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Fullerene–chromophore dyads have attracted a great deal of research interest because these complexes can be potentially designed as nanoscale artificial photosynthetic centers, in which the chromophore and fullerene function as the electron donor and acceptor, respectively. The basic operation of this dyad-type artificial reaction center is photoinduced electron transfer from the donor to the acceptor. The fullerene and chromophore are usually covalently linked so that sufficient electronic coupling between these two moieties can facilitate the electron transfer. However, other deactivation pathways for the chromophore excited state, such as energy transfer to the fullerene, may reduce the quantum yield of the photoinduced electron transfer. Here, a series of C60-perylene dyads is exploited to interrogate the effect of the linkage on deactivation mechanisms of the chromophore excited state. For the C60-perylene dyads with a single or double bond bridge, we find that the decay of the singlet state of the chromophore is dominated by the electron transfer, and the corresponding time constant is determined to be 45 ps. On the other hand, for the dyad with a triple bond bridge, the singlet state of the chromophore is quickly quenched through energy transfer to fullerene, and the time constant is as short as 7.9 ps. Our finding suggests that the bond order of the bridge in the fullerene–chromophore dyads can be utilized to control the deactivation pathways of the excited state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CRISPR/Cas13 nucleases have been widely documented for nucleic acid detection. Understanding the intricacies of CRISPR/Cas13's reaction components is pivotal for harnessing its full potential for biosensing applications. Herein, we report on the influence of CRISPR/Cas13a reaction components on its trans-cleavage activity and the development of an on-chip total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM)-powered RNA sensing system. We used SARS-CoV-2 synthetic RNA and pseudovirus as a model system. Our results show that optimizing Mg2+ concentration, reporter length, and crRNA combination significantly improves the detection sensitivity. Under optimized conditions, we detected 100 fM unamplified SARS-CoV-2 synthetic RNA using a microtiter plate reader. To further improve sensitivity and provide a new amplification-free RNA sensing toolbox, we developed a TIRFM-based amplification-free RNA sensing system. We were able to detect RNA down to 100 aM. Furthermore, the TIRM-based detection system developed in this study is 1000-fold more sensitive than the off-coverslip assay. The possible clinical applicability of the system was demonstrated by detecting SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus RNA. Our proposed sensing system has the potential to detect any target RNA with slight modifications to the existing setup, providing a universal RNA detection platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of patients with COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is still increasing. In the case of COVID-19 and tuberculosis (TB), the presence of one disease affects the infectious status of the other. Meanwhile, coinfection may result in complications that make treatment more difficult. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning the interaction between TB and COVID-19 are unclear. Accordingly, transcriptome analysis was used to detect the shared pathways and molecular biomarkers in TB and COVID-19, allowing us to determine the complex relationship between COVID-19 and TB. Two RNA-seq datasets (GSE114192 and GSE163151) from the Gene Expression Omnibus were used to find concerted differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between TB and COVID-19 to identify the common pathogenic mechanisms. A total of 124 common DEGs were detected and used to find shared pathways and drug targets. Several enterprising bioinformatics tools were applied to perform pathway analysis, enrichment analysis and networks analysis. Protein–protein interaction analysis and machine learning was used to identify hub genes (GAS6, OAS3 and PDCD1LG2) and datasets GSE171110, GSE54992 and GSE79362 were used for verification. The mechanism of protein-drug interactions may have reference value in the treatment of coinfection of COVID-19 and TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the important role of Atmospheric River precipitation (ARP) in the global hydrological cycle, accurate representation of ARP is significant. However, general circulation models (GCMs) demonstrate bias in simulating ARP. The target of this study is to quantify the performance of ARP intensity/frequency for CMIP6 simulations, and further to improve ARP estimation of CMIP6 using Cycle‐Consistent Generative Adversarial Networks (CycleGAN) with highlighting the more accurate ARP features under the global warming background. The findings of this study are as follows: (a) although ARP intensity/frequency in reserved‐optimal CMIP6 overall reproduces the observation, it is still underestimated at the stronger Atmospheric river (AR) scales, particularly for the AR highly active mid‐latitude regions. (b) The CycleGAN‐based bias correction approach markedly diminishes the bias of the CMIP6 simulations within most of the AR scales among both global and the four AR highly active regions. Moreover, the performance of the ARP in AR highly active regions is significant improvement, which is mainly due to the reduction of the bias at the strongest scale. (c) Relative to reference period (1986–2005), ARP intensity/frequency at the strongest scale increase notably under 3°C warming level, with an average value of 373.3% in intensity and 415.9% in frequency for global and the four key regions before correction, and the value is 451.9% and 492.5% after bias correction. The results illustrate that CycleGAN can effectively improve the ARP simulations of GCMs, and an early warning implies that future strong extreme ARP should potentially surpass the current expected. Plain Language Summary: Despite the important role of Atmospheric River precipitation (ARP) in global hydrological cycle, accurately simulating global ARP remains a great challenge. Here, the content of our study consists of three main parts. Firstly, we quantify the performance of CMIP6 general circulation models (GCMs) on ARP intensity/frequency simulations and find that CMIP6 GCMs underestimates ARP at the Atmospheric river (AR) highly active regions, especially in the strongest AR intensity scale. Secondly, we utilize a deep learning method named CycleGAN to improve global ARP intensity/frequency simulations of CMIP6 GCMs. The results indicate that CycleGAN effectively corrects the ARP intensity/frequency bias within most of the AR intensity scales among both global and the AR highly active regions. Moreover, the performance of ARP in the AR highly active regions is significant improvement, which is mainly due to the reduction of the bias in the strongest scale. Finally, the trained CycleGAN model is used to evaluate ARP under global warming of 1.5, 2, and 3°. The bias correction results show that ARP in the strongest AR intensity scale surpasses the current expected, especially under 3° warming level. Key Points: CMIP6 models underestimates Atmospheric River precipitation (ARP) at the Atmospheric river (AR) highly active regions, especially in the strongest AR scaleThe CycleGAN‐based deep learning method reduces model bias notably for ARP intensity and frequency, respectivelyARP in the strongest AR scale potentially surpasses the current GCM‐based projections expected in different degrees of warming after bias correction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many vision-based bolt looseness detection methods that directly observe the bolts have been developed. However, these methods have many limitations in terms of the conditions and processes of their implementation. To address these problems, this paper proposed a fully automated vision-based bolt looseness detection method for a rigid multi-bolt connection. The proposed method combines digital shearing speckle pattern interferometry (DSSPI) and recurrent neural network (RNN) and involves capturing speckle fringe patterns under various looseness cases using the DSSPI system and classifying these patterns with an RNN model to detect the loose bolts. The proposed method can detect all the bolts within the measured surface at one time, which is efficient. On the other hand, it eliminates the need for prior information such as the initial angle and position of each bolt. It can even detect unseen bolts in multi-bolt connections, making it applicable for connections in complex structures in which occlusion often occurs. Additionally, the method eliminates the complex process of distortion rectification. These features make the method achieve a single-judgment time (four bolts at one detection) of only 4.70 millisecond with a detection accuracy over 99%, which has potential for the real-time detection of loose bolts in multi-bolt connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halonitromethanes (HNMs) are typical nitrogenous disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) with stronger toxicity compared to the regulated haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes, and bromide (Br−) significantly influences HNMs’ formation and transformation. Herein, Br− influencing the formation and transformation of HNMs from diatom solution were investigated during UV/monochloramine (UV/NH2Cl) disinfection. Results indicated that the diatom’s intracellular organic matter (IOM) solution produced more HNMs than the extracellular organic matter (EOM) solution. The concentrations of HNMs produced from IOM increased initially and then decreased with time during UV/NH2Cl disinfection. Besides, the main species of HNMs produced from IOM were changed from chlorinated HNMs to chlorinated (brominated) HNMs or brominated HNMs with increasing Br− concentration. Furthermore, the concentrations of HNMs produced from IOM were significantly enhanced with increasing Br− concentration from 0 to 10 μM or diatom concentration from 0.65 × 108 to 2.6 × 108 cells L−1, but declined with increasing pH value from 6.0 to 8.0. Then, the possible formation and transformation pathways of HNMs from IOM were deduced in the presence of Br−. Finally, it could be observed that HNMs formation in natural waters was broadly similar to that in simulated waters. This work will contribute to elucidating HNMs formation in algae-containing waters during UV/NH2Cl disinfection in the presence of Br−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demand for flexible piezoelectric sensor components, research on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based piezoelectric polymers is mounting up. However, the low dipole polarization and disordered polarization direction presented in PVDF hinder further improvement of piezoelectric properties. Here, we constructed an oriented tertiary structure, consisting of molecular chains, crystalline region, and MXene sheets, in MXene/PVDF nanocomposite via a temperature-pressure dual-field regulation method. The highly oriented PVDF molecular chains form approximately 90% of the β phase. In addition, the crystalline region structure with long-range orientation achieves out of plane polarization orientation. The parallel orientation arrangement of MXene effectively enhances the piezoelectric performances of the nanocomposite, and the current output of the device increases by nearly 23 times. This high output device is used to monitor exercise action, exploring the potential applications in wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affected by the near-fault pulse-like ground motions, the tunnels emerged in adverse geology, especially in an inhomogeneous strata are more vulnerable. However, the quantitative index effects on tunnel response during pulse identification are unclear and the propagation features of the near-fault pulse-like waves in a soft soil interlayer site are seldom revealed. In view of this, an improved energy-based pulse identification was used in this study to quantitatively extract the potential pulse energies emerged in velocity time-histories of ground motions. Subsequently, a series of numerical simulations were carried out to consider the critical parameters of soft soil layer and input ground motions. Finally, the dynamic response of the tunnel and interaction differences of soil and tunnel subjected to three types of ground motions were revealed. The result showed that the near-fault pulse-like ground motions pose a commonly severe damage to the tunnel, especially in the high pulse period ground motions based on the energy-based pulse identification method. The pulse energy of ground motions is an effective pulse index to analyze the seismic effects on tunnel when pulse periods of two different ground motions are uniform, and the index affects the tunnel in dynamic internal forces. More importantly, the existence of soft soil layer severely affects the propagation of input ground motions. At frequency domain, the ground response increases at high frequency component in the near-fault pulse-like ground motion, while the response shows a decreasing at low frequency component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ALK-positive Histiocytosis (ALK-HSs) is a recently identified rare clinical entity characterized by tissue histiocytic alterations associated with ALK gene rearrangement. Clinical presentations can be solitary, multifocal, or systemic (involving multiple sites and organs). Due to limited reported cases, there is inadequate understanding of this disease. This report presents a case of ALK-HSs in a 71-year-old male patient who presented with hematuria for one week. Imaging studies conducted at an external hospital showed multiple lesions in the penis, bilateral testes, back skin, and the third lumbar vertebra. Histopathological findings included spindle and histiocytic cell proliferation with mild or indistinct cellular atypia, interstitial infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells, foamy histiocytes, and fibrous tissue proliferation. Immunohistochemistry of the lesion cells revealed positivity for CD68, CD163, ALK1, ALK (D5F3), and Vimentin. FISH testing indicated ALK gene separation in the lesion cells. NGS testing identified the fusion genes KIF5B(NM_004521) and ALK(NM_004304) in the lesion cells. We combined the characteristics of this case with a review of the literature to enhance our understanding of this rare clinical entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central obesity is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the exact correlation between the cardiometabolic index (CMI), an indicator of central obesity, and CKD remains unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the correlation between the CMI and CKD in the general American population. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 64,313 members of the general population (≥ 20 years of age) with data in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2020. The individuals were grouped into three categories by CMI tertile: T1 group (n = 7,029), T2 group (n = 7,356), and T3 group (n = 7,380). Logistic regression analysis was performed, with NHANES recommended weights, to assess the association between the CMI and CKD. Results: A total of 21,765 participants were included; the overall prevalence of CKD was 12.2%. From the low to the high CMI tertile, the prevalence of CKD increased from 8.9% to 16.0% (P < 0.001). After full adjustment for confounders, the higher tertile of CMI (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03 − 1.13, P = 0.002) had the higher risk of CKD. Compared with the T1 group, the groups with higher CMI levels had a higher CKD risk (T2: OR: 1.01, 95%CI: 0.87–1.18, P = 0.812; T3: OR: 1.22, 95%CI: 1.05–1.43, P = 0.013). Conclusions: Higher CMI was independently associated with higher CKD risk in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar activity, such as sunspots and flares, has a great impact on humans, living beings, and technologies in the whole world. Changes in sunspots will influence high-frequency and space-navigation radio communications. Based on the full-disk, southern and northern hemispheres sunspot areas (SAs) data in 1874–2023 from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA, extreme value theory (EVT) is applied to predict the trend of the 25th and 26th solar cycles (SCs) in this work. Two methods with EVT, the block maxima (BM) approach and the peaks-over-threshold (POT) approach, are employed to research solar extreme events. The former method focuses on each block's maximum sunspot areas value and is applied for the generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. The latter method aims to select the extreme values exceeding a threshold value and is used to obtain the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. It is the first time that the EVT is applied on the sunspot areas data from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (RGO) USAF/NOAA. The analysis indicates that the estimated 8-year return levels for sunspot areas are 5701 and 6258 using the two methods, while the estimated 19-year return levels are all 7165. This suggests that the trends of the 25th and 26th solar cycles will be stronger than that of the 24th solar cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been a worldwide problem for neurosurgeons. Patients with severe TBI may undergo craniotomy. These patients often require sedation after craniotomy. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been used in patients receiving anesthesia and in intensive care units. Not much is known about the postoperative effect of DEX in patients with severe TBIs undergoing craniotomy. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of postoperative DEX administration on severe TBI patients who underwent craniotomy. Methods: Patients who underwent craniectomy for severe TBI at our hospital between January 2019 and February 2022 were included in this study. The patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after surgery to receive sedative medication. The patients were then divided into DEX and control groups. We analyzed the sedation, hemodynamics, and other conditions of the patients (hypoxemia, duration of ventilation during endotracheal intubation, whether tracheotomy was performed, and the duration in the ICU) during their ICU stay. Other conditions, such as delirium after the patients were transferred to the general ward, were also analyzed. Results: A total of 122 patients were included in this study. Among them, 53 patients received DEX, and the remaining 69 did not. The incidence of delirium in the general ward in the DEX group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of bradycardia in the control group was significantly lower than that in the DEX group (P < 0.05). Other data from the DEX group and the control group (hypotension, hypoxemia, etc.) were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of DEX in the ICU can effectively reduce the incidence of delirium in patients who return to the general ward after craniotomy. DEX had no adverse effect on the prognosis of patients other than causing bradycardia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the rheological properties, particle size distribution, color change, and stability of lily juice under different ultrasonic treatment conditions (152 W, 304 W, 456 W, 608 W, and 760 W). The results showed that the lily juice exhibited non-Newtonian shear thinning behavior, and the viscosity decreased with the increase in ultrasonic power. Under ultrasonic treatment conditions, there was no significant change in the pH value and zeta potential value of the samples. The content of cloudy value and total soluble solids (TSS) increased gradually. However, both the sedimentation components and centrifugal sedimentation rate showed a downward trend and an asymptotic behavior. In addition, high-power ultrasound changed the color index (L* value decreased, a* value increased), tissue structure, and particle distribution of the sample, and small particles increased significantly. To sum up, ultrasonic treatment has great potential in improving the physical properties and suspension stability of lily juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early endosomes (EEs) are crucial in cargo sorting within vesicular trafficking. While cargoes destined for degradation are retained in EEs and eventually transported to lysosomes, recycled cargoes for the plasma membrane (PM) or the Golgi undergo segregation into specialized membrane structures known as EE buds during cargo sorting. Despite this significance, the molecular basis of the membrane expansion during EE bud formation has been poorly understood. In this study, we identify a protein complex comprising SHIP164, an ATPase RhoBTB3, and a retromer subunit Vps26B, which promotes the formation of EE buds at Golgi–EE contacts. Our findings reveal that Vps26B acts as a novel Rab14 effector, and Rab14 activity regulates the association of SHIP164 with EEs. Depletion of SHIP164 leads to enlarged Rab14+ EEs without buds, a phenotype rescued by wild-type SHIP164 but not the lipid transfer-defective mutants. Suppression of RhoBTB3 or Vps26B mirrors the effects of SHIP164 depletion. Together, we propose a lipid transport-dependent pathway mediated by the RhoBTB3–SHIP164–Vps26B complex at Golgi–EE contacts, which is essential for EE budding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate forecasting of atmospheric rivers (ARs) holds significance in preventing losses from extreme precipitation. However, traditional numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are computationally expensive and can be limited in accuracy due to inaccurate physical parameter settings. To overcome these limitations, we propose a deep learning (DL) model, called GAN‐UNet, to forecast the AR occurrence, position, and intensity in East Asia. GAN‐UNet can capture the complex nonlinear relationship between the inputs at the past moment, including the vertically integrated water vapor transport (IVT), zonal wind at 850 hPa (U850), and meridional wind at 850 hPa (V850), and the forecast output (IVT, U850, or V850), whose results are comparable to NWP models. In addition, the average model (AM) by integrating the results generated by GAN‐UNet and European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) outperforms all the NWP models selected in this study, demonstrating its potential to improve the performance of NWP through the DL method. Specifically, the 5‐day average F1 scores of the AM are 0.777 and 0.845, whose values are significantly better than those obtained by ECMWF (0.712 and 0.794) in the two key regions of East Asia; The AM 5‐day average intersection over unions are 0.706 and 0.688 while the values of ECMWF are 0.675 and 0.64; in terms of intensity forecast, GAN‐UNet and AM exhibited lower differences in most of the intensity bins, except for the final bin with IVT more than 825 kg m−1 s−1. With this thorough analysis, GAN‐UNet is shown as an effective model to forecast ARs. Plain Language Summary: This work presents a deep learning (DL) model (called GAN‐UNet) for the spatio‐temporal atmospheric rivers (ARs) forecast. Our goal is to perform long lead‐time AR event forecasts accurately and efficiently. The data from 1959 to 2022 over 40°E−180°E, 20°S−60°N are used for training, validation, and testing. The results show that the proposed GAN‐UNet can forecast the AR occurrence, position, and intensity accurately and its performance is comparable with the state‐of‐the‐art numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. In addition, the ensemble of GAN‐UNet and the NWP model outperform all the NWP models selected in this study. However, The DL model still has certain limitation. Specifically, while GAN‐UNet and the ensemble model demonstrate superior forecast capabilities for most intensity bins in AR events compared to NWP models, they are severely underestimated for the grids of the final bin. The results show that the DL model can effectively forecast AR events in East Asia, and further improve the forecast accuracy of NWP by combining it with NWP model, which holds significance in extreme precipitation forecast. Key Points: A deep learning model (GAN‐UNet) is developed for efficient and accurate atmospheric river forecastGAN‐UNet achieves comparable performance to ECMWF and NCEP on atmospheric river forecastThe outcomes obtained from the average of GAN‐UNet and NWP exhibit superior performance compared to all the individual NWP models selected in this study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermented meat products is the meat products with special flavor, color, texture and longer shelf life formed by a series of changes under natural or artificially controlled conditions by the action of microorganisms or enzymes. Fermented meat products is popular with consumers, but they are rich in protein and have a great potential for high levels of biogenic amines. Among them, histamine and tyramine are the most toxic. Consumption of tyramine-rich foods might cause headache, hypertension and other adverse reactions. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to control the tyramine content in fermented meat products. In this paper, the formation pathways, control methods and effects of tyramine in fermented meat products are reviewed. Among them, the main formation pathway is the decarboxylation of tyrosine by the action of decarboxylase, in addition to the existence of chemical pathways related to lipid oxidation products, while the more effective control methods are the addition of auxiliaries and the inoculation of fermentation agents. This paper aims to provid a theoretical support for reducing the tyramine content in fermented meat products and improving the safety of fermented meat products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, Cu-Mn oxide catalysts supported on ZSM-5 zeolite (Cu7Mn3Ox/ZSM‑5) were modified by low-cost method of acid leaching and employed for the catalytic oxidation of toluene. For investigating the effect of acid modification on catalysts deeply, the prepared materials were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, XRD, SEM, H2-TPR, XPS, NH3-TPD, Py-IR and TG. In the decomposition of toluene, the citric acid modified Cu7Mn3Ox/ZSM‑5 exhibited excellent performance of toluene conversion and adsorption compared to Cu7Mn3Ox/ZSM‑5. The preferable performance was associated with the improved pore structure and surface area, along with the more Mn4+ and Cu2+ species formed after citric acid modification. Significantly, citric acid modified Cu7Mn3Ox/ZSM‑5 exhibited satisfied hydrothermal stability and good regeneration ability as well, which would offer an economical strategy to prepare effective catalysts for VOCs treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulator of ribosome synthesis 1 (RRS1), a crucial regulatory factor in ribosome biogenesis, exerts a remarkable impact on the progression of breast cancer (BC). However, the exact mechanisms and pathways have not yet been fully elucidated. To investigate the impact of RRS1 on BC growth and metastasis, along with its underlying mechanisms. We discovered that RRS1 is overexpressed in BC tissues and cell lines. This study aims to regulate the level of RRS1 through lentiviral transfection technology to explore its potential function in BC cells. Knockdown of RRS1 resulted in the inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, whereas overexpression had the opposite effects. We firstly identified the interaction between RRS1 and Glucose-Regulated Protein 78 (GRP78) using Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) combined with mass spectrometry analysis, providing evidences of co-localization and positive regulation between RRS1 and GRP78. We observed that RRS1 inhibited the degradation of GRP78 through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, resulting in the stabilization of GRP78. In addition, our findings suggested that RRS1 promoted BC progression by activating the GRP78-mediated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway. In conclusion, this newly discovered RRS1/GRP78 signaling axis provides a molecular and theoretical basis for further exploring the mechanisms of breast cancer invasion and metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed optical fiber acoustic sensing (DAS) is promising for long-distance intrusion-anomaly detection tasks. However, realistic settings suffer from high-intensity interference noise, compromising the detection performance of DAS systems. To address this issue, we propose STNet, an intrusion detection network based on the Stockwell transform (S-transform), for DAS systems, considering the advantages of the S-transform in terms of noise resistance and ability to detect disturbances. Specifically, the signal detected by a DAS system is divided into space–time data matrices using a sliding window. Subsequently, the S-transform extracts the time-frequency features channel by channel. The extracted features are combined into a multi-channel time-frequency feature matrix and presented to STNet. Finally, a non-maximum suppression algorithm (NMS), suitable for locating intrusions, is used for the post-processing of the detection results. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, experiments were conducted using a realistic high-speed railway environment with high-intensity noise. The experimental results validated the satisfactory performance of the proposed method. Thus, the proposed method offers an effective solution for achieving high intrusion detection rates and low false alarm rates in complex environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halonitromethanes (HNMs), a representative nitrogen-containing disinfection byproduct, have gained significant concerns due to their higher cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. UV/chlorination is considered a promising alternative disinfection technology for chlorination. This study aimed to investigate the HNMs formation from benzylamine (BZA) during UV/chlorination. The experimental results revealed that the yields of HNMs initially raised to a peak then dropped over time. Higher chlorine dosage and BZA concentration promoted the formation of HNMs, whereas alkaline pH inhibited their formation. The presence of bromine ion (Br−) not only converted chlorinated-HNMs (Cl-HNMs) to brominated (chlorinated)-HNMs Br (Cl)-HNMs) and brominated-HNMs (Br-HNMs) but also enhanced the total concentration of HNMs. Besides, the calculated cytotoxicity index (CTI) and genotoxicity index (GTI) of HNMs were elevated by 68.97% and 60.66% as Br− concentration raised from 2 to 6 µM. The possible formation pathways of HNMs from BZA were proposed based on the intermediates identified by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In addition, the formation rules of HNMs in actual water verified the results in deionized water during UV/chlorination. The results of this study provide basic data and a theoretical basis for the formation and control of HNMs, which is conducive to applying UV/chlorination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative polyadenylation plays an important role in cancer initiation and progression; however, current transcriptome-wide association studies mostly ignore alternative polyadenylation when identifying putative cancer susceptibility genes. Here, we perform a pan-cancer 3′ untranslated region alternative polyadenylation transcriptome-wide association analysis by integrating 55 well-powered (n > 50,000) genome-wide association studies datasets across 22 major cancer types with alternative polyadenylation quantification from 23,955 RNA sequencing samples across 7,574 individuals. We find that genetic variants associated with alternative polyadenylation are co-localized with 28.57% of cancer loci and contribute a significant portion of cancer heritability. We further identify 642 significant cancer susceptibility genes predicted to modulate cancer risk via alternative polyadenylation, 62.46% of which have been overlooked by traditional expression- and splicing- studies. As proof of principle validation, we show that alternative alleles facilitate 3′ untranslated region lengthening of CRLS1 gene leading to increased protein abundance and promoted proliferation of breast cancer cells. Together, our study highlights the significant role of alternative polyadenylation in discovering new cancer susceptibility genes and provides a strong foundational framework for enhancing our understanding of the etiology underlying human cancers. Alternative polyadenylation (APA) can play a key role in cancer initiation and progression. Here, the authors conducted a comprehensive pan-cancer APA TWAS analysis and discovered a distinct class of APA-mediated cancer susceptibility genes across 22 cancer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative polyadenylation plays an important role in cancer initiation and progression; however, current transcriptome-wide association studies mostly ignore alternative polyadenylation when identifying putative cancer susceptibility genes. Here, we perform a pan-cancer 3′ untranslated region alternative polyadenylation transcriptome-wide association analysis by integrating 55 well-powered (n > 50,000) genome-wide association studies datasets across 22 major cancer types with alternative polyadenylation quantification from 23,955 RNA sequencing samples across 7,574 individuals. We find that genetic variants associated with alternative polyadenylation are co-localized with 28.57% of cancer loci and contribute a significant portion of cancer heritability. We further identify 642 significant cancer susceptibility genes predicted to modulate cancer risk via alternative polyadenylation, 62.46% of which have been overlooked by traditional expression- and splicing- studies. As proof of principle validation, we show that alternative alleles facilitate 3′ untranslated region lengthening of CRLS1 gene leading to increased protein abundance and promoted proliferation of breast cancer cells. Together, our study highlights the significant role of alternative polyadenylation in discovering new cancer susceptibility genes and provides a strong foundational framework for enhancing our understanding of the etiology underlying human cancers.Alternative polyadenylation (APA) can play a key role in cancer initiation and progression. Here, the authors conducted a comprehensive pan-cancer APA TWAS analysis and discovered a distinct class of APA-mediated cancer susceptibility genes across 22 cancer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of studies have indicated the crucial involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the onset and progression of malignancies. However, a complete understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of abnormally expressed lncRNAs on breast cancer (BC) remains elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the influence of the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) on BC progression and its underlying mechanism. Our findings revealed a conspicuous up-regulation of SNHG1 in both BC tissues and cells. The downregulation of SNHG1 was observed to inhibit BC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes, while simultaneously promoting apoptosis. Furthermore, dual-luciferase reporter gene and RNA pull-down assays established that SNHG1 targeted miR-641 expression, while miR-641 targeted RRS1. Rescue studies demonstrated that in vitro SNHG1 silencing could be reversed by the miR-641 inhibitor, as well as by RRS1 upregulation. Moreover, in vivo downregulation of SNHG1 was found to inhibit BC growth. Through the inhibition of the miR-641 level, SNHG1 elevated the level of the downstream target RRS1, thereby fostering BC growth, migration, and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis. These findings suggest that SNHG1 may represent a potential therapeutic target for BC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brominated halonitromethanes (Br-HNMs) are generated in water disinfection processes and present high toxicity to human health. This work used aspartic acid (ASP) as the precursor to reveal that bromide (Br−) induced the production of Br-HNMs in the UV/chlorine disinfection process. Consequently, six Br-HNMs were identified, and their yields presented an increasing and then declining evolution over the reaction time from 0 to 15 min. Also, the total Br-HNMs yield reached the maximum of 251.1 μg L−1 at 5 min and then declined to 107.1 μg L−1. The total Br-HNMs yield increased from 2.40 to 251.14 μg L−1 with the increase of Cl2:Br− ratios from 0.25 to 3.0 by increasing free chlorine dosage with a fixed Br− concentration, and it increased from 207.59 to 251.14 μg L−1 and then decreased to 93.44 μg L−1 with the increase of Cl2:Br− ratio from 1.0 to 3.6 by increasing Br− concentration with a fixed free chlorine dosage. Besides, the total Br-HNMs yield reached the highest value (251.14 μg L−1) at pH 7.0 and the lowest value (74.20 μg L−1) at pH 8.0. Subsequently, the possible reaction mechanism of Br-HNMs generated from ASP was deduced, and the changes in toxicity of Br-HNMs also followed an increasing and then declining trend, closely relating to Br-HNMs yields and Br− utilization. This work explored and illustrated the yields, influence factors, reaction mechanisms, and toxicity of Br-HNMs formed from Br− containing ASP water during UV/chlorine disinfection, which might help to control Br-HNMs formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of digital image display technology, the "secondary imaging" caused by digital cameras is also gradually popularized, and the quality of the recaptured image formed by this imaging is also getting higher and higher, and this kind of high-quality fake image has caused great threat to digital images security. We propose a neural network-based recaptured image identification algorithm and use the difference between two types of images to build the identification algorithm in the frequency domain. The algorithm uses filtering to obtain the feature images which are the high-frequency and low-frequency filtering images, in order to further distinguish the image differences, the direction of the filtered image obtained from high-frequency images, each direction of the filtered image contains high-frequency information at different angles, and the low-frequency image is downsampled. At the same time, the low-frequency image is downsampled to obtain a multi-scale filtered image. The algorithm extracts the features from previous images as the feature values for classification, and finally uses neural networks for classification to obtain the classification results, and these prove that the algorithm presented is able to differentiate the recaptured images effectively in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune‐mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) is an autoimmune myopathy characterized by severe proximal weakness and muscle fiber necrosis, yet its pathogenesis remains unclear. So far, there are few bioinformatics studies on underlying pathogenic genes and infiltrating immune cell profiles of IMNM. Therefore, we aimed to characterize differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and infiltrating cells in IMNM muscle biopsy specimens, which may be useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of IMNM. Methods: Three datasets (GSE39454, GSE48280 and GSE128470) of gene expression profiling related to IMNM were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Data were normalized, and DEG analysis was performed using the limma package. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed using clusterProfiler. The CIBERSORT algorithm was performed to identify infiltrating cells. Machine learning algorithm and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed to find distinctive gene signatures and the underlying signaling pathways of IMNM. Results: DEG analysis identified upregulated and downregulated in IMNM muscle compared to the gene expression levels of other groups. GO and KEGG analysis showed that the pathogenesis of IMNM was notable for the under‐representation of pathways that were important in dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis. Three immune cells (M2 macrophages, resting dendritic cells and resting natural killer cells) with differential infiltration and five key genes (NDUFAF7, POLR2J, CD99, ARF5 and SKAP2) in patients with IMNM were identified through the CIBERSORT and machine learning algorithm. The GSEA results revealed that the key genes were remarkably enriched in diverse immunological and muscle metabolism‐related pathways. Conclusions: We comprehensively explored immunological landscape of IMNM, which is indicative for the research of IMNM pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light emitting diode (LED-UV)/chlorine disinfection can replace UV/chlorine disinfection in wastewater treatment plants and water supply plants. Halonitromethanes (HNMs) are a class of novel nitrogenous disinfection by-products, which are characterized by higher cytotoxicity and genotoxicity than regulated disinfection by-products. Herein, the impact factors and pathways of HNMs formation from aspartic acid (ASP) were investigated during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. The results showed that three types of chlorinated-HNMs (Cl-HNMs) were found during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection, and their concentrations increased first and then declined as the reaction progressed. Cl-HNMs yields increased with increasing LED-UV265 intensity, free chlorine dosage, and ASP concentration, which declined with increasing pH (6.0–8.0). Meantime, the important impact of the coexisting ions contained in water matrices on HNMs formation from ASP was observed during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. It was found that copper ions (Cu2+) promoted Cl-HNMs formation. Furthermore, when bromide (Br−) appeared during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection, nine types of HNMs were detected simultaneously. Moreover, Br− not only converted Cl-HNMs toward brominated (chlorinated)-HNMs and brominated-HNMs but also showed a marked effect on HNMs concentrations and species. Subsequently, the possible pathways of HNMs formation from ASP were proposed during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. At last, it was proved that the formation trends of HNMs obtained in the real waters were similar to those in simulated waters. This work elaborated on the influence factors and pathways of HNMs formation, which is conducive to controlling the HNMs produced during LED-UV265/chlorine disinfection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals across their lifespan. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for improving outcomes. However, current diagnostic methods are often time-consuming, and costly, making them inaccessible to many families. In the current study, we aim to test caregiver-child interaction as a potential tool for screening children with ASD in clinic. Methods: We enrolled 85 preschool children (Mean age: 4.90 ± 0.65 years, 70.6% male), including ASD children with or without developmental delay (DD), and typical development (TD) children, along with their caregivers. ASD core symptoms were evaluated by Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Calibrated Severity Scores (ADOS-CSS). Behavioral indicators were derived from video encoding of caregiver-child interaction, including social involvement of children (SIC), interaction time (IT), response of children to social cues (RSC), time for caregiver initiated social interactions (GIS) and time for children initiated social interactions (CIS)). Power spectral density (PSD) values were calculated by EEG signals simultaneously recorded. Partial Pearson correlation analysis was used in both ASD groups to investigate the correlation among behavioral indicators scores and ASD symptom severity and PSD values. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to describe the discrimination accuracy of behavioral indicators. Results: Compared to TD group, both ASD groups demonstrated significant lower scores of SIC, IT, RSC, CIS (all p values < 0.05), and significant higher time for GIS (all p values < 0.01). SIC scores negatively correlated with CARS (p = 0.006) and ADOS-CSS (p = 0.023) in the ASD with DD group. Compared to TD group, PSD values elevated in ASD groups (all p values < 0.05), and was associated with SIC (theta band: p = 0.005; alpha band: p = 0.003) but not IQ levels. SIC was effective in identifying both ASD groups (sensitivity/specificity: ASD children with DD, 76.5%/66.7%; ASD children without DD, 82.6%/82.2%). Conclusion: Our results verified the behavioral paradigm of caregiver-child interaction as an efficient tool for early ASD screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that causes chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The release of infectious HCV particles from infected hepatocytes is a crucial step in viral dissemination and disease progression. While the exact mechanisms of HCV particle release remain poorly understood, emerging evidence suggests that HCV utilizes intracellular membrane trafficking and secretory pathways. These pathways include the Golgi secretory pathway and the endosomal trafficking pathways, such as the recycling endosome pathway and the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT)-dependent multivesicular bodies (MVBs) pathway. This review provides an overview of recent advances in understanding the release of infectious HCV particles, with a particular focus on the involvement of the host cell factors that participate in HCV particle release. By summarizing the current knowledge in this area, this review aims to contribute to a better understanding of endosomal pathways involved in the extracellular release of HCV particles and the development of novel antiviral strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a promising candidate for lithium-ion battery anodes because of its exceptional stability and safety. However, its extensive application is limited by a high comprehensive cost, poor electronic conductivity, and other inherent defects. This work presents a novel synthesis procedure to synthesize carbon-coated Fe-doped LTO composites through carbon reduction, in the presence of Fe-containing industrial H2TiO3 as the titanium source, and glucose as the carbon source. The presence of the Fe-dopant is confirmed through XRD, with Rietveld refinement and EDS experiments. Results show that Fe2+ replaces a portion of Ti4+ after doping, leading to an increase in the LTO cell parameters and the corresponding cell volume. FLTO/C, presents a capacity of 153.79 mAh g−1 at 10 C, and the capacity decay per cycle is only 0.0074% after 1000 cycles at 5 C. Moreover, EIS experiments indicate that the incorporation of Fe and carbon lowers the charge transfer resistance and improves the diffusion and migration of Li+. Notably, since this preparation process requires no additional Fe source as a raw material, it is simple, cost-effective, and suitable for large-scale production and further application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the bidding process of government investment engineering projects, collusion between the government and bidders occurs repeatedly, which seriously affects the quality of engineering projects and the effectiveness of the government investment. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and discuss the collusion between the government and bidders in government investment engineering projects, so as to provide a healthy and sustainable environment for the government investment engineering bidding market. There are two main types of collusion in engineering bidding: horizontal collusion and vertical collusion, and this paper focuses on the vertical collusion process in the engineering bidding process. A conceptual framework of the grey interest chain based on three stages of benefit creation, benefit distribution, and benefit realization was established, 15 major nodes in the grey interest chain were identified, and a grey interest chain control model was constructed, which further identified and classified the nodes into four levels: key nodes, important nodes, general nodes, and unimportant nodes. Finally, through the application of the model in the case, measures such as establishing a cracking mechanism for grey resource integration, increasing the supervision of grey interest chain, and strengthening post-bid audit are proposed. Measures such as including the preparation of bidding documents into the work assessment system and entrusting consulting units or third parties to prepare bidding documents are proposed to establish a crack mechanism for grey resource integration. In the benefit distribution stage, the penalties for the government and the bidders can be appropriately increased, the responsibilities of enterprises and project leaders can be implemented in the system on a reciprocal basis, and a perfect reputation mechanism information can be established. At the stage of benefit realization, the bidding system should be improved and post-bid audit should be strengthened to increase the difficulty of grey benefit realization. This paper will provide a reference for the prevention and governance of vertical collusion in bidding and tendering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We look into the influence of the anisotropic distribution of fabric and force network on the angle of repose, which is technically accomplished by fabricating several trap doors underneath a mother granular heap with the angle of repose α, to generate two child heaps with the angles of repose β (for the left child heap) and γ (for the right child heap) through the particle removal. The results indicate that with the deposition plane orientation angle θ varying from 0° to 90°, β experiences a local minimum value at θ = 30°~45°, and γ takes a local maximum value at θ = 45°~60°. As the trap door position shifts towards the free surface of mother heap, β increases first and then decreases in the experiments, and γ rises monotonically, with the existence of relation γ > β ≈ α. We explore the micromechanical responses of granular heaps by DEM simulations and propose conceptual models to explain the experimental and numerical observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the structural changes and products of histamine degradation by multicopper oxidase (MCO) in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LPZN19, a 1500 bp MCO gene in L. plantarum LPZN19 was cloned, and the recombinant MCO was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). After purification by Ni2+-NTA affinity chromatography, the obtained MCO has a molecular weight of 58 kDa, and it also has the highest enzyme activity at 50 °C and pH 3.5, with a relative enzyme activity of 100%, and it maintains 57.71% of the relative enzyme activity at 5% salt concentration. The secondary structure of MCO was determined by circular dichroism, in which the proportions of the α-helix, β-sheet, β-turn and random coil were 2.9%, 39.7%, 21.2% and 36.1%, respectively. The 6xj0.1.A with a credibility of 68.21% was selected as the template to predict the tertiary structure of MCO in L. plantarum LPZN19, and the results indicated that the main components of the tertiary structure of MCO were formed by the further coiling and folding of a random coil and β-sheet. Histamine could change the spatial structure of MCO by increasing the content of the α-helix and β-sheet. Finally, the LC-MS/MS identification results suggest that the histamine was degraded into imidazole acetaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the complexity of small or unique reconstruction distances in digital holography, we propose an inverse cross-correlation-based algorithm for the digital holographic imaging of multiplanar objects with a large depth of field. In this method, a planar output mapping is closely around the objects, and it is established by calculating the image inverse cross-correlation matrix of the reconstructed image at similar reconstruction distances, whereby the object edges serve as the result guide. Combining the search for edge planes with the depth estimation operator, the depth of field of digital holography is improved, thus allowing for a digital holography that is capable of meeting the requirements of the holographic imaging of multiplanar objects. Compared with the traditional depth estimation operator method, the proposed method solves the reconstruction ambiguity problem in multiple planes with a simple optical path, and no additional optical or mechanical devices need to be added, thus greatly improving the reconstruction quality. The numerical calculation results and the experimental results with multiplanar samples validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the mechanism of mechanical properties of TiNbTaZr after non‐Ti elements are replaced by Hf from the perspective of electronic structure. Analyzing the structural characteristics of TiNbTaZr, TiHfNbZr, TiNbHfZr, and TiNbTaHf medium entropy alloys by solid solution characteristic parameters. Establishing the corresponding structural models and dealing with the first‐principles calculations. By analyzing the binding energy and formation enthalpy, it is determined that these four alloys are metastable β‐Ti alloys of disordered solid solution, and the thermodynamic stability of the structure is confirmed by phonon spectrum. The elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and hardness of these four alloys show that the strength of Hf‐containing alloys is improved and the ductility is slightly reduced compared with TiNbTaZr. From the analysis of population and density of states, it is concluded that the reason for the above phenomenon is that Hf will cause the improvement of bonding stability and covalency of alloy materials, thus promoting the improvement of theoretical strength of alloys. TiNbHfZr exhibits excellent properties of high strength and low elastic modulus and has good ductility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norovirus (NoV) is a leading cause of epidemic and sporadic gastroenteritis in people of all ages. Humans are the primary source of NoV and household contact is one of the risk factors for NoV transmission. However, the mechanisms underlying person‐to‐person NoV transmission are poorly understood. Here we conducted a survey to profile the frequency and characteristics of intrafamily NoV transmission. Stool samples were collected every week from three households between 2016 and 2020; the total number of samples was 1105. The detection of NoV and the genotyping were performed by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction targeting the capsid region and direct sequencing methods. NoV was detected in 3.4% of all samples. Eight NoV genotypes were identified. The most common genotype was GII.17, followed in order by GII.6, GI.6, GII.4, GI.3, and GI.2/GI.8/GI.9. Most NoV‐positive samples were obtained from asymptomatic individuals. The highest number of NoV transmissions was found in household 3 (6 infections), followed by household 2 (2 infections), while household 1 had no NoV transmission, suggesting that asymptomatic NoV carriers play a major role in infection as NoV reservoirs in the households. Further clarification of the mode of infection will contribute to improved understanding and an appropriate prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) are a widely cultivated member of the Convolvulaceae family. Despite intensive agricultural interest, the metabolic determinants of sweet potato quality remain poorly understood owing to a lack of reliable or systematic sweet potato metabolite analyses. This study aimed to reveal the mechanism of flavonoid biosynthesis using widely targeted metabolomics and qRT-PCR analysis of white (S19) and yellow (BS) sweet potatoes. We found that the PAL, C4H, 4CL, CHS, CHI, IFS, F3H, F3'H, DFR, ANS, and ANR genes were differentially expressed in BS. Upregulation of PAL, C4H, 4CL, and CHS led to the accumulation of large amounts of chalcone, which is highly expressed in yellow flesh, resulting in the yellow color of BS. In S19, the high expression of FLS and the low expression of DFR inhibited pigment accumulation, while the low expression of CHS also inhibited flavonoid synthesis, ultimately leading to the white color. In conclusion, this study identified the main differentially expressed genes and their metabolites in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, and preliminarily elucidated the mechanism underlying the different flesh colors in sweet potato, thus providing new insights into the composition and abundance of metabolites in sweet potatoes with different-colored flesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arginase-1 (ARG1) promotes collagen synthesis and cell proliferation. ARG1 is highly expressed in various tumour cells. The mechanisms of ARG1 in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated cataracts were studied herein. Methods: C57BL/6 mice, a human lens epithelial cell line (HLEC-SRA01/04), and human lens capsule samples were used in this study. The right lens anterior capsule of the mouse eye was punctured through the central cornea with a 26-gauge hypodermic needle. Human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) were transfected with ARG1-targeted (siARG1) or negative control siRNA (siNC). For gene overexpression, HLECs were transfected with a plasmid bearing the ARG1 coding sequence or an empty vector. Medium containing 0.2% serum with or without transforming growth factor beta-2 (TGF-β2) was added for 6 or 24 h to detect mRNA or protein, respectively. The expression of related genes was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR), western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining. Transwell assays and wound healing assays were used to determine cell migration. Cell proliferation, superoxide levels, nitric oxide (NO) levels, and arginase activity were estimated using Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, a superoxide assay kit, an NO assay kit, and an arginase activity kit. Results: ARG1, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin, and Ki67 expression increased after lens capsular injury, while zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) expression decreased. Fibronectin and collagen type I alpha1 chain (collagen 1A1) expression increased, and cell migration increased significantly in ARG1-overexpressing HLECs compared with those transfected with an empty vector after TGF-β2 treatment. These effects were reversed by ARG1 knockdown. The arginase-related pathway plays an important role in EMT. mRNAs of enzymes of the arginase-related pathway were highly expressed after ARG1 overexpression. ARG1 knockdown suppressed these expression changes. Numidargistat (CB-1158) dihydrochloride (CB-1158), an ARG1 inhibitor, suppressed TGF-β2-induced anterior subcapsular cataract (ASC) by reducing the proliferation of lens epithelial cells (LECs) and decreasing fibronectin, α-SMA, collagen 1A1, and vimentin expression. Compared with that in nonanterior subcapsular cataract (non-ASC) patients, the expression of ARG1, collagen 1A1, vimentin, fibronectin, and Ki67 was markedly increased in ASC patients. Conclusions: ARG1 can regulate EMT in EMT-associated cataracts. Based on the pathogenesis of ASC, these findings are expected to provide new therapeutic strategies for patients. Plain English summary: Fibrotic cataracts can be classified as anterior subcapsular cataract or posterior capsular opacification depending on where fibrosis occurs. The mechanism of fibrotic cataracts is not fully understood. Fibrotic opacities induced by trauma, inflammation, or radiation can accumulate underneath the anterior lens capsule, causing anterior subcapsular cataract. Posterior capsular opacification is one of the most common complications of phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation, with a high incidence in young patients. We show for the first time that ARG1 can regulate EMT in fibrotic cataracts. TGF-β2 is the main cause of fibrosis in LECs. The expression of ARG1 and fibronectin in LECs increased after TGF-β2 treatment or mouse lens capsular injury. We investigated the specific molecular mechanisms by which ARG1 regulates EMT in fibrotic cataracts. The mRNA expression of enzymes of the arginase-related pathway was decreased due to knockdown of ARG1 expression in HLECs. These effects were reversed by ARG1 overexpression. Additionally, knockdown of ARG1 decreased collagen 1A1, fibronectin, and vimentin expression; superoxide levels; and cell migration and increased NO levels. These effects were reversed by ARG1 overexpression. Pharmacological blockade of the ARG1 pathway with CB-1158 reduced the proliferation of LECs and decreased fibronectin, α-SMA, collagen 1A1, and vimentin expression in mouse lenses. We believe that ARG1 promotes the production of collagen 1A1 by directly activating the arginase pathway and leads to lens fibrosis by reducing NO production and increasing superoxide levels, providing a new mechanism for the prevention and treatment of fibrotic cataracts. 2rJpd8qCKY4LBSvBN5cEnm Video Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In seismically active regions, high-filled embankment slopes on liquefiable soils tend to damage after strong earthquakes. Therefore, post-seismic damages should be estimated as soon as possible to mitigate potential losses. Fragility function is an efficient tool for assessing the seismic vulnerability conditions of structures, which links the probability of exceeding different limit states to seismic intensity. An embankment slope on liquefiable soils at Yading Airport in China was selected as the study object, and a series of numerical analyses of the embankment-foundation system utilizing the finite element method were conducted. Advanced dynamic constitutive models considering liquefaction and hysteresis characteristics were also adopted to simulate the nonlinear stress–strain behavior of soils under cyclic loadings. The post-seismic stability of embankment slopes was assessed using the strength reduction method (SRM) based on the stress–strain analysis. On this basis, the permanent ground deformation (PGD) at the ground-free field conditions was selected as the intensity measure (IM), while the factor of safety (FoS) of the slopes was selected as the damage measure (DM). Then, a procedure was presented for deriving seismic fragility functions with different damage states in light of incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). This paper aims to investigate the effects of different embankment typologies, such as the thickness of liquefiable soils and slope inclination, on the post-seismic vulnerability of embankment slopes. The fragility curves constructed in this study may soon be helpful for predicting the post-seismic damage of similar high-filled embankment slopes on liquefiable soils, which enables efficient traffic control and rapid disaster response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a promising candidate for lithium-ion battery anodes because of its exceptional stability and safety. However, its extensive application is limited by a high comprehensive cost, poor electronic conductivity, and other inherent defects. This work presents a novel synthesis procedure to synthesize carbon-coated Fe-doped LTO composites through carbon reduction, in the presence of Fe-containing industrial H2TiO3 as the titanium source, and glucose as the carbon source. The presence of the Fe-dopant is confirmed through XRD, with Rietveld refinement and EDS experiments. Results show that Fe2+ replaces a portion of Ti4+ after doping, leading to an increase in the LTO cell parameters and the corresponding cell volume. FLTO/C, presents a capacity of 153.79 mAh g−1 at 10 C, and the capacity decay per cycle is only 0.0074% after 1000 cycles at 5 C. Moreover, EIS experiments indicate that the incorporation of Fe and carbon lowers the charge transfer resistance and improves the diffusion and migration of Li+. Notably, since this preparation process requires no additional Fe source as a raw material, it is simple, cost-effective, and suitable for large-scale production and further application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the physical interactions between the Golgi apparatus (Golgi) and lipid droplets (LDs) have been suggested through system-level imaging, the Golgi-LD membrane contact sites (MCSs) remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we show evidence to support the existence of Golgi-LD MCSs in HEK293 cells. We further suggest that vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 13B (VPS13B) localizes to and promotes the formation of Golgi-LD contacts upon oleic acid (OA) stimulation using 3D high-resolution microscopy. Depletion of VPS13B moderately affects the formation of Golgi-LD contacts upon OA treatment in addition to the fragmentation of the Golgi. Although cellular functions of VPS13B-mediated contacts are still elusive, these findings may provide a new insight into related diseases caused by loss-of-function mutations of VPS13B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unhealthy diets rich in fats and/or sugar are considered as the major external cause of the obesity epidemic, which is often accompanied by a significant decrease in gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) levels. Numerous studies have demonstrated notable contributions of the gut microbiota in this process. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism still needs further investigation. The role of epigenetic modifications in gene expression and metabolism has been well demonstrated, with m6A methylation on RNAs being the most prevalent modification throughout their metabolism. In the present study, we found that the expressions of small intestinal Gcg and Pc3, two key genes regulating GLP1 expression, were significantly downregulated in obese mice, associated with reduced GLP1 level. Immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that a high-fat diet slightly increased the density of enteroendocrine L cells in the small intestine, implying that decreased GLP1 levels were not caused by the changes in L cell intensity. Instead, the small intestinal m6A level as well as the expression of known "writers", mettl3/14 and wtap, were found to be positively correlated with the expression of Gcg and Pc3. Fecal microbiota transplantation with feces from normal and obese mice daily to antibiotic-treated mice revealed that dysbiosis in diet-induced obesity was sufficient to reduce serum GLP1, small intestinal m6A level, and intestinal expressions of Gcg, Pc3, and writer genes (mettl3/14, wtap). However, as the most direct and universal methyl donor, the production of fecal S-adenosylmethionine was neither affected by the different dietary patterns nor their shaped microbiota. These results suggested that microbial modulation of the epitranscriptome may be involved in regulating GLP1 expression, and highlighted epitranscriptomic modifications as an additional level of interaction between diet and individual health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation nephropathy refers to kidney damage caused by radiation therapy for malignant tumours. Currently, the pathogenesis is unclear and there is a lack of effective treatment methods. With the development of traditional Chinese medicine, the role of traditional Chinese medicine in the protection of radiation nephropathy is receiving increasing attention. Therefore, in this study, we used X-ray intraperitoneal irradiation to construct a mouse model of radiation nephropathy and studied the protective effect of traditional Chinese medicine Keluoxin on radiation nephropathy. We first analysed the potential targets and pathways of Keluoxin in the treatment of radiation nephropathy using network pharmacology methods, combined with in vitro and in vivo experimental verification, to study its potential mechanism. By searching the database, 136 components of Keluoxin were identified. A total of 333 intersectional targets related to radiation nephropathy were obtained. Among them, key targets include IL-6, TNF-α, HIF-1α, STAT1, STAT3, JAK1, JAK2, etc. In in vivo and in vitro experiments, we found that as the irradiation dose increased and time prolonged, kidney damage in mice gradually worsened in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner. As the irradiation dose increases, the expression of pro-inflammatory factors Il-6, TNF-α, TGF-β increased. Compared with the irradiation group, the intervention of Keluoxin can reduce kidney damage caused by X-ray irradiation and reduce the expression of IL-6, TNF-α, TGF-β, STAT1, STAT3, JAK1, JAK2, etc. These results indicated that Keluoxin can alleviate kidney damage caused by X-ray irradiation, possibly by regulating the JAK/STAT signalling pathway, reducing inflammation levels and oxidative stress damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three novel donor–acceptor–acceptor configured small molecules with benzotriazole as the central A building block are synthesized as donor materials for vacuum‐deposited small‐molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs). The effects of different lengths of the side chains attached to the benzotriazole block on the molecular structure, electrochemical behavior, and optical properties of these donors are investigated systematically. Vacuum‐deposited SMOSCs fabricated with these small molecule donors and C70 as the acceptor exhibit power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in the range of 6.42–7.43% under air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5 G) 100 mW cm−2 simulated solar illumination. Furthermore, the Me‐DTDCPT‐based devices deliver a promising PCE of 14.84% under 600 lux illumination by a fluorescent lamp, demonstrating its potential in indoor photovoltaic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine the expression of miR-203 and its target genes survivin and p63 in condyloma acuminatum (CA) and to determine their relationships with clinical recurrence. Methods: Case and control groups were assessed for general data and the expression levels of miR-203, survivin and p63. The case group received carbon dioxide laser treatment, had a 3-month follow-up period, and was then divided into recurrence and non-recurrence groups. The relevant data were analyzed using SPSS v. 25.0 software. Results:miR-203 was identified as an independent protective factor against the recurrence of CA, while wart number, survivin and p63 were independent risk factors for CA recurrence. Conclusion:miR-203 could be a specific clinical bioindicator for the prognosis and recurrence of CA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the Jones matrix, independent control over the amplitude and phase of light has been demonstrated by combining several meta‐atoms into the supercell of a metasurface. However, due to the intrinsic limitation of a planar achiral structure, the maximum number of independent, complex elements in one Jones matrix is three, giving rise to up to three‐channel amplitude and phase control. In this work, more Jones matrices corresponding to different angles of incidence are proposed to add, so that the degrees of freedom in the amplitude and phase control can be further increased. The supercell of the designed metasurfaces consists of three dielectric nanoblocks with predefined rotation angles and displacements in the 2D space, which can be inversely determined with the help of the genetic algorithm. Empowered by the ability to realize four‐ or even eight‐channel amplitude and phase control, the generation of multiple structured light, including two independent perfect Poincaré beams, two double‐ring perfect Poincaré beams, two perfect Poincaré beam arrays, and four vector vortex beam arrays, is numerically demonstrated. Such novel designs are expected to benefit the development of modern optical applications, including but not limited to optical communications, quantum information, and signal encryption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]