The Minimal Total Irregularity of Graphs

In \cite{2012a}, Abdo and Dimitov defined the total irregularity of a graph $G=(V,E)$ as \hskip3.3cm $\rm irr_{t}$$(G) = \frac{1}{2}\sum_{u,v\in V}|d_{G}(u)-d_{G}(v)|,$ \noindent where $d_{G}(u)$ denotes the vertex degree of a vertex $u\in V$. In this paper, we investigate the minimal total irregularity of the connected graphs, determine the minimal, the second minimal, the third minimal total irregularity of trees, unicyclic graphs, bicyclic graphs on $n$ vertices, and propose an open problem for further research.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Mechanisms of Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Nanoparticle-induced Angiogenesis

Hard metal or cemented carbide consists of a powder mixture of 80 to 90% of tungsten carbide (WC) and 5 to 10% of metallic cobalt (Co). Nanoparticles are engineered structures with one dimension of at least 100 nanometers or smaller. The small size results in properties that may be substantially different from particles of the same composition in the micrometer scale. It has been demonstrated that the inhalation of hard metal particles may cause an interstitial pulmonary disease and lung cancer, the mechanism of which involves an interaction between Co and WC particles, the generation of reactive oxygen species, and oxidant-induced DNA-damage (1,2,3,4). However, the effect of WC-Co on biologic responses remains to be elucidated. In this study, we analyzed the effects of WC-Co nanoparticles in regulating production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), activation of AP-1, NF-kappaB, VEGF, AKT or ERK, and angiogenesis. We also tested the effect of fine- and nano-sizes of WC-Co with equal surface area on ROS production and the activation of AKT and ERK.;Results show that WC-Co nanoparticles at 5 microg/cm2 induce ROS production which activates AKT and ERK signaling pathways in lung epithelial cells. ROS also increased transcriptional activation of AP-1, NF-kappaB, as well as VEGF (via AKT and ERK1/2 activation); while the fine size of WC-Co particles at the same concentration did not have significant effect. However, at high concentrations, fine-size WC-Co particles also induced ROS production, and AKT and ERK1/2 activation. WC-Co nanoparticles also induced angiogenesis in cells. These results identify multiple signaling pathways that are activated by WC-Co nanoparticle treatment, and elucidate the potential molecular mechanisms of their effects on the cells. This information may be useful for preventing potential damage from WC-Co particle exposure in the future

The Maximal Total Irregularity of Bicyclic Graphs

In 2012, Abdo and Dimitrov defined the total irregularity of a graph G=(V,E) as irrtG=1/2∑u,v∈VdGu-dGv, where dGu denotes the vertex degree of a vertex u∈V. In this paper, we investigate the total irregularity of bicyclic graphs and characterize the graph with the maximal total irregularity among all bicyclic graphs on n vertices

Lateralization Value of Low Frequency Band Beamformer Magnetoencephalography Source Imaging in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Objective: In presurgical evaluation of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), selection of the resection side is challenging when bilateral temporal epileptiform discharges or structural abnormalities are present. We aim to evaluate the lateralization value of beamformer analysis of magnetoencephalography (MEG) in TLE.Methods: MEG data from 14 TLE patients were analyzed through beamformer analysis. We measured the hemispherical power distribution of beamformer sources and calculated the lateralization index (LI). We calculated the LI at multiple frequencies to explore the frequency dependency and at the delta frequency to define laterality. LI values ranging from −1 to −0.05 indicated right hemispheric dominance. LI values ranging from 0.05 to 1 indicated left hemispheric dominance. LI values ranging from −0.05 to 0.05 defined bilaterality. We measured the power of beamformer sources with a 9-s duration to explore time dependency.Results: The beamformer analysis showed that 10/14 patients had power dominance ipsilateral to resection. The delta frequency band had a higher lateralization value than other frequency bands. A time-dependent power fluctuation was found in the delta frequency band.Conclusions: MEG beamformer analysis, especially in the delta band, might efficiently provide additional information regarding lateralization in TLE

What Drives the Intelligent Construction Development in China?

Intelligent construction (IC) integrates intelligent technologies with the construction industry to improve efficiency and sustainability. IC development involves many driving factors, but only the critical factors play essential roles. Thus, it is necessary to identify these key factors to understand and promote IC development thoroughly. Although there are many studies on IC-related technologies, a focus on identifying the driving factors of IC is lacking. We aimed to identify the key driving factors for IC development, analyze the relationship between the key factors and IC, and then produce general laws to guide IC by conducting an empirical study in China. We employed a five-stage research design and proposed the following general laws of how the key factors drive the development of IC: (1) initially, there exits the opportunity that drives companies to generate IC; (2) subsequently, the planning and pressure of a firm strategy, structure, and rivalry further drive companies to try to develop IC; (3) afterward, government policy vigorously promotes IC practices of the participating companies and accelerates the development of IC; and (4) finally, the market forces begin to play a leading role, and companies spontaneously carry out IC activities when the policy effect reaches a certain level. The findings indicate that policies to promote IC development should be consistent with its development stage, and the key driving factors of different stages should be paid attention to. Although the context of this study is China, the findings can provide references for IC’s development globally

Diffusion of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Across the Sediment-Water Interface and In Seawater at Aquaculture Areas of Daya Bay, China

With the yearly increasing marine culture activities in floating cages in Daya Bay, China, the effects of pollution may overlap and lead to more severe water environmental problems. In order to track the impacts of the marine culture in floating cages on water environment, sediments and overlying water were sampled by cylindrical samplers at three representative aquaculture areas of Daya Bay. The water content, porosity, density of sediments as well as the vertical distributions of ammonia nitrogen and active phosphate in pore water along sediments depth were measured. The release rate and annual released quantity of the nutrients across sediment-water interface were calculated using Fick’s Law. A horizontal two-dimensional mathematical model was developed to compute the spatial and temporal distributions of the nutrients in seawater after being released across the sediment-water interface. The results showed that the sediments, with a high content and a large annual released quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus, constitute a potential inner source of seawater pollution. Influenced by tide and water depth, the scope of diffusion and migration of the nutrients appears as a long belt which is about 1 km long and 50 m wide. Seawater in this area is vulnerable to eutrophication

An Amidochlorin-Based Colorimetric Fluorescent Probe for Selective Cu2+ Detection

The design and synthesis of selective and sensitive chemosensors for the quantification of environmentally and biologically important ionic species has attracted widespread attention. Amidochlorin p6 (ACP); an effective colorimetric and fluorescent probe for copper ions (Cu2+) in aqueous solution derived from methyl pheophorbide-a (MPa) was designed and synthesized. A remarkable color change from pale yellow to blue was easily observed by the naked eye upon addition of Cu2+; and a fluorescence quenching was also determined. The research of fluorescent quenching of ACP-Cu2+ complexation showed the detection limit was 7.5 × 10−8 mol/L; which suggested that ACP can act as a high sensitive probe for Cu2+ and can be used to quantitatively detect low levels of Cu2+ in aqueous solution. In aqueous solution the probe exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity toward Cu2+ ions over other metal ions (M = Zn2+; Ni2+; Ba2+; Ag+; Co2+; Na+; K+; Mg2+; Cd2+; Pb2+; Mn2+; Fe3+; and Ca2+). The obvious change from pale yellow to blue upon the addition of Cu2+ could make it a suitable “naked eye” indicator for Cu2+

ACPPfel: Explainable deep ensemble learning for anticancer peptides prediction based on feature optimization

Background: Cancer is a significant global health problem that continues to cause a high number of deaths worldwide. Traditional cancer treatments often come with risks that can compromise the functionality of vital organs. As a potential alternative to these conventional therapies, Anticancer peptides (ACPs) have garnered attention for their small size, high specificity, and reduced toxicity, making them as a promising option for cancer treatments.Methods: However, the process of identifying effective ACPs through wet-lab screening experiments is time-consuming and requires a lot of labor. To overcome this challenge, a deep ensemble learning method is constructed to predict anticancer peptides (ACPs) in this study. To evaluate the reliability of the framework, four different datasets are used in this study for training and testing. During the training process of the model, integration of feature selection methods, feature dimensionality reduction measures, and optimization of the deep ensemble model are carried out. Finally, we explored the interpretability of features that affected the final prediction results and built a web server platform to facilitate anticancer peptides prediction, which can be used by all researchers for further studies. This web server can be accessed at http://lmylab.online:5001/.Results: The result of this study achieves an accuracy rate of 98.53% and an AUC (Area under Curve) value of 0.9972 on the ACPfel dataset, it has improvements on other datasets as well

Nuclear Factor Kappa B Promotes Ferritin Heavy Chain Expression in <i>Bombyx mori</i> in Response to <i>B. mori</i> Nucleopolyhedrovirus Infection

Ferritin heavy chain (FerHCH) is a major component of ferritin and plays an important role in maintaining iron homeostasis and redox equilibrium. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the Bombyx mori ferritin heavy chain homolog (BmFerHCH) could respond to B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection. However, the mechanism by which BmNPV regulates the expression of BmFerHCH remains unclear. In this study, BmFerHCH increased after BmNPV infection and BmNPV infection enhanced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity in BmN cells. An NF-κB inhibitor (PDTC) reduced the expression of the virus-induced BmFerHCH in BmN cells, and overexpression of BmRelish (NF-κB) increased the expression of virus-induced BmFerHCH in BmN cells. Furthermore, BmNPV infection enhanced BmFerHCH promoter activity. The potential NF-κB cis-regulatory elements (CREs) in the BmFerHCH promoter were screened by using the JASPAR CORE database, and two effective NF-κB CREs were identified using a dual luciferase reporting system and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). BmRelish (NF-κB) bound to NF-κB CREs and promoted the transcription of BmFerHCH. Taken together, BmNPV promotes activation of BmRelish (NF-κB), and activated BmRelish (NF-κB) binds to NF-κB CREs of BmFerHCH promoter to enhance BmFerHCH expression. Our study provides a foundation for future research on the function of BmFerHCH in BmNPV infection