A novel scale-down cell culture and imaging design for the mechanistic insight of cell colonization within porous substrate

At the core of translational challenges in Tissue Engineering is the mechanistic understanding of the underpinning biological processes and the complex relationships among components at different levels, which is a challenging task due to the limitations of current tissue culture and assessment methodologies. Therefore, we proposed a novel scale-down strategy to deconstruct complex bio-matrices into elementary building blocks, which were resembled by thin modular substrate and then evaluated separately in miniaturised bioreactors using various conventional microscopes. In order to investigate cell colonization within porous substrate in this proof-of-concept study, TEM specimen supporters (10-30µm thick) with fine controlled open pores (100~600µm) were selected as the modular porous substrate and suspended in 3D printed bioreactor systems. Non-invasive imaging of human dermal fibroblasts cultured on these free-standing substrate using optical microscopes illustrated the complicated dynamic processes used by both individual and coordinated cells to bridge and segment porous structures. Further in situ analysis via SEM and TEM provided high quality micrographs of cell-cell and cell-scaffold interactions at micro-scale, depicted cytoskeletal structures in stretched and relaxed areas at nano-scale. Thus this novel scaled-down design was able to improve our mechanistic understanding of tissue formation not only at single- and multiple-cell levels, but also at micro- and nano-scales, which could be difficult to obtain using other methods

Role of Vaginal Microbiota Dysbiosis in Gynecological Diseases and the Potential Interventions

Vaginal microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by the loss of Lactobacillus dominance and increase of microbial diversity, is closely related to gynecological diseases; thus, intervention on microbiota composition is significant and promising in the treatment of gynecological diseases. Currently, antibiotics and/or probiotics are the mainstay of treatment, which show favorable therapeutic effects but also bring problems such as drug resistance and high recurrence. In this review, we discuss the role of vaginal microbiota dysbiosis in various gynecological infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as the current and potential interventions

An integrated natural remanent magnetization acquisition model for the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal recorded by the Chinese loess

Geomagnetic polarity reversal boundaries are key isochronous chronological controls for the long Chinese loess sequences, and further facilitate paleoclimatic correlation between Chinese loess and marine sediments. However, owing to complexity of postdepositional remanent magnetization (pDRM) acquisition processes related to variable dust sedimentary environments on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), there is a long-standing dispute concerning the downward shift of the pDRM recorded in Chinese loess. In this study, after careful stratigraphic correlation of representative climatic tie points and the Matuyama-Brunhes boundaries (MBB) in the Xifeng, Luochuan, and Mangshan loess sections with different pedogenic environments, the downward shift of the pDRM is semiquantitatively estimated and the acquisition model for the loess natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is discussed. The measured MB transition zone has been affected by the surficial mixing layer (SML) and remagnetization. Paleoprecipitation is suggested to be the dominant factor controlling the pDRM acquisition processes. Rainfall-controlled leaching would restrict the efficiency of the characterized remanent magnetization carriers aligning along the ancient geomagnetic field. We conclude that the MBB in the central CLP with moderate paleoprecipitation could be considered as an isochronous chronological control after moderate upward adjustment. A convincing case can then be made to correlate L8/S8 to MIS 18/1

Effects of Ultrasonic Atomization of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on the Circulation and Shelf Quality of Postharvest Baby Cabbage

To check the effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on the shelf quality of postharvest baby cabbage, the effects of ultrasonic atomization fumigation of SAEW with different concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L) on the postharvest preservation of baby cabbage were analyzed under low temperature circulation (4±1) ℃and shelf conditions (25±1) ℃. The results showed that, compared with the control and other concentrations of SAEW (50 and 150 mg/L), the ultrasonic atomization fumigation treatment of SAEW at 100 mg/L treatment significantly suppressed the increase in malondialdehyde content and the decrease in total glucosinolate content of baby cabbage at the 6th and 9th days of shelf life (P<0.05). Further circulation and shelf simulation results indicated that, compared with the control, the 100 mg/L SAEW ultrasonic atomization fumigation treatment reduced the total number of colonies by 17.04% and increased the total glucosinolate content by 30.11% in baby cabbage; In addition, this treatment significantly inhibited the accumulation of nitrite and malondialdehyde content (P<0.05), delayed the decline of soluble sugar, soluble protein, total phenol, ascorbic acid and isothiocyanate content, and increased the activity of myrosinase in postharvest baby cabbage. It was clear that ultrasonic atomization fumigation treatment of SAEW at 100 mg/L could not only effectively inhibit the growth of the total number of colonies in baby cabbage during circulation and shelf life, but also effectively slow down the degradation of nutritional quality in baby cabbage during this process, thus improving the preservation effect of baby cabbage

Effect of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water on Chlorophyll Degradation in Postharvest Broccoli

To explore the effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on chlorophyll degradation in postharvest broccoli, the pattern of changes in the color, total chlorophyll content, chlorophyll derivative content, chlorophyll degrading enzyme activities, and key chlorophyll metabolism-related gene expression of postharvest broccoli after treatment with 50 mg/L SAEW was analyzed. The results showed that SAEW treatment could effectively slow down the degradation of total chlorophyll, maintain the contents of chlorophyll derivatives chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyllide a, chlorophyllide b, pheophorbide a, and pheophytin a, and delay the increase in the activities of chlorophyll metabolizing enzymes, Mg-dechelatase, pheophytinase, and pheophorbide an oxygenase in postharvest broccoli. Meanwhile, it significantly inhibited the expression of the genes encoding chlorophyll b reductase, chlorophyllase 1, chlorophyllase 2, chlorosis protein, pheophytinase, pheophorbide an oxygenase, red chlorophyll catabolite reductase, and aging specific cysteine protease, thereby allowing color protection and freshness preservation. In conclusion, SAEW can be used as an effective method to delay postharvest chlorophyll degradation and inhibit yellowing and senescence in broccoli

Direct conversion of methane to formaldehyde and CO on B2O3 catalysts

甲烷作为天然气的主要成分，是非常重要的碳基资源。不过，甲烷分子的化学惰性使得其转化通常需要在高温条件下进行，反应选择性难于控制。如何实现甲烷的高选择性定向转化一直是化学研究中的重要挑战，甚至被誉为化学领域的“圣杯”。化学化工学院王帅教授与华盛顿州立大学王勇教授合作在甲烷选择氧化反应非金属硼基催化剂的研究中取得重要进展，本研究中发现负载型氧化硼催化剂在甲烷直接氧化反应中表现出优异的抗深度氧化能力。本研究工作是在王帅教授和王勇教授的共同指导下完成。2015级博士生田金树（已毕业）、硕士生谈江乔（已毕业）以及醇醚酯清洁生产国家工程实验室张朝霞工程师为共同第一作者，林敬东副教授和万绍隆副教授等参与了部分研究和讨论。【Abstract】Direct oxidation of methane to value-added C1 chemicals (e.g. HCHO and CO) provides a promising way to utilize natural gas sources under relatively mild conditions. Such conversions remain, however, a key selectivity challenge, resulting from the facile formation of undesired fully-oxidized CO2. Here we show that B2O3-based catalysts are selective in the direct conversion of methane to HCHO and CO (~94% selectivity with a HCHO/CO ratio of ~1 at 6% conversion) and highly stable (over 100 hour time-on-stream operation) conducted in a fixed-bed reactor (550 °C, 100 kPa, space velocity 4650 mL gcat−1 h−1 ). Combined catalyst characterization, kinetic studies, and isotopic labeling experiments unveil that molecular O2 bonded to tri-coordinated BO3 centers on B2O3 surfaces acts as a judicious oxidant for methane activation with mitigated CO2 formation, even at high O2/CH4 ratios of the feed. These findings shed light on the great potential of designing innovative catalytic processes for the direct conversion of alkanes to fuels/chemicals.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21922201, 21872113, 91945301, 21673189, and 91545114) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 20720190036 and 20720160032).研究工作得到了国家自然科学基金（21922201、21872113、91945301、21673189、91545114）和中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金（20720190036、20720160032）的资助与支持

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass