We investigate the nuclear shadowing effect on the K factor in theDrell-Yan process by introducing a shadowing factorinto the corresponding quantum chromodynamical αs ordercorrections. K factors for Au-Au collisions are calculated at thecentre-of-mass system energies (s)1/2 = 60, 130 and 200 GeVwhile the nuclear shadowing factor is taken into account. The numericalresults indicate that the nuclear shadowing factor obviously raisesthe K value in the small x region, and for the same nucleon the Kvalue becomes smaller as the energy increases. The nuclear shadowingeffect could be one reason for creating the non-constancy ofthe K factor.

The sign of stock return has been widely used to proxy for news in the conditional conservatism model. Under discount cash flow model, firm value changes are caused by either cash flow news or discount rate news. Simply using the sign of stock returns to define good (bad) news can be problematic. Following the classic return decomposition method, this paper decomposes return news into cash flow news and discount rate news. We find that cash flow news component demonstrates consistent results with previous findings. However, with respect to discount rate news, positive return news turns out to be recognized more quickly in earnings. The conventional timeliness asymmetry even disappears in the highest quintile of discount rate news shock magnitude. In additional tests, we also document weakened timeliness asymmetry conditional on a battery of proxy variables for discount rate news. Our findings suggest that we should use stock return sign with caution in conditional conservatism tests, especially when discount rate news shock is large.

Abstract Metastatic disease is the major cause of death from cancer, and immunotherapy and chemotherapy have had limited success in reversing its progression. Researchers have suggested that inflammatory factors in the tumor environment can promote cancer invasion and metastasis, stimulating cancer progression. Thus, novel strategies that target cytokines and modulate the tumor microenvironment may emerge as important approaches for treating metastatic breast cancer. Specific neutralization of pathogenic TNF signaling using a TNFα antibody has gained increasing attention. Considering this, a selective human TNFα neutralized antibody was generated based on nanobody technology. A TNFα-specific nanobody was produced in Pichia pastoris with a molecular mass of 15 kDa and affinity constant of 2.05 nM. In the proliferation experiment, the TNFα nanobody could inhibit the proliferation of the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 induced by hTNFα in a dose-dependent manner. In the microinvasion model, the TNFα nanobody could inhibit the migration of the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and the invasiveness of MDA-MB-231 induced by hTNFα in a dose-dependent manner. Drug administration of the combination of paclitaxel with the TNFα nanobody in vivo significantly enhanced the efficacy against 4T-1 breast tumor proliferation and lung metastasis; meanwhile, E-cadherin tumor epithelial marker expression was upregulated, supporting the anti-tumor therapeutic relevance of paclitaxel and the TNFα nanobody on EMT. This study highlights the importance of neutralizing low TNFα levels in the tumor microenvironment to sensitize the chemotherapeutic response, which has attractive potential for clinical applications. Highlights • Novel TNFα nanobody was generated with high affinity and low molecular weight. • TNFα nanobody inhibited increased migration and invasiveness of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. • Combining Taxol with TNFα nanobody enhanced anti-tumor efficacy. • TNFα nanobody inhibited mice 4T-1 tumor EMT. • TNFα nanobody penetrated into and neutralized TNFα interior tumor.

Abstract In the past few years, triple (H + /O 2− /e − ) conducting materials have been regarded as one of the most promising electrode categories for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this work, a layer-structured LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2-δ (LNCA) with triple conduction has been studied. The semiconductor-ionic conductor (SIC) LNCA-SDC composite has been fabricated by compositing the LNCA material with ionic conductor, i.e., samarium doped ceria (SDC). The electrochemical performance of the LNCA-SDC composite was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, while its electronic conductivity was confirmed by d.c. polarization method. It is found that the ionic conductivity of the composite is higher than the electronic conductivity by several orders of magnitude. The charge carriers and transportation properties of LNCA-SDC were studied using H + and O 2− blocking layer cells respectively. Results prove that the LNCA-SDC composite is a hybrid oxygen ion-proton conducting material. The oxygen ion conduction is dominated at low temperature (425–500 °C), however, it is comparable with H + conduction at high temperature (550 °C). Additionally, the formation of Li 2 CO 3 under fuel cell operation environment was observed and the mechanism of the hybrid conductivity of LNCA-SDC was studied. Highlights • The electrical conductivities of LNCA and LNCA-SDC composite are studied. • Different electrical properties of the LNCA-SDC are observed in fuel cells. • The total conductivity of LNCA-SDC composite is dominated by ionic conductivity. • Hybrid O 2− and H + conduction in LNCA-SDC. • Hybrid ionic conductive behavior analysis for LNCA-SDC.

Abstract Since egg-white protein is an excellent amphoteric surfactant and an outstanding regulator of CaCO 3 mineralization, we prepared an egg-white foam as the organic matrix and template to regulate mineralization of CaCO 3 and assemble primary mineralization particles. Samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, showing that the particles are homogeneous (2 µm) vaterite spherules of CaCO 3 . The results of the interaction between the particles and Sr 2+ show that Sr 2+ can induce transformation of the particles from vaterite to calcite and that it is simultaneously adsorbed by the particles, reaching 89.9% adsorption after 36 h.

Highlights • Evaluation of functionalized magnetic nanoparticles Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -C18 as a nanosorbent. • Reported for the first time as innovative strategy to isolate urinary EVOMs. • Attractive, promising and reliable alternative to commonly used methods. • Good results for selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy and matrix effect. • Rapid screening for quantification of urinary EVOMs. Abstract In this present study, magnetic Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 nanoparticles (MNPs) functionalized with octadecyl groups (Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -C 18 NPs) were synthesized, characterized and employed, for the first time, as powerful nanosorbent to extract endogenous volatile organic metabolites (EVOMs) namely, hexanal, heptanal, decanal, benzaldehyde, 4-heptanone, 5-methyl-2-furfural and phenol, described as potential biomarkers of cancer, from human urine. By using co-precipitation, surface modification methods, the carbon-ferromagnetic nanocomposite was synthesized and characterized by infrared spectrum (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). By coupling with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–qMS), a reliable, sensitive and cost-effective method was validated. To test the extraction efficiency of the carbon-ferromagnetic nanocomposite toward urinary EVOMs experimental variables affecting the extraction performance, including nanosorbent amount, adsorption time, elution time, and nature of elution solvent, were investigated in detail. The extraction process was performed by dispersing Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -C18 NPs into working solution containing targeted VOMs, and into urine samples, and then eluted with an adequate organic solvent. The eluate was collected, concentrated and analyzed by GC–qMS. Under the optimized conditions, the LODs and LOQs achieved were in the range of 9.7–57.3 and 32.4–190.9 ng/mL, respectively. Calibration curves were linear ( r 2 ≥ 0. 988) over the concentration ranges from 0.25 to 250 ng/mL. In addition, a satisfying reproducibility was achieved by evaluating the intra- and inter-day precisions with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 3 and 11%, respectively. The method also afforded satisfactory results in terms of the matrix effect (72.8–96.1%) and recoveries (accuracy) higher than 75.1% for most of the studied EVOMs. The Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -C 18 NPs-based sorbent extraction combined with GC–qMS revealed that the new nanosorbent had a strong ability to retain the target metabolites providing a new, reliable and high throughput strategy for isolation of targeted EVOMs in human urine, suggesting their potential to be applied in other EVOMs.

We report a simultaneous observation of two band electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves and toroidal Alfvén waves by the Van Allen Probe mission.Through wave frequency analyses,the mass densityρis found to be locally peaked at the magnetic equator.Perpendicular fluxes of ions(<100 eV)increase simultaneously with the appearances of EMIC waves,indicating a heating of these ions by EMIC waves.In addition,the measured ion distributions also support the equatorial peak formation,which accords with the result of the frequency analyses.The formation of local mass density peaks at the equator should be due to enhancements of equatorial ion concentrations,which are triggered by EMIC waves’perpendicular heating on low energy ions.

It is now well established that bile acids act as colon tumor promoters. However, a previous study provided conflicting data showing that dietary exposure of cholic acid (CHA), a primary bile acid, inhibits the carcinogen-induced formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF), possible preneoplastic lesions, in colonic mucosa of rodents. Recently we found beta-catenin-accumulated crypts (BCAC) in colonic mucosa of rats initiated with azoxymethane (AOM) and provided evidence that BCAC might be preneoplastic lesions independent from ACF. In the present study, we investigated the modifying effects of dietary CHA on the formation of BCAC as well as ACF in male F344 rats after exposure to AOM to determine if the differences in the effect of CHA on these lesions could account for this discrepancy. The results indicate that administration of CHA (0.5%) in the diet during the post-initiation phase significantly reduced the total number, multiplicity and size of ACF (P < 0.00001) in AOM-exposed colonic mucosa as reported previously. The number of ACF even with >4 aberrant crypts/focus was also decreased significantly (P < 0.0002), suggesting that the large ACF are little resistant to continuous feeding of 0.5% CHA diet. Interestingly, the dietary CHA significantly enhanced both the multiplicity (P < 0.002) and size (P < 0.00001), but not the incidence, of AOM-induced BCAC when compared with the control diet group. Importantly, the number of large BCAC with >6 crypts/lesion was increased significantly by the dietary CHA (P < 0.003). Our results support the concept that BCAC are precursors of colon tumors and indicate the usefulness of BCAC as intermediate biomarkers for colon carcinogenesis, although the methodology for their detection requires further improvement.

In order to recognize the key flavor compounds influencing the consumers' choice for honey peach, nectarine, and flat peach and provide important information for orientation breeding, sugars, organic acids, and aroma volatiles in 3 types of peaches were examined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their key individual characteristic flavor compounds were identified by multivariate analysis integrated with consumers' evaluation. No significant differences in sugar and organic acid were observed between 3 types of peaches. In hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) models, 3 types of peaches could not be differentiated by sugars or organic acids, but could be identified completely by aroma volatiles or by flavor compounds. A partial least squares regression (PLSR) model revealed that the key individual characteristic volatiles in nectarine, honey peach, and flat peach are C9 compounds and terpenic compounds, norisoprenoids and C6 compounds, and benzaldehyde, gamma-decalactone, and 3-dodecalactone, respectively. These results suggest that sugars and organic acids form the background flavor of peach fruit and lactones shape the typical peach aroma. However, the individual aroma volatiles play the decisive role in unique flavor determination of different types of peaches.

We report a simultaneous observation of two band electromagnetic ion cyclotron（EMIC） waves and toroidal Alfvén waves by the Van Allen Probe mission. Through wave frequency analyses, the mass density ρ is found to be locally peaked at the magnetic equator.Perpendicular fluxes of ions（<； 100 eV） increase simultaneously with the appearances of EMIC waves, indicating a heating of these ions by EMIC waves. In addition, the measured ion distributions also support the equatorial peak formation, which accords with the result of the frequency analyses. The formation of local mass density peaks at the equator should be due to enhancements of equatorial ion concentrations, which are triggered by EMIC waves’ perpendicular heating on low energy ions.

Fused silica with structured and continuous patterns is increasingly demanded in advanced imaging and illumination fields because of its excellent properties and functional performance. Atmospheric pressure plasma, based on pure chemical etching under atmospheric pressure, is developed as a promising fabrication technique for fused silica due to its deterministic high material removal rate, controllable removal imprint and no mechanical load. The stable and controllable Gaussian-shape removal function makes computer-controlled plasma tool potential to generate complex structures with high accuracy, efficiency and flexibility. In the paper, computer-controlled atmospheric pressure plasma structuring (APPS) is proposed to fabricate 2D/3D patterns on fused silica optics. The capacitively coupled APPS system with a double-layer plasma torch and its discharge characteristics are firstly developed. By means of multi-physics simulation and process investigation, the stable and controllable Gaussian-shape removal function can be achieved. Two different structuring modes, including discrete and continuous APPS, are explored for 2D/3D patterns. A series of structuring experiments show that different kinds of 2D patterns (including square lens array, hexagon lens array and groove array) as well as complex 3D phase plate patterns have been successfully fabricated, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed APPS of 2D/3D patterns on fused silica optics.

Highlights • A comprehensive model of natural gas and electricity coupled networks is built. • Two methods on the uncertainty analysis using interval algorithm is proposed. • The interval solutions can provide great insights into the coupled systems. • An accessible capacity model of wind power under gas network constraints is built. Abstract The wide application of renewable energy sources in power systems has a significant influence on both electrical and tightly coupled systems. The aim of this paper is to build a comprehensive system model of a natural gas and electricity coupled network. The concept of distributed stack nodes was introduced to overcome the shortcoming of adjusting active power by a single gas-fired unit to achieve power balance. On this basis, the impact of the active power output uncertainty of wind farms was studied, and the interval flow of the natural gas system was analyzed by two proposed methods. The results were compared with Monte Carlo stochastic simulation. Case studies demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method and led to the conclusion that the uncertainty of wind power has a significant impact on the steady-state operation of natural gas systems. Interval solutions could provide great insights into the operating and planning of coupled systems with wind power uncertainty.

Abstract Zn 2 SiO 4 nanocrystallines were synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal method, in which the composition and morphology were tailored by changing the hydrothermal temperature and pH value. Zn 2 SiO 4 was applied as novel photocatalyst to degrade various organic pollutants and it exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity and stability as compared to traditional ZnO. The better photocatalytic performance of Zn 2 SiO 4 than ZnO can be attributed to the more generated charge carries, the stronger oxidation ability of h + and the higher concentration of active O 2 − radicals. Graphical abstract Image 2 Highlights • Zn 2 SiO 4 nanocrystallines were synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal method. • Hydrothermal temperature and pH value influenced the composition and morphologies. • Zn 2 SiO 4 exhibits much higher photocatalytic activity and stability than ZnO. • Zn 2 SiO 4 had high concentration of O 2 – and strong oxidation capacity (h + ). • Zn 2 SiO 4 had more generated charge carries and efficient charge transfer.