A switched reluctance motor torque ripple reduction strategy with deadbeat current control and active thermal management

This paper presents a switched reluctance motor (SRM) torque ripple reduction strategy with deadbeat current control and active thermal management. In this method, the SRM torque is indirectly controlled by the phase current. A deadbeat current control method is used to improve the SRM phase current control accuracy, so that SRM torque control error can be reduced significantly. According to the online measurement of the power switching device temperature, the switching frequency will be reduced to prevent the SRM power converter from being damaged by over-temperature. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy have been verified in both simulation and experimental studies

A switched reluctance motor torque ripple reduction strategy with deadbeat current control

This paper presents a switched reluctance motor (SRM) torque ripple reduction strategy with deadbeat current control. In this method, the SRM torque is indirectly controlled by the phase current. The deadbeat control method can predict the duty cycle of the switching signal for the next control period according to current error, and achieve an accurate current tracking. Thus, SRM torque control error can be reduced significantly. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy have been verified in both simulation and experimental studies

Additional file 1 of Association of intergenerational relationships with cognitive impairment among Chinese adults 80 years of age or older: prospective cohort study

Additional file 1: Table S1. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores, 1998-2018. Table S2. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 24 for MMSE scores from housework or childcare, 1998-2018. Table S3. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 24 for MMSE scores from main financial support, 1998-2018. Table S4. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 24 for MMSE scores from living or being visited, 1998-2018. Table S5. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores from housework or childcare, 1998-2018. Table S6. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores from main financial support, 1998-2018. Table S7. Baseline characteristics of the cohort with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores from living or being visited, 1998-2018. Table S8. Association between intergenerational relationships and cognitive impairment with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores. Table S9. Association between intergenerational relationships and cognitive impairment with cut-off value 18 for MMSE scores using traditional Cox regression. Figure S1. Cumulative cognitive impairment curves in intergenerational relationships variables

Data_Sheet_1_Genome-wide identification of three-amino-acid-loop-extension gene family and their expression profile under hormone and abiotic stress treatments during stem development of Prunus mume.docx

Transcription factors encoded by the three-amino-acid-loop-extension (TALE) gene family play a key role in regulating plant growth and development, and are involved in plant hormone regulatory pathways and responses to various environmental stresses. Researchers are currently studying TALE genes in different species, but Prunus mumeTALE genes have not yet been studied. Therefore, based on the P. mume genome, we found a total of 23 TALE gene family members, which were distributed on eight chromosomes. TALE genes contained the characteristic domains of this family, and could be divided into KNOTTED-like homeobox (KNOX) subfamily and BEL1-like homeobox (BELL) subfamily. They can form heterodimers with each other. Fragment duplication and tandem duplication events were the main reasons for the expansion of P. mumeTALE gene family members and the TALE genes were selected by different degrees of purification. The inter-species collinearity analysis showed that the relationship between P. mume and other four Prunus species was consistent with the distance of origin. Eleven members of P. mumeTALE genes were specifically highly expressed in stem, mainly at the early stage of stem development. The cis-element analysis showed that the promoter of P. mumeTALE genes contained a variety of hormone and abiotic stress response elements, and four TALE genes responded to two kinds of abiotic stresses and four kinds of hormones at the early stage of stem development. In conclusion, this study lays a foundation to explore the role of TALE gene family in P. mume growth and development.</p

DataSheet_1_Rapid duplex flap probe-based isothermal assay to identify the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii.docx

Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening invasive fungal infection with significantly increasing mortality worldwide, which is mainly caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. These two species complexes have different epidemiological and clinical characteristics, indicating the importance of accurate differential diagnosis. However, the clinically used culture method and cryptococcal capsular antigen detection couldn’t achieve the above goals. Herein, we established a novel duplex flap probe-based isothermal assay to identify the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii within 1 hour. This assay combined the highly sensitive nucleic acid isothermal amplification and highly specific fluorescence probe method, which could effectively distinguish the sequence differences of the two species complexes using two different fluorescence flap probes in a single reaction system. This novel method showed excellent detection performance with sensitivity (10 copies/μL each) and specificity (100%) compared to traditional culture and sequencing methods. Furthermore, we applied this method to spiked clinical samples, 30 cerebrospinal fluids and 30 bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, which kept good detection performance. This novel rapid duplex flap probe-based isothermal assay is a promising and robust tool for applications in differential diagnosis of the Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in clinical settings, especially when clinical suspicion for cryptococcal disease is high and epidemiological studies.</p

Additional file 1 of Maize ZmLAZ1-3 gene negatively regulates drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis

Supplementary Material

Polymeric Nanomedicine for Tumor-Targeted Combination Therapy to Elicit Synergistic Genotoxicity against Prostate Cancer

To improve the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer combination therapy, we designed a nanoplatform based on <i>N</i>-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers that allows covalent bonding of two chemotherapeutics acting via different anticancer mechanisms and that can enter target cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Doxorubicin (DOX) was covalently conjugated to a nanosized HPMA copolymer using a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) was conjugated to the same backbone using an enzymatically degradable oligopeptide Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly sequence. Then, the conjugate was decorated with galectin-3 targeting peptide G3-C12 [P-(G3-C12)-DOX-Fu]. The two drugs showed similar in vitro release profiles, suggesting that they may be able to work synergistically in the codelivery system. In galectin-3 overexpressed PC-3 human prostate carcinoma cells, P-(G3-C12)-DOX-Fu surprisingly exhibited comparable cytotoxicity to free DOX at high concentration by increasing cell internalization and exerting synergistic genotoxic effects of cell cycle arrest, caspase-3 activation, and DNA damage. In mice bearing PC-3 tumor xenografts, the use of tumor-targeting ligand substantially enhanced the intracellular delivery of P-(G3-C12)-DOX-Fu in tumors. The targeted dual drug-loaded conjugate inhibited tumor growth to a greater extent (tumor inhibition of 81.6%) than did nontargeted P-DOX-Fu (71.2%), P-DOX (63%), DOX·HCl (40.5%), P-Fu (32.0%), or 5-Fu (14.6%), without inducing any obvious side effects. These results demonstrate the potential of synergistic combination therapy using targeted nanocarriers for efficient treatment of prostate cancer

Dual Stimuli-Responsive Hybrid Polymeric Nanoparticles Self-Assembled from POSS-Based Starlike Copolymer-Drug Conjugates for Efficient Intracellular Delivery of Hydrophobic Drugs

To further fine tune drug release and enhance therapeutic effects of polyhedral oligomericsilsesquioxane (POSS)-based nanomedicine, a starlike organic–inorganic conjugate was synthesized by grafting semitelechelic <i>N</i>-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers to a POSS rigid core through reductively degradable disulfide bonds. The hydrophobic docetaxel (DTX) was attached to the grafts by pH-sensitive hydrazone bonds and also encapsulated into the POSS core (SP-DTX). Thus, the final amphiphilic star-shaped conjugates could self-assemble into nanoparticles and exhibited conspicuous drug-loading capacity (20.1 wt %) based on the covalently conjugated accompanied by physically encapsulated DTX. The stimuli-responsive DTX release under acidic lysosomal and reducing cytoplasmic environments was verified, leading to enhanced cytotoxicity against PC-3 human prostate carcinoma cells. To evaluate the in vivo therapeutic effects of the DTX-loaded nanovehicles objectively, a stroma-rich, prostate xenograft tumor model was generated. SP-DTX displayed uniform tumor distribution and suppressed tumor growth to a more pronounced level (tumor inhibition of 78.9%) than nonredox-sensitive SP-DTX-A (67.4%), SP-DTX-C contained DTX only in the core (65.5%) or linear P-DTX (60.7%) through enhanced depletion of cancer-associated fibroblasts and induction of apoptosis. The hybrid POSS-based polymeric nanoparticles offer an efficient approach to transport hydrophobic drugs for cancer therapy

Table_1_Characterization and mechanism of simultaneous degradation of aflatoxin B1 and zearalenone by an edible fungus of Agrocybe cylindracea GC-Ac2.docx

Contamination with multiple mycotoxins is a major issue for global food safety and trade. This study focused on the degradation of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and zearalenone (ZEN) by 8 types of edible fungi belonging to 6 species, inclulding Agaricus bisporus, Agrocybe cylindracea, Cyclocybe cylindracea, Cyclocybe aegerita, Hypsizygus marmoreus and Lentinula edodes. Among these fungi, Agrocybe cylindracea strain GC-Ac2 was shown to be the most efficient in the degradation of AFB1 and ZEN. Under optimal degradation conditions (pH 6.0 and 37.4°C for 37.9 h), the degradation rate of both AFB1 and ZEN reached over 96%. Through the analysis of functional detoxification components, it was found that the removal of AFB1 and ZEN was primarily degraded by the culture supernatant of the fungus. The culture supernatant exhibited a maximum manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity of 2.37 U/mL. Interestingly, Agrocybe cylindracea strain GC-Ac2 also showed the capability to degrade other mycotoxins in laboratory-scale mushroom substrates, including 15A-deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, B2, B3, T-2 toxin, ochratoxin A, and sterigmatocystin. The mechanism of degradation of these mycotoxins was speculated to be catalyzed by a complex enzyme system, which include MnP and other ligninolytic enzymes. It is worth noting that Agrocybe cylindracea can degrade multiple mycotoxins and produce MnP, which is a novel and significant discovery. These results suggest that this candidate strain and its enzyme system are expected to become valuable biomaterials for the simultaneous degradation of multiple mycotoxins.</p

Low-Temperature All-Solution-Processed Transparent Silver Nanowire-Polymer/AZO Nanoparticles Composite Electrodes for Efficient ITO-Free Polymer Solar Cells

We present a kind of all-solution-processed transparent conductive film comprising of silver nanowire (AgNW), polyvinyl butyral (PVB), and Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles (AZO NPs) composite (APA) by layer-by-layer blade-coating on glass substrate at low temperature. This kind of transparent APA film exhibits high transmittance at a wide range of 400–700 nm. The sheet resistance of the APA film can be as low as 21 Ω sq^–1 with transmittance over 94% at 550 nm. The introduction of PVB significantly improves the APA composite adhesion to glass substrate. The overlaid coating of AZO NPs not only reduces the sheet resistance but also improves the ambient and thermal stability of the APA film. This highly conductive and transparent APA film on glass substrate is employed as the bottom electrode to fabricate high-efficiency polymer solar cells (PSCs). A power conversion efficiency of 8.98% is achieved for the PBDTTT-EFT:PC₇₁BM PSCs employing the APA composite as transparent bottom electrode, close to 9.54% of the control device fabricated on the commercial indium tin oxide substrate. As it can be easily prepared with all-solution-processed blade-coating method at low temperature, this kind of AgNW-based composite film is promising to integrate with roll-to-roll manufacturing of flexible PSCs