The F1 loop of the talin head domain acts as a gatekeeper in integrin activation and clustering

Integrin activation and clustering by talin are early steps of cell adhesion. Membrane-bound talin head domain and kindlin bind to the beta integrin cytoplasmic tail, cooperating to activate the heterodimeric integrin, and the talin head domain induces integrin clustering in the presence of Mn2+. Here we show that kindlin-1 can replace Mn2+ to mediate beta 3 integrin clustering induced by the talin head, but not that induced by the F2-F3 fragment of talin. Integrin clustering mediated by kindlin-1 and the talin head was lost upon deletion of the flexible loop within the talin head F1 subdomain. Further mutagenesis identified hydrophobic and acidic motifs in the F1 loop responsible for beta 3 integrin clustering. Modeling, computational and cysteine crosslinking studies showed direct and catalytic interactions of the acidic F1 loop motif with the juxtamembrane domains of alpha- and beta 3-integrins, in order to activate the beta 3 integrin heterodimer, further detailing the mechanism by which the talin-kindlin complex activates and clusters integrins. Moreover, the F1 loop interaction with the beta 3 integrin tail required the newly identified compact FERM fold of the talin head, which positions the F1 loop next to the inner membrane clasp of the talin-bound integrin heterodimer. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.Peer reviewe

Simultaneous Elimination of Formaldehyde and Ozone Byproduct Using Noble Metal Modified TiO2 Films in the Gaseous VUV Photocatalysis

Simultaneous removal of low concentration formaldehyde (HCHO) and ozone byproduct was investigated in the gaseous VUV (vacuum ultraviolet) photocatalysis by using noble metal modified TiO2 films. Noble metal (Pt, Au, or Pd) nanoparticles were deposited on TiO2 films with ultrafine particle size and uniform distribution. Under 35 h VUV irradiation, the HCHO gas (ca. 420 ppbv) was dynamically degraded to a level of 10~45 ppbv without catalyst deactivation, and over 50% O3 byproduct was in situ decomposed in the reactor. However, under the same conditions, the outlet HCHO concentration remained at 125~178 ppbv in the O3 + UV254 nm photocatalysis process and 190~260 ppbv in the UV254 nm photocatalysis process. And the catalyst deactivation also appeared under UV254 nm irradiation. Metallic Pt or Au could simultaneously increase the elimination of HCHO and ozone, but the PdO oxide seemed to inhibit the HCHO oxidation in the UV254 nm photocatalysis. Deposition of metallic Pt or Au reduces the recombination of h+/e− pairs and thus increases the HCHO oxidation and O3 reduction reactions. In addition, adsorbed O3 may be partly decomposed by photogenerated electrons trapped on metallic Pt or Au nanoparticles under UV irradiation

Performance Degradation Assessment of Rolling Element Bearings Based on an Index Combining SVD and Information Exergy

Performance degradation assessment of rolling element bearings is vital for the reliable and cost-efficient operation and maintenance of rotating machines, especially for the implementation of condition-based maintenance (CBM). For robust degradation assessment of rolling element bearings, uncertainties such as those induced from usage variations or sensor errors must be taken into account. This paper presents an information exergy index for bearing performance degradation assessment that combines singular value decomposition (SVD) and the information exergy method. Information exergy integrates condition monitoring information of multiple instants and multiple sensors, and thus performance degradation assessment uncertainties are reduced and robust degradation assessment results can be obtained using the proposed index. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed information exergy index are validated through experimental case studies

Can single disease payment system based on clinical pathway reduce hospitalization costs in rural area? A case study of uterine leiomyoma in Anhui, China

Abstract Background Single disease payment program based on clinical pathway (CP-based SDP) plays an increasingly important role in reducing health expenditure in china and there is a clear need to explore the scheme from different perspectives. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of the scheme in rural county public hospitals within Anhui, a typical province of China,using uterine leiomyoma as an example. Methods The study data were extracted from the data platform of the New Rural Cooperative Medical Office of Anhui Province using stratified-random sampling. Means, constituent ratios and coefficients of variations were calculated and/or compared between control versus experiment groups and between different years. Results The total hospitalization expenditure (per-time) dropped from 919.08 ± 274.92 USD to 834.91 ± 225.29 USD and length of hospital stay reduced from 9.96 ± 2.39 days to 8.83 ± 1.95 days(P < 0.01), after CP-based SDP had implemented. The yearly total hospitalization expenditure manifested an atypical U-shaped trend. Medicine expense, nursing expense, assay cost and treatment cost reduced; while the fee of operation and examination increased (P < 0.05). The expense constituent ratios of medicine, assay and treatment decreased with the medicine expense dropped the most (by 4.4%). The expense constituent ratios of materials, ward, operation, examination and anesthetic increased,with the examination fee elevated the most (by 3.9%).The coefficient of variation(CVs) of treatment cost declined the most (− 0.360); while the CV of materials expense increased the most (0.186). Conclusion There existed huge discrepancies in inpatient care for uterine leiomyoma patients. Implementation of CP-based SDP can help not only in controlling hospitalization costs of uterine leiomyoma in county-level hospitals but also in standardizing the diagnosis and treatment procedures

Preparation and Characterization of Three-dimensional Photocatalyst-TiO2 Particulate Film Immobilized on Activated Carbon Fibers

A novel three-dimensional photocatalyst,TiO2 particulate film immobilized on activated carbon fibers (TiO2/ACFs),was prepared by liquid phase deposition. The photocatalyst was characterized by SEM,XRD,BET surface area and photodegradation of methylene blue solution. TiO2 particulate film,with a thickness of nearly 200 nm and grain sizes of 30~50 nm,was deposited on almost each carbon fiber. The inner space between adjacent fibers remained as unmodified ACFs,therefore,both UV illumination and polluted solutions were allowed to pass through the felt-form photocatalyst to form a three-dimensional environment for photocatalytic reactions. With BET surface areas of 400~600 m2/g,the TiO2/ACFs exhibited an enhanced adsorption of pollutants for photocatalysis. Comparative degradations indicated that photocatalytic activity of the TiO2/ACFs was slightly higher than that of Degussa P-25 TiO2. Two special properties,the three-dimensional structure and combined effects of ACFs&rsquo; adsorption and titania&rsquo;s photodegradation,made contribution to high photocatalytic activity. Additionally,the TiO2/ACFs exhibited high stability and potentially application for practical usage

Dynamic Economic Dispatching Considering Time-Coupling Spinning Reserve Response Risk with High Penetration of Wind Power

Aiming at the problem that the current dynamic economic dispatch (DED) fails to consider the response risk of spinning reserve caused by the fluctuation and uncertainty of wind power, we work out a DED problem considering time-coupling spinning reserve response risk while the stochasticity and variability arising from RESs are taken into consideration. The developed framwork unified the response risk of reserve caused by forced shutdown of the unit into the response risk caused by time coupling. The expected customer interruption cost (ECOST) and the expected abandoned wind cost considering this reserve response risk are added to the objective function. While seeking the minimum objective function, the system is automatically configured with suitable reserve to ensure the consistency of the system’s response risk in each period. An improved multi-universe parallel quantum genetic algorithm was used to solve the model. Numerical examples and analysis prove the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method

Bis[3-ethyl-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-&#954;2N1,N5]bis(perchlorato-&#954;O)copper(II) acetonitrile disolvate

In the title compound, [Cu(ClO4)2(C16H16N4O)2]&#183;2CH3CN, the CuII atom, located on an inversion center, is in a tetragonally distorted octahedral environment, coordinated by four N atoms of two bidentate 3-ethyl-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole ligands in equatorial positions and by the O atoms of two perchlorate groups in axial positions. The long axial Cu&#8212;O bond of 2.4743&#8197;(17)&#8197;&#197; is the result of the Jahn&#8211;Teller effect

Research on Ranking Evaluation Models of Safety Risk in Productive Enterprises based on the Perspective of Supervision

AbstractSupervision with risk highlights the key area, enterprises and period. It is great for finding the principal contradiction in supervision of safe production, to improve the efficiency of government's regulation and further to realize the optimal configuration of the limited supervisory force from local government. This paper establishes the risk evaluation index system of incident and disaster for manufacturing enterprises based on the systematic investigation and analysis of 209 enterprises in T city, Shandong Province by referring to many research outcomes of scholars abroad and domestic, related laws and regulations and professional standards, choosing 6 B indexes which include 35C indexes according to the four characteristics and core objective of inherent risk level of manufacturing enterprise, safety regulation level, records of hidden dangers and punishments and accident occurrences. This paper also applies analytic hierarchy process(AHP) to determine the weight of every evaluation indexes, and make mathematics modelling according to the determined index system and weight, then use the model to evaluate and classify the risks of the 209 enterprises of T city Shandong Province, and finally propose measures of safety risk ranking supervision of production for local government according to the result of classification