The fracture of highly deformable soft materials: A tale of two length scales

The fracture of highly deformable soft materials is of great practical importance in a wide range of technological applications, emerging in fields such as soft robotics, stretchable electronics and tissue engineering. From a basic physics perspective, the failure of these materials poses fundamental challenges due to the strongly nonlinear and dissipative deformation involved. In this review, we discuss the physics of cracks in soft materials and highlight two length scales that characterize the strongly nonlinear elastic and dissipation zones near crack tips in such materials. We discuss physical processes, theoretical concepts and mathematical results that elucidate the nature of the two length scales, and show that the two length scales can classify a wide range of materials. The emerging multi-scale physical picture outlines the theoretical ingredients required for the development of predictive theories of the fracture soft materials. We conclude by listing open challenges and future investigation directions.Comment: An invited review article, 36 pages, 7 figure

Enhancement of polar phases in PVDF by forming PVDF/SiC nanowire composite

Different contents of silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires were mixed with Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to facilitate the polar phase crystallization. It was shown that the annealing temperature and SiC content affected on the phase and crystalline structures of PVDF/SiC samples. Furthermore, the addition of SiC nanowire enhanced the transformation of non-polar α phase to polar phases and increased the relative fraction of β phase in PVDF. Due to the nucleating agent mechanism of SiC nanowires, the ion-dipole interaction between the negatively charged surface of SiC nanowires and the positive CH2 groups in PVDF facilitated the formation of polar phases in PVDF

A Review of Integrative Imputation for Multi-Omics Datasets

Multi-omics studies, which explore the interactions between multiple types of biological factors, have significant advantages over single-omics analysis for their ability to provide a more holistic view of biological processes, uncover the causal and functional mechanisms for complex diseases, and facilitate new discoveries in precision medicine. However, omics datasets often contain missing values, and in multi-omics study designs it is common for individuals to be represented for some omics layers but not all. Since most statistical analyses cannot be applied directly to the incomplete datasets, imputation is typically performed to infer the missing values. Integrative imputation techniques which make use of the correlations and shared information among multi-omics datasets are expected to outperform approaches that rely on single-omics information alone, resulting in more accurate results for the subsequent downstream analyses. In this review, we provide an overview of the currently available imputation methods for handling missing values in bioinformatics data with an emphasis on multi-omics imputation. In addition, we also provide a perspective on how deep learning methods might be developed for the integrative imputation of multi-omics datasets

Clinical significance of SOX9 in human non-small cell lung cancer progression and overall patient survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sex determining region Y (SRY)-related high mobility groupbox 9 (SOX9) is an important transcription factor required for development, which regulates the expression of target genes in the associated pathway. The aim of this study was to describe the expression of SOX9 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to investigate the association between SOX9 expression and progression of NSCLC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SOX9 protein and mRNA expression in normal human pneumonocytes, lung cancer cell lines, and eight pairs of matched lung cancer tissues and their adjacent normal lung tissues were detected by Western blotting and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemistry was used to determine SOX9 protein expression in 142 cases of histologically characterized NSCLC. Statistical analyses were applied to test for prognostic and diagnostic associations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SOX9 in lung cancer cell lines was upregulated at both mRNA and protein levels, and SOX9 mRNA and protein were also elevated in NSCLC tissues compared with levels in corresponding adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated a high expression of SOX9 in 74/142 (52.1%) paraffin-embedded archival lung cancer biopsies. Statistical analysis indicated that upregulation of SOX9 was significantly correlated with the histological stage of NSCLC (<it>P </it>= 0.017) and that patients with a high SOX9 level exhibited a shorter survival time (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Multivariate analysis illustrated that SOX9 upregulation might be an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of patients with NSCLC.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This work shows that SOX9 may serve as a novel and prognostic marker for NSCLC, and play a role during the development and progression of the disease.</p

Plasma Lipoprotein-associated Phospholipase A2 in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome and Carotid Atherosclerosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A₂(Lp-PLA₂) is a recently identified and potentially useful plasma biomarker for cardiovascular and atherosclerotic diseases. However, the correlation between the Lp-PLA₂activity and carotid atherosclerosis remains poorly investigated in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The present study aimed to evaluate the potential role of Lp-PLA₂as a comprehensive marker of metabolic syndrome in individuals with and without carotid atherosclerosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We documented 118 consecutive patients with MetS and 70 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects served as controls. The patients were further divided into two groups: 39 with carotid plaques and 79 without carotid plaques to elucidate the influence of Lp-PLA₂on carotid atherosclerosis. The plasma Lp-PLA₂activity was measured by using ELISA method and carotid intimal-media thickness (IMT) was performed by ultrasound in all participants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Lp-PLA₂activity was significantly increased in MetS subgroups when compared with controls, and was higher in patients with carotid plaques than those without plaques (<it>P </it>< 0.05). Furthermore, we found that significant difference in Lp-PLA₂was obtained between patients with three and four disorders of metabolic syndrome (<it>P </it>< 0.01). Age (β = 0.183, <it>P </it>= 0.029), LDL-cholesterol (β = 0.401, <it>P </it>= 0.000) and waist-hip ratio (β = 0.410, <it>P </it>= 0.000) emerged as significant and independent determinants of Lp-PLA₂activity. Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that LDL-cholesterol (β = 0.309, <it>P </it>= 0.000), systolic blood pressure (β = 0.322, <it>P </it>= 0.002) and age (β = 0.235, <it>P </it>= 0.007) significantly correlated with max IMT, and Lp-PLA₂was not an independent predictor for carotid IMT.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Lp-PLA₂may be a modulating factor for carotid IMT via age and LDL-cholesterol, not independent predictor in the pathophysiological process of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with MetS.</p

Bromido{dicyclo­hexyl[2′-(dimethyl­amino)biphenyl-2-yl]phosphine-κP}[2-(4,6-dimethyl­pyrimidin-2-yl)ferrocenyl-κ2 C 1,N]palladium(II) dichloro­methane solvate

In the title compound, [FePdBr(C5H5)(C11H10N2)(C26H36NP)]·CH2Cl2, the Pd atom displays a distorted square-planar coordination environment. The five-membered metallacycle adopts an envelope conformation with the coordinated cyclo­penta­dienyl C atom 0.4222 (4) Å out of plane. The dihedral angle between the pyrimidinyl ring and substituted cyclo­penta­dienyl ring is 21.47 (2)°. In the crystal structure, the dimeric unit is generated through the C—H⋯π contact via a crystallographic inversion centre, while the C—H⋯Cl contacts in the dimeric centre link the dichlormethane mol­ecules with the Pd complex mol­ecules

Probing Primordial Gravitational Waves: Ali CMB Polarization Telescope

In this paper, we will give a general introduction to the project of Ali CMB Polarization Telescope (AliCPT), which is a Sino-US joint project led by the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) and has involved many different institutes in China. It is the first ground-based Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization experiment in China and an integral part of China's Gravitational Waves Program. The main scientific goal of AliCPT project is to probe the primordial gravitational waves (PGWs) originated from the very early Universe. The AliCPT project includes two stages. The first stage referred to as AliCPT-1, is to build a telescope in the Ali region of Tibet with an altitude of 5,250 meters. Once completed, it will be the worldwide highest ground-based CMB observatory and open a new window for probing PGWs in northern hemisphere. AliCPT-1 telescope is designed to have about 7,000 TES detectors at 90GHz and 150GHz. The second stage is to have a more sensitive telescope (AliCPT-2) with the number of detectors more than 20,000. Our simulations show that AliCPT will improve the current constraint on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ by one order of magnitude with 3 years' observation. Besides the PGWs, the AliCPT will also enable a precise measurement on the CMB rotation angle and provide a precise test on the CPT symmetry. We show 3 years' observation will improve the current limit by two order of magnitude.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

The association between comorbidities and the quality of life among colorectal cancer survivors in the People&#39;s Republic of China

BACKGROUND: Cancer survivors with certain comorbidities had lower quality of life (QOL). This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities and the association between comorbidities and the QOL among Chinese colorectal cancer survivors (CCS). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,398 CCS between April and July 2013 in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. All the participants were asked to complete a simplified Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment quality of life version 3 questionnaire and questions on sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities. In order to mitigate the bias caused by confounding factors, multiple linear regression models were employed to calculate the adjusted means of QOL scores. RESULTS: The proportion of participants without any comorbidity was only 20.2%. The CCS with comorbidities except hypertension scored significantly lower on the European Organization for Research and Treatment quality of life version 3 questionnaire global health and functioning scales and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General scales but higher on the European Organization for Research and Treatment quality of life version 3 questionnaire symptom scores, indicating that they had poorer QOL, particularly for cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and musculoskeletal diseases. CONCLUSION: There exists a significant association between comorbidities and QOL among Chinese CCS, and participants with comorbidities generally reported lower QOL scores. These findings suggested comprehensive care for CCS

Study of the expression levels of Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha and 3 beta in patients with different outcome of HBV infection

Hepatocyte nuclear factors 4 alpha (HNF4α) and 3 beta (HNF3β) are members of a group of liver-enriched transcription factors (LETFs) that play important roles in regulating the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and liver inflammation. However, the relationship of the level of HNF4α and HNF3β with the severity of HBV-infected liver diseases is unclear. In this study, liver tissue samples from different types of HBV patients were collected, and HNF4α and HNF3β expression were detected by immunohistochemistry. The expression of HNF4α was significant higher in patients with severe hepatitis B(SHB) than those with chronic hepatitis B(CHB) and liver cirrhosis(LC) (both P < 0.05), but similar between patients with CHB and LC (P > 0.05). And the expression of HNF3β was similar among patients with CHB, LC and SHB (P > 0.05 for all pairwise comparison). This suggests that the expression level of HNF4α was different in patients with different outcome of HBV infection, high expression level of HNF4α may correlate with occurrence of SH