Controllable Andreev retroreflection and specular Andreev reflection in a four-terminal graphene-superconductor hybrid system

We report the investigation of electron transport through a four-terminal graphene-superconductor hybrid system. Due to the quantum interference of the reflected holes from two graphene-superconductor interfaces with phase difference $\theta$, it is found that the specular Andreev reflection vanishes at $\theta=0$ while the Andreev retroreflection disappears at $\theta=\pi$. This means that the retroreflection and specular reflection can be easily controlled and separated in this device. In addition, due to the diffraction effect in the narrow graphene nanoribbon, the reflected hole can exit from both graphene terminals. As the width of nanoribbon increases, the diffraction effect gradually disappears and the reflected hole eventually exits from a particular graphene terminal depending on the type of Andreev reflection.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

An Adaptive Dynamic Surface Controller for Ultralow Altitude Airdrop Flight Path Angle with Actuator Input Nonlinearity

In the process of ultralow altitude airdrop, many factors such as actuator input dead-zone, backlash, uncertain external atmospheric disturbance, and model unknown nonlinearity affect the precision of trajectory tracking. In response, a robust adaptive neural network dynamic surface controller is developed. As a result, the aircraft longitudinal dynamics with actuator input nonlinearity is derived; the unknown nonlinear model functions are approximated by means of the RBF neural network. Also, an adaption strategy is used to achieve robustness against model uncertainties. Finally, it has been proved that all the signals in the closed-loop system are bounded and the tracking error converges to a small residual set asymptotically. Simulation results demonstrate the perfect tracking performance and strong robustness of the proposed method, which is not only applicable to the actuator with input dead-zone but also suitable for the backlash nonlinearity. At the same time, it can effectively overcome the effects of dead-zone and the atmospheric disturbance on the system and ensure the fast track of the desired flight path angle instruction, which overthrows the assumption that system functions must be known

SjTPdb: integrated transcriptome and proteome database and analysis platform for Schistosoma japonicum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Schistosoma japonicum </it>is one of the three major blood fluke species, the etiological agents of schistosomiasis which remains a serious public health problem with an estimated 200 million people infected in 76 countries. In recent years, enormous amounts of both transcriptomic and proteomic data of schistosomes have become available, providing information on gene expression profiles for developmental stages and tissues of <it>S. japonicum</it>. Here, we establish a public searchable database, termed SjTPdb, with integrated transcriptomic and proteomic data of <it>S. japonicum</it>, to enable more efficient access and utility of these data and to facilitate the study of schistosome biology, physiology and evolution.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>All the available ESTs, EST clusters, and the proteomic dataset of <it>S. japonicum </it>are deposited in SjTPdb. The core of the database is the 8,420 <it>S. japonicum </it>proteins translated from the EST clusters, which are well annotated for sequence similarity, structural features, functional ontology, genomic variations and expression patterns across developmental stages and tissues including the tegument and eggshell of this flatworm. The data can be queried by simple text search, BLAST search, search based on developmental stage of the life cycle, and an integrated search for more specific information. A PHP-based web interface allows users to browse and query SjTPdb, and moreover to switch to external databases by the following embedded links.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SjTPdb is the first schistosome database with detailed annotations for schistosome proteins. It is also the first integrated database of both transcriptome and proteome of <it>S. japonicum</it>, providing a comprehensive data resource and research platform to facilitate functional genomics of schistosome. SjTPdb is available from URL: <url>http://function.chgc.sh.cn/sj-proteome/index.htm</url>.</p

Electric-field induced magnetic-anisotropy transformation to achieve spontaneous valley polarization

Valleytronics has been widely investigated for providing new degrees of freedom to future information coding and processing. Here, it is proposed that valley polarization can be achieved by electric field induced magnetic anisotropy (MA) transformation. Through the first-principle calculations, our idea is illustrated by a concrete example of $\mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ monolayer. The increasing electric field can induce a transition of MA from in-plane to out-of-plane by changing magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) from negative to positive value, which is mainly due to increasing magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) energy. The out-of-plane magnetization is in favour of spontaneous valley polarization in $\mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$. Within considered electric field range, $\mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ is always ferromagnetic (FM) ground state. In a certain range of electric field, the coexistence of semiconductor and out-of-plane magnetization makes $\mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$ become a true ferrovalley (FV) material. The anomalous valley Hall effect (AVHE) can be observed under in-plane and out-of-plane electrical field in $\mathrm{VSi_2P_4}$. Our works pave the way to design the ferrovalley material by electric field.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2207.1342

Follicular thyroid carcinoma but not adenoma recruits tumor-associated macrophages by releasing CCL15

Immunostain of CD68 in entire tissue of FTC/FA samples. (A) An example of immunohistochemistry analysis of CD68 in whole tissue samples of FTC (left panel) and FA (right panel). Stars indicated blank areas were taked out for tissue microarrays constructing. CD68+ cells in ten 200 μm *300 μm areas (green-red marked) of every sample were counted. Bar = 1 mm. (B) Enlarged picture of one count area (one green-red area in A). Arrows indicate the CD68+ macrophages in FTC (left panel) or FA (right panel). Bar = 20 μm. Figure S2. Densities of CD206+ cells in FTC are significantly higher than those in FA. Immunohistochemistry analysis of CD206 in 55 cases of tissue samples from FTC and FA patients. Arrows indicate the CD206+ macrophages. Bar = 20 μm. (PDF 509 kb

N-[(R)-(2-Chloro­phen­yl)(cyclo­pent­yl)meth­yl]-N-[(R)-(2-hydr­oxy-5-methyl­phen­yl)(phen­yl)meth­yl]acetamide

In the title compound, C28H30ClNO2, the cyclo­pentane ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains running along the a axis

Effects of STAT3 Gene Silencing and Rapamycin on Apoptosis in Hepatocarcinoma Cells

The PI3K/Akt/mTOR and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways are important for regulating apoptosis, and are frequently activated in cancers. In this study, we targeted STAT3 and mTOR in human hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells and examined the subsequent alterations in cellular apoptosis. The expression of STAT3 was silenced with small interfering RNA (siRNA)-expressing plasmid. The activity of mTOR was inhibited using rapamycin. Following treatment, Annexin V/propidium iodide staining followed by flow cytometry and Hoechst33258 immunofluorescence staining was used to examine cellular apoptosis. JC-1 staining was used to monitor depolarization of mitochondrial membrane (ΔΨm). Furthermore, the expression of activated caspase 3 protein was analyzed by Western blotting. Compared to non-treated or control siRNA-transfected cells, significantly higher levels of apoptosis were detected in siSTAT3-transfected or rapamycin-treated cells (P < 0.05), which was further enhanced in cells targeted for both molecules (P < 0.05). The pro-apoptotic effects were accompanied with concomitant depolarization of mitochondrial membrane and up-regulation of activated caspase 3. Combined treatments using rapamycin and STAT3 gene silencing significantly increases apoptosis in Bel-7402 cells, displaying more dramatic effect than any single treatment. This study provides evidence for targeting multiple molecules in cancer therapy

2,4-Dichloro-6-((1R)-1-{[(R)-(2-chloro­phen­yl)(cyclo­pent­yl)meth­yl]amino}eth­yl)phenol

In the title compound, C20H22Cl3NO, the five-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation, and the two benzene rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 40.44 (9)°. Intra­molecular O—H⋯N and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding is present. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked via weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds