Investigation of the Ordered Structure in Partially Melted Isotactic Polypropylene

The ordered structure of partially melted isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was investigated using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and small-/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) measurements. The crystalline morphology was first examined by means of pulling a glass fiber through the iPP melt, which was generated by partially melting a preformed spherulite. The results from the POM experiments indicated that, even at a minimal pulling rate, the surviving ordered structure could also relocate along the direction of fiber pulling and grow into cylindrites eventually. In addition, during the quiescent crystallization from the partially melted sample, which had the same thermal history of fiber-pulling experiments, the obvious memory effect of melt was also observed from the results of X-ray experiments. Moreover, the SAXS profile derived from the partially melted iPP at 170 °C was fitted by the theory of scattering amplitude with the cylindrical form factor. The fit result implied that the surviving ordered structure is of cylindrical nanocrystals with a diameter D ≈ 30 ± 3 nm and height h ≈ 45 ± 3 nm, which can significantly influence the crystallization morphology and kinetics during the subsequent crystallization process

Estimation and Prediction of Industrial VOC Emissions in Hebei Province, China

The study of industrial volatile organic compound (VOC) emission inventories is essential for identifying VOC emission levels and distribution. This paper established an industrial VOC emission inventory in 2015 for Hebei Province and completed an emission projection for the period 2020–2030. The results indicated that the total emissions of industrial VOCs in 2015 were 1017.79 kt. The use of VOC products accounted for more than half of the total. In addition, the spatial distribution characteristics of the industrial VOC emissions were determined using a geographic information statistics system (GIS), which showed that the VOCs were mainly distributed the central and southern regions of Hebei. Considering the future economic development trends, population changes, related environmental laws and regulations, and pollution control technology, three scenarios were defined for forecasting the industrial VOC emissions in future years. This demonstrated that industrial VOC emissions in Hebei would amount to 1448.94 kt and 2203.66 kt in 2020 and 2030, with growth rates of 42.36% and 116.51% compared with 2015, respectively. If all industrial enterprises took the control measures, the VOC emissions could be reduced by 69% in 2030. The analysis of the scenarios found that the most effective action plan was to take the best available control technologies and clean production in key industries, including the chemical medicine, coke production, mechanical equipment manufacturing, organic chemical, packaging and printing, wood adhesive, industrial and construction dye, furniture manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, and crude oil processing industries

Identification of a Novel Gene Signature with DDR and EMT Difunctionalities for Predicting Prognosis, Immune Activity, and Drug Response in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer, with an overall poor clinical prognosis, is one of the most heterogeneous cancers. DNA damage repair (DDR) and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) have been identified to be associated with cancer’s progression. Our study aimed to explore whether genes with both functions play a more crucial role in the prognosis, immune, and therapy response of breast cancer patients. Based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cancer database, we used LASSO regression analysis to identify the six prognostic-related genes with both DDR and EMT functions, including TP63, YWHAZ, BRCA1, CCND2, YWHAG, and HIPK2. Based on the six genes, we defined the risk scores of the patients and reasonably analyzed the overall survival rate between the patients with the different risk scores. We found that overall survival in higher-risk-score patients was lower than in lower-risk-score patients. Subsequently, further GO and KEGG analyses for patients revealed that the levels of immune infiltration varied for patients with high and low risk scores, and the high-risk-score patients had lower immune infiltration’s levels and were insensitive to treatment with chemotherapeutic agents. Furthermore, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database validated our findings. Our data suggest that TP63, YWHAZ, BRCA1, CCND2, YWHAG, and HIPK2 can be potential genetic markers of prognostic assessment, immune infiltration and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity in breast cancer patients

Deficits Of Synaptic Functions In Hippocampal Slices Prepared From Aged Mice Null α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Alpha 7 (α7) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) is one of most high expressed nAChR subtypes in the brain. The activation of nAChRs enhances animal cognitive, learning and memory abilities. However, the role of genetic knockout (KO) of α7-nAChRs in animal cognition-associated behaviors is still obscure. An early report showed that α7-nAChR KO mice did not exhibit behavioral phenotypes, concerning the roles of α7-nAChRs in normal, cognition-associated behaviors. Later, α7-nAChR KO mice were found a deficit in animal spatial discrimination. The roles of α7-nAChRs in the alterations of hippocampal synaptic function during aging process are largely unknown. Here, we address this question by examining synaptic function using field potential recording in hippocampal slice preparations from adult (12-14 months old) and aged (22-24 months old) α7-nAChR KO and age-matched wild-type (WT) mice. We found that compared to aged WT mice, aged α7-nAChR KO mice exhibited significantly reduced size of evoked field synaptic potential and impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses. However, adult α7-nAChR KO mice did not show a clear deficit in LTP although the basic synaptic transmission was also reduced compared to adult WT mice. In both age groups, there was no significant difference of paired-pulse facilitation between α7-nAChR KO and WT mice. Collectively, this study provides direct evidence, for the first time, that the impaired synaptic function occurs in aged α7-nAChR KO mice, suggesting an importance of α7-nAChRs in maintaining cognitive function during aging process. © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Analysis of the Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Extreme Climate Indices in Central China

Using the daily precipitation and temperature data of 101 meteorological stations in four provinces of central China (Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi) from 1988 to 2017, we analyzed the temporal and spatial dynamics and periodicity of nine extreme climate indices in central China, using the predefined methods for analyzing extreme climate events, such as a M-K test, a linear trend analysis, and a wavelet analysis. The extreme climate characteristics and changes in central China in the past 30 years were revealed. The results showed that the CSDI was significantly reduced linearly at a rate of −0.19 d/10a, and the WSDI and TXx increased significantly at rates of 0.25 d/10a and 0.30℃/10a, respectively. The CDD decreased significantly at a rate of −1.67 d/10a. The duration of extreme low-temperature and drought events in central China showed a gradual shortening, while the duration of extreme high-temperature events and the high-temperature values increased. The results of the abrupt climate change test showed that some extreme climate indices in central China had significant abrupt climate changes after 2000. Analyzing the cyclicality of each index, it was determined that the extreme climate index in central China had a significant cyclical change every 2–4 years, and the change was more notable after 2000. Analyzing the spatial distribution of the extreme climate indices, it was determined that Jiangxi had the longest duration of all high-temperature events, and was the largest and longest of events of extreme precipitation. It was also determined that the Jiangxi region was at greater risk of extreme climate events in central China. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for climate change trends, local disaster prevention, and mitigation management in central China

Analysis of the Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Extreme Climate Indices in Central China

Using the daily precipitation and temperature data of 101 meteorological stations in four provinces of central China (Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi) from 1988 to 2017, we analyzed the temporal and spatial dynamics and periodicity of nine extreme climate indices in central China, using the predefined methods for analyzing extreme climate events, such as a M-K test, a linear trend analysis, and a wavelet analysis. The extreme climate characteristics and changes in central China in the past 30 years were revealed. The results showed that the CSDI was significantly reduced linearly at a rate of −0.19 d/10a, and the WSDI and TXx increased significantly at rates of 0.25 d/10a and 0.30℃/10a, respectively. The CDD decreased significantly at a rate of −1.67 d/10a. The duration of extreme low-temperature and drought events in central China showed a gradual shortening, while the duration of extreme high-temperature events and the high-temperature values increased. The results of the abrupt climate change test showed that some extreme climate indices in central China had significant abrupt climate changes after 2000. Analyzing the cyclicality of each index, it was determined that the extreme climate index in central China had a significant cyclical change every 2–4 years, and the change was more notable after 2000. Analyzing the spatial distribution of the extreme climate indices, it was determined that Jiangxi had the longest duration of all high-temperature events, and was the largest and longest of events of extreme precipitation. It was also determined that the Jiangxi region was at greater risk of extreme climate events in central China. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for climate change trends, local disaster prevention, and mitigation management in central China

Role of serum cytokines in the prediction of heart failure in patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract Aims Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of heart failure (HF). This study aimed to identify cytokine biomarkers for predicting HF in patients with CAD. Methods and results Twelve patients with CAD without HF (CAD‐non HF), 12 patients with CAD complicated with HF (CAD‐HF), and 12 healthy controls were enrolled for Human Cytokine Antibody Array, which were used as the training dataset. Then, differentially expressed cytokines among the different groups were identified, and crucial characteristic proteins related to CAD‐HF were screened using a combination of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, recursive feature elimination, and random forest methods. A support vector machine (SVM) diagnostic model was constructed based on crucial characteristic proteins, followed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Finally, two validation datasets, GSE20681 and GSE59867, were downloaded to verify the diagnostic performance of the SVM model and expression of crucial proteins, as well as enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was also used to verify the levels of crucial proteins in blood samples. In total, 12 differentially expressed proteins were overlapped in the three comparison groups, and then four optimal characteristic proteins were identified, including VEGFR2, FLRG, IL‐23, and FGF‐21. After that, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the constructed SVM classification model for the training dataset was 0.944. The accuracy of the SVM classification model was validated using the GSE20681 and GSE59867 datasets, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.773 and 0.745, respectively. The expression trends of the four crucial proteins in the training dataset were consistent with those in the validation dataset and those determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Conclusions The combination of VEGFR2, FLRG, IL‐23, and FGF‐21 can be used as a candidate biomarker for the prediction and prevention of HF in patients with CAD

Genome-wide analysis of androgen receptor binding sites in prostate cancer cells

En este objeto de información se muestra la importancia de la Ley 100 de 1993 como regidora del Sistema General de Seguridad Social, sus propósitos, a quiénes formalizó como integrantes de dicho sistema y los posibles riesgos a los que se pueden ver enfrentados.1.0Acceso a Interne