Li Luo^*, Xiaoyu Wang, Kang Zhou, Shenjian Ni, Xiaonin Lu, Bin Na^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.10, pp. 1795-1803, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.015027 - 12 May 2021

Abstract Magnesite-bonded wood wool panel (MWWP) is an inorganic-bonded panel product in which wood excelsior is bonded with magnesite. Lowering the hygroscopicity is one of the key measures to improve the quality of the panel. In this study, moisture absorption mechanism of MWWP and measures generally applied to lower its hygroscopicity were reviewed. Three methods were then experimented to improve the dimensional stability of the panel, including adjusting the molar ratio of raw materials, adding additives and optimizing the conditioning process. The results showed that satisfying dimensional stability could be achieved when the molar ratio of More > Graphic Abstract

Memoona Malik^*, Iftikhar Azim, Amir Hanif Dar, Sohail Asghar

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.29, No.1, pp. 165-182, 2021, DOI:10.32604/iasc.2021.017437 - 12 May 2021

Abstract Despeckling of SAR imagery is a crucial step prior to their automated interpretation as information extraction from noisy images is a challenging task. Though a huge despeckling literature exists in this regard, there is still a room for improvement in existing techniques. The contemporary despeckling techniques adversely affect image edges during the noise reduction process and are thus responsible for losing the significant image features. Therefore, to preserve important features during the speckle reduction process, a two phase hybrid despeckling filter is proposed in this study. The first phase of the hybrid filter focuses on More >

Lu Hong¹, Biqing Shu^1,2, Qian He¹, Zehui Ju¹, Haiyang Zhang¹, Xiaoning Lu^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.1, pp. 49-59, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.013833 - 30 November 2020

Abstract Chinese fir was compressed by vacuum hot pressing and conventional hot pressing at different temperatures (180°C, 200°C and 220°C), respectively. The color parameters of the heat-compressed sample were measured, the relative mechanical properties of the material were tested and changes in the chemistry of fir were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the color difference between compressed and untreated wood increased gradually with the increase of temperature. Compared with the conventional hot pressing treatment, the color difference (ΔE*) of the Chinese fir treated by vacuum More >

Juan Gu^*, Chang-fu Cui^†, Li Yang^‡, Ling Wang^*, Xue-hua Jiang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.6, pp. 681-682, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504021X16137463165424

Abstract Colon cancer (CC) is the third most common cancer worldwide. Emodin is an anthraquinone-active substance that has the ability to affect tumor progression. Our study aims to explore the effects and the relevant mechanism of emodin on the invasion and migration of CC in vitro and in vivo. In our study, we found that emodin inhibited the invasion and migration abilities of RKO cells and decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), MMP-9, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a dose-dependent manner. Further research suggested that emodin inhibited EMT by increasing the mRNA level… More >

Xin Chen^*, Mingzhe Li^†, Hongwei Zhou^*, Li Zhang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.28, No.9, pp. 965-967, 2020, DOI:10.3727/096504022X16414984936764

Abstract MicroRNA-132 (miR-132) has been demonstrated to be a tumor suppressor in several types of tumors. However, the expression and the role of miR-132 in human thyroid cancer are still poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the potential roles and molecular mechanism of miR-132 in thyroid cancer. We found that miR-132 expression levels were significantly downregulated in thyroid cancer tissues and cell lines. Function assays showed that overexpression of miR-132 in TPC1 cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Forkhead box protein A1 (FOXA1) was identified as a direct target of More >

Liangliang Yu^*, Wenjun Zhou, Danping Zhang, Junhui Yan, Li Luo

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.89, No.4, pp. 873-881, 2020, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2020.011882 - 09 November 2020

Abstract Phytosulfokine-α (PSK-α), a sulfated pentapeptide with the sequence YIYTQ, is encoded by a small precursor gene family in Arabidopsis. PSK-α regulates multiple growth and developmental processes as a novel peptide hormone. Despite its importance, functions of PSK-α in M. truncatula growth remains unknown. In this study, we identified five genes to encode PSK-α precursors in M. truncatula. All of these precursors possess conserved PSK-α signature motif. Expression pattern analysis of these MtPSK genes revealed that each gene was expressed in a tissue-specific or ubiquitous pattern and three of them were remarkably expressed in root. Treatment of M. truncatula seedlings More >

Asaad H. Sayer¹, Hameed B. Mahood^2,*

Energy Engineering, Vol.117, No.6, pp. 367-379, 2020, DOI:10.32604/EE.2020.011156 - 16 October 2020

Abstract Salinity gradient solar ponds (SGSPs) provide a tremendous way to collect and store solar radiation as thermal energy, and can help meet the critical need for sustainable ways of producing fresh water. However, surface evaporation results in the loss of both water and heat. This study therefore theoretically investigates the effect on temperatures within an SGSP when its surface is covered with a layer of air encased in a nylon bag. An earlier SGSP model was slightly modified to add the air layer and to estimate the temperature distributions of the upper layer or the… More >

Shiming He¹, Zhuozhou Li¹, Yangning Tang¹, Zhuofan Liao¹, Feng Li^{1, *}, Se-Jung Lim²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.62, No.1, pp. 321-336, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.06130

Abstract With the popularity of deep learning tools in image decomposition and natural language processing, how to support and store a large number of parameters required by deep learning algorithms has become an urgent problem to be solved. These parameters are huge and can be as many as millions. At present, a feasible direction is to use the sparse representation technique to compress the parameter matrix to achieve the purpose of reducing parameters and reducing the storage pressure. These methods include matrix decomposition and tensor decomposition. To let vector take advance of the compressing performance of More >

Laleh Sharifi^1,2, Asghar Aghamohammadi^1,3, Nima Rezaei^3,4,5, Reza Yazdani¹, Farhad Rezaei⁶, Saied Bokaie⁷, Farzaneh Tofighi Zavareh^2,8, Fatemeh Kiaee³, Ali N. Kamali⁹, Gholamreza Azizi¹⁰, Abbas Mirshafiey^1,8

European Cytokine Network, Vol.30, No.4, pp. 123-129, 2019, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2019.0435

Abstract Introduction: Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common symptomatic form of primary immunodeficiencies. Current research data show altered B cells, TLRs, and cytokine profile in CVID patients. The aim of this study was to determine levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in CVID patients in response to TLRs stimulation and the association of these cytokines with subtypes of B cells and response to Pneumovax-23 vaccination. Method: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of CIVD patients were stimulated with and without TLR2 and TLR4 agonist and specific inhibitors including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic (LTA), and OxPAPC. The levels of… More >

Juan Gu^*, Chang-fu Cui^†, Li Yang^‡, Ling Wang^*, Xue-hua Jiang^*

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.2, pp. 193-202, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15150662230295

Abstract Colon cancer (CC) is the third most common cancer worldwide. Emodin is an anthraquinone-active substance that has the ability to affect tumor progression. Our study aims to explore the effects and the relevant mechanism of emodin on the invasion and migration of CC in vitro and in vivo. In our study, we found that emodin inhibited the invasion and migration abilities of RKO cells and decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7), MMP-9, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in a dose-dependent manner. Further research suggested that emodin inhibited EMT by increasing the mRNA level… More >