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Mounting epidemiology studies have reported the potential associations between ambient air pollution exposure and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the genetic association between ambient air pollution and CRC remains unclear. Using the Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from UK biobank, we explored the genetic association of CRC (5,657 cases and 372,016 controls) with four ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, NOx; n = 423,796 to 456,380) under the framework of Mendelian randomization (MR). Our results revealed a significant association between long-term NO2 exposure (per 10 µg/m3) and increased CRC risk, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.02 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00–1.03), while no statistical association was found between CRC risk and the other air pollutants. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of the results. It is imperative to consider the impact of air pollution, particularly NO2, in mitigating the risk of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comorbidity in mental disorders is prevalent among adolescents, with evidence suggesting a general psychopathology factor ("p" factor) that reflects shared mechanisms across different disorders. However, the association between the "p" factor and protective factors remains understudied. The current study aimed to explore the "p" factor, and its associations with psycho-social functioning, in Chinese adolescents. 2052 students, aged 9–17, were recruited from primary and secondary schools in Shanghai, China. Multiple rating scales were used to assess psychological symptoms and psycho-social functioning. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify the fit of models involving different psychopathology domains such as externalizing, internalizing, and the "p" factor. Subsequently, structural equation models were used to explore associations between the extracted factors and psycho-social functioning, including emotion regulation, mindful attention awareness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience, and perceived support. The bi-factor model demonstrated a good fit, with a "p" factor accounting for 46 % of symptom variation, indicating that the psychological symptoms of Chinese adolescents could be explained by internalizing, externalizing, and the "p" factor. Psychologically, a higher "p" was positively correlated with emotion suppression and negatively correlated with mindful attention awareness, emotion reappraisal, self-esteem, and resilience. Socially, a higher "p" was associated with decreased perceived support. Only common symptoms were included as this study was conducted at school. Furthermore, the cross-sectional design limited our ability to investigate causal relationships. A "p" factor exists among Chinese adolescents. Individuals with higher "p" factor levels were prone to experience lower levels of psycho-social functions. • This study aimed to explore the "p" factor and its associations with psycho-social functioning in Chinese adolescents. • The psychological symptoms of Chinese adolescents could be explained by internalizing, externalizing, and the "p" factor. • Individuals with higher "p" factor levels were prone to experiencing lower psycho-social functioning. • This study highlights the "p" factor's role in protective factors and identifies variables for trans-diagnostic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the nonlinear and viscous damping effects on the free-surface elevations of the recess-type moonpool inside a drillship are investigated. Based on a three-dimensional nonlinear potential flow (NPF3D) model, the nonlinear moonpool responses excited by regular heading waves are simulated in the time domain. To consider the vortex-shedding damping effects, induced by nonlinear moonpool responses, the pressure drop model of Chu et al. [Chu et al., "Effects of nonlinearity and viscous damping on the resonant responses in two-dimensional moonpools with a recess," Appl. Ocean Res. 127, 103295 (2022)] is extended to three-dimensional and combined with NPF3D to form a viscous modified nonlinear potential flow model (referred to as NPF3D_V). The pressure drop model is composed of two parts in order to account for the energy loss from the first harmonic (piston-mode motions) and higher harmonics (sloshing-mode motions), respectively. The investigation focuses on the piston-mode resonance and secondary resonances of the first and second longitudinal sloshing modes. The response amplitude operators of the higher harmonics, by which the nonlinear effects are evaluated, are computed by the NPF3D_V model. It is found that the higher harmonics are noticeable at the excitation frequencies ω n 0 / m , where secondary resonances of the nth longitudinal sloshing mode are triggered. In addition, it is found that increasing the length of the recess can promote the nonlinear response of the moonpool significantly. For the moonpool with a long recess, the higher harmonics at secondary resonance are comparable to the first harmonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation, based on digital technologies, has triggered economic growth in many industries and brought about production and service transformation in the manufacturing sector. As an important source of innovation output and a driving force for national economic development, it is of great significance to study the impact of digital transformation on innovation output in manufacturing companies. This study analyzes the effects of digital transformation on the quality, quantity, and overall innovation output of manufacturing companies from both the macro provincial-level digital transformation and micro enterprise-level digital transformation perspectives. Additionally, using data from manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012 to 2022, this study empirically tests the mechanism through which digital transformation affects innovation output from the perspectives of internal transaction costs and external transaction costs. The results show that digital transformation promotes overall improvement in innovation output of manufacturing companies and leads to improvements in both the quality and quantity of innovation output. Furthermore, the study finds that the effect of digital transformation on innovation output has a nonlinear characteristic under different levels of market competitiveness and market freedom. The mediation analysis reveals that the influence of digital transformation on innovation output can be attributed to the reduction of internal transaction costs and the enhancement of external transaction efficiency. In terms of digital policy formulation, it is necessary to coordinate the development of diverse and innovative digital infrastructure at the macro level with the micro-level ecosystems of enterprises, in order to reduce transaction costs within and outside innovative entities. Ultimately, it is essential for the government to foster a conducive free market environment that enhances transaction efficiency and timely regulates the excessive competition resulting from oligopolistic monopolies, thus maximizing the potential of digital transformation in promoting innovation output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-67) composite was prepared by a rapid, simple and inexpensive situ hybridization technique applying polyurethane sponge (PU) as support, which was designated as ZIF-67-PU. The ZIF-67 nanoparticle was successfully supported on the surface of sponge skeletons mainly through electrostatic attraction as well as probable π−π stacking interactions with PAM modification of the sponge. The resultant ZIF-67-PU exhibited a remarkably enhanced U(VI) elimination capacity of 150.86 mg∙g−1 on the basis of the Langmuir isotherm model, in comparison to pristine sponge. Additionally, the mechanism for U(VI) elimination was mainly achieved through the complex reaction between C–N(H)/–OH groups in ZIF-67 and U(VI), based on XPS investigations. ZIF-67-PU represents a simple, feasible and low-cost disposal option for preparing ZIF-coated sponges of any shape that can enhance the U(VI) elimination capacity. Furthermore, this approach can be widely applied to the preparation of various kinds of MOF-sponges through this situ hybridization technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a new numerical model based on eigenfunction matching method and the method of images to investigate the influence of tank wall reflection on the hydrodynamic behaviors of a cylinder with moonpool, which is defined as an opening from the deck to the bottom of a floating structure or ship. The new numerical model is first validated by comparing its results to experimental data in the existing literature and WaveAnalysisMIT results and then is used to analyze the effects of different tank widths on the heave radiation and diffraction problems. When the tank is not too narrow, the results only show a significant difference from those in open water around the transverse sloshing frequencies of the tank, i.e., when the tank width is an integer times the wavelength. It is noticed that the reflection effects induce spikes of the amplitude of free-surface elevations at the center of the moonpool in the radiation problem but induce troughs in the diffraction problem. This is explained by estimating the phase of the waves in moonpool induced by the wall reflections. For the narrow tank that does not allow transverse sloshing in the given frequencies, the results deviate from those in open water in a width range of frequencies. The free-surface elevations outside the cylinder are also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the source of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), inner cell mass (ICM) can form all tissues of the embryo proper, however, its role in early human lineage specification remains controversial. Although a stepwise differentiation model has been proposed suggesting the existence of ICM as a distinct developmental stage, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we perform an integrated analysis on the public human preimplantation embryonic single-cell transcriptomic data and apply a trajectory inference algorithm to measure the cell plasticity. In our results, ICM population can be clearly discriminated on the dimension-reduced graph and confirmed by compelling evidences, thus validating the two-step hypothesis of lineage commitment. According to the branch probabilities and differentiation potential, we determine the precise time points for two lineage segregations. Further analysis on gene expression dynamics and regulatory network indicates that transcription factors including GSC , PRDM1 , and SPIC may underlie the decisions of ICM fate. In addition, new human ICM marker genes, such as EPHA4 and CCR8 are discovered and validated by immunofluorescence. Given the potential clinical applications of ESCs, our analysis provides a further understanding of human ICM cells and facilitates the exploration of more unique characteristics in early human development. [Display omitted] • Human inner cell mass (ICM) is clearly identified on the dimension-reduced graph. • CCR8 and EPHA4 are novel human ICM markers. • Human lineage segregation follows a two-step specification model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a modified potential flow model (MPFM) for a circular moonpool by quantifying the viscous damping. The flow-separation-induced damping coefficients of MPFM do not need to be tuned by the users as they are derived from the conduit problem studied by Idelchik, where the variation of such coefficients with geometry configurations is given based on experiments. To verify the MPFM, we conducted laboratory experiments in heave radiation (forced harmonic heave motion) and wave diffraction (fixed in regular wave) problems with a broad range of frequencies and compared the results with those of MPFM and a boundary element method without viscosity modeling (BEM). The MPFM achieves fairly good agreement with the experimental results, including those around the resonance frequency where BEM over-predicts. A simple time-domain model is developed to analyze the sources of the different harmonics in the free-surface elevation observed in the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA damage response is a key signal transduction pathway in triggering ageing and tumor progression. Abnormal alternative splicing (AS) is associated with tumors and ageing. However, the role of AS factors associated with DNA damage repair and ageing in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) remains unclear. We downloaded the percentage of splicing (PSI) values for AS in STAD from the TCGA SpliceSeq database. The PSI values of DNA repair gene AS events were integrated with STAD patient survival data for Cox regression analysis. The prediction model for the overall survival (OS) was constructed by the clinical traits. The tumor immune microenvironment was analyzed by CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE. We detected 824 AS events originating from 166 DNA repair genes. Cox regression analysis provided 21 prognostic AS events connected with OS statistically, and a prognostic prediction model was constructed. The expression of these AS factors was higher in STAD tumors. DDB2 high senescence levels were associated with active immune responses and better survival in STAD patients. We built a novel prognostic model founded on DNA repair genes with AS events and identified that DDB2 may be a potential biomarker to apply in clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, vaccine hesitancy increasingly threats public health worldwide. Health information from traditional, online and social media may influence vaccine hesitancy. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of exposure to COVID-19 information from various media on vaccine hesitancy, as well as the mediating roles of public trust in government and vaccine confidence. With a sample of 438 online participants (mean age = 30.69 years) responding to an anonymous questionnaire, the study tested a mediation model using bias-corrected bootstrap. The results indicated that exposure to COVID-19 information from online news media and traditional media can reduce vaccine hesitancy indirectly. Whereas a positive and indirect relationship between COVID-19 information exposure on social media and vaccine hesitancy was revealed. Trust in government and vaccine confidence were found to be salient mediators between exposure to COVID-19 information from various media and vaccine hesitancy. Findings from this study offer implications for strategies to address vaccine hesitancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attachment of Ulva prolifera seedlings to Neopyropia yezoensis rafts is a negative phenomenon which affects Neopyropia cultivation in the Yellow Sea of China that has been extensively investigated. Although acid treatment can be effectively used for Neopyropia aquaculture, an accurate acid reagent is lacking. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the effective acid concentration and processing time for removing Ulva in Neopyropia cultivation whilst maintaining minimal damage to N. yezoensis. By the relationship between effective quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII) and cell survival rate, we can determine the recovery threshold of two algae. Threshold points of effective quantum yield were 0.310 and 0.357 respectively, which were used as criteria to judge survival status of N. yezoensis and U. prolifera. Citric acid had an effective removal effect on U. prolifera and can maintain N. yezoensis with less damage compared with hydrochloric acid. pH is the main influencing factor of acid treatment and was determined as the main factor by establishing a model. The hydrochloric acid treatment group was composed of 8 combinations of pH and time, while the citric acid treatment group contained 17 combinations. Under these treatment combinations, U. prolifera can be removed, while N. yezoensis is almost unaffected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the reliability of housing price prediction and analysis, this article combines the generalized linear regression model to build a real estate price prediction model and analyzes the basic knowledge of data mining. On the basis of this prior knowledge, this article investigates the cluster analysis algorithm and selects the generalized linear regression model as the research focus based on its definition and the characteristics of stock data. Moreover, this article analyzes the estimation methods of the generalized linear regression model and the nonparametric regression model, and then gives the estimation method of a partial linear model. In addition, this article verifies the validity of the model proposed in this article by means of simulation research. Through the simulation and comparison experiments, it can be seen that the housing price prediction system based on the generalized regression model proposed in this article has a high housing price prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antitumor effects of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. polysaccharides (LRPS) and Lycium ruthenicum Murr. anthocyanins (LRAC) were comprehensively investigated in this study. LPRS was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and further purified using diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE‐Cellulose) and Sephadex G‐75 columns. High‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform‐infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the purified LRPS. The results showed that the purified LRPS contained heteropolysaccharides, mainly composed of arabinose, galactose, and glucose with weight percentage of 41.2%, 33.6%, and 10.8%, respectively. More importantly, LRPS (500 μg/ml) and LRAC (80 μg/ml) failed to impede the proliferation of tumor cells when applied solely (48 h incubation), yet remarkable antineoplastic effects were found once they were applied altogether, since the LoVo cells, a typical human colorectal carcinoma cell line, were significantly inhibited by the mixture of LRPS (150 μg/ml) and LRAC (20 μg/ml) (LRPS&AC) in 24 h. The antineoplastic activity resulted from the combination of both LRPS and LRAC (LRPS&AC), by means of blocking the cell cycle at the G0–G1 phase and inducing LoVo cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐dependent pathway. The inhibitory effects of LRPS&AC were specific to the tumor cells, without imposing on the proliferation of normal cells. Western blotting revealed that the antitumor effect was related to the mitochondria‐mediated apoptosis launched by the cross‐action of PI3K/Akt (phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase/protein kinase B) and JAK2/STAT3 (janus kinase 2/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathways. These findings for the first time reveal the synergistic antitumor effects of LRPS&AC and the related mechanisms, which enable Lycium ruthenicum Murr. to serve as a natural source to develop therapeutic reagents and functional foods with antineoplastic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-counterfeiting in 3D printing has gained significant attention, however, current approaches often fall short of fully capitalizing on the inherent advantages of personalized manufacturing with this technology. Herein, we propose an embedded anti-counterfeiting scheme for additive manufacturing, accompanied by a novel fluorescent encrypted quick response (QR) method. This approach involves the development of a 3D printing filament utilizing poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene adipate- co -terephthalate) (PBAT) bio-composites as the primary filament matrix, with varying quantities of Chlorella powder incorporated. The resulting filament has a good thermal stability near 200 °C and exhibits a distinctive red fluorescence under ultraviolet light, with the emission peak at 677 nm when excited by 415 nm blue light. Fluorescence imaging analysis confirms that the red fluorescence in 3D printed devices containing Chlorella is a result of the chlorophyll and its derivatives fluorescence effect. The fluorescent encrypted QR codes are inconspicuous in daylight but become easily discernible under ultraviolet light. In the cases of recognizable QR codes, the ∆Eab* values all exceed 35, and the L C /L B values deviate significantly from 1. This research delves into the fluorescence characteristics of Chlorella and highlights its applicability in 3D printing, specifically within the realm of product anti-counterfeiting, presenting a groundbreaking approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, all-trans retinoic acid-Hyaluronic acid prodrug nanoparticles (HA-ATRA NPs) were successfully prepared for improving the anti-psoriatic effect of ATRA. The HA-ATRA NPs were 146.7 ± 8.2 nm with a critical aggregation concentration of 92.6 µg/mL and a drug loading content of 8.3 %. Topically applied HA-ATRA NPs remarkably reduced the characteristic symptoms of psoriasis in imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mice, including thickness of stratum corneum, epidermis hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, and epidermal infiltrates induced by IMQ compared with ATRA. In addition, HA-ATRA NPs dramatically reduced the expressions of key inflammatory cytokines in psoriasis lesions without influence on the body weight of mice. • HA-ATRA prodrug nanoparticles were successfully prepared. • HA-ATRA NPs improved the anti-psoriatic effect of ATRA topically. • HA-ATRA NPs dramatically reduced application site inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interrater reliability, aka intercoder reliability, is defined as true agreement between raters, aka coders, without chance agreement. It is used across many disciplines including medical and health research to measure the quality of ratings, coding, diagnoses, or other observations and judgements. While numerous indices of interrater reliability are available, experts disagree on which ones are legitimate or more appropriate. Almost all agree that percent agreement (ao), the oldest and the simplest index, is also the most flawed because it fails to estimate and remove chance agreement, which is produced by raters' random rating. The experts, however, disagree on which chance estimators are legitimate or better. The experts also disagree on which of the three factors, rating category, distribution skew, or task difficulty, an index should rely on to estimate chance agreement, or which factors the known indices in fact rely on. The most popular chance-adjusted indices, according to a functionalist view of mathematical statistics, assume that all raters conduct intentional and maximum random rating while typical raters conduct involuntary and reluctant random rating. The mismatches between the assumed and the actual rater behaviors cause the indices to rely on mistaken factors to estimate chance agreement, leading to the numerous paradoxes, abnormalities, and other misbehaviors of the indices identified by prior studies.Methods: We conducted a 4 × 8 × 3 between-subject controlled experiment with 4 subjects per cell. Each subject was a rating session with 100 pairs of rating by two raters, totaling 384 rating sessions as the experimental subjects. The experiment tested seven best-known indices of interrater reliability against the observed reliabilities and chance agreements. Impacts of the three factors, i.e., rating category, distribution skew, and task difficulty, on the indices were tested.Results: The most criticized index, percent agreement (ao), showed as the most accurate predictor of reliability, reporting directional r2 = .84. It was also the third best approximator, overestimating observed reliability by 13 percentage points on average. The three most acclaimed and most popular indices, Scott's π, Cohen's κ and Krippendorff's α, underperformed all other indices, reporting directional r2 = .312 and underestimated reliability by 31.4 ~ 31.8 points. The newest index, Gwet's AC1, emerged as the second-best predictor and the most accurate approximator. Bennett et al's S ranked behind AC1, and Perreault and Leigh's Ir ranked the fourth both for prediction and approximation. The reliance on category and skew and failure to rely on difficulty explain why the six chance-adjusted indices often underperformed ao, which they were created to outperform. The evidence corroborated the notion that the chance-adjusted indices assume intentional and maximum random rating while the raters instead exhibited involuntary and reluctant random rating.Conclusion: The authors call for more empirical studies and especially more controlled experiments to falsify or qualify this study. If the main findings are replicated and the underlying theories supported, new thinking and new indices may be needed. Index designers may need to refrain from assuming intentional and maximum random rating, and instead assume involuntary and reluctant random rating. Accordingly, the new indices may need to rely on task difficulty, rather than distribution skew or rating category, to estimate chance agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is prone to metastasis and likely to develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. DNA repair has been reported to be involved in the progression and chemoresistance of LUSC. However, the relationship between LUSC patient prognosis and DNA damage repair genes is still unclear.Methods: The clinical information of LUSC patients and tumour gene expression level data were downloaded from the TCGA database. Unsupervised clustering and Cox regression were performed to obtain molecular subtypes and prognosis-related significant genes based on a list including 150 DNA damage repair genes downloaded from the GSEA database. The coefficients determined by the multivariate Cox regression analysis and the expression level of prognosis-related DNA damage repair genes were employed to calculate the risk score, which divided LUSC patients into two groups: the high-risk group and the low-risk group. Immune viability, overall survival, and anticarcinogen sensitivity analyses of the two groups of LUSC patients were performed by Kaplan-Meier analysis with the log rank test, ssGSEA and the pRRophetic package in R software. A time-dependent ROC curve was applied to compare the survival prediction ability of the risk score, which was used to construct a survival prediction model by multivariate Cox regression. The prediction model was used to build a nomogram, the discriminative ability of which was confirmed by C-index assessment, and its calibration was validated by calibration curve analysis. Differentially expressed DNA damage repair genes in LUSC patient tissues were retrieved by the Wilcoxon test and validated by qRT-PCR and IHC.Result: LUSC patients were separated into two clusters based on molecular subtypes, of which Cluster 2 was associated with worse overall survival. A prognostic prediction model for LUSC patients was constructed and validated, and a risk score calculated based on the expression levels of ten DNA damage repair genes was employed. The clinical utility was evaluated by drug sensitivity and immune filtration analyses. Thirteen-one genes were upregulated in LUSC patient samples, and we selected the top four genes that were validated by RT-PCR and IHC.Conclusion: We established a novel prognostic model based on DNA damage repair gene expression that can be used to predict therapeutic efficacy in LUSC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is prone to metastasis and likely to develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. DNA repair has been reported to be involved in the progression and chemoresistance of LUSC. However, the relationship between LUSC patient prognosis and DNA damage repair genes is still unclear. Methods: The clinical information of LUSC patients and tumour gene expression level data were downloaded from the TCGA database. Unsupervised clustering and Cox regression were performed to obtain molecular subtypes and prognosis-related significant genes based on a list including 150 DNA damage repair genes downloaded from the GSEA database. The coefficients determined by the multivariate Cox regression analysis and the expression level of prognosis-related DNA damage repair genes were employed to calculate the risk score, which divided LUSC patients into two groups: the high-risk group and the low-risk group. Immune viability, overall survival, and anticarcinogen sensitivity analyses of the two groups of LUSC patients were performed by Kaplan–Meier analysis with the log rank test, ssGSEA and the pRRophetic package in R software. A time-dependent ROC curve was applied to compare the survival prediction ability of the risk score, which was used to construct a survival prediction model by multivariate Cox regression. The prediction model was used to build a nomogram, the discriminative ability of which was confirmed by C-index assessment, and its calibration was validated by calibration curve analysis. Differentially expressed DNA damage repair genes in LUSC patient tissues were retrieved by the Wilcoxon test and validated by qRT–PCR and IHC. Result: LUSC patients were separated into two clusters based on molecular subtypes, of which Cluster 2 was associated with worse overall survival. A prognostic prediction model for LUSC patients was constructed and validated, and a risk score calculated based on the expression levels of ten DNA damage repair genes was employed. The clinical utility was evaluated by drug sensitivity and immune filtration analyses. Thirteen-one genes were upregulated in LUSC patient samples, and we selected the top four genes that were validated by RT–PCR and IHC. Conclusion: We established a novel prognostic model based on DNA damage repair gene expression that can be used to predict therapeutic efficacy in LUSC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's era of new public management, respecting the dignity and worth of social workers in organizational management poses a challenge to social work agencies. This research explores whether individual self-actualization can be integrated with organizational development by using a humanistic management approach. Authors sampled 672 supervisors from Chinese social work agencies. A structural equation model was built and tested to examine the relationships between four latent variables: (1) professional competence (PC), (2) organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), (3) individual impact, and (4) organizational impact, taking into account the moderating effect of professional associations. The results indicate that individual impact is a mediator between supervisors' PC/OCBs and organizational impact. Meanwhile, professional associations play a moderating role in the relationship between supervisors' PC and organizational impact. Findings provide the basis for a humanistic management strategy for social work agencies that focuses on the individual impact of key people to maximize organizational impact. Moreover, professional associations should strengthen the link between individual impact and organizational impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Beijing's air quality data and socio-economic data from 2015 to 2020, Kernel density estimation, spatial autocorrelation and random forest methods were used in this paper to analyze the air quality characteristics and influencing factors in Beijing from 2015 to 2020. The results showed that the concentration of particulate matter contributed the most to the change of AQI in six pollution components of air quality; the difference in air quality in the four seasons was decreasing; air quality was obviously related to social production activities and governance rules. As a whole, the Air Quality Index(AQI) in the north of the municipal area was low, while the air quality in the south was relatively high. The increase in per capita disposable income, green coverage area and scientific research funding could effectively reduce the degree of air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chemical environment effects on mono-vacancy size in CrFeCoNi alloy were investigated using DFT calculations. • A correlation between the abundance of 1NN Cr atoms and the reduction in mono-vacancy size is demonstrated. • The impact of Cr on mono-vacancy size is significantly influenced by its larger effective atomic radius. • Large Cr effective atomic radius is attributed to the increased flexibility of its external electronic structure. Atomic studies of mono-vacancy are crucial for comprehending the mechanisms governing the related macroscopic properties of materials. High-entropy alloys (HEAs) manifest unique properties arising from a complex, localized, disordered chemical environment and distinctive site lattice distortions. In this study, the effects of chemical environment on the size of vacancy point defects in equiatomic CrFeCoNi alloy are investigated using Density Functional Theory through positron annihilation lifetime (PL) calculations. To better understand the nature of local lattice distortion, a similar atomic environment method is employed for supercell construction. Our findings reveal a significant inverse relationship between the PL of single-vacancy in CrFeCoNi HEA and the number of its first nearest neighbor Cr atoms. The underlying mechanisms in the perspective of local atomic mismatch and electronic structures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A maneuvering-seakeeping combined model is established to predict the maneuvering performances by using three-dimensional Rankine panel method and 4 degree-of-freedom Maneuvering Modeling Group model. The wave drift forces and moments in regular and irregular waves are pre-calculated via a near-field method considering the effect of the lateral speed. The wave drift forces and moments of some cases (at F n = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12, 0.15; v / g L = ± 0.01, 0, ± 0.02) are computed. They are used to build up a database, and loaded into maneuverability model, which is established by using the hydrodynamic derivatives from Planar Motion Mechanism test. In calm water, the discrepancies in advance and tactical diameter between the numerical results and the experimental data are found to be within 6.5%, affirming the effectiveness of the developed model. In irregular waves, the effects of different random seeds on the wave drift forces and moments are analyzed. The numerical results indicate that in both regular and irregular waves, the drift distances and directions are generally consistent with experimental data. Moreover, numerical results that take into account lateral speeds show even closer agreement with the experimental data. • The effects of lateral speeds on the wave drift forces and moments are analyzed. • The effects of different random seeds on the slow drift forces and moments are analyzed. • A combined model is established to rapidly predict the maneuvering performances of ships in waves. • The maneuvering performances are analyzed by loading the wave drift loads with or without the lateral speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The paper summarizes the effect of ion types on the diffusion coefficient of water molecules. • The influence laws of ion types, ion concentrations and bubble radius on the maximum w max of the maximum RDF of carbon atoms are summarized. • The influence of the three factors on the diffusion coefficient is compared. In recent years, hydrodynamic cavitation technology has become a research hotspot in various fields. This study establishes a benzamide model with different ion types, ion concentrations, and bubble radii. The model is used to study the diffusivity of water molecules on the benzamide wall and structural changes in benzamide. The influence of ion type, ion concentration, and bubble radius on the degradation of pollutants is examined. The results are as follows: the larger the bubble radius and ion concentration, the larger the rate of change of maximum radial distribution function of carbon atoms (w). The effect of ion type on the diffusion coefficient of water molecules on the benzamide wall is as follows: H 2 O 2 > HCO 3 −1 > NO 3 −1. In terms of structural changes in the benzamide, in the model containing H 2 O 2 , ion concentration has a greater effect than bubble radius. In the model containing HCO 3 −1, bubble radius has a greater effect than ion concentration. In the model containing NO 3 −1, bubble radius and ion concentration have an equal effect. w decreases most in the model containing H 2 O 2 and least in the model containing NO 3 −1. The model containing H 2 O 2 produces the most powerful effect in benzamide pollutant degradation. This study provides technical guidance and a theoretical basis for the green treatment of pollutants using cavitation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is closely related to carcinogenesis and cancer progression. lncRNA NEAT1 has recently been identified as a carcinogenic regulator of multiple cancers; however, the role of NEAT1 on PCa is still poorly understood. Methods. Kaplan–Meier was conducted to determine the overall survival rate in PCa patients with aberrant NEAT1 levels. qRT-PCR analysis was performed to detect expressions of NEAT1 and miR-766-5p in tissues and cells. In addition, CCK-8, colony formation, flow cytometry analysis, wound healing, and transwell assay were conducted to determine cell proliferation, cell arrest, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. The western blot assay was utilized to determine E2F3 and cell growth-related proteins. The relationship between NEAT1 and miR-766-5p or miR-766-5p and E2F3 was verified by correlation analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay. Results. Here, we find that NEAT1 is overexpressed in PCa tissues and cell lines. Besides, silencing of NEAT1 inhibits cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and promotes cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Further mechanistic studies find that NEAT1 sponges miR-766-5p, and miRNA-766-5p is negatively correlated with the expression of NEAT1. In addition, the functional experiment shows that upregulation of miRNA-766-5p inhibits PCa proliferation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, E2F transcription factor 3 (E2F3) is testified to be the downstream target gene of miRNA-766-5p. Finally, the rescue experiment revealed that miRNA-766-5p inhibition largely restores NEAT1 downregulation-mediated function on PCa progression, while E2F3 knockdown partly removes the effects of miRNA-766-5p inhibitor. Conclusions. In conclusion, NEAT1 facilitates PCa progression by targeting the miRNA-766-5p/E2F3 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women with depression disorder outnumber men, and health care and social service providers are mostly female. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to examine the association between role conflicts and depression among health care and social service providers, and further investigate the mediating effect of burnout, as well as the moderating effect of marital status and motherhood.Methods: The data come from the baseline of the 'China Social Work Longitudinal Study' conducted in 2019, which contains 1,219 female social workers who reported work-family conflict. The five items of the scale in our model were extracted from the existing literature to ensure the construct validity of potential variables, and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were also conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the scale. Descriptive analyses and correlation analyses were performed with SPSS 24, while the path analysis was conducted using Amos 24. The moderating effects of marital status and motherhood were further tested using multiple-group analyses.Results: Female health care and social service providers experienced a high level of depression. Work-to-family conflict (WFC), family-to-work conflict (FWC), and organizational role conflict (ORC) were significantly and positively associated with female social workers' depression. Exhaustion and cynicism fully mediated the effects of ORC on depression and partially mediated the effects of WFC on depression. In addition, FWC had only a direct effect on depression. A multiple-group analysis further indicated that both marital status and motherhood status may have played a moderating role in the conflict-burnout-depression link and that being unmarried and having no child were risk factors for depression in female health care and social service providers.Conclusions: Marriage and motherhood have both negative and positive effects on the depression of female health care and social service providers. This suggests that marriage and motherhood may act as a form of "family clientelism" for female health care and social service providers who marry and have children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive polypyrrole (PPy) is an excellent polymer material for microwave absorption, which is vital for reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) for electronic devices. To improve the microwave absorption capability and enhance the thermal stability and mechanical ductility of conductive PPy, metallic magnetic nanoparticles can be added to form PPy nanocomposites. In this paper, we present the first study to compute the electromagnetic properties of PPy nanocomposites based on the first principles method. It is discovered that (1) while doping can improve the microwave absorbing properties of PPy material, the absorption performance does not necessarily increase with the number of doping position; (2) conductivity and absorption coefficient increase significantly for the PPy nanocomposite compared with PPy. The dielectric loss is more than 2 at about 2 eV; (3) reflectivity and absorption coefficient decrease with the increase of PPy content in PPy/Co nanocomposite; (4) the average magnetic moment of the PPy nanocomposite is the same as that of pure nanoparticles, and this indicates that only nanoparticles generate magnetic loss for the nanocomposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict the evolution of wave spectrum in the real ocean, a machine learning framework is developed by training a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network on a physics-based third-generation wave model (Simulating WAve Nearshore (SWAN)). Considering the realistic ocean waves are usually mixtures of windsea and swells, the wave spectrum is partitioned using a watershed algorithm, such that the windsea and swells are analyzed and predicted separately. Four parameters are selected to capture the wave spectrum of each system, including the significant wave height Hs, peaked wave period Tp, mean propagation direction θm, and directional spreading width σθ. The results demonstrate that the LSTM neural network can achieve accurate prediction of wave condition, the mean absolute error percentage (MAEPs) of 1-h prediction is less than 5.9%, 3.3%, 3.5%, and 3.3% for Hs, Tp, θm, and σθ, respectively, and accurate prediction of wave spectra is achieved. Even for the 10-h prediction, satisfactory results are obtained, e.g., the MAEP of Hs is less than 15.5%. The effects of output size (i.e., prediction duration), input data size (i.e., number of delays), as well as different combinations of input features on predictions of wave conditions are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resonant behavior in a moonpool of a floating circular solar pond, with an entrapped two-layer fluid, is studied. The problem is solved by applying a domain-decomposition method using eigenfunction matching. The surface- and internal-wave elevations and the hydrodynamic coefficients of a typical floating solar pond under forced heave or surge motion are computed. The effects of density stratification on surface-wave elevation, added mass, and damping coefficients are analyzed. A collection of resonance frequencies of surface and internal waves is examined, together with the corresponding variations of modal shapes. For heave resonance, the surface and internal waves are characterized by axisymmetric sloshing modes, as opposed to antisymmetric sloshing modes under surge resonances. A frozen-mode approximation method that treats the moonpool fluid as a density-stratified solid is developed to estimate piston-mode frequencies. Non-dimensional resonance frequencies corresponding to antisymmetric and axisymmetric sloshing modes are estimated based on the standing-wave approximation and reciprocity relations between surface and internal wavenumbers. Satisfactory agreement between the estimated resonance frequencies and those computed by eigenfunction matching method is achieved. It is found that the first resonance of the internal wave, rather than higher-order resonances, is more likely to affect the surface-wave behavior, whereas resonances of the surface-wave modes have significant effects on the internal waves. Parametric analyses are performed to study the effects of geometry configurations of the pond. It is found that the resonance frequencies of internal waves under forced heave or surge motion decrease with an increasing density ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To resolve the severe wear problems of steering engine and fin stabilizer, the nonlinear response characteristics of steering engine and fin stabilizer are studied by analyzing sea trial data of ship Yukun. The nonlinear response characteristics are summarized and applied to a rudder and fin hybrid control system. Decoupling, H ∞ and H 2 controllers are designed to achieve low control frequency for it. Simulations show that all the three controllers can achieve excellent course-keeping and roll damping performances, and their control frequencies and amplitudes are consistent with those of nautical practice. It can be found that H 2 controller achieves the best response performance of course-keeping and energy saving performance for rudder engine; H ∞ controller achieves the best response performance for roll damping; Decoupling controller has the best energy saving performance for fin stabilizer. When the Beaufort wind force scale is increased from 6 to 8 and model perturbation is involved, H 2 controller shows the best robustness of control performance and control input. In addition, the designed low-order controllers can reduce hardware cost for autopilot realization in nautical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Distinct amino acid and organic acid profiles were obtained between EOC and the controls. • Five metabolites were identified as biomarkers to distinguish EOC from controls. • Two important metabolic pathways play key roles in the pathogenesis of EOC. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a common gynecological cancer with high mortality rates. The main objective of this study was to investigate the serum amino acid and organic acid profiles to distinguish key metabolites for screening EOC patients. In total, 39 patients with EOC and 31 healthy controls were selected as the training set. Serum amino acid and organic acid profiles were determined using the targeted metabolomics approach. Metabolite profiles were processed via multivariate analysis to identify potential metabolites and construct a metabolic network. Finally, a test dataset derived from 29 patients and 28 healthy controls was constructed to validate the potential metabolites. Distinct amino acid and organic acid profiles were obtained between EOC and healthy control groups. Methionine, glutamine, asparagine, glutamic acid and glycolic acid were identified as potential metabolites to distinguish EOC from control samples. The areas under the curve for methionine, glutamine, asparagine, glutamic acid and glycolic acid were 0.775, 0 778, 0.955, 0.874 and 0.897, respectively, in the validation study. Metabolic network analysis of the training set indicated key roles of alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism as well as D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism in the pathogenesis of EOC. Amino acid and organic acid profiles may serve as potential screening tools for EOC. Data from this study provide useful information to bridge gaps in the understanding of the amino acid and organic acid alterations associated with epithelial ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA damage plays a significant role in the tumorigenesis and progression of the disease. Abnormal DNA repair affects the therapy and prognosis of cancer. In this study, it is demonstrated that the deubiquitinase USP25 promotes non‐homologous end joining (NHEJ), which in turn contributes to chemoresistance in cancer. It is shown that USP25 deubiquitinates SHLD2 at the K64 site, which enhances its binding with REV7 and promotes NHEJ. Furthermore, USP25 deficiency impairs NHEJ‐mediated DNA repair and reduces class switch recombination (CSR) in USP25‐deficient mice. USP25 is overexpressed in a subset of colon cancers. Depletion of USP25 sensitizes colon cancer cells to IR, 5‐Fu, and cisplatin. TRIM25 is also identified, an E3 ligase, as the enzyme responsible for degrading USP25. Downregulation of TRIM25 leads to an increase in USP25 levels, which in turn induces chemoresistance in colon cancer cells. Finally, a peptide that disrupts the USP25‐SHLD2 interaction is successfully identified, impairing NHEJ and increasing sensitivity to chemotherapy in PDX model. Overall, these findings reveal USP25 as a critical effector of SHLD2 in regulating the NHEJ repair pathway and suggest its potential as a therapeutic target for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjugated polymers have attracted significant attention in the field of photocatalysis due to their exceptional properties, including versatile optimization, cost-effectiveness, and structure stability. Herein, two conjugated porous polymers, PhIN-CPP and ThIN-CPP, based on triazines, were meticulously designed and successfully synthesized using benzene and thiophene as building blocks. Based on UV diffuse reflection spectra, the photonic band gaps of PhIN-CPP and ThIN-CPP were calculated as 2.05 eV and 1.79 eV. The PhIN-CPP exhibited a high hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 5359.92 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is 10 times higher than that of Thin-CPP (538.49 μmol·g−1·h−1). The remarkable disparity in the photocatalytic performance can be primarily ascribed to alterations in the band structure of the polymers, which includes its more stable benzene units, fluffier structure, larger specific surface area, most pronounced absorption occurring in the visible region and highly extended conjugation with a high density of electrons. The ΔEST values for PhIN-CPP and ThIN-CPP were calculated as 0.79 eV and 0.80 eV, respectively, based on DFT and TD-DFT calculations, which revealed that the incorporation of triazine units in the as-prepared CMPs could enhance the charge transfer via S1 ↔ T1 and was beneficial to the photocatalytic decomposition of H2O. This study presents a novel concept for developing a hybrid system for preparation of H2 by photocatalysis with effectiveness, sustainability, and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developed solvent-free method for stable, bright CsPbBr 3 @polymer via extrusion. • Luminescent CsPbBr 3 serves as an interface marker for studying polymer morphology. • Polymer's interpenetration enhances CsPbBr 3 ′s green emission and halogen exchange. • CsPbBr 3 @PE/PLA composites suitable for integration with 3D printing. Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) encapsulated in polymer have enhanced stability and processability. Most of the MHPs/polymer composites are fabricated in organic solvents and the interaction between MHPs and polymer matrix is rarely reported. In this work, solvent-free twin-screw blending is adopted for CsPbBr 3 @PolymerA/PolymerB (PolymerA = polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) or poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), PolymerB = polylactic acid (PLA)) composites preparation. Different factors including compatibilizer addition, polymer composition and CsPbBr 3 feeding ratio are used to investigate the interaction between MHPs and polymer matrix. According to the wetting coefficient calculation, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) results, CsPbBr 3 is mostly distributed in the interface of PE/PLA blending. As a result, the luminescent CsPbBr 3 can be used for interface marker to study the polymer interface morphology. The interpenetration morphology of polymer interface allows CsPbBr 3 to show the most efficient green emission and convenient halogen exchange. Thus, the optical emission and absorption can be tuned from blue to red. PE/PLA blending endows CsPbBr 3 @PE 5 /PLA 5 with 3D printing ability and improved stability against to the water, UV light and heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The piston-mode resonance of a three-dimensional cylindrical moonpool is investigated using a domain decomposition scheme and the exact eigenfunction matching (EEM) method. By superpositioning the solutions to heave radiation and wave diffraction problems, the solution of a circular moonpool that is free to respond to incident waves in the vertical direction (free heave motion problem) is obtained. The shift in the resonance frequency of the free heave motion from those in the radiation and diffraction problems is analyzed. Coupled hydrodynamic responses between the cylinder and moonpool are investigated by modeling the fluid inside the moonpool as a solid, which is equivalent to a moving cylinder. Explicit formulae for the resonance and cancellation frequencies in the free heave motion problem are derived, which agree well with predictions obtained using the EEM. Parametric studies show that increasing the inner and outer radii yields opposite effects on the resonance frequencies and the corresponding free-surface elevations in heave radiation or wave diffraction problems. However, this is not applicable to the free heave motion problem. Moreover, vortex-shedding-induced damping on the mean, first, and second harmonics of free-surface elevations, hydrodynamic coefficients are investigated by performing CFD simulations. • Derive explicit formulae of resonance/cancellation frequencies of moonpool in free heave motion. • Find and explain shift in resonant frequency in free heave motion and heave radiation, diffraction. • Heave radiation/wave diffraction resonance frequency raises with inner radius of moonpool. • However, it does not vary monotonically with inner radius of moonpool in free heave motion. • Study viscous effects on hydrodynamic coefficients, free-surface elevations by CFD simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor, characterized by high heterogeneity, strong invasiveness, poor prognosis, and a low survival rate. A broad range of nanoparticles have been recently developed as drug delivery systems for GBM therapy owing to their inherent size effect and ability to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Lipid-based nanoparticles (LBNPs), such as liposomes, solid lipid NPs (SLNs), and nano-structured lipid carriers (NLCs), have emerged as the most promising drug delivery system for the treatment of GBM because of their unique size, surface modification possibilities, and proven bio-safety. In this review, the main challenges of the current clinical treatment of GBM and the strategies on how novel LBNPs overcome them were explored. The application and progress of LBNP-based drug delivery systems in GBM chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and gene therapy in recent years were systematically reviewed, and the prospect of LBNPs for GBM treatment was discussed. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nanostructured W-C phases synthesis by thermo-chemical processing at different heating rates was investigated. • Higher heating rate led to the formation of core–shell W 2 C-WC type nanoparticles. • Slow heating rate leads to the formation of separate W 2 C with abnormal particle size growth. • Abnormal W 2 C particle coarsening mechanism is attributed to anisotropic volume expansion. The structure, morphology and growth mechanism of nanostructured W-C phases during its synthesis by thermo-chemical processing at different heating rates was investigated. Higher heating rates of 8 and 4 K/min led to the formation of core–shell type nanoparticles via sequential formation of the trigonal ε-W 2 C (Space group:P 3 ¯ m1) followed by the hexagonal α-WC layer (Space group: P 6 ¯ m2). It appears that the formation of the core–shell possibly initiates by the nucleation of metastable W 2 C to form octahedral core, which subsequently act as the nucleation site for the growth of the lower order α-WC from the surface layer. The surface layer encapsulating the metastable phase possibly restricts the coarsening of the particles to a size less than 100 nm. Slow heating rate of 1 K/min, on the other hand, leads to the formation of single phase ε-W 2 C with abnormal particle size growth and epitaxial morphology along (0 0 1) crystallographic plane. This observation confirms that the anisotropic lattice volume expansion in the crystalline ε-W 2 C induced diffusion of carbon leading to abnormal particle coarsening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is involved in the onset and progression of insulin resistance and metabolic syndromes, with its expression downregulated in the placental tissues of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the underlying mechanisms for these effects remain unclear. In this study, we enrolled an equal number (30) of GDM and non-GDM puerperae who underwent cesarean section at Shengjing Hospital. After due approval by the ethics committee, the expression levels of SHBG and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway markers in the placental tissues of these individuals were measured via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot assays. The correlation analysis of these genes revealed that the expression of SHBG in placental tissues was downregulated and negatively correlated with the expression of ERK pathway markers, which were upregulated in placental tissues. Further investigations using the HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cell line revealed that the trophoblasts with small interfering RNA (siRNA)-silenced SHBG expression displayed increased mRNA and protein expression levels of ERK pathway markers, as well as reduced apoptosis and enhanced proliferation. In contrast, trophoblasts with high SHBG expression showed a downregulated expression of ERK pathway markers, increased apoptosis, reduced proliferation, and a shorter S phase. Therefore, we believe that SHBG may participate in the onset of insulin resistance and GDM by regulating the activity of the ERK pathway. • SHBG exerts biological roles by regulating the ERK pathway in placenta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of sex hormone‐binding globulin (SHBG) on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in human placental trophoblasts and involvement of the cAMP/PKA/CREB1 signaling pathway in these effects. Methods: An insulin resistance cell model of human trophoblasts was established. An SHBG‐overexpression plasmid was transfected into these cells, and the expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), CREB and p‐CREB was detected and analyzed in normal cells, model cells and all groups of transfected cells by real‐time PCR and western blotting; cAMP, PKA, glucose consumption and pyruvic acid levels were also detected. Results: Among the four groups, there was no significant difference in the expression of CREB mRNA or GLUT1 mRNA (P > 0.05); however, CREB, p‐CREB, GLUT1 protein, cAMP and PKA showed low expression (P < 0.05) and cell glucose consumption and pyruvate production were decreased (P < 0.05) in the model group, compared to the normal group. SHBG overexpression in insulin‐resistant cells partially increased the levels of p‐CREB, GLUT1, cAMP and PKA (P < 0.05). Intracellular glucose consumption and pyruvate production were nearly restored to the levels observed in cells from the normal group. Conclusion: Sex hormone‐binding globulin regulates GLUT1 expression via the cAMP/PKA/CREB1 pathway and affects glucose transport in the placenta, which can induce insulin resistance and gestational diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting the uses and gratifications approach to understand two evolutionary needs—the environmental surveillance need and social involvement need—this study investigated the use of alarm and prosocial words in news headlines and the associated generic digital footprints. We analyzed over 170,000 online news headlines and the number of associated clicks and "likes" for each news story on an online news platform. Our results support the idea of a human alarm system for sensational news as a psychological survival mechanism designed to detect and pay attention to threatening news such as catastrophes and diseases. News headlines with alarm words indirectly attracted more "likes," indicating a concern with survival, through an increased number of clicks to select that news item. Furthermore, the results of a conditional indirect effect model showed that while online readers selectively clicked on news headlines with alarm words, the presence of a prosocial word in the headline increased the likelihood that readers would "like" it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable and easy method for the fabrication of a composite of ultra-fine few-layer MoS2 structures embedded on N,P-co-doped bio-carbon (MoS2-N/P-C) was developed by using natural chlorella as an adsorbent and reactor. This MoS2-N/P-C composite was easily synthesized by carrying out a biosorption of chlorella and a subsequent calcination process. This bio-carbon made from chlorella acted as a nanoreactor to prevent the MoS2 nanoparticles from agglomerating with each other during the calcination process. Besides, the N,P-codoped bio-carbon contributed to the relatively high conductivity and surface wettability of this composite and accommodated the large radius of Na+. When used as an anode for sodium ion batteries, it showed significant superiority with a high rate and long-duration cycling performance, evidenced by a measured capacity of 175 mA h g−1 after 2000 cycles at 5 A g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Alternative polyadenylation (polyA) sites near the 3 ′ end of a pre-mRNA create multiple mRNA transcripts with different 3 ′ untranslated regions (⁠ 3 ′ UTRs). The sequence elements of a 3 ′ UTR are essential for many biological activities such as mRNA stability, sub-cellular localization, protein translation, protein binding and translation efficiency. Moreover, numerous studies in the literature have reported the correlation between diseases and the shortening (or lengthening) of 3 ′ UTRs. As alternative polyA sites are common in mammalian genes, several machine learning tools have been published for predicting polyA sites from sequence data. These tools either consider limited sequence features or use relatively old algorithms for polyA site prediction. Moreover, none of the previous tools consider RNA secondary structures as a feature to predict polyA sites. Results In this paper, we propose a new deep learning model, called DeepPASTA, for predicting polyA sites from both sequence and RNA secondary structure data. The model is then extended to predict tissue-specific polyA sites. Moreover, the tool can predict the most dominant (i.e. frequently used) polyA site of a gene in a specific tissue and relative dominance when two polyA sites of the same gene are given. Our extensive experiments demonstrate that DeepPASTA signisficantly outperforms the existing tools for polyA site prediction and tissue-specific relative and absolute dominant polyA site prediction. Availability and implementation https://github.com/arefeen/DeepPASTA Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfonamides and their corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are widespread in the environment, which leads to a major threat to global health crisis. Biodegradation plays a major role in sulfonamides removal in soil ecosystem, but the degradation dynamics and the associated functional bacteria in situ remain unclear. In this study, aerobic degradation of sulfadiazine (SDZ) at two dosages (1 and 10 mg/kg) was explored for up to 70 days in two different agricultural soils. The removal of SDZ in all treatments followed first-order multi-compartment model with half-life times of 0.96–2.57 days, and DT50 prolonged with the increase of initial dosage. A total of seven bacterial genera, namely Gaiella , Clostrium_sensu_stricto _1, Tumebacillus , Roseiflexus , Variocorax , Nocardioide and Bacillus , were proposed as the potential SDZ-degraders. sadA gene was for the first time detected in soil samples, but other functional genes might also participate in SDZ degradation. The enrichment of sulfonamide resistance genes was found after 70 days' incubation, which might result in the spread of ARGs in soil. This study can add some new insights towards SDZ degradation in soil ecosystem and provide a potential resource for the bioremediation of SDZ-contaminated soil. Unlabelled Image • The removal of SDZ in soils followed first-order multi-compartment model. • Higher initial SDZ dosage prolonged the half-life times. • Nocardioide , Bacillus and five other bacterial genera were likely the SDZ-degraders. • SA-degrading functional gene was for the first time detected and quantified in soil. • Sulfonamides resistance genes (SRGs) were enriched after 70 days' incubation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, lung cancer is the most common cancer with high mortality. While prior research suggests that health information scanning influences cancer screening within the general population, a deeper exploration of the underlying mechanisms is imperative. This study specifically targets smokers, aiming to investigate whether online health information scanning can effectively encourage lung cancer screening and elucidate the mechanisms driving this association. Data were extracted from a Chinese national survey conducted between January and September 2023, exclusively involving current smokers (N = 992). A moderated mediation model was employed to examine a cognitive-affective sequential chain of mediation through risk perceptions and cancer worry. Results showed that 99.1% of Chinese smokers reported online health information scanning, which possessed significant influence. Online health information scanning was positively associated with effective lung cancer screening among smokers directly (OR = 1.927, p < .01) and indirectly (OR = .065, p < .001). The perceived threat of smoking and cancer worry served as the cognitive and affective mediating mechanisms. Furthermore, a moderating effect of eHealth literacy was observed (OR = 6.292, p < .05). Smokers with higher eHealth literacy are more inclined to undergo effective lung cancer screening. Based on these findings, public health sectors should leverage online platforms to disseminate tailored cancer screening education and implement initiatives to enhance public eHealth literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A facile method for tunable porous and robust multifunctional coatings. • Optimized coatings with excellent broadband AR performance and good durability. • Porous coatings considerably improve the sensitivity of contaminants sensors. • Simple method for manufacturing both broadband AR coatings and contamination sensors. Multifunctional silica coatings find diverse applications in solar energy conversion and pollution monitoring sensors due to their suitability for mass manufacturing. However, the challenge lies in producing robust silica coatings on a large scale with tunable refractive index. This work presents a two-step acid/base catalyzed sol–gel process for synthesizing multifunctional silica coatings with adjustable refractive index. The coatings' porous microstructure allows them to be used as double-layer broadband antireflective coatings and enhances the sensitivity of contamination sensors. The optimized double-layer coatings, designed using computer-aided techniques, demonstrate excellent broadband antireflective performance in the visible regions and high environmental durability. They achieve a maximum transmittance of 99.87% at 591 nm, with an average transmittance of 99.40% in the visible region (400–800 nm) and 98.63% from 400 nm to 1100 nm. Additionally, the coatings exhibit robust abrasion resistance and enhanced surface hydrophobicity with a water contact angle increased from 30° to 126° through HMDS treatment. This work investigated the particle growth mechanism and the relationship between silica nanoparticle microstructure and antireflective coating properties. Furthermore, the coatings' presence of abundant micropores allows successful application onto microfiber contamination sensors, the additional loss increases from 26.40 dB to 37.69 dB over 140 min and decreases to 31.55 dB within one minute, demonstrating rapid adsorption and desorption rates. The work successfully achieves a wide range of adjustable refractive index while maintaining excellent mechanical and optical properties, addressing the traditional trade-off between high porosity and poor mechanical stability. These rationally designed multifunctional silica coatings hold great potential for high-quality broadband antireflection and high sensitivity in microfiber contamination sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylamine lead iodide (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3) perovskite thin film solar cell has attracted much attention due to its low cost and high photoelectric conversion efficiency. Preparation of high quality perovskite thin film is the key to obtain high conversion efficiency of solar cells. Here, the pinhole-free CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 layer with high coverage and smooth surface is prepared by the one-step solution method in air with ethylacetate as anti-solvent on an electron transport hybrid layer of TiO 2 nanoparticles coated porous carbon. The effect of ethylacetate as anti-solvent on the quality of perovskite thin film is studied in detail by comparing with chlorobenzene and ethylether. The high saturation and humidity resistance of ethylacetate in air control the nucleation and growing kinetics of perovskite crystals during the spin coating process, which facilitates the formation of uniform pinhole-free perovskite thin films. The perovskite solar cell based on the prepared high quality thin film achieves the highest conversion efficiency of 17.41% in ambient air with a relative humidity of 35%, which is superior to the perovskite thin films prepared with chlorobenzene and ethylether (conversion efficiency of 10.80% and 10.20%). The higher light-to-electric conversion efficiency is due to high coverage of the pinhole-free perovskite thin film and good contact with the electron transport layer and the hole transport layer. The high quality CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 layer is prepared by the one-step solution method in air with ethylacetate as anti-solvent on an electron transport hybrid layer of TiO 2 nanoparticles coated porous carbon. The perovskite solar cell based on the prepared high quality thin film achieves the highest conversion efficiency of 17.41% in ambient air, which is due to high coverage of the pinhole-free perovskite thin film and good contact with the electron transport layer. Image 1 • Ethylacetate was used as anti-solvent to deposit high quality perovskite layer in air. • The saturation and humidity resistance of ethylacetate change the crystal kinetics. • The smooth pinhole-free perovskite layer with high coverage was prepared in air. • Perovskite solar cell based on the prepared film achieves the conversion efficiency of 17.41%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The unified semi-empirical single realization crest distributions for nonlinear long-crested wave fields have been developed for wave calibration before model test in wave basin. • The effects of fourth-order nonlinearity on wave crest distributions have been investigated. • Large-scale and 3-h nonlinear wave simulations with considering energy dissipation due to wave breaking have been performed. Abstract The wave crest height qualification checks are required during the wave calibration before the model test in wave basin. However, the reliable criteria of nonlinear wave crest probability distribution in 3-h duration (full-scale) has not been well established yet. We investigate wave crest-height statistics of long-crested nonlinear wave fields using high-order spectral (HOS) method, which can take the effects of both second-order bound waves and third-order free waves into account. The energy dissipation effects due to wave breaking were included by employing an eddy viscosity model. Sensitivity analyses to the wave breaking onset criterion have been performed. Validation is provided by comparing the obtained numerical results with the available calibration test data. Based on extensive and direct numerical simulations, semi-empirical single realization distributions for wave calibration have been developed through 3-parameter Weibull fitting and systematic regression analyses. Particular attention has been paid to the tail of upper bound of wave crest distributions. The effects of wave steepness and water depth on the maximum wave crest height in 3-h duration have been examined. It is found that with the increase of wave steepness, the extreme wave crest height increases until it reaches a critical value. In addition, for the scale water depth k p h < 1.36, the maximum crest height decreases as the water depth increases, while in the opposite case the maximum crest height increases as the water depth increases. Moreover, it is confirmed that that the fourth-order nonlinearity does not have significant effects on the distribution of the wave crest height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents experimental studies on the unsteady hydrodynamic loads (forces and moments) on a Tension-Leg Platform (TLP) due to the action of a steady current at high Reynolds numbers (R e) in a high-speed cavitation water tunnel. Five current incidence angles (θ) ranging from 0° to 45° are selected for the present tests. The achieved Reynolds numbers of 9. 5 × 1 0 4 ≤ R e ≤ 5. 7 × 1 0 5 span from the subcritical to supercritical flow regimes. The experimental results show that at R e < 2. 2 × 1 0 5 , the mean streamwise force coefficient C ¯ x increases as R e grows for 0° current incidence, while it reduces slightly for 15°, 22. 5 ∘ , 30° and 45° current incidences. At R e ≥ 2. 2 × 1 0 5 , C ¯ x remains roughly unvaried with R e for each current incidence angle. The fluctuating streamwise force coefficient C x ′ drops gradually as R e increases from 9. 5 × 1 0 4 to 2. 2 × 1 0 5 , and then they rise slightly for all the current incidences. The fluctuating transverse force coefficients (C y ′) in the supercritical regime (2. 2 × 1 0 5 < R e < 5. 7 × 1 0 5) are less than those in the subcritical regime (9 × 1 0 4 < R e < 1. 5 × 1 0 5), which is independent of θ. The fluctuating yaw moment coefficients (C M z ′) show a declining trend with the increase of R e for 0°, 15°, 22. 5 ∘ and 30° current incidences. In the supercritical regime, the measured C y ′ and C M z ′ for 22. 5 ∘ current incidence are larger, comparing with those for the other current incidence angles. In addition, the correlations between forces and yaw moment indicate that the fluctuating transverse force is the main contribution to the fluctuating yaw moment. Furthermore, the effect of the immersed column height (H) on the forces and yaw moment is examined. It is found that, in the supercritical regime, generally C y ′ and C M z ′ grow as H ∕ D (where D is the column diameter) increases from 1.0 to 1.57. • Experiments are carried out to measure the hydrodynamic loads on a TLP at high R e. • Effects of R e and current incidence angle on the hydrodynamic loads are investigated. • Effects of the column height on the forces and moments are examined. • PSD and correlations between the forces and moments are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four novel divalent lead coordination polymers based on a series of zwitterionic ligands, Pb2Cl4L1 (1), [Pb2Cl4L2]·2H2O (2), Pb2Cl2(CH3COO)2L2 (3), and Pb3Cl4(NO3)2L3 (4) were solvothermally synthesized and successfully characterized. Single crystal structure studies reveal that compound 1 is a chain structure based on the inorganic "PbCl2" chain motif, whereas compounds 2–4 are sheet structures each constructed by inorganic "PbCl2", "PbCl(CH3COO)", and "Pb3Cl4" chain motifs. Hydrogen bonding interactions in term of C–H···Cl and C–H···O play a key role to form supramolecular 3D structures of 1–4. Additionally, studies of solid state fluorescence indicate 1–4 emit in the ultraviolet and visible region that can be assigned to the inter‐ligand π*–π and/or π*–n transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A double-layer broadband antireflective coating was designed and prepared. • The advantages of this method are inexpensive, etchant-free and without high temperature calcination. • The double-layer coating showed significant vacuum stability. • The LIDT of the double-layer coating was up to ca. 19.0 J cm−2 at 351 nm wavelength. Abstract We report the fabrication of nanoporous silica coatings with tunable refractive indices by a one-step base-catalyzed sol-gel process using tetraethoxysilane as the precursor, hexamethylisilazane as the modifier at ambient conditions. The advantages of the present method are inexpensive, etchant-free and without high temperature calcination treatment. Importantly, porosity of the coatings can be tunable by changing the monomer ratio of the starting solution, which makes them suitable for top layer of broadband AR coatings. The tri-wavelength broadband AR coating with the refractive indices of the bottom and top layers as 1.27 and 1.16 was achieved on a fused silica substrate, which possessed high transmittance of 99.6%, 98.0% and 99.3% at 351 nm, 527 nm and 1053 nm, respectively. Moreover, the double-layer coating showed significant stability, when tested with polydimethylsiloxane pollution in vacuum for a week. In addition, LIDT of the double-layer coating was up to ca. 19.0 J cm−2 at a 6.3 ns laser pulse of 351 nm wavelength. This double-layer AR coating possesses excellent broadband AR performance, high LIDT, and excellent vacuum stability, which can open a new avenue to explore applications in high-power laser systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the chemokine and adhesion molecule profiles in aqueous humor (AH) of eyes with inactive uveitis and their correlations with inflammation relapse after cataract surgery. Methods: Patients with inactive uveitis who underwent cataract surgery between July 2014 and January 2016 at our center were included. Undiluted AH samples (100-120 µl) were obtained through lateral corneal incisions during surgery, and concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1/CCL2), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 (MIP-1), interleukin 8 (IL-8), regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES/CCL5), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM) were measured by cytometric bead array (BD Bioscience, San Jose, CA). AH levels of these inflammatory factors were compared between different uveitis entities and non-inflammatory control. Risk factors for postoperative inflammation relapse were also analysed in uveitic eyes. Results: As compared with the control group, the panuveitis group had significantly higher aqueous concentrations of MCP-1, IL-8, sVCAM, sICAM; the anterior uveitis group had significantly higher concentrations of MCP-1, MIP-1, sVCAM. Uveitic cataracts with postoperative inflammation relapse had significantly higher levels of MCP-1 and IL-8 in AH than those without. And multivariate cox regression analysis revealed that high AH levels of MCP-1 was an independent predictor for postoperative inflammation relapse. Conclusions: Clinically quiescent uveitic eyes have elevated levels of chemokines and soluble adhesion molecules in AH, of which MCP-1 is associate with inflammation relapses after cataract surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]