Search

• An earlier spring phenology promoted summer vegetation growth in northern ecosystems. • Background climate modulated the response of summer growth to spring phenology. • Spring phenological effects on summer growth will be reversed. • An earlier spring phenology may decrease summer growth by 2100 under SSP370 and 585. Widespread spring warming and an earlier start of the growing season (SOS) compensated for spring vegetation productivity, simultaneously resulting in reduced retention of accessible nutrition and water resources in subsequent seasons. In this case, however, it is unknown whether the increased summer growth induced by earlier SOS will be sustained. Here, we analyzed the legacy effects of SOS on summer growth under historical and future scenarios, through combining remote sensing products, flux tower observations and model simulations. We observed that the background climate (summer temperature and summer precipitation) modulated the response of summer growth to SOS. In the past two decades, the advance of SOS promoted summer growth in most areas of the northern ecosystems, except for dry and hot regions. Moreover, the effects of SOS on plant growth reversed within the summer months, which may be related to the continued deterioration of moisture conditions. Models predicted a general shift from a negative to a positive correlation between SOS and summer growth under future warming and regionally uneven precipitation. In particular, under SSP370 and SSP585 scenarios, areas of positive correlation will exceed that of negative correlation by the end of the century. These results indicated the stimulation of summer growth by SOS advance may shift to inhibition in more regions in the future. Our findings highlighted the limited enhancement of plant carbon sink by altered spring phenology under future climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tonglen is a Tibetan Buddhist practice that aims at developing the practitioner's bodhicitta. In this article, I argue that it not only finds expression in Alice Walker's The Color Purple through the protagonist Celie, but adds more complexity to the womanist philosophy for which Walker has been ensconced in positions of influence. More specifically, Celie follows an implied Buddhist practice of tonglen; in the process of "taking in and sending out", her bodhicitta has been generated and cultivated. Underlying her tonglen practice is Buddhist womanism demonstrating how African American women can survive the social oppression and injustice by way of acknowledging their own terrible afflictions, empathizing with those enduring intense suffering, male and female, extending their loving kindness, comprehending the absence of intrinsic entity and the principle of dependent origination, etc. In addition, the article suggests that the fight for the survival of the oppressed is a type of Buddhist practice in Walker's Buddhist womanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the relationship between emotional working memory (WM) and depressive symptoms has been well established in clinical samples, research in the subclinical population has produced mixed results. The present study tested the effect of WM load on control of interference from emotional (positive, negative, neutral) distractors in dysphoria. Dysphoric (n = 32) and non‐dysphoric (n = 35) university students were administered the emotional 2‐back (lower WM load) and 3‐back (higher WM load) tasks. Results showed that resisting negative distractors was more difficult for the dysphoric group than the non‐dysphoric group, but only in the 3‐back task. The results demonstrate that dysphoria is associated with greater interference from negative distractors under high WM load. We conclude that both WM load and emotional valence have an effect on WM performance in dysphoria, and the poor ability to resist interference from negative distractors in WM might be a key cognitive vulnerability factor for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of new energy vehicles, the joining of lightweight alloys has received more attention. Self-piercing riveting experiments of aluminum alloy and high-strength steel sheets were performed to analyze the effects of rivet height and laying order of metal sheets on the joining quality in the work. The forming surface, cross-sectional morphology, static tensile property, fatigue property, failure mode, and mechanism were analyzed. The results show that AA5052 alloy and SPFC440 steel can be joined effectively by self-piercing riveting, and there is good contact between rivet head and sheet surfaces. When the rivet is 2.5–3.5 mm higher than the total thickness of two layers sheets, the rivet leg flares symmetrically without cracks or buckling, and the lower sheet completely encapsulates the joint button. The joints have better static tensile properties when the rivet is about 3 mm higher than the thickness of two sheets. The higher static strength is obtained when the aluminum alloy is placed at the lower position. The rivet legs fall off from the lower sheets for all the samples in the tensile tests, which is independent of the rivet height and laying order of metal sheets. The fatigue strength of the sample with the rivet height of 7 mm is the greatest, and the fatigue cracks always occur on the aluminum sheet under all experimental conditions. The findings in this work can help the practical application of self-piercing riveting for aluminum/steel sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new aromatic unsymmetrical diamine containing imidazolyl and trifluoromethyl groups, 1,2-bis(4-aminophenyl)-4,5-bis(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-1H-imidazole was synthesized. A series of novel fluorinated polyimides (PIs) were prepared by polycondensation of this diamine monomer with various aromatic dianhydrides via one-step process. The resulting PIs bearing inherent viscosities of 0.45–0.61 dL/g were amorphous and readily soluble in organic polar solvents such as NMP, DMF, DMAc, THF, and CHCl3. These new PIs exhibited good thermal stability with 10% weight loss temperatures of 530–560°C and char yields of 61–65% at 800°C in nitrogen, as well as good flame retardancy with limited oxygen index value of 40.6–42.8, and outstanding hydrophobicity with the contact angle of 85.2–93.5°. Meanwhile, all the obtained PIs exhibited low water uptake of 0.30–0.53%, strong UV-vis absorption in the range of 267–310 nm in DMF solution, and their films presented high optical transparency with a cut-off wavelength in the 355–392 nm range. Except for the PI film derived from pyromellitic dianhydride, the other PI films had the tensile strength in the range of 53.2–74.1 MPa, elongation at breakage of 6–15%, and tensile modulus of 1.0–1.5 GPa, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic analysis of large-scale 3D flow field promotes the combination of topological analysis and integration curve analysis methods. Critical point detection and location are one of the key core algorithms of topological analysis. Dealing with large-scale flow fields in parallel, eliminating memory constraints, and obtaining high-precision position of critical points robustly are still primary challenges. Therefore, a novel parallel detection and location method on the GPU is proposed and denoted by HybridDualCP. It uses the duality property of the cartesian coordinate system and the velocity vector space inside each grid cell. It achieves high locality, has the ability of large-scale parallelization, and can quickly detect and locate critical points in large-scale 3D flow fields. Furthermore, based on the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation algorithm in the dual space, it eliminates the computation of solving systems of high-order or linear equations and can support any dimensional simplex mesh type. HybridDualCP provides the position classification of critical points relative to the grid cell by explicitly considering the inside/facet/edge/vertex. By detecting critical points in 29 typical 3D flow fields, HybridDualCP is faster, more robust and comprehensive than currently widely used methods. This paper also shows the effect of streamline visualization guided by critical points and the necessity of distinguishing critical points at different locations relative to the grid cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxia regulates tumor angiogenesis, metabolism, and therapeutic response in malignant cancers including glioblastoma, the most lethal primary brain tumor. The regulation of HIF transcriptional factors by the ubiquitin–proteasome system is critical in the hypoxia response, but hypoxia‐inducible deubiquitinases that counteract the ubiquitination remain poorly defined. While the activation of ERK1/2 also plays an important role in hypoxia response, the relationship between ERK1/2 activation and HIF regulation remains elusive. Here, we identified USP33 as essential deubiquitinase that stabilizes HIF‐2alpha protein in an ERK1/2‐dependent manner to promote hypoxia response in cancer cells. USP33 is preferentially induced in glioma stem cells by hypoxia and interacts with HIF‐2alpha, leading to its stabilization through deubiquitination. The activation of ERK1/2 upon hypoxia promoted HIF‐2alpha phosphorylation, enhancing its interaction with USP33. Silencing of USP33 disrupted glioma stem cells maintenance, reduced tumor vascularization, and inhibited glioblastoma growth. Our findings highlight USP33 as an essential regulator of hypoxia response in cancer stem cells, indicating a novel potential therapeutic target for brain tumor treatment. Synopsis: While hypoxia induced by tumor growth is recognized as a key selective pressure in solid cancers, the molecular mechanisms underlying control of HIF signaling remain unclear. This work identifies deubiquitinating enzyme USP33 as regulator of HIF‐2alpha in glioma, shedding new light on the complexities of brain tumor growth. Hypoxia induces deubiquitinase USP33 expression in glioma stem cells (GSCs).USP33 deubiquitinates and stabilizes HIF‐2alpha in GSCs in response to hypoxia.ERK1/2‐mediated phosphorylation of S484 HIF‐2alpha enhances binding to USP33.Depletion of USP33 impairs GSC maintenance and tumor sphere formation in vitro as well as glioblastoma growth in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the collision and rebound characteristics between particles and silicone rubber surfaces is the basis of establishing a scientific contamination deposition model for silicone rubber insulators. In this article, high-speed and microscopic imaging techniques are used to set up an experimental platform for tracking and filming the collision and rebound motion of micrometer particles. Key parameters in the semiempirical calculation formula of critical adhesion velocity and tangential and normal rebound coefficients of particles in the collision issue between particles and silicone rubber surface are also obtained in this article by the parameter optimization method based on experimental measurement results. In addition, a probability calculation model for tangent and normal rebound coefficients of particles is proposed based on the statistical analysis method. Findings show that the critical adhesion velocity of particles decreases with the increase of the particle diameter. Influenced by the roughness distribution of the silicone rubber surface, the tangent rebound coefficient and the ratio between the measurement results and the theoretical calculated values of normal rebound coefficients of particles in the oblique collisions obeys normal distributions. This article is valuable for studying the contamination mechanism of silicone rubber insulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in infants and children. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-146a on RSV replication and the related mechanisms. Material and methods: We pretreated A549 and HEp-2 cells and young rats with miR-146a mimic before infection with RSV. The expressions of miR-146a and RSV-F mRNA in cells and lung tissues were detected by RT-qPCR, and production of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, and TNF-α in bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined by ELISA. The expression level of TRAF-6 and activation of the JNK/ERK/MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway was detected by Western blotting. Results: RSV infection significantly reduced miR-146a levels in both A549 and HEp-2 cells and rat lung tissues. RSV infection resulted in accelerated growth, increased release of inflammatory cytokines, increased expression of TRAF-6, and activation of the JNK pathway in cells, and the lung inflammatory infiltration and the pathological score increased in rats. Overexpression of miR-146a targeted down-regulation of TRAF-6 expression and JNK/ERK/MAPK/NF-κB pathway induced by RSV infection, reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, and alleviate lung injury in young rats. We got similar results in both A549 and HEp-2 cell experiments. Conclusion: MiR-146a alleviates lung injury caused by RSV infection in young rats by targeting TRAF-6 and regulating JNK/ERK/MAPK signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the hypotheses that individuals of rotifers adapted to high food levels are smaller at maturity than those adapted to low food levels, and that selection history has different effects on different life history traits and demographic variables of rotifers, we expose replicate populations of Brachionus angularis in low (LF) and high (HF) densities of Tetradesmus obliquus. Over 100 days (28 asexual generations) of selection, HF-selected populations have a significantly increased growth rate, but more rapidly decreased mictic ratio than LF-selected populations. Common garden experiments reveal that regardless of the density of food provided, populations with an LF-selection history have significantly lower reproductive and growth rates, but larger individuals than populations with an HF-selection history. Compared with LF treatment, HF treatment decreases reproductive and growth rates and individual size in populations with an LF-selection history, but these reaction norms are less pronounced (reproductive and growth rates) or opposite (individual size) in populations with an HF-selection history, indicating significant evolutionary effects. While the potential for evolution in rotifer populations may enable them to survive in oligotrophic and eutrophic water bodies, trait variation linked to food availability may lead to contrasting population dynamics in these two environment types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel collision detection algorithm of abrasive belt grinding blade integrated disk (blisk) based on improved octree segmentation is proposed, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of collision detection while ensuring dimensional accuracy and surface quality. The traditional collision detection algorithm model is described in detail, among them, the collision detection model of the abrasive belt is obtained by establishing its Oriented Bounding Box (OBB), and the collision detection model of the blisk is established by the octree segmentation. Then, an improved octree segmentation based on k-means clustering method can be presented by analyzing the important factors that affect the collision detection; on this basis, an algorithm of collision detection for abrasive belt grinding blisk is given. Finally, algorithm verification and experimental verification are carried out based on a blisk with certain type, respectively. Compared with the traditional collision detection algorithm, the results with algorithm verification illustrate that the accuracy and efficiency of algorithm in this paper have promoted by 45% and 18.60%, respectively; and the results with experimental verification demonstrate that the accuracy and efficiency of algorithm in this paper have improved by 45% and 18.44%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Metal ion leaching was attenuated benefitting from the dual-immobilized performance. • Incorporating COF boosted the catalytic efficiency for efficient electron transfer. • The dual-immobilized catalytic has a higher PMS affinity with more positive surfaces. • The Fukui function and ESP were employed for the degradation pathway. In heterogeneous catalytic systems used for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) catalysis, the effectiveness of the catalyst and the leaching rate of metal ions have gained considerable attention. Taking inspiration from the advantages of combining covalent organic frameworks (COF) and metal–organic frameworks (MOF) to facilitate charge transfer and metal immobilization, this study proposes an alternative method through immobilizing the catalysts with MOF and COF coating. The synthesis of Co-Fe 3 O 4 @UiO-66@TpBD was carried out with a pre-synthesizing method, followed by COF coating through a Schiff-based reaction. The introduction of MOF has largely limited the metal leaching from 7.85 mg/L to 1.03 mg/L, and the subsequent introduction of COF has enhanced electron transfer and adsorption of PMS, as well as a further reduction in the metal leaching from 1.03 mg/L to 0.50 mg/L. Impressively, the dual immobilization strategy has guaranteed a more stable utility and the materials showed comparable performances even after 5 cycles. Moreover, singlet oxygen (1O 2) is the dominant reactive oxygen species responsible for the degradation through electrophilic substitution of Acetaminophen (APAP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium (Se) is one of the fifteen essential nutrients required by the human body. Mycorrhizal microorganisms play a crucial role in enhancing selenium availability in plants. However, limited research exists on the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on selenium accumulation and transport in pepper plants. This study employed a pot experiment to investigate the changes in pepper plant growth, selenium accumulation, and transformation following inoculation with AMF and varying concentrations of exogenous selenium. The results indicate that exogenous selenium application in pepper has dual effects. At low concentrations (≤8 mg L⁻1), it promotes growth and nutrient accumulation, whereas high concentrations (>16 mg L⁻1) inhibit these processes. AMF inoculation positively influences selenium accumulation and transport in peppers, significantly increasing yield per plant by 17.89%, vitamin C content by 67.36%, flavonoid content by 43.26%, capsaicin content by 14.82%, DPPH radical scavenging rate by 18.18%, and ABTS radical scavenging rate by 27.81%. Additionally, it significantly reduces selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT) enzyme activity, while minimally affecting ATP sulfurylase (ATPS) and adenosyl sulfate reductase (APR) enzyme activities. The combined treatment of AMF and 8 mg L⁻1 exogenous selenium has been proven to be the most effective for selenium enrichment in peppers, offering new insights into utilizing exogenous selenium and AMF inoculation to enhance selenium content in peppers. • Low selenium(≤8 mg L⁻1) boost pepper growth and nutrients, but higher inhibit them. • AMF boosts selenium uptake and yield, enriches peppers with nutrients, antioxidants. • Optimal selenium enrichment: AMF combined with 8 mg L⁻1 exogenous selenium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies on JAK inhibitors are increasing, only a few cases of sarcoidosis treatment have been reported, and larger studies are needed to further evaluate this treatment approach. In conclusion, although research on the pathogenesis and treatment of sarcoidosis has progressed in recent years, the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis has not been elucidated, and its treatment is also ineffective. This study suggests that tofacitinib treatment alleviates sarcoidosis symptoms and works mainly by inhibiting the interferon (IFN)- activation pathway of CD4+ T cells, a type 1 immune response. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous syndrome with a wide range of clinical manifestations,1 with pulmonary involvement being the most common.2 Sarcoidosis is characterized by the accumulation of lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes that induce the formation of non-caseating epithelioid granulomas with secondary derangement of normal tissue or organ anatomy and function.3 The disease occurs worldwide, with an incidence between 1.4 and 64 per 100 000, and peaks at 30-60 years of age.3,4 Studies have shown that genetic, host immune, and environmental factors interact to cause sarcoidosis, but the etiological determinants of the disease remain uncertain.5 Thus far, apart from the tuberculin known to trigger the formation of the sarcoid granuloma, many have been the candidate antigens associated with the onset and the progression of the disease. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of acetylation modification on the structural, interfacial and emulsifying properties of Millettia speciosa Champ polysaccharide (MSCP). Besides, the influence of acetylation modification on the encapsulation properties of polysaccharide-based emulsion was also explored. Results indicated that modification resulted in a prominent reduction in molecular weight of MSCP and the interfacial layer thickness formed by acetylated MSCP (AC-MSCP) was also decreased, but the adsorption rate and ability of AC-MSCP to reduce interfacial tension were improved. AC-MSCP formulated emulsion possessed smaller droplet size (6.8 μm) and exhibited better physical stability under stressful conditions. The chemical stability of β-carotene was also profoundly enhanced by AC-MSCP fabricated emulsion. Moreover, AC-MSCP improved lipids digestion extent, thus facilitating the formation of micelle and increasing bioaccessibility of β-carotene. This study provided insights for rational modification of polysaccharide-based emulsifier and designing delivery system for chemically labile hydrophobic bioactive components. • Acetylation led to a slight degradation of polysaccharide. • Acetylation improved the interfacial adsorption capacity of polysaccharide. • Acetylation enhanced the emulsifying stability of polysaccharide. • The β-carotene stability was markedly ameliorated in modified emulsion. • The β-carotene bioaccessibility was significantly increased in modified emulsion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CoS 2 @MoS 2 /GO bifunctional catalyst toward OER and HER was obtained conveniently. • The CMS/GO heterostructure has excellent electrocatalytic performance. • The catalytic mechanisms of CMS/GO in HER and OER were presented. Novel bifunctional catalyst, MoS 2 @CoS 2 nanospheres grown on graphene oxide (CMS/GO), was successfully prepared. CMS/GO shows promising activity toward both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with lower overpotentials of 90 mV for HER and 260 mV for OER at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. The corresponding Tafel slopes are 48 mV/dec and 52 mV/dec, respectively. The catalytic ability is significantly improved, which may derives from the synergistic effect between CoS 2 and MoS 2 , the larger electrochemically active specific surface area coming from the larger BET surface area, the enhanced conductivity and active defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel PBAs/PMS Fenton-like system for organic pollutant degradation. • Modified oyster shell adsorbed metal ions and enhanced re-Fenton reaction. • FFM-PBA/PMS system showed high catalytic activity and adaptability for MB removal. • Active species and degradation pathway of MB were identified. Advanced oxidation processes extensively use Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) catalysts. However, metal-ion leaching limits their application in Fenton-like systems, causing environmental pollution and a decline in long-term performance. This study prepared a cubic iron–manganese bimetallic PBA catalyst by co-precipitation–calcination method. In the suspended flow experiment, under the optimal conditions, methylene blue (MB) was degraded by over 99.92 % within 90 min. The synergistic effect of iron–manganese bimetallic components and the degradation pathway of MB was proposed based on density functional theory (DFT) analysis and LC-MS results. In the recycling experiment, metal-ion leaching and catalyst structure damage significantly reduced the catalyst activity. To overcome the metal-leaching problem of PBA materials, a continuous-flow Fenton-like system was constructed. Cotton balls loaded with the iron–manganese bimetallic catalyst were connected to a calcined oyster shell fixed-bed reactor. In the 60 h continuous-inflow experiment, the average MB degradation rate of the effluent reached 95.81 %, which was 25.42 % higher than that of the single catalyst continuous-flow system. Experiments and characterization verified the mechanism of improving the reaction effect by using modified oyster shell. This shell can effectively adsorb the iron and manganese metal ions leached during the reaction, and these adsorbed metal ions further promoted the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation of MB through heterogeneous Fenton reaction, which was called re-Fenton reaction. This study provided a new strategy for the practical application of PBA catalysts in advanced oxidation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead sulfide (PbS) thin films were initially deposited through chemical bath deposition, followed by sensitization in a pure oxygen atmosphere at 600 °C. To investigate the influence of varying oxide layer states on the photoelectric properties of thermally sensitized PbS thin films, the surface oxide layer of the sensitized films was selectively removed using KOH etching. As the etching duration increased, a gradual decrease in surface oxygen content was observed, accompanied by an initial increase and subsequent decrease in detectivity. Notably, the optimum detectivity value (6.92 × 109 cm Hz1/2 W−1) was achieved after 10 s of KOH etching. Our investigation was further supplemented with field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses to gain insights into the impact of the oxide layer state on the photoelectric properties of PbS thin films. Our findings led to the proposal of a dual conduction mechanism for carrier transport within PbS film. In the case of as-grown PbS films, carrier transport primarily occurs via crystal boundary transition. However, after oxygen sensitization, the formation of an oxygen-rich carrier channel at the crystal boundary shifts carrier transport dominance towards crystal boundary transport. The combined influence of both transmission mechanisms serves as a primary driver for the observed changes in the photoelectric properties of PbS films. • Lead sulfide thin films were sensitized in a pure oxygen atmosphere at 600 °C. • A dual conduction mechanism for carrier transport within the films, with as-grown films crystal boundary transition. • Oxygen-rich channel shifts carrier transport dominance towards crystal boundary transport for photoelectric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of accurate and interpretable models for predicting reaction constants of organic compounds with hydroxyl radicals is vital for advancing quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) in pollutant degradation. Methods like molecular descriptors, molecular fingerprinting, and group contribution methods have limitations, as traditional machine learning struggles to capture all intramolecular information simultaneously. To address this, we established an integrated graph neural network (GNN) with approximately 12 million learnable parameters. GNN represents atoms as nodes and chemical bonds as edges, thus transforming molecules into a graph structures, effectively capturing microscopic properties while depicting atom connectivity in non-Euclidean space. Our datasets comprise 1401 pollutants to develop an integrated GNN model with Bayesian optimization, the model achieves root mean square errors of 0.165, 0.172, and 0.189 on the training, validation, and test datasets, respectively. Furthermore, we assess molecular structure similarity using molecular fingerprint to enhance the model's applicability. Afterwards, we propose a gradient weight mapping method for model explainability, uncovering the key functional groups in chemical reactions in artificial intelligence perspective, which would boost chemistry through artificial intelligence extreme arithmetic power. [Display omitted] • Graph molecular data with non-Euclidean atomic and bond details. • Scalable graph neural network for diverse compound modeling. • Advanced anomaly detection and domain-specific analysis. • Visual interpretability analysis identified active sites of compound [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• AMF inoculation positively impacts Se accumulation and translocation in celery. • Low Se (≤10 mg kg−1) promotes growth, high concentrations inhibit it. • AMF enhances Se uptake, improves shoot height, root weight. • +AMF with 10 mg kg−1 Se4+ produces Se-rich celery, addressing deficiencies. Celery (Apium graveolens L.) has a strong capacity to enrich selenium (Se) and is a good system for research on Se enrichment in vegetables. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are commonly used plant symbionts that affect plant growth and their effectiveness is plant species specific. However, there is little research on the effects of AMF inoculation on the accumulation and translocation of Se in celery. The treatments in this study included inoculation with AMF (+AMF) and the application of different types and concentrations of exogenous Se. We evaluated the growth, root mycorrhizal colonization, photosynthetic pigment content, ascorbate-glutathione cycle (ASA-GSH cycle), the accumulation and translocation of Se and the combination of AMF + Se compared with an untreated control. The application of low concentrations of Se (≤10 mg kg−1) stimulated celery growth, while high concentrations (>20 mg kg−1) had the opposite effect. The inhibition of celery growth was more severe with Se6+ than Se4+ when applied at the same concentration. The accumulation of Se improved in all the organs of celery as the supply increased. AMF had a significant positive effect on the accumulation and translocation of Se. In addition, +AMF significantly increased the shoot height and root fresh weight of celery and reduced the inhibitory effect of Se on growth. However, +AMF had slight effects on the levels of photosynthetic pigments and the ASA-GSH cycle. +AMF combined with 10 mg kg−1 sodium selenite (Se4+) is an effective way to produce Se-rich celery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Previous evidence suggests that cicadas lacking Hodgkinia may harbour the yeast‐like fungal symbionts (YLS). Here, we reinforce an earlier conclusion that the pathogenic ancestor of YLS independently infected different cicada lineages instead of the common ancestor of Cicadidae. Five independent replacement events in the loss of Hodgkinia/acquisition of YLS and seven other replacement events of YLS (from an Ophiocordyceps fungus to another Ophiocordyceps fungus) are hypothesised to have occurred within the sampled cicada taxa. The divergence time of YLS lineages was later than that of corresponding cicada lineages. The rapid shift of diversification rates of YLS and related cicada‐parasitizing Ophiocordyceps began at approximately 32.94 Ma, and the diversification rate reached the highest value at approximately 24.82 Ma, which corresponds to the cooling climate changes at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary and the Oligocene–Miocene transition respectively. Combined with related acquisition/replacement events of YLS occurred during the cooling‐climate periods, we hypothesise that the cooling‐climate changes impacted the interactions between cicadas and related Ophiocordyceps, which coupled with the unusual life cycle and the differentiation of cicadas may finally led to the diversification of YLS in Cicadidae. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary transition of YLS from entomopathogenic fungi in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compound kushen injection (CKI), a Chinese patent drug, is widely used in the treatment of various cancers, especially neoplasms of the digestive system. However, the underlying mechanism of CKI in pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment has not been totally elucidated. Methods: Here, to overcome the limitation of conventional network pharmacology methods with a weak combination with clinical information, this study proposes a network pharmacology approach of integrated bioinformatics that applies a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to conventional network pharmacology, and then integrates molecular docking technology and biological experiments to verify the results of this network pharmacology analysis. Results: The WGCNA analysis revealed 2 gene modules closely associated with classification, staging and survival status of PC. Further CytoHubba analysis revealed 10 hub genes (NCAPG, BUB1, CDK1, TPX2, DLGAP5, INAVA, MST1R, TMPRSS4, TMEM92 and SFN) associated with the development of PC, and survival analysis found 5 genes (TSPOAP1, ADGRG6, GPR87, FAM111B and MMP28) associated with the prognosis and survival of PC. By integrating these results into the conventional network pharmacology study of CKI treating PC, we found that the mechanism of CKI for PC treatment was related to cell cycle, JAK-STAT, ErbB, PI3K-Akt and mTOR signalling pathways. Finally, we found that CDK1, JAK1, EGFR, MAPK1 and MAPK3 served as core genes regulated by CKI in PC treatment, and were further verified by molecular docking, cell proliferation assay, RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. Conclusions: Overall, this study suggests that the optimized network pharmacology approach is suitable to explore the molecular mechanism of CKI in the treatment of PC, which provides a reference for further investigating biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of PC and even the clinical rational application of CKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Many insects depend on symbiont(s) for survival. This is particularly the case for sap‐feeding hemipteran insects. In this study, we revealed that symbionts harboured in cicadas are diverse and complex, and the yeast‐like fungal symbionts (YLS) are present in most cicada species, but Hodgkinia is absent. During vertical transmission, Sulcia became swollen with the outer membrane drastically changed, while Hodgkinia became shrunken and changed from irregular to roughly spherical. Sulcia and/or Hodgkinia were exocytosed from the bacteriocytes to the intercellular space of bacteriomes, where they gathered together and were extruded to haemolymph. YLS and associated facultative symbiont(s) in the fat bodies were released to the haemolymph based on bacteriocyte disintegration. The obligate symbiont(s) were endocytosed and exocytosed successively by the epithelial plug cells of the terminal oocyte, while associated facultative symbiont(s), and possibly also YLS, may take a 'free ride' on the transmission of obligate symbiont(s) to gain entry into the oocyte. Then, the intermixed symbionts formed a characteristic 'symbiont ball' in the oocyte. Our results suggest that YLS in cicadas represent a new example of a relatively early stage of symbiogenesis in insects and contribute to a better understanding of the diversity and transmission mechanisms of symbionts in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a wideband circularly polarized stacked microstrip patch antenna (CP SMPA) with continuous phase feed characteristics is presented. The designed antenna consists of a square‐loop feeding structure as driven element, four rectangular‐patches and four rotated square‐patches as parasitic elements. First, a square‐loop with arc‐shaped strip is designed to obtain 90° phase difference. Second, four rectangular‐patches are placed next to the square‐loop for generating a CP resonant mode through a capacitive coupling method. Third, four rotated square‐patches are arranged at the top of the rectangular‐patches to excite an additional CP resonant mode. Eventually, the designed CP SMPA features a wide −10‐dB impedance bandwidth (IBW) of 32% (5.93 GHz, 4.98–6.88 GHz), and a broad 3‐dB axial ratio bandwidth of 22.8% (6.15 GHz, 5.45–6.85 GHz). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give the characteristic estimation of a meromorphic function f with the differential polynomials f l (f (k)) n and obtain that T (r , f) ≤ M N ‾ (r , 1 f l (f (k)) n − a) + S (r , f) holds for M = min { 1 l − 2 , 6 } , integers l (≥ 2) , n (≥ 1) , k (≥ 1) , and a non-zero constant a. This quantitative estimate is an interesting and complete extension of earlier results. The value distribution of a differential monomial of meromorphic functions is also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wheel brake device is one of the most widely used landing deceleration devices in modern aircraft. For large aircraft, a multivalve parallel brake system is usually used. When a brake pressure servo valve of a certain type of aircraft is debugged, the output brake pressure of the system shows obvious periodic oscillation with constant amplitude. This paper focuses on the brake pressure servo valve, which is the key component of the system. There are a large number of feedback and adjustment segments in the brake pressure servo valve, which can not only improve the control accuracy but also introduce nonlinear factors to cause system vibration. Therefore, in this paper, the feedback stage structure of the brake pressure servo valve is analyzed and improved, and a new two-stage pressure servo valve is designed to restrain the output brake pressure vibration of the system. Firstly, the structure principle of the original pressure servo valve is defined, and the function of the feedback stage is analyzed. Secondly, in view of the vibration problem caused by the original brake pressure servo valve, a new two-stage brake pressure servo valve is designed, which is the main contribution of this paper. Thirdly, the dynamics model of the proposed two-stage brake pressure servo valve is established, and the simulation model of the brake pressure servo valve-controlled cylinder system and the multivalve parallel brake servo control system is built. Finally, experiments are carried out on the experimental platform of a multivalve parallel brake system to verify that the proposed two-stage pressure servo valve can restrain the vibration of the system more effectively than the original brake pressure servo valve. And the two-stage pressure servo valve prototype is successfully applied to the actual aircraft brake control system; the system can better maintain a stable brake pressure output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Successfully established an animal model of Bungarus multicinctus bite in Guangxi Bama miniature pig. • Potential biomarkers were screened out by untargeted and targeted metabonomics methods. • 5 metabolic pathways might be closely related to Bungarus multicinctus bite. • L-Glutamine was identified as the most effective potential diagnostic biomarker for Bungarus multicinctus bite, which may be due to the significant decrease of glutamine synthase (GS) content. Bungarus multicinctus is one of the top ten venomous snakes in China, and its bite causes acute and severe diseases, but its pathophysiology remains poorly elucidated. Thus, an animal model of Bungarus multicinctus bite was established by intramuscular injection of 30μg/kg of Bungarus multicinctus venom, and then the serum metabolites were subsequently screened, identified and validated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) methods to explore the potential biomakers and possible metabolic pathways. Untargeted metabolomics analysis showed that 36 and 38 endogenous metabolites levels changed in ESI+ and ESI-, respectively, KEGG pathway analysis showed that 5 metabolic pathways, including mineral absorption, central carbon metabolism in cancer, protein digestion and absorption, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis and ABC transporters might be closely related to Bungarus multicinctus bite. Targeted metabolomics analysis showed that there were significant differences in serum D-proline, L-leucine and L-glutamine after Bungarus multicinctus bite (P < 0.05). In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the diagnostic efficiency of L-Glutamine was superior to other potential biomarkers and the AUC value was 0.944. Moreover, we found evidence for differences in the pathophysiology of glutamine between Bungarus multicinctus bite group and normal group, specifically with the content of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutaminase (GLS). Taken together, the current study has successfully established an animal model of Bungarus multicinctus bite, and further identified the links between the metabolic perturbations and the pathophysiology and the potential diagnostic biomakers of Bungarus multicinctus bite, which provided valuable insights for studying the mechanism of Bungarus multicinctus bite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents two ground radiation antennas with simple feeding structures for mobile applications. Characteristic mode theory is exploited to design the proposed antennas. For antenna 1, a small loop without any lumped elements is used as the feeding structure. And the total length of the feeding loop is only 20.2 mm (0.06 λ0.9GHz). The operating band of the proposed antenna 1 is 834‐1020 MHz. Across the whole operating band, the measured efficiencies of antenna 1 are higher than 72%. In addition, a new method to generate an extra resonant frequency is proposed, which has little effect on the existed resonant modes at the lower band. The dual‐mode antenna 2 without loading any lumped elements is obtained by implementing this method, which covers 812‐940 MHz and 1543‐1576 MHz bands. Furthermore, the new resonant frequency can be controlled independently. Namely, the higher frequency band of antenna 2 can be adjusted freely without changing the lower band. To validate the design strategy, two ground radiation antennas are fabricated and measured. The measured results indicate that the proposed antennas are suitable for mobile terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of RE (Sm, Nd, Pr and Ho)-doped Rh@NSPC (NSPC stands for N, S co-doped porous carbon nanosheets) are prepared by a simple joule-heat pyrolysis method for the first time. The optimized Sm-Rh@NSPC achieves highly efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution with superior electrocatalytic property. [Display omitted] • RE (Sm, Nd, Pr and Ho)-doped Rh@NSPC are prepared by joule-heat pyrolysis method. • Collaborative electronic interactions between Sm and Rh clusters. • The overpotential of Sm-Rh@NSPC is merely 18.1 mV at current density of 10 mAcm−2. The unique electronic and crystal structures of rare earth metals (RE) offer promising opportunities for enhancing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) properties of materials. In this work, a series of RE (Sm, Nd, Pr and Ho)-doped Rh@NSPC (NSPC stands for N, S co-doped porous carbon nanosheets) with sizes less than 2 nm are prepared, utilizing a simple, rapid and solvent-free joule-heat pyrolysis method for the first time. The optimized Sm-Rh@NSPC achieves HER performance. The high-catalytic performance and stability of Sm-Rh@NSPC are attributed to the synergistic electronic interactions between Sm and Rh clusters, leading to an increase in the electron cloud density of Rh, which promotes the adsorption of H+, the dissociation of Rh-H bonds and the release of H 2. Notably, the overpotential of the Sm-Rh@NSPC catalyst is a mere 18.1 mV at current density of 10 mAcm−2, with a Tafel slope of only 15.2 mV dec-1. Furthermore, it exhibits stable operation in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte at 10 mA cm−2 for more than 100 h. This study provides new insights into the synthesis of composite RE hybrid cluster nanocatalysts and their RE-enhanced electrocatalytic performance. It also introduces fresh perspectives for the development of efficient electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of silicon‐based anodes is significantly challenged by low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and poor cyclability. Traditional pre‐lithiation reagents often pose safety concerns due to their unstable chemical nature. Achieving a balance between water‐stability and high ICE in prelithiated silicon is a critical issue. Here, we present a lithium‐enriched silicon/graphite material with an ultra‐high ICE of ≥110 % through a high‐stable lithium pre‐storage methodology. Lithium pre‐storage prepared a nano‐drilled graphite material with surficial lithium functional groups, which can form chemical bonds with adjacent silicon during high‐temperature sintering. This results in an unexpected O−Li−Si interaction, leading to in situ pre‐lithiation of silicon nanoparticles and providing high stability in air and water. Additionally, the lithium‐enriched silicon/graphite materials impart a combination of high ICE, high specific capacity (620 mAh g−1), and long cycling stability (>400 cycles). This study opens up a promising avenue for highly air‐ and water‐stable silicon anode prelithiation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of silicon‐based anodes is significantly challenged by low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and poor cyclability. Traditional pre‐lithiation reagents often pose safety concerns due to their unstable chemical nature. Achieving a balance between water‐stability and high ICE in prelithiated silicon is a critical issue. Here, we present a lithium‐enriched silicon/graphite material with an ultra‐high ICE of ≥110 % through a high‐stable lithium pre‐storage methodology. Lithium pre‐storage prepared a nano‐drilled graphite material with surficial lithium functional groups, which can form chemical bonds with adjacent silicon during high‐temperature sintering. This results in an unexpected O−Li−Si interaction, leading to in situ pre‐lithiation of silicon nanoparticles and providing high stability in air and water. Additionally, the lithium‐enriched silicon/graphite materials impart a combination of high ICE, high specific capacity (620 mAh g−1), and long cycling stability (>400 cycles). This study opens up a promising avenue for highly air‐ and water‐stable silicon anode prelithiation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on machine learning algorithms, a method is proposed for quality diagnosis of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) processes used in thermal barrier coatings with determined coating materials and processes, aiming to swiftly evaluate the quality of APS coatings. First, the three-dimensional morphology of the coating is reconstructed through surface interpolation fitting, employing one-dimensional morphology standards and abnormal training set samples of the plasma-sprayed thermal barrier coating. This algorithm enables the extraction of cross section data of the coating at any angle. The mapping relationship between the characteristic parameters of the Gaussian peak and the process and coating characteristics is thoroughly analyzed, and the 12-dimensional characteristic parameters are utilized to effectively represent the one-dimensional morphology samples. Subsequently, principal component analysis (PCA) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithms are employed for accurate prediction and classification of the process quality of coating samples. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) model is established to comprehensively depict the relationship between plasma spraying process parameters, the process, and the three-dimensional morphology of the coating. The experimental results show that the machine learning algorithm has high accuracy in quality diagnosis, and its robustness is further verified by K-fold cross-validation. When combined with the EFA model, the proposed method facilitates rapid feedback on process quality, enabling real-time evaluation. Overall, this innovative approach presents a novel solution for the quality diagnosis of atmospheric plasma spraying processes. The incorporation of machine learning techniques and the establishment of the EFA model contribute to enhanced efficiency and accuracy in the evaluation process, paving the way for advancements in thermal barrier coating applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swift  J1818.0–1607 discovered in early 2020 is not only the fifth magnetar known with periodic radio pulsations but also the fastest rotating one. Simultaneous 2.25/8.60 GHz observations of Swift  J1818.0–1607 were carried out with Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) from MJD 58936 to 59092. The spin-frequency ν and first-order derivative |$\dot{\nu }$| of this magnetar were obtained with piecewise fitting method because of its instable timing properties. We found that the amplitude of short-term |$\dot{\nu }$| fluctuations decreased with time, and the long-term declining trend of ν discovered previously continued in our observations. The best fit long-term |$\dot{\nu }$| were about |$-2.25\times 10^{-11} \, \mathrm{s}^{-2}$| using our observation data spanning 156 d. The derived characteristic age was about 522 yr, supporting the recent viewpoint that this magnetar may be older than initially thought shortly after its discovery. The flux density of this magnetar was increased at both 2.25 and 8.60 GHz during our observations, and its radio spectrum became flatter at the same time. We also detected bright-quiet type emission mode switching in Swift  J1818.0–1607. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swift  J1818.0–1607 discovered in early 2020 is not only the fifth magnetar known with periodic radio pulsations but also the fastest rotating one. Simultaneous 2.25/8.60 GHz observations of Swift  J1818.0–1607 were carried out with Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) from MJD 58936 to 59092. The spin-frequency ν and first-order derivative |$\dot{\nu }$| of this magnetar were obtained with piecewise fitting method because of its instable timing properties. We found that the amplitude of short-term |$\dot{\nu }$| fluctuations decreased with time, and the long-term declining trend of ν discovered previously continued in our observations. The best fit long-term |$\dot{\nu }$| were about |$-2.25\times 10^{-11} \, \mathrm{s}^{-2}$| using our observation data spanning 156 d. The derived characteristic age was about 522 yr, supporting the recent viewpoint that this magnetar may be older than initially thought shortly after its discovery. The flux density of this magnetar was increased at both 2.25 and 8.60 GHz during our observations, and its radio spectrum became flatter at the same time. We also detected bright-quiet type emission mode switching in Swift  J1818.0–1607. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common pathological process that is globally associated with a high morbidity and mortality rate. The underlying AKI mechanisms include over-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cell infiltration, and high levels of inflammatory mediators. Bilirubin is an endogenous compound with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties, and could, therefore, be a promising therapeutic candidate. Nanotechnology-mediated therapy has emerged as a novel drug delivery strategy for AKI treatment. In this study, we report a hyaluronic acid (HA) coated ε-polylysine-bilirubin conjugate (PLBR) nanoparticle (nHA/PLBR) that can selectively accumulate in injured kidneys and alleviate the oxidative/inflammatory-induced damage. The in vitro study revealed that nHA/PLBR has good stability, biocompatibility, and exhibited higher antioxidant as well as anti-apoptotic effects when compared to nPLBR or bilirubin. The in vivo study showed that nHA/PLBR could target and accumulate in the injured kidney, effectively relieve oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions, protect the structure and function of the mitochondria, and more importantly, inhibit the apoptosis of tubular cells in an ischemia/reperfusion-induced AKI rat model. Therefore, nHA/PLBR has the capacity to enhance specific biodistribution and delivery efficiency of bilirubin, thereby providing better treatment for AKI in the future. [Display omitted] • HA coated bilirubin nanoparticles (nHA/PLBR) attenuate kidney I/R injury. • HA improves the targetability of bilirubin nanomedicine to the injured kidney. • nHA/PLBR holds distinct antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. • nHA/PLBR has high safety and biocompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium doped La9.33Si6−xVxO26+0.5x (x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5) (LSVO) electrolyte powder was prepared by combustion method at 600°C for 5‐7 min. The powder was sintered at 1500°C for 3 hours to prepare LSVO ceramics. XPS, IR, XRD, and EIS analysis show that V5+ doping replaces Si4+ in [SiO4] to form [Si(V)O4] tetrahedron. With the increase in x, the lattice volume increase. When x = 2.0, the LaVO4 phase was formed, indicating that the limit doping amount of V5+ replacing Si4+ is x ≤ 1.5. The conductivity of LSVO increases significantly with the increase in x (x ≤ 1.0), which attributed to the xV5+⟶xSi4+xVSi∙+1/2xOi∗// defect reaction caused by V5+ doping. The addition of the interstitial oxygen Oi* in 63 channels and the increase of lattice volume leads to increased conductivity. When x = 1.0, the highest conductivity is 1.46 × 10−2 S·cm−1 (800°C). The doping enhancement conductivity mechanism is the Interstitial oxygen defect‐Lattice volume composite enhancement mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional (2D) Dirac materials have received tremendous attention due to their potential applications in spintronics and energy applications. Motivated by recent experimental synthesis of a carbon nitride network with a C22N4 stoichiometry, the N-doped graphdiyne, or pyrazinoquinoxaline-based graphdiyne (PQ-GDY), we studied the electronic and topological properties of the PQ-GDY monolayer using first-principles calculations. Surprisingly, we found that the PQ-GDY monolayer indeed is a 2D Dirac semimetal also known as 2D topologically nontrivial semimetal. The linear band dispersions around the Dirac point are mainly composed of the bonding and antibonding pz-orbitals of C and N atoms. In combination with parity analysis, we found that the mechanism of band inversion in PQ-GDY is similar to the strain-induced Dirac cone in GDY. The underlying physical property of strained GDY is equivalent to expanding the single center benzene into the three benzene rings observed in PQ-GDY. Finally, the formed Dirac cone located on the Y − Γ high-symmetry line is very robust, and a bandgap is opened only after including a large artificial spin–orbit coupling, which transforms it to a 2D topological insulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to investigate the role of free triiodothyronine (FT3) in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis. 137 consecutive inpatients (2016–2019) were registered prospectively and followed up for 12 months. 96 eligible patients were included in the study. The modified Rankin scale (mRS) score was collected, and the score of 3–6 was defined as a poor outcome. The patients were equally classified into 3 subgroups based on their FT3 levels obtained within 24 h of admission, and the subgroup differences were analyzed by parametric or nonparametric tests as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was performed. We found that there was no difference in the mRS scores upon admission among 3 subgroups, however, patients in the low-FT3 subgroup tended to have higher disease severity during hospitalization and worse outcome in follow-up visits, represented by higher chances of intense care unit (ICU) admission (P < 0.001), longer hospital stay (P < 0.001), greater maximum mRS scores during hospitalization (P = 0.011), lower rates of getting clinical improvement within 4 weeks of starting treatment (P = 0.006), and higher percentages of poor 1-year outcome (P = 0.002). The level of FT3 was an independent factor correlated with ICU admission (P = 0.002) and might be a potential predictor for 1-year outcome. Our preliminary results suggest that the FT3 may be a risk factor involved in the evolution and progression of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, whereas the underline mechanisms remain to be explored. Attention should be paid to these patients with relatively low FT3 upon admission, which might possibly aid clinical prediction and guide clinical decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this research was to investigate the alterations in functional brain networks and to assess the relationship between depressive impairment and topological network changes in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with depression (DPD). Methods: Twenty‐two DPD patients, 23 PD patients without depression (NDPD), and 25 matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. All participants were examined by resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Graph theoretical analysis and network‐based statistic methods were used to analyze brain network topological properties and abnormal subnetworks, respectively. Results: The DPD group showed significantly decreased local efficiency compared with the HC group (P =.008, FDR corrected). In nodal metrics analyses, the degree of the right inferior occipital gyrus (P =.0001, FDR corrected) was positively correlated with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores in the DPD group. Meanwhile, the temporal visual cortex, including the bilateral middle temporal gyri and right inferior temporal gyrus in the HC and NDPD groups and the left posterior cingulate gyrus in the NDPD group, was defined as hub region, but not in the DPD group. Compared with the HC group, the DPD group had extensive weakening of connections between the temporal‐occipital visual cortex and the prefrontal‐limbic network. Conclusions: These results suggest that PD depression is associated with disruptions in the topological organization of functional brain networks, mainly involved the temporal‐occipital visual cortex and the posterior cingulate gyrus and may advance our current understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying DPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that the valveless piezoelectric pump with streamline flow tubes (VPPSFTs) can increase the flow rate while reducing the vortex, which has a broad application prospect and conforms to the huge potential demand in the fields of medical treatment, sanitation, and health care. The flow runner of the VPPSFT was designed as two segments with a smooth transition between the hyperbola segment and the arc segment. However, the effect of the radius of the arc segment on pump performance is not clear. Therefore, three groups of VPPSFT with arc segments of different curvature radii were designed in this study, and the influence of curvature radius of arc segment on the pump performance was explored. On the basis of the theoretical analysis of fluid continuity and conservation of energy, the structure of VPPSFT was designed, the experimental test was carried out, and the finite element simulation software was used for numerical analysis. The results show that the output performance increases with the increase in the radius of the arc segment, and the maximum flow rate was 116.78 mL/min. The amplitude and the flow rate are almost the same trend as the frequency. This study improves the performance of the valveless piezoelectric pump and provides reference for the structure design of VPPSFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prussian blue nanoparticles (PBNPs) have been synthesized by using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as a surfactant and ethyl alcohol as a green solvent. The products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) to analyse the structure, morphology, surface elements, specific surface area and porosity, respectively. It was found that the specific surface area of PB-120 was 90.527 m2 g−1. When the as-prepared PBNPs were applied as heterogeneous photo-Fenton catalysts, they exhibit high catalytic efficiency and stability of degrading Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light in neutral system. The catalytic degradation of 25 mg L−1 RhB by PB-120 only needed 15 min, while the high degradation rate (83%) of RhB after 4 cycles of degradation could be achieved. The as-prepared PBNPs may be employed as excellent catalysts to degrade organic pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanic activity was quite frequent during the deposition of the Late Carboniferous Ha'erjiawu Formation in the Santanghu Basin. The petrology and organic and inorganic geochemical indicators were used to investigate hydrocarbon potential, paleoenvironmental conditions and organic matter enrichment of the mudstones. The results show that the oil generation capacity of the Ha'erjiawu Formation mudstones, which has abundant oil-prone organic matter (Type II kerogen with hydrogen index values mainly ranging from 250 to 550 mg HC/g TOC) in mature stage (Tmax values mainly ranging from 435 to 450 °C), is considerable. The Ha'erjiawu Formation was deposited in a dysoxic, freshwater-mildly brackish, and warm-humid environment. During its deposition, the Ha'erjiawu Formation received hydrothermal inputs. The volcanic hydrothermal activities played an important role in the organic matter enrichment. In addition, the total organic carbon (TOC) is significantly positively correlated with the felsic mineral content, but it is negatively correlated with the carbonate mineral content and C27/C29 ratios, indicating that terrigenous organic matter input also contributed to the primary productivity in the surface water. Therefore, the formation of the high-quality source rocks in the Ha'erjiawu Formation was jointly affected by the hydrothermal activity and the terrigenous organic matter input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Co-MOF/GO activated PMS could remove BAC in a wide pH range of 3–11. • SO 4 − and OH were identified as critical precursors for 1O 2 generation rather than DO and O 2 –. • Co (II) and Co (III) act as dominant active sites for PMS attachment. Peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-triggered non-radical pathways have potential for environmental application due to the high activity and pH tolerance of singlet oxygen (1O 2). However, the mechanism of 1O 2 generation remains unclear. Herein, new insights into 1O 2 generation are discussed based on the postulated precursors of PMS, DO, O 2 –, SO 4 −, and OH with Co-MOF/GO catalyst. According to experimental results and theoretical calculation, Co (II) and Co (III) were identified as dominant active sites for PMS attachment, leading to the simultaneous breakage of S-O and O-O bonds and the generation of SO 4 −, OH, and 1O 2. SO 4 − and OH were critical precursors for 1O 2 generation, while PMS self-decomposition had a small contribution. DO and O 2 – acted more likely as quenchers than vital precursors of 1O 2. Results provide in-depth understanding of the mechanism of 1O 2 generation to broaden the application prospects of PMS oxidation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RBF interpolation with multi-quadric is developed to perform TEC mapping. • The developed RBF interpolation provide good performance. • A random distribution of measurement points gives smaller RMSE. Radial basis function (RBF) interpolation with multi-quadric is developed to perform ionospheric total electron content (TEC) mapping for the Chinese region between 15°N ~ 40°N and 100°E ~ 125°E. TEC measurements from the Centre for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) covering the solar maximum year 2011 are used to investigate the performance of the proposed RBF interpolation method. The differences between the RBF interpolated TEC and the CODE TEC are within 0.5 TECU and the root mean square error (RMSE) is very small when 49 data points are used. The maximum difference is ~5 TECU and the error is less than 1 TECU with 25 samples. Our study suggests that a random distribution of measurement points gives smaller RMSEs than a homogenous distribution when the number of sample points is low. The study indicates that RBF interpolation offers a powerful and reliable tool for ionospheric TEC mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The world is facing the global spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). T cell-induced immune responses during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection have rarely been reported.Methods: We use cell counting chips and PCR arrays to offer the first insights into the T cell involved in the course of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. All consecutive patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection treated at the designated hospital between January 2020 and February 2020 were recruited for the study, and cases were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Baseline characteristics for inpatients were prospectively collected and analyzed.Results: 96 patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection in our center were screened for inclusion in the study. The median age of the patients was 39.0 years, and 47 (49.0%) were female. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only the CD4+ cell counts were significantly lower in the infection group and slightly higher in the control group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed good discrimination power between subjects with and subjects without infection.Limitations: This is a single-center study of patients with a specific ethnic background and lacks a mechanism.Conclusions: These findings imply the importance of CD4+ T cells (but not CD8+ and CD3+ T cells) in SARS-CoV-2 infection associated pneumonia and indicate that CD4+ T cells might be important for the control of SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, by replacing the integral mass flow equation to fractional-order mass flow equation, the fractional-order mathematical model of 2DOF pneumatic-hydraulic upper limb rehabilitation training system is established. A new 2DOF fractional-order fuzzy PID (FOFPID) controller is designed, to provides a new reference for improving the control accuracy of the pneumatic system. In the design of the controller, the weight parameters of the input terms are transformed into the weight parameters of the error, and the input, which are analyzed to improve the accuracy of the controller design. The parameters of the control system are determined by multi-objective particle swarm optimization. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed control method, the experimental research was carried out by building the experimental platform of pneumatic-hydraulic upper limb rehabilitation training system. The results show that the 2DOF FOFPID controller has better performance than other designed controllers under different working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the safety and therapeutic efficacy of adjuvant cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells to minimally invasive therapies in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC).Materials and Methods: Hundred patients diagnosed with having u-HCC in our department from January 1, 2001, to July 31, 2018, were recruited. Forty-three patients received microwave ablation (MWA) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) together with autologous CIK cell treatment (TACE + MWA + CIK group), whereas 57 patients received TACE and MWA only (TACE + MWA group). Postprocedural complications and cumulative therapeutic effects were assessed in all patients. The disease control rate, median survival time (MST), and cumulative survival rate were compared between the cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method and unpaired Student's t-tests.Results: The overall response (complete response [CR] + partial response [PR]) rate was 74.42% (32/43) and 77.19% (44/57) for TACE + MWA + CIK and TACE + MWA groups, respectively (P = 0.243). Those of the TACE + MWA + CIK group had better rates of disease control (CR + PR + stable disease) in contrast to the TACE + MWA group (87.72% vs. 79.07%, respectively) but this failed to achieve statistical significance (P = 0.748). Based on the Kaplan-Meier survival graphs, those of the TACE + MWA + CIK groups possessed markedly increased overall survival (41 months vs. 24 months, P = 0.002) and progression-free survival (17 months vs. 10 months, P = 0.023) rates in compared to the TACE + MWA group. Survival rates were raised also TACE + MWA + CIK group than in TACE + MWA group (P = 0.002), with a MST of 6.13 ± 0.83 months and 11.61 ± 1.59 months in the TACE + MWA + CIK and TACE + MWA groups, respectively. Patients in the TACE + MWA + CIK group were not reported to have any severe complications.Conclusion: CIK cell immunotherapy as an adjuvant to TACE and MWA enhanced long-term prognosis and improved quality of life in patients with u-HCC. This regimen may be recommended as a novel treatment regime in u-HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]