Spin-orbit-coupled triangular-lattice spin liquid in rare-earth chalcogenides

Spin-orbit coupling is an important ingredient in many spin liquid candidate materials, especially among the rare-earth magnets and Kitaev materials. We explore the rare-earth chalcogenides NaYbS$_2$ where the Yb$^{3+}$ ions form a perfect triangular lattice. Unlike its isostructural counterpart YbMgGaO$_4$ and the kagom\'{e} lattice herbertsmithite, this material does not have any site disorders both in magnetic and non-magnetic sites. We carried out the thermodynamic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The magnetic dynamics could be observed with a broad gapless excitation band up to 1.0 meV at 50 mK and 0 T, no static long-range magnetic ordering is detected down to 50 mK. We discuss the possibility of Dirac spin liquid for NaYbS$_2$. We identify the experimental signatures of field-induced transitions from the disordered spin liquid to an ordered antiferromagnet with an excitation gap at finite magnetic fields and discuss this result with our Monte Carlo calculation of the proposed spin model. Our findings could inspire further interests in the spin-orbit-coupled spin liquids and the magnetic ordering transition from them

Recharging Schedule for Mitigating Data Loss in Wireless Rechargeable Sensor Network

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) technology is considered as a promising approach to make Wireless Rechargeable Sensor Network (WRSN) work perpetually. In WRSN, a vehicle exists, termed a mobile charger, which can move close to sensor nodes and charge them wirelessly. Due to the mobile charger’s limited traveling distance and speed, not every node that needs to be charged may be serviced in time. Thus, in such scenario, how to make a route plan for the mobile charger to determine which nodes should be charged first is a critical issue related to the network’s Quality of Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose a mobile charger’s scheduling algorithm to mitigate the data loss of network by considering the node’s criticality in connectivity and energy. First, we introduce a novel metric named criticality index to measure node’s connectivity contribution, which is computed as a summation of node’s neighbor dissimilarity. Furthermore, to reflect the node’s charging demand, an indicator called energy criticality is adopted to weight the criticality index, which is a normalized ratio of the node’s consumed energy to its total energy. Then, we formulate an optimization problem with the objective of maximizing total weighted criticality indexes of nodes to construct a charging tour, subject to the mobile charger’s traveling distance constraint. Due to the NP-hardness of the problem, a heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve it. The heuristic algorithm includes three steps, which is spanning tree growing, tour construction and tour improvement. Finally, we compare the proposed algorithm to the state-of-art scheduling algorithms. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is a promising one

Consortium Blockchain for Secure Energy Trading in Industrial Internet of Things

In industrial Internet of things (IIoT), peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading ubiquitously takes place in various scenarios, e.g., microgrids, energy harvesting networks, and vehicle-to-grid networks. However, there are common security and privacy challenges caused by untrusted and nontransparent energy markets in these scenarios. To address the security challenges, we exploit the consortium blockchain technology to propose a secure energy trading system named energy blockchain. This energy blockchain can be widely used in general scenarios of P2P energy trading getting rid of a trusted intermediary. Besides, to reduce the transaction limitation resulted from transaction confirmation delays on the energy blockchain, we propose a credit-based payment scheme to support fast and frequent energy trading. An optimal pricing strategy using Stackelberg game for credit-based loans is also proposed. Security analysis and numerical results based on a real dataset illustrate that the proposed energy blockchain and credit-based payment scheme are secure and efficient in IIoT

thesinglenucleotidepolymorphismsofchickenmelanocortin4receptormc4rgeneandtheirassociationanalysiswithcarcasstraits

Mutations of the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene are associated with the appetite, obesity and growth in pig, mice and human. But little is known about the function of chicken MC4R gene. In this study, F-2 chicken resource population derived from broilers crossing to Silky was screened for the polymorphisms of the MC4R gene using PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing methods. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) sites were found. The mutation (C-T) in the 5'regulation region of chicken MC4R gene results in one more NF-E2 and cap transcription factor binding sites in the mutation allele than in the wild allele. One missense mutation (G-A) occurs in the coding region (61 nt), which changes the glycine to arginine. Moreover, in the coding region there are 2 synonymous mutations, one G -> T mutation at 315nt and one C -> T mutation at 336nt. Least square analysis of the SNPs and carcass traits showed that BB, DD and FF genotypes are significantly associated with body weight, carcass weight (or half carcass weight), and leg muscle weight (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). But no significant association between the genotypes and abdominal fat weight is found. The results present the evidence that the chicken MC4R gene can be selected as the major candidate gene for the carcass traits such as body weight and growth

thesinglenucleotidepolymorphismsofchickenmelanocortin4receptormc4rgeneandtheirassociationanalysiswithcarcasstraits

Mutations of the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene are associated with the appetite, obesity and growth in pig, mice and human. But little is known about the function of chicken MC4R gene. In this study, F-2 chicken resource population derived from broilers crossing to Silky was screened for the polymorphisms of the MC4R gene using PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing methods. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) sites were found. The mutation (C-T) in the 5'regulation region of chicken MC4R gene results in one more NF-E2 and cap transcription factor binding sites in the mutation allele than in the wild allele. One missense mutation (G-A) occurs in the coding region (61 nt), which changes the glycine to arginine. Moreover, in the coding region there are 2 synonymous mutations, one G -> T mutation at 315nt and one C -> T mutation at 336nt. Least square analysis of the SNPs and carcass traits showed that BB, DD and FF genotypes are significantly associated with body weight, carcass weight (or half carcass weight), and leg muscle weight (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). But no significant association between the genotypes and abdominal fat weight is found. The results present the evidence that the chicken MC4R gene can be selected as the major candidate gene for the carcass traits such as body weight and growth

Camptothecin-20(s)-O-[N-(3’α,12’α-dihydroxy-24’-carbonyl-5’β-cholan)]-lysine, a Novel Camptothecin Analogue, Induces Apoptosis towards Hepatocellular Carcinoma SMMC-7721 Cells

Camptothecin-20(s)-O-[N-(3’α,12’α-dihydroxy-24’-carbonyl-5’β-cholan)]-lysine (B2) is a novel camptothecin analogue. Our previous study had shown that it displayed higher cytoxicity activity towards hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells than camptothecin (CPT) in vitro. In this paper, the underlying mechanism of anti-proliferation of B2 towards SMMC-7721 cells was further examined. Cell growth inhibition of B2 was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay; morphological changes were observed under Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (LSCM); cell cycle distribution, apoptotic population, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, intracellular calcium concentration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were determined by flow cytometry (FCM). Activities of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were measured, and the expression level of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were analyzed by Western blot. The results suggested that B2 inhibited SMMC-7721 cell growth by causing cell cycle arrest at the S and G2/M phases, and induced apoptosis involving a mitochondrial pathway. B2 appears to cause a high induction of apoptosis on SMMC-7721 cells in vitro, which suggests it might be a potential drug for cancer therapy

Immunohistochemical Determination of p53 Protein Overexpression for Predicting p53 Gene Mutations in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>Whether increased expression of the tumor suppressor protein p53 indicates a p53 gene mutation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether p53 protein overexpression detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) offers a diagnostic prediction for p53 gene mutations in HCC patients.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Systematic literature searches were conducted with an end date of December 2015. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of IHC-determined p53 protein overexpression in the prediction of p53 gene mutations in HCC. Sensitivity, subgroup, and publication bias analyses were also conducted.</p><p>Results</p><p>Thirty-six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the overall sensitivity and specificity for IHC-determined p53 overexpression in the diagnostic prediction of p53 mutations in HCC were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.80–0.86) and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.71–0.76), respectively. The summary positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were 2.65 (95% CI: 2.21–3.18) and 0.36 (95% CI: 0.26–0.50), respectively. The diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of IHC-determined p53 overexpression in predicting p53 mutations ranged from 0.56 to 105.00 (pooled, 9.77; 95% CI: 6.35–15.02), with significant heterogeneity between the included studies (<i>I</i>² = 40.7%, <i>P</i> = 0.0067). Moreover, subgroup and sensitivity analyses did not alter the results of the meta-analysis. However, potential publication bias was present in the current meta-analysis.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The upregulation of the tumor suppressor protein p53 was indeed linked to p53 gene mutations. IHC determination of p53 overexpression can predict p53 gene mutations in HCC patients.</p></div

Experimental and Numerical Study on Hydraulic Performance of Chevron Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger at Low Reynolds Number

Few experiments have been performed to investigate the hydraulic performance in a chevron brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) with the narrow channel at lower Reynolds number. The hydraulic characteristics of seven types of chevron BPHEs were investigated experimentally and numerical simulation revealed the effects of structural parameters on hydraulic performances. The correlations between friction factor f and Re were fitted out based on more than 500 sets of pressure drop data. The research results show that there is a power-law between f and Re; which has a similar trend but a different amplitude for different plates, and the exponent of the power-law could be approximate to a constant. Numerical results show that the pressure drop &Delta;p is positively correlated with the corrugated angle and spacing, however, negatively correlated with the corrugated height. Research on the hydraulic performance is significant for the optimal design of BPHE

Forest plot of the sensitivity and specificity of IHC-determined p53 overexpression in detecting p53 mutations.

<p>(A) Forest plot showing the sensitivity of IHC-determined p53 overexpression in detecting p53 mutations. (B) Forest plot showing the specificity of IHC-determined p53 overexpression in detecting p53 mutations. Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval.</p