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As cross‐shelf gradients of most properties are typically much steeper than those in the alongshore direction, transport across isobaths tends to be inhibited, particularly at oceanic fronts where cross‐shelf gradients are markedly pronounced. Consequently, variations in cross‐shelf gradients may exert a significant influence on offshore transport; however, this influence is not yet well understood. This study employs reconstructed daily suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data from the Yellow Sea's offshore region to investigate the dynamics of offshore transport. Our analysis on an interannual scale shows that offshore SSC correlates more with temperature gradients at the oceanic front than with winter storms, despite the latter's vital role in causing frontal instability. The observed increase in offshore transport over the past two decades is likely connected to Kuroshio Current warming, which has strengthened the horizontal density gradient at the oceanic front, driving the strengthened offshore transport of coastal sediments during instability episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate warming is predicted to increase the intensity of global tropical cyclones (TCs) on decadal timescales, known as the 'temperature-TC intensity' paradigm. However, no proxy is currently available to directly quantify TC intensity in the northwestern Pacific region over centennial to millennial timescales. Here, we reconstruct the intensity of past TCs inferred from event-beds detected in two sedimentary systems in eastern China spanning approximately 1910 to 645 yr BP using an instrumental-calibrated technique, thereby encompassing a sufficiently wide range of temperatures to test the paradigm in the time domain. Intriguingly, our two intensity indices, based on flooding depth and wind speed, provide the initial quantitative evidence that TC intensity in eastern China has been anomalously weak since around 1485 ± 45 yr BP, with a reduction of approximately 30 ± 8% in intensity, despite no concurrent temperature shift. This reduction appears to have been pre-conditioned by a combined influence of a weaker El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a stronger Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and an increased level of Saharan dust. We suggest that the magnitudes of these factors may have crossed a tipping point and have not reverted to their pre-shift levels since that time, resulting in their impact on TC intensity exceeding that of temperature by triggering changes in the oceanic and atmospheric state within the tropical Pacific region where TCs originate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chronic inflammation of adipose tissue is a prominent characteristic of many metabolic diseases. Lipid metabolism in adipose tissue is consistently dysregulated during inflammation, which is characterized by substantial infiltration by proinflammatory cells and high cytokine concentrations. Adipose tissue inflammation is caused by a variety of endogenous factors, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, cellular senescence, ceramides biosynthesis and mediators of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) signaling. Additionally, the gut microbiota also plays a crucial role in regulating adipose tissue inflammation. Essentially, adipose tissue inflammation arises from an imbalance in adipocyte metabolism and the regulation of immune cells. Specific inflammatory signals, including nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) signaling, inflammasome signaling and inflammation‐mediated autophagy, have been shown to be involved in the metabolic regulation. The pathogenesis of metabolic diseases characterized by chronic inflammation (obesity, insulin resistance, atherosclerosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [NAFLD]) and recent research regarding potential therapeutic targets for these conditions are also discussed in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type IV collagen is a major component of the extracellular matrix in adipose tissue. It is secreted during the lipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, but its direct impact and mechanism on the differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) into lipids are unclear. In this study, ASCs were obtained from human liposuction samples and cultured. Lipogenic induction of ASCs was achieved using lipogenic induction medium. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed differential expression of type IV collagen during the early and late stages of adipogenic induction, displaying a distinct morphological encapsulation of ASCs. Silencing of type IV collagen using siRNA resulted in a significant decrease in adipogenic capacity, as indicated by reduced lipid droplet formation and downregulation of adipogenic-related gene transcription. Conversely, supplementation of the culture medium with synthetic type IV collagen demonstrated enhanced adipogenic induction efficiency, accompanied by upregulation of YAP/TAZ protein expression and its downstream target gene transcription. Furthermore, inhibition of the YAP/TAZ pathway using the inhibitor Blebbistatin attenuated the functionality of type IV collagen, leading to decreased lipid droplet formation and downregulation of adipocyte maturation-related gene expression. These findings highlight the crucial role of type IV collagen in promoting adipogenic differentiation of ASCs and suggest its involvement in the YAP/TAZ-mediated Hippo pathway. No Level Assigned This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic nonhealing wounds significantly reduce patients' quality of life and are a major burden on healthcare systems. Over the past few decades, tissue engineering materials have emerged as a viable option for wound healing, with cell-derived extracellular matrix (CDM) showing remarkable results. The CDM's compatibility and resemblance to the natural tissue microenvironment confer distinct advantages to tissue-engineered scaffolds in wound repair. This review summarizes the current processes for CDM preparation, various cell decellularization protocols, and common characterization methods. Furthermore, it discusses the applications of CDM in wound healing, including skin defect and wound repair, angiogenesis, and engineered vessels, and offers perspectives on future developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an innovative thermally coupled system architecture with a parallel coolant-heated metal hydride tank (MHT) designed to satisfy the hydrogen supply requirements of proton exchange membrane fuel cell s(PEMFCs). This design solves a problem by revolutionising the cold start capability of PEMFCs at low temperatures. During the design process, LaNi5 was selected as the hydrogen storage material, with thermodynamic and kinetic properties matching the PEMFC operating conditions. Afterwards, the MHT and thermal management subsystem were customised to integrate with the 70 kW PEMFC system to ensure optimal performance. Given the limitations of conventional high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage for cold starting, this paper provides insights into the challenges faced by the PEMFC-MH system and proposes an innovative cold start methodology that combines internal self-heating and externally assisted preheating techniques, aiming to optimise cold start time, energy consumption, and hydrogen utilisation. The results show that the PEMFC-MH system utilises the heat generated during hydrogen absorption by the MHT to preheat the PEMFC stack, and the cold start time is only 101 s, which is 59.3% shorter compared to that of the conventional method. Meanwhile, the cold start energy consumption is reduced by 62.4%, achieving a significant improvement in energy efficiency. In conclusion, this paper presents a PEMFC-MH system design that achieves significant progress in terms of time saving, energy consumption, and hydrogen utilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparse General Matrix-Matrix Multiplication (SpGEMM) has played an important role in a number of applications. So far, many efficient algorithms have been proposed to improve the performance of SpGEMM on GPUs. However, the performance of each algorithm for matrices of different structures varies a lot. There is no algorithm that can achieve the optimal performance of SpGEMM computation on all matrices. In this article, we design a machine learning based approach for predicting the optimal SpGEMM algorithm on input matrices. By extracting features from input matrices, we utilize LightGBM and XGBoost to train different lightweight models. The models are capable of predicting the best performing algorithm with low inference overhead and high accuracy for the given input matrices. We also investigate the impact of tree depth on model accuracy and inference overhead. Our evaluation shows that an increase in tree depth leads to a corresponding increase in prediction accuracy, reaching a maximum of approximately 85%, while resulting in increased inference overhead of approximately 10 µs. Compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms on three GPU platforms, our method achieves better overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advancement in agricultural biotechnology has resulted in increasing numbers of commercial varieties of genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide. Though several databases on GM crops are available, these databases generally focus on collecting and providing information on transgenic crops rather than on screening strategies. To overcome this, we constructed a novel tool named, Genetically Modified Organisms Identification Tool (GMOIT), designed to integrate basic and genetic information on genetic modification events and detection methods. Results: At present, data for each element from 118 independent genetic modification events in soybean, maize, canola, and rice were included in the database. Particularly, GMOIT allows users to customize assay ranges and thus obtain the corresponding optimized screening strategies using common elements or specific locations as the detection targets with high flexibility. Using the 118 genetic modification events currently included in GMOIT as the range and algorithm selection results, a "6 + 4" protocol (six exogenous elements and four endogenous reference genes as the detection targets) covering 108 events for the four crops was established. Plasmids pGMOIT-1 and pGMOIT-2 were constructed as positive controls or calibrators in qualitative and quantitative transgene detection. Conclusions: Our study provides a simple, practical tool for selecting, detecting, and screening strategies for a sustainable and efficient application of genetic modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The multi-stack fuel cell system proposed in this paper can be applied to high-power generation, transport, and other engineering fields. A multi-stack fuel cell system (MFCS) is a promising solution for high-power PEM fuel cell applications. This paper proposes an optimized stack allocation approach for power allocation, considering economy and dynamics to establish integrated subsystems with added functional components. The results show that an MFCS with target powers of 20 kW, 70 kW, and 120 kW satisfies lifetime and efficiency factors. The common rail buffer at the air supply subsystem inlet stabilizes pressure, buffers, and diverts. By adjusting the volume of the common rail buffer, it is possible to reduce the maximum instantaneous power and consumption of the air compressor. The integrated hydrogen supply subsystem improves hydrogen utilization and reduces parasitic power consumption. However, the integrated thermal subsystem does not have the advantages of integrated gas supply subsystems, and its thermal management performance is worse than that of a distributed thermal subsystem. This MFCS provides a solution for high-power non-average distribution PEM fuel cell systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has become an indispensable technology to bridge vehicles, persons, and infrastructures and is promising to make our cities smarter and more connected. It enables vehicles to exchange vehicular data (e.g., GPS, sensors, and brakes) with different entities nearby. However, sharing these vehicular data over the air raises concerns about identity privacy leakage. Besides, the centralized architecture adopted in existing IoV systems is fragile to single point-of-failure and malicious attacks. With the emergence of blockchain technology, there is the chance to solve these problems due to its features of being tamper-proof, traceability, and decentralization. In this article, we propose a privacy-preserving vehicular data sharing framework based on blockchain. In particular, we design an anonymous and auditable data sharing scheme using Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology so as to protect the identity privacy of vehicles while preserving the vehicular data auditability for Trusted Authorities (TAs). In response to high mobility of vehicles, we design an efficient multi-sharding protocol to decrease blockchain communication costs without compromising the blockchain security. We implement a prototype of our framework and conduct extensive experiments and simulations on it. Evaluation and analysis results indicate that our framework can not only strengthen system security and data privacy but also reduce communication complexity by \(O(\frac{n\sqrt {m}}{m^2})\) times compared to existing sharding protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are a critical adult stem cell subpopulation and are widely utilized in the fields of regenerative medicine and stem cell research due to their abundance, ease of harvest, and low immunogenicity. ASCs, which are homologous with skin by nature, can treat immune-related skin diseases by promoting skin regeneration and conferring immunosuppressive effects, with the latter being the most important therapeutic mechanism. ASCs regulate the immune response by direct cell–cell communication with immune cells, such as T cells, macrophages, and B cells. In addition to cell–cell interactions, ASCs modulate the immune response indirectly by secreting cytokines, interleukins, growth factors, and extracellular vesicles. The immunomodulatory effects of ASCs have been exploited to treat many immune-related skin diseases with good therapeutic outcomes. This article reviews the mechanisms underlying the immunomodulatory effects of ASCs, as well as progress in research on immune-related skin diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high‐intensity fluorescent materials is always the focuses and forefront projects because of their important applications in displays, sensing and detection fields. In recent years, the detection of explosives has attracted increasing attention due to security and counterterrorism issues. Herein, two diphenyl−anthracene (DPA) derivatives were designed and synthesized by introducing strong electron withdrawing fluorine atoms and cyano‐groups to DPA, which exhibited strong fluorescence both in the solution and solid phase with the absolute quantum yields up to 70.4 % and 45.9 % respectively. The detection behavior of nitroaromatic explosives such as picric acid (PA), 2,4,6‐trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 3‐Nitropropionic acid (3‐NP) also shows good sensitivity with the quenching constant as high as 6.3×104 L mol−1. Theoretical calculation demonstrates that the fluorescence quenching behavior of the two DPA derivatives is caused by the behavior of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and the resonance energy transfer (RET) studies explained the higher sensitivity and selectivity of both compounds towards PA than other nitro‐containing explosives. Furthermore, the strong solid‐state fluorescence of the DPA derivatives also shows excellent advantages in enhancing latent fingerprint recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most known two-dimensional magnets exhibit a high sensitivity to air, making direct characterization of their domain textures technically challenging. Herein, we report on the construction and performance of a glovebox-assisted magnetic force microscope (MFM) operating in a cryogen-free magnet, realizing imaging of the intrinsic magnetic structure of water and oxygen-sensitive materials. It features a compact tubular probe for a 50 mm-diameter variable temperature insert installed in a 12 T cryogen-free magnet. A detachable sealing chamber can be electrically connected to the tail of the probe, and its pump port can be opened and closed by a vacuum manipulator located on the top of the probe. This sealing chamber enables sample loading and positioning in the glove box and MFM transfer to the magnet maintained in an inert gas atmosphere (in this case, argon and helium gas). The performance of the MFM is demonstrated by directly imaging the surface (using no buffer layer, such as h-BN) of very air-sensitive van der Waals magnetic material chromium triiodide (CrI3) samples at low temperatures as low as 5 K and high magnetic fields up to 11.9 T. The system's adaptability permits replacing the MFM unit with a scanning tunneling microscope unit, enabling high-resolution atomic imaging of air-sensitive surface samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the degradation of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), empirical degradation models of different indexes of PEMFCs are established. Firstly, the simulation process and assumptions of PEMFC degradation are proposed. Secondly, the degradation simulation results including the performance and distribution indexes under the different degradation levels are conducted by AVL FIRE M. Finally, the empirical degradation models of performance and distribution indexes are established based on the above simulation results and experimental data. The results show that the relationship between the experimental and simulation results is established by the index of current density. The empirical degradation models of current density, average equilibrium potential on the cathode catalyst layer (CL), average membrane water content, average oxygen molar concentration on the cathode CL, and average hydrogen crossover flux are the linear function. The empirical degradation models of average exchange current density on the anode CL, average hydrogen molar concentration on the anode CL, and average oxygen crossover flux are the quadratic function. The empirical degradation model of average activation overpotential on the cathode CL is the quintic function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the landscape pattern from a three-dimensional perspective is of great significance for comprehensively revealing the complex spatial characteristics of island ecosystems. However, the archipelago composed of rocky islands has received little attention as its three-dimensional landscape characteristics are difficult to quantify. This study took the largest archipelago in China, the Zhoushan Archipelago, as the study area and constructed an island landscape pattern evaluation model from a dual-three-dimensional (dual-3D) perspective. The model divided the island into upper and lower layers, namely the surface landscape based on topography and the landscape elements above the surface (i.e., vegetation and buildings), and then evaluated their landscape patterns from a three-dimensional perspective, respectively. The landscape pattern model based on a dual-3D perspective and multiple scales achieved excellent results in the archipelago. First, the island landscape pattern was evaluated from three-dimensional perspectives, including human interference, landscape fragmentation, vegetation space, and building space. Second, landscape indices such as the human interference three-dimensional index (HITI), the landscape fragmentation three-dimensional index (LFTI), the vegetation three-dimensional index (VTI), and the building three-dimensional index (BTI) established at multiple spatial scales revealed spatial heterogeneity within and between islands. Environmental factors such as elevation, slope, and island area exhibited significant correlations with them. There were significant differences in landscape pattern indices between the two-dimensional (2D) and the three-dimensional (3D) perspectives, and high values were mainly distributed in areas with significant topographic changes and larger islands. In addition, as the evaluation unit increased, the landscape indices increased, and HITI became more responsive to the transitions from 2D to 3D, while LFTI was the opposite. Therefore, the multiscale landscape pattern measurement of China's largest archipelago based on high-resolution remote sensing was carried out from three-dimensional perspectives to accurately reveal the spatial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effect of component degradation on different degradation indexes of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), a novel model of the PEMFC based on component properties was established. Firstly, the four main components, namely the proton exchange membrane (PEM), catalyst layer (CL), gas diffusion layer (GDL), and bipolar plate (BP), were selected. Moreover, a model of each component reflecting their properties was established and verified. Secondly, calculations of the component properties at the initial state and 5% changed were conducted. The results showed that the effects of the different components' degradation on the different performance and distribution indexes were different. Considering the nine indexes comprehensively, the influence of component degradation on performance degradation was as follows: GDL > PEM = CL > BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The complications of large‐volume fat grafting (LVFG) for breast augmentation remain unpredictable and include palpable breast nodules, oil cysts, and calcifications. Aims: This study was aimed to provide an optimal treatment option for breast nodules after LVFG and evaluate their pathological characteristics. Patients/Methods: We effectively performed complete resection of breast nodules in 29 patients after LVFG using a minimal skin incision with the vacuum‐assisted breast biopsy (VABB) system under ultrasound guidance. And we further carried on histologic examination of excised nodules and evaluated their pathological characteristics. Results: The breast nodules were excised thoroughly with cosmetic effect satisfactorily. Interestingly, subsequent histologic examination showed that type I and VI collagens were strongly expressed in the fibrotic area and type IV collagen were positively expressed around the blood vessel. Furthermore, we found that the type VI collagen+ area appeared around mac2+ macrophages and α‐SMA+ myofibroblasts. Conclusions: The VABB system may be the optimal treatment option for breast nodules after LVFG. And type VI collagens may serve as a biomarker of grafted adipose tissue fibrosis. The relationship between macrophages, fibroblasts, and collagen formation may be therapeutic targets for regulating fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processing of tea leaves plays a crucial role in the formation of the taste of the resulting tea. In order to study the compositions of and changes in taste-related substances during the processing of Rizhao green tea, non-targeted metabolomics was used, based on UHPLC-Q Exactive MS. Totals of 529, 349, and 206 non-volatile metabolites were identified using three different detection modes, of which 112 secondary metabolites were significantly changed. Significant variations in secondary metabolites were observed during processing, especially during the drying stage, and the conversion intensity levels of non-volatile metabolites were consistent with the law of "Drying > Fixation > Rolling". The DOT method was used to screen tea-quality-related compounds that contributed significantly to the taste of Rizhao green tea, including (−)-epicatechin gallate, (−)-epicatechin gallate, gallic acid, L-theanine, and L-leucine, which make important contributions to taste profiles, such as umami and bitterness. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that purine metabolism, caffeine metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism perform key roles in the processing of Rizhao green tea in different processing stages. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for tea processing and practical advice for the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multistack fuel cell systems (MFCS) are promising developments of fuel cell technology. For MFCS, faults affect durability and stability, and appropriate fault diagnosis methods and control strategies need to be proposed for different multistack structures. Herein, the integrated MFCS thermal management subsystem (TMS), which is based on the optimized split‐stack approach, is first studied, and its possible sensor and actuator faults are analyzed. The sensor fault signal is corrected based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), the controller design under the hardware in the loop platform is carried out, and an active fault‐tolerant control (FTC) strategy based on sliding mode control is deployed for the TMS to enable it to recover its performance quickly and effectively in case of faults. The results show that the estimated values are closer to the true values after using the UKF on the sensor signals, avoiding the impact of sensor faults on the system performance. Under New European Driving Cycle dynamic conditions, the FTC controller also exhibits better control compared to the conventional proportional–integral controller, with smaller maximum overshoot and shorter system recovery and stabilization time in the event of a TMS fault, mitigating the impact of system fault on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, Ti3C2/single-layer black phosphorus (BP)/Ti3C2 resistive random access memory (RRAM) was studied based on the first-principles theory. First, after determining the size of the material, the Ti3C2/BP(100) interface was built. By studying the electrostatic potential of the interface, it was found that there was a Schottky barrier at the interface, and the barrier height was obtained by calculating the work function and the band structure of the interface. Next, a Ti3C2/BP(100)/Ti3C2 RRAM device was designed based on the mechanism of the Schottky barrier at the interface. The bipolar switching characteristics were confirmed after calculating the I–V curve of the device, in which the turn-on threshold voltage is about 1.5 V, the turn-off threshold voltage is about 0.5 V, and the switch ratio is greater than 105. However, there are still shortcomings such as insufficient drive current. So, in the end, the optimization program is determined through a series of studies of device doping and vacancy, and it is found that after a certain concentration of Mg atoms are adsorbed, the conductivity of the resistive switching layer can be increased, the interface barrier can be adjusted, and the device performance such as the turn-on voltage, drive current, and switching ratio can be improved. This work may have guiding significance and value for the experimental research of manufacturing a new two-dimensional material RRAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) harbors the small diploid genome (~ 450 Mb) and shows the high inbreeding rate and close relationship to several major foods, feed, fuel and bioenergy grasses. Previously, we created a mini foxtail millet, xiaomi, with an Arabidopsis-like life cycle. The de novo assembled genome data with high-quality and an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system made xiaomi an ideal C4 model system. The mini foxtail millet has been widely shared in the research community and as a result there is a growing need for a user-friendly portal and intuitive interface to perform exploratory analysis of the data. Results: Here, we built a Multi-omics Database for Setaria italica (MDSi, http://sky.sxau.edu.cn/MDSi.htm), that contains xiaomi genome of 161,844 annotations, 34,436 protein-coding genes and their expression information in 29 different tissues of xiaomi (6) and JG21 (23) samples that can be showed as an Electronic Fluorescent Pictograph (xEFP) in-situ. Moreover, the whole-genome resequencing (WGS) data of 398 germplasms, including 360 foxtail millets and 38 green foxtails and the corresponding metabolic data were available in MDSi. The SNPs and Indels of these germplasms were called in advance and can be searched and compared in an interactive manner. Common tools including BLAST, GBrowse, JBrowse, map viewer, and data downloads were implemented in MDSi. Conclusion: The MDSi constructed in this study integrated and visualized data from three levels of genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics, and also provides information on the variation of hundreds of germplasm resources that can satisfies the mainstream requirements and supports the corresponding research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) during the Holocene remains controversial because of the lack of reliable proxies. In this study, a link between cross‐front transport and the EAWM was found in the North Yellow Sea, and the EAWM intensity could be imprinted in the leaked sediment, which permits reliable reconstruction of the EAWM on well‐preserved offshore deposition. By comparison with instrumental data, the wind speed of the EAWM since 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed for the first time at high resolution (∼5 yr). The results show that the EAWM gradually weakened in the mid‐to‐late Holocene, which was likely controlled by solar insolation, and that there has been a negative relationship between the EAWM and temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka; this relationship was reversed by increasing CO2 emissions during the Current Warm Period. Plain Language Summary: The East Asian monsoon is characterized by a distinct seasonal reversal of monsoon flow driven by temperature differences between the Pacific Ocean and the East Asian continent. It influences more than 2 billion people around East Asia by regulating the risk of drought or flooding. However, the evolution of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) in the mid‐to‐late Holocene remains elusive, limiting our understanding of its driving force and projections under climate change. This study analyzed sediment transport dynamics under varying winter monsoons in the North Yellow Sea. It was found that coastal sediments could be transported offshore, and their pathways differed under different strengths of the winter monsoon. Based on the sedimentary records of offshore muddy deposition, the EAWM proxy was extracted, and the wind speed of the EAWM from 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed. A gradual weakening trend during 4.4–0.7 ka and a dramatic strengthening after 0.2 ka were found in the EAWM; the EAWM was negatively related to the temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka, but this relationship was reversed by an increase in CO2 emissions since ∼1800 CE, indicating a shift in the controlling mechanism. Key Points: A link between cross‐front transport and the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) was found in the shelf sea, and the leaked sediment was used to reconstruct the EAWMThe wind speed of the EAWM since 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed at high resolution (∼5 yr) for the first timeCorrelation between the EAWM and the temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka was reversed by the increasing CO2 at the Current Warm Period [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea processing plays an important role in the formation of tea aroma. In order to explore the composition and variation in aroma during Rizhao green tea processing, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry was employed to investigate the formation and changes of tea aroma in four processing stages. A total of 62 volatile compounds were identified, including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, terpenes, and oxygen compounds. Relative odor activity value was used to identify 17 characteristic aroma compounds. The main aromatic compounds of chestnut-like aroma were linalool, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, 3-methylthiopropanal, and methyl 2-methylbutanoate. There were significant changes in the volatile components at different processing stages. Samples of tea leaves and green tea had special aroma characteristics, while samples of fixated and rolled leaves had similar aroma compounds. The results are beneficial for the improvement of the flavor and quality of Rizhao green tea. Practical Application. Tea is the world's most consumed nonalcoholic beverage, with a multitude of health-promoting benefits, such as antioxidant, antiobesity, and antiallergic activities. At present, the research on the aroma compounds of Rizhao green tea mainly focuses on the aroma characteristics of finished tea and the aroma differences of different kinds of commercial tea. This study explored the effects of the processes on aroma compounds, and the results provide a theoretical reference for the improvement of tea processing technology, tea quality control, and evaluation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous study, we demonstrated that the hydro extract of Mao Jian Green Tea (MJGT) promotes gastrointestinal motility. In this study, the effect of MJGT ethanol extract (MJGT_EE) in treating irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in a rat model constructed via maternal separation combined with an ice water stimulation was investigated. First, a successful model construction was confirmed through the determination of the fecal water content (FWC) and the smallest colorectal distension (CRD) volume. Then, the overall regulatory effects of MJGT_EE on the gastrointestinal tract were preliminarily evaluated through gastric emptying and small intestinal propulsion tests. Our findings indicated that MJGT_EE significantly increased FWC (p < 0.01) and the smallest CRD volume (p < 0.05) and promoted gastric emptying and small intestinal propulsion (p < 0.01). Furthermore, mechanistically, MJGT_EE reduced intestinal sensitivity by regulating the expression of proteins related to the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) pathway. More specifically, it decreased tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) expression (p < 0.05) and increased serotonin transporter (SERT) expression (p < 0.05), thereby decreasing 5-HT secretion (p < 0.01), activating the calmodulin (CaM)/myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) pathway, and increasing 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) expression (p < 0.05). Moreover, MJGT_EE enhanced the diversity of gut microbiota, increased the proportion of beneficial bacteria, and regulated the number of 5-HT-related bacteria. Flavonoids may play the role of being active ingredients in MJGT_EE. These findings suggest that MJGT_EE could serve as a potential therapeutic pathway for IBS-C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi‐stack fuel cell system (MFCS) can be widely used in large E‐power generation scenarios because of its higher output power, efficiency and reliability, and air supply for integration in MFCS. To study the issue of air supply distribution for different stacks, two MFCS air supply systems with different structures are designed. For the air supply system, the pressurized air supply device is the core component, and its performance directly affects the efficiency, structural complexity, cost, and other indicators of the MFCS. According to the characteristics of different types of compressors, air compressors are selected for matching with air supply devices for MFCSs with different topologies. Furthermore, based on the established mathematical models, the pressurized air supply devices suitable for MFCSs are optimized matching from the perspectives of working condition adaptability, electrical power consumption, and maximum electrical power. It is shown in the results that the most energy‐saving scheme is the parallel air supply device for the MFCS matching screw‐type air compressor. Considering the complexity of the system structure and the cost, the best scheme is to match the integrated air supply device for the MFCS with piston‐type air compressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haplotype blocks greatly assist association-based mapping of casual candidate genes by significantly reducing genotyping effort. The gene haplotype could be used to evaluate variants of affected traits captured from the gene region. While there is a rising interest in gene haplotypes, much of the corresponding analysis was carried out manually. CandiHap allows rapid and robust haplotype analysis and candidate identification preselection of candidate causal single-nucleotide polymorphisms and InDels from Sanger or next-generation sequencing data. Investigators can use CandiHap to specify a gene or linkage sites based on genome-wide association studies and explore favorable haplotypes of candidate genes for target traits. CandiHap can be run on computers with Windows, Mac, or UNIX platforms in a graphical user interface or command line, and applied to any species, such as plant, animal, and microbial. The CandiHap software, user manual, and example datasets are freely available at BioCode (https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn/biocode/tools/BT007080) or GitHub (https://github.com/xukaili/CandiHap). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mao Jian Tea (MJT) has been generally consumed as a digestive aid for more than a hundred years in the Shanxi province of China. However, determination of its efficacy still remains elusive. This study investigated the effect of Mao Jian Green Tea (MJGT) on gastrointestinal motility. The biphasic effects of the hydro extracts of MJGT on gastric emptying and small intestinal propulsion of rats were identified in vivo; namely, the low (MJGT_L) and medium (MJGT_M) concentrations promoted gastrointestinal motility (p < 0.05), whereas the high concentration (MJGT_H) showed the opposite effect (p < 0.01). The expression levels of the gastric hormones, GAS, MTL and VIP (p < 0.05) were consistent with the gastrointestinal motility variation, with the exception of MTL in MJGT_H group (p > 0.01). Two flavonoids, eriodictyol (0.152 mg/mL) and luteolin (0.034 mg/mL), and the corresponding glycosides eriodictyol-7-O-glucoside (0.637 mg/mL) and luteolin-7-O-glucoside (0.216 mg/mL), dominated the hydro extracts identified by HPLC and UPLC-ESI-MS. These compounds can regulate the muscle strip contractions isolated from the gastrointestinal tissues. Additionally, the different concentrations also influenced the gut microbiota accordingly characterized by 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The MJGT_L boosted several probiotic bacteria, such as Muribaculaceae (1.77-fold), Prevotellaceae (1.85-fold) and Lactobacillaceae (2.47-fold), and suppressed the pathogenic species such as Staphylococcaceae (0.03-fold) that, conversely, was enriched in the MJGT_H group (1.92-fold). Therefore, the biphasic effect indicated that the dosage of the herbal tea should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical therapeutic efficacy of anti-snake venom serum blockade in treating local tissue necrosis caused by Chinese cobra (Naja atra) bites. Methods: Patients bitten by a Chinese cobra (Naja atra) (n = 50) that met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 25) and the control group (n = 25). The experimental group received regular as well as anti-snake venom serum blocking treatment, whereas regular treatment plus chymotrypsin blocking therapy was given to the control group. The necrotic volumes around snake wounds in these groups were detected on the first, third and seventh days. On the third day of treatment, some local tissues in the wounds were randomly selected for pathological biopsy, and the necrosis volume of the local tissue was observed. Furthermore, the amount of time required for wound healing was recorded. Results: On the third and seventh days post-treatment, the necrotic volume of the wound of the experimental group was much smaller than that of the control group, and the experimental group's wound healing time was shorter than that of the control group (all p < 0.05). Moreover, the pathological biopsies taken from the control group showed nuclear pyknosis, fragmentation, sparse nuclear density, and blurred edges, and the degree of necrosis was much higher than that of the experimental group. Conclusions: Anti-snake venom blocking therapy is a new and improved therapy with good clinical effect on local tissue necrosis caused by Chinese cobra bites; moreover, it is superior to conventional chymotrypsin blocking therapy in the treatment of cobra bites. It can better neutralize and prevent the spread of the toxin, reduce tissue necrosis, and shorten the course of the disease by promoting healing of the wound. Furthermore, this treatment plan is also applicable to wound necrosis caused by other snake toxins, such as tissue necrosis caused by elapidae and viper families. Clinical Trial Registration: This trial is registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, a primary registry of International Clinical Trial Registry Platform, World Health Organization (Registration No. ChiCTR2200059070; trial URL:http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=134353&htm=4). Author summary: Chinese cobra bites often cause local tissue necrosis and lead to physical disability, which is the difficulty of treatment. Considering that the cytotoxin in cobra is the main pathogenic factor causing local tissue necrosis, we proposed injecting anti-snake venom locally to increase its concentration in the wound, so as to neutralize the cytolytic activity of snake venom. In order to verify the clinical efficacy of the therapy, a randomized controlled trial were conducted: the experimental group was treated with anti-snake venom blocking therapy, while the control group was treated with chymotrypsin blocking therapy. The clinical efficacy was evaluated by comparing the local wound necrosis, wound healing time, etc. as the indicators. Then, the results showed that the experimental group had smaller wound necrosis area and also much shorter healing time than the control group, which clearly indicated that the local blocking treatment with anti-snake venom serum has much better clinical efficacy. Meanwhile, theoretically, the anti-snake venom blocking therapy is also suitable for the treatment against other snake bites. So, in future we expect to conduct more clinical studies on this, which will provide information on new treatments with much better clinical efficacy for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels have been extensively used as scaffolds in tissue engineering for cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and differentiation because of their high-water content and biocompatibility similarity to the extracellular matrix. However, submicron or nanosized pore networks within hydrogels severely limit cell survival and tissue regeneration. In recent years, the application of macroporous hydrogels in tissue engineering has received considerable attention. The macroporous structure not only facilitates nutrient transportation and metabolite discharge but also provides more space for cell behavior and tissue formation. Several strategies for creating and functionalizing macroporous hydrogels have been reported. This review began with an overview of the advantages and challenges of macroporous hydrogels in the regulation of cellular behavior. In addition, advanced methods for the preparation of macroporous hydrogels to modulate cellular behavior were discussed. Finally, future research in related fields was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil quality of coastal wetlands plays an important role in maintaining biological productivity, improving environmental quality, and promoting plant and animal health. Landscape pattern is the major factor affecting variations in soil quality of coastal wetland. However, the influence of landscapes on spatial variations in soil quality has not been fully explored in coastal wetlands with highly fragmented landscapes. Here, we established a composite indicator of soil quality of coastal wetland, used a series of analysis methods to explore the spatial characteristics of soil quality of coastal wetland and the intrinsic relationships between soil quality and landscape factors, and quantified the landscape factors affecting the spatial variation of soil quality. Chongming Island, a typical estuarine island coastal wetland in China, was selected as the study area. The results showed that coastal wetland soil quality had distinct spatial variations, and significant correlations were observed between soil quality indicators and landscape factors. Key landscape factors, including distance to coastline (DTC), distance to human-related landscape types (DTH), number of landscape types (NLT), natural index of landscape (NIL), number of landscape patches (NLP), total edge of landscape patches (TELP), net primary production (NPP), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil salinity index (SSI), and normalized difference build-up and bare soil index (NDBSI), were identified and quantified at the optimal spatial evaluation units. Among the landscape types, woodlands and farmlands showed better soil quality and landscape conditions in coastal wetlands. Among the landscape pattern factors, landscape function factors, rather than composition and structure factors, had a greater impact on the spatial variation of coastal wetland soil quality. The soil quality was good at positions with high DTC and NDVI and low DTH and SSI. These findings highlighted that landscape factors NDVI (19.93%), SSI (15.93%), DTC (15.28%), and DTH (11.16%) contributed the most to the spatial variation in soil quality on Chongming Island. This study reveals the intrinsic correlations between soil quality and landscape, and provides a reference for maintaining the coastal wetland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To adapt to changing software requirements, developers need to maintain and modify software through code changes. Predicting change-prone code can help developers to reduce the cost of software maintenance in advance. Prior work confirmed code smell intensity is a reliable metric for predicting change-prone classes. Community smell is a derivation of the concept of code smell in open-source software development community, it refers to poor communication and collaboration problems among developers. We add community smell to existing change prediction models, and propose a software class change prediction model integrating process metrics, code smell intensity metrics, anti-pattern metrics and community smell metrics, which takes into account the technicality and organizational aspects of software development. Experimental results demonstrate that when Multilayer Perceptron is used to build a change prediction model, community smell improves the baseline model by 4.4% and 31.5% in terms of F -Measure and Recall. In addition, community smell improves baseline model performance to a greater extent in terms of Recall and Precision than code smell-related information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases, and seriously reduces the quality of life of patients. However, the pathogenesis of this disease is unclear. Therefore, more studies are needed to elucidate its pathogenesis. Our previous publication found that the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway was activated in endometriosis. This study tested whether SHH signaling in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) was critical for the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Methods: To examine the effect of inhibiting the SHH signaling pathway on endometriosis, we first isolated ESCs from eutopic endometrial tissues of patients with or without endometriosis and identified the extracted cells by morphological observation and immunofluorescence. Then, we treated ESCs with the GLI inhibitor GANT61 and used CCK-8, wound healing and invasion assays to detect cell activities, such as proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, we detected the expression of key proteins and proliferation markers of the SHH signaling pathway in the lesions of nude mice using immunochemistry. Results: We demonstrated that higher concentrations of GANT61 decreased the proliferation rate and migration distance of ESCs. We observed that GANT61 inhibited the invasion of ESCs. In addition, blockage of the SHH signaling pathway significantly reduced cell proliferation in vitro. Conclusions: Our study suggested that inhibition of the SHH pathway is involved in cell proliferation and invasive growth in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica), which was domesticated from the wild species green foxtail (Setaria viridis), is a rich source of phytonutrients for humans. To evaluate how breeding changed the metabolome of foxtail millet grains, we generated and analyzed the datasets encompassing the genomes, transcriptomes, metabolomes, and anti-inflammatory indices from 398 foxtail millet accessions. We identified hundreds of common variants that influence numerous secondary metabolites. We observed tremendous differences in natural variations of the metabolites and their underlying genetic architectures between distinct sub-groups of foxtail millet. Furthermore, we found that the selection of the gene alleles associated with yellow grains led to altered profiles of metabolites such as carotenoids and endogenous phytohormones. Using CRISPR-mediated genome editing we validated the function of PHYTOENE SYNTHASE 1 (PSY1) gene in affecting millet grain color and quality. Interestingly, our in vitro cell inflammation assays showed that 83 metabolites in millet grains have anti-inflammatory effects. Taken together, our multi-omics study illustrates how the breeding history of foxtail millet has shaped its metabolite profile. The datasets we generated in this study also provide important resources for further understanding how millet grain quality is affected by different metabolites, laying the foundations for future millet genetic research and metabolome-assisted improvement. This study generates the genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data from a foxtail millet population consisting of 398 accessions and investigates how breeding has shaped the metabolome of foxtail millet grains. as well as the anti-inflammatory indices using. The function of PSY1 in affecting millet grain color and quality is validated by genome editing, and in vitro cell inflammation assays identify 83 metabolites in millet grains that have anti-inflammatory effects. The study provides important resources for future millet genetic research and metabolome-assisted improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with a low BMI may have inadequate high-quality adipose tissue for transplantation. The influence of high-energy diets on adipose tissue and graft retention remains unknown.Objectives: The authors explored inguinal fat pad alternation in mice fed on a short-time high-fat diet (HFD) or a high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) preoperatively and the morphological and histological differences after transplantation.Methods: Mice were fed HFD (60% kcal from fat, 20% from carbohydrate), HCD (9.3% kcal from fat, 80.1% from carbohydrate), or normal (12% kcal from fat, 67% kcal from carbohydrate) diets for 2 or 4 weeks. Histological analyses were carried out following hematoxylin and eosin staining as well as CD34 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining. The uncoupling protein-1 expression was determined by western blotting. Fat pads from each group were grafted into the dorsal region of the recipient mice, and morphological and histological changes were determined 4, 8, and 12 weeks posttransplantation. Vascular endothelial growth factor-α and platelet-derived growth factor-α expression were determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Results: The inguinal fat pad volume increased in the HFD and HCD groups. The presence of multilocular adipocytes in inguinal fat of HCD-fed mice, combined with the increased uncoupling protein-1 content, suggested adipocyte browning. HCD grafts showed higher volume retention and reduced oil cyst formation, possibly attributed to better angiogenesis and adipogenesis.Conclusions: HCD enlarged adipose tissue and improved graft survival rates, which may be due to the browning of fat before grafting and enhanced angiogenesis after grafting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poaceae practically dominate staple crops for humans. In addition to the issue of sustenance, there is a growing interest in the secondary metabolites of these staple crops and their functions on health. In this study, metabolomic variations were investigated among six important species of Poaceae with a total of 17 cultivars, including wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, foxtail millet, and broomcorn millet. A total of 201 flavonoid metabolites and 29 carotenoid metabolites were identified based on the UPLC-ESI-MS/MS system. Among them, 114, 128, 101, 179, 113, and 92 flavonoids and 12, 22, 17, 15, 21, and 18 carotenoids were found in wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, foxtail millet, and broomcorn millet, respectively. Only 46 flavonoids and 8 carotenoids were shared by the six crops. Crop-specific flavonoids and carotenoids were identified. Flavone, anthocyanins, flavanone and polyphenol were the major metabolite differences, which showed species specificity. The flavonoid content of the grains from 17J1344 (sorghum), QZH and NMB (foxtail millet) and carotenoids from Mo17 (maize) were higher than the other samples. This study provides a better knowledge of the differences in flavonoid and carotenoid metabolites among Poaceae crops, as well as provides a theoretical basis for the identification of functional metabolites in these grains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Bungarus multicinctus is one of the top ten venomous snakes in China. Its venom is mainly neurotoxin-based. Novel antivenom drugs need to be further researched and developed. Objective. This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of Cynanchum paniculatum in treating Bungarus multicinctus bites based on network pharmacology. Material and methods. The potential active ingredients of Cynanchum paniculatum were screened and their SDF structures were obtained using the PubChem database and imported into the SwissTargetPrediction database, and targets were obtained for the antitoxin effects of Cynanchum paniculatum in the treatment of Bungarus multicinctus bites. The Cynanchum paniculatum-active compound-potential target network and protein-protein interaction network were constructed by using Cytoscape software, and then biological function analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID. Results. Seven potential active components (cynapanoside C, cynatratoside B, tomentolide A, sitosterol, sarcostin, tomentogenin, and paeonol) and 286 drug targets were obtained, including 30 key targets for the treatment of bungarotoxin toxicity. The active components mainly acted on PIK3CA, MAPK1, MAP2K1, JAK2, FYN, ACHE, CHRNA7, CHRNA4, and CHRNB2, and they antagonized the inhibitory effect of bungarotoxin on the nervous system through cholinergic synapses and the neurotrophin signaling pathway. Conclusions. Cynanchum paniculatum exerts a therapeutic effect on Bungarus multicinctus bites through multiple active components, multiple targets, and multiple pathways. The findings provide a theoretical basis for the extraction of active components of Cynanchum paniculatum and for related antivenom experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instrumental records reveal that intense tropical cyclone (TC) activity varies with tropical sea surface temperature (SST) on annual-decadal scales. Drivers of intense TC activity at the centennial-millennial scale are less clear, due to the sparseness of pre-observational reconstructions. Here, we present a new 2 kyr continuous activity record of intense TCs from offshore eastern China. Our reconstruction indicates that this site witnessed enhanced TC activity during relatively warm periods, with a widespread increase in TC activity during the later part of the Little Ice Age. This latter observation reveals that enhanced TC activity was synchronized with increased Asian dust emissions during the Little Ice Age. TC activity was also lower in the late Roman Warm Period, when SST was higher but Asian dust emissions were lower than in the early phase. Such patterns suggest a centennial-millennial link between TC climatology and a combination of SST changes and Asian dust levels. Here, the authors show that enhanced tropical cyclone activity was synchronized with increased Asian dust emissions during the Little Ice Age, implying a mechanism linking tropical cyclone climatology to Asian dust levels, at 100 to 1000 year scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop yield stability and soil mineral nitrogen (Nmin) have rarely been evaluated from a long-term perspective in the extremely arid cropland regions of China. Therefore, a nationwide experiment aimed to optimize fertilizer application and increase productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in gray desert soils was initiated in 1990. Eight combinations of chemical fertilizers (CK, N, NK, NP, and NPK), straw return (NPKS), and manure amendments (NPKM and NPKM+) were tested for 24 years on spring wheat, winter wheat, and maize. The results displayed that the yield of three crops from balanced fertilizer treatments (NPK, NPKS, NPKM, and NPKM+) did not differ significantly after 24 years; however, reliable yield stability due to lower coefficient of variation (CV) and higher nitrogen harvest index (NHI) were recorded for manure amendment treatments. Compared to NPKM, NHI was lower for the NPKM+ treatment, but crop yield and stability did not improve, suggesting that the appropriate choice for manure amendment is important for guaranteeing food security in extremely arid regions. Balanced fertilizer treatments resulted in lower Nmin residual in the 300 cm soil profile, compared to unbalanced fertilizer treatments. The NPKS treatment gave the lowest value. In the 0–100 cm soil profile, Nmin was higher in NPKM than in the NPK treatment, suggesting that straw or manure amendment can effectively maintain Nmin in the topsoil undercurrent cropland management in arid areas. The NPKM treatment had the highest crop nitrogen recovery rate and the lowest nitrogen losses, further illustrating that manure amendment has higher N retention potential. Overall, although Nmin residues are relatively high in these regions, balanced fertilizer treatments, especially NPKM and NPKS, are the optimum strategies in extremely arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Skin filler is an option for treating skin aging and wrinkles; however, currently used fillers are limited by poor biocompatibility, rapid degradation, and possible hypersensitivity reactions. Autologous adipose tissue-derived products have been recognized as promising options for skin rejuvenation.Objectives: This study aimed to develop a novel adipose-derived product for skin filling.Methods: Adipose collagen fragment (ACF) was prepared through pulverization, filtration, and centrifugation. The macrography, structure, types of collagen, and cell viability of ACF were evaluated by immunostaining, western blotting, and cell culture assays. ACF, nanofat, and phosphate-buffered saline (9 spots/side, 0.01 mL/spot) were intradermally injected in the dorsal skin of 36 female BALB/c nude mice; the skin filling capacity and the collagen remodeling process were then investigated. Twenty-one female patients with fine rhytides in the infraorbital areas were enrolled and received clinical applications of ACF treatment. Therapeutic effects and patients' satisfaction scores were recorded.Results: The mean [standard deviation] yield of ACF from 50 mL of Coleman fat was 4.91 [0.25] mL. ACF contained nonviable cells and high levels of collagen I, collagen IV, and laminin. Fibroblasts and procollagen significantly increased in ACF and ACF-treated dermis (P < 0.05). Overall, 85.7% of patients were satisfied with the therapy results, and no infections, injection site nodules, or other unwanted side effects were observed.Conclusions: ACF significantly improved dermal thickness and collagen synthesis and may serve as a potential autologous skin filler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instrumental records reveal that intense tropical cyclone (TC) activity varies with tropical sea surface temperature (SST) on annual-decadal scales. Drivers of intense TC activity at the centennial-millennial scale are less clear, due to the sparseness of pre-observational reconstructions. Here, we present a new 2 kyr continuous activity record of intense TCs from offshore eastern China. Our reconstruction indicates that this site witnessed enhanced TC activity during relatively warm periods, with a widespread increase in TC activity during the later part of the Little Ice Age. This latter observation reveals that enhanced TC activity was synchronized with increased Asian dust emissions during the Little Ice Age. TC activity was also lower in the late Roman Warm Period, when SST was higher but Asian dust emissions were lower than in the early phase. Such patterns suggest a centennial-millennial link between TC climatology and a combination of SST changes and Asian dust levels. Here, the authors show that enhanced tropical cyclone activity was synchronized with increased Asian dust emissions during the Little Ice Age, implying a mechanism linking tropical cyclone climatology to Asian dust levels, at 100 to 1000 year scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Code smell is a software quality problem caused by software design flaws. Refactoring code smells can improve software maintainability. While prior works mostly focused on Java code smells, only a few prior researches detect and refactor code smells of Python. Therefore, we intend to outline a route (i.e. sequential refactoring operation) for refactoring Python code smells, including LC, LM, LMC, LPL, LSC, LBCL, LLF, MNC, CCC and LTCE. The route could instruct developers to save effort by refactoring the smell strongly correlated with other smells in advance. As a result, more smells could be resolved by a single refactoring. First, we reveal the co-occurrence and the inter-causation between smells. Then, we evaluate the smells' correlation. Results highlight seven groups of smells with high co-occurrence. Meanwhile, 10 groups of smells correlate with each other in a significant level of Spearman's correlation coefficient at 0.01. Finally, we generate the refactoring route based on the association rules, we exploit an empirical verification with 10 developers involved. The results of Kendall's Tau show that the proposed refactoring route has a high inter-agreement with the developer's perception. In conclusion, we propose four refactoring routes to provide guidance for practitioners, i.e. {LPL → LLF}, {LPL → LBCL}, {LPL → LMC} and {LPL → LM → LC → CCC → MNC}. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardamine enshiensis is a well-known selenium (Se)-hyperaccumulating plant. Se is an essential trace element associated with many health benefits. Despite its critical importance, genomic information of this species is limited. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly of C. enshiensis, which consists of 443.4 Mb in 16 chromosomes with a scaffold N50 of 24 Mb. To elucidate the mechanism of Se tolerance and hyperaccumulation in C. enshiensis, we generated and analyzed a dataset encompassing genomes, transcriptomes, and metabolomes. The results reveal that flavonoid, glutathione, and lignin biosynthetic pathways may play important roles in protecting C. enshiensis from stress induced by Se. Hi-C analysis of chromatin interaction patterns showed that the chromatin of C. enshiensis is partitioned into A and B compartments, and strong interactions between the two telomeres of each chromosome were correlated with histone modifications, epigenetic markers, DNA methylation, and RNA abundance. Se supplementation could affect the 3D chromatin architecture of C. enshiensis at the compartment level. Genes with compartment changes after Se treatment were involved in selenocompound metabolism, and genes in regions with topologically associated domain insulation participated in cellular responses to Se, Se binding, and flavonoid biosynthesis. This multiomics research provides molecular insight into the mechanism underlying Se tolerance and hyperaccumulation in C. enshiensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rare-earth intermetallic Dy3Al2 is a low-temperature permanent magnet with temperature-induced spin reorientation transition. In this work, we report the observation of magnetic domains in lamellae of Dy3Al2 using Liquid-Nitrogen cryo-Lorentz transmission electronic microscopy (cryo-LTEM) above TSR (70 K). We studied the magnetic field dependence of domain evolution from stripe domains at zero magnetic field to the saturation state. When the easy axis lies within the lamella plane, stripe domains gradually narrow and disappear as the applied field increases. The saturation field decreases with the increasing temperature. In the presence of misalignment between the easy axis and external field, stripe domains evolve into type-II magnetic bubbles (as small as 50–60 nm). The spin configuration was further verified by utilizing differential phase contrast scanning transmission microscopy and micromagnetic simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless and precise stimulation of deep brain structures could have important applications to study intact brain circuits and treat neurological disorders. Herein, we report that magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENs) can be guided to a targeted brain region to stimulate brain activity with a magnetic field. We demonstrated the nanoparticles' capability to reliably evoke fast neuronal responses in cortical slices ex vivo. After fluorescently labeled MENs were intravenously injected and delivered to a targeted brain region by applying a magnetic field gradient, a magnetic field of low intensity (350–450 Oe) applied to the mouse head reliably evoked cortical activities, as revealed by two-photon and mesoscopic imaging of calcium signals and by an increased number of c-Fos expressing cells after stimulation. Neither brain delivery of MENs nor the magnetic stimulation caused significant increases in astrocytes and microglia. Thus, MENs could enable a non-invasive and contactless deep brain stimulation without the need of genetic manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]