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Drought is one of the natural stresses that greatly impact plants. Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is an oil crop with high economic value. Drought is one of the factors limiting castor bean growth. The drought resistance mechanisms of castor bean have become a research focus. In this study, we used castor germinating embryos as experimental materials, and screened genes related to drought resistance through physiological measurements, proteomics and metabolomics joint analysis; castor drought-related genes were subjected to transient silencing expression analysis in castor leaves to validate their drought-resistant functions, and heterologous overexpression and backward complementary expression in Arabidopsis thaliana, and analysed the mechanism of the genes' response to the participation of Arabidopsis thaliana in drought-resistance. Three drought tolerance-related genes, RcECP 63, RcDDX 31 and RcA/HD1, were obtained by screening and analysis, and transient silencing of expression in castor leaves further verified that these three genes corresponded to drought stress, and heterologous overexpression and back-complementary expression of the three genes in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that the function of these three genes in drought stress response. In this study, three drought tolerance related genes, RcECP 63, RcDDX 31 and RcA/HD1, were screened and analysed for gene function, which were found to be responsive to drought stress and to function in drought stress, laying the foundation for the study of drought tolerance mechanism in castor bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybridization is an important evolutionary force, and heterosis describes the phenomenon where hybrids exhibit superior traits compared to their parents. This study aimed to evaluate the one-hundred-seed weight and fatty acid content in F1 generations, investigating the effects of different parental crosses using a 9 × 3 incomplete diallel design (NCII). One of the challenges faced in this study was the complexity of accurately determining the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on trait inheritance. A total of 36 F1 crosses were analyzed for general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and heritability. The results showed that the level of each index in F1 is closely related to its parents. Significant differences in GCA and SCA were observed among parental traits in most crosses. The ratio of GCA to SCA ranged from 0 to 3, indicating the pivotal role of SCA over GCA in castor breeding efforts. High narrow-sense heritability was recorded in palmitic acid (30.98%), oleic acid (28.68%), and arachidonic acid (21.34%), suggesting that these traits are predominantly under the control of additive gene action, and hence these characters can be improved by selection. Additionally, heterosis exhibited diverse patterns across traits. Based on the evaluated combining ability, heritability, and heterosis, the inbred lines CSR181 and 20111149 were recommended for castor crossbreeding due to their potential to yield progeny with optimal oil-related traits. This research contributes valuable knowledge to the field of castor breeding, providing a foundation for developing superior castor cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cathode plates in the industrial production process of zinc electrolysis sometimes remain residues after being stripped by zinc stripping machines, which need to be identified and removed in time to avoid affecting the subsequent processing of the cathode plates. At present, the identification and rejection from the process are mainly carried out by visual observation, which makes it difficult to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of visual identification, and may result in unqualified cathode plates being mistakenly introduced into the electrolysis process. A cathode plate residue machine vision recognition method based on the improved YOLOv5 algorithm is proposed, and the method has been used for residue recognition experiments and tests on zinc cathode plate image data samples collected from industry. The results show that the average recognition accuracy of unqualified plates based on the improved YOLOv5 algorithm reaches 95.2%, which is 6.8% higher than the accuracy of the original YOLOv5 algorithm, and its recognition accuracy can meet the requirements of real-time detection of zinc cathode plate residues in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blau syndrome (BS) is a rare genetic immune disease which commonly presents in childhood. Currently, the miss‐rate of BS diagnosis is very high, and an effective clinical management of BS has not been well established. This case report depicts a 54‐year‐old male Chinese patient presenting with hand malformation, fever, skin rash and joint pain. His diagnosis was ultimately confirmed according to typical medical history and genetic analysis. This case report will further help clinicians to be aware of this rare clinical entity for correct diagnosis and proper treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transketolase (Tkt), an enzyme in pentose phosphate pathway, has been reported to regulate genome instability and cell survival in cancers. Yet, the role of Tkt after myocardial ischemic injury remains to be elucidated. Label-free proteomics revealed dramatic elevation of Tkt in murine hearts after myocardial infarction (MI). Lentivirus-mediated Tkt knockdown ameliorated cardiomyocyte apoptosis and preserved the systolic function after myocardial ischemic injury. In contrast, Tkt overexpression led to the opposite effects. Inducible conditional cardiomyocyte Tkt-knockout mice were generated, and cardiomyocyte-expressed Tkt was found to play an intrinsic role in the ischemic heart failure of these model mice. Furthermore, through luciferase assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation, Tkt was shown to be a direct target of transcription factor Krüppel-like factor 5 (Klf5). In cardiomyocytes under ischemic stress, Tkt redistributed into the nucleus. By binding with the full-length poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (Parp1), facilitating its cleavage, and activating apoptosis inducible factor (Aif) subsequently, nuclear Tkt demonstrated its non-metabolic functions. Overall, our study confirmed that elevated nuclear Tkt plays a noncanonical role in promoting cardiomyocyte apoptosis via the cleaved Parp1/Aif pathway, leading to the deterioration of cardiac dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis , as an invasive species, has formed a large wild population and become a new fishery resource in Lake IJsselmeer (IL) of The Netherlands. This study was conducted to quantify edible tissue indices, proximate composition, fatty acid and amino acid contents of crabs collected from IL, and make a comparison with wild crabs from the species' native habitat, the Yangtze River (YZ). It showed that: (1) YZ had a significantly higher meat yield and total edible yield; (2) YZ showed higher lipid and protein contents at a lower gonadosomatic index; (3) IL had a higher level of C20:4n6, C20:5n3 and C22:6n3 in the hepatopancreas, and higher EPA and DHA in the ovaries; (4) although YZ has a clear advantage, both IL and YZ muscle were high in contents of essential as well as delicious amino acids. In conclusion, adult E. sinensis living in IL, The Netherlands, also have a rich nutritional value with a high edible yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a neuromodulation therapy for children with drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE). The efficacy of VNS is heterogeneous. A prediction model is needed to predict the efficacy before implantation. Methods: We collected data from children with DRE who underwent VNS implantation and received regular programming for at least 1 year. Preoperative clinical information and scalp video electroencephalography (EEG) were available in 88 children. Synchronization features, including phase lag index (PLI), weighted phase lag index (wPLI), and phase‐locking value (PLV), were compared between responders and non‐responders. We further adapted a support vector machine (SVM) classifier selected from 25 clinical and 18 synchronization features to build a prediction model for efficacy in a discovery cohort (n = 70) and was tested in an independent validation cohort (n = 18). Results: In the discovery cohort, the average interictal awake PLI in the high beta band was significantly higher in responders than non‐responders (p < 0.05). The SVM classifier generated from integrating both clinical and synchronization features had the best prediction efficacy, demonstrating an accuracy of 75.7%, precision of 80.8% and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) of 0.766 on 10‐fold cross‐validation. In the validation cohort, the prediction model demonstrated an accuracy of 61.1%. Conclusion: This study established the first prediction model integrating clinical and baseline synchronization features for preoperative VNS responder screening among children with DRE. With further optimization of the model, we hope to provide an effective and convenient method for identifying responders before VNS implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the cause of wheat stripe rust, is a biotrophic and heteroecious rust fungus with five spore types. Cool and humid climatic conditions are conducive for the development of wheat stripe rust, and in turn, temperatures above 22 °C limit or even cease the disease. The survival of Pst during summer after wheat harvest is responsible for the infection on autumn-sown wheat to maintain disease cycle all the year round. Teliospores formed at late stage of wheat growth are essential for initiating sexual reproduction in spring. Although Chinese native grasses have been experimentally testified as susceptible hosts for Pst and teliospores produced on wheat have been shown to be potential inoculum sources causing infection on alternate hosts (mainly Berberis) in spring, the roles of grass hosts in harboring the survival of urediospores and teliospores of Pst and promoting the emergence of diverse races under field conditions in China have not been known. Herein, Gansu, as a hotspot and an important oversummering region for Pst, was exemplified to demonstrate these roles of grass hosts. As a result, 63 Pst isolates, derived from 2184 uredial samples collected from grass hosts during harvesting period (from mid-June to mid-to-late July) and seeding period (mid to late September) in 2012 and 2013, were identified as 52 diverse phenotypes (82.5%) on the Chinese differential hosts. Subsequently, after inoculation of barberry, 52 Pst isolates with high infection type, 20 known races and 32 new races, were recovered from 1,712 single aecium, which are derived from 35 telial samples of grass hosts. Our experiments showed that Pst urediospores can oversummer on grass species in Gansu or other oversummering regions with similar ecological and climatic conditions. Pst teliospores, which are produced on these grass hosts, are important inoculum source for barberry infection in spring. Therefore, treatment of grasses hosts should be taken into consideration in management of wheat stripe rust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triangle sail mussel (Hyriopsis cumingii , Lea 1852) is the most important freshwater pearl mussel in China. Growth traits of host mussels and inner shell color traits of donor mussels are critical determinants for pearl size and color. In this study, we performed GWAS analysis to explore the genetic architecture of growth and inner shell color traits. Using genotype by sequencing (GBS) technique, we obtained 80,562 SNPs from a total dataset of 463 mussels, based on these data, we found weak genetic relationship (−0.1–0.4) and rapid LD decay rate among the population. Moreover, GWAS analysis identified 12 growth-related significant SNPs and 29 inner shell color related significant SNPs. Five of the 12 SNPs linked to growth traits were validated to be credible SNPs in a new population. Cyclin , SNF , PMP22 , CPED1 , F-box and APC/C genes were found to be significantly associated with growth traits, which may influence the growth and development of H. cumingii by regulating cell mitosis, mantle epithelial tissue activity, and Ca2+ absorption and transport capacity. Notably, redness a* showed an obvious aggregation peak in chromosome 17, indicating that this region may be closely related to the inner shell color. Furthermore, three causal genes in chromosome 17, HSP78 , MAS and PKS are inferred to be the key genes on color formation of purple inner shell. These results provide some new insights into the genetic basis and physiological regulation mechanism of growth and inner shell color traits in H. cumingii. However, detailed functional identification and regulation mechanism analysis merits more investigation. • The first genome-wide association study (GWAS) for growth and inner shell color traits in freshwater pearl mussel. • 12 growth-related significant SNPs and 29 inner shell color related significant SNPs were detected. • Five SNPs were validated to be credible SNPs for growth traits. • Candidate genes PKS and MAS are closely related to purple inner shell color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica is an economically important species widely distributed throughout the East Asia region, but information on the compositional characteristics and nutritional quality of E. japonica is still scarce. Thus, this study was conducted to compare the edible tissue indices, proximate composition, fatty acid profiles and amino acid contents between wild E. sinensis and E. japonica. It showed that: (1) both E. sinensis and E. japonica have a high total edible yield (approximately 40%); (2) E. sinensis and E. japonica have a similar proximate composition, except for total lipids; (3) female E. japonica have higher percentages of C18:3n3, C20:5n3 and C22:6n3; (4) E. sinensis have higher levels of essential amino acids than E. japonica in muscle. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that wild E. japonica is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and both E. sinensis and E. japonica are aquatic food of high nutritional value, with a high edible yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisional impulsivity is one of the risk factors for occurrence and development of many mental disorders, and that the dysfunctions of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) are at least involved. Although previous studies have shown that the role of OFC as a whole in regulating decision-making impulse behavior is inconsistent, it's still unclear that the roles of the subregions of OFC including their projections to the NAcC in decisional impulsivity. The present study was designed to investigate the roles of OFC subregions, medial OFC (mOFC) and lateral OFC (lOFC) and their projections to the NAcC in decisional impulsivity in free-moving rats. We found that rats with low level of decisional impulsivity (LI) showed higher neuronal activity in both the mOFC and lOFC, and more neurons in mOFC but not lOFC projecting to the NAcC were activated, compared with high level of decisional impulsivity (HI) rats. The mOFC-NAcC projections of LI rats showed stronger information communication in beta and low gamma oscillations in the expected reward choice and delay time windows. Further, specific activation (in HI rats) or inhibition (in LI rats) of the mOFC-NAcC pathway could partly reverse their decisional impulsive behaviors. The findings first demonstrated that the mOFC-NAcC pathway was more important than the lOFC-NAcC pathway to the top-down control in decisional impulsivity, which could be a new neural physiological mechanism for psychiatric disorders associated with decisional impulsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monodispersed spherical Li 1.3 Al 0.3 Ti 1.7 (PO 4) 3 (LATP) precursor particles are prepared by hydrolysis-complexation combined with spray-drying processes, and the desirable targeted LATP-900 particles are obtained after being calcinated at 900 °C in air confirmed by thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses. The high compacted density of the particles with normal size distribution can be conductive to collecting the compacted LATP pellets, which can reach as high as 1.608 × 10−4 S cm−1 of ionic conductivity at 30 °C. The assembled LiCoO 2 /LATP-900/Li cell can stably deliver 138.2 mAh g−1 of discharge specific capacity after only four cycles and quickly recover to 132.3 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles when the current is set back to 0.1 C with nearly 100% coulombic efficiency, which suggests that the LATP-900 pellet can become a promising candidate for the high performance solid lithium ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for atherosclerosis. Nicotine, the major constituent of cigarettes, mediates the phenotype switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and contributes to atherogenesis. Recent studies show that autophagy regulates atherogenesis via several pathways. The aim of this study is to determine whether nicotine regulates autophagy and subsequently mediates the phenotypic transition of VSMCs. Oil Red O and HE staining of aortic sections of ApoE −/− mice showed that nicotine promoted atherosclerosis, and in situ expression of α-SMA indicated the involvement of VSMCs. Western blotting documented that nicotine induced the aorta autophagy. Cultured VSMCs treated with nicotine resulted in the increase of LC3 II-to-LC3 I ratio and the decrease of P62, along with GFP-LC3 puncta assay and transmission electron microscopy, further reflecting nicotine-induced autophagy. In addition, Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR showed that VSMCs exposed to nicotine underwent changes in the expression of differentiation markers (α-SMA, SM22α and osteopontin), confirming the role of nicotine in VSMC differentiation. Transwell migration and scratch assays demonstrated that nicotine increased the migratory capacity of VSMCs. Finally, nicotine also increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as measured by DCFH-DA staining. After respectively inhibiting autophagy (3-MA), oxidative stress (NAC), NF-κB activity (BAY 11–7082, si-p65) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs, hexamethonium), nicotine-induced autophagy and VSMC phenotype switching were reversed. Nicotine-induced autophagy promotes the phenotype switching of VSMCs and accelerates atherosclerosis, which is partly mediated by the nAChRs/ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway. Image 1 • Nicotine enhances the autophagy of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and contributes atherosclerosis. • Autophagy induced by nicotine regulates the phenotype switching of VSMCs and subsequently functional alterations. • The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors/ ROS /NF-κB signal pathway may involve in nicotine-induced autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Whether plasma miRNAs could be used as novel non-invasive biomarkers in diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains unknown. In this study, we designed a four-phase study to identify differentially expressed plasma miRNAs in Chinese PTC patients. Exiqon panel was initially utilized to conduct plasma miRNA profile (3 PTC pools VS. 1 healthy control (HC) pool; each 10 samples were pooled as 1 sample). The dysregulated miRNAs were then analyzed in the training (30 PTC VS. 30 HCs), testing (57 PTC VS. 54 HCs) and external validation phases (33 PTC VS. 30HCs). The identified miRNAs were further affirmed in benign nodules (2 nodular goiter (NG) pool VS. 1 HC pool). We also verified the expression of identified miRNAs in 17 matched malignant and normal tissue samples, NG plasma samples (29 PTC VS. 29 NG) and plasma exosomes (25 PTC VS. 25 HCs). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the identified miRNAs. As a result, the screening phase demonstrated 30 dysregulated plasma miRNAs in PTC patients compared with HCs. After multiphase experiment processes, miR-346, miR-10a-5p and miR-34a-5p were found significantly elevated in PTC plasma samples relative to HCs. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of the three-miRNA panel for the training, testing and validation phases were 0.926, 0.811 and 0.816, separately. The panel could also differentiate PTC from NG with the AUC of 0.877. MiR-346 and miR-34a-5p but not miR-10a-5p were up-regulated in PTC tissues. And the three miRNAs showed consistently up-regulation in PTC plasma exosomes. In conclusion, our study established a three-miRNA panel in plasma with considerable clinical value in discriminating PTC from HC or NG. Highlights • Plasma miR-346, miR-10a-5p and miR-34a-5p were elevated in PTC patients relative to HCs. • The three-miRNA panel could differentiate PTC patients from NG patients or HCs. • MiR-346 and miR-34a-5p but not miR-10a-5p were elevated in tumor tissues to normal tissues. • All the three miRNAs were up-regulated in exosomes from PTC plasma samples compared to HCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in expression levels of serum interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10 and adiponectin (APN) in patients with postoperative infection of colorectal cancer were studied. The clinical data of 159 patients receiving radical surgery for colorectal cancer in Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine from January 2014 to December 2017, were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 67 patients with postoperative infection were enrolled into the infection group, while the remaining 92 patients without infection were enrolled into the non-infection group. The expression levels of serum IL-4, IL-10 and APN of patients were detected via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation of IL-4, IL-10 and APN levels with stage of colorectal cancer were explored by the Spearmans correlation analysis. The expression levels of IL-4 and IL-10 in the infection group were significantly higher than those in the non-infection group at day 3 after surgery (P<0.05). The expression level of APN in the infection group was lower than that in the non-infection group at day 3 after surgery (P<0.05). The serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels in pulmonary infection was higher and the serum IL-10 level in pulmonary infection was higher than those in incision infection and abdominal infection (P<0.05). The IL-4 and IL-10 levels in patients with colorectal cancer in the infection group at day 3 after surgery had a significant positive correlation with the stage of colorectal cancer (r=0.9357, P<0.001; r=0.9717, P<0.001), and the APN level in patients with colorectal cancer in the infection group at day 3 after surgery had a significant negative correlation with the stage of colorectal cancer (r=−0.9736, P<0.001). The serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels in patients with postoperative infection of colorectal cancer are positively correlated with the stage of cancer, while the serum APN level was negatively correlated with the stage of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purple pearls, which are exclusively produced by the freshwater pearl mussel, Hyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852), are of great economic and ornamental value. Selection mussels with purple inner shell as donor mussel can realize oriented cultivation of purple pearls. This study sought to explore the genomic genetic parameters of inner shell color traits as well as genomic-based methods to improve inner shell purpleness using genomic selection (GS). Genotype by sequencing (GBS) technology was used to generate genome-wide SNPs (n = 97,090) for reference population (n = 496) and candidate population (n = 268). In reference population, the four inner shell color phenotypes, lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), and color difference (dE*) were 59.97 ± 7.27, 2.66 ± 2.57, 1.79 ± 4.77, and 40.65 ± 7.46, respectively, and the genomic heritability of four traits were moderately high (0.39–0.67). GBLUP and four Bayesian models were applied to assess the prediction accuracy, where BayesB performed the best and it was chosen to develop a cost-effective GS method using low-density SNPs. Lastly, one GS method that consisted of BayesB model and 5 K GWAS-informative SNPs was successfully established and the genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) of each candidate individual was predicted. The mussels with the highest GEBVs (n = 30) were selected as broodstocks for breeding the purple strain (PS), while the rest for control strain (CS). Significant differences in inner shell color a* and dE* were detected between PS and CS, as well as the proportion of deep purple individuals rose from 9.57% and 12.38% to 51.16% and 26.92% in Wuyi (WY) and Chongming (CM) sites, respectively. These results demonstrated that GS was an effective selective breeding approach for enhancing the purpleness of the inner shell in H. cumingii , and opened the door for future commercial GS uses on other aquaculture species. • Genomic heritability of inner shell color traits was estimated moderate to high. • BayesB model performed better than other four common GS models. • Approximately 5000 pre-selected GWAS-informative SNPs were sufficient to capture high predictive power. • GS significantly improve the purpleness of the inner shell in offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell fate is precisely modulated by complex but well-tuned molecular signaling networks, whose spatial and temporal dysregulation commonly leads to hazardous diseases. Biomolecular condensates (BCs), as a newly emerging type of biophysical assemblies, decipher the molecular codes bridging molecular behaviors, signaling axes, and clinical prognosis. Particularly, physical traits of BCs play an important role; however, a panoramic view from this perspective toward clinical practices remains lacking. In this review, we describe the most typical five physical traits of BCs, and comprehensively summarize their roles in molecular signaling axes and corresponding major determinants. Moreover, establishing the recent observed contribution of condensate physics on clinical therapeutics, we illustrate next-generation medical strategies by targeting condensate physics. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for future medical development along with the rapid scientific and technological advances are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Poly(vinylidene fluoride- co -hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP))-based composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) doped with different amounts of CaTiO 3 inorganic fillers are prepared by phase inversion. With adding the CaTiO 3 fillers into the P(VDF-HFP) polymer matrix, the CPE membranes show more abundant and uniform micro-pore structure with lower crystallinity, better thermal stability and mechanical strength. The characterization results show that the ionic conductivity at room temperature and electrochemical working window of the CPE doped with 5 wt% CaTiO 3 fillers (CPE-5) can be up to about 3.557 mS cm−1 and 5.1 V, respectively. The interfacial resistance of the Li/CPE-5/Li simulated cell can quickly stabilize at 750 Ω after 5 days storage, and the assembled LiCoO 2 /CPE-5/Li coin cell shows excellent rate and cycle performance. Moreover, the CPE-5 membrane can still well maintain the original micro-pore structure after 100 cycles at 1.0 C without visible cracks. Those results suggest that the as-fabricated CPE doped with 5 wt% CaTiO 3 inorganic fillers may become a promising polymer electrolyte for the lithium ion battery Graphical abstract Cycling performance and coulombic efficiency plots of the LiCoO 2 /CPE-5/Li battery after 100 cycles at 1.0 C (The insert are the SEM images and digital photographs of the CPE-5 before and after cycle). Unlabelled Image Highlights • P(VDF-HFP)-based CPE membranes doped with different amounts of CaTiO 3 ceramics are fabricated by phase inversion. • The electrolyte uptake and ionic conductivity of the CPE-5 can be up to 187.4% and 3.557 mS cm−1. • The Li/CPE-5/Li simulated cell possesses good interfacial stability. • The assembled LiCoO 2 /CPE-5/Li battery shows good rate and cycle performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An orthogonal two dimensional analysis method based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation and electrospray ionization-ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS) detection was developed for the analysis of alkaloid compounds from Peganum harmala L. seeds. Reverse phase (RP) and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) were compared for the most optimal performance using three different chromatographic columns. The experimental results suggest that HILIC mode is a better option for combining with the ESI-IMS system for higher sensitivity and ease in hyphenating. Under optimized conditions, alkaloids from different extraction phases were determined by means of the established HPLC-IMS method. More compounds from Peganum harmala L. seed extracts were differentiated on the HPLC-ESI-IMS system by their retention time and drift time than by HPLC or ESI-IMS alone, and thirteen alkaloids were tentatively identified based on m / z and fragment ions using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Hence, our results indicate that this method can be considered to be advantageous over traditional absorbance detection methods for resolving complex mixtures because of complementary separation steps, elevated peak capacity, and higher sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Few paper investigates the role of CD8+CD28+ T cells in patients with AMI. • The frequency of CD8+CD28+ T cells in patients with AMI were significant increased. • In patients with AMI, frequency of CD8+CD28+ T cells was positively correlated with TNI and negatively associated with LVEF. • The CD8+ CD28+ T cell might participate in the process of myocardial damage. Abstract CD8+ T cells accumulate in the necrotic myocardium of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It is unclear whether CD8+CD28+ T cells, a specific subset of CD8+ T cells, contribute to myocardial injury. In this study, 92 consecutive patients with AMI and 28 healthy control subjects were enrolled. The frequency of CD8+CD28+ T cells in peripheral blood samples was assayed by flow cytometry. Plasma cardiac troponin I (TNI) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were determined. Long-term prognosis of the patients was evaluated by major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) over a 12-month follow-up period. Our findings indicated that patients with AMI who presented with high numbers of CD8+CD28+ T cells had an increased infarction size and aggravated ventricular function. We proposed that cytotoxic CD8+CD28+ T cell-mediated myocardial necrosis may act as a novel and alternative pathway of AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterokinase is an ideal tool protease for cleaving fusion proteins in genetic engineering. The bovine enterokinase light chain (bEK L ) produced in Pichia pastoris was shown to be a glycoprotein. To study the effects of N -glycosylation on the biochemical properties of bEK L , the enzyme was deglycosylated via site-directed mutagenesis. The results showed that elimination of the N -glycosylation sites of bEK L (N64, N103 and N165) did not significantly affect the protein secretion level in P. pastoris , but it does greatly influence its enzymatic activity. The N64Q increased the specific activity of the enzyme for GD 4 K-β-naphthylamide and improved its catalytic efficiency. Moreover, the glycosylated bEK L is more thermostable than its deglycosylated counterparts. Structural analysis of glycosylated and deglycosylated bEK L revealed that the removal of N -glycosylation did not have pronounced changes on the secondary structure but there was a significant difference in the tertiary structure. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the effects of glycosylation at different degrees and sites in bEK L were diverse. Moreover, this work will provide theoretical support for designing enzymes on the basis of N -glycosylation to meet the demands of the biochemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), a key nuclear transcription factor, is associated with prognosis in a variety of human cancers. However, the clinical value of NF-κB in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still controversial. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to obtain an accurate evaluation of the relationship between NF-κB expression and survival prognosis of NSCLC patients based on published articles. PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were systematically searched for potential articles. A total of 1159 patients from 7 eligible studies comparing prognostic significance of NF-κB expression levels in NSCLC were included in our meta-analysis. I2 statistic and P value were performed to evaluate heterogeneity. The results of analysis were presented as hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Subgroup analysis based on ethnicity of NSCLC patients and NF-kB cellular localization within cancer cells were conducted to illustrate the potential discrepancy. Significant heterogeneity was considered at I2>50% and P<0.05, and random-effects model was used. The combined results indicated that higher NF-κB expression was associated with shorter overall survival (OS) of NSCLC patients (HR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.51–5.12, P = 0.001). Moreover, NF-κB expression was closely associated with tumor stage (HR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.18–0.57, P<0.0001), lymph node metastasis (HR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.38–0.83, P = 0.004) and 5-year OS for NSCLC patients (OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.02–3.31, P = 0.04). We conclude that NF-κB expression may be a potential unfavorable prognostic marker for NSCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the ionic conductivity as well as enhance the mechanical strength of the gel polymer electrolyte, poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoroprolene) (P(VDF-HFP))-based composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) membranes doped with the organic-inorganic hybrid particles poly(methyl methacrylate) -ZrO 2 (PMMA-ZrO 2 ) are prepared by phase inversion method, in which PMMA is successfully grafted onto the surface of the homemade nano-ZrO 2 particles via in situ polymerization confirmed by FT-IR. XRD and DSC patterns show adding PMMA-ZrO 2 particles into P(VDF-HFP) can significantly decrease the crystallinity of the CPE membrane. The CPE membrane doped with 5  wt % PMMA-ZrO 2 particles can not only present a homogeneous surface with abundant interconnected micro-pores, but maintain its initial shape after thermal exposure at 160 °C for 1 h, in which the ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number at room temperature can reach to 3.59 × 10 −3  S cm −1 and 0.41, respectively. The fitting results of the EIS plots indicate the doped PMMA-ZrO 2 particles can significantly lower the interface resistance and promote lithium ions diffusion rate. The Li/CPE-sPZ/LiCoO 2 and Li/CPE-sPZ/Graphite coin cells can deliver excellent rate and cycling performance. Those results suggest the P(VDF-HFP)-based CPE doped with 5  wt % PMMA-ZrO 2 particles can become an exciting potential candidate as polymer electrolyte for the lithium ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SuperMC is a general, intelligent, accurate and precise simulation software system for the nuclear design and safety evaluation of nuclear systems. In this study, the latest version of SuperMC has been validated by Benchmark for Evaluation and Validation of Reactor Simulations (BEAVRS), which is a full-core commercial Westinghouse PWR core, including two cycles of measured operational data. The benchmark is widely used in the validation of Monte Carlo codes, because it is an extremely detailed, relevant and large-scale 3D PWR model based on a real reactor. Firstly, the detailed BEAVRS model is built with the CAD-based hierarchical modeling function of SuperMC. Secondly, several calculations using SuperMC at hot zero power condition of cycle 1 are performed, and the comparison with the reference results and measured data show great agreement, including neutron effective multiplication factor, control rod bank worth, temperature coefficients, U-235 fission rates and relative power distribution. This study demonstrates the capability of SuperMC on 3D full-core high fidelity reactor simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking is an established risk factor for atherosclerosis through several underlying pathways. Moreover, in the development of atherosclerotic plaque formation, obesity, defined as excess fat mass accumulation, also plays a vital role in dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Substantial evidence shows that cigarette smoking induces multiple pathological effects in adipose tissue, such as differentiation of adipocytes, lipolysis, and secretion properties in adipose tissue. Therefore, there is an emerging speculation in which adipose tissue abnormality induced by smoking or nicotine is likely to accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis. Herein, this review aims to investigate the possible interplay between smoking and adipose tissue dysfunction in the development of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repeated exposure to psychostimulants induces a long-lasting enhancement of locomotor activity called behavioral sensitization, which is often reinforced by stress after drug withdrawal. The mechanisms underlying these phenomena remain elusive. Here we explored the effects of acute stress 3 or 14 days after the cessation of chronic cocaine treatment on the expression of locomotor sensitization induced by a cocaine challenge in rats and the key brain region and molecular mechanism underlying the phenomenon. A single session of forced swimming, as an acute stress (administered 2 days after the cessation of cocaine), significantly enhanced the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization 14 days after the final cocaine injection (challenge at 12 days after acute stress) but not 3 days after the cessation of cocaine (challenge at 1 day after acute stress). The result indicated that acute stress enhanced the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization after incubation for 12 days rather than 1 day after the last cocaine injection. Moreover, the enhancement in locomotor sensitization was paralleled by a selective increase in the number of the c-Fos + cells, the level of CRFR1 mRNA in the ventromedial caudate putamen (vmCPu). Furthermore, the enhancement was significantly attenuated by CRFR1 antagonist NBI-27914 into the vmCPu, implying that the up-regulation of CRFR1 in the vmCPu seems to be critical in the acute stress-enhanced expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization. The findings demonstrate that the long-term effect of acute stress on the expression of cocaine locomotor sensitization is partially mediated by CRFR1 in the vmCPu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis has been identified as a chronic inflammatory disease of the arterial vessel wall. Accumulating evidence indicates that different cells from the tunica intima, media, adventitia, and perivascular adipose tissue not only comprise the intact and normal arterial vessel wall but also participate all in the inflammatory response of atherosclerosis via multiple intricate pathways. For instance, endothelial dysfunction has historically been considered to be the initiator of the development of atherosclerosis. The migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells also play a pivotal role in the progression of atherosclerosis. Additionally, the fibroblasts from the adventitia and adipocytes from perivascular adipose tissue have received considerable attention given their special functions that contribute to atherosclerosis. In addition, numerous types of cytokines produced by different cells from the arterial vessel wall, including endothelium-derived relaxing factors, endothelium-derived contracting factors, tumor necrosis factors, interleukin, adhesion molecules, interferon, and adventitium-derived relaxing factors, have been implicated in atherosclerosis. Herein, we summarize the possible roles of different cells from the entire arterial vessel wall in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct numerical simulations are carried out to study the behavior of turbulent flames propagating in lean methane-air mixtures of equivalence ratio 0.5 and for non-dimensional turbulence intensities (u rms /S L ) of 2-25. The turbulent Reynolds number ( Re T ) varies from 44-549, the Damköhler ( Da ) number from 0.26-3.2, and the Karlovitz number ( Ka ) from 1.1-49.4. The mixture pressure is 20 bar and temperature is 810 K to simulate approximate conditions in lean-burn natural gas engines. A 13-species reduced mechanism and a global mechanism are employed in the study. It is shown that the normalized turbulent flame speeds (S T /S L ) can be related to the flame area enhancement (A T /A L ) resulting from turbulence interactions with the laminar flame and the efficiency factor ( I o ) which is close to unity (∼ 1.07 ± 0.04) when evaluated at the temperature of peak heat release rate. This area enhancement increases with increasing Re T and decreasing Ka . The effect of integral length scale on flame area enhancement is related to the effect induced by the spectrum of eddies of the turbulent cascade. A correlation is proposed for the turbulent flame speed. While the global mechanism is adequate for predicting flame speed and area enhancement, some differences in the structure of the flame are observed between predictions with the global and reduced mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The triangle sail mussel, Hyriopsis cumingii , is the most important aquaculture species for freshwater pearl production in China. However, one major problem of freshwater pearl mussel industry is the low profit despite high pearl yield, and the focus of current research has now switched from yield to the improvement of pearl quality. It is essential to enhance the quality of pearls by improving the growth performance of mussels and, to this end, genomic selection (GS) has been proved as a useful method for selective breeding. In the present study, 764 mussels (496 for reference population, 268 for selection candidates) were genotyped by sequencing (GBS) and a total of 97,090 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Based on genome-wide SNPs, the heritability was estimated to be moderate to high for the following five growth traits: shell length, shell height, shell width, shell weight, and body weight (0.36 ± 0.11 to 0.51 ± 0.10). Then, the effects of five GS models (i.e., GBLUP, BayesA, BayesB, BayesCπ, and BayesLASSO) and different SNP numbers (selected using three SNP screening strategies) on the predictive ability (PA) of the genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) were compared. The GBLUP model containing 10,000 SNPs selected by GWAS strategy was established and was used to calculate GEBVs in selection candidates. The individuals with high GEBVs were then selected as broodstock for the fast-growth strain (FS), and the rest for control strains (CS). At last, encouraging results were detected that the FS performed significantly better than CS in terms of growth, with different traits increasing by 5.74–28.77% and 11.93%–54.58% at the WY and CM sites, respectively. These results may assist in the future large-scale commercial application of GS in H. cumingii and provide a cost-efficient GS strategy for other aquaculture species as well. • GBS was applied in genomic selection of Hyriopsis cumingii. • GBLUP model performed better than BayesA, BayesB, BayesCπ and BayesLASSO for growth traits. • Approximately 10,000 pre-selected informative SNPs were sufficient to get genome wide equivalent predictive ability. • The offspring of mussels with high GEBV in selection candidates showed significant growth advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mesoporous Si/Ti molecular sieve was successfully synthesized from tetrabutyl titanate, tetraethoxysilane and EO 20 PO 70 EO 20 by sol-gel combined with following pyrolysis processes and confirmed by XRD and TEM. The poly (vinylidene fluoride- co -hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP))-based composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) membranes doped with Si/Ti molecular sieve were fabricated by phase inversion method and the desirable CPEs were obtained after being activated in liquid electrolytes, which are investigated by SEM, XRD, TG, LSV and EIS measurements. The results show that the CPE doped with 10% Si/Ti molecular sieve ( vs P(VDF-HFP) in weight) presents the most uniform surface with abundant interconnected micro-pores and possesses excellent mechanical tensile strength with high decomposition temperature about 400 °C and wide electrochemical working window about 4.7 V; adding Si/Ti molecular sieve into the system can significantly decrease the crystallinity and improve the ionic conductivity of the as-prepared CPEs, in which the ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number at room temperature are up to 3.263 mS cm −1 and 0.4292, respectively, and the reciprocal temperature dependence of ionic conductivity follows Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher relation. Furthermore, the anti-shrinkage rate of the as-prepared CPE membrane distinctly outperforms the commercial polyolefin membrane at 120 °C about 2 h. The interfacial resistance of the assembled Li/CPE/Li simulated cell can rapidly increase to a steady value about 548 Ω from the initial value about 362 Ω at 30 °C during 5 days storage, and the assembled Li/CPE/LiCoO 2 coin cell with the electrolyte also show excellent rate and cycle performance, which indicates that this kind of CPE is an exciting potential candidate as polymer electrolyte for the lithium ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Osteopontin (OPN) is overexpressed in breast cancers, while its clinical and prognostic significance remained unclear. This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of OPN, especially its splice variants, in breast cancers. Methods. Data were extracted from eligible studies concerning the OPN and OPN-c expression in breast cancer patients and were used to calculate the association between OPN/OPN-c and survival. Two reviewer teams independently screened the literatures according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria based on quality evaluation. Following the processes of data extraction, assessment, and transformation, meta-analysis was carried out via RevMan 5.3 software. Results. A total of ten studies involving 1,567 patients were included. The results demonstrated that high level OPN indicated a poor outcome in the OS (HR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.23–4.00, and P=0.008; random-effects model) with heterogeneity (I2=62%) of breast cancer patients. High level OPN-c appeared to be more significantly associated with poor survival (HR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.51–3.04, and P<0.0001; fixed-effects model) with undetected heterogeneity (I2=0%). Conclusions. Our analyses indicated that both OPN and OPN-c could be considered as prognostic markers for breast cancers. The high level of OPN-c was suggested to be more reliably associated with poor survival in breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has emerged as a crucial factor in the sustenance and growth of enterprises. Nonetheless, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) confront numerous challenges in their pursuit of innovation, owing to constraints in capital, expertise, and knowledge resources. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the input-process-output (IPO) model, this study devises a mechanism model to assess the impact of knowledge heterogeneity and innovation performance on small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Guizhou Province, China. The objective is to offer recommendations for the advancement and innovation of enterprises with relative knowledge resource deficiencies. A total of 324 valid questionnaires were gathered, and the acquired data were analyzed employing SPSS 23.0 and Amos 26.0. The findings reveal that knowledge heterogeneity exerts a significantly positive influence on innovation performance. Task conflict and relationship conflict serve as partial mediators in the effects of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation performance. By capitalizing on the heterogeneity of internal and external knowledge, enterprises can effectively enhance their innovation outcomes. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that knowledge sharing possesses a moderating effect on the impact of knowledge heterogeneity on task conflict, relationship conflict, and innovation performance. In a conducive sharing environment, the ultimate effect of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation is subject to alteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We numerically investigate the premixed flame acceleration (FA) and the subsequent deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) of pure and vitiated fuel/oxidizer mixtures in a microchannel under two extreme wall thermal conditions—an adiabatic wall and a hot, preheated isothermal wall. The numerical simulations are conducted using AMReX-Combustion PeleC, an exascale compressible reacting flow solver that leverages load-balanced block-structured adaptive mesh refinement to enable high-fidelity direct numerical simulation. We perform these simulations for a hydrogen combustion system. While it is widely known that adiabatic walls strongly promote the occurrence of DDT via FA, such a mechanism of DDT is found to be strongly limited by the flame speeds of the unreacted mixture and hence is intrinsically tied to the mixture composition. We demonstrate that the addition of water (i.e., vitiation) to the unreacted mixture leads to a significant reduction in the flame speed, thereby slowing down the FA process and subsequent DDT. With isothermal preheated walls, the pure fuel cases preferentially propagate along the wall after an auto-ignition event, leading to the formation of a "secondary" finger-flame. This secondary front subsequently undergoes transverse expansion, following which deceleration of the flame is observed. The vitiated fuel cases also exhibit a similar behavior, nonetheless exhibit much longer time-scales of auto-ignition and propagation, in addition to stronger deceleration. In summary, this study presents one of the very few simulations in the FA and DDT literature that employ detailed chemical kinetics for both adiabatic and isothermal walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The thin PVDF@PEG SPE (≈20 μm) was prepared by in-situ thermal curing. • The thin SPE possesses an ultrahigh ionic conductance of 75.7 mS at 30 °C. • The Li/PVDF@PEG/Li cell can be stable cycled more than 3200 h at 60 and 100 °C. • LiFePO 4 /PVDF@PEG/Li battery can stable for 1000 cycles under 1C at 60 and 100 °C. Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are promising candidates for the next-generation all-solid-state batteries due to their good flexibility as well as safety. However, the low ionic conductivity, uncontrolled lithium dendrite growth, poor cyclic performance and high temperature intolerance are still great challenges for their widely applications. In this work, a flexible and dense poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PVDF@PEG) SPE is designed and fabricated via an in-situ thermocuring method, which exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 8.03 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C and excellent electrochemical stability window of 5.2 V. More importantly, the Li/PVDF@PEG/Li symmetric cell can be continuously cycled at 0.1 mA cm−2 more than 3200 h without short-circuit at both 60 and 100 °C. Owing to these outstanding merits, the LiFePO 4 /PVDF@PEG/Li pouch cell delivered a high discharge specific capacity of 122.8 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1C with a capacity retention of 86.36% under 60 °C. Notably, the LiFePO 4 //Li pouch cell also shows excellent cycle stability at 100 °C, exhibiting reversible capacities from 155.5 to 123.1 mAh g−1 under 1C after 1000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new approach named focal region-based volume rendering for visualizing internal structures of volumetric data is presented. This approach presents volumetric information through integrating context information as the structure analysis of the data set with a lens-like focal region rendering to show more detailed information. This feature-based approach contains three main components: (i) A feature extraction model using 3D image processing techniques to explore the structure of objects to provide contextual information; (ii) An efficient ray-bounded volume ray casting rendering to provide the detailed information of the volume of interest in the focal region; (iii) The tools used to manipulate focal regions to make this approach more flexible. The approach provides a powerful framework for producing detailed information from volumetric data. Providing contextual information and focal region renditions at the same time has the advantages of easy to understand and comprehend volume information for the scientist. The interaction techniques provided in this approach make the focal region-based volume rendering more flexible and easy to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The light plays a pivotal role in influencing the growth and body color for aquaculture animals. The freshwater pearl mussel Hyriopsis cumingii , inhabiting benthic environments naturally, is predominantly cultivated by hanging methods. This aquaculture method altersmutiple environmental factors, with light being one of the maximum variationfactor. In order to comprehend the impact of light change on the growth and inner shell color of H. cumingii , a total of 14 full-sibling families were established and cultivated separately under natural light and dim light conditions for a period of 13 months in this study. The results revealed that under natural light conditions, juvenile mussel exhibited accelerated growth rates, while dim light conditions expedited purple pigmentation in the inner shell. Genetic analysis indicated general heritability range for the entire experimental population falls between 0.07 and 0.28. heritability estimates for all traits under natural light conditions (NL) ranged from 0.33 to 0.72, indicating consistently high heritability. However, heritability estimates for all traits under dim light conditions (DL) ranged from 0.05 to 0.16. The growth and inner shell color traits showed significant G × E interactions under different light conditions. The anal angle radial rib length (AARRL) trait exhibited a significantly higher correlation with body weight (BW) compared to shell height (SH) and total shell height (TSH). Furthermore, the growth and inner shell color traits of different families were compared and evaluated under the two environmental conditions in this study. Families 1 and 6 excelled in various traits under both conditions, making them promising candidates for genetic improvement breeding. In this study, pronounced influences of light exposure on the growth of pearl mussels were identified, emphasizing the need for tailored breeding strategies for both bottom seeding and suspended cultivation methods. • The growth of Hyriopsis cumingii is accelerated in natural light and the inner shell color is enhanced in dark light. • The growth and inner shell color traits showed significant G × E interactions under different light conditions. • The newly defined growth trait, Anal Angle Radial Rib Length (AARRL), may be for breeding fast-growth mussels in future. • The identified excellent families offer genetic resourcesfor further breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which determined whether endogenous E2F-1 plays a discrete role in the cycling of proliferating cells and/or in ... exit regulation. Materials and methods; Results; Discussion.

• Composite mutation strategy (CMS) and restart strategy (RS) are embedded into SSA. • CMS is able to boost the exploitation and exploration trends of SSA. • RS is capable of assisting salps in getting away from local optimum. • The proposed method is verified on IEEE CEC2017 benchmarks. • The proposed method is also tested on IEEE CEC2011 and engineering problems. This research proposes a reinforced salp swarm algorithm (SSA) variant with an ensemble mutation strategy and a restart mechanism, which is named CMSRSSSA for short, to enhance exploration and exploitation capacity of SSA and conquer the restriction of a single search mechanism of the SSA in tackling continuous optimization problems. In this variant, an ensemble/composite mutation strategy (CMS) can boost the exploitation and exploration trends of SSA, as well as restart strategy (RS) is capable of assisting salps in getting away from local optimum. To investigate the performance of the proposed optimizer, firstly, IEEE CEC2017 benchmark problems are used to estimate the capability of the presented CMSRSSSA in solving continuous optimization problems in comparison to other advanced algorithms; furthermore, IEEE CEC2011 real-world benchmark problems and constrained engineering optimization problems are also utilized to assess the performance of CMSRSSSA for practical ideas. Experimental and statistical results reveal that the CMSRSSSA outperforms all the competitors, including winners of the related IEEE CEC competition; therefore, it will be able to be treated as a promising method in resolving both constrained and unconstrained optimization problems. For post-publication supports and guides on the idea of the paper, please be in touch with the hosting website: http://aliasgharheidari.com. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new approach of multi-sensor fusion algorithm based on the improved unscented particle filter (IUPF) and a new multi-sensor distributed fusion model are proposed. Additionally, we employ a novel multi-target tracking algorithm that combines the joint probabilistic data association (JPDA) algorithm and the IUPF algorithm. To improve the real-time performance of the UPF algorithm for the maneuvering target, minimum skew simplex unscented transform combined with a scaled unscented transform is utilized, which significantly reduces the calculation of UPF sample selection. Moreover, a self-adaptive gain modification coefficient is defined to solve the low accuracy problem caused by the sigma point reduction, and the problem of particle degradation is solved by modifying the weights calculation method. In addition, a new multi-sensor fusion model is proposed, which better integrates radar and infrared sensors. Simulation results show that IUPF effectively improves real-time performance while ensuring the tracking accuracy compared with other algorithms. Besides, compared with the traditional distributed fusion architecture, the proposed new architecture makes better use of the advantages of radar and an infrared sensor and improves the tracking accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ti4+ doping can provide a stronger Ti-O bond to strengthen the structural stability. • NCM83-2.0 presents compact secondary particles with more ordered layered structure. • NCM83-2.0 delivers 170.5 mAh g−1 and 92.2 % after 100cycles at 2.0 C and 60 °C. • NCM83-2.0 preserves the structural integrity of secondary particles after cycles. The further commercialization of layer-structured Ni-rich LiNi 0.83 Co 0.11 Mn 0.06 O 2 (NCM83) cathode for high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been challenged by severe capacity decay and thermal instability owing to the microcracks and harmful phase transitions. Herein, Ti4+-doped NCM83 cathode materials are rationally designed via a simple and low-cost in-situ modification method to improve the crystal structure and electrode–electrolyte interface stability by inhibiting irreversible polarizations and harmful phase transitions of the NCM83 cathode materials due to Ti4+-doped forms stronger metal-O bonds and a stable bulk structural. In addition, the optimal doping amount of the composite cathode material is also determined through the results of physical characterization and electrochemical performance testing. The optimized Ti4+-doped NCM83 cathode material presents wider Li+ ions diffusion channels (c = 14.1687 Å), lower Li+/Ni2+ mixing degree (2.68 %), and compact bulk structure. The cell assembled with the optimized Ti4+-doped NCM83 cathode material exhibits remarkable capacity retention ratio of 95.4 % after 100cycles at 2.0 C and room temperature, and outstanding reversible discharge specific capacity of 148.2 mAh g−1 at 5.0 C. Even under elevated temperature of 60 °C, it delivers excellent capacity retention ratio of 92.2 % after 100cycles at 2.0 C , which is significantly superior to the 47.9 % of the unmodified cathode material. Thus, the in-situ Ti4+-doped strategy presents superior advantages in enhancing the structural stability of Ni-rich cathode materials for LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To predict the vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) efficacy for pediatric drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE) patients, we aim to identify preimplantation biomarkers through clinical features and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and thus establish a predictive model from a multi‐modal feature set with high prediction accuracy. Methods: Sixty‐five pediatric DRE patients implanted with VNS were included and followed up. We explored the topological network and entropy features of preimplantation EEG signals to identify the biomarkers for VNS efficacy. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) integrated these biomarkers to distinguish the efficacy groups. Results: The proportion of VNS responders was 58.5% (38/65) at the last follow‐up. In the analysis of parieto‐occipital α band activity, higher synchronization level and nodal efficiency were found in responders. The central‐frontal θ band activity showed significantly lower entropy in responders. The prediction model reached an accuracy of 81.5%, a precision of 80.1%, and an AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of 0.838. Conclusion: Our results revealed that, compared to nonresponders, VNS responders had a more efficient α band brain network, especially in the parieto‐occipital region, and less spectral complexity of θ brain activities in the central‐frontal region. We established a predictive model integrating both preimplantation clinical and EEG features and exhibited great potential for discriminating the VNS responders. This study contributed to the understanding of the VNS mechanism and improved the performance of the current predictive model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals experience difficulty falling asleep in a new environment, termed the first night effect (FNE). However, the impact of the FNE on sleep-induced brain plasticity remains unclear. Here, using a within-subject design, we found that the FNE significantly reduces visual plasticity during sleep in young adults. Sleep-onset latency (SOL), an indicator of the FNE, was significantly longer during the first sleep session than the second session, confirming the FNE. We assessed performance gains in visual perceptual learning after sleep and increases in the excitatory-to-inhibitory neurotransmitter (E/I) ratio in early visual areas during sleep using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and polysomnography. These parameters were significantly smaller in sleep with the FNE than in sleep without the FNE; however, these parameters were not correlated with SOL. These results suggest that while the neural mechanisms of the FNE and brain plasticity are independent, sleep disturbances temporarily block the neurochemical process fundamental for brain plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ER needs algorithms transfering knowledge of source subjects to a customized model. • User-dependent emotion recognition with PLRSA is a semi-supervised method. • PLRSA is the first to unify the instance reweighting and feature matching paradigm. Recently, many scenarios, such as affective disorders treatment, have sparked rising needs for establishment of personalized emotion recognition (PER) models. Unfortunately, the data sparsity issue violates the basic i.i.d. assumption of supervised learning (i.e., training data and test data are independently and identically distributed). In this paper, we present a semi-supervised joint domain adaption (SSJDA) solution, aiming to inject the hidden domain knowledge from ample labeled data of multiple source individuals into the target subject's customized model. Specifically, we put forward a novel Progressive Low-Rank Subspace Alignment (PLRSA) approach, which unifies a semi-supervised instance-transfer paradigm and an unsupervised mapping-transfer learning paradigm in a single optimization framework. We leverage the boosting-based TrAdaBoost algorithm and the Transfer Component Analysis (TCA) algorithm for the implementation of instance reweighting and feature matching, respectively. Then we introduce the ℓ 2 , 1 - norm to pass feedback and make the joint learning feasible. The central idea is to progressively minimize the cross-domain distribution discrepancies to finally construct the optimal domain-invariant features. We systematically compare the PLRSA method with five state-of-the-art techniques using two public EEG datasets (DEAP and SEED). Both many-to-one and one-to-one evaluations are performed. The experimental results have confirmed the efficacy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Visual perceptual learning (VPL) refers to a long-term enhancement of visual task performance as a result of visual experience [ 1–6 ]. VPL is generally specific for the trained visual feature, meaning that training on a feature leads to performance enhancement only on the feature and those in its close vicinity. In the meantime, visual perception is often categorical [ 7–10 ]. This may partially be because the ecological importance of a stimulus is usually determined by the category to which the stimulus belongs (e.g., snake, lightning, and fish) [ 11 ]. Thus, it would be advantageous to an observer if encountering or working on a feature from a category increases sensitivity to features under the same category. However, studies of VPL have used uncategorized features. Here, we found a category-induced transfer of VPL, where VPL of an orientation transferred to untrained orientations within the same category as the trained orientation, but not orientations from the different category. Furthermore, we found that, although category learning transferred to other locations in the visual field, the category-induced transfer of VPL occurred only when visual stimuli for the category learning and those for VPL training were presented at the same location. These results altogether suggest that feature specificity in VPL is greatly influenced by cognitive processing, such as categorization in a top-down fashion. In an environment where features are categorically organized, VPL may be more generalized across features under the same category. Such generalization implies that VPL is of more ecological significance than has been thought. Highlights • Perceptual learning transferred to features within the same category as the trained • Category learning of orientations transferred to the opposite visual hemifield • Category-induced transfer occurred only in the location category learning occurred Tan, Wang, et al. find that visual perceptual learning (VPL) of an orientation transfers to untrained orientations within the same category as the trained orientation, but not orientations from a different category. VPL may transfer to a greater degree in a natural environment that is categorically organized than in an experimental room. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effects of intensive blood pressure (BP) control on cognitive outcomes in patients with excess orthostatic BP changes are unclear. We aimed to evaluate whether orthostatic BP changes modified the effects of BP intervention on cognitive impairment. Methods: We analyzed 8547 participants from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Memory and cognition IN Decreased Hypertension. Associations between orthostatic BP changes and incident cognitive outcomes were evaluated by restricted cubic spline curves based on Cox models. The interactions between orthostatic BP changes and intensive BP intervention were assessed. Results: The U‐shaped associations were observed between baseline orthostatic systolic BP changes and cognitive outcomes. However, there were insignificant interactions between either change in orthostatic systolic BP (P for interaction = 0.81) or diastolic BP (P for interaction = 0.32) and intensive BP intervention for the composite outcome of probable dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The hazard ratio of intensive versus standard target for the composite cognitive outcome was 0.82 (95% CI 0.50–1.35) in those with an orthostatic systolic BP reduction of >20 mmHg and 0.41 (95% CI 0.21–0.80) in those with an orthostatic systolic BP increase of >20 mmHg. Results were similar for probable dementia and MCI. The annual changes in global cerebral blood flow (P for interaction = 0.86) consistently favored intensive BP treatment across orthostatic systolic BP changes. Conclusion: Intensive BP control did not have a deteriorating effect on cognitive outcomes among hypertensive patients experiencing significant postural BP changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China leads the world in freshwater pearl production, an industry in which the triangle sail mussel (Sinohyriopsis cumingii) plays a pivotal role. In this paper, we report a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of S. cumingii with a size of 2.90 Gb—the largest yet reported among bivalves—and 89.92% anchorage onto 19 linkage groups. The assembled genome has 37,696 protein-coding genes and 50.86% repeat elements. A comparative genomic analysis revealed expansions of 752 gene families, mostly associated with biomineralization, and 237 genes under strong positive selection. Notably, the fibrillin gene family exhibited gene family expansion and positive selection simultaneously, and it also exhibited multiple high expressions after mantle implantation by transcriptome analysis. Furthermore, RNA silencing and an in vitro calcium carbonate crystallization assay highlighted the pivotal role played by one fibrillin gene in calcium carbonate deposition and aragonite transformation. This study provides a valuable genomic resource and offers new insights into the mechanism of pearl biomineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green alga Haematococcus pluvialis is an important source of natural astaxanthin (Ast), which have been shown to be beneficial for the color formulation, survival, antioxidation, immunity and stress resistance of many crustacean. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of H. pluvialis meal on growth, antioxidant status, ammonia resistance, color parameters, and carotenoids composition of juvenile Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. Five diets were formulated to contain 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/kg dry diets of natural Ast (defined as Diet 1–5) using H. pluvialis meal as astaxanthin source. The results showed that: (1) Although all treatments with Ast supplementation had the relatively higher growth performance and survival than the control (Diet 1 treatment), no significant differences were found on growth performance, feed conversion ratio and hepatosomatic index among all treatments. (2) The highest total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in hepatopancreas and hemolymph were observed in Diet 4 and 3 treatments respectively, while the lowest malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in hepatopancreas and hemolymph were also found in these two treatments. Furthermore, the significantly positive relationships were detected on acid phosphatase (ACP) activities and dietary Ast contents for hepatopancreas and hemolymph. (3) Diet 3 treatment had the highest mRNA levels of Es LecA, Es Trx, and Es Prx6 in hepatopancreas, while both Diet 3 and 4 treatments reached the peaks for mRNA expression levels of Es Myd88 and Es Hc, respectively. (4) The stress test with ammonia-N indicated Diet 1 treatment had the highest mortality among all treatments, and the lowest mortality was found on Diet 3 treatment during the stress test. (5) Dietary Ast significantly improved the redness (a *) of carapace and hepatopancreas, which were consistent with the Ast contents in these tissues from the different treatments. Ast concentrations in carapace reached the plateau for Diet 3 treatment while hepatopancreatic Ast concentration kept increasing with elevating dietary Ast contents. In conclusion, natural astaxanthin could enhance the antioxidative capability, non-specific immunity, tissue Ast contents and stress resistance to ammonia-N, and these results suggested the optimal diet micro-algal astaxanthin was around 60 mg/kg for juvenile E. sinensis. • Natural astaxanthin supplementation had limited effect on the growth performance of juvenile Eriocheir sinensis. • Appropriate dietary astaxanthin markedly improved the antioxidant capacity and stress resistance of juvenile E. sinensis. • Excessive dietary astaxanthin negatively affected the antioxidant capacity and stress resistance of juvenile E. sinensis. • The appropriate level of dietary natural astaxanthin is approximately 60 mg/kg for juvenile E. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Inadequate bowel preparation (BP) is an unfavorable factor that influence the success of colonoscopy. Although standard education (SE) given to patients are proved useful to avoid inadequate BP. Studies concerning the effects of reinforced education (RE) on the quality of BP were inconsistent. The aim of this updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial was to compare the quality of BP between patients receiving RE in addition to SE and those receiving SE alone. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were systemically searched to identify the relevant studies published through April 2019. The primary outcome was the rate of adequate BP. Subgroup analyses were conducted. Secondary outcomes included BP score, adenoma detection rate (ADR), polyp detection rate (PDR), insertion time, withdrawal time, adverse events, >80% purgative intake and diet compliance. Dichotomous variables were reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Continuous data were reported as mean difference (MD) with 95%CI. Pooled estimates of OR or MD were calculated using a random-effects model. Statistical heterogeneity was accessed by calculating the I2 value. A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 18 randomized controlled trails (N = 6536) were included in this meta-analysis. Patients who received RE had a better BP quality than those only receiving SE (OR 2.59, 95%CI: 2.09–3.19; P<0.001). A higher ADR (OR 1.35; 95%CI: 1.06–1.72; P = 0.020) and PDR (OR 1.24, 95%CI: 1.02–1.50; P = 0.030), shorter insertion (MD -0.76; 95%CI: -1.48-(-0.04); P = 0.040) and withdrawal time (MD -0.83; 95%CI: -1.83-(-0.28); P = 0.003), less nausea/vomiting (OR 0.78; 95%CI: 0.64–0.97; P = 0.020) and abdominal distension (OR 0.72; 95%CI: 0.68–0.92; P = 0.020) were achieved in the RE group. More patients had >80% purgative intake (OR 2.17; 95%CI, 1.09–4.32; P = 0.030) and were compliant with diet restriction (OR 2.38; 95%CI: 1.79–3.17; P<0.001) in the RE group. Conclusion: RE significantly improved BP quality, increased ADR and PDR, decreased insertion and withdrawal time and adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASICON-type fast ion conductor powders Li 1.3 Al 0.3 Ti 1.7 (PO 4) 3 (LATP) are prepared by spray-drying and sintering processes confirmed by XRD and SEM analyses. Novel poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropylene) (P(VDF-HFP))-based composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) doped with various amounts of LATP particles are fabricated via classical inverse-phase method. As a result, the as-prepared CPE-5 membrane can present excellent physicochemical properties when the doped amount is maintained at 5% vs. polymer matrix, in which the interfacial impedance value can rapidly stabilize at 472 Ω and the thermal decomposition temperature can be up to 430 °C, respectively. In particularly, the ionic conductivity can be as high as 3.943 mS cm−1 at 25 °C. In addition, the assembled LiCoO 2 /CPE-5/Li coin cell can deliver a discharge specific capacity of 145.4 mAh g−1 at 1.0 C with 96.93% capacity retention ratio after 25 cycles. These outstanding properties can promote the CPE-5 to be a candidate electrolyte to improve the performance of lithium ion batteries. Brief preparation process and characterization of composite polymer electrolytes doped with various amounts of LATP powders. Unlabelled Image • NASICON-type LATP powders are prepared by spray-drying and sintering methods. • The optimum LATP doping amount is 5% vs. polymer matrix. • The ionic conductivity at room temperature is as high as 3.943 mS cm−1. • The assembled cell delivers a discharge specific capacity of 132.8 mAh g−1 at 1.0 C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using industrial, low-cost and easily available AlSiFe alloy powders as the precursor, the porous composite of silicon and silica containing iron with conductive carbon shell (Si-SiO 2 @Fe/C) are prepared by alkali etching combined with following pyrolysis process, in which the silicon nanoparticles are evenly embedded in the porous layered silica templates containing iron confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. The remained iron and fabricated porous structure as well as the coated carbon layer in the composite can not only alleviate the volume effect of silicon particles, but also enhance the conductivity of the electrode materials, which can result in excellent cyclic stability (830 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 200 mA g−1 with coulombic efficiency >99%), remarkable rate capability (reversible discharge specific capacity of 950, 900, 800, 650 and 500 mAh g−1 at 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 mA g−1, respectively), low transfer resistance (35.71 Ω after 200 cycles at 200 mA g−1) and enhanced diffusion coefficient of lithium ions (increasing from 4.453E−15 cm2 s−1 to 2.945E−13 cm2 s−1 after 200 cycles). These outstanding results can ensure the targeted Si-SiO 2 @Fe/C composite as a promising anode for lithium ion batteries. Schematic illustrations of the preparation processes for the Si-SiO 2 @Fe/C materials. Unlabelled Image • Porous Si-SiO 2 @Fe/C anode is prepared by alkali etching and pyrolysis process. • Porous structure can alleviate the volume effect of Si particles. • The remained Fe can enhance the conductivity as well as small capacity. • The anode presents low transfer resistance and high Li+ diffusion coefficient. • The assembled coin cells show excellent rate and cycle performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]