Identification and Expression Patterns of Three Vitellogenin Genes and Their Roles in Reproduction of the Alligatorweed Flea Beetle Agasicles hygrophila (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

The alligatorweed flea beetle Agasicles hygrophila is an insect used for biological control of the aquatic weed Alternanthera philoxeroides (alligatorweed). Because these insects are oviparous, synthesis, and transportation of yolk proteins is integral to reproduction. Vitellin, the chief protein constituent in egg yolk, is mainly synthesized in the fat body and its synthesis is regulated by the transcript levels of Vitellogenin (Vg). In our study, we first cloned and characterized three Vg genes from A. hygrophila and quantified the expression levels of these Vgs in different tissues and developmental stages by RT-qPCR. Analysis of the full-length cDNA sequences of the three A. hygrophila Vg genes revealed that the open reading frames of AhVg1, AhVg2, and AhVg3 were 5175, 5346, and 5385 bp, encoding 1724, 1781, and 1794 amino acids, respectively. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that these three AhVgs have similar expression patterns; expression in the fat body was significantly higher than that in other tissues, and the highest expression was observed in the adult developmental stage. RNA interference was used to explore the functions of the AhVgs. A. hygrophila female adults injected with dsRNA targeting the AhVg genes showed decreased AhVg gene expression. Down regulation of all three AhVgs significantly affected ovary development, reduced egg laying capacity, and reduced the egg hatch rate compared with the control groups. Our findings provide the basis for further study of the functions of Vg genes in other insect species

Does the Use of Antidepressants Accelerate the Disease Progress in Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease Patients With Depression? A Case Report and A Systematic Review

Background: Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by rapidly progressive dementia. Growing evidence suggests that antidepressant usage was associated with dementia. Given the commonality of depression in CJD, it is necessary to investigate the effect of antidepressants on CJD.Methods: First, we report a case of sporadic CJD (sCJD) with depression where the condition worsened rapidly after using a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant. Second, a systematic literature survey was conducted to investigate the effect of antidepressants on the survival time of sCJD patients with depression. Thirteen cases plus our case were included for qualitative analysis. Twelve subjects were included in the Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analysis. Finally, we provide a postulation of pathophysiological mechanism in CJD.Results: The median survival time of all patients was 6.0 months, of which patients with SNRIs were significantly shorter than those with first-generation antidepressants (2.0 vs. 6.0 months; log rank, P = .008) and relatively shorter than those with nonselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs; 4.0 vs. 6.0 months; log rank, P = .090). In comparison with first-generation antidepressants, the use of SNRIs [hazard ratio (HR), 23.028; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.401 to 378.461; P = .028] remained independently associated with shorter survival time.Conclusions: The use of antidepressants, especially SNRIs, was associated with a shorter survival time of sCJD patients. The possible changes in neurotransmitters should be emphasized. Scientifically, this study may provide insights into the mechanism of CJD. Clinically, it may contribute to the early diagnosis of CJD

The trained NER_model for MAX/MXene materials

The NER model for MAX/MXene  synthesis recipes extraction. </p

Trained RE_model for MAX/MXene materials

The RE model for MAX/MXene  synthesis recipes extraction.</p

The list of 110 publications and annotated corpus.

The list of 110 publications and annotated corpus.</p

Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets

Two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets are attracting increasing research interest due to their unique properties originating from their ultrathin thickness and large surface area with highly accessible active sites. Here, the aim is to provide recent advances in the synthesis of 2D MOF nanosheets by using the top-down and bottom-up methods, including sonication exfoliation, interfacial synthesis, three-layer synthesis, and surfactant-assisted synthesis methods. In addition, the recent progress in 2D-MOF-nanosheet-based nanocomposites is also introduced. The synthesis of 2D MOF nanosheets should lead to new kinds of functional nanomaterials for a wide range of applications.MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore

Study on theater evacuation based on buildingEXODUS

In assembly occupancies with serried seats distribution, such as cinemas and theaters, the evacuation bottleneck is not only limited to the exit but also in the narrow corridors formed by a large number of seats. These narrow corridors are also an important factor that why people cannot evacuate quickly. This paper observes the evacuation situation of a college theater at the end of movies, and uses BuildingEXODUS to study the influence of seat jumping and corridors’ width altering on evacuation. Studies shows that when the number reaches 20%-60% of the capacity, seat jumping situation during evacuation can improve evacuation efficiency. While the number exceeds 60% or less than 20% of the capacity, the total evacuation time will not change significantly. If the total width of the hallway remains unchanged and the width of each hallway is changed, the exit may reach the state of congestion in advance, which aggravates the congestion at the exit and also has a certain impact on the seat jumping to escape

Research on the impact of crowd queuing behavior on construction personnel evacuation

The evacuation channel is an important way to connect the room and the security exit. This paper studies the impact of queuing behavior on the evacuation of people in the building channel. In this paper, Considering the factors of evacuation channel width, personnel density and speed, queuing form, different queuing queues, etc., using Massmotion software simulation. The research shows that for different queuing methods, the evacuation efficiency of queuing by shares is less affected by the width of the channel, there is a critical channel width for the evenly divided queues, and the evacuation efficiency of the different queuing queues is inconsistent; under different widths, the personnel density and speed have different evacuation efficiency Law of influence. The research in this paper can provide a certain reference for the design of building evacuation

Influence of Parasitic Inductances on Switching Performance of SiC MOSFET

Compared to the silicon power devices, silicon carbide device has shorter switch time. Hence, as a result of the faster transition of voltage (dv/dt) and current (di/dt) in SiC MOSFET, the influence of parasitic parameters on SiC MOSFET’s switching transient is more serious. This paper gives an experimental study of the influence of parasitic inductance on SiC MOSFET’s switching characteristics. Most significance parameters are the parasitic inductances of gate driver loop and power switching loop. These include the SiC MOSFET package’s parasitic inductance, interconnect inductance and the parasitic inductance of dc link PCB trace. This paper therefore focuses on analysis and comparison of different parasitic parameters under various operation conditions in terms of their effect on overvoltage, overcurrent and switching power loss