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Purpose: To evaluate the adaptability between posts and post spaces and the rationality of cores fabricated by two digital custom post‐and‐core processes. Materials and Methods: Titanium post‐and‐cores were fabricated by digital scanning impression technology or digital scanning wax‐pattern technology on tooth defect molds of incisors, premolars, and molars, with traditional lost‐wax casts of these teeth as the controls. Micro‐CT and a laboratory scanner were used to determine intervals between post wall and root canal wall of the root apex, middle, and cervix of each sample in cross‐, sagittal, and coronal sections; intervals between the end of post and tooth; diameters of cervical, middle, and incisal part at cross‐, sagittal, and coronal sections of each sample, as well as shoulder widths. Results: The three fabrication processes showed significant differences in intervals between post‐and‐core prostheses and root canal walls, diameters of all parts of cores, and shoulder widths. Scanning impressions showed significant advantages in the main part of post‐and‐cores in incisors and premolars, while the scanning wax‐pattern process showed obvious inferiorities in premolars and molars. As to core spatial size, values of measured sites in the scanning impression process were closer to the standard than those of the traditional process, while differences between the measured value of the scanning wax‐pattern process were much more obvious than in the traditional process. Conclusions: The use of digital custom post‐and‐core scanning impressions improved the rationality and precision of post‐and‐core dimensions compared with two other processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the impact of skill level on the integration of contextual prior information and kinematic information alongside post-error adjustment during action anticipation in basketball. Twenty-three collegiate basketball players and twenty-three control participants engaged in anticipating as quickly and accurately as possible the outcomes of free throws, utilizing video clips depicting basketball players' actions, both with and without contextual prior information. Anticipatory performance and the difference in anticipatory performance following errors and correct responses were analyzed based on skill level and the congruency of contextual prior information (none, congruent, and incongruent). The findings revealed that the congruency of contextual prior information significantly affects action anticipation, with skill level moderating this effect. Moreover, skill level influenced the congruency effect on accuracy discrepancies between post-error and post-correct trials during action anticipation, with controls showing greater sensitivity to previous trial performance compared to experts. These results provide further evidence for the notion that individuals employ Bayesian reliability-based strategies to integrate different information sources and underscore the role of skill level in adjusting anticipatory judgments following errors during action anticipation. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that differentiate skill levels in action anticipation, potentially guiding the development of targeted training interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review systematically summarizes the repair mechanisms and applications of self‐healing polyurethane (SHPU) materials aiming at energy conservation and safety under different repair methods. As of now, the repair methods that have emerged can be divided into two categories: substance landfill and bond repair. In terms of the repair mechanisms for both, the former involves the release of healing agents from micro‐carriers (microcapsules, hollow fibers, and microvascular) to fill the damaged area upon external impact. In contrast, bond repair combines physical and chemical changes triggered by light, heat, and other factors. To achieve efficient self‐healing in this mode, both the reorganization of broken chemical bonds and the high mobility of chain segments are crucial. Reversible covalent bonds and supramolecular interactions, as two branches of aforementioned reversible chemical bonds, share the responsibility for maintaining efficient self‐healing despite infinite cycling. Additionally, multiple synergistic crosslinked networks, special nanomaterials, and microphase separation are often used to solve the problem of incompatible healing efficiency and mechanical strength in bond repair. When the perspective is focused on the application, this gradually improved SHPU with strong potential and comprehensive performance has provided raw materials for many fields related to human development, such as road, architecture, healthcare, and electronic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation has been largely considered one of main factors to the PD pathology. MicroRNA-218-5p (miR-218-5p) is a microRNA that plays a role in neurodevelopment and function, while its potential function in PD and neuroinflammation remains unclear. Methods: We explore the involvement of miR-218-5p in the PD in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse model. The miR-218-5p agomir used for overexpression was delivered into the substantia nigra (SN) by bilateral stereotaxic infusions. The loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons and microglial inflammation in the SN was determined using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Motor function was assessed using the rotarod test. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to explore the pathways regulated by miR-218-5p. The target genes of miR-218-5p were predicted using TargetScan and confirmed using dual luciferase reporter assays. The effects of miR-218-5p on microglial inflammation and related pathways were verified in murine microglia-like BV2 cells. To stimulate BV2 cells, SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) and the conditioned media (CM) were collected. Results: MiR-218-5p expression was reduced in both the SN of MPTP-induced mice and MPP+-treated BV2 cells. MiR-218-5p overexpression significantly alleviated MPTP-induced microglial inflammation, loss of DA neurons, and motor dysfunction. RNA sequence and gene set enrichment analysis showed that type I interferon (IFN-I) pathways were upregulated in MPTP-induced mice, while this upregulation was reversed by miR-218-5p overexpression. A luciferase reporter assay verified that Ddx41 was a target gene of miR-218-5p. In vitro, miR-218-5p overexpression or Ddx41 knockdown inhibited the IFN-I response and expression of inflammatory cytokines in BV2 cells stimulated with MPP+-CM. Conclusions: MiR-218-5p suppresses microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and preserves DA neurons via Ddx41/IFN-I. Hence, miR-218-5p-Ddx41 is a promising therapeutic target for PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a novel form of carboxylate comb‐like copolymers, SAM‐(m)PEG was prepared by polymerizing styrene (S), acrylic (A), and maleic anhydride (M) to obtain a random copolymer labeled SAM. SAM was then esterified using either polyethylene glycol (PEG) or methyl PEG (mPEG), a waterborne polymer dispersant for dispersing and stabilizing C.I. Pigment Yellow 180 (PY 180). The structures of SAM‐(m)PEG and the ground suspension of PY 180 were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a nanoparticle size analysis, and viscometry. The effects of different branch chains, synthetic formulas, and grinding conditions on the dispersibility of SAM‐(m)PEG were evaluated. In addition, the optical properties of the pigments were investigated after ultrafine grinding. The adsorption mechanism between the SAM‐(m)PEG dispersants and PY 180 particles is also discussed. SAM‐PEG6002 outperformed the other SAM‐(m)PEG dispersants owing to its excellent dispersion and stability. When used as the dispersant, the average particle size (Z‐average) of PY 180 after grinding was 264.6 nm, and the particle size distribution became narrow (PDI=0.089). Moreover, SAM‐PEG6002 effectively maintained the color performance of the pigment, and the product was successfully applied to the pigment coating. Therefore, SAM‐PEG6002 is an effective waterborne polymer dispersant for organic pigments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasingly serious environmental problems caused by the greenhouse effect, it has also become essential to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. In this paper, CaCO3‐supported Fe‐based catalysts doped with Mn, Al, and K are prepared by a straightforward method and used for CO2 hydrogenation. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized by SEM‐EDS, BET, TG, CO2‐TPD, XRD, and XPS. The experimental results show that the highest CO2 conversion rate of Fe10Mn2Al10Ca is 35.99 %, the maximum FTY value is 293.98 μmolCO2 ⋅ gFe-1 ${{\rm{g}}_{{\rm{Fe}}}^{ - 1} }$ ⋅ s−1, the maximum O/P value is 6.61, and the lowest CO selectivity is 32.21 %. At the same time, according to the characterization results, the doping of Mn and Al increased the Fe3O4/FeCx ratio. As the Fe3O4/FeCx ratio increases, the proportion of short‐chain hydrocarbons (CH4, C2–4) in the products increases, and the proportion of long‐chain hydrocarbons (C5+) decrease. Therefore, the co‐doping of Mn and Al promotes the conversion of CO and reduces its selectivity, and promotes the formation of light olefins. Finally, it is hoped that this study can provide a reference for further research on CaCO3‐supported Fe catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), estrogen receptor‐α (ER‐α), and retinoic acid receptor (RAR) mediated activities of nine 4‐ and 5‐ring unsubstituted and monomethylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a series of Chemical‐Activated LUciferase gene eXpression (CALUX) assays. The potential role of these aforementioned receptors in relation to the developmental toxicity of these PAHs was further assessed in the zebrafish embryotoxicity test (ZET). The results show that all nine tested PAHs were AhR agonists, benz[a]anthracene (BaA) and 8‐methyl‐benz[a]anthracene (8‐MeBaA) were ER‐α agonists, and none of the tested PAHs induced ER‐α antagonistic or RAR (ant)agonistic activities. In the AhR CALUX assay, all the methylated PAHs showed higher potency (lower EC50) in activating the AhR than their respective unsubstituted PAHs, implying that the addition of a methyl substituent on the aromatic ring of PAHs could enhance their AhR‐mediated activities. Co‐exposure of zebrafish embryos with each individual PAH and an AhR antagonist (CH223191) counteracted the observed developmental retardations and embryo lethality to a certain extent, except for 8‐methyl‐benzo[a]pyrene (8‐MeBaP). Co‐exposure of zebrafish embryos with either of the two estrogenic PAHs (i.e., BaA and 8‐MeBaA) and an ER‐α antagonist (fulvestrant) neutralized embryo lethality induced by 50 μM BaA and the developmental retardations induced by 15 μM 8‐MeBaA. Altogether, our findings suggest that the observed developmental retardations in zebrafish embryos by the PAH tested may partially be AhR‐ and/or ER‐α‐mediated, whereas the RAR seems not to be relevant for the PAH‐induced developmental toxicity in the ZET. Our previous study evaluated the in vitro developmental toxicity induced by 4‐ and 5‐ring unsubstituted and methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using the zebrafish embryotoxicity test (ZET). The present study further investigated the potential role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), estrogen receptor‐α (ER‐α), and retinoic acid receptor (RAR) in PAH‐induced developmental toxicity. The results show that the PAH‐induced developmental toxicity observed in the ZET may partially be AhR‐ and/or ER‐α‐mediated, whereas the RAR appears not to be involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, CaxZn10‐xFe20 catalysts were prepared by the co‐precipitation method and applied to CO2 hydrogenation. The experimental results show that the CO2 conversion of the catalyst Ca1Zn9Fe20 at a Ca doping amount of 1 mmol can reach 57.91 %, which is 13.5 % more than the CO2 conversion of the catalyst Zn10Fe20. Moreover, the catalyst Ca1Zn9Fe20 has the lowest selectivity for both CO and CH4, with 7.40 % and 6.99 %, respectively. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption‐desorption, CO2‐TPD, H2‐TPR, and XPS. The results demonstrate that the doping of Ca increases the basic sites on the catalyst surface and thus allows the catalyst to adsorb more CO2 to promote the reaction. Besides, the Ca doping amount of 1 mmol can suppress the formation of graphitic carbon on the catalyst surface and prevent the excess graphitic carbon from covering the active site Fe5C2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth in traffic volume and loads has increased the demand for high strength and durability paving materials. As the primary paving material of long‐life pavements and long‐span steel bridge decks, epoxy asphalt (EA) has the problems of poor tensile strength and low fracture toughness. In this study, graphene oxide nanosheets (GOs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to improve the mechanical properties of EA. Tensile tests, segregation experiments, Fourier transform infrared analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and fluorescence microscope (FM) were used to analyze the mechanical properties and micromorphology of nano‐modified EA, and to explore the optimal content of these two nano‐modifiers in EA. The results of tensile properties tests show the tensile properties of advanced nano‐modified EA are better when 0.01 wt% CNTs and 0.02 wt% GOs are added. Among them, EA modified by CNTs has the best toughening effect, and its fracture toughness is increased by 21%. Finally, combining macroscopic and microscopic experimental analysis, it is concluded that the mechanical homogeneity of the advanced nano‐modified EA is better, and the asphalt is uniformly dispersed in the continuous phase of epoxy resin. Furthermore, CNTs are chemically reacted with the amino group in oleylamine and modified EA through fiber network reinforcement, and GOs modified EA through the amidation reaction with oleylamine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Freezing of gait (FOG) and cognitive impairment are serious symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Understanding the association between FOG and cognition may help formulate specific interventions for PD individuals. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the associations of cognitive impairment in different domains with FOG status using multiple neuropsychological tests. Methods: Two cohorts including 691 and 104 participants were recruited from Parkinson's progression markers initiative (PPMI) and central China, respectively. All participants underwent FOG assessment and neuropsychological tests, and 595 individuals from PPMI and 51 from central China were enrolled for longitudinal observation. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between cognition and FOG status were evaluated using multivariable-adjusted models. Results: Worse cognitive performances were observed in patients with FOG compared to those without FOG in both cohorts (β = − 0.020, p < 0.001) using multivariate-adjusted models. Moreover, patients with progressive FOG during follow-up manifested more serious cognitive declines (HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.07–1.80). The FOG was mainly associated with the decline of executive, attention, and orientation. Furthermore, FOG was associated with higher levels of cognition-related biomarkers including T-tau, P-tau, and NfL in cerebrospinal fluid (p < 0.050). Conclusions: FOG is a risk factor for cognitive decline in PD, which emphasizes the need for early detection and monitoring of cognitive changes and interventions on cognitive impairments in PD patients with FOG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkyl-substituted PAHs may be present in certain petroleum-derived products and in the environment and may eventually end up in consumer products, such as foodstuffs, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Safety concerns over possible exposure to alkylated PAHs have emerged. Bioactivation is a prerequisite for the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of PAHs and has been extensively studied for non-substituted PAHs, while data on the bioactivation of alkyl-substituted PAHs are scarce. The present study investigated the effect of alkyl substitution on the CYP 450-mediated metabolism of phenanthrene and eight of its alkylated congeners by quantifying metabolite formation in rat and human liver microsomal incubations. Furthermore, the mutagenicity of four selected methylated phenanthrenes was compared to that of phenanthrene using the Ames test. The obtained results support the hypothesis that alkyl substitution shifts the oxidative metabolism from the aromatic ring to the alkyl side chain. Increasing the length of the alkyl chain reduced overall metabolism with metabolic conversion for 1-n-dodecyl-phenanthrene (C12) being negligible. 1- and 9-methyl-phenanthrene, in which the methyl group generates an additional bay region-like structural motif, showed mutagenicity toward Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA 100, whereas phenanthrene and also 2- and 3-methyl-phenanthrene, without such an additional bay region-like structural motif, tested negative. It is concluded that the position of the alkylation affects the metabolism and resulting mutagenicity of phenanthrene with the mutagenicity increasing in cases where the alkyl substituent creates an additional bay region-like structural motif, in spite of the extra possibilities for side chain oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental toxicity testing is an animal-intensive endpoints in toxicity testing and calls for animal-free alternatives. Previous studies showed the applicability of an in vitro–in silico approach for predicting developmental toxicity of a range of compounds, based on data from the mouse embryonic stem cell test (EST) combined with physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modelling facilitated reverse dosimetry. In the current study, the use of this approach for predicting developmental toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated, using benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) as a model compound. A rat PBK model of BaP was developed to simulate the kinetics of its main metabolite 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OHBaP), shown previously to be responsible for the developmental toxicity of BaP. Comparison to in vivo kinetic data showed that the model adequately predicted BaP and 3-OHBaP blood concentrations in the rat. Using this PBK model and reverse dosimetry, a concentration–response curve for 3-OHBaP obtained in the EST was translated into an in vivo dose–response curve for developmental toxicity of BaP in rats upon single or repeated dose exposure. The predicted half maximal effect doses (ED50) amounted to 67 and 45 mg/kg bw being comparable to the ED50 derived from the in vivo dose–response data reported for BaP in the literature, of 29 mg/kg bw. The present study provides a proof of principle of applying this in vitro–in silico approach for evaluating developmental toxicity of BaP and may provide a promising strategy for predicting the developmental toxicity of related PAHs, without the need for extensive animal testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social network has become the primary medium of rumor propagation. Moreover, manual identification of rumors is extremely time-consuming and laborious. It is crucial to identify rumors automatically. Machine learning technology is widely implemented in the identification and detection of misinformation on social networks. However, the traditional machine learning methods profoundly rely on feature engineering and domain knowledge, and the learning ability of temporal features is insufficient. Furthermore, the features used by the deep learning method based on natural language processing are heavily limited. Therefore, it is of great significance and practical value to study the rumor detection method independent of feature engineering and effectively aggregate heterogeneous features to adapt to the complex and variable social network. In this paper, a deep neural network- (DNN-) based feature aggregation modeling method is proposed, which makes full use of the knowledge of propagation pattern feature and text content feature of social network event without feature engineering and domain knowledge. The experimental results show that the feature aggregation model has achieved 94.4% of accuracy as the best performance in recent works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biophysical factors of microenvironments have increasingly been recognized as playing key roles in driving cell functions along with biochemical cues. However, current synthetic extracellular matrix materials with tunable biophysical properties are both costly and technically complicated to prepare, therefore limiting their application in the molecular biology field. Herein, an interpenetration hydrogel group with gradient stiffness and cell anchor points is developed, and the matrix stiffness and adhesion property functions as key regulators to determine the final output of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling is reported. Specifically, it is shown that the spreading areas of mouse embryonic fibroblasts are mainly regulated by stiffness of the matrix. The Shh‐induced Gli1 expression also increases with the cell spreading area. Finally, this work shows that b1‐integrin and focal adhesion kinase, respectively, act as sensors of matrix stiffness and adhesion properties, demonstrating the significance of the precise regulation of Shh signaling by cellular microenvironments. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using this hydrogel platform to study the impact of biophysical changes of the microenvironment on particular cellular signal pathways, and can potentially be applied in low‐cost, high throughput screening of signal pathways which are responsive to the biophysical changes of microenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we performed an experimental investigation into the influence of dynamic strain aging (DSA) and precipitation behavior on the plastic deformation and microstructure evolution in alloy 253MA considering its service temperature. The serrated flow behavior, stress anomaly behavior and negative strain rate sensitivity are considered as the manifestation of DSA within a certain temperature range (TDSA), which can be classified as low (550-700 °C), intermediate (600-750 °C) and high temperatures (700-790 °C) at 0.001 s−1, 0.01 s−1 and 0.1 s−1, respectively. The activation energy of DSA was determined to be 242 kJ/mol, indicating that the diffusion of substitutional solutes, such as Cr and Ni, is mainly responsible for the DSA phenomenon. The characteristic of dislocation substructures is prone to change from linear structure to cellularization structure with a rising deformation temperature in the DSA regime. The stress anomaly behavior can be attributed to the rapid dissolution of σ phase. The initiation of dynamic recrystallization should contribute to the disappearance of DSA by suppressing the dynamical solute atom-dislocation interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-releasing interneurons play an important modulatory role in the cortex and have been implicated in multiple neurological disorders. Patient-derived interneurons could provide a foundation for studying the pathogenesis of these diseases as well as for identifying potential therapeutic targets. Here, we identified a set of genetic factors that could robustly induce human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into GABAergic neurons (iGNs) with high efficiency. We demonstrated that the human iGNs express neurochemical markers and exhibit mature electrophysiological properties within 6–8 weeks. Furthermore, in vitro, iGNs could form functional synapses with other iGNs or with human-induced glutamatergic neurons (iENs). Upon transplantation into immunodeficient mice, human iGNs underwent synaptic maturation and integration into host neural circuits. Taken together, our rapid and highly efficient single-step protocol to generate iGNs may be useful to both mechanistic and translational studies of human interneurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Easy-to-Fabricate Hydrogel Platform with Tunable Stiffness and Cell Anchorage: Validation of Its Feasibility in Modulating Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Physically B Back Cover b : In article number 1900759, Feimin Zhang, Steven Yan Cheng, Ning Gu, and co-workers develop an IPN hydrogel group with gradient stiffness and cell anchor points, and report that the matrix stiffness and adhesion property functions as key regulators to determine the final output of "Sonic Hedgehog" (Shh) signaling. These results indicate the feasibility of applying this hydrogel platform to low-cost, high throughput screening of signal pathways which are responsive to the biophysical changes of microenvironments. [Extracted from the article]

Back Cover: In article number 1900759, Feimin Zhang, Steven Yan Cheng, Ning Gu, and co‐workers develop an IPN hydrogel group with gradient stiffness and cell anchor points, and report that the matrix stiffness and adhesion property functions as key regulators to determine the final output of “Sonic Hedgehog” (Shh) signaling. These results indicate the feasibility of applying this hydrogel platform to low‐cost, high throughput screening of signal pathways which are responsive to the biophysical changes of microenvironments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]