Analysis of Cushioned Landing Strategies of Cats Based on Posture Estimation.

This article addresses the challenge of minimizing landing impacts for legged space robots during on-orbit operations. Inspired by the agility of cats, we investigate the role of forelimbs in the landing process. By identifying the kinematic chain of the cat skeleton and tracking it using animal posture estimation, we derive the cushioning strategy that cats use to handle landing impacts.

A Palladium Catalyst Supported on Boron-Doped Porous Carbon for Efficient Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid.

Formic acid has emerged as a highly promising hydrogen storage material, and the development of efficient catalysts to facilitate its dehydrogenation remains imperative. In this study, a novel catalyst consisting of palladium nanoparticles supported on boron-doped porous carbon (Pd/BPC) was successfully synthesized to enable efficient hydrogen production through the dehydrogenation of formic acid. The impacts of the boron doping ratio, doping temperature, and palladium reduction temperature on the catalyst's performance were systemically investigated.

Two types of coumarins-specific enzymes complete the last missing steps in pyran- and furanocoumarins biosynthesis.

Pyran- and furanocoumarins are key representatives of tetrahydropyrans and tetrahydrofurans, respectively, exhibiting diverse physiological and medical bioactivities. However, the biosynthetic mechanisms for their core structures remain poorly understood. Here we combined multiomics analyses of biosynthetic enzymes in and functional verification and identified two types of key enzymes critical for pyran and furan ring biosynthesis in plants.

Effects of plant tissue permeability on invasion and population bottlenecks of a phytopathogen.

Pathogen genetic diversity varies in response to environmental changes. However, it remains unclear whether plant barriers to invasion could be considered a genetic bottleneck for phytopathogen populations. Here, we implement a barcoding approach to generate a pool of 90 isogenic and individually barcoded Ralstonia solanacearum strains.

An Analytical Solution for Inverse Kinematics of SSRMS-Type Redundant Manipulators.

Compared with non-redundant manipulators, the self-motion of 7-DOF redundant manipulators results in an infinite number of inverse kinematics solutions for a desired end-effector pose. This paper proposes an efficient and accurate analytical solution for inverse kinematics of SSRMS-type redundant manipulators. This solution is applicable to SRS-type manipulators with the same configuration.

Discovery of a potent inhibitor of chaperone-mediated autophagy that targets the HSC70-LAMP2A interaction in non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Background And Purpose: Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a selective type of autophagy targeting protein degradation and maintains high activity in many malignancies. Inhibition of the combination of HSC70 and LAMP2A can potently block CMA. At present, knockdown of LAMP2A remains the most specific method for inhibiting CMA and chemical inhibitors against CMA have not yet been discovered.

Visible-Light-Promoted Selective Sulfonylation and Selenylation of Dienes to Access Sulfonyl-/Seleno-benzazepine Derivatives.

A novel visible-light-promoted selective sulfonylation and selenylation of dienes with selenosulfonates has been developed. This technology provides mild access to a wide range of sulfonyl benzo[]azepinones and seleno-benzo[]azepines. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that the sulfonylation involves a sulfonyl radical engaged cascade process, and the selenylation is accomplished through a sequential oxidation/electrophilic cyclization process.

Functional characterization of two 3-dehydroquinases of AroQ1 and AroQ2 in the shikimate pathway and expression of genes for the type III secretion system in .

The shikimate pathway is a general route for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids (AAAs) in many microorganisms. A 3-dehydroquinase, AroQ, controls the third step of the shikimate pathway that catalyzes the formation of 3-dehydroquinate from 3-dehydroshikimate via a trans-dehydration reaction. harbors two 3-dehydroquinases, AroQ1 and AroQ2, sharing 52% similarity in amino acids.

Research on differential game strategy of debt restructuring supported by government.

This paper studies the debt restructuring equilibrium decision problem composed of creditors and debt enterprises with the participation of the government and asset management companies. With the differential game, the dynamic optimization models of debt restructuring under three situations: centralized decision-making, decentralized decision-making, and Stackelberg game after introducing cost-sharing contract are constructed, respectively. The optimal equilibrium strategy of debt restructuring, the optimal trajectory of debt restructuring synergy, and the optimal profit under three decision-making situations are investigated and compared.

Revisiting the effect of boiling on halogenated disinfection byproducts, total organic halogen, and cytotoxicity in simulated tap water.

Boiling is a widely adopted household tap water treatment method because of its ability to inactivate chlorine-resistant pathogenic bacteria, and to reduce certain groups of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). From a more comprehensive point of view, this study revisited the effect of boiling on four groups of 17 aliphatic DBPs and six groups of 44 aromatic DBPs in both simulated chlorinated and chloraminated tap water samples, with a special focus on the changes of total organic halogen (TOX) and cytotoxicity. Results showed that the concentrations of aliphatic DBPs substantially decreased during boiling via volatilization (trihalomethanes and chloral hydrate) and hydrolysis (haloacetamides) in chlorinated and chloraminated tap water samples.

Functional characterization of a gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase ProA in proline biosynthesis and promoting expression of type three secretion system in .

RSc2741 has been predicted as a gamma-glutamyl phosphate reductase ProA catalyzing the second reaction of proline formation from glutamate. Here, we experimentally demonstrated that mutants were proline auxotrophs that failed to grow in a minimal medium, and supplementary proline, but not glutamate, fully restored the diminished growth, confirming that ProA is responsible for the biosynthesis of proline from glutamate in . ProA was previously identified as one of the candidates regulating the expression of genes for type three secretion system (T3SS), one of the essential pathogenicity determinants of .

Maintenance of tRNA and elongation factors supports T3SS proteins translational elongations in pathogenic bacteria during nutrient starvation.

Background: Sufficient nutrition contributes to rapid translational elongation and protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells and prokaryotic bacteria. Fast synthesis and accumulation of type III secretion system (T3SS) proteins conduce to the invasion of pathogenic bacteria into the host cells. However, the translational elongation patterns of T3SS proteins in pathogenic bacteria under T3SS-inducing conditions remain unclear.

A CysB regulator positively regulates cysteine synthesis, expression of type III secretion system genes, and pathogenicity in Ralstonia solanacearum.

A syringe-like type III secretion system (T3SS) plays essential roles in the pathogenicity of Ralstonia solanacearum, which is a causal agent of bacterial wilt disease on many plant species worldwide. Here, we characterized functional roles of a CysB regulator (RSc2427) in R. solanacearum OE1-1 that was demonstrated to be responsible for cysteine synthesis, expression of the T3SS genes, and pathogenicity of R.

Involvement of a FAD-Linked Oxidase RSc0454 for Expression of the Type III Secretion System and Pathogenicity in .

RSc0454 is predicted as a FAD-linked oxidase based on protein homologies, while it contains distinct domains of lactate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase. A previous study demonstrated that RSc0454 exhibits lactate dehydrogenase activity using pyruvate and NADH as substrates, and is essential for pathogenicity of . Here, we genetically characterized involvement of RSc0454 on bacterial growth and expression of genes for the type III secretion system (T3SS, a pathogenicity determinant) in .

Integrated regulatory network in Pseudomonas syringae reveals dynamics of virulence.

Pseudomonas syringae, a Gram-negative plant pathogen, expresses multitudinous transcriptional regulators to control the type III secretion system (T3SS) and response to diverse environmental challenges. Although the mechanisms of virulence-associated regulators of P. syringae have been studied for decades, the overall crosstalk underlying these regulators is still elusive.

Functional Characterization of RsRsgA for Ribosome Biosynthesis and Expression of the Type III Secretion System in .

RsgA plays an important role in maturation of 30S subunit in many bacteria that assists in the release of RbfA from the 30S subunit during a late stage of ribosome biosynthesis. Here, we genetically characterized functional roles of RsgA in , hereafter designated RsRsgA. Deletion of or resulted in distinct deficiency of 16S ribosomal RNA, significantly slowed growth in broth medium, and diminished growth in nutrient-limited medium, which are similar as phenotypes of mutants and mutants of and other bacteria.

Expression of Ralstonia solanacearum type III secretion system is dependent on a novel type 4 pili (T4P) assembly protein (TapV) but is T4P independent.

Type IV pili (T4P) are virulence factors in various pathogenic bacteria of animals and plants that play important roles in twitching motility, swimming motility, biofilm formation, and adhesion to host cells. Here, we genetically characterized functional roles of a putative T4P assembly protein TapV (Rsc1986 in reference strain GMI1000) and its homologue Rsp0189, which shares 58% amino acid identity with TapV, in Ralstonia solanacearum. Deletion of tapV, but not rsp0189, resulted in significantly impaired twitching motility, swimming motility, and adhesion to tomato roots, which are consistent as phenotypes of the pilA mutant (a known R.

Involvement of a PadR regulator PrhP on virulence of Ralstonia solanacearum by controlling detoxification of phenolic acids and type III secretion system.

Ralstonia solanacearum can metabolize ferulic acid (FA) and salicylic acid (SA), two representative phenolic acids, to protect it from toxicity of phenolic acids. Here, we genetically demonstrated a novel phenolic acid decarboxylase regulator (PadR)-like regulator PrhP as a positive regulator on detoxification of SA and FA in R. solanacearum.

Safety and effectiveness of robotic hysterectomy versus conventional laparoscopic hysterectomy in patients with cervical cancer in China.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the safety and effectiveness of robotic hysterectomy (RH) with conventional laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH) for the treatment of cervical cancer using multivariate regressions.

Methods: We designed a retrospective single-center study and consecutively collected patients with cervical cancer from February 2014 to October 2017. Data extraction was performed by two independent researchers.

Bone marrow-derived inflammatory and steady state DCs are different in both functions and survival.

Dendritic cells (DCs) contain heterogeneous populations, with classical DCs developed at steady state and monocyte-derived DCs mobilized under inflammatory conditions, although their total numbers in vivo are scares. To obtain enough quantity for immunological study or clinical application, we have previously established that bone marrow-derived DCs in the presence of Flt-3L (FL-DCs) or GM-CSF (GM-DCs) in vitro are equivalent to the steady state DCs and inflammatory DCs in vivo respectively. What difference, however, exists between these two most commonly used culture systems in DC functions and survival, and how does it correlate to the division of works by their corresponding counterparts in vivo remain ill-defined.

Unsubstituted Benzodithiophene-Based Conjugated Polymers for High-Performance Organic Field-Effect Transistors and Organic Solar Cells.

Unsubstituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) was used to construct a high-performance conjugated polymer with 5,6-difluoro-4,7-bis[4-(2-octyldodecyl)thiophene-2-yl]benzo[c][1,2,5] thiadiazole (DTFFBT), named PBDT-DTFFBT. The polymer shows the low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level (-5.40 eV) and a broad absorption spectra with strong vibronic absorption peak.

High-Performance Small Molecule/Polymer Ternary Organic Solar Cells Based on a Layer-By-Layer Process.

Unlabelled: The layer-by-layer process method, which had been used to fabricate a bilayer or bulk heterojunction organic solar cell, was developed to fabricate highly efficient ternary blend solar cells in which small molecules and polymers act as two donors. The active layer could be formed by incorporating the small molecules into the polymer based active layer via a layer-by-layer method: the small molecules were first coated on the surface of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (

Pedot: PSS), and then the mixed solution of polymer and fullerene derivative was spin-coated on top of a small molecule layer. In this method, the small molecules in crystalline state were effectively mixed in the active layer.

Aromatic Heterocycle 1,3,4-Oxadiazole-Substituted Thieno[3,4-b]thiophene to Build Low-Bandgap Polymer for Photovoltaic Application.

Electron-deficient heterocycle 1,3,4-oxadiazole is first introduced to the 2-position of thieno[3,4-b]thiophene (TT) to construct a new building block 2-(thieno[3,4-b]thiophen-2-yl)-5-(alkylthio)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (TTSO) with alkylthio chain. The polymer PBDT-TTSO based on TTSO and benzodithiophene (BDT) exhibits a deep lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of -5.32 eV and low-bandgap of 1.

A Solution-Processable Molecule using Thieno[3,2-b]thiophene as Building Block for Efficient Organic Solar Cells.

A solution-processed acceptor-π-donor-π-acceptor (A-π-D-π-A) type small molecule, namely DCATT, has been designed and synthesized for the application as donor material in organic solar cells. The fused aromatic unit thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT) flanked with thiophene is applied as π bridge, while 4,8-bisthienyl substituted benzodithiophene (BDT) and 2-ethylhexyl cyanoacetate are chosen as the central building block and end group, respectively. Introduction of fused ring to the small molecule enhances the conjugation length of the main chain, and gives a strong tendency to form π-π stacking with a large overlapping area which favors to high charge carrier transport.