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Properly designed interfacial electric fields between CdS and Bi 2 MoO 6 can effectively promote carrier separation and then enhance photocatalytic CO 2 reduction. [Display omitted] • CdS/Bi 2 MoO 6 composite materials were synthesized by in-situ growth method. • CdS/Bi 2 MoO 6 exhibits excellent photocatalytic CO 2 reduction performance. • Properly designed interfacial electric fields and interfacial chemical bonds can effectively promote carrier separation. • The photo-corrosion is effectively suppressed in this photocatalytic system. Constructing strong interfacial electric fields to enhance the surface charge transport kinetics is an effective strategy for promoting CO 2 conversion. Herein, we present the fabrication of CdS-Bi 2 MoO 6 Z-scheme heterojunctions with a robust internal electric field (IEF) using an in situ growth technique, establishing chemical bonding between the components. The IEF at the interface can offer an impetus for the segregation and transportation of photogenerated carriers, while the Cd-O chemical bonding mode acts as a rapid conduit for these carriers, thereby reducing the charge transfer distance. As a result, the Z-scheme charge transfer is accelerated due to the synergistic influence of these two factors. Therefore, the optimized CdS/Bi 2 MoO 6 Z-scheme heterojunction possesses significantly enhanced dynamic carrier mobility, thus promoting the conversion of CO 2 to CO without the need for additional co-catalysts or sacrificial agents. This optimization yields a remarkable CO selectivity of up to 97%. Meanwhile, the expedited Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism is validated through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the impact of climate change and vegetation phenology on ecosystem productivity in the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is essential for assessing carbon balance dynamics at regional and global scales. However, the relative contributions of climate change and phenological change to vegetation productivity across various grassland types remain indistinguishable. This study examined the effects of climate change and phenological change on net primary productivity (NPP) in the alpine meadow and alpine steppe ecosystems of the TP from 2001 to 2020. The results revealed that (1) NPP exhibited a positive correlation with vegetation phenology, particularly with an extended growing season length and an earlier start of the growing season. Among the phenological variables studied, changes in the start of the growing season had the strongest influence on NPP variations in both alpine meadows and alpine steppes. (2) NPP displayed a positive correlation with annual precipitation and annual temperature, with changes in annual precipitation playing a dominant role in shaping NPP variations in alpine steppes. (3) NPP showed a negative correlation with annual radiation, and the impact of radiation changes on NPP variations was comparable to that of precipitation or temperature in both alpine meadows and alpine steppes. (4) Climate change exerted a stronger impact on NPP than phenological change in alpine steppes, while NPP was jointly affected by climate change and phenological change in alpine meadows. Our findings indicated that the relative effects of climate change and phenological change on vegetation productivity vary across different grassland types on the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microservice architecture shows great potentials in business solutions by providing agile response to emerging demands, which is believed a fundamental shift in innovative software development. However, the microservices are still facing a number challenges, including monolithic applications, limited reuse, operational agility, etc. This work focuses on building microservices in the Internet of Things environment by overcoming above challenges. Specifically, a microservices priority assessment method is proposed by combing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), in which AHP is used to calculate the weights of the related factors, while FCE is used for comprehensive evaluation to determine the priority of microservices. The experimental results on an IoT platform demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Moreover, it is found that the most influential factors of the microservices priority are non-resource factors, and occupy the majority of the proportion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Rational design of electrocatalyst for air cathode with high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance is highly demanded. However, current low performance of electrocatalyst remains a big challenge. Herein, the possibility of germanium (Ge)‐doped molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayer as a novel electrocatalyst for ORR in alkaline solution was studied based on first principle calculation. The results indicate that oxygen is strongly adsorbed on the surface of Ge‐doped MoS2 monolayer. Moreover, a high barrier should be overcome during H2O molecular dissociation and the barrier of dissociation decreases with the number of doped Ge atoms increasing. Based on the calculation of transition state and Gibbs free energy, the triple Ge atoms‐doped MoS2 monolayer shows the best activity toward ORR with the lowest rate‐determine step barrier of 0.23 eV. Our study may provide a meaningful method for the design of novel MoS2‐based electrocatalyst for ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mesoscopic mass transfer model of the lithium air battery was developed by the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation method, which focused on diffusion and the order of positive mass transfer in mesoscopic conditions of the lithium air battery. Based on the principle of a Martini force field, the Mesocite module in Material Studio was used to establish a mesoscopic model. The change trend of the diffusion coefficients of H2O, Li+, OH−, and O2 beads in the solution distribution situation was studied. The effects of temperature, carbon nanotube length, carbon nanotube content, and electrolyte concentration for the lithium air battery were discussed. The type of carbon nanotubes and the quality of different mixed carbon nanotubes on the diffusion coefficient were also analyzed in the positive electrode of the lithium air battery. The study found that increasing the porosity of the system, reducing the concentration of the electrolyte, and adjusting the complexity of the system are conducive to the improvement of the diffusion coefficient of each particle in the solution system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleotide sequencing of I RHCE i Exon 1 showed a C nucleotide at position c.48 associated with an I RHCE*C i allele and a standard I RHCE*C i sequence in Exon 2. The I RHCE i gene coding sequences and their adjacent intron regions were amplified by PCR and the nucleotide sequences obtained as published previously.4 We determined I RHD i zygosity by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for the presence of the hybrid Rhesus box. A null allele caused by a four-base-pair duplication within the RHCE gene encoding a D- - phenotype. [Extracted from the article]

To study the mesoscopic transfer characteristics of water and hydronium ions in Nafion membrane of all vanadium flow battery, a mesoscopic model was developed in this paper. In this model, Nafion membrane, water, and hydronium ions were coarse-grained according to the Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) method by Materials Studio software, and the three-dimensional topology of water channel is developed by the DPD theory as well. The impact of temperature, water content and hydronium ions content on diffusion coefficient was analyzed by the diffusion coefficient, and the radial distribution function and its influencing factor were also studied. The results show that, the adsorbed water on sulfonic acid group in the Nafion membrane forms the water channel for hydrated hydrogen ion transfer; more water and higher temperature respectively increase the transfer coefficient of hydrated hydrogen ion in the Nafion membrane by increasing water channel and speeding up movement of the hydrated hydrogen ion. This work is helpful to understand working principle of Nafion membrane and will promote the application of all vanadium flow battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The P1PK blood group system (ISBT 003) comprises P1, P SP k sp , and NOR antigens, all synthesized by the glycosyltransferase Gb3/CD77 enzyme. The c.547 548delAT allele has previously been found which also contained an additional alteration c.367T>C giving rise to p.Ser123Pro but does not change the phenotype in two samples from Maghreb.4 This allele was named I A4GALT*02N.07 i by ISBT. Our study demonstrated that our patient with the rare p phenotype was compound heterozygous for two nonfunctional I A4GALT i alleles. [Extracted from the article]

In this phase II study, 47 patients with locally advanced, resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) received three cycles of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by Da Vinci robot-assisted surgery. The primary endpoints were safety and major pathological response (MPR). Key secondary endpoints included complete pathological response (pCR) and survival. No grade ≥3 adverse events or surgical delays occurred during neoadjuvant therapy. Among 46 patients studied for efficacy, the MPR and pCR rates were 72% and 41%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 27.2 months, the 2-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 91% and 89%, respectively. Expansion of TRGC2+ NKT cells in peripheral blood correlated with neoadjuvant treatment effectiveness, which was validated by in vitro organoid experiments and external cancer datasets, and its functional classification and mechanism of action were further explored. These findings show preoperative pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for resectable ESCC. [Display omitted] • Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab + chemotherapy was explored in resectable stage III ESCC • Quality of life and nutritional status improved following neoadjuvant therapy • After a median follow-up of 27.2 months, the 2-year overall survival rate was 91% • TRGC2+ NKT cells in peripheral blood are a potential response biomarker Shang et al. demonstrate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced, resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a phase II clinical trial. They identify TRGC2+ NKT cells as potential biomarkers of response using single-cell RNA-seq in peripheral blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have been reported between the Kashin–Beck Disease (KBD) epidemic and the hydrochemical characteristics of surface waters, the etiology of the disease remains unclear. In the present study, we comprehensively investigated the relationship between the KBD and the hydrochemical characteristics of surface waters in Longzi County. Results show that, the pH (mean = 7.27 ± 0.30), total hardness (TH, mean = 57.08 ± 45.74 mg L−1), total dissolved solids (TDS, mean = 67.56 ± 44.00 mg L−1) and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP, mean = 84.11 ± 23.55 mV) of surface waters in KBD endemic areas are lower than those in the non-KBD endemic areas (means of pH = 7.49 ± 0.30; TH = 262.06 ± 123.29 mg L−1; TDS = 253.25 ± 100.39 mg L−1; ORP = 215.90 ± 55.99 mV). These results suggest that long-term consumption of low TDS, essential trace elements (e.g., nickel, cobalt, iron, selenium, zinc, molybdenum, and iodine) deficient, and potential toxic elements (e.g., arsenic) enriched waters by humans likely causes the KBD. Environmental factors such as the geology and geomorphology may produce biogeochemical imbalance, geomorphic, vegetation types and local climatic conditions may have significant impact on food fungi toxin poisoning and water organic compound poisoning, and these also impact the KBD occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have been reported between the Kashin–Beck Disease (KBD) epidemic and the hydrochemical characteristics of surface waters, the etiology of the disease remains unclear. In the present study, we comprehensively investigated the relationship between the KBD and the hydrochemical characteristics of surface waters in Longzi County. Results show that, the pH (mean = 7.27 ± 0.30), total hardness (TH, mean = 57.08 ± 45.74 mg L−1), total dissolved solids (TDS, mean = 67.56 ± 44.00 mg L−1) and oxidation–reduction potential (ORP, mean = 84.11 ± 23.55 mV) of surface waters in KBD endemic areas are lower than those in the non-KBD endemic areas (means of pH = 7.49 ± 0.30; TH = 262.06 ± 123.29 mg L−1; TDS = 253.25 ± 100.39 mg L−1; ORP = 215.90 ± 55.99 mV). These results suggest that long-term consumption of low TDS, essential trace elements (e.g., nickel, cobalt, iron, selenium, zinc, molybdenum, and iodine) deficient, and potential toxic elements (e.g., arsenic) enriched waters by humans likely causes the KBD. Environmental factors such as the geology and geomorphology may produce biogeochemical imbalance, geomorphic, vegetation types and local climatic conditions may have significant impact on food fungi toxin poisoning and water organic compound poisoning, and these also impact the KBD occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a novel single-nucleotide substitution in the erythroid cell-specific regulatory element on B allele in an individual with phenotype B3. ABO blood group typing of a 44-year-old Chinese Han patient was determined using a gel test kit. Particular focus is also given to the importance of correct identification of ABO subgroups in improving the accuracy of blood typing.

The article presents a case study of a 34-year-old female patient who showed discrepancy in forward and reverse typying of ABO blood group. Topics discussed include presence of weak B antigens on red blood cells (RBCs), association between B101 allele and c.502C>G single-nucleotide polymorphism and changes in position of ABO protein due to amino acids.

To mine the cobalt-rich crust deposits at the substrate of the slope of the seamount, the mining vehicle needs to walk on the slope and strip the cobalt-rich crust from the substrate. To achieve safety and control, the vehicle needs to stably walk on the slope. In this paper, we propose a modeling method for mining vehicle performance based on slope stability and antislip and antiskid conditions. The specific energy of three types of mining vehicles is compared based on dimensionless parameters. The dual-drum type is determined to be the best choice in terms of energy costs, followed by the down-milling type. The performance of the compact mining vehicle based on different slope angles and two sea trial results in the South China Sea indicate that the slope angle, substrate, and crust have significant effects on the stability. The modeling method proposed in this paper can help designers estimate the structure and power of mining vehicles based on mining stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Serological analysis of ABO blood group has been widely applied in transfusion medicine. However, ABO subgroups with different expression of blood group antigens sometimes cannot be determined by serological methods. Therefore, genotyping is useful to understand the variant ABO phenotypes. Material and Methods Exon 6 to exon 7 and adjacent introns of the ABO gene from a donor with ABO typing discrepancy were amplified and sequenced. Cloning sequencing was also performed to identify the allele. To explore the effect of mutation, three dimensional model of mutant p.Pro234Ala was built and optimized. Results The variant B (c. 700C > G) allele expressed an AweakB phenotype with anti-A in his serum with a ABO*B(A)02/O02 heterozygote genotype. Cloning sequencing confirmed that the c.700C > G single nucleotide polymorphism was associated with a B101 allele. Three dimensional molecular modeling suggested that p.Pro234Ala might affect the conformation of His233, Met266 and Ala268, which were known as critical residues for donor recognition. Conclusion ABO genotyping is needed for correct identification subgroups to improve accuracy evaluation of blood typing and increase the safety of blood transfusion. Alteration of DNA sequence in the ABO gene resulted in amino acid substitutions and led to a weak or missing expression of ABO antigens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genomic and haplotype sequencing results showed that the patient was heterozygous in the I ABO i gene for a newly identified I B i allele (GenBank accession number MN971575) with the common I ABO*O.01.02 i allele on the other chromosome. ABO is the most important blood group system with clinical relevance in transfusion, prenatal care, bone marrow, and organ transplantation.1 Most ABO subtypes are caused by single-nucleotide substitutions in exons 6 and 7 of the I ABO i gene,2 which can reduce the activity of ABO glycosyltransferase. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Human neutrophil antigen-3 (HNA-3) alloantibodies can cause fatal transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI). Most frequencies of SLC44A2 alleles encoding the HNA-3a/b antigens have been established in Han individuals by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific priming (PCR-SSP). We sequenced SLC44A2 gene fragments and determined allele frequencies in three ethnicities of China.Study Design and Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from 448 samples of 100 blood donors of Yi ethnicity in Xichang, Liangshan; 248 Han in Nanjing, Jiangsu; and 100 Tibetan in Lhasa, Tibet. A PCR-SSP was applied to determine the phase of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); SLC44A2 haplotypes were constructed.Results: In the 567 nucleotides of the SLC44A2 gene covered by our sequencing approach in Han individuals, we detected the known 331-44G>A (rs12972963) and 461G>A (rs2288904) polymorphisms. In the 243 nucleotides sequenced in Yi and Tibetan populations, we detected the known 461G>A and 503-15T>C (rs1560711) polymorphisms. A PCR-SSP for the common HNA-3a/b SNP was 100% concordant. The frequencies of the HNA-3a allele were 0.58, 0.66, and 0.69 in Yi, Han (Nanjing), and Tibetan, respectively (0.42, 0.34, and 0.31 for HNA-3b).Conclusions: The Yi population of China had the highest frequency of blood donors at risk of harboring anti-HNA-3a compared to any population studied so far. We confirmed that the underlying SLC44A2*2 allele is more common in China than in any European or African populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Antiangiogenesis plays a key role in the treatment of non-small lung cancer ( NSCLC). We observed the cavitation of lesions in patients with stage IIIB/ IV NSCLC treated with Endostar and vinorelbine-cisplatin ( NP) chemotherapy, and evaluated the imaging characteristics and clinical outcome of patients who developed tumor cavitation. Methods Our study included 105 untreated NSCLC patients who received Endostar in combination with NP chemotherapy at the Tianjin Lung Cancer Center. Chest computed tomography ( CT) was performed to evaluate the efficacy every two cycles. The number of activated circulating endothelial cells ( aCECs) was measured by flow cytometry. Rates of tumor cavitation were documented and their clinical CT imaging data were analyzed. Results Tumor cavitation occurred in 11 of the 105 (10.5%) patients treated with Endostar and NP. The response rates were 37.2% (35/94) in patients without cavitation, 27.3% (3/11) evaluated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, and 100.0% (11/11) if evaluated by an alternate method in patients who developed cavitation. Three of the 11 cases with cavitation had a centrally located tumor. No patients had hemoptysis or any other severe side effects. Compared with patients not developing cavitation, cavity formation resulted in a longer median survival time (13.6 vs. 11.8 months, P = 0.011) and an increase in the number of aCECs (244.4/105 vs. 23.3/105, P = 0.000). Conclusions Intratumoral cavitation induced by Endostar is common in NSCLC patients, and is not correlated with squamous histology, tumor location or pulmonary hemorrhage. Cavitation might have a significant effect on the number of aCECs and overall prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Amount and distribution of selenium (Se) in surface waters across Tibet are studied. • Study explores the relationship between Se concentration and environmental factors. • Separate and combined influences of 10 environmental impact factors are considered. • Contribution of factors and their internal subzones are quantitatively analyzed. • Identified 5 main environmental indicators that influence water Se concentration. Selenium (Se) is essential for human health. Its concentration in surface water is determined by diverse environmental factors. However, few studies have discussed the distribution of the surface water Se concentration in Tibet; quantitative analysis of how multiple environmental impact factors affect the distribution of surface water Se concentration is also lacking. In this study, the relationship between surface water Se concentration and environmental indicators is investigated in a broad scope by chemical examination, and the spatial distribution of 702 surface water samples across 66 counties in Tibet is comprehensively analyze. The principle of spatial stratified heterogeneity is used not only to measure the individual or interactive influences of 10 potential environmental impact factors, but also to identify the highest potential impact types or ranges of each factor. Results show that the surface water Se concentrations in Tibet are very low, with a mean value of 0.519 ± 0.551 μg/L (range of 0–3.944 μg/L). Spatially, surface water Se concentrations exhibited a reducing trend toward the central and southeast parts of Tibet. In general, surface water in desert areas with low precipitation, which feature alkaline soil environments and magmatic rock outcrops, had higher Se concentration, while overall, the temperature and geographical environment showed little impact on surface water Se concentration. This study contributes to a better understanding of the spatial distribution and environmental impact mechanism of surface water Se concentration in Tibet, and provides baseline indicators for the establishment of a prediction model for the distribution of Se in surface water based on spatial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]