This study used carbon (C) isotope sourcing to determine transport processes of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the land surface to river catchments in Southwest China. Both nested karst watersheds investigated (Chenqi and Houzhai) are representative of typical karst landform environments (e.g., primary forest, secondary forest, and farmland). We measured DIC concentrations and the delta C-13 values of rainfall, river water, groundwater, soil, and plants. To do so, we used IsoSource (a Visual Basic program) to determine source partitioning over time (seasonal) and across the two nested watersheds. In 2017, the mean DIC concentration was 0.06 +/- 0.03 mmol L-1 and the rainfall delta C-13(DIC) value was -14.4 parts per thousand +/- 1.9 parts per thousand. We found similar DIC concentrations in the surface and groundwater of both watersheds, ranging from 0.20 to 0.71 mmol L-1 (seasonal) and from - 3.7 parts per thousand to - 9.4 parts per thousand (delta C-13(DIC)) in the Chenqi catchment and from 0.33 to 0.60 mmol L-1 (seasonal) and from -10.3 parts per thousand to - 6 parts per thousand (delta C-13(DIC)) in the Houzhai watershed. The average delta C-13 values of soil and local plants were - 24.6 +/- 1.4 parts per thousand and - 28.9 +/- 1.2 parts per thousand in the Chenqi catchment and -25.8 +/- 0.9 parts per thousand and - 27.2 +/- 1.8 parts per thousand in Houzhai watershed, respectively. In addition, carbonate bedrock and groundwater were the main sources of surface water in the Chenqi and Houzhai nested watersheds, both being greater than 30%. Source percentages were similar to 20% from atmospheric deposition and similar to 10% from soil. Furthermore, HCO3- was the predominant form of DIC (pH values > 8), and the contribution rates of dissolved carbonate minerals (HCO3-) were approximately 10.4% and 19.6% in the Chenqi catchment and the Houzhai watershed, respectively.

This work is devoted to discussing that how the locations of the thermal and viscous damping affect the stability of the 1-d elastic systems. The spatial domain of the 1-d thermoelastic system under consideration can be divided into three sub -intervals, that is, the thermoelastic region of type II, the one of type II with viscous damping, and the one of type III. The following two kinds of energy decay rates for the system are obtained: 1. If the thermoelastic region of type III includes one exterior point of the spatial domain of the system, the energy of the system decays exponentially; 2. If not, that is the thermoelastic region of type III is strictly inside the spatial domain, the system always lacks of exponential decay. However, the optimal polynomial decay rate is further estimated for this system with smooth initial states. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented to verify the stability results obtained in this work. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR) governs the rate-limiting step in steroidogenesis, and its expression varies depending on the needs of the specific tissue. It is well known that tight control of steroid production is essential for multiple processes involved in reproduction. We recently showed that Star is regulated at the posttranscriptional level in vitro by H19 and let-7. Here we demonstrate that this novel regulatory mechanism is functional in vivo, regulated by cAMP, and that loss of H19 not only disrupts ovarian STAR but also results in altered progesterone production in an H19KO mouse model. This work further strengthens the possibility that noncoding-RNA-mediated regulation of STAR may play an important role in the regulation of steroid hormone production, and contributes further to our understanding of the many ways in which this important gene is regulated.

The class A beta-lactamase BlaC is a cell surface expressed serine hydrolase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), one of the causative agents for Tuberculosis in humans. Mtb has demonstrated increased susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics upon inactivation of BlaC; thus, making BlaC a rational enzyme target for therapeutic agents. Herein, we present the synthesis and structure-activity-relationship data for the 1st-generation library of bis(benzoyl) phosphates (1-10). Substituent effects ranged from sigma(p) = - 0.27 to 0.78 for electronic and pi = - 0.41 to 1.98 for hydrophobic parameters. Compounds 1, 4 and 5 demonstrated the greatest inhibitory potency against BlaC in a time-dependent manner (k(obs) = 0.212, 0.324, and 0.450 mn(-1) respectively). Combined crystal structure data and mass spectrometric analysis of a tryptic digest for BlaC inactivated with 4 provided evidence that the mechanism of inactivation by this bis(benzoyl) phosphate scaffold occurs via phosphorylation of the active-site Ser-70, ultimately leading to an aged form of the enzyme.

Background: Despite increasing evidence demonstrated robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) is safe and feasible for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC), robot-assisted total gastrectomy (RATG) remains a challenging procedure due to its technical difficulties and possible postoperative complications (POCs). This study aimed to systematically evaluate POCs following RATG. Methods: Between January 2017 and January 2019, 319 AGC patients with pathological stage T2-4aN0-3M0 who underwent RADG or RATG were enrolled. POCs were stratified using the Clavien-Dindo classification. Oneto-one propensity score matching was performed to reduce confounding differences. Results: After matching, 266 patients met the criteria for further analysis. Ultimately, 64 patients (24.1%) who developed POCs had 126 clinical manifestation events. Overall the POCs rate was significantly greater after RATG in comparison with RADG (29.3% vs. 18.8%; P = 0.045), and more major POCs (Clavien-Dindo grade >= IIIa) were observed in the RATG group (14.3% vs. 5.3%; P = 0.013). The POCs were then classified into local and systemic POCs. The rates of local POCs (35.3% vs. 19.5%; P = 0.004) and systemic POCs (24.8% vs. 15.0%; P = 0.046) were significantly higher in the RATG group than the RADG group. Subgroup analysis showed that the anastomotic leakage rate was higher after RATG (5.3% vs. 0.8%; P = 0.031), whereas the remaining POCs were similar between the two groups. Patients with higher POCs significantly had longer postoperative length of stay (R = 0.895, P = 0.003). Multivariate analysis confirmed age, extent of resection, and TNM stage were risk factors for all POCs. Conclusions: These findings demonstrated that RATG is technically feasible and safe for treatment of AGC with acceptable morbidity and mortality rates. The POCs rate of RATG was higher than RADG, especially for anastomotic leakage. More effective anastomotic techniques are needed in RATG to prevent leakage.

T-cells play a major role in host defense mechanisms against many diseases. With the current growth of immunotherapy approaches, there is a strong need for advanced technologies to detect and characterize these immune cells. Herein, we present a simple approach for the isolation of antigen specific T-cells from the complex biological sample based on T-cell receptor (TCR) and peptide major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) interaction. Subsequently, we characterize those antigen specific T-cells by profiling TCR expression heterogeneity. Our approach utilizes an alternating current electrohydrodynamic (ac-EHD) based microfluidic platform for isolation and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for TCR expression profiling. The use of ac-EHD enables specific isolation of T-cells by generating a nanoscopic shear force at the double layer of the sensing surface which enhances the frequency of pMHC and TCR interactions and consequently shears off the nonspecific targets. TCR expression profiling of the isolated T-cells was performed by encoding them with SERS-labelled pMHCs followed by SERS detection in bulk as well as in single T-Cell. In proof-of-concept experiments, 56.93 +/- 7.31% of the total CD4 + T-cells were captured from an excess amount of nonspecific cells (e.g., PBMCs) with high specificity and sensitivity (0.005%). Moreover, TCR analysis data using SERS shows the heterogeneity in the T-cell receptor expression which can inform on the activation status of T-cells and the patient's response to immunotherapy. We believe that this approach may hold potential for numerous applications towards monitoring immune status, understanding therapeutic responses, and effective vaccine development.