Interaural Level Difference-Dependent Gain Control and Synaptic Scaling Underlying Binaural Computation

SummaryBinaural integration in the central nucleus of inferior colliculus (ICC) plays a critical role in sound localization. However, its arithmetic nature and underlying synaptic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we showed in mouse ICC neurons that the contralateral dominance is created by a “push-pull”-like mechanism, with contralaterally dominant excitation and more bilaterally balanced inhibition. Importantly, binaural spiking response is generated apparently from an ipsilaterally mediated scaling of contralateral response, leaving frequency tuning unchanged. This scaling effect is attributed to a divisive attenuation of contralaterally evoked synaptic excitation onto ICC neurons with their inhibition largely unaffected. Thus, a gain control mediates the linear transformation from monaural to binaural spike responses. The gain value is modulated by interaural level difference (ILD) primarily through scaling excitation to different levels. The ILD-dependent synaptic scaling and gain adjustment allow ICC neurons to dynamically encode interaural sound localization cues while maintaining an invariant representation of other independent sound attributes

Bacterial and fungal inhibitor interacted impacting growth of invasive Triadica sebifera and soil N2O emissions

Plant invasions affect biodiversity and seriously endanger the stability of ecosystems. Invasive plants show strong adaptability and growth advantages but are influenced by various factors. Soil bacteria and fungi are critical to plant growth and are important factors affecting plant invasions. Plant invasions also affect soil N2O emissions, but the effects of invasive plants from different population origins on N2O emissions and their microbial mechanisms are not clear. In this experiment, we grew Triadica sebifera from native (China) and invasive (USA) populations with or without bacterial (streptomycin) and/or fungal (iprodione) inhibitors in a factorial experiment in which we measured plant growth and soil N2O emissions of T. sebifera. Plants from invasive populations had higher leaf masses than those from native populations when soil bacteria were not inhibited (with or without fungal inhibition) which might reflect that they are more dependent on soil bacteria. Cumulative N2O emissions were higher for soils with invasive T. sebifera than those with a plant from a native population. Bacterial inhibitor application reduced cumulative N2O emissions but reductions were larger with application of the fungal inhibitor either alone or in combination with the bacterial inhibitor. This suggests that fungi play a strong role in plant performance and soil N2O emissions. Therefore, it is important to further understand the effects of soil microorganisms on the growth of T. sebifera and soil N2O emissions to provide a more comprehensive scientific basis for understanding the causes and consequences of plant invasions

The role of novel antiangiogenic and other targeted treatments in soft tissue sarcoma

STS represents a rare and highly diverse group of mesenchymal neoplasms, consisting of more than 50 subtypes. One of the most common STS histotypes is liposarcoma, originating from adipose tissue. Surgery is the primary treatment for resectable liposarcoma. Patients with unresectable or advanced disease require systemic treatment, but established drugs provide only marginal palliative effects, emphasizing the urgent need of novel therapeutic options. Recent studies revealed that the angiogenesis and PI3K signalling pathways are implicated in the pathogenesis of liposarcoma, suggesting thatinhibition of these targets could be considered as promising therapeutic strategy. Generally, the development of novel therapies for liposarcoma is hindered by the low incidence of sarcoma in general and a relative lack of reliable preclinical models. In the present study, tumours specimen from 68 STS patients were transplanted in mice, resulting in 12 established xenografts plus a number of further models in early stages of passaging. All established models are well characterized by histopathological and molecular means, and nicely match the morphology and genotype of the original tumour samples. Subsequently the targeted compounds CABO, PAZ, and GDC were tested in DDLPS xenograft models in vivo and were administrated either as single agent, as combinations or in combination with conventional chemotherapy. CABO, which mainly targets VEGFR and MET, was found to capable of delaying tumour growth by suppressing cell proliferation, enhancing apoptosis and inhibiting tumour angiogenesis. The drug should be studied in clinical liposarcoma studies.PAZ, which shows antiangiogenic and antitumour effects in various cancer types and is approved for treatment of advanced non-adipocytic STS, inhibited cell proliferation and reduced vascular density in all tested DDLPS models. While the combined use of PAZ and cytotoxic chemotherapy was not foundto be promising strategy in liposarcoma, the combination with other targeted agents holds some promise.GDC, a specific PI3K inhibitor, was found to suppress the activation of PI3K-AKT pathway in vitro and in vivo, and induced tumour growth delay in all tested DDLPS, through antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects. In combination with the angiogenesis inhibitor PAZ, synergy was observed in selected models. Clinical trials exploring such combination in DDLPS are warranted.status: publishe

Identifying and Classifying Pollution Hotspots to Guide Watershed Management in a Large Multiuse Watershed

In many locations around the globe, large reservoir sustainability is threatened by land use change and direct pollution loading from the upstream watershed. However, the size and complexity of upstream basins makes the planning and implementation of watershed-scale pollution management a challenge. In this study, we established an evaluation system based on 17 factors, representing the potential point and non-point source pollutants and the environmental carrying capacity which are likely to affect the water quality in the Dahuofang Reservoir and watershed in northeastern China. We used entropy methods to rank 118 subwatersheds by their potential pollution threat and clustered subwatersheds according to the potential pollution type. Combining ranking and clustering analyses allowed us to suggest specific areas for prioritized watershed management (in particular, two subwatersheds with the greatest pollution potential) and to recommend the conservation of current practices in other less vulnerable locations (91 small watersheds with low pollution potential). Finally, we identified the factors most likely to influence the water quality of each of the 118 subwatersheds and suggested adaptive control measures for each location. These results provide a scientific basis for improving the watershed management and sustainability of the Dahuofang reservoir and a framework for identifying threats and prioritizing the management of watersheds of large reservoirs around the world

Development of a 5-mRNAsi-related gene signature to predict the prognosis of colon adenocarcinoma

Aim To create a prognosis model based on mRNA-based stem index (mRNAsi) for evaluating the prognostic outcomes of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). Background Generation of heterogeneous COAD cells could be promoted by the self-renewal and differentiation potential of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Biomarkers contributing to the development of COAD stem cells remained to be discovered. Objective To develop and validate an mRNAsi-based risk model for estimating the prognostic outcomes of patients suffering from COAD. Methods Samples were collected from Rectal Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-READ) PanCancer Atlas datasets, The Cancer Genome Atlas Colon Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-COAD), and the GSE87211 dataset. MRNAsi was calculated by one-class logistic regression (OCLR) algorithm. Under the criterion of correlation greater than 0.4, genes related to mRNAsi were screened and clustered. Meanwhile, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between molecular subtypes were identified to establish a risk model. According to the median risk score value for immunotherapy and results from immune cell infiltration and clinicopathological analyses, clusters and patients were divided into high-RiskScore and low-RiskScore groups. Cell apoptosis and viability were detected by flow cytometer and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, respectively. Results A negative correlation between mRNAsi and clinical stages was observed. Three clusters of patients (C1, C2, and C3) were defined based on a total of 165 survival-related mRNAsi genes. Specifically, C1 patients had greater immune cell infiltration and a poorer prognosis. A 5-mRNAsi-gene signature (HEYL, FSTL3, FABP4, ADAM8, and EBF4) served as a prediction index for COAD prognosis. High-RiskScore patients had a poorer prognosis and higher level of immune cell infiltration. In addition, the five genes in the signature all showed a high expression in COAD cells. Knocking down HEYL promoted COAD cell apoptosis and inhibited viability. Conclusion Our mRNAsi risk model could better predict the prognosis of COAD patients

Porous Thermal Insulation Polyurethane Foam Materials

Porous thermal insulation materials (PTIMs) are a class of materials characterized by low thermal conductivity, low bulk density and high porosity. The low thermal conductivity of the gas enclosed in their pores allows them to achieve efficient thermal insulation, and are they among the most widely used and effective materials in thermal insulation material systems. Among the PTIMs, polyurethane foam (PUF) stands out as particularly promising. Its appeal comes from its multiple beneficial features, such as low density, low thermal conductivity and superior mechanical properties. Such attributes have propelled its broad application across domains encompassing construction, heterogeneous chemical equipment, water conservation and hydropower, and the aviation and aerospace fields. First, this article outlines the structure and properties of porous thermal insulation PUF materials. Next, it explores the methods of preparing porous thermal insulation PUF materials, evaluating the associated advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Following this, the mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, thermal stability, and flame-retardant characteristics of porous thermal insulation PUF materials are characterized. Lastly, the article provides insight into the prospective development trends pertaining to porous thermal insulation PUF materials

Compact 8 × 8 MIMO Antenna Design for 5G Terminals

In this paper, a compact 8 × 8 MIMO antenna design for 5G terminals is proposed. The 8 × 8 MIMO antenna consists of two quad-element antenna pairs, each of which includes two symmetrical T-shaped monopole mode elements and two symmetrical edge-coupled fed dipole mode elements. The size of the quad-element antenna is 38 × 7 × 0.8 mm3. T-shaped monopoles are decoupled by parasitic elements, and dipoles are decoupled by grounding strips. Meanwhile, both T-shaped monopoles and dipoles are also decoupled by the orthogonal mode. The results show that the operating frequency band of each antenna element meets the requirement of 3.4–3.6 GHz, the reflection coefficient is less than −6 dB, and the isolation between any antenna element is more than 10 dB. The antenna radiation efficiency is over 50% in the entire operating frequency band for the 8 × 8 MIMO system

SFX analysis of non-biological polycrystalline samples

Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) is capable of collecting three-dimensional single-crystal diffraction data using polycrystalline samples. This may dramatically enhance the power of X-ray powder diffraction. In this paper a test has been performed using simulated diffraction patterns. The test sample is a mixture of two zeolites with crystal grain sizes from 100 to 300 nm. X-ray diffraction snapshots by SFX were simulated and processed using the program suite CrystFEL. Identification according to the primitive unit-cell volume determined from individual snapshots was able to separate the whole set of snapshots into two subsets, which correspond to the two zeolites in the sample. Monte Carlo integration in CrystFEL was then applied to them separately. This led to two sets of three-dimensional single-crystal diffraction intensities, based on which crystal structures of the two zeolites were solved easily by direct methods implemented in the program SHELXD

Simulation Study of the Swirl Spray Atomization of a Bipropellant Thruster under Low Temperature Conditions

The spray atomization of an injector significantly influences the performance and working life span of a bipropellant thruster of a spacecraft. Deep space exploration requires the thruster to be able to operate reliably at a low temperature range from −40 °C to 0 °C, so the effect of low temperature conditions on the atomization characteristics of injector spray is motivated to be comprehensively investigated. To study the swirl atomization characteristics of MMH (methylhydrazine), which is more difficult to atomize than NTO (nitrogen tetroxide), numerical simulations were conducted, employing the methods of VOF (volume of fluid) and LES (large eddy simulation) under low temperature conditions. The physical model with a nozzle size of 0.5 mm and boundary conditions with a velocity inlet of 3.89 m/s both follow the actual operation of thrusters. The development of spray atomization at low temperatures was observed through parametric comparisons, such as spray velocity, liquid total surface area, droplet particle size distribution, spray cone angle and breakup distance. When the temperature decreased from 20 °C to −40 °C at the same condition of flowrate inlet, those atomization characteristics of MMH propellant vary following these rules: the spray ejection velocity of MMH is significantly reduced by 7.7%, and gas-liquid disturbance sequentially decreases; the liquid film development is more stable, with a negative influence on atomization quality, causing difficulties for primary and secondary breakup, so the total surface area of droplets also decreases by 6.4%; the spatial distribution characteristics, spray cone angle and breakup distance vary less than 5%. Therefore, the low temperature condition can directly lower the combustion efficiency of thrusters with obvious performance degradation, but there are no significant changes in the propellant mixing and liquid film cooling. It is concluded that the bipropellant thruster can reliably work at low temperatures around −40 °C for deep space probe operation