Bis[4-oxido-2-oxo-2,3-di­hydro­pyrimidin-1-ium-5-carboxyl­ato(1.5−)-κ2 O 4,O 5]bis­(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)dysprosium(III) dihydrate

In the title compound, [Dy(C5H2.5N2O4)2(C12H8N2)2]·2H2O, the DyIII ion is located on a twofold rotation axis and is coordinated in a square-anti­prismatic geometry by two chelating 1,10-phenanthroline mol­ecules as well as two 4-oxido-2-oxo-2,3-di­hydro­pyrimidin-1-ium-5-carboxyl­ato(1.5−) anions. N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds help to stabilize the crystal structure. The H atom involved in an N—H⋯N hydrogen bond is disordered around a twofold rotation axis

N-(1H-1,2,4-Triazol-5-yl)pyridine-2-carboxamide

In the structure of the title compound, C8H7N5O, the pyridine ring and the imidazole ring are nearly coplanar, making a dihedral angle of 2.97 (15)°. An intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal mol­ecules are connected by inter­molecular hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking inter­actions between neighboring imidazole rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.5842 (5) Å and off-set angle = 21.77°], leading to the formation of a two-dimensional supra­molecular sheet

4,4′-Bipyridinium 1,4-phenyl­ene­diacetate

The title compound, C10H10N2 2+·C10H8O4 2−, has inversion centres located at the geometric centres of the 1,4-phenyl­enediacetate anion and 4,4′-bipyridinium cation. The anions and cations are connected by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming one-dimensional supra­molecular chains, which inter­act with each other via π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.938 (2) Å], building a two-dimensional supra­molecular sheet

Monitoring and disaster prevention of high and steep sandstone slopes along highways under construction

High and steep sandstone slopes along highway line are at high risk of disasters such as landslides, cracking of support structures, and so on. The monitoring, early warning, and emergency response of such slope disaster face enormous challenges, especially during the rainy season. In this paper, intelligent monitoring, early warning and forecasting system were carried out for the high steep sandstone slope with a transmission line tower at the slope crest along the highway under construction in Guangxi, China. The automatic monitoring data, emergency rescue program and rescue effect were analyzed, and emergency rescue measures for high steep slope protection were taken. The research results show that timely access to disaster warning information can effectively support the analysis of disaster causes and the evaluation of disposal programs. Deep-hole monitoring of deformation characteristics can determine the stable state of slopes, and the tangent angle warning criterion can be used for early warning and prediction of high steep slope landslides. By analyzing the location of the sliding surface and taking timely emergency disposal measures such as layered counterpressure method and micropipes, the landslide activities can be effectively controlled to prevent further acceleration of slope collapse. This study can provide an important reference for the monitoring, early warning, forecasting and emergency rescue of sandstone slopes along highways under construction

Zehn Jahre in Deutschland 1935-1945

Ji Xianlin; life; Germany; Göttinge

Neuronal LRP1 knockout in adult mice leads to impaired brain lipid metabolism and progressive, age-dependent synapse loss and neurodegeneration

The vast majority of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cases are late-onset with progressive synapse loss and neurodegeneration. Although the amyloid hypothesis has generated great insights into the disease mechanism, several lines of evidence indicate that other risk factors might precondition the brain to amyloid toxicity. Here, we show that the deletion of a major lipoprotein receptor, LRP1, in forebrain neurons in mice leads to a global defect in brain lipid metabolism characterized by decreased brain levels of cholesterol, sulfatide, galactosylceramide and triglyceride. These lipid deficits correlate with progressive, age-dependent dendritic spine degeneration, synapse loss, neuroinflammation, memory loss, and eventual neurodegeneration. We further show that the levels of glutamate receptor subunits NMDAR1 and GluR1 are selectively reduced in LRP1 forebrain knockout mice and in LRP1 knockdown neurons, which is partially rescued by restoring neuronal cholesterol. Together, these studies support a critical role for LRP1 in maintaining brain lipid homeostasis and associated synaptic and neuronal integrity, and provide important insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms in AD

Boosting the thermoelectric performance of p-type heavily Cu-doped polycrystalline SnSe via inducing intensive crystal imperfections and defect phonon scattering

In this study, we, for the first time, report a high Cu solubility of 11.8% in single crystal SnSe microbelts synthesized via a facile solvothermal route. The pellets sintered from these heavily Cu-doped microbelts show a high power factor of 5.57 μW cm−1 K−2 and low thermal conductivity of 0.32 W m−1 K−1 at 823 K, contributing to a high peak ZT of ∼1.41. Through a combination of detailed structural and chemical characterizations, we found that with increasing the Cu doping level, the morphology of the synthesized Sn1−xCuxSe (x is from 0 to 0.118) transfers from rectangular microplate to microbelt. The high electrical transport performance comes from the obtained Cu+ doped state, and the intensive crystal imperfections such as dislocations, lattice distortions, and strains, play key roles in keeping low thermal conductivity. This study fills in the gaps of the existing knowledge concerning the doping mechanisms of Cu in SnSe systems, and provides a new strategy to achieve high thermoelectric performance in SnSe-based thermoelectric materials

Pressure driven depolarization behavior of Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 based lead-free ceramics

Pressure driven depolarization behavior has been widely investigated for its scientific significance and practical applications. However, previous related studies were all based on lead-containing ferroelectric (FE) materials leading to detrimental environmental concerns. In the present work, we report the pressure driven depolarization behavior in Bi-based lead-free 0.97[(1-x)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-xBiAlO3)]-0.03K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (BNT-x) ceramics. Particularly, with increasing hydrostatic pressure from 0 MPa to 495 MPa, the remanent polarization of BNT-0.04 decreases from 30.7 µC/cm2 to 8.2 µC/cm2, reducing &$8764;73% of its initial value. The observed depolarization phenomenon is associated with the pressure induced polar FE-nonpolar relaxor phase transition. The results reveal BNT based ceramics as promising lead free candidates for mechanical-electrical energy conversion applications based on the pressure driven depolarization behavior.This work was supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Equipment Development Project (No. YZ201332), National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program) (No. 2012CB619406), Shanghai International Science and Technology Cooperation Project (No. 13520700700), and international partnership project of Chinese Academy of Science. Zhen Liu also acknowledges the support of Shanghai Sailing Program (No. 17YF1429700)

Erk1 Positively Regulates Osteoclast Differentiation and Bone Resorptive Activity

The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1 and 2) are widely-expressed and they modulate proliferation, survival, differentiation, and protein synthesis in multiple cell lineages. Altered ERK1/2 signaling is found in several genetic diseases with skeletal phenotypes, including Noonan syndrome, Neurofibromatosis type 1, and Cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome, suggesting that MEK-ERK signals regulate human skeletal development. Here, we examine the consequence of Erk1 and Erk2 disruption in multiple functions of osteoclasts, specialized macrophage/monocyte lineage-derived cells that resorb bone. We demonstrate that Erk1 positively regulates osteoclast development and bone resorptive activity, as genetic disruption of Erk1 reduced osteoclast progenitor cell numbers, compromised pit formation, and diminished M-CSF-mediated adhesion and migration. Moreover, WT mice reconstituted long-term with Erk1−/− bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) demonstrated increased bone mineral density as compared to recipients transplanted with WT and Erk2−/− BMMNCs, implicating marrow autonomous, Erk1-dependent osteoclast function. These data demonstrate Erk1 plays an important role in osteoclast functions while providing rationale for the development of Erk1-specific inhibitors for experimental investigation and/or therapeutic modulation of aberrant osteoclast function

Significant improvements in the olfactory sensitivity of bipolar I disorder patients during euthymia versus manic episodes: a longitudinal study

IntroductionResearch has indicated that individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) might experience alterations in their olfaction or levels of serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), but no studies have investigated olfactory function and serum TNF-α in BD patients simultaneously. Moreover, there is a lack of existing research that compares the longitudinal olfactory function between individuals with manic and euthymic BD I.MethodsPatients with manic BD I (BDM, n=44) and healthy controls (HCs, n=32) were evaluated symptoms (measured via the Young Manic Rating Scale, YRMS), social function (measured via the Global Assessment Function, GAF), serum TNF-α, and olfactory function (via the Sniffin’ Sticks test) including olfactory sensitivity (OS) and olfactory identification (OI). The BDM patients were followed up to the remission period and re-evaluated again. We compared OS, OI and serum TNF-α in manic and euthymic patients with BD I and HCs. We examined the correlation between olfactory function and symptoms, social function, and serum TNF-α in patients with BD I.ResultsThe BDM patients exhibited significantly lower OS and OI compared to the HCs (Z = −2.235, P = 0.025; t = −6.005, P < 0.001), while a positive correlation was observed between OS and GAF score (r = 0.313, P = 0.039). The OS in the BD I remission group (n=25) exhibited significantly superior performance compared to the BDM group (t = −4.056, P < 0.001), and the same as that in the HCs (P = 0.503). The change in OS showed a positive correlation with the decrease in YMRS score (r = 0.445, P = 0.026), and a negative correlation with the course of disease (r = -0.594, P = 0.002). The TNF-α in BD I patients was significantly lower compared to HCs (P < 0.001), and not significantly correlated with olfactory function (all P > 0.05).ConclusionThe findings suggest that OS and OI are impaired in BDM patients, and the impaired OS in those patients can be recovered in the remission stage. OI may serve as a potential characteristic marker of BD. OS might be useful as an index for BDM treatment efficacy and prognosis