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Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials have attracted extensive attention as highly integrated electronic devices generate large amounts of electromagnetic pollution. Here, PNF/NGx‐EP composites with excellent EMI shielding properties and superior flexural strength were reported, where nickel‐plated carbon fiber (NF) felts and NH2‐Graphene (NG) were adopted to pre‐construct a hierarchical structure within epoxy resin (EP). The macroscopic NF network constructed a continuous conductive pathway and the NG grafted on the surface of NF formed a second microscopic conductive network. Consequently, the PNF/NG0.5 felts exhibited a quite high electrical conductivity of 138.4 S/cm, and the PNF/NG0.5‐EP composites presented excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) (57.4 dB at 11.9 GHz). Intriguingly, the flexural strength of the NF/EP composites was enhanced after the incorporation of NG, which was attributed to the mechanical locking effect and covalent bonding. In summary, this approach reconciles the contradiction between EMI shielding properties and mechanical properties of EP composites, and allows them to be promisingly employed for EMI shielding and protection in aerospace, weaponry, and communications. Highlights: A hierarchical structure of PNF/NGx felts was preconstructed within EP via Michael addition/Schiff base reaction.The PNF/NGx‐EP composites exhibited remarkable EMI shielding properties (57.4 dB) and superior flexural strength (137.0 MPa), which are expected to realize practical applications in EMI shielding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current bottleneck in the development of efficient photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is the limited availability of high‐performance acceptor units. Over the past nine years, dibenzo[b,d]thiophene sulfone (DBS) has been the preferred choice for the acceptor unit. Despite extensive exploration of alternative structures as potential replacements for DBS, a superior substitute remains elusive. In this study, a symmetry‐breaking strategy was employed on DBS to develop a novel acceptor unit, BBTT‐1SO. The asymmetric structure of BBTT‐1SO proved beneficial for increasing multiple moment and polarizability. BBTT‐1SO‐containing polymers showed higher efficiencies for hydrogen evolution than their DBS‐containing counterparts by up to 166 %. PBBTT‐1SO exhibited an excellent hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 222.03 mmol g−1 h−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 27.5 % at 500 nm. Transient spectroscopic studies indicated that the BBTT‐1SO‐based polymers facilitated electron polaron formation, which explains their superior HERs. PBBTT‐1SO also showed 14 % higher HER in natural seawater splitting than that in deionized water splitting. Molecular dynamics simulations highlighted the enhanced water‐PBBTT‐1SO polymer interactions in salt‐containing solutions. This study presents a pioneering example of a substitute acceptor unit for DBS in the construction of high‐performance photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current bottleneck in the development of efficient photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is the limited availability of high‐performance acceptor units. Over the past nine years, dibenzo[b,d]thiophene sulfone (DBS) has been the preferred choice for the acceptor unit. Despite extensive exploration of alternative structures as potential replacements for DBS, a superior substitute remains elusive. In this study, a symmetry‐breaking strategy was employed on DBS to develop a novel acceptor unit, BBTT‐1SO. The asymmetric structure of BBTT‐1SO proved beneficial for increasing multiple moment and polarizability. BBTT‐1SO‐containing polymers showed higher efficiencies for hydrogen evolution than their DBS‐containing counterparts by up to 166 %. PBBTT‐1SO exhibited an excellent hydrogen evolution rate (HER) of 222.03 mmol g−1 h−1 and an apparent quantum yield of 27.5 % at 500 nm. Transient spectroscopic studies indicated that the BBTT‐1SO‐based polymers facilitated electron polaron formation, which explains their superior HERs. PBBTT‐1SO also showed 14 % higher HER in natural seawater splitting than that in deionized water splitting. Molecular dynamics simulations highlighted the enhanced water‐PBBTT‐1SO polymer interactions in salt‐containing solutions. This study presents a pioneering example of a substitute acceptor unit for DBS in the construction of high‐performance photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is frequently associated with compromised cerebrovasculature and pericytes. However, we do not know how normal aging differentially impacts vascular structure and function in different brain areas. Here we utilize mesoscale microscopy methods and in vivo imaging to determine detailed changes in aged murine cerebrovascular networks. Whole-brain vascular tracing shows an overall ~10% decrease in vascular length and branching density with ~7% increase in vascular radii in aged brains. Light sheet imaging with 3D immunolabeling reveals increased arteriole tortuosity of aged brains. Notably, vasculature and pericyte densities show selective and significant reductions in the deep cortical layers, hippocampal network, and basal forebrain areas. We find increased blood extravasation, implying compromised blood-brain barrier function in aged brains. Moreover, in vivo imaging in awake mice demonstrates reduced baseline and on-demand blood oxygenation despite relatively intact neurovascular coupling. Collectively, we uncover regional vulnerabilities of cerebrovascular network and physiological changes that can mediate cognitive decline in normal aging. We have limited knowledge of how aging affects brain vascular structure and function. Here, the authors show that aging induces selective reduction of vasculature and related cell types in key cognitive brain areas and reduces blood oxygenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous hemodynamic monitoring in a wearable means can play a crucial role in managing hypertension and preventing catastrophic cardiovascular events. In this study, we have described the fully wearable tonometric device, referred to as flexible adaptive sensing tonometry (FAST), which is capable of continuous and accurate monitoring of hemodynamic parameters within the medical-grade precision. In particular, the FAST system integrates a 1 × 8 unit array of highly sensitive and highly flexible iontronic sensing (FITS) with 1 mm spatial resolution and a closed-loop motion system. The flexible tonometric architecture has been used to determine the radial arterial position with high sensitivity and high conformability, which simplifies the biaxial searching process of the traditional applanation tonometry into a highly efficient uniaxial applanation while keeping the medical-precision assessments. Importantly, a self-calibration algorithm can be automatically implemented during the applanation process, from which the intra-arterial blood pressure wave can be continuously predicted within the medical-grade precision, and subsequently, multi-parametric hemodynamic analysis can be performed in real-time. Experimental validations on health volunteers have demonstrated that the FAST measurements are all within the required accuracy of the clinical standards for continuous pulse wave assessments, blood pressure monitoring as well as other key hemodynamic parameter evaluations. Therefore, the FAST system, by integrating the flexible iontronic sensing array, provides a real-time, medical-grade hemodynamic monitoring solution in a continuously wearable manner, from which remote patient-centered monitoring can be delivered with both medical precision and convenience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study integrated sample partition, incubation, and continuous fluorescence detection on a single microfluidic chip for droplet-based digital Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) of nucleic acids. This integration eliminated the need to transfer reactions between different platforms, avoiding sample contamination and loss. Prior to the reaction, filling the channels with an oil phase and adding a glass cover slip on top of the chip overcame the problem of bubble generation in the channels during the LAMP reaction due to heating. Additionally, using two fluorescence intensity thresholds enabled simultaneous detection and counting of positive and negative droplets within a single fluorescence detection channel. The chip can partition approximately 6000 droplets from a 5 µL sample within 10 min, with a droplet diameter of around 110 µm and a coefficient of variation (CV) value of 0.82%. Staphylococcus aureus was quantified via the proposed platform. The results demonstrated a highly accurate correlation coefficient (R = 0.9998), and the detection limit reached a concentration of 1.7 × 102 copies/µL. The entire process of the droplet digital LAMP reaction, from droplet generation to incubation to quantitative results, took a maximum of 70 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) derived small extracellular vesicles (OS-sEVs) have been shown to induce the formation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), characterized by elevated pro-inflammatory factor expression and enhanced migratory and contractile abilities. These CAFs play a crucial role in priming lung metastasis by orchestrating the pre-metastatic niche (PMN) in the lung. Disrupting the communication between OS-sEVs and lung fibroblasts (LFs) emerges as a potent strategy to hinder OS pulmonary metastasis. Our previously established saponin-mediated cargo-elimination strategy effectively reduces the cancer-promoting ability of tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles (TsEVs) while preserving their inherent targeting capability. In this study, we observed that cargo-eliminated OS-sEVs (CE-sEVs) display minimal pro-tumoral and LFs activation potential, yet retain their ability to target LFs. The uptake of OS-sEVs by LFs can be concentration-dependently suppressed by CE-sEVs, preventing the conversion of LFs into CAFs and thus inhibiting PMN formation and pulmonary metastasis of OS. In summary, this study proposes a potential strategy to prevent LFs activation, PMN formation in the lung, and OS pulmonary metastasis through competitive inhibition of OS-sEVs' function by CE-sEVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Angiotensin-convertingenzyme 2 (ACE2) has dual functions, regulating cardiovascular physiology and serving as the receptor for coronaviruses. Bats, the only true flying mammals and natural viral reservoirs, have evolved positive alterations in traits related to both functions of ACE2. This suggests significant evolutionary changes in ACE2 during bat evolution. To test this hypothesis, we examine the selection pressure in ACE2 along the ancestral branch of all bats (AncBat-ACE2), where powered flight and bat-coronavirus coevolution occurred, and detect a positive selection signature. To assess the functional effects of positive selection, we resurrect AncBat-ACE2 and its mutant (AncBat-ACE2-mut) created by replacing the positively selected sites. Compared to AncBat-ACE2-mut, AncBat-ACE2 exhibits stronger enzymatic activity, enhances mice's performance in exercise fatigue, and shows lower affinity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our findings indicate the functional pleiotropy of positive selection in the ancient ACE2 of bats, providing an alternative hypothesis for the evolutionary origin of bats' defense against coronaviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure continues to be a significant global health concern, causing substantial morbidity and mortality. The limited ability of the adult heart to regenerate has posed challenges in finding effective treatments for cardiac pathologies. While various medications and surgical interventions have been used to improve cardiac function, they are not able to address the extensive loss of functioning cardiomyocytes that occurs during cardiac injury. As a result, there is growing interest in understanding how the cell cycle is regulated and exploring the potential for stimulating cardiomyocyte proliferation as a means of promoting heart regeneration. This review aims to provide an overview of current knowledge on cell cycle regulation and mechanisms underlying cardiomyocyte proliferation in cases of heart failure, while also highlighting established and novel therapeutic strategies targeting this area for treatment purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a hot extrusion forming process for magnesium (Mg) alloy square tubes, namely, tube-extrusion-continuous expending shear (TECES), was proposed. The thin-walled hollow square tube of Mg alloy with a thickness of 3 mm was successfully prepared by hot extrusion experiment. The evolution rules of effective stress, effective strain, and flow velocity in the process of tube forming were analyzed by numerical simulation, and the influence of different expanding ratios on tube forming was compared. The results show that the effective stress distribution of the tube is not uniform during the forming process, and the maximum stress appears at the first shear corner. In the shear deformation (SD) zone, there is a high strain zone at the corner of the square tube and outside the tube wall. As the tube is extruded, the uniformity of strain distribution in the deformation zone is improved. In the whole forming process, the flow rate of the tube increases first and then decreases, and the whole remains stable. As the expansion ratio increases when the expansion ratio is greater than 1.6, the resistance of plastic deformation increases, the fluidity of the metal becomes worse, and the formed tube cracks at the corner or is difficult to fill. When the expansion ratio is less than 1.6, the damage value area appears on the inner side of the tube wall, and the distribution uniformity is poor, which may lead to cracks or uneven thickness of the tube wall. The microstructure characterization of different deformation zones of the tube was carried out, and the results show that the TECES process can effectively refine the grain, and the average grain size of the formed tube is 10.1 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumour in children and young adults. Account for 80% of all OS cases, conventional OS are characterized by the presence of osteoblastic, chondroblastic and fibroblastic cell types. Despite this heterogeneity, therapeutic treatment and prognosis of OS are essentially the same for all OS subtypes. Here, we report that DEC2, a transcriptional repressor, is expressed at higher levels in chondroblastic OS compared with osteoblastic OS. This difference suggests that DEC2 is disproportionately involved in the progression of chondroblastic OS, and thus, DEC2 may represent a possible molecular target for treating this type of OS. In the human chondroblastic‐like OS cell line MNNG/HOS, we found that overexpression of DEC2 affects the proliferation of the cells by activating the VEGFC/VEGFR2 signalling pathway. Enhanced expression of DEC2 increased VEGFR2 expression, as well as increased the phosphorylation levels at sites Y951 and Y1175 of VEGFR2. On the one hand, activation of VEGFR2Y1175 enhanced cell proliferation through VEGFR2Y1175‐PLCγ1‐PKC‐SPHK‐MEK‐ERK signalling. On the other hand, activation of VEGFR2Y951 decreased mitochondria‐dependent apoptosis rate through VEGFR2Y951‐VARP‐PI3K‐AKT signalling. Activation of these two signalling pathways resulted in enhanced progression of chondroblastic OS. In conclusion, DEC2 plays a pivotal role in cell proliferation and apoptosis‐resistance in chondroblastic OS via the VEGFC/VEGFR2 signalling pathway. These findings lay the groundwork for developing focused treatments that target specific types of OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Mulberry bacterial wilt is a devastating disease that is difficult to control and causes serious economic losses to the sericulture industry. This disease is mostly caused by a diverse group of pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria including, Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum, Pantoea ananatis, Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC), Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex (KpSC), and K. oxytoca complex (KoC). Due to the lack of a rapid and reliable test to simultaneously detect these complex pathogens of mulberry wilt, we developed a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay to detect five virulence-related genes carried by the pathogenic bacteria of mulberry bacterial wilt disease. The primers were designed for the virulence-related genes: pleD (GGDF structural domain-containing protein), yjfP (esterase), pelY (peripheral pectate lyase), ampD (N-acetyl-anhydromuranmyl-L-alanine amidase), and ripW (type III effector). Overall, the developed mPCR assay showed highly specific, sensitive and reproducible detection of target pathogens. Briefly, the results showed that the mPCR was highly specific in individual reactions, and the lowest detection concentration of the five pathogenic bacteria was 1.87 × 103 CFU/mL (DNA = 2.45 pg/μL). From 46 natural mulberry wilt samples, the mPCR detection rates of P. ananatis, ECC, KpSC, KoC and R. pseudosolanacearum were 8.69, 91.3, 34.7, 23.9 and 65.21%, respectively. The traditional culture media isolation methods showed comparable results. The pathogenicity test of 84 suspected pathogenic bacteria revealed that the morbidity (average morbidity level) caused by the pathogenic bacteria detected by mPCR was ≥ 65.5%, while the morbidity of the undetected pathogenic bacteria was ≤ 35.5%. Based on these results, we believe that the mPCR developed in the present study will be useful in rapid, reproducible, and sensitive detection of the pathogenic bacteria causing mulberry bacterial wilt including, R. pseudosolanacearum, P. ananatis, ECC, KpSC, and KoC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This retrospective case-controlled study aimed to evaluate the association between the severity of fall-related injuries and fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) in hospitalized patients. Methods: Data were collected from Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan, of all adult inpatients who experienced falls between January 2017 and December 2021, and were divided into two groups based on whether they sustained severe fall-related injuries. Retrospective data that may affect the severity of fall-related injuries and the use of FRIDs were investigated. Results: Among 1231 documented cases of falls, 26 patients sustained severe fall-related injuries. Older patients and those with osteoporosis were more susceptible to more severe injuries from a fall. The use of mobility aids and osteoporosis medications showed protective effects against fall injuries. No significant association was observed between fall-related injuries and comorbidities or FRIDs. Multivariate analysis confirmed the inverse correlation between the use of mobility aids, osteoporosis medications, and fall severity. Patients with osteoporosis exhibited significantly higher odds of sustaining more severe injuries with a fall (odds ratio = 3.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.21–7.53). Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of addressing risk factors associated with fall severity among hospitalized patients. Providing mobility aids to persons at greater risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the screening and predicting functions of obesity- and lipid-related indices for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese, as well as the ideal predicted cut-off value. This study's data comes from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A cross-sectional study design was used to investigate the relationship of T2D and 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist–height ratio (WHtR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), a body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), conicity index (CI), Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI), triglyceride- glucose index (TyG index) and its correlation index (TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, TyG-WHtR). The unadjusted and adjusted correlations between 13 indices and T2D were assessed using binary logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to determine the usefulness of anthropometric indices for screening for T2D and determining their cut‑off value, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC). The study comprised 9488 people aged 45 years or above in total, of whom 4354 (45.89%) were males and 5134 (54.11%) were females. Among them were 716 male cases of T2D (16.44%) and 870 female cases of T2D (16.95%). A total of 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices were independently associated with T2D risk after adjusted for confounding factors (P < 0.05). According to ROC analysis, the TyG index was the best predictor of T2D among males (AUC = 0.780, 95% CI 0.761, 0.799) and females (AUC = 0.782, 95% CI 0.764, 0.799). The AUC values of the 13 indicators were higher than 0.5, indicating that they have predictive values for T2D in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. The 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices can predict the risk of T2D in middle‑aged and elderly Chinese. Among 13 indicators, the TyG index is the best predictor of T2D in both males and females. TyG-WC, TyG-BMI, TyG-WHtR, LAP, and CVAI all outperformed BMI, WC, and WHtR in predicting T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depressive symptoms are one of the most common psychiatric disorders, with a high lifetime prevalence rate among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Obesity may be one of the risk factors for depressive symptoms, but there is currently no consensus on this view. Therefore, we investigate the relationship and predictive ability of 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices with depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly Chinese. Methods: The data were obtained from The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Our analysis includes individuals who did not have depressive symptoms at the baseline of the CHARLS Wave 2011 study and were successfully follow-up in 2013 and 2015. Finally, 3790 participants were included in the short-term (from 2011 to 2013), and 3660 participants were included in the long-term (from 2011 to 2015). The average age of participants in short-term and long-term was 58.47 years and 57.88 years. The anthropometric indicators used in this analysis included non-invasive [e.g. waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), and a body mass index (ABSI)], and invasive anthropometric indicators [e.g. lipid accumulation product (LAP), triglyceride glucose index (TyG index), and its-related indices (e.g. TyG-BMI, and TyG-WC)]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to examine the predictive ability of various indicators for depressive symptoms. The association of depressive symptoms with various indicators was calculated using binary logistic regression. Results: The overall incidence of depressive symptoms was 20.79% in the short-term and 27.43% in the long-term. In males, WC [AUC = 0.452], LAP [AUC = 0.450], and TyG-WC [AUC = 0.451] were weak predictors of depressive symptoms during the short-term (P < 0.05). In females, BMI [AUC = 0.468], LAP [AUC = 0.468], and TyG index [AUC = 0.466] were weak predictors of depressive symptoms during the long-term (P < 0.05). However, ABSI cannot predict depressive symptoms in males and females during both periods (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The research indicates that in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese, most obesity- and lipid-related indices have statistical significance in predicting depressive symptoms, but the accuracy of these indicators in prediction is relatively low and may not be practical predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed the direct extrusion and continuous-shear deformation (DECS) process for the co-extrusion of Mg-AZ31B/Al 6063, aiming to prepare high-plasticity Mg/Al composite sheets. The effect of extrusion temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al composite sheet was systematically studied. The results show that Mg/Al composite sheets with no voids or cracks at the interface were successfully prepared by the DECS process. The microstructure of the Mg layer at different extrusion temperatures primarily consists of equiaxed fine grains, with grain sizes of 7.29 μm, 8.98 μm, and 9.88 μm at 330℃, 360℃, and 390℃, respectively. The Mg layer exhibits a typical extrusion texture, with the c-axis of most grains parallel to the transverse direction (TD). With the increase in extrusion temperature, the c-axis of some grains deviates from the TD toward the normal direction (ND). The Al layer mainly consists of elongated deformed grains and fine dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) grains distributed along the extrusion direction (ED). The AZ31 Mg alloy with refined grains maintains the ultimate tensile strength of the Mg/Al composite sheet, while the Al matrix enhances its plasticity. At 330℃, the Mg/Al composite sheet shows an ultimate tensile strength of 244.48 MPa ± 4.35 and an elongation of 39.42% ± 0.06. The influence of the bonding layer thickness on the shear and tensile properties of the composite sheet was studied, revealing that increasing the bonding layer thickness reduces the shear strength of the Mg/Al composite sheet but positively affects its tensile strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the association between dietary guideline adherence and overall, outpatient, and emergency medical service utilization in Taiwanese preschoolers. Methods: We selected 614 preschoolers (2–6 years) who had one day of 24-h dietary recall data from the 2013–2016 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan. The Taiwanese Children Healthy Eating Index (TCHEI) was developed on the basis of Taiwanese Food-Based Dietary Guidelines; it assesses dietary adequacy and eating behavior. Data on the participants' outpatient and emergency medical service utilization were obtained for 2013–2018 from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A multivariable generalized linear model was used to evaluate the association between the TCHEI and medical service utilization for all disease and respiratory diseases. Results: After adjustment for confounding factors, children aged 2–3 years in the Tertile (T) 2 and T3 groups of the TCHEI exhibited 25% (95% CI 0.69–0.83) and 16% (95% CI 0.77–0.92) lower overall medical visits, respectively. The same pattern was noted in the outpatient and emergency visits for all diseases and respiratory diseases. The children aged 4–6 years in the T2 group exhibited 15% (95% CI 0.80–0.91) and 11% (95% CI 0.82–0.97) lower overall visits and visits for respiratory diseases, respectively. Moreover, preschoolers in the T2 group exhibited lower overall medical expenditures than did those in the T1 group. Conclusions: TCHEI score was positively correlated with better nutritional status. Optimal dietary intake associated with lower medical service utilization among Taiwan preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affective brain-computer interface based on electroencephalography (EEG) is an important branch in the field of affective computing. However, the individual differences in EEG emotional data and the noisy labeling problem in the subjective feedback seriously limit the effectiveness and generalizability of existing models. To tackle these two critical issues, we propose a novel transfer learning framework with Prototypical Representation based Pairwise Learning (PR-PL). The discriminative and generalized EEG features are learned for emotion revealing across individuals and the emotion recognition task is formulated as pairwise learning for improving the model tolerance to the noisy labels. More specifically, a prototypical learning is developed to encode the inherent emotion-related semantic structure of EEG data and align the individuals’ EEG features to a shared common feature space under consideration of the feature separability of both source and target domains. Based on the aligned feature representations, pairwise learning with an adaptive pseudo labeling method is introduced to encode the proximity relationships among samples and alleviate the label noises effect on modeling. Extensive results on two benchmark databases (SEED and SEED-IV) under four different cross-validation evaluation protocols validate the model reliability and stability across subjects and sessions. Compared to the literature, the average enhancement of emotion recognition across four different evaluation protocols is 2.04% (SEED) and 2.58% (SEED-IV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the association between dietary guideline adherence and overall, outpatient, and emergency medical service utilization in Taiwanese preschoolers. Methods: We selected 614 preschoolers (2–6 years) who had one day of 24-h dietary recall data from the 2013–2016 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan. The Taiwanese Children Healthy Eating Index (TCHEI) was developed on the basis of Taiwanese Food-Based Dietary Guidelines; it assesses dietary adequacy and eating behavior. Data on the participants' outpatient and emergency medical service utilization were obtained for 2013–2018 from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A multivariable generalized linear model was used to evaluate the association between the TCHEI and medical service utilization for all disease and respiratory diseases. Results: After adjustment for confounding factors, children aged 2–3 years in the Tertile (T) 2 and T3 groups of the TCHEI exhibited 25% (95% CI 0.69–0.83) and 16% (95% CI 0.77–0.92) lower overall medical visits, respectively. The same pattern was noted in the outpatient and emergency visits for all diseases and respiratory diseases. The children aged 4–6 years in the T2 group exhibited 15% (95% CI 0.80–0.91) and 11% (95% CI 0.82–0.97) lower overall visits and visits for respiratory diseases, respectively. Moreover, preschoolers in the T2 group exhibited lower overall medical expenditures than did those in the T1 group. Conclusions: TCHEI score was positively correlated with better nutritional status. Optimal dietary intake associated with lower medical service utilization among Taiwan preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: DEHP, a common plasticizer known for its hormone-disrupting properties, has been associated with asthma. However, a significant proportion of adult asthma cases are "non-atopic", lacking a clear etiology. Methods: In a case-control study conducted between 2011 and 2015, 365 individuals with current asthma and 235 healthy controls from Kaohsiung City were enrolled. The control group comprised individuals without asthma, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, or other respiratory/allergic conditions. The study leveraged asthma clusters (Clusters A to F) established in a prior investigation. Analysis involved the examination of urinary DEHP metabolites (MEHP and MEHHP), along with the assessment of oxidative stress, sphingolipid metabolites, and inflammatory biomarkers. Statistical analyses encompassed Spearman's rank correlation coefficients, multiple logistic regression, and multinomial logistic regression. Results: Asthma clusters (E, D, C, F, A) exhibited significantly higher ORs of MEHHP exposures compared to the control group. When considering asthma-related comorbidities (T2DM, hypertension, or both), patients without comorbidities demonstrated significantly higher ORs of the sum of primary and secondary metabolites (MEHP + MEHHP) and MEHHP compared to those with asthma comorbidities. A consistent positive correlation between urinary HEL and DEHP metabolites was observed, but a consistent negative correlation between DEHP metabolites and selected cytokines was identified. Conclusion: The current study reveals a heightened risk of MEHHP and MEHP + MEHHP exposure in specific asthma subgroups, emphasizing its complex relationship with asthma. The observed negative correlation with cytokines suggests a new avenue for research, warranting robust evidence from epidemiological and animal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An extensive literature has shown a strong connection between maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. However, it has been difficult for previous research to map a dynamic concurrent and prospective relationships within and between types of parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. The present study addressed these issues using a network analysis approach and a longitudinal design. Methods: This study involved 591 Chinese adolescents (249 males; mean age at T1 = 13.53) and their mothers (mean age at T1 = 39.71) at two time points (T1 and T2) with eighteen months apart. Mothers reported their parenting practices including warmth, monitoring, inductive reasoning, hostility, and harshness, while adolescents reported their mental health problems including anxiety, depression, aggression, and conduct problems. Network analysis was conducted for contemporaneous networks at T1 and T2 and temporal networks from T1 to T2. Results: The contemporaneous networks revealed the negative association between monitoring and conduct problems served as the main pathway through which parenting practices and adolescent mental health mutually influenced each other, and further, warmth was the most influential parenting practice on adolescent mental health. The temporal network revealed that maternal hostility exerted the most influence on adolescent mental health problems, whereas adolescents' depression was most influenced by maternal parenting practices. Moreover, maternal hostility was most predicted by maternal harshness. Conclusions: This study presents a novel perspective to gain a better understanding of the dynamics between and within maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. Findings highlight maternal harshness and warmth as potential prevention and intervention targets for adolescent mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optoelectronic devices, such as light‐emitting diodes, have been demonstrated as one of the most demanded forthcoming display and lighting technologies because of their low cost, low power consumption, high brightness, and high contrast. The improvement of device performance relies on advances in precisely designing novelty functional materials, including light‐emitting materials, hosts, hole/electron transport materials, and yet which is a time‐consuming, laborious and resource‐intensive task. Recently, machine learning (ML) has shown great prospects to accelerate material discovery and property enhancement. This review will summarize the workflow of ML in optoelectronic materials discovery, including data collection, feature engineering, model selection, model evaluation and model application. We highlight multiple recent applications of machine‐learned potentials in various optoelectronic functional materials, ranging from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) or perovskite QDs, organic molecules to carbon‐based nanomaterials. We furthermore discuss the current challenges to fully realize the potential of ML‐assisted materials design for optoelectronics applications. It is anticipated that this review will provide critical insights to inspire new exciting discoveries on ML‐guided of high‐performance optoelectronic devices with a combined effort from different disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an adaptive trajectory tracking control method combining proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control, Radial Basis Function neural network (RBFNN)-based integral sliding mode control (ISMC), and feedforward control, i.e., the PIDFF-ISMC method, is proposed. The PIDFF-ISMC method aims to deal with the dynamic uncertainties, disturbances, and slow response in lower limb exoskeleton robot systems. Firstly, the Lagrange function is utilized to establish dynamic models that include frictional force and unmodeled dynamics. Secondly, the feedback controller is composed of PID and RBFNN-based ISMC to improve tracking performance and decrease the chattering phenomenon. The feedforward controller is adopted to reduce the response time by employing inverse dynamic models. Finally, the Lyapunov function proves the stability of the proposed control method. The experimental results show that the proposed control method can effectively reduce the trajectory tracking error and response time at two different speeds while alleviating control input chattering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the potential of robotic harvesting in greenhouse tomato production has garnered significant attention within the tomato industry. However, there is a lack of sufficient research on the complete replacement of manual harvesting with this technology. In this paper, we propose a tomato harvesting method that utilizes a nesting approach to simplify the process and minimize damage. The paper describes the tomato harvesting robot prototype, the visual system equipped with three vision‐based tomato detectors: YOLOv5_CBAM, which incorporates a convolutional block attention module; YOLOv5_SE, enhanced with a squeeze‐and‐excitation block; and a standard YOLOv5s model. Additionally, a novel shear gripping method for fruit bunches is presented, utilizing a bottom‐up snapping technique during harvesting. Point cloud data are utilized to determine the position of the tomato's main stem and bunch. The paper includes field tests and experimental findings, which indicate that the YOLOv5_CBAM model achieves the highest precision (82.62%) and recall (82.57%), outperforming YOLOv5_SE and standard YOLOv5s. Field experiments demonstrate that the improved end‐effector and vision system have significantly enhanced the robot's performance, achieving a 57.5% harvesting success rate in just 14.9 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) from water is a promising solution for environmental pollution due to its high energy density and the abundant availability of water and solar energy on Earth. 1,1-dicyanomethylene-3-indanone (IC) has been widely used as an end group in organic photovoltaics owing to its strong electron-withdrawing ability and planarity. However, research on the application of IC structures in PHP is limited due to synthesis challenges. In this study, we designed a series of novel IC-based monomers incorporating a dibenzothiophene-S,S-dioxide unit through Suzuki coupling. These monomers were used to synthesize polymers with varying degrees of malononitrile substitution, referred to as ICFTDB, ICTDB, and IDMTDB. We investigated the correlation between the optical, electrochemical, and hydrogen evolution performances of these polymers. Through transient absorption spectroscopy, we demonstrated that ICTDB exhibited enhanced capabilities for ultrafast electron transfer and reduced recombination effects. As a result, ICTDB, photocatalysts with IC-containing structures achieved a hydrogen evolution rate of 30.0 mmol g−1 h−1, which was 11.5 times higher than that of ICFTDB, the polymer with no malononitrile substitution. This study provides valuable insights into the potential of IC-based conjugated polymers for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses play an important role in healthcare development. The increasing demands for nurses mean that nursing schools at the undergraduate level have the responsibility to ensure patient safety and quality care through a well-designed curriculum. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of the teaching method combined with situational awareness and case-based seminars in a comprehensive nursing skills practice course on the level of self-directed learning, professional identity, academic self-efficacy, theoretical scores, practical scores, teaching satisfaction, and student competence among nursing students. Methods: The research population comprised was of the grades of 2019 and 2020 at Wannan Medical College in Anhui Province, China (n = 169, response rate 77.88%). The observation group from grade 2020 used the teaching method combined with situational awareness and case-based seminars, whereas the control group from grade 2019 used the traditional teaching mode. General information, self-directed learning, a professional identity, and academic self-efficacy were compared between the two groups. This research used means and standard deviations, chi-square, the Shapiro–Wilk test, and an independent sample t-test for statistical analyses. Results: Compared with the control group, the total scores for self-directed learning, professional identity, and academic self-efficacy were higher in the observation group (78.80 ± 7.89 vs 60.21 ± 7.44, 63.39 ± 7.87 vs 52.35 ± 7.68, and 22.31 ± 3.30 vs 21.28 ± 2.31, respectively, with P < 0.05 for all scores). More significant improvements were made in the observation group on the level of theoretical scores (81.39 ± 3.32 vs 76.28 ± 5.90) and practical scores (93.32 ± 4.70 vs 90.67 ± 5.09) (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, teaching satisfaction, which includes teaching method (66/18 vs 32/53) and teacher-student interaction (72/12 vs 34/51), and student competence, which includes team cooperation (67/17 vs 39/46), critical thinking (60/24 vs 31/54), and communication skills (67/17 vs 38/47) after the intervention (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in social persuasion (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The teaching method combined with situational awareness and case-based seminars in a comprehensive nursing skills practice course has the potential to improve the level of self-directed learning, professional identity, and academic self-efficacy, and it increases theoretical scores, practical scores, teaching satisfaction, and student competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) causes bacterial blight (BB), a globally devastating disease of rice (Oryza sativa) that is responsible for significant crop loss. Sugars and sugar metabolites are important for pathogen infection, providing energy and regulating events associated with defense responses; however, the mechanisms by which they regulate such events in BB are unclear. As an inevitable sugar metabolite, methylglyoxal (MG) is involved in plant growth and responses to various abiotic stresses, but the underlying mechanisms remain enigmatic. Whether and how MG functions in plant biotic stress responses is almost completely unknown. Here, we report that the Xoo strain PXO99 induces OsWRKY62.1 to repress transcription of OsGLY II genes by directly binding to their promoters, resulting in overaccumulation of MG. MG negatively regulates rice resistance against PXO99: osglyII2 mutants with higher MG levels are more susceptible to the pathogen, whereas OsGLYII2- overexpressing plants with lower MG content show greater resistance than the wild type. Overexpression of OsGLYII2 to prevent excessive MG accumulation confers broad-spectrum resistance against the biotrophic bacterial pathogens Xoo and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani , which causes rice sheath blight. Further evidence shows that MG reduces rice resistance against PXO99 through CONSTITUTIVE DISEASE RESISTANCE 1 (OsCDR1). MG modifies the Arg97 residue of OsCDR1 to inhibit its aspartic protease activity, which is essential for OsCDR1-enhanced immunity. Taken together, these findings illustrate how Xoo promotes infection by hijacking a sugar metabolite in the host plant. Sugars and sugar metabolites are important for plant–pathogen interactions. This study demonstrates that Xoo , which causes rice bacterial blight disease, upregulates OsWRKY62.1 expression to promote the accumulation of MG and that MG negatively regulates rice resistance by modifying and inhibiting OsCDR1 protease activity. The study reveals how bacterial pathogens promote their infection by manipulating the accumulation of a sugar metabolite in the host plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pluripotent stem cell‐derived small extracellular vesicles (PSC‐sEVs) have demonstrated great clinical translational potential in multiple aging‐related degenerative diseases. Characterizing the PSC‐sEVs is crucial for their clinical applications. However, the specific marker pattern of PSC‐sEVs remains unknown. Here, the sEVs derived from two typical types of PSCs including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC‐sEVs) and embryonic stem cells (ESC‐sEVs) were analysed using proteomic analysis by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS), and surface marker phenotyping analysis by nanoparticle flow cytometry (NanoFCM). A group of pluripotency‐related proteins were found to be enriched in PSC‐sEVs by LC‐MS/MS and then validated by Western Blot analysis. To investigate whether these proteins were specifically expressed in PSC‐sEVs, sEVs derived from seven types of non‐PSCs (non‐PSC‐sEVs) were adopted for analysis. The results showed that PODXL, OCT4, Dnmt3a, and LIN28A were specifically enriched in PSC‐sEVs but not in non‐PSC‐sEVs. Then, commonly used surface antigens for PSC identification (SSEA4, Tra‐1‐60 and Tra‐1‐81) and PODXL were gauged at single‐particle resolution by NanoFCM for surface marker identification. The results showed that the positive rates of PODXL (>50%) and SSEA4 (>70%) in PSC‐sEVs were much higher than those in non‐PSC‐sEVs (<10%). These results were further verified with samples purified by density gradient ultracentrifugation. Taken together, this study for the first time identified a cohort of specific markers for PSC‐sEVs, among which PODXL, OCT4, Dnmt3a and LIN28A can be detected with Western Blot analysis, and PODXL and SSEA4 can be detected with NanoFCM analysis. The application of these specific markers for PSC‐sEVs identification may advance the clinical translation of PSCs‐sEVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eucommia ulmoides rubber particles (EuRPs) are organelles that synthesise and store E. ulmoides rubber (EuR). In this study, the lipids dynamic change of EuRPs from leaf tissue at different growth period were investigated. The results showed that there were 1149 lipid species belonging to 39 lipid classes that were identified; TGs, DGs and Cers were the most abundant among all lipids of EuRPs. Lipid expression analysis demonstrated that the expression intensity of TGs was almost 1 × 104-fold and 10-fold higher than those of MGs and DGs, respectively. Among sphingolipids, the expression intensity of SoP, CerG2, GM3, SM and GerG3 increased throughout the duration of investigation (August–November 2021). Further analysis found that the Cers species accounted for 9.40% of total lipid species and the number of Cers species in EuRPs isolated from leaves in August was the most, with gradual decline in the following 3 months. Meanwhile, hierarchical clustering indicated that there were seven types of highly abundant lipid species in leaf EuRPs from September to November, i.e. SQDG (18:3/18:3), SQDG (34:3), SQDG (17:5/23:2), DGDG (38:12), Co (Q9), TG (16:0/16:0/18:3) and TG (39:1). Compared with leaf EuRPs in August, there were 79, 101 and 107 lipid species which showed significant differential expression in September, October and November. Based on the high expression intensity of SQDG in EuRPs, the correlation between the genes mediated in EuR or SQDG biosynthesis was further analysed, whereby the results indicated co-expression of some genes, which implies the synergistic regulatory role in SQDG EuR biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Hypertension refers to the persistent elevation of blood pressure above the established normal range, resulting in increased pressure exerted by blood on the walls of blood vessels during its circulation. Recent studies have identified significant associations between obesity and lipid-related indices, as well as hypertension. Nevertheless, these studies have yet to comprehensively examine the correlation between the two variables. Our objective is to identify the fat and lipid-related indices that have the strongest correlation with hypertension. Method: There was a total of 9488 elderly and middle-aged Chinese citizens who participated in this investigation. The participants in this research were separated into distinct gender cohorts. The participants were classified into normal and hypertensive categories according to their gender, with hypertension defined as a blood pressure level of 140/90 mmHg or higher, or a history of hypertension. Through the utilization of binary logistic regression analyses and the receiver operator curve (ROC), the optimal among fourteen indicators associated with obesity and lipids were identified. Results: After adjusting for variables, statistical analysis showed that all 14 measures of obesity and lipid were risk factors for hypertension. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis reveals that the Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) has the highest degree of relationship to hypertension. Simultaneously, a statistically significant association between hypertension and these 14 variables was observed in both males and females. Conclusion: There was a significant independent association between various parameters related to obesity and lipid-related index and the presence of hypertension, indicating that these factors can be considered risk factors for hypertension. CVAI and WHtR (waist height ratio) can be used to screen the high-risk groups of hypertensions in middle-aged and elderly people in China, and then take individualized health care measures to reduce the harm of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aim to optimize the process for developing antireflective and refractive-index-matching films on flexible substrates. The development of these films is crucial in light of the increasing demand in the market for flexible electronics, which are poised to be the next emerging technology and application after semiconductors and flat panel displays. Our research involves the production of these films by physical vapor deposition and sputtering techniques, which can also be applied to various optical thin films. The effectiveness of our coating process has been verified and refined on the basis of feedback. The results of this study are applicable to related industrial technologies and will contribute to improving industry competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important metric with a variety of applications in clinical situations such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and mental health. HRV data can be potentially obtained from electrocardiography and photoplethysmography signals, then computational techniques such as signal filtering and data segmentation are used to process the sampled data for calculating HRV measures. However, uncertainties arising from data acquisition, computational models, and physiological factors can lead to degraded signal quality and affect HRV analysis. Therefore, it is crucial to address these uncertainties and develop advanced models for HRV analysis. Although several reviews of HRV analysis exist, they primarily focus on clinical applications, trends in HRV methods, or specific aspects of uncertainties such as measurement noise. This paper provides a comprehensive review of uncertainties in HRV analysis, quantifies their impacts, and outlines potential solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that presents a holistic review of uncertainties in HRV methods and quantifies their impacts on HRV measures from an engineer's perspective. This review is essential for developing robust and reliable models, and could serve as a valuable future reference in the field, particularly for dealing with uncertainties in HRV analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To translate the Academic Goals Orientation Questionnaire (AGOQ) into Chinese and to determine the validity and reliability of the (AGOQ) in Chinese nursing students based on SEM and IRT multidimensional models. Methods: The participants were 654 nursing students with an age range of 17–26 years (mean age 21.61 ± 1.73 years). The psychometric properties of AGOQ were investigated based on a dual analytical perspective of structural equation modeling (SEM) and item response theory (IRT). Results: The Cronbach's α value of the questionnaire is 0.895. A four-factor model was obtained by exploratory factor analysis, which explained the variance of 71.892%. With confirmatory factor analysis, a new four-factors model was built and showed an acceptable goodness-of-fit, chi-square/degree of freedom (CMIN/DF) = 4.008, goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.932, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) = 0.905, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.952, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.952, Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.941. In the analysis part of IRT, according to the comparison between Akek's information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC), we choose the Graded Response Model (GRM) for analysis. The results show that the difficulty value is monotonically increasing, and the discrimination of all items is greater than 0.19, which shows that 16 items can be retained. Conclusions: This study tested the psychometric characteristics of AGOQ of nursing students in China. The results confirmed that the Chinese version of AGOQ has good psychometric characteristics and can be used to measure the academic goal orientation of nursing students in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel PID-type fuzzy logic controller (FLC) with an online fuzzy tuner was created to maintain stable in situ control of the cutting front temperature, aiming to enhance the laser process for thin non-oriented electrical steel sheets. In the developed controller, the output scaling factors and the universe of discourse were initially optimized using a hybrid of the particle swarm optimization and grey wolf optimization methods. The optimal parameters obtained were utilized in experiments involving the laser cutting of thin non-oriented electrical steel sheets, compared to an open-loop control system maintaining a constant cutting speed. The PID-type FLC with an online fuzzy tuner demonstrated a superior cutting quality, generating a smaller roundness and a reduced heat-affected zone (HAZ) through the in situ tuning of control parameters. Particularly, the HAZ width was significantly smaller than that reported in a previous study which used fuzzy gain scheduling for temperature control. Moreover, the cutting time was diminished by optimally adjusting the cutting speed using PID-type FLC with an online fuzzy tuner. Therefore, the accumulated heat in the steel sheet, particularly under high laser pulse frequencies, was effectively reduced, making it suitable for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The wrist is the second most commonly involved location for GCTB, while distal ulna is a relatively rare location and limited evidence exists on which surgical approaches and reconstruction techniques are optimal. We carried out a multicenter retrospective study to evaluate the recurrence rate of distal ulna GCTB and the long-term functional outcomes of different surgery options. Methods: All 28 patients received surgical treatment for distal ulna GCTB in one of three tertiary bone tumor centers between May 2007 and January 2021 with a minimum two-year follow-up. Surgical options included intralesional curettage or en bloc resection (one of 3 types). Functional outcomes were assessed by the MSTS score, the QuickDASH instrument, MWS, and MHQ according to the latest treatment. Results: Overall recurrence rate was 14.2%. The curettage group (N = 7) had a significantly higher recurrence rate compared to en bloc resection (N = 21) (42.9% vs 4.8%) (mean follow-up: 88.8 mo). Seven patients received the Darrach procedure, 5 received the original Sauvé–Kapandji procedure, and 9 received the modified Sauvé–Kapandji procedure with extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tenodesis. Of the 4 patients having a recurrence, 1 received the Darrach EBR, 2 received the modified Sauvé–Kapandji procedure, and 1 received resection for soft tissue recurrence. Only MWS and esthetics in the MHQ scores were different (curettage, Darrach, Sauvé–Kapandji, and Sauvé–Kapandji with ECU tenodesis [MWS: 96.5 ± 1.3 vs 91.5 ± 4.7 vs 90.8 ± 2.8 vs 91.5 ± 3.6; esthetics in MHQ: 98.5 ± 3.1 vs 89.9 ± 4.7 vs 93.8 ± 4.4 vs 92.6 ± 3.8], respectively). Conclusions: En bloc resection for distal ulna GCTB had a significantly lower recurrence rate compared with curettage and achieved favorable functional outcome scores. Given the higher recurrence rate after curettage, patients should be well informed of the potential benefits and risks of selecting the distal radioulnar joint-preserving procedure. Moreover, reconstructions after tumor resection of the ulna head do not appear to be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core–shell structure AuNP@UIO-66/Au nanoparticles were fabricated, consisting of a 50 nm AuNP core, a UIO-66(Zr) shell, and a 4 nm AuNP layer on the shell. AuNP@UIO-66/Au offers highly sensitive and stable SERS performance for probing 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) because the ∼3 nm ultrathin shell guarantees both the adsorption of UIO-66 and sustains good SERS activity. Benefiting from the abundant carboxyl group of UIO-66, the 4 nm AuNPs were in situ grown on the shell surface. Two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulation was employed to investigate the electromagnetic field distribution of AuNP@UIO-66/Au. In addition, this new SERS substrate offers excellent catalyst activity due to the 4 nm AuNP layer. The AuNP@UIO-66/Au can thus offer in situ label-free monitoring of the chemical reaction process by SERS. As a proof of concept, this application was evaluated by SERS monitoring of the reductive degradation process of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), as well as the oxidative degradation process of crystal violet (CV), without adding extra catalysts. The new nanoparticle structure has great potential to simultaneously catalyze and monitor other surface chemical reactions and is thus favourable to further investigate the reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social stability risk posed by energy infrastructure projects can seriously affect urban sustainable development. There is thus a need to better understand how risk strategies are designed. However, there is few considerations on risk strategy design by breaking causal relationships. This research innovatively explores social stability risk variables by content mining, develops causal relationships of the social stability risk variables via Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method, explores core risk variables and critical causal relationships by social network analysis (SNA) method, designs and validates risk strategies. The findings show that: 1) From the overall risk network perspective, the risk network contain 8 core risk variables. 2) From individual risk network perspective, there are 75 critical causal relationships. The top 3 critical causal relationships contain: projects that destroy the cultural landscape would be regarded as threating national security, which often inspires demonstrations among the local people and the line betweenness is the largest (35.589). Traffic congestion by the project is the main reason to cause local small-scale public petition, and the line betweenness is 35.075. Projects that threaten the ecological environment often bring psychological rejection of the project by the local public, and the line betweenness is 30.837. 3) Two scenarios are evaluated in terms of basic scenario and the experiment group scenario. Compared with the basic scenario, risk strategies considering causal relationships have significant effectiveness. The overall risk network density has reduced by 35.22%. The clustering coefficients has decreased by 16.20%. Intermediate central potential has reduced by 9.49%. This study offers a good reference for project managers to complete the sustainable risk control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To improve the quality of community nursing teaching practice and cultivate undergraduate nursing students who meet the quality accreditation standards of our nursing profession, and to explore the establishment of an undergraduate nurse practice model. Methods : Using the methods of literature review, survey, expert consultation, and discussion, we established the steps and contents of community practice teaching for undergraduate nursing students, and implemented them for the students of Grades 2014, 2015, and 2016, and evaluated the "community-hospital-community" practice model through various forms, such as student self-evaluation, faculty evaluation, exit examination, and evaluation by certified experts. Result : A three-stage community nursing practice model of "community-hospital-community" was established for undergraduate nursing students. After three stages of practice, nursing undergraduates successfully passed the practical assessments and achieved excellent grades in each stage that met the requirements of the training program. In the first stage (community probation), community probation emphasizes a fundamental understanding of the community, using free clinics, health education, and home visits as entry points to effectively cultivate students' job competence and proficiency in nursing operations and nurse-patient communication skills. In the second stage (internship in the hospital), through nursing internships in various systems, students are trained to integrate theoretical knowledge with practical skills and consolidate their understanding of fundamental knowledge, theory, and techniques. They are capable of preventing, diagnosing, intervening, and providing health education for common, frequent, urgent and critical complications in various clinical systems. They can formulate nursing plans and implement whole-person care. In the third stage (returning to the community for internship), students can master basic skills such as nursing operations and patient communication skills, and then they can enter the community internship. Conclusion: The community nursing practice model of "community- hospital- community" for undergraduate nursing students can systematically train undergraduate nursing students' ability to work in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]