Half-Metallic Silicene and Germanene Nanoribbons: towards High-Performance Spintronics Device

By using first-principles calculations, we predict that an in-plane homogenous electrical field can induce half-metallicity in hydrogen-terminated zigzag silicene and germanene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs and ZGeNRs). A dual-gated finite ZSiNR device reveals a nearly perfect spin-filter efficiency of up to 99% while a quadruple-gated finite ZSiNR device serves as an effective spin field effect transistor (FET) with an on/off current ratio of over 100 from ab initio quantum transport simulation. This discovery opens up novel prospect of silicene and germanene in spintronics

Autoantibodies to Agrin in Myasthenia Gravis Patients

To determine if patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) have antibodies to agrin, a proteoglycan released by motor neurons and is critical for neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation, we collected serum samples from 93 patients with MG with known status of antibodies to acetylcholine receptor (AChR), muscle specific kinase (MuSK) and lipoprotein-related 4 (LRP4) and samples from control subjects (healthy individuals and individuals with other diseases). Sera were assayed for antibodies to agrin. We found antibodies to agrin in 7 serum samples of MG patients. None of the 25 healthy controls and none of the 55 control neurological patients had agrin antibodies. Two of the four triple negative MG patients (i.e., no detectable AChR, MuSK or LRP4 antibodies, AChR-/MuSK-/LRP4-) had antibodies against agrin. In addition, agrin antibodies were detected in 5 out of 83 AChR+/MuSK-/LRP4- patients but were not found in the 6 patients with MuSK antibodies (AChR-/MuSK+/LRP4-). Sera from MG patients with agrin antibodies were able to recognize recombinant agrin in conditioned media and in transfected HEK293 cells. These sera also inhibited the agrin-induced MuSK phosphorylation and AChR clustering in muscle cells. Together, these observations indicate that agrin is another autoantigen in patients with MG and agrin autoantibodies may be pathogenic through inhibition of agrin/LRP4/MuSK signaling at the NMJ

VPS35 haploinsufficiency increases Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology

The retromer complex component VPS35 prevents activation of the BACE1 and Aβ production and thus plays an essential role in limiting Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology

Crystal structure of (E)-N′-benzylidene-1-methyl-4-nitro-1H-pyrrole-2-carbohydrazide

In the title compound, C13H12N4O3, the dihedral angle between the planes of the pyrrole and benzene rings is 7.47 (1)°. In the crystal, molecules are arranged in sheets lying parallel to (101). Neighbouring sheets are linked by N—H...O hydrogen bonds, weak π–π [centroid–centroid distance between the pyrrole rings = 3.765 (11) Å] and C—H...π interactions, forming a three-dimensional structure

Distributed Finite-Time Bipartite Consensus for Multiagent System with Event-Triggered Control

This paper investigates the distributed finite-time event-triggered bipartite consensus control for multiagent systems over antagonistic networks. Under the constraint of energy conservation, a distributed nonlinear finite-time control protocol only depending upon local information is proposed coupled with event-triggered strategies, where controllers of agents at triggered instants are only updated to reduce the computation. It is proved that when the antagonistic network is structurally balanced with a spanning tree, a necessary and sufficient condition is established to guarantee all agents to reach consensus values with identical magnitude but opposite signs. More interestingly, the settling time depending on the initial state is obtained over the whole process. Comparing to asymptotic control algorithms, the proposed control method has better disturbance rejection properties and convergence rate. Simulations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results

Synchronization of Chaotic Systems by Using Limited Nussbaum Gain Method

Abstract: In this study, we propose a novel kind of limited Nussbaum gain method to solve the unknown control direction problem of chaotic systems. It is necessary to consider the unknown control direction situation when chaos synchronization is used for secure communication. Also it is very useful to design a small gain with a Nussbaum method if the Nussbaum gain method is used in a real engineering system. The smaller a gain is designed, the safer and more stable a Nussbaum gain method is used. According to the above principles, a limited gain Nussbaum method is used to solve the uncertainties of chaotic system, such as unknown parameters, unknown nonlinear functions and unknown input or control directions. At last, detailed numerical simulation is done to testify the rightness and effectiveness of the proposed method

Long noncoding RNAs with peptide‐encoding potential identified in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: KDM4A‐AS1‐encoded peptide weakens cancer cell viability and migratory capacity

Currently, the knowledge of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)‐encoded peptides is quite lacking in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In this study, we simultaneously identified six lncRNA open reading frames (ORFs) with peptide‐coding abilities including lysine‐specific demethylase 4A antisense RNA 1 (KDM4A‐AS1) ORF by combining weighted gene co‐expression network analysis (WGCNA) for ESCC clinical samples, ribosome footprints, ORF prediction, mass spectrometry (MS) identification, and western blotting. KDM4A‐AS1 ORF‐encoded peptide reduced ESCC cell viability and migratory ability. Co‐immunoprecipitation and MS analysis revealed that KDM4A‐AS1‐encoded peptide specifically bound with 103 proteins in ESCC cells, and enrichment analysis suggested that peptide‐bound proteins were related to fatty acid metabolism and redox process. Cell and molecular experiments demonstrated that KDM4A‐AS1‐encoded peptide inhibited stearoyl‐CoA desaturase and fatty acid synthase expression, increased reactive oxygen species level, and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in ESCC cells. In summary, multiple lncRNAs with translation potential were simultaneously identified by combining multiple approaches in ESCC, providing novel identification strategies for lncRNA‐encoded peptides. Moreover, lncRNA KDM4A‐AS1‐encoded peptide weakened ESCC cell viability and migratory capacity and functioned in fatty acid metabolism and redox process

Study on the repair parameters for trailing‐edge bonding failure of wind turbine blade in service

Abstract A numerical analysis method of trailing edge deboning is proposed in this paper. Using this method, multiple repair parameters can be quantified by analyzing aerodynamic responses and structural characteristics of the trailing edge. This method can be applied to three types of trailing edge, including blunt trailing edge, transitional trailing edge, and pointed trailing edge. In this study, the repair parameters are divided into two types, including the internal parameters that can affect the bonding strength and the external parameters that can affect the stiffness and aerodynamic shape. The main research steps are as follows: First, a repair structure shell‐body model was developed. Second, static tensile tests were carried out using 49 specimens, covering two lap joint types and seven bonding thicknesses. Finally, nine different repaired trailing edge models were developed using Ansys/Fluent for each two two‐dimensional airfoil. A 30–40 m section of a 71 m blade was used to develop a three‐dimensional (3D) rotating model with the repaired trailing edge. The simulation results show that the two internal parameters, overlap length and the slope of adhesive joints, are the key to improving the bonding performance of the pointed trailing edge. In addition, the bonding thickness range of 1–10 mm is proved by the experiment results and numerical analysis to be sufficient for good bonding performance. Besides this, the influence of the repair height on the aerodynamic pressure distribution and lift coefficient is much greater than the repair width, and the torque and power of the repaired 3D blade model are 1.91% higher than that of the original blade. This should further help provide an effective theoretical basis for determining the repair plan for a wind turbine blade

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection of Sodium Thiocyanate in Milk Based on the Aggregation of Ag Nanoparticles

A method is developed for detecting the concentration of sodium thiocyanate (NaSCN) in milk based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology. A trichloroacetic acid solution can be used to enhance the SERS signal because of its function in promoting the aggregation of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs). Meanwhile, the protein in milk would be precipitated as trichloroacetic acid added and the interference from protein could be reduced during the detection. In this work, the enhancement factor (EF) is 7. 56 × 105 for sodium thiocyanate in water and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.002 mg/L. Meanwhile, this method can be used to detect the concentration of sodium thiocyanate in milk. Results show that SERS intensity increased as the concentration of sodium thiocyanate increase from 10 to 100 mg/L. The linear correlation coefficient is R2 = 0.998 and the detection limit is 0.04 mg/L. It is observed that the concentration of sodium thiocyanate does not exceed the standard in the three kinds of milk. The confirmed credibility of SERS detection is compared with conventional methods