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Metal-halide perovskite (MHP) nanocrystals (NCs) have unique advantages in the gas sensing field, but the poor stability restricts their widespread applications. In this work, the CsPbBr 3 @Fe 2 O 3 heterojunction NCs were synthesized successfully by simple solution process and subsequent surface modification strategy for constructing a gas sensor. The Fe 2 O 3 shell layer was obtained through thermal decomposition of acetylacetone iron (AAI) at 400 °C. The resulting CsPbBr 3 @Fe 2 O 3 heterostructured NCs exhibit a higher gas-sensing performance to H 2 S than pure CsPbBr 3 and Fe 2 O 3 , respectively. Upon exposure to 10 ppm H 2 S, the response value of 4.12 was obtained at a moderate working temperature of 350 °C, while the response was fast both in terms of response time and recovery time, i.e. , 1.84 s and 24.20 s, respectively. This might be the best performance for MHP sensors, to the best of our knowledge. The excellent gas-sensitive response might be attributed to the formation of a heterojunction which promotes the electron migration from CsPbBr 3 to Fe 2 O 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counterfeit goods are pervasive, being found in products as diverse as textiles and optical media to pharmaceuticals and sensitive electronics. Here, an anti‐counterfeit platform is reported in which plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) are used to create unique image tags that can be authenticated quickly and reliably. Specifically, plasmonic NPs are assembled into periodic arrays of NP clusters by template‐assisted self‐assembly (TASA), where the light scattering responses from the arrays are analyzed by dark‐field optical microscopy. Tag design proved modular as plasmonic NPs with different optical responses can be selected and paired with Templates with different features (e.g., well size, well shape, and number and arrangement of wells in an array), giving access to a variety of color responses and unique images. These images can be differentiated from one another and authenticated by image analysis. Authentication methods based on shallow and deep neural networks are compared, where deep neural networks authenticated TASA tags with higher accuracy. Given the ease of tag fabrication and rapid image analysis, these platforms are ideal for on‐the‐fly tagging and supply‐chain authentication of critical goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the association between nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), varenicline, and untreated smoking with the risk of developing eye disorders. We employed a new-user design to investigate the association between NRT use and the incidence of eye disorders by the Taiwan National Health Insurance program. This study included 8416 smokers who received NRT and 8416 smokers who did not receive NRT (control group) matched using propensity scores between 2007 and 2018. After adjustment for relevant factors, a multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed that compared with untreated smokers, NRT use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of macular degeneration (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13–0.87, P = 0.024). When stratified by dose, short-term NRT use (8–28 defined daily doses) was associated with significantly lower risk of glaucoma (HR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16–0.80, P = 0.012) and a trend toward reduced risk of cataract (HR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.36–1.01, P = 0.053) compared to no treatment. However, these associations were not observed with long-term NRT use. The results of this real-world observational study indicate that NRT use, particularly short-term use, was associated with a lower risk of certain eye disorders compared to no treatment for smoking cessation. Long-term NRT use did not demonstrate the same benefits. Thus, short-term NRT may be a beneficial treatment strategy for reducing the risk of eye disorders in smokers attempting to quit. However, further evidence is required to verify these findings and determine the optimal duration of NRT use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study optimal control of an elliptic obstacle problem with mixed boundary conditions whose weak formulation is a nonlinear variational inequality. We put the control on both the boundary and obstacles. Existence of optimal solutions is proved and the necessary conditions of optimality are derived by the Lagrange multiplier rule and approximation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collapsin response mediator protein 1 (CRMP1) is involved in semaphorin 3A signaling pathway, promoting neurite extension and growth cone collapse. It is highly expressed in the nervous system, especially the hippocampus. The crmp1 knockout (KO) mice display impaired spatial learning and memory, and this phenomenon seemingly tends to deteriorate with age. Here we investigated whether CRMP1 is involved in age-related cognitive decline in WT and crmp1 KO mice at adult, middle-aged and older stages. The results revealed that cognitive dysfunction in the Morris water maze task became more severe and decreased glutamate and glutamine level in middle-aged crmp1 KO mice. Additionally, increasing levels of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors and phosphorylation of Tau were observed in middle-aged crmp1 KO mice, leading to synaptic and neuronal loss in the CA3 regions of hippocampus. These findings suggest that deletion of CRMP1 accelerates age-related cognitive decline by disrupting the balance between synaptic and extrasynaptic NMDA receptors, resulting in the loss of synapses and neurons. [Display omitted] ● Depletion of CRMP1 accelerated aging-related cognitive decline. ● Depletion of CRMP1 increased extrasynaptic NMDA receptors. ● Depletion of CRMP1 induced hyperphosphorylation of Tau. ● Depletion of CRMP1 resulted in synaptic and neuronal loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To play essential roles of manganese (Mn) in plant growth and development, it needs to be transported to different organs and tissues after uptake. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying Mn distribution between different tissues are poorly understood.We functionally characterized a member of rice natural resistance‐associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) family, OsNramp5 in terms of its tissue specificity of gene expression, cell‐specificity of protein localization, phenotypic analysis of leaf growth and response to Mn fluctuations.OsNramp5 is highly expressed in the leaf sheath. Immunostaining revealed that OsNramp5 is polarly localized at the proximal side of xylem parenchyma cells of the leaf sheath. Both the gene expression and protein abundance of OsNramp5 are unaffected by different Mn concentrations. Knockout of OsNramp5 decreased the distribution of Mn to the leaf sheath, but increased the distribution to the leaf blade at both low and high Mn supplies, resulting in reduced growth of leaf sheath. Furthermore, expression of OsNramp5 under the control of root‐specific promoter in osnramp5 mutant complemented Mn uptake, but could not complement Mn distribution to the leaf sheath.These results indicate that OsNramp5 expressed in the leaf sheath plays an important role in unloading Mn from the xylem for the local distribution in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD) in older adults is important but challenging. Growing evidence suggests that diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) can detect SIVD-relevant microstructural pathology, and a systematic assessment of the discriminant power of DKI metrics in various brain tissue microstructures is urgently needed. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the value of DKI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in detecting early-stage SIVD by combining multiple diffusion metrics, analysis strategies, and clinical-radiological constraints. This prospective study compared DKI with diffusivity and macroscopic imaging evaluations across the aging spectrum including SIVD, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and cognitively normal (NC) groups. Using a white matter atlas and segregated thalamus analysis with considerations of the pre-identified macroscopic pathology, the most effective diffusion metrics were selected and then examined using multiple clinical-radiological constraints in a two-group or three-group paradigm. A total of 122 participants (mean age, 74.6 ± 7.38 years, 72 women) including 42 with SIVD, 50 with AD, and 30 NC were evaluated. Fractional anisotropy, mean kurtosis, and radial kurtosis were critical metrics in detecting early-stage SIVD. The optimal selection of diffusion metrics showed 84.4–100% correct classification of the results in a three-group paradigm, with an area under the curve of.909–.987 in a two-group paradigm related to SIVD detection (all P <.001). We therefore concluded that greatly resilient to the effect of pre-identified macroscopic pathology, the combination of DKI/DTI metrics showed preferable performance in identifying early-stage SIVD among adults across the aging spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of adaptive dynamic output feedback fault tolerant control (FTC) for a class of nonlinear systems with unknown nonlinearities and faults is investigated, in which the nonlinearities do not need to satisfy the Lipschitz condition, so the system can represent a wider range of nonlinear system models. An adaptive dynamic output feedback FTC is designed, where the output and its derivatives are fully applied to compensate the actuator faults on systems. The designed control method can effectively offset the effect of faults on systems so as to stabilized the nonlinear system. Furthermore, based on the designed controller, the coupling term can be eliminated reasonably and less conservative stability conditions for the closed‐loop system have been obtained. The proposed control strategy pledges that the states of the closed‐loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). Two numerical examples are presented to exhibit the effectiveness and merits of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rectovaginal fistula (RVF) is an abnormal channel formed by epithelial tissue between the anterior wall of the rectum and the posterior wall of the vagina, which manifests as vaginal gassing and defecation. It is one of the common complications of female pelvic surgeries. With the increased number of proctectomies for rectal cancer, the number of postoperative rectovaginal fistulas also increases. Once RVF occurs, the failure rate is still high with various treatments available. RVF causes great suffering to women and is still a major problem in treatment. Therefore, it is significant for female rectal cancer patients to prevent RVF after rectal cancer surgery. In this study, we introduce a new method to prevent RVF during rectal cancer radical operation. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), all operations are performed according to the principle of total mesorectal excision (TME) radical resection in rectal cancer surgery. All eligible participants will be divided into two groups: the experimental group and the control group. Experimental group: the anterior rectal wall of about 1 cm distal to the anastomosis was dislocated. Before the anastomosis of the rectal end, a fat flap (usually left side) containing the ovarian vascular pedicle was dislocated, measured by 10–15 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The fat flap containing the ovarian vascular pedicle was packed and fixed anterior to the anastomotic stoma with fibrin glue. Control group: surgery will be carried out in accordance with the TME principle. Participants will be compared on several variables, including the incidence of RVF after operation (primary outcomes), the occurrence time of postoperative RVF, the occurrence time of RVF after stoma closure, and other postoperative complications, such as anastomotic leakage, chylous leakage, and intestinal obstruction (secondary outcomes). The follow-up data collection will be conducted according to the follow-up time point, and the baseline data will also be collected for follow-up analysis. By comparing the incidence of rectovaginal leakage between the experimental group and the control group, we aim to explore the feasibility of this method for the prevention of postoperative RVF. Discussion: This RCT will explore the feasibility of packing with a laparoscopic dislocated fat flap containing an ovarian vascular pedicle anterior to the anastomotic stoma after rectal cancer surgery to prevent RVF. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) registration ChiCTR2000031449. Registered on June 26, 2019. All items of the WHO Trial registration data set can be found within the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The link between organizational culture, organizational trust, job satisfaction, and team-based practice among nurse practitioners (NPs) has not been examined simultaneously. Aim. To identify the effects of organizational culture, organizational trust, and other factors on NPs such as job satisfaction and team-based practice. Methods. We used a cross-sectional design with a national sample. Data were collected using an online survey of 1,100 NPs working in acute care settings. The survey included demographic and working characteristics, the Organizational Culture Scale, the Organizational Trust Scale, the Misener Nurse Practitioner Job Satisfaction Scale (MNPJSS), and the NP-physician relations (NP-PR) subscale of the Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Organizational Climate (NP-PCOCQ). Multiple regression analysis with a stepwise selection method explored potential factors that influence job satisfaction and team-based practice. Results. A learning environment, psychological safety, senior leadership support, commitment to the organization, and the organizational culture and trust were positively associated with higher job satisfaction, which accounted for 49.2% of the variance in NPs' job satisfaction. Organizational trust, commitment to the organization, and learning environment promoted better team-based practice significantly. Also, NPs working a fixed shift pattern showed higher levels of team-based practice. These factors accounted for 23.66% of variances in team-based practice. Conclusion. Organizational culture and organizational trust affect the job satisfaction and team-based practice of NPs in acute care practices. Implications for Nursing Management. Acute care hospitals are encouraged to develop policies to enhance a learning environment, a supportive organizational culture, and trust in NPs' practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immunity-related functions of defensins seem to be dependent on environmental stimuli, the cell type, and the concentration of peptides. However, the function and mechanism of porcine β-defensin 114 (pBD114) in regulating the inflammatory response to macrophages are unclear. Therefore, the modulatory effects of porcine pBD114 on the inflammatory response were investigated by treating the mouse monocyte macrophage cell line RAW264.7 with different concentrations of pBD114 with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RNA-seq analysis was performed to investigate the mechanisms underlying pBD114's regulation of inflammatory responses in macrophages. In addition, the inflammatory response-modulating effects of pBD114 were also further verified with a mouse assay. The results showed that 100 μg/mL of pBD114 significantly promoted the secretion of TNF-α and IL-10 in RAW264.7. However, the LPS-induced increase in TNFα in the RAW264.7 cell cultures was significantly decreased with 10 μg/mL of pBD114. These results suggest that pBD114 can exhibit pro-inflammatory activities under normal physiological conditions with 100 μg/mL of pBD114, and anti-inflammatory activities during an excessive inflammatory response with 10 μg/mL of pBD114. RNA-seq analysis was performed to gain further insights into the effects of pBD114 on the inflammatory response. Among the pBD114-promoting RAW264.7 pro-inflammatory responses, pBD114 significantly up-regulated 1170 genes and down-regulated 724 genes. KEGG enrichment showed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in the immune- and signal-transduction-related signaling pathways. Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) and key driver analysis (KDA) analyses revealed that Bcl10 and Bcl3 were the key genes. In addition, pBD114 significantly up-regulated 12 genes and down-regulated 38 genes in the anti-inflammatory response. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in the "Cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction" signaling pathway, and PPI and KDA analyses showed that Stat1 and Csf2 were the key genes. The results of qRT-PCR verified those of RNA-seq. In vivo mouse tests also confirmed the pro- or anti-inflammatory activities of pBD114. Although the inflammatory response is a rapid and complex physiological reaction to noxious stimuli, this study found that pBD114 plays an essential role mainly by acting on the genes related to immunity, signal transduction, signaling molecules, and interactions. In conclusion, this study provides a certain theoretical basis for the research and application of defensins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melittin, a natural antimicrobial peptide, has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. This has resulted in it gaining increasing attention as a potential antibiotic alternative; however, its practical use has been limited by its weak antimicrobial activity, high hemolytic activity, and low proteolytic stability. In this study, N-terminal fatty acid conjugation was used to develop new melittin-derived lipopeptides (MDLs) to improve the characteristics of melittin. Our results showed that compared with native melittin, the antimicrobial activity of MDLs was increased by 2 to 16 times, and the stability of these MDLs against trypsin and pepsin degradation was increased by 50 to 80%. However, the hemolytic activity of the MDLs decreased when the length of the carbon chain of fatty acids exceeded 10. Among the MDLs, the newly designed analog Mel-C8 showed optimal antimicrobial activity and protease stability. The antimicrobial mechanism studied revealed that the MDLs showed a rapid bactericidal effect by interacting with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and penetrating the bacterial cell membrane. In conclusion, we designed and synthesized a new class of MDLs with potent antimicrobial activity, high proteolytic stability, and low hemolytic activity through N-terminal fatty acid conjugation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants take up metals, including essential micronutrients [iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn)] and the toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd), from soil and accumulate these metals in their edible parts, which are direct and indirect intake sources for humans. Multiple transporters belonging to different families are required to transport a metal from the soil to different organs and tissues, but only a few of them have been fully functionally characterized. The transport systems (the transporters required for uptake, translocation, distribution, redistribution, and their regulation) differ with metals and plant species, depending on the physiological roles, requirements of each metal, and anatomies of different organs and tissues. To maintain metal homeostasis in response to spatiotemporal fluctuations of metals in soil, plants have developed sophisticated and tightly regulated mechanisms through the regulation of transporters at the transcriptional and/or posttranscriptional levels. The manipulation of some transporters has succeeded in generating crops rich in essential metals but low in Cd accumulation. A better understanding of metal transport systems will contribute to better and safer crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many person-fit statistics have been proposed to detect aberrant response behaviors (e.g., cheating, guessing). Among them, lz is one of the most widely used indices. The computation of lz assumes the item and person parameters are known. In reality, they often have to be estimated from data. The better the estimation, the better lz will perform. When aberrant behaviors occur, the person and item parameter estimations are inaccurate, which in turn degrade the performance of lz. In this study, an iterative procedure was developed to attain more accurate person parameter estimates for improved performance of lz. A series of simulations were conducted to evaluate the iterative procedure under two conditions of item parameters, known and unknown, and three aberrant response styles of difficulty-sharing cheating, random-sharing cheating, and random guessing. The results demonstrated the superiority of the iterative procedure over the non-iterative one in maintaining control of Type-I error rates and improving the power of detecting aberrant responses. The proposed procedure was applied to a high-stake intelligence test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) reaction has emerged as a safer method for converting biomass derivatives into value-added chemicals. This study aims to comprehensively evaluate two processes for converting furfural into 2-methylfuran (2-MF) using either methanol (or MeOH, Scheme 1) or isopropyl alcohol (or IPA, Scheme 2) as hydrogen carriers. Both processes were rigorously simulated using Aspen Plus. The reaction performance was modeled using kinetic models developed from literature data. In addition, appropriate strategies are first established for separating the reactor effluents of both processes, which contain multiple azeotropes, based on the thermodynamic parameters estimated through COSMO-based calculations. From the techno-economic analysis, the minimum required selling price (MRSP) of 2-MF is 5.15 USD/kg when produced with Scheme 1 , and 3.63 USD/kg when produced with Scheme 2. The MRSP in Scheme 1 becomes 4.50 USD/kg by considering the benefits of the side product, a formalin solution. Compared to various literature data, the MRSPs of these two process schemes are significantly lower than that obtained from direct hydrogenation (6.87 USD/kg). If the cost of the starting materials can be reduced by 25% or more, the MRSP becomes comparable to that obtained from an improved direct hydrogenation process (2.20–3.30 USD/kg). Furthermore, the CO 2 emission analysis reveals that Scheme 2 has a lower rate of indirect CO 2 emission rate (0.926 Ton-CO 2 /Ton-2-MF) compared to Scheme 1 (1.088 Ton-CO 2 /Ton-2-MF). With thorough assessment, we have concluded that the production of 2-MF through the CTH reaction in Scheme 2 is superior. This process shows promise in both economic and decarbonization aspects and could have industrial significance. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anderson-type polyoxometalates have exhibited remarkable catalytic capabilities in a wide range of reactions. This discourse delves into the distinct categories of Anderson POMs and their respective catalytic reactions, which are examined in separate segments. These encompass the straightforward {XMo6} POMs, the organic grafting {XMo6} POMs, and the integration of POMs into POM cluster organic frameworks. It is important to highlight that specific catalytic functionalities can solely be accomplished via the utilization of Anderson-type POMs, thus emphasizing their indispensable role in future explorations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport behavior of ions in the nanopores has an important impact on the performance of the electrochemical devices. Although the classical Transmission‐Line (TL) model has long been used to describe ion transport in pores, the boundary conditions for the applicability of the TL model remain controversial. Here, we investigated the transport kinetics of different ions, within nanochannels of different lengths, by using transient single‐particle imaging with temporal resolution up to microseconds. We found that the ion transport kinetics within short nanochannels may deviate significantly from the TL model. The reason is that the ion transport under nanoconfinement is composed of multi basic stages, and the kinetics differ much under different stage domination. With the shortening of nanochannels, the electrical double layer (EDL) formation would become the "rate‐determining step" and dominate the apparent ion kinetics. Our results imply that using the TL model directly and treating the in‐pore mobility as an unchanged parameter to estimate the ion transport kinetics in short nanopores/nanochannels may lead to orders of magnitude bias. These findings may advance the understanding of the nanoconfined ion transport and promote the related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport behavior of ions in the nanopores has an important impact on the performance of the electrochemical devices. Although the classical Transmission‐Line (TL) model has long been used to describe ion transport in pores, the boundary conditions for the applicability of the TL model remain controversial. Here, we investigated the transport kinetics of different ions, within nanochannels of different lengths, by using transient single‐particle imaging with temporal resolution up to microseconds. We found that the ion transport kinetics within short nanochannels may deviate significantly from the TL model. The reason is that the ion transport under nanoconfinement is composed of multi basic stages, and the kinetics differ much under different stage domination. With the shortening of nanochannels, the electrical double layer (EDL) formation would become the "rate‐determining step" and dominate the apparent ion kinetics. Our results imply that using the TL model directly and treating the in‐pore mobility as an unchanged parameter to estimate the ion transport kinetics in short nanopores/nanochannels may lead to orders of magnitude bias. These findings may advance the understanding of the nanoconfined ion transport and promote the related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: We proposed a deep learning algorithm to detect lymph nodes and classify them in the head and neck region on computed tomography. We further analyzed the inference result from the model and found that the size of the lymph nodes may be a characteristic for the model to classify them. This finding is consistent with current clinical aspects. We will deploy the model in clinical practice and hope to assist clinicians in finding out the lesions more correctly and efficiently. Background: Head and neck cancer is highly prevalent in Taiwan. Its treatment mainly relies on clinical staging, usually diagnosed from images. A major part of the diagnosis is whether lymph nodes are involved in the tumor. We present an algorithm for analyzing clinical images that integrates a deep learning model with image processing and attempt to analyze the features it uses to classify lymph nodes. Methods: We retrospectively collected pretreatment computed tomography images and surgery pathological reports for 271 patients diagnosed with, and subsequently treated for, naïve oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx cancer between 2008 and 2018. We chose a 3D UNet model trained for semantic segmentation, which was evaluated for inference in a test dataset of 29 patients. Results: We annotated 2527 lymph nodes. The detection rate of all lymph nodes was 80%, and Dice score was 0.71. The model has a better detection rate at larger lymph nodes. For those identified lymph nodes, we found a trend where the shorter the short axis, the more negative the lymph nodes. This is consistent with clinical observations. Conclusions: The model showed a convincible lymph node detection on clinical images. We will evaluate and further improve the model in collaboration with clinical physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because imbalanced power will cause the loss of the propulsion motor of the railway vehicle, and the increase in temperature will shorten the service life of the electric vehicle. Not only this but also increase the cost of electricity and maintenance. In the past, the industry only focused on methods to improve power quality such as load capacity, relay setting, and harmonic resolution. Now, the consider of three-phase unbalance rate (TPUR) must be applied. I propose special transformers wiring (STW) to improve the three unbalance rates and provide different transformer wiring methods. According to the IEEE Committee, in the future, power companies will need to install balanced relay stations to improve three-phase unbalance rate. The internal regulations of Taipower must be less than 4.5% (voltage unbalance rate (NPSUR) of 2.5% and motor temperature rise of 12.5%). The derivation of the transformer "three-phase unbalance rate" model is the focus of the railway system. This research is based on the model derivation of different wiring methods to improve the problem caused by the three-phase imbalance and improve the using life of the train. They pointed out that Scott, Le-Blanc, and Modified-Woodbridge, the three wiring methods can be applied to future railway system and reduce the three-phase unbalance rate. They are in line with the IEEE standard ( % P U V ) of less than 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has come to a different stage worldwide. Until now, the common flu-like outbreaks have led to increasing demand for screening tests with high sensitivity and specificity. Among biosensors, the noble metal nano-optical sensor based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has great potential due to its simple design, feasible manufacturing, and fast response. To develop an efficient and economic examination, this study utilizes high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) to prepare ultrathin gold film (UTGF) on glass substrate. The experimental results show that with an increase in the deposition time from 3 s to 144 s, the UTGF forms from an island-like morphology, a network structure, to ultimately a smooth UTGF layer on glass. When the UTGF sample is conjugated with human serum albumin (HSA) at 5 × 10−4 M as a pretest analyte, a significant peak shift of 25.6 nm was detected for the UTGF deposited at 12 s. Based on the UV-Vis measurement, the plasmonic loss peak of the UTGF sample with deposition times of 6 s, 12 s, and 24 s are 537.1 nm, 601.9 nm, and 665.8 nm, respectively, whereas the deposition time of 12 s prepared UTGF sample revealed the strongest LSPR effect. With a prolonged deposition time over the percolation time (48 s), those UTGF samples gave no LSPR response. To further detect viral antigen, recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein, the UTGF were functionalized with mouse anti-human immunoglobulin G (IgG). The HiPIMS prepared UTGF sample feasible for SARS-CoV-2 detection is demonstrated, giving potential application on rapid and ultrasensitive biomolecules sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often expected that Zn decreases Cd accumulation in plants due to competition for the same transporters. Here, we found that increasing Zn supply markedly increased the root-to-shoot translocation of Cd in rice. RNA sequencing showed that high Zn up-regulated expression of genes involved in glutathione biosynthesis and metabolism and the Zn/Cd transporter gene OsHMA2 , but down-regulated expression of genes related to Zn uptake. Knockout of the iron or Zn transporter genes OsIRT1 , OsIRT2 , or OsZIP9 did not affect the Zn promotional effect on Cd translocation. Knockout of the manganese/Cd transporter gene OsNRAMP5 greatly reduced Cd uptake but did not affect the Zn promotional effect. Variation in the tonoplast transporter gene OsHMA3 affected Cd translocation but did not change the Zn promotional effect. Knockout of the Zn/Cd transporter gene OsHMA2 not only decreased Cd and Zn translocation, but also abolished the Zn promotional effect. Increased expression of OsHMA2 under high Zn conditions supports the hypothesis that this transporter participates in the promotional effect of Zn on Cd translocation. The results also show that OsIRT1, OsIRT2, and OsZIP9 made only small contributions to Cd uptake under low Zn conditions but not under high Zn conditions, whereas the dominant role of OsNRAMP5 in Cd uptake diminished under low Zn conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astasia refers to the inability to maintain upright posture during standing, despite having full motor strength. Impairment of the vestibulocerebellar pathway, graviceptive system, and cingulate motor area have been proposed to be related to astasia. However, the responsible neural pathways remain unclear. We hypothesize that there is a common neural network behind astasia. To test the hypothesis, we reviewed all reported cases with astasia, including ours, and focused on the correlation between anatomical destruction and symptom presentation. A total of 26, including ours, non-psychogenic astasia patients were identified in the English literature. Seventy-three percent of them were associated with other neurologic symptoms and sixty-two percent of reported lesions were on the right side. Contralateral lateropulsion was very common, followed by retropulsion, when describing astasia. Infarction (54%) was the most reported cause. The thalamus (65%) was the most reported location. Infarctions were the fastest to recover (mean: 10.6 days), while lesions at the brainstem needed a longer time (mean: 61.6 days). By combining the character of lateropulsion in astasia and the presentation of an interrupted graviceptive system, we concluded that the primary graviceptive system may be the common neural network behind astasia. Future studies on astasia should focus on the pathological changes in the perception of verticality in the visual world and the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, all-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite quantum dots have emerged as promising candidates for various optoelectronic applications, including sensors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells, owing to their exceptional photoelectric properties. However, their commercial utilization has been limited by stability issues. In this study, we addressed this challenge by passivating the surface defects of CsPbBr3 quantum dots using indium acetate, a metal–organic compound. The resulting CsPbBr3 quantum dots exhibited not only high photoluminescence intensity, but also a remarkably narrow half-peak width of 19 nm. Furthermore, by embedding the CsPbBr3 quantum dots in ethylene-vinyl acetate, we achieved stretchability and significantly enhanced stability while preserving the original luminous intensity. The resulting composite film demonstrated the potential to improve the power conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells and enabled the creation of excellent white light-emitting diodes with coordinates of (0.33, 0.31). This co-passivation strategy, involving surface passivation and polymer packaging, provides a new idea for the practical application of CsPbBr3 quantum dots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant impact of microstructure and material composition on material properties, this paper utilizes ytterbium nitrate to enhance the dielectric and magnetic characteristics of NiZnCo ferrite ceramics. In this study, Ni 0.5 Zn 0.4 Co 0.1 Yb 0.075 Fe 1.925 O 4 ferrites with lower magnetic losses and a substantial cutoff frequency were successfully created using the sol-gel self-propagating method. The study reveals that the adding of ytterbium ions rises the lattice constant from 8.3377 to 8.3586 Å, the porosity from 4.77% to 6.92%, theoretical X-ray density from 5.43 to 5.66 g/cm3, and bulk density from 5.18 g/cm3 to 5.27 g/cm3. The incorporation of ytterbium ions in ferrite decreases the dielectric constant as well as dielectric losses, enhances the DC resistance, and lowers the eddy current loss in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 1 MHz. The addition of ytterbium ions decreases the initial permeability and saturation magnetization of the material while increasing its magnetic quality factor. Additionally, the cut-off frequency shifted to a higher frequency range, from 25.7 MHz to 121.61 MHz, while exhibiting lower losses at higher frequencies. The addition of ytterbium ions has expanded the potential applications of NiZnCo ferrite in high-frequency microwave devices and wireless communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the problems of poor thermal stability and over-retarding of cement slurry by retarders, as well as the sensitivity to citric acid (CA) dosage and poor early strength of cement treated with hydroxycarboxylic acid retarders, CA-intercalated magnesium aluminium hydrotalcite (Mg/Al-CA-LDH, henceforth called CAIH) with a sustained-release effect was prepared by an anion exchange reaction between CA and magnesium aluminium carbonate layered double hydroxide (Mg/Al-CO3-LDH). The prepared CAIH exhibited good crystallinity and high thermal stability, and 39.92% CA could be inserted in the composite. Evaluation of the thickening and compressive strength of oil-well cement showed that the addition of CAIH effectively maintained the fluidity of the cement slurry and improved its early compressive strength. Furthermore, because of the seed effect of hydrotalcite and the microrelease of CA in CAIH, the synergistic effect of hydrotalcite and CAIH can promote the setting of oil-well cement: the effect was stable and the thickening curve was stable, indicating right-angle thickening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to assess the role and mechanism of circRNA SCAR in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (hRMVECs) treated with high glucose. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) were used to detect the effects of different concentrations of glucose on circRNA SCAR expression and cell proliferation in hRMVECs. Cell viability, levels of oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), as well as activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the transfected hRMVECs in each group were detected using CCK-8 and their corresponding detection kits. Changes in mtDNA copy number in high-glucose-induced hRMVECs were observed by qRT-PCR. Additionally, western blot was applied to detect effect of overexpressing circRNA SCAR on the expression levels of mitochondrial function-related proteins (Drp1 and Fis1) and cell permeability-related proteins (claudin-5, occludin and ZO-1) in hRMVECs under high-glucose concentration. According to experimental results, high glucose significantly downregulated circRNA SCAR expression and inhibited cell proliferation in hRMVECs. Instead, overexpression of this circRNA SCAR promoted cell proliferation, reduced levels of ROS, MDA and ATP, and increased SOD and CAT activities in hRMVECs under high-glucose concentration. Also, circRNA SCAR overexpression reversed the high-glucose-induced decrease in mtDNA copy number as well as, high-glucose-induced upregulation of Drp1 and Fis1 protein expression and downregulation of claudin-5, occludin and ZO-1 protein expression in hRMVECs. In summary, circRNA SCAR promotes the proliferation of hRMVECs under high-glucose concentration, alleviates oxidative stress induced by high glucose, and improves mitochondrial function and permeability damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid‐state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) are highly desirable for energy storage because of the urgent need for higher energy density and safer batteries. However, it remains a critical challenge for stable cycling of SSLMBs at low temperature. Here, a highly viscoelastic polyether‐b‐amide (PEO‐b‐PA) based composite solid‐state electrolyte is proposed through a one‐pot melt processing without solvent to address this key process. By adjusting the molar ratio of PEO‐b‐PA to lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide (ethylene oxide:Li = 6:1) and adding 20 wt.% succinonitrile, fast Li+ transport channel is conducted within the homogeneous polymer electrolyte, which enables its application at ultra‐low temperature (−20 to 25 °C). The composite solid‐state electrolyte utilizes dynamic hydrogen‐bonding domains and ion‐conducting domains to achieve a low interfacial charge transfer resistance (<600 Ω) at −20 °C and high ionic conductivity (25 °C, 3.7 × 10−4 S cm−1). As a result, the LiFePO4|Li battery based on composite electrolyte exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance with 81.5% capacity retention after 1200 cycles at −20 °C and high discharge specific capacities of 141.1 mAh g−1 with high loading (16.1 mg cm−2) at 25 °C. Moreover, the solid‐state SNCM811|Li cell achieves excellent safety performance under nail penetration test, showing great promise for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering how quickly wireless communication has developed, the need for the miniaturization, integration and high frequency of electronic components is more intense. The improvement of material properties is the key to solving the difficulties in the development of electronic devices. Solid-phase reactions were used to create Ni 0.5 Zn 0.4 Co 0.1 Dy x Fe 2- x O 4 (NZCDF, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) ferrite ceramics. The produced NZCDF ceramic samples are discovered to still have a spinel structure. The lattice constant a and bulk density d Bulk increase when dysprosium ion is added. The saturation magnetization decreased from 82 to 71 emu/g, and the Hc increased from 18 to 23 Oe. Dysprosium can be added to ceramic samples to modify their level of polarization, lower their ε ′, and minimize their dielectric loss. The DC resistance ρ increases to 6.3 × 103 Ω⋅m. In the higher frequency range, with the increase of dysprosium ion content, the magnetic quality factor Q increases significantly, its peak value expands, and its corresponding frequency shifts to a higher frequency. In the high-frequency region, the magnetic quality factor Q rises dramatically, its peak value expands, and its corresponding frequency shifts to a higher frequency. The peak Q of the Ni 0.5 Zn 0.4 Co 0.1 Dy 0.1 Fe 1.9 O 4 sample increased to 14.71, and the frequency corresponding to the peak Q increased to 35.08 MHz. In short, substituting dysprosium ions for nickel-zinc-cobalt ferrite broadens the application range of ferrite ceramics in high-frequency devices. The spectrum of applications for ferrite ceramics in high-frequency devices is expanded by substituting rare earth dysprosium ions for NiZnCo ferrite ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have shown pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy is a feasible and safe modality to deliver conformal and ultra‐high dose rate (UHDR) FLASH radiation therapy. However, it would be challenging and burdensome to conduct the quality assurance (QA) of the dose rate along with conventional patient‐specific QA (psQA). Purpose: To demonstrate a novel measurement‐based psQA program for UHDR PBS proton transmission FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH‐RT) using a high spatiotemporal resolution 2D strip ionization chamber array (SICA). Methods: The SICA is a newly designed open‐air strip‐segmented parallel plate ionization chamber, which is capable of measuring spot position and profile through 2 mm‐spacing‐strip electrodes at a 20 kHz sampling rate (50 μs per event) and has been characterized to exhibit excellent dose and dose rate linearity under UHDR conditions. A SICA‐based delivery log was collected for each irradiation containing the measured position, size, dwell time, and delivered MU for each planned spot. Such spot‐level information was compared with the corresponding quantities in the treatment planning system (TPS). The dose and dose rate distributions were reconstructed on patient CT using the measured SICA log and compared to the planned values in volume histograms and 3D gamma analysis. Furthermore, the 2D dose and dose rate measurements were compared with the TPS calculations of the same depth. In addition, simulations using different machine‐delivery uncertainties were performed, and QA tolerances were deduced. Results: A transmission proton plan of 250 MeV for a lung lesion was planned and measured in a dedicated ProBeam research beamline (Varian Medical System) with a nozzle beam current between 100 to 215 nA. The worst gamma passing rates for dose and dose rate of the 2D SICA measurements (four fields) compared to TPS prediction (3%/3 mm criterion) were 96.6% and 98.8%, respectively, whereas the SICA‐log reconstructed 3D dose distribution achieved a gamma passing rate of 99.1% (2%/2 mm criterion) compared to TPS. The deviations between SICA measured log, and TPS were within 0.3 ms for spot dwell time with a mean difference of 0.069 ± 0.11 s, within 0.2 mm for spot position with a mean difference of −0.016 ± 0.03 mm in the x‐direction, and −0.036 ± 0.059 mm in the y‐direction, and within 3% for delivered spot MUs. Volume histogram metric of dose (D95) and dose rate (V40Gy/s) showed minimal differences, within less than 1%. Conclusions: This work is the first to describe and validate an all‐in‐one measurement‐based psQA framework that can fulfill the goals of validating the dose rate accuracy in addition to dosimetric accuracy for proton PBS transmission FLASH‐RT. The successful implementation of this novel QA program can provide future clinical practice with more confidence in the FLASH application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Bone marrow (BM) examination is one of the most important indicators in diagnosing hematologic disorders and is typically performed under the microscope via oil-immersion objective lens with a total 100× objective magnification. On the other hand, mitotic detection and identification is critical not only for accurate cancer diagnosis and grading but also for predicting therapy success and survival. Fully automated BM examination and mitotic figure examination from whole-slide images is highly demanded but challenging and poorly explored. First, the complexity and poor reproducibility of microscopic image examination are due to the cell type diversity, delicate intralineage discrepancy within the multitype cell maturation process, cells overlapping, lipid interference and stain variation. Second, manual annotation on whole-slide images is tedious, laborious and subject to intraobserver variability, which causes the supervised information restricted to limited, easily identifiable and scattered cells annotated by humans. Third, when the training data are sparsely labeled, many unlabeled objects of interest are wrongly defined as background, which severely confuses AI learners. Results This article presents an efficient and fully automatic CW-Net approach to address the three issues mentioned above and demonstrates its superior performance on both BM examination and mitotic figure examination. The experimental results demonstrate the robustness and generalizability of the proposed CW-Net on a large BM WSI dataset with 16 456 annotated cells of 19 BM cell types and a large-scale WSI dataset for mitotic figure assessment with 262 481 annotated cells of five cell types. Availability and implementation An online web-based system of the proposed method has been created for demonstration (see https://youtu.be/MRMR25Mls1A). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, the problem of fault estimation based on intermediate variable‐based adaptive observer for a class of nonlinear systems with Lipschitzian nonlinearities and faults is studied. An adaptive observer based on lower triangular matrix transformation is proposed, which comprise the output derivatives information so as to enhance the accuracy and speed of fault estimation effectually. The designed observer can be simplified to the lower triangular estimation observer, and is superior to the comprehensive estimation observer in the related literature. In addition, a more general error dynamics is derived based on the improved adaptive estimation observer, which makes it less conservative to obtain stability conditions. The uniformly ultimately bounded stability conditions of the estimated error dynamics are given by linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and merits of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The function of stanniocalcin‐1 (STC‐1) in the oncogenesis and progression of tumors has been extensively studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between secreted STC‐1 and prognosis in patients with breast cancer (BC) and to determine whether STC‐1 could be a key prognostic factor in BC. Methods: The STC‐1 level was measured by ELISA and clinical data from 1210 female patients with BC were used to develop and validate nomograms. We then verified the models through the plotting of ROC curves and calibration curves, calculating the C‐index, and performing decision curve analyses (DCA). Results: The level of STC‐1 in the peripheral plasma was significantly correlated with the T stage, N stage, clinical stage, grade, hormone receptors, HER‐2 status, and tumor subtype. Cox regression analyses revealed that estrogen receptor(ER) status, N stage, and STC‐1 level were risk factors for overall survival (OS), whereas T stage, N stage, and STC‐1 level were independent prognostic factors for distant disease‐free survival (DDFS) and disease‐free survival (DFS). Both the ROC curve and the C‐index confirmed the high resolution of these models, while the DCA identified the feasibility of their practical application. In addition, the calibration curves indicated good consistency between the predicted and actual survival rates. Conclusion: Nomograms were created based on STC‐1 levels for 3‐, 5‐, and 7‐year OS, DDFS, and DFS of patients with BC respectively. As a key prognostic factor for BC, peripheral blood STC‐1 level can be used clinically as a liquid biopsy indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to compare the sella turcica dimensions and sella turcica bridging (STB) via cone-beam computed tomography in different vertical patterns and then analyze the link between the sella turcica and vertical growth patterns. The CBCT images of 120 skeletal Class I subjects (an equal proportion of females and males; mean age of 21.46 years) were divided into three vertical growth skeletal groups. Student's t tests and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to assess the possible diversity in genders. The link between sella turcica dimensions and different vertical patterns was explored by one-way analysis of variance, as well as Pearson and Spearman correlation tests. The prevalence of STB was compared using the chi-square test. Sella turcica shapes were not linked to gender, but statistical differences were observed among different vertical patterns. In the low-angle group, a larger posterior clinoid distance and smaller posterior clinoid height, tuberculum sellae height, and dorsum sellae height were determined, and the incidence of STB was higher (p < 0.01). Sella turcica shapes were linked to vertical growth patterns, mainly involving the posterior clinoid process and STB, which could be used as an index to assess vertical growth trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taiwan is a super-aged society, and the shortage of hospital doctors; nurse practitioners (NPs) became vital healthcare providers to fulfill the healthcare demands of the population. The purpose of this study was to explore the key determinates of job satisfaction for NPs in acute care practices using significant practice variables, such as empowerment and burnout. Methods: Participants of this descriptive survey study were recruited from a national sample of NPs with membership in the Taiwan Association of Nurse Practitioners. The data were collected utilizing an online questionnaire based on demographic and practice variables, the Misener Nurse Practitioner Job Satisfaction Scale (MNPJSS), the Condition for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II (CWEQ II), and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). A total of 1,211 NPs completed the online survey. A multiple regression model with the stepwise selection was used to explore job satisfaction. Results: The mean overall satisfaction score indicated that the level of satisfaction was between slightly dissatisfied and slightly satisfied. Regression results indicated that formal power, work-related burnout, access to information, and needed resources were critical components of job satisfaction, and accounted for 63% of the variance. Moreover, NPs who were married, had a higher annual salary, worked only during the day shift, and had lower patients-related burnout showed better job satisfaction. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for healthcare organizations to formulate policies to strengthen NP job satisfaction. Empowerment and burnout are vital factors in NPs’ job satisfaction. Healthcare organizations have an obligation to implement policies to empower NPs in practice and provide interventions to mitigate burnout. Implementing these changes will improve job satisfaction and with it the quality of patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covalent inhibitors have received extensive attentions in the past few decades because of their long residence time, high binding efficiency and strong selectivity. Therefore, it is valuable to develop computational tools like molecular docking for modeling of covalent protein–ligand interactions or screening of potential covalent drugs. Meeting the needs, we have proposed HCovDock, an efficient docking algorithm for covalent protein–ligand interactions by integrating a ligand sampling method of incremental construction and a scoring function with covalent bond-based energy. Tested on a benchmark containing 207 diverse protein–ligand complexes, HCovDock exhibits a significantly better performance than seven other state-of-the-art covalent docking programs (AutoDock, Cov_DOX, CovDock, FITTED, GOLD, ICM-Pro and MOE). With the criterion of ligand root-mean-squared distance < 2.0 Å, HCovDock obtains a high success rate of 70.5% and 93.2% in reproducing experimentally observed structures for top 1 and top 10 predictions. In addition, HCovDock is also validated in virtual screening against 10 receptors of three proteins. HCovDock is computationally efficient and the average running time for docking a ligand is only 5 min with as fast as 1 sec for ligands with one rotatable bond and about 18 min for ligands with 23 rotational bonds. HCovDock can be freely assessed at http://huanglab.phys.hust.edu.cn/hcovdock/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the use of soft and flexible graphene (Gr)-reinforced polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS; Gr-PDMS) and Gr-carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced PDMS (Gr-CNT-PDMS) as nanocomposites (NCPs) in wearable electronic applications and investigated their mechanical and electrical properties. Specifically, we evaluated the mechanical reinforcement of the NCPs by performing Shore scleroscope hardness and machine-washing tests and evaluated their electrical properties by using a four-point probe. The results revealed that as the Gr or CNT concentrations increased, the NCPs' hardness and surface resistance increased and decreased, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of layered polymeric structures in the Gr-PDMS NCPs, contributing to the increase in hardness and decrease in surface resistance. Furthermore, bending tests revealed that changes in resistance were positively correlated with the Gr concentration. PDMS with low Gr concentrations exhibited no substantial changes in surface resistance after bending tests. However, for PDMS, as the Gr concentration increased (>5 wt.%), the cross-sectional morphology observed after 500 bending cycles differed substantially from that before observed bending tests. Additionally, the influence of one-dimensional (CNT) and two-dimensional (Gr) nanomaterials on the mechanical and electrical properties of the flexible PDMS samples was investigated. The aim of this study is to highlight the importance of considering the properties of different nanomaterials in developing high-performance NCPs for wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of polyurethane acrylate UV curing films (FPUA) were designed and prepared from three different hard segment structure, hard segment content and NCO/OH molar ratio via prepolymer process from polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG), diisocyanate and polycaprolactone modified acrylate (FM1D). And the influence of structural parameters on the cured films' mechanical properties was studied; Besides, its thermal properties was characterized by Dynamic Thermomechanical Analysis (DMA) and Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA). Among these three hard segment structures, hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) -based cured films have the best mechanical properties. The modulus and tensile strength of the cured films increases along with the increase of hard segment content, whereas the elongation at break of the cured films decreases since the rising of the NCO/OH molar ratio. Indeed, with hard segment content at 48.6% and NCO/OH molar ratio at 1.06, the UV cured films (exhibits the best performance)with tensile strength up to 50.5 MPa, and break elongation upto238%. DMA and TGA data showed that the low-temperature glass transition temperature of UV-cured films is around −50 °C, and the fastest thermal degradation temperature is 355 °C, showing good resistance to high and low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brain as a central regulator of stress integration determines what is threatening, stores memories, and regulates physiological adaptations across the aging trajectory. While sleep homeostasis seems to be linked to brain resilience, how age-associated changes intersect to adapt brain resilience to life history remains enigmatic. We here provide evidence that a brain-wide form of presynaptic active zone plasticity ("PreScale"), characterized by increases of active zone scaffold proteins and synaptic vesicle release factors, integrates resilience by coupling sleep, longevity, and memory during early aging of Drosophila. PreScale increased over the brain until mid-age, to then decreased again, and promoted the age-typical adaption of sleep patterns as well as extended longevity, while at the same time it reduced the ability of forming new memories. Genetic induction of PreScale also mimicked early aging-associated adaption of sleep patterns and the neuronal activity/excitability of sleep control neurons. Spermidine supplementation, previously shown to suppress early aging-associated PreScale, also attenuated the age-typical sleep pattern changes. Pharmacological induction of sleep for 2 days in mid-age flies also reset PreScale, restored memory formation, and rejuvenated sleep patterns. Our data suggest that early along the aging trajectory, PreScale acts as an acute, brain-wide form of presynaptic plasticity to steer trade-offs between longevity, sleep, and memory formation in a still plastic phase of early brain aging. This study shows that a brain-wide form of presynaptic plasticity ("PreScale") steers trade-offs between longevity, sleep and memory formation in a still plastic phase of early brain aging, illustrating how life strategy manifests at both circuit and synapse levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined the effects of an oncofertility education program on decisional conflict in nurses and patients with breast cancer.Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 84 nurses of five breast care units. Three units were randomly selected from the five as the nurse experimental group. Nurses at the experimental group accepted the oncofertility education based on the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) model, while those at the control group accepted the other non-oncofertility education. We also collected data from female patients before and after the nurses' educational training, respectively. The decisional conflict was measured using the Chinese version of the decisional conflict scale.Results: Nurses in the experimental group had less decisional conflict after the oncofertility educational intervention than those in the control group. After the intervention, nurses with higher infertility knowledge scores had significantly lower decisional conflict. Single nurses had significantly higher decisional conflict than married nurses. A higher perceived barrier score was significantly associated with a higher decisional conflict score. Among patients with the same fertility intention scores, those in the experimental group had lower decisional conflict scores than those in the control group.Conclusions: Our work demonstrates that NDM-based oncofertility care education is feasible and acceptable to improve nurse and patient decisional conflict. Educational training based on the NDM model decreased the decisional conflict regarding oncofertility care.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials: gov Identifier: NCT04600869. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a non-neoplastic condition of unknown etiology. IPT with lower cranial nerve (CN IX, X, XI, XII) neuropathies is extremely rare. In this study, we systematically reviewed all previously reported cases regarding the management of IPT with lower cranial nerve neuropathies. We searched the PubMed/MEDLINE database for reports related to IPT with lower cranial nerve neuropathies. A total of six papers with 10 cases met the inclusion criteria (mean age 51.6 years, 70% male). The mean follow-up period was 15.4 months (range: 1–60 months). The most frequent treatment was corticosteroids alone (60%), followed by surgery alone (20%), and multimodal treatment (20%). Corticosteroid therapy was associated with an excellent (100%) response rate at 6 months of follow-up, and half of the patients were in complete remission after 9 months. Both cases who received surgery had persistent neurological deficits. Immediate complete remission of neurological symptoms and resolution on imaging after decompression surgery via an endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) with corticosteroids was demonstrated in our representative case. This review suggests that EEA is a preferred method for diagnosis and treatment, a promising approach associated with favorable outcomes, and a viable first-line treatment for selected cases, followed by multimodal therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adopts a qualitative method in comparing EFL students' development of metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive strategy use in a university flipped classroom, as opposed to a regular classroom context. A total of 8 students (4 from each class) were each interviewed twice, once at the beginning and again at the end of the semester, in semi-structured interviews. Findings show that, in the context of a flipped classroom, learners' metacognitive knowledge had undergone qualitative changes over the course of a semester. Similarly, the flipped classroom design had led to a more active, deeper use of metacognitive strategies. Finally, implications for teaching and further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key hazard, nitrophenol and its byproducts are a vital raw material in the industry and potentially released into aquatic environments, which affects the ecosystem and severely threatens living systems. It is crucial to detect nitro-hazards quantitatively and systematically. The unique structures of isomer separation and catalytic reduction are highly complex in a single system, not yet reported detection method. The present report constructed robust gold-microstructures (AuMSs) with bis-triazole-derived covalent organic framework (BTCOF) was developed to analyze the dual-mode application of electrochemical redox signals and catalytic degradation of nitrophenol isomers (NPIs) and their oxidative products. The synergistic interaction of tunable surfaces on binary materials enhanced catalytic efficiency, faster kinetic rates, and poor passivation effect. Based on the variance in pKa values, both NPIs and nitrosophenols (NSPIs) could be identified, peak separated, and sensed simultaneously. A catalyst combined with NaBH 4 , enabled NPIs reduction within 10 minutes. This proposed electrochemical method achieved a nanomolar LOD (1.82, 1.67, and 1.15 × 10−9 M for o-, m-, and p-NPs), excellent sensitivity to ultrawide linear range concentrations while being selective, and reproducible. Moreover, AuMSs-BTCOF/GCE detected NPIs in the industrial effluents and biofluids with recovery rates between 94.70 to 99.95 ± 0.18 % with RSD of 2.86 %. The electrochemical result was validated by conventional method with proven statistical analysis (error 4.02 %). In the catalytic reduction of NPIs, the catalyst is more than 89.24 % efficient, and durable stability. The designed system has proven to be an effective, sensitive, and accurate dual-detection tool for monitoring environmental targets and diagnosing diseases. Development of a dual-mode functional catalyst for the voltammetric and spectroscopic analysis of nitrophenol isomers and their oxidative products. [Display omitted] • Morphologically tuned gold microstructure embedded in a nitrogen-rich covalent organic framework. • Nitrophenols and their oxidative products were catalytically reduced and sensitively detected. • Electrochemical sensor exhibits wide linearity and nanomolar LODs with simultaneous detection. • AuMSs-BTCOF exhibits a simple, efficient, and short reduction time to complete the catalytic reaction. • The platform was designed to be used in environmental and biofluid samples and validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "CircPVT1 promotes the tumorigenesis and metastasis of osteosarcoma via mediation of miR-26b-5p/CCNB1 axis" published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism. The correction states that the funding information section was missing from the original article and should have included the "Hunan Provincial Health Commission (No. 202106022364)" as the funding source. The correction notice also provides the contact information for the corresponding author, Wei-Hua Ye. The original article can be accessed online. [Extracted from the article]

During the cementing process, the oil-well cement (OWC) inevitably comes into contact with oil-based mud (OBM), which contaminates the OWC due to the incompatibility between OBM and the OWC. As a solution, hydrophilic surfactants can reduce interfacial tension and enhance the wetting compatibility of oil and water. Therefore, adding surfactants to the OWC is expected to alleviate contamination caused by OBM. In this study, a new strategy was proposed to combine non-ionic surfactants and anionic surfactants to form a composite surfactant (OP-S2), which overcomes the defect that excessive use of anionic surfactants deteriorates the performance of the OWC—showing great potential in adjusting the compatibility between OBM and the OWC and reducing cement contamination. The mechanism of contamination alleviation during the cementing process was elucidated by comparing the anticontamination properties of a single non-ionic surfactant (OP-S1) and OP-S2. In addition, molecular dynamics (MD) and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations were used to verify the mechanism of different types of surfactants in removing contamination further, providing theoretical guidance for future research on anti-contamination agents. [Display omitted] • Combining non-ionic and anionic surfactants to form a composite surfactant (OP-S2). • OP-S2 solves the defect that excessive single surfactant worsens OWC performance. • OP-S2 can meet the safety and quality requirements of ancient Wells. • Through MD and DPD simulation, the mechanism of surfactant removal was explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel L-shaped connector slip-friction connection (LCSFC) was proposed at the column end to dissipate energy through the friction instead of the plastic deformation of the main members occurred in a traditional steel frame. Based on the system capability design method, a new steel frame system was constructed adopting the through-beam and continuous-column concepts and the novel slip-friction connection, providing a new alternative solution for modular construction. Three types of H-shaped steel columns were investigated: ordinary steel column, steel column with cover plate slip-friction connections (CPSFC) at the lower end, and steel column with CPSFC and LCSFC at the lower and the upper end, respectively. Both quasi-static cyclic loading tests and finite element analyses were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of three specimens. Results reveals that slip-friction connections not only mitigate damage effectively but also reduce axial shortening significantly and maintain the columns in elastic under lateral cyclic loading. The findings also exhibit the potential of slip-friction connections in enhancing the seismic stability of steel frame structures and offering a rapid post-earthquake repair pathway by simply replacing damaged components of the connections. • Novel H-shaped steel column with different slip-friction connections at two ends of the column was proposed. • Cyclic loading tests and FE analyses on the proposed columns with slip-friction connections were conducted. • The hysteresis performance and failure mode of the proposed columns with slip-friction connections were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point clouds are among the popular geometry representations in 3D vision. However, unlike 2D images with pixel-wise layouts, such representations containing unordered data points which make the processing and understanding the associated semantic information quite challenging. Although a number of previous works attempt to analyze point clouds and achieve promising performances, their performances would degrade significantly when data variations like shift and scale changes are presented. In this paper, we propose 3D graph convolution networks (3D-GCN), which uniquely learns 3D kernels with graph max-pooling mechanisms for extracting geometric features from point cloud data across different scales. We show that, with the proposed 3D-GCN, satisfactory shift and scale invariance can be jointly achieved. We show that 3D-GCN can be applied to point cloud classification and segmentation tasks, with ablation studies and visualizations verifying the design of 3D-GCN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technique of human action recognition can be applied in a number of fields, such as medical rehabilitation, posture in the domain of sports, and emotion perception in counselling. Deep learning action recognition models that consider the continuous changes in the human skeleton can efficiently identify action states, such as rehabilitation processes, posture, and changes in emotion. However, the keypoints of the human skeleton are susceptible to occlusion due to body movement, resulting in a lower confidence level in their positions, which in turn affects the training and execution of human action recognition models. This paper proposes a keypoint correction algorithm based on continuous-time images of temporal variation that can predict and correct the skeleton keypoints with low confidence, based on the previous and subsequent multiple images. The proposed temporal-variation skeleton keypoint correction algorithm can provide accurate feature association training for the locations of the skeleton keypoints. The proposed method is shown to improve the accuracy of human action recognition by at least 30% over three alternative models in the literature: STV-GCN, GCN-NAS, and 2S-AGCN. The proposed algorithm is also improved by at least 30% compared with the above-mentioned methods in the literature, based on an action recognition model with a Gaussian filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partial multi-label learning (PML) deals with problems where each instance is assigned with a candidate label set, which contains multiple relevant labels and some noisy labels. Recent studies usually solve PML problems with the disambiguation strategy, which recovers ground-truth labels from the candidate label set by simply assuming that the noisy labels are generated randomly. In real applications, however, noisy labels are usually caused by some ambiguous contents of the example. Based on this observation, we propose a partial multi-label learning approach to simultaneously recover the ground-truth information and identify the noisy labels. The two objectives are formalized in a unified framework with trace norm and $\ell _1$ ℓ 1 norm regularizers. Under the supervision of the observed noise-corrupted label matrix, the multi-label classifier and noisy label identifier are jointly optimized by incorporating the label correlation exploitation and feature-induced noise model. Furthermore, by mapping each bag to a feature vector, we extend PML-NI method into multi-instance multi-label learning by identifying noisy labels based on ambiguous instances. A theoretical analysis of generalization bound and extensive experiments on multiple data sets from various real-world tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐access edge computing provides computation and network resources in proximity to user applications in mobile environments. Deploying edge servers in network boundary can not only offload the heavy task loading on the cloud, but also alleviate resource‐limited capabilities of mobile devices. Rather than many stand‐alone edge servers, the concept of multi‐server edge computing is recently advocated to contend with the issues of system scalability and service quality against dynamic task workload. This study exploits collaborative computing resources and designs a task migration strategy for multiple edge servers in mobile networks. This study formulates a queueing optimization problem of minimizing the overall service time in a multi‐server system. An intelligent task migration scheme is then developed using the deep reinforcement learning and Q‐learning techniques. With a variety of numerical attributes derived from the queueing model, this intelligent scheme can arrange the task distribution among edge servers to enhance the task processing capability. Simulation‐based results show that the proposed task migration scheme can sustain service efficiency and resource utilization, which is promising as compared with conventional designs without collaborative intelligence in mobile environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]