Cooperative Anti-Deception Jamming in a Distributed Multiple-Radar System under Registration Errors

A distributed multiple-radar system has natural advantages in anti-deception jamming. However, most of the anti-jamming methods are proposed in full spatial registration. In practice, the registration error is difficult to eliminate, which will seriously degrade the performance of cooperative anti-jamming. Therefore, it is of great significance to consider the problem of cooperative anti-deception jamming under registration error. In this paper, the cooperative anti-deception jamming method is proposed in a distributed multiple-radar system under registration errors. On the premise of the known registration error, target received signal vectors are estimated from an uncertainty region in each channel by maximum likelihood (ML) algorithm. With the estimated received signal vectors, a target discrimination algorithm is introduced based on the difference in target spatial scattering characteristics, which calculate the correlation coefficient between different target received signal vectors and discriminate a false target with a designed threshold. Furthermore, since the registration error depends on the radar site errors, theoretical derivation for the registration error is given as a function of the transmitter and receiver site errors. Finally, simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed discrimination method, and its performance due to the influence of the jamming-to-noise ratio (JNR), the registration error, the target size, and the discrimination threshold are considered

PABP Cooperates with the CCR4-NOT Complex to Promote mRNA Deadenylation and Block Precocious Decay

Multiple deadenylases are known in vertebrates, the PAN2-PAN3 (PAN2/3) and CCR4-NOT (CNOT) complexes, and PARN, yet their differential functions remain ambiguous. Moreover, the role of poly(A) binding protein (PABP) is obscure, limiting our understanding of the deadenylation mechanism. Here, we show that CNOT serves as a predominant nonspecific deadenylase for cytoplasmic poly(A)+ RNAs, and PABP promotes deadenylation while preventing premature uridylation and decay. PAN2/3 selectively trims long tails (>150 nt) with minimal effect on transcriptome, whereas PARN does not affect mRNA deadenylation. CAF1 and CCR4, catalytic subunits of CNOT, display distinct activities: CAF1 trims naked poly(A) segments and is blocked by PABPC, whereas CCR4 is activated by PABPC to shorten PABPC-protected sequences. Concerted actions of CAF1 and CCR4 delineate the 27 nt periodic PABPC footprints along shortening tail. Our study unveils distinct functions of deadenylases and PABPC, re-drawing the view on mRNA deadenylation and regulation. (c) 2018 Elsevier In

PABP cooperates with the CCR4-NOT complex to promote mRNA deadenylation and block precocious decay

Multiple deadenylases are known in vertebrates, the PAN2-PAN3 (PAN2/3) and CCR4-NOT (CNOT) complexes, and PARN, yet their differential functions remain ambiguous. Moreover, the role of poly(A) binding protein (PABP) is obscure, limiting our understanding of the deadenylation mechanism. Here, we show that CNOT serves as a predominant nonspecific deadenylase for cytoplasmic poly(A)+ RNAs, and PABP promotes deadenylation while preventing premature uridylation and decay. PAN2/3 selectively trims long tails (> similar to 150 nt) with minimal effect on transcriptome, whereas PARN does not affect mRNA deadenylation. CAF1 and CCR4, catalytic subunits of CNOT, display distinct activities: CAF1 trims naked poly(A) segments and is blocked by PABPC, whereas CCR4 is activated by PABPC to shorten PABPC-protected sequences. Concerted actions of CAF1 and CCR4 delineate the similar to 27 nt periodic PABPC footprints along shortening tail. Our study unveils distinct functions of deadenylases and PABPC, re-drawing the view on mRNA deadenylation and regulation

Fabrication and Characterizations of Hot-Melt Extruded Nanocomposites Based on Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate and Soluplus

Zinc sulfate monohydrate (ZnSO4)-loaded nanocomposites (NCs) were fabricated by using a hot-melt extruder (HME) system. Soluplus (SP) was adopted as an amphiphilic polymer matrix for HME processing. The micro-size of ZnSO4 dispersion was reduced to nano-size by HME processing with the use of SP. ZnSO4 could be homogeneously dispersed in SP through HME processing. ZnSO4/SP NCs with a 75 nm mean diameter, a 0.1 polydispersity index, and a −1 mV zeta potential value were prepared. The physicochemical properties of ZnSO4/SP NCs and the existence of SP in ZnSO4/SP NCs were further investigated by solid-state studies. Nano-size range of ZnSO4/SP NC dispersion was maintained in the simulated gastrointestinal environments (pH 1.2 and 6.8 media). No severe toxicity in intestinal epithelium after oral administration of ZnSO4/SP NCs (at 100 mg/kg dose of ZnSO4, single dosing) was observed in rats. These results imply that developed ZnSO4/SP NC can be used as a promising nano-sized zinc supplement formulation. In addition, developed HME technology can be widely applied to fabricate nanoformulations of inorganic materials

Phosphorylation of p90RSK is associated with increased response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ER-positive breast cancer

Abstract Background The clinical implication of Ras/Raf/ERK pathway activity in breast cancer tissue and its association with response to chemotherapy is controversial. We aimed to explore the value of p90RSK phosphorylation, a downstram molecule of the pathway, in predicting chemotherapy response in breast cancer. Methods The expression of phosphorylated p90RSK (phospho-p90RSK) and chemotherapy response was measured in 11 breast cancer cell lines and 21 breast cancer tissues. The predictive value of phospho-p90RSK was validated in core needle biopsy specimens of 112 locally advanced breast cancer patients who received anthracycline and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results In 11 breast cancer cell lines, the relative expression of phospho-p90RSK was inversely correlated with cell survival after doxorubicin treatment (p = 0.021). Similar association was observed in fresh tissues from 21 breast cancer patients in terms of clinical response. In paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed tissues from core needle biopsy tissues from 112 patients, positive phospho-p90RSK expression was associated with greater tumor shrinkage and smaller post-chemotherapy tumor size. The association between phospho-p90RSK expression and chemotherapy response was more evident in estrogen receptor(ER)-positive tumors. The expression of phosphor-p90RSK did not show a significant relationship with the incidence of pCR. P90RSK silencing using siRNA did not affect the cancer cell’s response to doxorubicin, and the expression of phospho-p90RSK was highly correlated with other Ras/Raf/ERK pathway activation. Conclusion Our results suggest that phospho-p90RSK expression, which reflects the tumor’s Ras/Raf/ERK/p90RSK pathway activation can be a potential predictive marker for chemotherapy response in ER-positive breast cancer which needs further independent validation.</p

Unraveling the Charge Extraction Mechanism of Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated with Two-Step Spin Coating: Interfacial Energetics between Methylammonium Lead Iodide and C₆₀

In organolead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), interfacial properties between the perovskite and charge transport layers are the critical factors governing charge extraction efficiency. In this study, the effect of interfacial energetics between two-step spin-coated methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃) with different methylammonium iodide (MAI) concentrations and C₆₀ on the charge extraction efficiency is investigated. The electronic structures of perovskite films are significantly varied by the MAI concentrations due to the changes in the residual precursor and MA⁺ defect content. As compared to the optimum PSCs with 25 mg mL^–1 MAI, PSCs with other MAI concentrations show significantly lower power conversion efficiencies and severe hysteresis. The energy level alignment at the C₆₀/MAPbI₃ interface determined by ultraviolet and inverse photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reveals the origin of distinct differences in device performances. The conduction band offset at the C₆₀/MAPbI₃ interface plays a crucial role in efficient charge extraction in PSCs

Band-Tail Transport of CuSCN: Origin of Hole Extraction Enhancement in Organic Photovoltaics

Copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) is known as a promising hole transport layer in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) due to its good hole conduction and exciton blocking abilities with high transparency. Despite its successful device applications, the origin of its hole extraction enhancement in OPVs has not yet been understood. Here, we investigated the electronic structure of CuSCN and the energy level alignment at the poly­(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/CuSCN/ITO interfaces using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The band-tail states of CuSCN close to the Fermi level (<i>E</i>_F) were observed at 0.25 eV below the <i>E</i>_F, leading to good hole transport. The CuSCN interlayer significantly reduces the hole transport barrier between ITO and P3HT due to its high work function and band-tail states. The barrier reduction leads to enhanced current density–voltage characteristics of hole-dominated devices. These results provide the origin of hole-extraction enhancement by CuSCN and insights for further application