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Liquid oxygen chill-down in a vertical exit-contracted pipe was investigated experimentally. The wall temperatures were recorded in detail to describe the filling and chill-down process of the experimental section. Two quenching fronts, the exit one and the inlet one, were detected, and their propagations were found. Results show that the chill-down process is controlled mainly by the formation and propagation of quenching front, which are determined by the pressure level. With the increase of pressure, the roles of both propagation of quenching front and inlet quenching front undergo decreasing. On the vertical section, the effect of circumferential position was discussed in detail and the dominant point was identified, which determines the boiling transition time of the dominated points on the current cross-section. Based on the experimental data, two correlations were suggested for dominant point and dominated points, respectively, to predict heat flux on Leidenfrost, heat transfer coefficient on Leidenfrost, and critical heat flux. One equation was approved to predict heat transfer coefficient on critical heat flux point for both sorts of points. All of these correlations could produce reliable predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millisecond laser processing has advantages in terms of depth, efficiency, and cost. The evolution mechanism of the laser ablation of SiC f /SiC fabricated through melt infiltration remains unclear. Therefore, spatio-temporal multi-scale observation is proposed. The information of gas, plasma, and droplets is collected and analysed. The results reveal that laser power and the type of assist gas considerably affect the material removal, hole morphology, and efficiency. Typical topographies, such as crack propagation, fibre fracture, recasting, and debonding are clarified with various melting temperatures and internal stress induced by temperature gradient. Additionally, the distribution of elements Si and C is exclusive, which is clarified with surface tension, melting temperature difference, chemical reaction, and intervention of assist gas. The simulation model based on heat transfer laws and the birth-death element method verifies the rationality of the evolutionary model of the hole morphology. Moreover, the simulation model established for first pulse ablation in N 2 indicates that a limited increase in maximum depth at high power can be attributed to the plasma shielding effect. This study can guide the processing of parts in the aerospace and nuclear industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When an electromagnetic wave passes through the atmosphere, due to variation of atmospheric parameters, its propagation path is usually altered and the propagation speed also changes. Therefore, errors will be induced in triangulation measurement with electronic surveying robots, delimiting the accuracy of trigonometric leveling. Targeting at improving the accuracy of trigonometric leveling, a correction model based on atmospheric refraction coefficients is proposed in this article. First, based on the meteorological parameters collected on-site and Rüeger equation, influence of the meteorological parameters (e.g., temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and CO2) on the refractive index are analyzed. Furthermore, gradient models of temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure with reference to height are established. In order to build the atmospheric gradient models of the optical path, height difference between the optical path and the ground is estimated with a precise digital elevation model generated by laser scanning. On this basis, the vertical atmospheric refraction coefficient model is proposed and used to correct the trigonometric leveling data measured by surveying robots. By conducting experimental studies over two open-pit iron mines with large topographic relief and comparing with first-class leveling data, reliability of the proposed atmospheric refraction coefficient model is assessed. The outcome of this article has demonstrated that by adopting the proposed model, accuracy of trigonometric leveling can meet the requirements of second-class leveling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been applied in thoracic surgery and are beneficial to patients. However, some issues about ERAS are still pending. Methods A total of 1,654 patients who underwent thoracic surgery under the guidance of ERAS protocols were enrolled in this study. We set the length of postoperative stay (LOPS) as our key research indicator. Patients were divided into routine discharge group and delayed discharge group based on LOPS. Causes of delayed discharge were analyzed to improve management of postoperative recovery. Results Male, old age, underlying disease (coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, old cerebral infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and arrhythmia), intensive care unit (ICU) stay, type of insurance, and lower forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) are the independent impact factors causing delayed discharge. Increased nonchylous drainage (INCD) and prolonged air leakage were the two leading causes for delayed discharge. Conclusion Patients should have personalized recovery goal under the same ERAS protocols. We should accept that patients in poor general condition have a prolonged LOPS. More stringent ICU stay indications should be developed to increase postoperative patients' ERAS protocols compliance. Further research on chest tube management will make a contribution to ERAS protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The abundance of nitrogen (N)-cycling genes is frequently used to indicate N cycling and predict N2O emissions. However, it remains difficult to clearly define how soil N-cycling genes in different ecosystems respond to anthropogenic N additions. Methods: We applied a meta-analysis approach to examine data about N-cycling genes (nifH, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nirK, nirS, and nosZ) in different ecosystems from 119 peer-reviewed articles. Results: In the ecosystems examined, the patterns of change in the abundances of the target genes, apart from AOA, varied considerably. This variation reflects the distinctive soil characteristics of ecosystems that develop when different forms of N are applied at different rates and over different durations. The nifH abundance decreased significantly, by 32.79%, in forests but did not change in grasslands and croplands. The AOB abundance increased in all three ecosystems, by 193.06% in grasslands, 73.26% in forests, and 151.86% in croplands, respectively. The denitrification gene abundances, namely the nirK, nirS, and nosZ, in croplands also increased significantly, by 60.74%, 47.42%, and 69.54%, respectively. Conclusion: In general, climate factors and long-term applications of organic N at high rates had significant effects on the gene abundances in different ecosystems, through their influence on soil properties. An enhanced understanding of how N additions influence the abundance of other N-cycling functional genes can help us improve our ability to model the populations and activities of microbial functional communities and predict N fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxicarioside H-mediated modulation of the immune microenvironment attenuates ovalbumin-induced allergic airway inflammation by inhibiting NETosis. In the presence of allergens like OVA, neutrophils and other inflammatory cells are recruited, triggering NETosis and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This process disrupts the balance of immune cells, affecting Th1 and Th2 cells, IL-17 and Treg cells, and memory T cells, thereby promoting allergic asthmatic inflammation. However, ToxH, similar to NEi or NAC, can inhibit NETosis and ROS production, thus modulating the immune environment in allergic asthma and reducing inflammation. [Display omitted] • The novel structural cardiac glycoside, Toxicarioside H (ToxH), effectively inhibits ovalbumin-induced allergic airway inflammation. • ToxH regulates the airway immune microenvironment by maintaining a balance between Th1 and Th2 cells, Th17 and Treg cells, as well as memory T cells. • ToxH mitigates airway inflammation and alters the airway immune microenvironment by suppressing NETosis and reducing ROS production. • Modulating the balance of immune cells in the lung microenvironment with ToxH may represent a promising strategy for treating allergic airway inflammation. Our team identified a new cardiac glycoside, Toxicarioside H (ToxH), in a tropical plant. Previous research has indicated the potential of cardenolides in mitigating inflammation, particularly in the context of NETosis. Therefore, this study sought to examine the potential of ToxH in attenuating allergic airway inflammation by influencing the immune microenvironment. An OVA-induced airway inflammation model was established in BALB/c mice. After the experiment was completed, serum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung tissue samples were collected and further examined using H&E and PAS staining, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence observation, and Western blot analysis. Treatment with ToxH was found to be effective in reducing airway inflammation and mucus production. This was accompanied by an increase in Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-β), and the Th17 cytokine IL-17, while levels of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) and Treg cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β1) were decreased in both the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and the CD45+ immune cells in the lungs. Additionally, ToxH inhibited the infiltration of inflammatory cells and decreased the number of pulmonary CD44+ memory T cells, while augmenting the numbers of Th17 and Treg cells. Furthermore, the neutrophil elastase inhibitor GW311616A was observed to suppress airway inflammation and mucus production, as well as alter the secretion of immune Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg cytokines in the lung CD45+ immune cells. Moreover, our study also demonstrated that treatment with ToxH efficiently inhibited ROS generation, thereby rectifying the dysregulation of immune cells in the immune microenvironment in OVA-induced allergic asthma. Our findings indicate that ToxH could serve as a promising therapeutic intervention for allergic airway inflammation and various other inflammatory disorders. Modulating the balance of Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 cells within the pulmonary immune microenvironment may offer an effective strategy for controlling allergic airway inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the phenomenon of knowledge overload becomes more and more obvious, the automatic summarization technology still needs to break through the bottleneck in order to improve the application value and expand the scope of the application. Traditional training paradigms for extractive summarization systems suffer from the inconsistency in training and evaluation. In this paper, we propose an innovative and interpretable contrastive learning based framework for extractive summarization called DCDSum , which comprises a D iverse Oracle evaluator, a C ontrastive learning extractor, and a D ynamic Top-k selector. Different from previous models that consider the extractive summarization task as a sequence labeling problem, our contrastive learning extractor treats it as a sentence reranking problem and introduces contrastive loss to achieve it, which can bridge the gap between objective function and evaluation metrics. The experimental results demonstrate the outstanding performance of our approach on the CNN/DailyMail, XSum, and PubMed datasets, achieving highly competitive results. In particular, our method achieves ROUGE-1 of 44.65, ROUGE-2 of 21.32, and ROUGE-L of 40.87 on the CNN/DailyMail dataset. The outcomes across various evaluation metrics substantiate that the Diverse Oracle extraction algorithm adeptly captures a broader array of sentences with reduced redundancy, consequently enhancing the interpretability of the DCDSum framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleutherococcus senticosus , a medicinal and edible plant recognized historically in East Asia, is characterized by a rich composition of saponins and other biologically active ingredients. In this study, 11 cytosine-5 DNA methyltransferases (C5-MTase) and 6 demethylases (dMTase) genes were identified within the genome of E. senticosus. Specifically, two major EsC5-MTases (EsMET1a and EsCMT3b) and two EsdMTases (EsROS1a and EsDME1) were screened through correlation analysis, examining the relationship between their gene expression levels and DNA methylation ratio within E. senticosus genome. Promoter function analysis revealed that the expression of these four prominent genes was regulated by abiotic stresses such as drought and light. In vitro catalytic validation demonstrated the functionality of Es MET1a, Es CMT3b, Es ROS1a, and Es DME1 proteins in modifying DNA methylation patterns of key enzyme genes associated with saponin synthesis in E. senticosus. Additionally, transient in vivo overexpression of the four central genes could alter the saponin content by modulating the DNA methylation levels and secondary metabolic processes in E. senticosus. Molecular docking studies further elucidated the possible mechanism of DNA methylation and demethylation catalyzed by these four primary proteins. [Display omitted] • EsC5-MTase and EsdMTase of Eleutherococcus senticosus were identified. • EsC5-MTase and EsdMTase that play a major role were screened out. • Expression control factors of the effect EsC5-MTase and EsdMTase were clarified. • The function and working mechanism of EsC5-MTase and EsdMTase are explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fear response is a crucial adaptive mechanism for coping with environmental changes, and the individuals have different levels of fearfulness. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of the immune response and gut health in hens with different fear responses. A total of 80 healthy 75-wk-old native Lindian chickens were individually housed in conventional cages and categorized into high (TH) and low (TL) levels of fearfulness using the tonic immobility (TI) test. The immunological status and intestinal health of the laying hens were assessed, and the intestinal microbial community was sequenced using 16S rRNA testing. The results showed that the immune-related genes of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, and IgG were significantly upregulated in the spleen of TH hens compared with hens in the TL group (P < 0.01). The inflammatory immune-related genes Toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, IL-10, and IgG were significantly increased in the intestinal tract, whereas IL-4, IgA, and the intestinal barrier gene claudin-4 were significantly decreased in TH hens (P < 0.05). In addition, serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, interferon (IFN)-α and IgG were significantly higher in TH hens (P < 0.01). A high fear response also led to changes in gut microbial diversity, with a higher Simpson's index and lower β-diversity similarity than hens with a low-fear response (P < 0.05). The TH group showed an increase in 8 genera, including Bacillaceae and Coprococcus , whereas the genus Anaerorhabdus decreased (P < 0.05). The gut microbiota has also been associated with gut barrier genes, and inflammatory cytokines. Bartonella stimulates IL-1β and IgG secretion, whereas Lactobacillus inhibits IL-6 secretion, and Coprococcus and Subdoligranulum are associated with the maintenance of intestinal barrier function. The results of this study suggest that laying hens with high fear response levels have a more sensitive immune response and a more enriched gut microbiota, which may have positive effects on adapting to a complex environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolymer has emerged as an environmentally sustainable alternative to cement for soil stabilization. Although machine learning technology exhibits great potential in designing the geopolymer, its current applications are limited to specific types of geopolymer. This study introduces a composition-based method to develop a machine learning model that facilitates the mix design of diverse types of geopolymer. A unique dataset comprising 990 mix designs of geopolymer for soil stabilization was established. Based on this dataset, a composition-informed machine learning model was developed to predict the unconfined compressive strength of geopolymer-stabilized soils. By using the developed model, a generic framework for the mix design of diverse types of geopolymer is proposed. The performance of the developed model and the effectiveness of the mix designs derived from the proposed framework was evaluated by using datasets that are independent of the dataset established in this study. The results show that the developed model enables the reasonable predictions of the strength of geopolymer-stabilized soils. The mix designs formulated based on the proposed framework is comparable to those derived from experimental studies. The proposed framework can serve as a cost-effective and efficient toolkit for the mix design of diverse of types of geopolymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its convenient application in utilizing the medium-deep geothermal energy, the deep borehole heat exchanger has received extensive attention. Here we initiated an integrated system by coupling the multi-casing deep borehole heat exchanger (MDBHE) and heat pump to realize heat extraction and heating in the whole well in winter, and heat storage and cooling in the well upper part in summer. In the MDBHE, an annular pipe was used to store heat. Through the analysis of the simulation results of the influence of several variables on the system performance, it is found that the increase of heat storage temperature, annular pipe length and formation thermal conductivity raised the heat storage rate of the system, but the geothermal gradient is opposite. Benefiting from heat storage, the heat extraction rates in winter is also improved. Meanwhile, the heat pump elevated the heating rate by 15.9% in winter, and the cooling rate of the heat pump were respectively 19.3%, 21.5% and 23.7% less than the heat storage rate of the MDBHE based on the heat storage temperature of 40, 45 and 50 °C. Therefore, the integrated system can simultaneously satisfy the requirements of summer cooling and winter heating and maintain the formation heat balance, so that the urban heat island effect is mitigated. • The multi-casing deep borehole heat exchanger realizes heat extraction and storage. • Heat storage in summer improves heat extraction performance in winter. • MDBHE combined with heat pump achieves winter heating and summer cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an alginate-collagen interpenetrating network (IPN) matrix of incorporating collagen fibrils into an alginate hydrogel by physical mixing and controlled gelation. The resulting matrix closely mimics the physiological and pathological stiffness range of the chondrocyte pericellular matrix (PCM). Chondrocytes were cultured within three-dimensional (3D) alginate-collagen IPN matrices with varying stiffness, namely Firm, Medium, and Soft. Alginate lyase was introduced to study the effects of the changes in stiffness of the Firm on chondrocyte response by in situ softening. The developed alginate-collagen IPN matrix displayed good cell-biocompatibility. Compared with stiffer tissue culture plastic (TCP), chondrocytes grown within Firm displayed a stabilized differentiated phenotype characterized by higher expression levels of aggrecan, collagen II, and SOX-9. Moreover, the developed alginate-collagen IPN matrix exhibited a gradually increased percentage of propidium iodide (PI)-positive dead cells with decreasing stiffness. Softer matrices directed cells towards higher proliferation rates and spherical morphologies while stimulating chondrocyte cluster formation. Furthermore, reducing Firm stiffness by in situ softening decreased aggrecan expression, contributing to matrix degradation similar to that seen in osteoarthritis (OA). Hence, the 3D alginate-collagen IPN constructs hold significant potential for in vitro replicating PCM stiffness changes observed in OA cartilage. • Alginate and collagen are blended to create a bespoke hydrogel that mimics the stiffness of the PCM of human chondrocytes. • Modifying the matrix stiffness by in situ softening was essential for studying cartilage physiology and pathology. • This study presents a new toolkit to probing mechanobiology of articular cartilage function and dysfunction. • The IPN matrix will enhance the clinical translatability of future studies conducted using this culture platform. • It provides methods by which other researchers can study the osteoarthritis disease state in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, motivate by quantile in the field statistics and bounded linex loss function a novel robust bounded quantile loss is proposed for improving the performance of support vector machine (SVM) and support vector regression (SVR). The bounded quantile loss has some important properties such as asymmetry, non-convexity, which make SVM and SVR based on bounded quantile (BQ-SVM and BQ-SVR) robust to noise. The Fisher consistency and generalization error bound of BQ-SVM guarantees the generalization capability of BQ-SVM. In addition, we derive the influence functions of BQ-SVM and BQ-SVR to show that they are less sensitive to outliers. However, the non-convexity of the proposed bounded quantile makes it difficult to optimize. We utilize the concave-convex procedure (CCCP) technique to solve the proposed models. A host of numerical studies on artificial and benchmark datasets are conducted, and various evaluation criteria were considered to demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed method. Experimental results indicate that our proposed methods is more robust compare to classical and advanced methods when the dataset contains outliers in both classification and regression applications. • A novel bounded quantile loss (L b q loss) is proposed for robust learning problems. • The support vector machines based methods with L b q loss (BQ-SVM and BQ- SVR) are robust. • The designed ClipDCD-based CCCP algorithm is efficient to solve the BQ-SVM and BQ-SVR. • Numerical and theoretical results demonstrate the effectiveness of BQ-SVM and BQ-SVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an alginate-collagen interpenetrating network (IPN) matrix of incorporating collagen fibrils into an alginate hydrogel by physical mixing and controlled gelation. The resulting matrix closely mimics the physiological and pathological stiffness range of the chondrocyte pericellular matrix (PCM). Chondrocytes were cultured within three-dimensional (3D) alginate-collagen IPN matrices with varying stiffness, namely Firm, Medium, and Soft. Alginate lyase was introduced to study the effects of the changes in stiffness of the Firm on chondrocyte response by in situ softening. The developed alginate-collagen IPN matrix displayed good cell-biocompatibility. Compared with stiffer tissue culture plastic (TCP), chondrocytes grown within Firm displayed a stabilized differentiated phenotype characterized by higher expression levels of aggrecan, collagen II, and SOX-9. Moreover, the developed alginate-collagen IPN matrix exhibited a gradually increased percentage of propidium iodide (PI)-positive dead cells with decreasing stiffness. Softer matrices directed cells towards higher proliferation rates and spherical morphologies while stimulating chondrocyte cluster formation. Furthermore, reducing Firm stiffness by in situ softening decreased aggrecan expression, contributing to matrix degradation similar to that seen in osteoarthritis (OA). Hence, the 3D alginate-collagen IPN constructs hold significant potential for in vitro replicating PCM stiffness changes observed in OA cartilage. • Alginate and collagen are blended to create a bespoke hydrogel that mimics the stiffness of the PCM of human chondrocytes. • Modifying the matrix stiffness by in situ softening was essential for studying cartilage physiology and pathology. • This study presents a new toolkit to probing mechanobiology of articular cartilage function and dysfunction. • The IPN matrix will enhance the clinical translatability of future studies conducted using this culture platform. • It provides methods by which other researchers can study the osteoarthritis disease state in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal catalysts are particularly effective in improving the kinetics of the reversible hydrogen storage reaction for light metal hydrides. Herein, K2MoO4 microrods were prepared using a simple evaporative crystallization method, and it was confirmed that the kinetic properties of magnesium hydride could be adjusted by doping cubic K2MoO4 into MgH2. Its unique cubic structure forms new species in the process of hydrogen absorption and desorption, which shows excellent catalytic activity in the process of hydrogen storage in MgH2. The dissociation and adsorption time of hydrogen is related to the amount of K2MoO4. Generally speaking, the more K2MoO4, the faster the kinetic performance and the shorter the time used. According to the experimental results, the initial dehydrogenation temperature of MgH2 + 10 wt% K2MoO4 composite is 250 °C, which is about 110 °C lower than that of As-received MgH2. At 320 °C, almost all dehydrogenation was completed within 11 min. In the temperature rise hydrogen absorption test, the composite system can start to absorb hydrogen at about 70 °C. At 200 °C and 3 MPa hydrogen pressure, 5.5 wt% H2 can be absorbed within 20 min. In addition, the activation energy of hydrogen absorption and dehydrogenation of the composite system decreased by 14.8 kJ/mol and 26.54 kJ/mol, respectively, compared to pure MgH2. In the cycle-stability test of the composite system, the hydrogen storage capacity of MgH2 can still reach more than 92% after the end of the 10th cycle, and the hydrogen storage capacity only decreases by about 0.49 wt%. The synergistic effect among the new species MgO, MgMo2O7, and KH generated in situ during the reaction may help to enhance the absorption and dissociation of H2 on the Mg/MgH2 surface and improve the kinetics of MgH2 for absorption and dehydrogenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need to address the mental health issues for the future adoption of e-learning among massive students in higher education. This study takes a lead to investigate whether and how general anxiety will influence college students' e-learning intention to provide knowledge to better improve the e-learning technology.Methods: We adopted the Technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine the difference between students with and without general anxiety in the e-learning intention where the students are classified based on the General Anxiety Disorder-2 scale. The model is empirically analyzed based on a survey of 512 college students in China regarding their e-learning experience in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Results demonstrate that the TAM is powerful in explaining the e-learning intention among college students with general anxiety. Besides, all effects associated with perceived usefulness (PU) are reinforced while those associated with perceived ease of use (PEOU) are attenuated in the anxiety group. The results suggest that instructors and higher education institutions should take advantage of the significant PU-intention relationship by providing quality e-learning, which is paramount to coping with the general anxiety among students.Limitations: This study provides a prototype attempt to investigate the influence of anxiety on e-learning where the different types of anxiety sources are synthesized. However, anxiety can stem from internal sources (computer anxiety, academic stress) and external sources (fear of the virus, lack of social interaction), which requires further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, wearable electronic devices and human–computer interaction are developing prosperously, which expands the requirement of flexible sensing materials. Graphene and its derivatives with extraordinary advantages are highly attractive precursors. However, it is difficult to assemble graphene into macroscopic cubes with good fatigue resistance performance. Here, we propose an efficient way to manufacture a lamellar-structural rGO aerogel with enhanced stiffness and deflection of lamellae, by using MXene as a rigidity additive. The addition of MXene (Ti3C2Tx) improves the mechanical and fatigue resistance properties of the aerogel, making it super compressible and elastic. The highly stable structure of the aerogel can withstand extremely high compressive strain of 90% and long-term compression at 50% strain for at least 10,000 cycles. The lamellar structure makes a great contribution to achieve good sensing performance including high linear sensitivity, low testing limit, wide testing strain range and quick response. These features make the MXene/rGO aerogel a promising sensing material for flexible wearable devices to monitor the subtle and obvious biosignals of the human body movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thymic neuroendocrine tumors comprise a heterogeneous group of rare diseases. This study aimed to investigate the real-world clinicopathological features and treatment outcomes of thymic neuroendocrine tumors.Results: A total of 104 patients diagnosed with thymic neuroendocrine tumors in a single institution from 1983 to 2021 were eligible. Fourteen (13.46%) and 28 (26.92%) patients diagnosed with thymic neuroendocrine tumors suffered from multiple endocrine neoplasia and ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome, respectively. Ninety-seven (93.27%) patients underwent surgical resection, including 79 (81.44%) with radical resection. Except for 5 patients lost during follow-up, the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 91.8%, 70.2% and 54.6%, respectively. The median overall survival was 61.57 months. Multivariate analysis revealed that years at diagnosis (HR 0.559, 95% CI 0.364-0.857, p = 0.008), radical resection (HR 2.860, 95% CI 1.392-5.878, p = 0.004), pathological grade (HR 1.963, 95% CI 1.058-3.644, p = 0.033) and Masaoka-Koga stage (HR 2.250, 95% CI 1.548-3.272, p = 0.000) exerted significant differences in overall survival among 99 patients. In the surgery group, multivariate Cox regression analysis exhibited significant overall survival differences in years at diagnosis (HR 0.563, 95% CI 0.367-0.866, p = 0.009), neoadjuvant therapy (HR 0.248, 95% CI 0.071-0.872, p = 0.030), radical resection (HR 3.674, 95% CI 1.685-8.008, p = 0.001), pathological grade (HR 2.082, 95% CI 1.098-3.947, p = 0.025) and Masaoka-Koga stage (HR 2.445, 95% CI 1.607-3.719, p = 0.000).Conclusions: Radical resection and Masaoka-Koga stage were independent prognostic factors for the survival of patients with thymic neuroendocrine tumors. Systemic therapy and integrated management of patients with advanced-stage disease require high-level clinical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is known and objectives: Ademetionine 1,4‐Butanedisulfonate (SAMe) enteric‐coated tablets are widely used for treatment of pre‐cirrhotic and cirrhotic intrahepatic cholestasis, as well as intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), but incomplete clinical data and interference from endogenous substances pose numerous challenges for clinical trial of ademetionine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of SAMe enteric‐coated tablets and to assess its food impact and safety in healthy Chinese subjects. Methods: A randomized, open‐label, single‐dose study was carried out to determine the pharmacokinetics of SAMe enteric‐coated tablets administered in both fasted and postprandial conditions. Baseline collection and data adjustment were required to reduce the effect of endogenous substances. Relevant pharmacokinetic data from subjects administered the reference formulation will be disclosed and utilized in this thesis. Results: Twenty‐four subjects with a body mass index (BMI) of 19–24 kg/m2 were enrolled in the study and all completed the trial. The impact of food on the drug was noticeable, with faster absorption in the fasting group (Tmax, 4.50 ± 1.07 and 7.50 ± 1.58 for the fasting and postprandial groups, respectively) but higher exposure in the postprandial group (AUC0–inf, 4021.02 ± 3377.13 and 5087.28 ± 3539.26 for the fasting and postprandial groups, respectively). No serious adverse effects were observed in the fasted and postprandial conditions. What is new and conclusions: The pharmacokinetic profile of SAMe enteric‐coated tablets in healthy Chinese subjects was partially complemented in this study. SAMe enteric‐coated tablets showed promising safety in fasted and postprandial conditions. However, the impact of food on the drug was significant and might access to the absorption site and affect biochemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial lattice mismatch and adverse reaction are the key issues hindering the development of nickel oxide (NiOx)‐based inverted perovskite solar cells (PVSCs). Herein, a p‐chlorobenzenesulfonic acid (CBSA) self‐assembled small‐molecule (SASM) is adopted to anchor NiOx and perovskite crystals to endow dual‐passivation. The chlorine terminal of SASMs can provide growth sites for perovskite, leading to interfacial strain release. Meanwhile, the sulfonic acid group from SASMs can passivate surface defects of NiOx, conducive to charge carrier extraction. In addition, the self‐assembled layer inhibits the adverse interfacial reaction by preventing NiOx contact with perovskite. Therefore, the NiOx/CBSA‐based PVSCs obtain a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.8%. Of particular note, the unencapsulated devices can retain above 80% of their initial PCE values after storage in a nitrogen atmosphere for 3000 h, in air with a relative humidity of 50–70% for 1000 h, and heating at 85 °C for 800 h, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon materials play an important role in the development of solid hydrogen storage materials. The main purpose of this work is to study the low-cost synthesis of biomass carbon (BC) and its positive effect on the hydrogen storage behavior of magnesium hydride (MgH2). Herein, it is proven that when biomass carbon (BC) is used together with magnesium hydride (MgH2), biomass carbon can be used as an adsorption and desorption channel for hydrogen. The initial dehydrogenation temperature of MgH2 + 10 wt% BC composite is 250 °C, which is 110 °C lower than that of pure MgH2. In addition, the MgH2 + 10 wt% BC composite system can complete all dehydrogenation processes within 10 min at 350 °C. Meanwhile, 5.1 wt% H2 can also be dehydrogenated within 1 h at 300 °C. Under the same conditions, MgH2 hardly starts to release hydrogen. After complete dehydrogenation, the composite can start to absorb hydrogen at 110 °C. Under the conditions of 225 °C and 3 MPa, 6.13 wt% H2 can be absorbed within 1 h, basically reaching the theoretical dehydrogenation limit. Cycling experiments show that the MgH2 + 10 wt% BC composite has a good stability. After 10 cycles, the hydrogen storage capacity shows almost no obvious decline. It is believed that this study can help in the research and development of efficient carbon-based multifunctional catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided waves play an important role in practical structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Due to the complexity of irregular cross sections, there has been little research on guided wave modal control done using excitation and sensing distribution models. In this paper, the semianalytical finite-element (SAFE) method for the quick and reliable solution of guided wave excitation and sensing in irregular cross sections is developed, and modal control method is proposed by optimal transducer design. The free-vibration and forced solutions to a pin-force excitation in an I-type bar are determined up to a frequency of 150 kHz. The effects of four loading and sensing cases are discussed, and the time–transient responses of four cases are calculated. The maximization of the signal amplitude of the desired modal signal and the suppression of other modes can be achieved with different excitation and sensing distributions. The experimental investigation of an I-type bar is shown to validate the reasonability of the modal control method. Finally, a feasible optimal and economical excitation/sensing transducer design method is presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, research in the field of task offloading not only pays attention to the computing performance of computing nodes, but also pays attention to the impact of energy consumption on computing performance. The current multi-core frequency conversion processors mainly use dynamic voltage frequency scaling (DVFS) technology to reduce processor frequency and energy consumption. The most representative is ARM's big.LITTLE which is a heterogeneous processor architecture, with large cores having strong performance and small cores being more energy efficient. In this article, we aim to implement energy-saving task offloading based on the big.LITTLE processor. We regard multi-core and multi-edge clouds as multiple computing nodes with different computing capabilities and express the task offloading problem as a computing resource scheduling problem. We modeled the calculation time and energy consumption through a non-cooperative game and proved that the non-cooperative game is an accurate potential game. The theory proves that non-cooperative games have at least one pure strategy Nash equilibrium point (NEP). We designed an edge cloud multi-user computing resource scheduling algorithm based on big.LITTLE processor (MUCRS). The simulation experiment results show that the MUCRS algorithm can obtain a suitable task offloading scheme, and the time and energy cost are lower than several similar algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a low-cost biomass charcoal (BC)-based nickel catalyst (Ni/BC) was introduced into the MgH 2 system by ball-milling. The study demonstrated that the Ni/BC catalyst significantly improved the hydrogen desorption and absorption kinetics of MgH 2. The MgH 2 + 10 wt% Ni/BC-3 composite starts to release hydrogen at 187.8 °C, which is 162.2 °C lower than the initial dehydrogenation temperature of pure MgH 2. Besides, 6.04 wt% dehydrogenation can be achieved within 3.5 min at 300 °C. After the dehydrogenation is completed, MgH 2 + 10 wt% Ni/BC-3 can start to absorb hydrogen even at 30 °C, which achieved the absorption of 5 wt% H 2 in 60 min under the condition of 3 MPa hydrogen pressure and 125 °C. The apparent activation energies of dehydrogenation and hydrogen absorption of MgH 2 + 10 wt% Ni/BC-3 composites were 82.49 kJ/mol and 23.87 kJ/mol lower than those of pure MgH 2 , respectively, which indicated that the carbon layer wrapped around MgH 2 effectively improved the cycle stability of hydrogen storage materials. Moreover, MgH 2 + 10 wt% Ni/BC-3 can still maintain 99% hydrogen storage capacity after 20 cycles. XRD, EDS, SEM and TEM revealed that the Ni/BC catalyst evenly distributed around MgH 2 formed Mg 2 Ni/Mg 2 NiH 4 in situ, which act as a "hydrogen pump" to boost the diffusion of hydrogen along with the Mg/MgH 2 interface. Meanwhile, the carbon layer with fantastic conductivity enormously accelerated the electron transfer. Consequently, there is no denying that the synergistic effect extremely facilitated the hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetic performance of MgH 2. The carbon layer is evenly wrapped around MgH 2 /Mg, and Ni nano catalyst is evenly distributed on the surface. During dehydrogenation and reabsorption, Ni nanoparticles generate Mg 2 Ni and Mg 2 NiH 4 in situ. The use of uniformly distributed Mg 2 Ni/Mg 2 NiH 4 as a "hydrogen pump" promotes the diffusion of hydrogen along the Mg/MgH 2 interface, and the carbon layer with good conductivity accelerates the electron transfer. It is believed that the synergistic effect of the two improves the hydrogen absorption and desorption rate of MgH 2. [Display omitted] • Biomass charcoal was introduced into the MgH 2 system for the first time. • Composites started to release H 2 at 187.8 °C and could start to absorb H 2 at 30 °C. • The activation energy of de/hydrogenation was significantly reduced for composites. • Biomass charcoal contributes to the cyclic stability of composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQD), a Chinese herbal compound, has been widely used in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in China. However, evidence from systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of GQD in UC remains highly controversial. To collate, evaluate, and synthesize the current evidence, we carried out this study. Methods. SRs/MAs of GQD for UC were obtained from eight databases. Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) was utilized to appraise the methodological quality, Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for reporting quality, and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) for evidence quality. Results. Four eligible SRs/MAs were obtained. According to AMSTAR 2, all SRs/MAs were graded as critically low quality. According to PRISMA checklist, all SRs/MAs failed to report the information of protocol and registration. With GRADE, no outcome measure with high-quality evidence was found, and the evidence quality for outcome measures was in the moderate to critically low levels. Conclusions. GQD with conventional medicine (CM) seems to be more effective in UC than CM alone. This finding provides a new alternative strategy for the treatment of UC. However, owing to the limitations of the evidence provided by the included SRs/MAs, this conclusion must be treated with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aluminum-26 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technique has been widely applied in many scientific fields. At present, Al 2 O 3 is routinely used as the target material for Al− extractions. However, the lower Al− ion beam current limits the measurement sensitivity. In this study, a series of experiments on Al− ion beam current, conductive agent, and interference background were carried out based on previous research and the low-energy AMS system of Tianjin University. The results showed that AlN as a potential target material to replace Al 2 O 3 is worth further study, while Mg element is still one of the main interference factors for low-energy 26Al-AMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Gegen Qinlian decoction (GQD), a Chinese herbal compound, has been widely used in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in China. However, evidence from systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of GQD in UC remains highly controversial. To collate, evaluate, and synthesize the current evidence, we carried out this study. Methods. SRs/MAs of GQD for UC were obtained from eight databases. Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) was utilized to appraise the methodological quality, Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for reporting quality, and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) for evidence quality. Results. Four eligible SRs/MAs were obtained. According to AMSTAR 2, all SRs/MAs were graded as critically low quality. According to PRISMA checklist, all SRs/MAs failed to report the information of protocol and registration. With GRADE, no outcome measure with high-quality evidence was found, and the evidence quality for outcome measures was in the moderate to critically low levels. Conclusions. GQD with conventional medicine (CM) seems to be more effective in UC than CM alone. This finding provides a new alternative strategy for the treatment of UC. However, owing to the limitations of the evidence provided by the included SRs/MAs, this conclusion must be treated with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Oryza sativa L. (rice) is one of the most important crops in the world, and grain size is a major component determining rice yield. Recent studies have identified a number of grain size regulators, which are involved in phytohormone signaling, G protein signaling, the mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling pathway, the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway or transcriptional regulation. In a previous study, we cloned qGL3/OsPPKL1 encoding a rice protein phosphatase that negatively modulates brassinosteroid (BR) signaling and grain length. Here, to further explore the qGL3‐mediated BR signaling network, we performed phosphoproteomic screenings using two pairs of rice materials: the indica rice cultivar 9311 and its near‐isogenic line NILqgl3 and the japonica rice cultivar Dongjin and its qGL3 knockout mutant m‐qgl3. Together with qGL3‐interacting proteins, we constructed the qGL3‐mediated network, which reveals the relationships between BR signaling and other critical signaling pathways. Transgenic plants of these network components showed BR‐related alterations in plant architecture. From this network, we validated a qGL3‐interacting protein, O. sativa VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3‐LIKE 1 (OsVIL1), and demonstrated that qGL3 dephosphorylates OsVIL1 to modulate BR signaling. The qGL3‐dependent network uncovered in this study increases our understanding of BR signaling and provides a profound foundation for addressing how BR modulates plant architecture in rice. Significance Statement: To enrich the rice brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathway, the qGL3‐dependent network was constructed with phosphoproteomic and interactomic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has attracted plenty of attention as it has been proved to be effective in facilitating motor recovery in patients with stroke. The aim of this study was to systematically review the effects of repetitive TMS (rTMS) and theta burst stimulation (TBS) protocols in modulating cortical excitability after stroke.Methods: A literature search was carried out using PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PEDro, to identify studies that investigated the effects of four rTMS protocols-low and high frequency rTMS, intermittent and continuous TBS, on TMS measures of cortical excitability in stroke. A random-effects model was used for all meta-analyses.Results: Sixty-one studies were included in the current review. Low frequency rTMS was effective in decreasing individuals' resting motor threshold and increasing the motor-evoked potential of the non-stimulated M1 (affected M1), while opposite effects occurred in the stimulated M1 (unaffected M1). High frequency rTMS enhanced the cortical excitability of the affected M1 alone. Intermittent TBS also showed superior effects in rebalancing bilateral excitability through increasing and decreasing excitability within the affected and unaffected M1, respectively. Due to the limited number of studies found, the effects of continuous TBS remained inconclusive. Motor impairment was significantly correlated with various forms of TMS measures.Conclusions: Except for continuous TBS, it is evident that these protocols are effective in modulating cortical excitability in stroke. Current evidence does support the effects of inhibitory stimulation in enhancing the cortical excitability of the affected M1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical properties of tritium (T) and deuterium (D) have been of great interest as a fuel for nuclear fusion. However, several kinds of the physical properties in a cryogenic environment have not been reported. Optical properties in liquid and solid phases are indispensable for the quality control of the DT fuel. We study the dependence of the refractive index of solid DT on temperature. A dedicated cryogenic system has been developed and forms a transparent solid DT in a prism cell. Refractive index measurements based on Snell's law were conducted. The refractive indexes of solid DT are from 1.1618 ± 0.0002 to 1.1628 ± 0.0002 in the temperature range of 19.40 K to 17.89 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, perylene imide (PTCDI) is used as a sensitizer to compound with ZnO through solution treatment. Ultraviolet−visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and Fourier infrared (IR) spectroscopy analysis of the structure and optical properties of the samples shows that the organic semiconductor molecules PTCDI and ZnO have complexes. Analysis of the photoelectric properties of the samples by photocurrent and impedance (EIS) shows that the introduction of PTCDI has a significant inhibitory effect on the recombination of photogenerated electron−hole pairs. Photocatalysis experiments show that under the same conditions, the degradation rates of PTCDI/ZnO composites for methyl orange and methylene blue reach 92% and 99.5%. At the same time, in the photocatalytic removal of the NO test, the PTCDI/ZnO composite material also shows better photocatalytic performance than ZnO. The PTCDI/ZnO composite material can remove 66% of NO within 12 min. This is attributed to the combination of PTCDI and ZnO, which greatly improves the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron−hole pairs, thereby improving the photocatalytic performance of the composite material. It is worth noting that the synthesized PTCDI/ZnO composites not only show excellent photocatalytic performance in solid−liquid systems and gas−solid systems, but also show good photocatalytic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Aggressive fibromatosis of the abdominal wall is easily misdiagnosed prior to surgery as abdominal wall endometriosis or other tumors. The authors intend to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes of aggressive fibromatosis of the abdominal wall after surgical resection. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 24 patients treated in the First Hospital of China Medical University from January 2011 to June 2019 and discussed the characteristic of this disease after a review of literature worldwide. Results: Most patients were female (91.7%) with a mean age of 33 years (range 26–56 years). The most common symptom was progressive abdominal wall discomfort (ie, abdominal pain) in 16 patients (66.7%). Twelve patients (50%) had a history of cesarean section. All 24 patients underwent surgical R0 resection due to progression of disease or pain, including 12 patients treated with simple tumor resection and 12 patients treated with tumor resection followed by abdominal wall tension‐free repair using synthetic mesh. Postoperative complications included incisional infection in three patients (12.5%), incisional hernia and postoperative bleeding in one patient each (4.2%). The local recurrence rate was 12.5%. Conclusions: Aggressive fibromatosis of the abdominal wall mainly occurs in young women after cesarean section or other surgeries, with a high recurrence rate. Radical resection is an optimal treatment for the patients with progressive cases, and the restoration of extensive defects of the abdominal wall can be achieved with synthetic mesh, which leads to a good restoration of abdominal wall integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine diseases causing infertility in women of childbearing age. It is characterized by hyperandrogenemia (HA), chronic anovulation, and polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM). Most women with PCOS have metabolic abnormalities. Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), a transport carrier that binds estrogen and androgens and regulates their biological activity, is usually used as an indicator of hyperandrogenism in women with PCOS. Low serum SHBG levels are considered a biomarker of metabolic abnormalities and are associated with insulin resistance (IR), HA, and abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism in PCOS patients. SHBG is also related to the long-term prognosis of PCOS, whereas SHBG gene polymorphism is associated with PCOS risk. In addition, the administration of metformin (MET), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), thiazolidinediones (TZDs), compound oral contraceptives (COCs), as well as nutrient supplements such as inositol (MI), vitamin D, and synbiotics can regulate SHBG levels to ameliorate PCOS complications and improve prognosis. This review focuses on the interaction between SHBG and various PCOS complications as well as the regulation of SHBG by various drugs and nutrients and its therapeutic effects on PCOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Long-term, multi-regional and monthly time-scale optimization models are developed. • Spatial mismatch and monthly fluctuations in demand and resources are considered. • Retrofitting of natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen supply is studied. Low-carbon transition of energy systems features more natural gas and hydrogen consumption to replace coal and oil. Planning of natural gas and hydrogen supply systems with multiple supply sources, end-consumers, large infrastructures and spatio-temporal mismatches are challenging tasks. In this study, two long-term, multi-regional and monthly time-scale optimization models for natural gas and hydrogen supply systems are developed respectively. China is taken as a case. The natural gas demand will initially increase and then decrease, leading to a premature decommissioning of infrastructure. A coupling model is established to explore the retrofitting of decommissioned natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen supply. Results show that 44.14 % decommissioned pipelines and 34.17 % decommissioned storage facilities of natural gas supply system can be retrofitted, with an annual increase of 63.98 % and 62.80 % in hydrogen pipelines and storage facilities, and a 9.15 % reduction in transition costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 0.5 mg·L−1 of F-53B had no noticeable effect on nitrogen removal performance. • Microbial defluorination was feasible in the anammox process. • Denitratisoma was the dominant bacterial genus (40.7 %) at 0.5 mg·L−1F-53B. • The relative content of H 2 O 2 decreased by 26.1 % with the introduced 0.5 mg·L−1F-53B. • F-53B inhibited ammonium transport by binding to Amt domain. This study investigates the behaviors and effects of F-53B, an alternative to perfluorooctane sulfonate on anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes. Results showed that the nitrogen removal efficiency (NRE) reached 83.8 % at a F-53B concentration of 0.5 mg·L−1, while NRE decreased to 66.9 % with 5 mg·L−1 of F-53B. The defluorination rates of 17.8 % (0.5 mg·L−1) and 9.3 % (5 mg·L−1) were observed, respectively, suggesting the occurrence of F-53B degradation. The relative abundance of Ca. Kuenenia decreased from 26.1 % to 16.2 % with the F-53B concentration increasing from 0.5 mg·L−1 to 5 mg·L−1. Meanwhile, Denitratisoma was selectively enriched with a relative abundance of 40.7 % at an F-53B concentration of 0.5 mg·L−1. Ca. Kuenenia could reduce reactive oxygen species induced by F-53B to maintain the balance of oxidative stress. This study gains insight into the behaviors and metabolic mechanisms of F-53B in anammox consortia, suggesting the feasibility of anammox processes for industrial wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trauma caused by tissue damage in clinical applications has posed a serious threat to public safety. Dressings with a single function cannot meet the needs of wound healing, but multifunctional dressings are difficult to achieve and obtain. To address this issue, this research designed a facile one-pot photo-crosslinking method to prepare multifunctional sodium alginate-based hydrogel dressings for effective wound healing. According to irregular wounds, sodium alginate-based hydrogel dressings can be quickly prepared anytime and anywhere. The structure and physicochemical properties of hydrogels are regulated by modulating the proportion of main components sodium alginate and acrylamide. The results showed the sodium alginate-based composite hydrogel as a candidate multifunctional dressing that exhibits excellent stretchability and compressibility, viscoelasticity, and suitable tissue-like adhesion. In vitro drug release and antibacterial experiments indicated that the hydrogel has effective antibacterial properties against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, the haemostatic behaviour of the hydrogel was demonstrated using the coagulation activation test, whole blood-clotting test, and blood cell and platelet adhesion experiments. All these results demonstrated that the sodium alginate-based hydrogel had high application potential as a multifunctional medical dressing for wound healing. Multifunctional sodium alginate-based hydrogel dressing that can be easily and quickly prepared for irregular wounds to combat bacterial infection and coagulation. [Display omitted] • The sodium alginate-based hydrogels were designed by a simple one-pot UV photopolymerization. • The sodium alginate-based hydrogels possessed excellent stretchability and compressibility. • The hydrogels exhibited good tissue adhesion. • The hydrogels had good antibacterial effect on S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. • The hydrogels showed good haemolytic and coagulative properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performing of hey1 spatio-temporal expression pattern in zebrafish embryonic inner ear. • New role exploring of Pi4kb on the development of vestibular apparatus of zebrafish. • Underlying mechanism elucidation of Pi4kb and BMP-Hey1 axis in the development of cristae hair cells in zebrafish (a good visual model of studying development). Phosphatidylinositol 4 kinase-β (PI4KB) plays critical roles in human genetic diseases. In zebrafish, Pi4kb is strongly expressed in hair cells (HCs), which are necessary for detecting sound vibrations, head movements, and water motion. However, the role of PI4KB in HC or semicircular canal development is unclear. Herein, we report that pi4kb morphants exhibit insensitivity to sound stimulation and abnormal morphological vestibular organs, including cilium loss in HCs of the cristae and semicircular canal malformation. As bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is associated with HC and semicircular canal development, we analyzed the expression of BMP-related genes; the phosphorylated Smad1/5/9 (p-Smad1/5/9) expression was markedly reduced in otic HCs. RNA-sequencing data indicated that the transcriptional levels of BMP membrane receptor 2 (bmpr2a and bmpr2b) and hes-related family of bHLH transcription factors with YRPW motif 1 (hey1), a direct downstream target gene of p-Smad, were significantly reduced in the pi4kb morphants, as verified using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization. Co-injection of hey1 mRNA and pi4kb morpholino notably recovered vestibular apparatus development, including the number and length of cilia in HCs of the cristae and semicircular canal formation. Collectively, these results suggest that Pi4kb is involved in vestibular apparatus development in zebrafish by regulating BMP membrane receptor 2 and p-Smad1/5/9 levels, thereby affecting the transcriptional activation of the target gene hey1. This study sheds light on the interaction between Pi4kb and the BMP-Hey1 signaling axis, which is critical for HC and semicircular canal formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detrimental impact of soil salinization on crop productivity and agricultural economy has garnered significant attention. A rhizosphere bacterium with favorable salt tolerance and plant growth-promoting (PGP) functions was isolated in this work. The bacterium was identified as Enterobacter through 16 S rDNA sequencing analysis and designated as Enterobacter sp. JIV1. Interestingly, the presence of putrescine (Put), which had been shown to contribute in reducing abiotic stress damage to plants, significantly promoted strain JIV1 to generate 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic (ACC) deaminase, dissolve phosphorus and secrete indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). However, the synergy of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Put in improving plant salt resistance has not been extensively studied. In this study, strain JIV1 and exogenous Put effectively mitigated the inhibitory impact of salt stress simulated by 200 mM NaCl on rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth. The chlorophyll accumulation, photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidant capacity of rice were also significantly strengthened. Notably, the combined application of strain JIV1 and Put outperformed individual treatments. Moreover, the co-addition of strain JIV1 and Put increased soil protease and urease activities by 451.97% and 51.70% compared to that of salt treatment group. In general, Put-assisted PGPR JIV1 provides a new perspective on alleviating the salt-induced negative impacts on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The findings from a nationally representative survey suggest that inflammation biomarkers, such as NLR, MLR, SII, AISI, SIRI, and dNLR, are significantly associated with all-cause mortality and cardio-cerebrovascular mortality. • These biomarkers predict all-cause mortality and CCD mortality in people aged 20 years and older with diabetes. • The segmental Cox results indicate that a positive correlation is observed only when the biomarker surpasses its critical value. This study aimed to examine independent association between inflammatory biomarkers and all-cause mortality as well as cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCD) mortality among U.S. adults with diabetes. A cohort of 6412 U.S. adults aged 20 or older was followed from the start until December 31, 2019. Statistical models such as Cox proportional hazards model (Cox) and Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival curves were employed to investigate the associations between the inflammatory biomarkers and all-cause mortality and CCD mortality. After adjusting for confounding factors, the highest quartile of inflammatory biomarkers (NLR HR = 1.99; 95 % CI:1.54–2.57, MLR HR = 1.93; 95 % CI:1.46–2.54, SII HR = 1.49; 95 % CI:1.18–1.87, SIRI HR = 2.32; 95 % CI:1.81–2.96, nLPR HR = 2.05; 95 % CI:1.61–2.60, dNLR HR = 1.94; 95 % CI:1.51–2.49, AISI HR = 1.73; 95 % CI:1.4 1–2.12)) were positively associated with all-cause mortality compared to those in the lowest quartile. K-M survival curves indicated that participants with an inflammatory biomarker above a certain threshold had a higher risk of both all-cause mortality and CCD mortality (Log rank P < 0.05). Some biomarkers such as NLR, MLR, SII, AISI, SIRI, and dNLR, are significantly associated with all-cause mortality and CCD mortality among U.S. adults with diabetes. The risk of both outcomes increased when the biomarkers surpassed a specific threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The globally prevalent of sleep disorders is partly attributed to unhealthy dietary habits. This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of elevated palmitic acid (PA) intake on locomotor activity and sleep behavior in Drosophila. Our results indicate that exposure to PA significantly elevated Drosophila 's daytime and nighttime locomotor activity while concurrently reducing overall sleep duration. Utilizing 16S rRNA sequencing, we observed substantial alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota induced by PA, notably, characterized by a significant reduction in Lactobacillus plantarum. Furthermore, PA significantly increased the levels of inflammatory factors Upd3 and Eiger in Drosophila intestines, and downregulated the expression of Gad and Tph , as well as 5 - HT1A. Conversely, Gdh and Hdc were significantly upregulated in the PA group. Supplementation with L. plantarum or lactic acid significantly ameliorated PA-induced disruptions in both locomotor activity and sleep behavior. This supplementation also suppressed the expression of intestinal inflammatory factors, thus restoring impaired neurotransmitter-mediated sleep-wake regulation. Moreover, specific knockdown of intestinal epithelial Upd3 or Eiger similarly restored disrupted neurotransmitter expression, ultimately improving PA-induced disturbances in Drosophila locomotor activity and sleep behavior. These findings provide important insights into the intricate interplay between dietary components and essential behaviors, highlighting potential avenues for addressing health challenges associated with modern dietary habits. [Display omitted] • Elevated palmitic acid (PA) intake disrupts locomotor activity and sleep patterns in Drosophila. • PA alters gut microbiota composition in Drosophila , particularly reducing Lactobacillus plantarum abundance. • PA induces intestinal inflammation and dysregulates neurotransmitter synthesis in Drosophila. • L. plantarum or lactic acid mitigates PA-induced behavioral disturbances by restoring neurotransmitter balance. • Targeting intestinal inflammatory factors offers a promising strategy to alleviate PA-induced sleep-wake disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brewing industry generates a large amount of distillation waste, causing environmental pollution and resource wastage. In this study, a putative gene encoding feruloyl esterase detected in 33 bins using metagenomic sequencing, was expressed to exogenously to generate a recombinase with a molecular weight of 40.8 KDa. The feruloyl esterase has been optimized through codon optimization and signal peptide truncation to exhibit optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 50 °C, specifically when using 4-nitrophenyl trans-ferulate as its substrate. By employing this enzyme, p -coumaric acid and ferulic acid were simultaneously produced using brewing waste of distilled spent grain with husk. The yield of the two phenolic acids amounted to 91.2 μg and 89.25 μg from 1 g of distilled spent grain with husk, respectively. Although the yield obtained was lower than that from wheat bran and corn cob, the strategy serves as a model for the high-value utilization of brewing waste and has hold application potential. The integration of enzyme catalysis and metagenomic sequencing revealed a significant importance for clean production from agricultural processing industrial waste. The strategy for ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid production from distilled spent grain with husk by catalysis of a feruloyl esterase from Metagenomic sequencing of forest soils. Natural biomass containing hemicellulose could be degraded by the feruloyl esterase to produce high-value chemicals. It provided a gentle and environmentally friendly method for the biomass utilization. [Display omitted] • An encoding gene for feruloyl esterase was obtained through metagenomic sequencing. • The enzyme catalyzed the co-production of p -coumaric acid and ferulic acid. • A method for recovering chemicals from distilled spent grain with husk is provided. • The yield of p -coumaric acid and ferulic acid amounted to 91.2 μg/g and 89.25 μg/g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Grain size is one of the major determinants of cereal crop yield. As a class of plant polyhydroxysteroids, brassinosteroids (BRs) play essential roles in the regulation of grain size and plant architecture in rice. In a previous research, we cloned qGL3/OsPPKL1 encoding a protein phosphatase with Kelch-like repeat domains, which negatively regulates BR signaling and grain length in rice. Results: Here, we screened qGL3-interacting proteins (GIPs) via yeast two-hybrid assay and analyzed the phenotypes of the T-DNA insertion mutants of GIPs. Among these mutants, mutant osak3 presents shorter grain length and dwarfing phenotype. OsAK3 encodes an adenylate kinase, which regulates grain size by controlling cell expansion of rice spikelet glume. Overexpression of OsAK3 resulted in longer grain length. OsAK3 interacts with qGL3 in vivo and in vitro. Lamina inclination, coleoptile elongation and root inhibition experiments showed that the osak3 mutant was less sensitive to exogenous brassinolide (BL) treatment. The transcriptional level of OsAK3 was up-regulated under BL induction. In addition, RNA-Seq data indicate that OsAK3 is involved in a variety of biological processes that regulate BR signaling and grain development in rice. Conclusions: Our study reveals a novel BR signaling component OsAK3 in the regulation of grain length, and provides novel clues for uncovering the potential functions of OsAK3 in rice growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Silent information regulator 6 (SIRT6) is a mammalian homolog of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent deacetylase sirtuin family. Prior evidences suggested that the anti-inflammatory function of SIRT6 after spinal cord and brain injury, and it plays a crucial role in macrophages polarization of adipose tissue and skin. However, the role of SIRT6 in macrophages involved peripheral nerve injury is still unknown. Given the prominent role of macrophages in peripheral nerve recovery, we aim to investigate the role of SIRT6 in the regulation of phenotypes shift and functions in macrophages after peripheral nerve injury. Results: In the present study, we first identified a significant increase of SIRT6 expression during nerve degeneration and macrophages phagocytosis. Next, we found nerve recovery was delayed after SIRT6 silencing by injected shRNA lentivirus into the crushed sciatic nerve, which exhibited a reduced expression of myelin-related proteins (e.g., MAG and MBP), severer myoatrophy of target muscles, and inferior nerve conduction compared to the shRNA control injected mice. In vitro, we found that SIRT6 inhibition by being treated with a selective inhibitor OSS_128167 or lentivirus transfection impairs migration and phagocytosis capacity of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM). In addition, SIRT6 expression was discovered to be reduced after M1 polarization, but SIRT6 was enhanced after M2 polarization in the monocyte-macrophage cell line RAW264.7 and BMDM. Moreover, SIRT6 inhibition increased M1 macrophage polarization with a concomitant decrease in M2 polarization both in RAW264.7 and BMDM via activating NF-κB and TNF-α expression, and SIRT6 activation by UBCS039 treatment could shift the macrophages from M1 to M2 phenotype. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that SIRT6 inhibition impairs peripheral nerve repair through suppressing the migration, phagocytosis, and M2 polarization of macrophages. Therefore, SIRT6 may become a favorable therapeutic target for peripheral nerve injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research evaluated the efficacy of oral nutritional agents including CoQ10, vitamin E, inositols and vitamin D on androgen-associated hormones, glycolipid metabolism and body weight in women with PCOS. A multi-database search was performed from inception to December 2020. Using multi-variate random effects method, a NMA was conducted by synthesizing data pooled from RCTs. It was registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42021230292). Twenty-three RCTs and 1291 participants were included. Based on NMA, CoQ10, vitamin E, CoQ10 combined with vitamin E, and inositols were successful in decreasing TT as compared with PA; vitamin E was superior to other agents. Vitamin E and inositols were successful in increasing SHBG levels; inositols were stronger than vitamin E. CoQ10 alone or combined with vitamin E, and inositols were successful in decreasing HOMA-IR. Inositols had the best results among included nutraceuticals to ameliorate HOMA-IR, FBG, FINS, TG, TC, and LDL-C and correlated to improvements in BMI. There was no significant difference between the CoQ10 or vitamin E group and the PA group in ameliorating lipid metabolism, and vitamin D had no positive effects in ameliorating hyperandrogenism, BMI, glycolipid metabolism profiles compared with PA. For women with PCOS, inositols supplementation have some certain advantages in increasing SHBG and improving glycolipid metabolism when compared with nutraceuticals like CoQ10, vitamin E, vitamin D. Besides, vitamin E may be a better option in reducing TT and increasing SHBG. CoQ10 alone or combined with vitamin E can be helpful in decreasing HOMA-IR as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has been widely used to diagnose various infectious diseases. Malaria is a globally distributed infectious disease attributed to parasites in the genus Plasmodium. It is known that persons infected with Plasmodium vivax and P. ovale are prone to clinical relapse of symptomatic blood-stage infections. LAMP has not previously been specifically evaluated for its diagnostic performance in detecting P. ovale in an epidemiological study, and no commercial LAMP or rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits are available for specifically diagnosing infections with P. ovale. Methods: An assay was designed to target a portion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) among Plasmodium spp., the five human Plasmodium species and two other assays were designed to target the nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA gene (18S rDNA) of either P. vivax or P. ovale for differentiating the two species. The sensitivity of the assays was compared to that of nested PCR using defined concentrations of plasmids containing the target sequences and using limiting dilutions prepared from clinical isolates derived from Chinese workers who had become infected in Africa or near the Chinese border with Myanmar. Results: The results showed that 102 copies of the mitochondrial target or 102 and 103 copies of 18S rDNA could be detected from Plasmodium spp., P. vivax and P. ovale, respectively. In 279 clinical samples, the malaria Pan mtDNA LAMP test performed well when compared with a nested PCR assay (95% confidence interval [CI] sensitivity 98.48–100%; specificity 90.75–100%). When diagnosing clinical cases of infection with P. vivax, the 18S rDNA assay demonstrated an even great sensitivity (95.85–100%) and specificity (98.1–100%). The same was true for clinical infections with P. ovale (sensitivity 90.76–99.96%; specificity 98.34–100%). Using plasmid-positive controls, the limits of detection of Malaria Pan, 18S rDNA P. vivax and 18S rDNA P. ovale LAMP were 100-, 100- and tenfold lower than those of PCR, respectively. Conclusion: The novel LAMP assays can greatly aid the rapid, reliable and highly sensitive diagnosis of infections of Plasmodium spp. transmitted among people, including P. vivax and P. ovale, cases of which are most prone to clinical relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Methods Results Conclusions To further elucidate the prognostic factors of non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with T2aN0M0 (stage IB) who underwent surgical treatment.We retrospectively analyzed the data of stage IB NSCLC patients who underwent surgical treatment at our center from October 2013 to September 2016. Eighty patients were enrolled. We analyzed their overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) using the Kaplan–Meier method.In univariable analysis, adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) was significantly associated with inferior DFS (p = 0.036, p = 0.037) and OS (p = 0.001, p = 0.003) in all stage IB patients and those who only accepted surgery. Patients with a number of N2 lymph node dissections of ≥3 regions (N2‐LSNDr) exhibited better DFS (p = 0.020, p = 0.005) and OS (p = 0.003, p = 0.001) in all stage IB patients and those who only accepted surgery. In addition, advanced age (≥70 years old) is an adverse factor for DFS (p = 0.049) and OS (p = 0.018) among patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery. In multivariable analyses, patients with N2‐LSNDr exhibited a longer OS (p = 0.045) in all enrolled patients; patients with N2‐LSNDr (p = 0.016) and younger age (p = 0.021) demonstrated a superior OS in patients who only received surgery.We found that N2‐LSNDr were independent influencing factors affecting the prognosis in all included stage IB patients and stage IB patients without adjuvant chemotherapy. ASC was associated with worse prognosis of T2aN0M0 NSCLC. Older age is an independent prognostic factor of the worst OS in stage IB patients without adjuvant chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale plate-like structural components have been widely used in various aerospace structures. Subject to complex loading conditions and environmental factors, the integrity of plate-like structures is threatened by the occurrence and accumulation of structural damages, calling for the development of structural health monitoring (SHM) methods and techniques. Guided wave-based SHM methods have been demonstrated with a high sensitivity to small-scale damage. In particular, the probability-based diagnostic imaging (PDI) algorithm is able to achieve enhanced accuracy and efficiency of damage localization. Typically, the PDI defines damage index (DI) in terms of the deviation between the baseline and real-time guided wave signals. However, as the baseline signals are highly sensitive to environmental factors, such as temperature, the DI may exhibit large instability subject to varied environmental factors and lead to inaccurate damage detection results. In this study, a novel damage diagnostic imaging approach free of a baseline signal is presented for nonpenetrating damages. The approach is established based on the modification of conventional baseline-dependent PDI, into which the converted mode extraction (CME) strategy is integrated to give rise to the DI in terms of the energy of the converted modes. As the essential part of the CME-PDI approach, the converted modes caused by nonpenetrating damages as structural thickness variation are extracted from the primitive multimode wave signals according to a recently proposed CME method featured by intrinsic basis mode reconstruction. The effectiveness of the approach is first examined numerically, and then an experiment is carried out by taking into account the temperature effect. Compared with conventional PDI, the CME-PDI approach shows apparently enhanced accuracy and stability in damage localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]