdevice.

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been widely used as a model organism for biomedical research due to its sufficient homology with mammals at the molecular and genomic levels. In this work, we describe a microfluidic assay to model type 2 diabetes-like hyperglycemia in C.

A droplet microchip with substance exchange capability for the developmental study of C. elegans.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been widely used as a multicellular organism in developmental research due to its simplicity, short lifecycle, and its relevance to human genetics and biology. Droplet microfluidics is an attractive platform for the study of C.

De novo transcriptomes of olfactory epithelium reveal the genes and pathways for spawning migration in japanese grenadier anchovy (Coilia nasus).

Background: Coilia nasus (Japanese grenadier anchovy) undergoes spawning migration from the ocean to fresh water inland. Previous studies have suggested that anadromous fish use olfactory cues to perform successful migration to spawn. However, limited genomic information is available for C.

103 W in-band dual-end-pumped Ho:YAG laser.

An efficient 2 μm in-band pumped Ho:YAG laser was demonstrated. The resonator involves two Ho:YAG crystals, each of which was dual-end-pumped by two orthogonally polarized diode-pumped Tm:YLF lasers. The maximum continuous wave output power of 103 W was achieved, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 67.

PCR and magnetic bead-mediated target capture for the isolation of short interspersed nucleotide elements in fishes.

Short interspersed nucleotide elements (SINEs), a type of retrotransposon, are widely distributed in various genomes with multiple copies arranged in different orientations, and cause changes to genes and genomes during evolutionary history. This can provide the basis for determining genome diversity, genetic variation and molecular phylogeny, etc. SINE DNA is transcribed into RNA by polymerase III from an internal promoter, which is composed of two conserved boxes, box A and box B.

The plant-specific actin binding protein SCAB1 stabilizes actin filaments and regulates stomatal movement in Arabidopsis.

Microfilament dynamics play a critical role in regulating stomatal movement; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this process is not well understood. We report here the identification and characterization of STOMATAL CLOSURE-RELATED ACTIN BINDING PROTEIN1 (SCAB1), an Arabidopsis thaliana actin binding protein. Plants lacking SCAB1 were hypersensitive to drought stress and exhibited reduced abscisic acid-, H(2)O(2)-, and CaCl(2)-regulated stomatal movement.