Unprecedented Enhancement of Thermoelectric Power Factor Induced by Pressure in Small-Molecule Organic Semiconductors.

Establishing the relationship between pressure and heat-electricity interconversion in van der Waals bonded small-molecule organic semiconductors is critical not only in designing flexible thermoelectric materials, but also in developing organic electronics. Here, based on first-principles calculations and using naphthalene as a case study, an unprecedented elevation of p-type thermoelectric power factor induced by pressure is demonstrated; and the power factor increases by 267% from 159.5 µW m K under ambient conditions to 585.

Large-Scale and Rapid Preparation of Nanofibrous Meshes and Their Application for Drug-Loaded Multilayer Mucoadhesive Patch Fabrication for Mouth Ulcer Treatment.

Electrospinning provides a simple and convenient method to fabricate nanofibrous meshes. However, the nanofiber productivity is often limited to the laboratory scale, which cannot satisfy the requirements of practical application. In this study, we developed a novel needleless electrospinning spinneret based on a double-ring slit to fabricate drug-loaded nanofibrous meshes.

The role of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) proteins in recruiting the ESCRT pathway through three ways in the host cells of fish during IHNV budding.

In cytokinetic abscission, phagophore formation, and enveloped virus budding are mediated by the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT). Many retroviruses and RNA viruses encode "late-domain" motifs that can interact with the components of the ESCRT pathway to mediate the viral assembly and budding. However, the rhabdovirus in fish has been rarely investigated.

Health outcomes of young children born to mothers who received 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination during pregnancy: retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To determine whether any association exists between exposure to 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza vaccination during pregnancy and negative health outcomes in early childhood.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Population based birth registry linked with health administrative databases in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Small head circumference at birth: an 8-year retrospective cohort study in China.

Objective: Head circumference is considered a reliable assessment of the volume of the underlying brain. We sought to identify risk factors (maternal factors or antenatal antecedents) for microcephaly and to assess the effects of microcephaly on neonatal outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Recognition Moieties of Small Molecular Fluorescent Probes for Bioimaging of Enzymes.

Enzymes are a class of important substances for life, and their abnormal levels are associated with many diseases. Thus, great progress has been made in the past decade in detecting and imaging enzymes in living biosystems, and in this respect fluorescent probes combined with confocal microscopy have attracted much attention because of their high sensitivity and unrivaled spatiotemporal resolution. Fluorescent probes are usually composed of three moieties: a signal or fluorophore moiety, a recognition or labeling moiety, and an appropriate linker to connect the two aforementioned moieties.

Integrated MXene&CoFeO electrodes with multi-level interfacial architectures for synergistic lithium-ion storage.

Interfacial contacts within electrodes largely affect electronic transport and ion migration. Nanoscale electrode materials can achieve high reactivity, but their large interfacial contact areas lead to unavoidable impedance. Herein, a Ti3C2Tx MXene was used to construct a hybrid three-dimensional electrode material with a bilayer feature via a two-step vacuum filtration process.

Plasma indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activity as a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in tuberculosis patients.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains a challenge of global TB control, with difficulty in early detection of drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB). We investigate the diagnostic significance of IDO as a potential biomarker to discriminate MDR patients among the TB patients. Plasma indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) was measured by the ratio of kynurenine (Kyn) to tryptophan (Trp) concentrations, using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Time and Frequency Characteristics of Cavitation Activity Enhanced by Flowing Phase-Shift Nanodroplets and Lipid-Shelled Microbubbles During Focused Ultrasound Exposures.

This study investigated and compared the time and frequency characteristics of cavitation activity between phase-shift nanodroplets (NDs) and lipid-shelled microbubbles (MBs) exposed to focused ultrasound (FUS) under physiologically relevant flow conditions. Root-mean-square (RMS) of broadband noise, spectrograms of the passive cavitation detection signals and inertial cavitation doses (ICDs) were calculated during FUS at varying mean flow velocities and two different peak-rarefactional pressures. At a lower pressure of 0.

Sample Consensus Model and Unsupervised Variable Consensus Model for Improving the Accuracy of a Calibration Model.

In the quantitative analysis of spectral data, small sample size and high dimensionality of spectral variables often lead to poor accuracy of a calibration model. We proposed two methods, namely sample consensus and unsupervised variable consensus models, in order to solve the problem of poor accuracy. Three public near-infrared (NIR) or infrared (IR) spectroscopy data from corn, wine, and soil were used to build the partial least squares regression (PLSR) model.

Factors associated with recruitment to randomised controlled trials in general practice: protocol for a systematic review.

Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are frequently unable to recruit sufficient numbers of participants. This affects the trial's ability to answer the proposed research question, wastes resources and can be unethical. RCTs within a general practice setting are increasingly common and similarly face recruitment challenges.

Nontuberculous Mycobacterium infection complicated with Haemophagocytic syndrome: a case report and literature review.

Background: Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection is usually observed in patients with immunosuppressive conditions. It may also cause unregulated immune responses. While there have been increasing numbers of reported tuberculosis-related HPS (haemophagocytic syndrome), HPS caused by NTM infection is still very rarely reported.

Boosting the Seebeck Coefficient for Organic Coordination Polymers: Role of Doping-Induced Polaron Band Formation.

Organic polymers are becoming emerging thermoelectric materials. Tremendous progress has been achieved for p-type doping, but efficient n-type organic materials are still rare. By investigating potassium-doped n-type poly(nickel-ethylenetetrathiolate) using density functional theory coupled with Boltzmann transport equation, we find that (i) formation of the electron polaron band (EPB) split from the conduction band (CB) dominates electron transport; (ii) at low doping concentration, the upper CB gets involved in transport in addition to the EPB as the temperature rises, leading to a highly elevated Seebeck coefficient and power factor; and (iii) at even higher temperature, because the CB starts to dominate, the Seebeck coefficient levels off and then decreases with temperature.

Nicorandil Attenuates LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury by Pulmonary Endothelial Cell Protection via NF-B and MAPK Pathways.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a devastating critical disease characterized by diffuse inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Increasing evidence, including from our laboratory, has revealed that the opening of ATP-sensitive potassium (K) channels has promising anti-inflammation and endothelial protection activities in various disorders. However, the impacts of K channels on ALI remain obscure.

Dehydroepiandrosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Previous studies found inconsistent results for the relationship between Alzheimer's disease and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate previous studies' results on this relationship. Studies related to this outcome were obtained using a systematic search from the electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Psyc-ARTICLES in March 2018.

The immunoregulatory effects of CD8 T-cell-derived perforin on diet-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

The liver is a central immunologic organ with a high density of myeloid and lymphoid immune cells that play important roles in the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the immune-cell-mediated regulation of NASH and its underlying mechanisms remain obscure. In this study, mice showed significantly higher plasma alanine transaminase levels, with increased liver fat accumulation, lobular inflammation, and focal necrosis compared with wild-type (WT) mice after 4 wk of feeding on a methionine- and choline-deficient diet (MCD) or 16 wk of feeding on a high-fat diet.

Intertwin birthweight discordance and parental race: a retrospective cohort study.

Previous studies examined the association of maternal race with pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to examine the effects of maternal, paternal, and parental race on intertwin birth weight discordance. We used the 2011-2015 multiple birth files of the USA for this study.

H O -Responsive Organosilica-Doxorubicin Nanoparticles for Targeted Imaging and Killing of Cancer Cells Based on a Synthesized Silane-Borate Precursor.

Doxorubicin (Dox) is a widely used fluorescent chemotherapy drug. Its primary delivery systems, based on physical adsorption to silica nanoparticles, can lead to low drug loading. Direct loading of Dox via covalent bonds during the formation of silica nanoparticles has never been reported.

Transient Stability of Epigenetic Population Differentiation in a Clonal Invader.

Epigenetic variation may play an important role in how plants cope with novel environments. While significant epigenetic differences among plants from contrasting habitats have often been observed in the field, the stability of these differences remains little understood. Here, we combined field monitoring with a multi-generation common garden approach to study the dynamics of DNA methylation variation in invasive Chinese populations of the clonal alligator weed ().

Immunity induced by recombinant attenuated IHNV (infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus)-G expresses VP2 gene-encoded IPNV (infectious pancreatic necrosis virus) against both pathogens in rainbow trout.

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) are important pathogens in rainbow trout farming worldwide. Their co-infection is also common, which causes great economic loss in juvenile salmon species. Development of a universal virus vaccine providing broadly cross-protective immunity will be of great importance.

[Effect of Low-frequency Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields on Bone Formation in Rat Osteoblasts and Its Mechanism].

Objective To observe the effect of low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields(PEMFs) on bone formation in rat osteoblasts(ROBs) and explore the mechanism of action of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)/protein kinase A(PKA)/cyclic adenosine effect binding protein(CREB) signaling pathway.Methods The skulls of newborn Wistar rats were harvested,and the ROBs were obtained by multiple enzymatic digestion methods for subculture. After treatment with 50 Hz 0.

The role of maternal homocysteine concentration in placenta-mediated complications: findings from the Ottawa and Kingston birth cohort.

Background: Homocysteine is an intermediate metabolite implicated in the risk of placenta-mediated complications, including preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction, and pregnancy loss. Large cohort and case-control studies have reported inconsistent associations between homocysteine and these complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether elevated maternal plasma homocysteine concentration in the early to mid-second trimester is associated with an increased risk of placenta-mediated complications.

Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Tissue Infection: Preparation and Clinical Evaluation.

The clinical application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been widely studied for its effects on trauma or injury repair/regeneration, however the antibacterial property of PRP has been overlooked. Increasing evidence suggests PRP as a good antibacterial agent and that it could help prevent/treat tissue infection. This review emphasizes the importance of PRP's antibacterial property and summarizes the preclinical and clinical findings regarding the application of PRP in the prevention and treatment of wound and bone infection.

Research on complex dynamic behavior control of supply chain finance nonlinear system based on fractional differential operators.

Supply chain management is a kind of behavior for enterprises to create core competitiveness in a complex competitive environment, especially for supply chain finance, which is a typical complex system with dynamic, open, and emergent non-linear characteristics in structure, environment, and behavior. For fractional order non-linear multi-agent systems, the event trigger control protocol is studied, and an event based on the threshold function of decreasing time is designed. According to the properties of the fractional linear differential equations, the consistency criterion is obtained, and the Zeno phenomenon is effectively avoided.

Effects of socio-demographic characteristics, premorbid functioning, and insight on duration of untreated psychosis in first-episode schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder in Northern Malawi.

Aim: Long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is prevalent and has been shown to be associated with poorer prognosis. Thus, knowledge of its determinants may help to target early interventions to reduce DUP on the needed population. Previous studies seeking to understand determinants of DUP have been inconclusive.