Search

Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have emerged as a promising research field and dynamic modulation of PQDs could induce reversible color alterations of PQD-doped glass. In this study, the incorporation of PQDs imparts reversible thermochromic properties to traditional tellurite glass, manifesting a reversible transition from a vibrant yellow hue to a pristine colorless state at a temperature lower than that previously documented for PQD-infused silicate glass. Detailed analyses encompassing variations in transmittance, absorption edge, optical bandgap, and Urbach energy between precursor glass (PG) and PQD composite glass (GC) elucidate the pivotal role of PQDs in this transformation. These findings underscore the rich physicochemical properties and potential applications of PQD-doped glass, highlighting their significance in materials science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endoscopy is important for the diagnosis and treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB), especially acute variceal bleeding (AVB), in liver cirrhosis. However, the optimal timing of endoscopy remains controversial, primarily because the currently available evidence is of poor quality, and the definition of early endoscopy is also very heterogeneous among studies. Herein, a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) is performed to explore the impact of the timing of endoscopy on the outcomes of cirrhotic patients with AVB. Methods: A total of 368 cirrhotic patients presenting with AUGIB who are highly suspected to be from AVB will be enrolled. They will be stratified according to the severity of liver function and clinical presentation at admission and then randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio into early (within 12 h after admission) and delayed (within 12–24 h after admission) endoscopy groups within each stratum. The primary outcomes include the rates of 5-day failure to control bleeding after admission and 6-week rebleeding. The secondary outcomes include 6-week mortality and incidence of adverse events. Conclusion: Considering existing evidence originates from non-randomized studies, this RCT will provide high-quality evidence to uncover whether cirrhotic patients with AVB should undergo early endoscopy to control bleeding and improve survival. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06031402. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) seismic waveform data are conductive to various studies in seismology. Seismic denoising aims to enhance SNR by eliminating additive noise through signal processing while preserving important features of the seismic signal. Conventional parametric seismic denoising methods often require selecting appropriate parameters to achieve optimal results, which may be limiting when dealing with various types and scales of seismic data. Here, we develop an adaptive parameter-free denoising method by combining general cross-validation (GCV) thresholding and pixel connectivity in synchrosqueezed (SS) domain. In this denoising framework, the synchrosqueezed continuous wavelet transform (SS-CWT) is first applied to obtain a high-resolution time–frequency representation. Then, the GCV approach, which allows for choosing the (nearly) optimal threshold without relying on any prior knowledge about the noise level, is employed to attenuate most of the low-energy noise. After that, the relatively isolated high-energy residual noise remaining in the SS-CWT spectrum is removed using pixel connectivity thresholding. Finally, the inverse SS-CWT is applied to the thresholded spectrum to obtain the denoised seismic record. As the thresholds for GCV and pixel connectivity are derived from the spectrum characteristics of the data being analyzed, the proposed denoising approach is highly adaptive and parameter-free. We demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of the proposed denoising framework using synthetic data and real seismic data from diverse monitoring scenarios, including land, ocean, and emerging distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). The results indicate that the method is a stable and efficient tool for seismic data denoising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malassezia, the most abundant fungal commensal on the mammalian skin, has been linked to several inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis. This study reveals that epicutaneous application with Malassezia globosa (M. globosa) triggers skin inflammation in mice. RNA-sequencing of the resulting mouse lesions indicates activation of Interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling and T helper 17 (Th17) cells differentiation pathways by M. globosa. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate a significant upregulation of IL-23, IL-23R, IL-17A, and IL-22 expressions, along with an increase in the proportion of Th17 and pathogenic Th17 cells in mouse skin exposed to M. globosa. In vitro experiments illustrate that M. globosa prompts human primary keratinocytes to secrete IL-23 via TLR2/MyD88/NF-κB signaling. This IL-23 secretion by keratinocytes is shown to be adequate for inducing the differentiation of pathogenic Th17 cells in the skin. Overall, these results underscore the significant role of Malassezia in exacerbating skin inflammation by stimulating IL-23 secretion by keratinocytes and promoting the differentiation of pathogenic Th17 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benvitimod has been successfully used in the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the mechanism remains to be clarified. We aim to assess the effects of benvitimod on MC903-induced dermatitis in mice and to investigate the effects of benvitimod on filaggrin (FLG), involucrin (IVL), and loricrin (LOR) expressions and possible mechanism. MC903-induced mouse AD model was used to evaluate the effects of benvitimod. Filaggrin, involucrin, and loricrin protein and mRNA expressions in lesions of mice dermatitis were measured by Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. In vitro, normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) were cultured and benvitimod was used to treat NHEKs primed with IL-4 and IL-13. Then AHR and OVOL1 in NHEKs were knocked down to evaluate the role of AHR and OVOL1 in the effects of benvitimod. Topical treatment of benvitimod repaired skin barrier and alleviated skin inflammation in mouse AD model. This effect was inhibited by pretreatment with an AHR antagonist. Benvitimod upregulated the filaggrin, involucrin, and loricrin expressions in lesions of mouse AD model. In addition, benvitimod upregulated the filaggrin, involucrin, and loricrin expressions in NHEKs. Knockdown of AHR or OVO-like (OVOL)1 abrogated the upregulation of filaggrin, involucrin, and loricrin induced by benvitimod. Benvitimod attenuated MC903-induced mouse dermatitis and upregulated filaggrin, involucrin, and loricrin expressions via AHR-OVOL1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) virulence factors, particularly the cagA and vacA genotypes, play important roles in the pathogenic process of gastrointestinal disease. Methods: The cagA and vacA genotypes of 87 H. pylori strains were determined by PCR and sequencing. The EPIYA and CM motif patterns were analyzed and related to clinical outcomes. We examined the associations between the virulence genes of H. pylori and gastrointestinal diseases in Shandong, and the results were analyzed via the chi-square test and logistic regression model. Results: Overall, 76 (87.36%) of the strains carried the East Asian-type CagA, with the ABD types being the most prevalent (90.79%). However, no significant differences were observed among the different clinical outcomes. The analysis of CagA sequence types revealed 8 distinct types, encompassing 250 EPIYA motifs, including 4 types of EPIYA or EPIYA-like sequences. Additionally, 28 CM motifs were identified, with the most prevalent patterns being E (66.67%), D (16.09%), and W-W (5.75%). Notably, a significant association was discovered between strains with GC and the CM motif pattern D (P < 0.01). With respect to the vacA genotypes, the strains were identified as s1, s2, m1, m2, i1, i2, d1, d2, c1, and c2 in 87 (100%), 0 (0), 26 (29.89%), 61 (70.11%), 73 (83.91%), 14 (16.09%), 76 (87.36%), 11 (12.64%), 18 (20.69%), and 69 (79.31%), respectively. Specifically, the vacA m1 and c1 genotypes presented a significantly greater prevalence in strains from GC compared to CG (P < 0.05). Following adjustment for age and sex, the vacA c1 genotype demonstrated a notable association with GC (OR = 5.174; 95% CI, 1.402–20.810; P = 0.012). This association was both independent of and more pronounced than the correlations between vacA m1 and GC. Conclusions: CagA proteins possessing CM motif pattern D were more frequently observed in patients with GC (P < 0.01), implying a potentially higher virulence of CM motif pattern D than the other CM motif patterns. Moreover, a strong positive association was identified between the vacA c1 genotype and GC, indicating that the vacA c1 genotype is a robust risk indicator for GC among male patients aged ≥55 years in Shandong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Metronidazole is a first‐line antibiotic to treat Helicobacter pylori infections. However, the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines recommend against using antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) to test metronidazole resistance, due to the unreliable predictive power which can result in treatment failure. Objectives: The aim of this study was to establish an 8‐h, metabolic‐phenotype based AST for H. pylori metronidazole susceptibility using D2O‐probed Raman microspectroscopy. Methods: Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) measured by conventional AST (E‐test) were compared with expedited MIC via metabolic activity (eMIC‐MA) for 10 H. pylori isolates. Raman barcodes of cellular‐response to stress (RBCS) incorporating protein and carbohydrate Raman bands, were utilized to identify a biomarker to distinguish metronidazole susceptibility. Results: Specifically, eMIC‐MA produces metronidazole susceptibility results showing 100% agreement with E‐test, and determines the bactericidal dosage for both high‐ and low‐level resistant H. pylori strains. In addition, RBCS not just reliably distinguish between metronidazole‐susceptible and ‐resistant strains, but reveal their distinct mechanisms in bacterial responses to metronidazole. Conclusion: The speed, accuracy, low cost, and rich information content that reveals the mode‐of‐action of drugs suggest the method's value in guiding metronidazole prescriptions for H. pylori eradication and in rapid screening based on drug‐resistance mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the Cauchy problem of one-dimensional compressible Euler–Fourier–Korteweg system. The global unique strong solutions are established in the critical Besov spaces with small initial data close to a constant equilibrium state. This extends the recent work of Kawashima et al. (Commun Partial Differ Equ 47:378–400, 2022) on the dissipative structure of linear Euler–Fourier–Korteweg system to the non-linear system in critical space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tjalma's syndrome is a benign combination of ascites, pleural effusion, and elevated CA-125 occurring in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Reports of Tjalma's syndrome are scarce. An elevated CA-125 level often suggests the possibility of the presence of a malignant tumor. We report a case of generalised erythema and blisters with pruritus, massive unilateral pleural effusion and elevated CA-125. This patient was finally diagnosed with bullous systemic lupus erythematosus after exclusion of tumour and other maculopapular disorders. We hope that this particular case may provide a more comprehensive and novel diagnostic idea of systemic lupus erythematosus and pleural effusion, avoiding unnecessary anxiety, laboratory tests and surgical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binding mechanism of molecular interaction between bicalutamide and human serum albumin (HSA) in a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer was studied using various spectroscopic techniques in combination with molecular modeling. Fluorescence data revealed that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by bicalutamide was a static quenching procedure. The binding constants and number of binding sites were evaluated at different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters, ΔH and ΔS, were calculated to be 4.30 × 104 J·mol−1 and 245 J·mol−1·K−1, respectively, suggesting that the binding of bicalutamide to HSA was driven mainly by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. The displacement studies indicated neither Sudlow's site I nor II but subdomain IB as the main binding site for bicalutamide on HSA. The binding distance between bicalutamide and HSA was determined to be 3.54 nm based on the Förster theory. Analysis of circular dichroism, synchronous, and 3D fluorescence spectra demonstrated that HSA conformation was slightly altered in the presence of bicalutamide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to investigate the status of genes with prognostic DNA methylation sites in bladder cancer (BLCA). We obtained bulk transcriptome sequencing data, methylation data, and single-cell sequencing data of BLCA from public databases. Initially, Cox survival analysis was conducted for each methylation site, and genes with more than 10 methylation sites demonstrating prognostic significance were identified to form the BLCA prognostic methylation gene set. Subsequently, the intersection of marker genes associated with epithelial cells in single-cell sequencing analysis was obtained to acquire epithelial cell prognostic methylation genes. Utilizing ten machine learning algorithms for multiple combinations, we selected key genes (METRNL, SYT8, COL18A1, TAP1, MEST, AHNAK, RPP21, AKAP13, RNH1) based on the C-index from multiple validation sets. Single-factor and multi-factor Cox analyses were conducted incorporating clinical characteristics and model genes to identify independent prognostic factors (AHNAK, RNH1, TAP1, Age, and Stage) for constructing a Nomogram model, which was validated for its good diagnostic efficacy, prognostic prediction ability, and clinical decision-making benefits. Expression patterns of model genes varied among different clinical features. Seven immune cell infiltration prediction algorithms were used to assess the correlation between immune cell scores and Nomogram scores. Finally, drug sensitivity analysis of Nomogram model genes was conducted based on the CMap database, followed by molecular docking experiments. Our research offers a reference and theoretical basis for prognostic evaluation, drug selection, and understanding the impact of DNA methylation changes on the prognosis of BLCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stapokibart, a novel humanized anti-interleukin (IL)-4 receptor alpha monoclonal antibody, inhibits the signaling of IL-4 and IL-13, which are key drivers of type 2 inflammation in atopic dermatitis (AD). This study aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of stapokibart in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled single ascending dose (SAD) study and a multiple ascending dose (MAD) study. Methods: The SAD study enrolled 33 healthy male adults aged 18–65 years at a single center. The MAD study enrolled 39 patients with moderate-to-severe AD aged 18–70 years at seven centers. Enrolled subjects were randomized to subcutaneous (SC) doses of stapokibart (75–600 mg) or placebo. Serum thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) were measured as PD biomarkers for stapokibart. Results: Similar PK characteristics were observed in healthy volunteers and subjects with AD after the initial administration. Stapokibart exhibited non-linear pharmacokinetics in both types of subjects. Following single doses, the mean maximum serum concentration (Cmax) ranged from 5.3 to 63.0 μg/mL, median Tmax ranged from 3.0 to 7.0 days, mean terminal half-life (t1/2z) ranged from 2.39 to 7.43 days, and mean apparent volume (Vz/F) ranged from 3.64 to 6.73 L in healthy subjects. The mean AUC accumulation ratio was 2.29 in subjects with AD after three doses of stapokibart 300 mg administered every 2 weeks. The median serum total IgE and TARC levels on day 43 decreased from baseline by 14.9–25.2% and 48.6–77.0%, respectively, among subjects with AD receiving three doses of stapokibart. No subjects developed grade ≥ 3 adverse events (AEs) or serious AEs or discontinued the study because of AEs. The incidence of AEs was similar between stapokibart and placebo groups. Conclusion: Stapokibart showed favorable pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability in the SAD and MAD studies. Based on these results, phase II and phase III trials of stapokibart have been performed in subjects with moderate-to-severe AD. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT06161090 (29 November, 2023), NCT04893941 (15 May, 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressed 1,3,5‐triamino‐2,4,6‐trinitrobenzene (TATB)‐based polymer‐bonded explosive (PBX) exhibits significant anisotropic and irreversible expansion characteristics during temperature cycling, resulting in both safety and service issues. The anisotropic and irreversible expansion properties of PBX have shown to be closely related to the microstructures, including explosive crystals, binders, micro voids, el. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) technology has advantages of high reliability, accuracy, and sensitivity, which is more conducive to real‐time capture of the changes in strain throughout the temperature cycling. In this study, temperature cycling strain monitoring experiments of PBX pressed under different thermal–mechanical coupling loading conditions were studied using FBG technology. The effect of the pressing parameters on the anisotropic and irreversible expansion characteristics of the PBX's during temperature cycling was measured and analyzed, taking into account potential microstructural factors such as crystal orientation, binders, and porosity. The results indicated that the strain on the side and top of PBX cylinders were distributed with increasing strain in the direction of higher density. The strain stratification was significant during the high‐temperature stage of temperature cycling and was not obvious during the low‐temperature stage. The degree of strain stratification decreased with an increase in temperature cycling cycles and increased with higher pressing temperatures. The anisotropic expansion of PBX cylinders increased with an increase in temperature during cycling and decreased with a reduction in temperature. The axial expansion degree of PBX cylinders pressed under different compression conditions in the later cycles of temperature cycling is consistent with the different crystal orientations intensity inside them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate diagnostic techniques and effective therapeutic methods are required to treat H. pylori. The application of chicken single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies may diagnose and treat H. pylori. This study used the phage display technique to construct a chicken-derived immune scFv antibody library against H. pylori. Total RNA was extracted from the spleens of five immunized chickens and reverse transcribed into cDNA. A fragment of scFv was produced by overlap extension PCR and cloned into a pHEN2 phagemid vector. After the package with the M13KO7 helper phage, the recombinant HpaA protein was used as a target antigen to validate the screening ability of our antibody library by bio-panning. The dilution counting results showed that the size of the primary antibody library was estimated to be 1 × 109 cfu/mL. PCR analysis of 47 clones from the library revealed that about 100% of the clones were positive with scFv fragments, and there were no identical sequences, indicating the good diversity of the antibody library. After three rounds of bio-panning, high-affinity antibodies against recombinant HpaA protein were successfully obtained. The selected antibody specifically recognized HpaA protein in nine different H. pylori strains, confirming the screening ability of our library. The chicken immune scFv antibody library against H. pylori was successfully constructed, and the antibody library's screening ability was validated by selecting specific scFv antibodies against recombinant HpaA and clinical strains. It provided a simple and rapid method to obtain antibodies against H. pylori for diagnosis or treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adoption of digitization has emerged as a new trend in the advancement of healthcare systems. To ensure high-quality care, nurses should possess sufficient skills to assist in the digital transformation of healthcare practices. Suitable tools have seldom been developed to assess nurses' skills in digital applications. This study aimed to develop the Nursing Digital Application Skill Scale (NDASS) and test its psychometric properties. Methods: The Nursing Digital Application Skill Scale was developed in three phases. In Phase 1, an item pool was developed based on previous literature and the actual situation of nursing work. Phase 2 included 14 experts' assessment of content validity and a focus group interview with 30 nurses to pretest the scale. In phase 3, 429 registered nurses were selected from March to June 2023, and item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to refine the number of items and explore the factor structure of the scale. Additionally, reliability was determined by internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results: The final version of the NDASS consisted of 12 items. The content validity index of NDASS reached 0.975 at an acceptable level. The convergent validity test showed that the average variance extracted value was 0.694 (> 0.5) and the composite reliability value was 0.964 (> 0.7), both of which met the requirements. The principal component analysis resulted in a single-factor structure explaining 74.794% of the total variance. All the fitting indices satisfied the standard based upon confirmatory factor analyses, indicating that the single-factor structure contributed to an ideal model fit. The internal consistency appeared high for the NDASS, reaching a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.968. The test-retest reliability was 0.740, and the split-half coefficient was 0.935. Conclusion: The final version of the NDASS, which possesses adequate psychometric properties, is a reliable and effective instrument for nurses to self-assess digital skills in nursing work and for nursing managers in designing nursing digital skill training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lanthanide ions (Ln3+) doped near‐infrared (NIR) phosphors play a critical role in applications requiring a compact, reliable, and economical NIR light source, but as yet they suffer from weak and narrow‐band absorption because of intrinsic photophysical limitations of Ln3+. Here, CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) and Nd3+ co‐doped tellurite glassy phosphor is designed to significantly upgrade the NIR photoluminescence (PL) efficiency of Ln3+. Benefiting from the sensitization effect of the PQDs on Nd3+, the PL excitation band of Nd3+ is greatly extended, permitting far more excitation channels that are impossible for conventional Nd3+‐doped glass phosphors. Such glassy phosphors also show a good stability, and when coupled with a commercial UV (or blue) chip, a compact and low‐cost NIR phosphor‐converted LED (pc‐LED) is constructed with a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 2.25% and an output power of 2.55 mW. A proof‐of‐concept demonstration for night vision application is given using the NIR pc‐LED. The excellent overlap with the solar spectrum in the visible portion inspires us to explore the possibility of sunlight excitation, and a net gain of ≈5 dB cm−1 is obtained near the 1064 nm. The implications of the present study are enormous considering diverse combinations of PQDs and Ln3+ in GCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength and effectiveness of a chaotic image cryptosystem are closely related to the complexity of the used chaotic maps. This paper first introduces an enhanced chaotic model called Arc Cotangent and Cotangent Chaotic Model (ACCCM) to generate improved chaotic properties. Dynamical analysis indicates that the enhanced systems exhibit an extensive chaotic range, unpredictable orbit and uniform outputs. In order to improve the strengths and efficiency of encryption, this paper presents a novel image encryption scheme. The scheme consists of a new sequence generator, Rubik's permutation, and row-wise diffusion. Firstly, the sequence generator is utilized to generate a short keystream for encryption process, where the total keystream only requires 12/m of image size. This module can effectively reduce computational costs and counteract dynamical degradation. Secondly, the permutation phase can randomly break the high spatial correlation by rotating different sections of Rubik's cube. To further accelerate execution speed while ensuring sufficient security, a row-wise diffusion with random selection is performed to modify pixel values efficiently. Security analysis shows that the scheme has the advantages of high security level and fast running speed. Considering images with a size of 256 × 256, our scheme processes images in real-time at 83 frames per second. This indicates that it is well suited for real-time image encryption tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic immuno-inflammatory skin disease. Crisaborole ointment, 2%, is a nonsteroidal phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor approved for the treatment of mild to moderate AD. This post hoc analysis assesses the efficacy and safety of crisaborole in Chinese patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild to moderate AD. Methods: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of crisaborole in Chinese patients from the vehicle-controlled, phase 3 CrisADe CLEAR study. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive crisaborole or vehicle twice daily, respectively, for 28 days. The primary endpoint was percent change from baseline in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) total score at day 29. Key secondary endpoints were improvement in Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA), ISGA success, and change from baseline in weekly average Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS) score. Adverse events were documented. Results: Of 391 patients in the overall study, 237 were from China, 157 assigned to crisaborole and 80 assigned to vehicle. A greater reduction in percent change from baseline in EASI total score at day 29 was shown in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group (least squares mean [LSM]: −66.34 [95% (confidence interval) CI −71.55 to −61.12] vs. −50.18 [95% CI −58.02 to −42.34]). Response rates for achievement of ISGA improvement (43.2% [95% CI 35.4–51.1] vs. 33.4% [95% CI 22.5–44.2]) and ISGA success (31.7% [95% CI 24.3–39.0] vs. 21.5% [95% CI 12.1–30.9]) at day 29 were higher in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group. A greater reduction in change from baseline in weekly average PP-NRS score at week 4 was observed in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group (LSM: −1.98 [95% CI −2.34 to −1.62] vs. −1.08 [95% CI −1.63 to −0.53]). No new safety signals were observed. Conclusion: Crisaborole was effective and well tolerated in Chinese patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild to moderate AD. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04360187. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional recovery enhancement techniques are aimed at reducing the abandonment pressure, but there is an upper limit for recovery enhancement due to the energy limitation of reservoirs. Gas injection for energy supplementation has become an effective way to enhance gas recovery by reducing hydrocarbon saturation in gas reservoirs. This review systematically investigates progress in gas injection for enhanced gas recovery in three aspects: experiments, numerical simulations and field examples. It summarizes and analyzes the current research results on gas injection for EGR and explores further prospects for future research. The research results show the following: (1) Based on the differences in the physical properties of CO2, N2 and natural gas, effective cushion gas can be formed in bottom reservoirs after gas injection to achieve the effects of pressurization, energy replenishment and gravity differentiation water resistance. However, further experimental evaluation is needed for the degree of increase in penetration ability. (2) It is more beneficial to inject N2 before CO2 or the mixture of N2 and CO2 in terms of EGR effect and cost. (3) According to numerical simulation studies, water drive and condensate gas reservoirs exhibit significant recovery effects, while CO2-EGR in depleted gas reservoirs is more advantageous for burial and storage; current numerical simulations only focus on mobility mass and saturation changes and lack a mixed-phase percolation model, which leads to insufficient analysis of injection strategies and a lack of distinction among different gas extraction effects. Therefore, a mixed-phase-driven percolation model that can characterize the fluid flow path is worth studying in depth. (4) The De Wijk and Budafa Szinfelleti projects have shown that gas injection into water drive and depleted reservoirs has a large advantage for EGR, as it can enhance recovery by more than 10%. More experiments, simulation studies and demonstration projects are needed to promote the development of gas injection technology for enhanced recovery in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study used a composite outcome to investigate whether applying the ERAS protocol would enhance the recovery of patients undergoing laparoscopic total gastrectomy (LTG). Exposures: Laparoscopic total gastrectomy and perioperative interventions were the exposure. An ERAS clinical pathway consisting of 14 items was implemented and assessed. Patients were divided into either ERAS-compliant or non-ERAS-compliant group according the adherence above 9/14 or not. Main outcomes and measures: The primary study outcome was a composite outcome called 'optimal postoperative recovery' with the definition as below: discharge within 6 days with no sever complications and no unplanned re-operation or readmission within 30 days postoperatively. Univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to model optimal postoperative recovery and compliance, adjusting for patient-related and disease-related characteristics. Results: A total of 252 patients were included in this retrospective study, 129 in the ERAS compliant group and 123 in the non-ERAS-compliant group. Of these, 79.07% of the patients in ERAS compliant group achieved optimal postoperative recovery, whereas 61.79% of patients in non-ERAS-compliant group did (P = 0.0026). The incidence of sever complications was lower in the ERAS-compliant group (1.55% vs. 6.5%, P = 0.0441). No patients in ERAS compliant group had unplanned re-operation, whereas 5.69% (7/123) of patients in non-ERAS-compliant group had (p = 0.006). The median length of the postoperative hospital stay was shorter in the in the ERAS compliant group (5.51 vs. 5.68 days, P = 0.01). Both logistic (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.21–3.34) and stepwise regression (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.25–3.41) analysis showed that high overall compliance with the ERAS protocol facilitated optimal recovery in such patients. In bivariate analysis of compliance for patients who had an optimal postoperative recovery, carbohydrate drinks (p = 0.0196), early oral feeding (P = 0.0043), early mobilization (P = 0.0340), and restrictive intravenous fluid administration (P < 0.0001) were significantly associated with optimal postoperative recovery. Conclusions and relevance: Patients with higher ERAS compliance (almost 70% of the accomplishment) suffered less severe postoperative complications and were more likely to achieve optimal postoperative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important indicator for measuring the effectiveness and level of oil and gas field development, recovery rate has always been a focus in the research of oil and gas fields. Reservoirs of tight sandstone gas formations have significant characteristics of low porosity, high permeability, and high water content, which leads to greater difficulty in their development and makes it challenging to evaluate the recovery rate. Newtonian mechanics, as an important component of the mechanical system, is an innovative application of classical mechanics in the field of seepage mechanics when applied to the two-phase flow of gas and water. Firstly, starting from the perspective of mechanics analysis, we derive a steady-state model for gas–water two-phase infiltration and obtain the productivity equation based on this model. Then, according to the steady-state model, we establish a method to calculate the effective control radius of gas reservoirs under different production conditions and reservoir physical properties. Finally, using Matlab 2018a programming based on the productivity equation, we calculate the gas recovery under different conditions during constant pressure drop production and constant production rate production. The results indicate that the effective control radius of the reservoir decreases with an increase in the economic ultimate daily gas production, increases with an increase in production pressure difference, slightly decreases with an increase in startup pressure gradient, and correspondingly increases with an increase in microtube radius and quantity. Regardless of whether it is production with a fixed pressure drop or production with a fixed production rate, the gas recovery decreases as the production pressure drop and bottomhole abandonment pressure increase, but it increases as the proportion of the single-well control radius increases. In production with a fixed pressure drop, the gas recovery remains consistent across different reservoir quality indices. However, in production with a fixed production rate, the gas recovery initially increases rapidly and then gradually slows down as the reservoir quality index increases, and there is an obvious critical permeability (0.1 mD). The research findings are based on the mechanical analysis of porous media, delving into the laws governing fluid flow during infiltration. The derived infiltration model can be used to calculate the effective control radius and evaluate recovery rates, providing practical guidance for reservoir development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bladder mucosa damage that causes harm to the interstitium is a recognized pathogenesis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). The intravesical instillation of drugs is an important second‐line therapy, but it is often necessary to use drugs repeatedly in the clinic because of their short residence time in the bladder cavity, which alters the therapeutic effect. To overcome this drawback, this study developed a novel composite acellular matrix/hyaluronic acid (HA) thermosensitive hydrogel (HA‐Gel) using rabbit small intestinal submucosa extracellular matrix (ECM) as the thermosensitive material and HA as the drug component and examined its composition, microstructure, thermodynamic properties, temperature sensitivity, rheological properties, biocompatibility, drug release, hydrogel residue, and bacteriostatic properties. The study showed HA‐Gel was liquid at temperatures of 15–37.5°C and solid at 37.5–50°C, its swelling rate decreased with increasing temperature, and its lower critical solution temperature occurred at approximately 37.5°C. This property made the hydrogel liquid at room temperature convenient for intravesical perfusion and turned into a solid about 1 min after entering the body and rising to body temperature to increase its residence time. Subsequent experiments also proved that the gel residue time of HA‐Gel in vivo and the drug release time of HA in vivo could reach more than 5 days, which was significantly higher than that of HA alone, and it had good biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. Therefore, this hydrogel possesses the proper characteristics to possibly make it an ideal dosage form for IC/BPS intravesical instillation therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glassy phosphors offer a promising opportunity to overcome the limits of polycrystalline counterparts, thanks to their merits including excellent optical transparency, abandonment of organic binders, and capability of drawing fibers, etc. However, research and development of glassy UV‐C phosphors and fast scintillators have seriously lagged behind crystals. Here, a new type of efficient UV‐C phosphors and fast scintillators (double gain) is developed from Pr3+‐doped transparent nano‐glass composites (nano‐GCs) containing KY3F10 nanocrystals. Such a material combines favorably the advantages of both crystal and glass, exhibiting intense interconfigurational 5d‐4f emissions of Pr3+ upon deep‐UV, high energy electron‐beam and X‐ray excitations. The emission profile ideally overlaps with the germicidal effectiveness curve. The Pr3+‐doped nano‐GCs are endowed with a radiative decay time shorter than that of extensively studied Ce3+‐doped glasses and nano‐GCs. They exhibit intense X‐ray excited radioluminescence that is comparable to the standard Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) crystal and significantly stronger than Pr3+‐doped ZBLAN fluoride glass known for the high luminescence efficiency. An X‐ray imaging system with a good spatial resolution using the Pr3+‐doped nano‐GCs is also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For expanding the amplitude-frequency response range of the differential cross-phase multiply (DCM) algorithm in the φ-OTDR system, a temporal spline interpolation (TSI) method is proposed to pre-process Rayleigh backscattering (RBS) signals. Through the TSI method, the discrete temporal signals characterizing RBS traces are subjected to interpolation, facilitating a reduction in differential approximation errors. This, in turn, establishes a heightened level of precision in phase demodulation, especially relevant across extensive sensing distances. By comparing the recovered time-domain waveforms and the corresponding power spectral densities without and with the TSI, the above improvement effect has been experimentally validated by utilizing the TSI. The results show that, with the TSI, the amplitude-frequency response range of the DCM algorithm is enlarged by 2.78 times, and the new relationship among fpulse, f, and D under the root mean square error (RMSE) tolerance less than 0.1 can be expressed as 1.9(D+1)f ≤ fpulse. This contribution underscores a substantial advancement in the capabilities of the DCM algorithm, holding promise for refined performance in optical fiber sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in glass matrixes exhibit special optical, electrical, or magnetic properties. Despite various approaches of encapsulating NPs in different kinds of glasses to prepare functional composite materials, there still exist challenges in fabricating efficiency and performance for silica glass made by traditional methods, such as sol–gel or melt quenching. Herein, the authors report a facile way to fabricate metal oxide NP‐doped silica glass by digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology for the first time. Different from common ion doping in silica glass, metal acetylacetonates that can be thermally decomposed to corresponding metal oxides innocuously, are chosen as a general precursor. Then, the representative nickel(II) acetylacetonate is introduced during the 3D printing process. The subsequent heat treatment generates a homogeneous distribution of NiO NPs in silica glass and it also exhibits optical nonlinear effect. The results provide a facile method for developing functional metal oxide‐doped glasses as well as the freeform fabrication of optoelectronic devices based on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanoplatform for drugs demonstrates favorable stability and high therapeutical advantages in the bloodstream. Here, by using hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4 and serum albumin, which were widely used as volume expanders in intravenous therapy, we synthesized a new HES 130/0.4-loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles and investigated the binding mechanism in the simulated physiological environment with considerations of compatibility. Analysis of the fluorescence quenching data of BSA by HES using the Stern–Volmer equation proved the formation of a 1:1 ground state complex. The binding parameters (ΔS° = 329 J mol−1 K−1, ΔH° = 6.38 × 105 J mol−1, and ΔG = − 3.04 × 105 J mol−1) at body temperature manifested that the interaction was exothermic and driven by hydrophobic interactions. The binding distance was calculated as 2.73 nm and showed a high possibility of Förster resonance energy transfer. The structural alterations of BSA were assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively through the application of 3D/synchronous fluorescence and circular dichroism techniques, respectively, which showed adaptive changes in secondary structures. The results presented in this study offer not only novel ideas of albumin-based NP synthesis, but precise and comprehensive primary data that elucidate the mechanisms of HES-BSA interaction, helping to comprehend its pharmacodynamics in blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are no standards for evaluating skin photoaging. Dermoscopy is a non‐invasive detection method that might be useful for evaluating photoaging. Objective: To assess the correlation between the dermoscopic evaluation of photoaging and clinical and pathological evaluations. Methods: The age, clinical evaluation (Fitzpatrick classification, Glogau Photoaging Classification, and Chung's standardized image ruler), histopathology (Masson staining and MMP‐1 immunohistochemistry), and dermoscopy (Hu's and Isik's) of 40 donor skin samples were analyzed statistically, and Spearman rank correlation analysis was performed. Results: There was a robust correlation between the total Hu scores and Isik dermoscopy. The correlation of dermoscopy with histopathology was higher than that of clinical evaluation methods. There is a strong correlation between telangiectases and lentigo. Xerosis, superficial wrinkle, diffuse erythema, telangiectases, and reticular pigmentation were significantly correlated with the three clinical evaluation methods. Superficial wrinkles were correlated with Masson, MMP‐1, various clinical indicators, and other dermoscopic items. Conclusion: There is a good correlation between dermoscopy and clinical and histopathological examination. Dermoscopy might help evaluate skin photoaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current increase in resistance to antifungal drugs indicates that there is an urgent need to explore novel antifungal drugs with different mechanisms of action. Phosundoxin is a biphenyl aliphatic amide using a TPP-targeting strategy which targets mitochondria. To provide insights into the antifungal activities of phosundoxin, the antifungal susceptibility testing of phosundoxin was conducted on 158 pathogenic fungi and compared to that of traditional azole drugs. Phosundoxin displayed a broad-spectrum antifungal activity on all the tested yeast-like and filamentous fungi ranging from 2 to 16 mg/L. In particular, azole-resistant clinical isolates of Candida albicans were susceptible to phosundoxin with the same MICs as azole-susceptible C. albicans. Transcriptome analysis on azole-resistant C. albicans identified 554 DEGs after treatment with phosundoxin. By integrating GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, the antifungal activity of phosundoxin was related to impairment of mitochondrial respiratory chain function. Acute oral and percutaneous toxicity of phosundoxin to rats showed that the compound phosundoxin were mild toxicity and LD50 was above 5000 mg/kg body weight in rats. This study demonstrated the potential of phosundoxin as an antifungal agent for the treatment of common fungal infection and contributed to providing insights into the mechanisms of action of phosundoxin against C. albicans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to synthesize hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 200/0.5‐loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (HBNs) and investigate the compatibility and binding mechanism in simulated physiological environments. Here, to elucidate the morphology, biocompatibility, and formation mechanism of HBNs, techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, haemolysis test, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopy were applied. The thermodynamic parameters at body temperature (ΔS° = −26.7 J·mol−1·K−1, ΔH° = −3.20 × 104 J·mol−1, and ΔG = −2.35 × 104 J·mol−1) showed a 1:1 binding stoichiometry, which was formed by hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions. In addition, the conformational analysis showed that the microenvironment of fluorophores was altered with the adaptational protein secondary structural changes. Energy transfer occurred from the fluorophores to HES with a high possibility. All these results provided accurate and complete primary data for demonstrating the interaction mechanisms of HES with BSA, which helps to understand its pharmaceutical effects in blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the global-in-time well-posedness and relaxation limit of the compressible Euler system with damping in L^p-type critical Besov spaces. In comparison with the results obtained by Crin-Barat and Danchin [Pure Appl. Anal. 4 (2022), pp. 85–125; Math. Ann. 386 (2023), pp. 2159–2206], the more general pressure law satisfying P'(\bar {\rho })>0 is allowed. To achieve it, a new composition estimate is established in the L^2-L^p hybrid Besov spaces with explicit dependence on the threshold between high frequencies and low frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guanidine disinfectants are important chemical agents with a broad spectrum of activity that are effective against most microorganisms. Chlorhexidine, one of the most used guanidine disinfectants, is added to shampoo and mouthwash and applied in medical device sterilization. During the use of chlorhexidine, aerosols with micron particle size may be formed, which may cause inhalation toxicity. To assess the toxicity of inhaled chlorhexidine aerosol, mice underwent the intratracheal instillation of different concentrations of chlorhexidine (0, 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1%) using a MicroSprayer Aerosolizer. The mice were exposed for eight weeks and then sacrificed to obtain lung tissue for subsequent experiments. Histopathology staining revealed damaged lung tissues and increased collagen exudation. At the same time, pulmonary function tests showed that chlorhexidine exposure could cause restrictive ventilatory dysfunction, consistent with pulmonary fibrosis. The results of transcriptome analyses suggest that chlorhexidine may trigger an inflammatory response and promote the activation of pathways related to extracellular matrix deposition. Further, we identified that chlorhexidine exposure might enhance mucus secretion by up-regulating Muc5b and Muc5ac genes, thereby inducing fibrosis-like injury. These findings underscore the need for standardized use of disinfectants and the assessment of their inhalation toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melittin, the principal constituent in bee venom, is an attractive candidate for cancer therapy. However, its clinical applications are limited by hemolysis, nonspecific cytotoxicity, and rapid metabolism. Herein, a novel genetically engineered vesicular antibody‐melittin (VAM) drug delivery platform was proposed and validated for targeted cancer combination therapy. VAM generated from the cellular plasma membrane was bio‐synthetically fabricated, with the recombinant protein (hGC33 scFv‐melittin) being harbored and displayed on the cell membrane. The bioactive and targetable nanomelittin conjugated by hGC33 scFv could be released in an MMP14‐responsive manner at tumor sites, which reduced off‐target toxicity, especially the hemolytic activity of melittin. Importantly, VAM could be loaded with small‐molecule drugs or nanoparticles for combination therapy. Nanomelittin formed pores in membranes and disturbed phospholipid bilayers, which allowed the anticancer agents (i.e., chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin and sonosensitizer purpurin 18 nanoparticles) co‐delivered by VAM to penetrate deeper tumor sites, leading to synergistic therapeutic effects. In particular, the punching effect generated by sonodynamic therapy further improved the immunomodulatory effect of nanomelittin to activate the immune response. Taken together, our findings indicate that clinically translatable VAM‐based strategies represent a universal, promising approach to multimodal synergetic cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent clinical trials attempt to determine whether it is appropriate to omit axillary lymph node surgery in patients with cT1–2N0 breast cancer. The study aimed to investigate the true extent of axillary node disease in patients with clinically negative nodes and explore the differences between negative axillary ultrasound (AUS-cN0) and suspicious axillary ultrasound with negative fine-needle aspiration (FNA-cN0). Methods: Pathologically identified T1–2 invasive breast cancer patients with clinically negative nodes were retrospectively analyzed at our center between January 2019 and December 2022. Patients who received any systematic treatment before surgery were excluded from this study. Results: A total of 538 patients were enrolled in this study. 134 (24.9%) patients had pathologically positive nodes, and 404 (75.1%) patients had negative nodes. Univariate analysis revealed that tumor size, T stage, Ki67 level, and vascular invasion (VI) were strongly associated with pathological axillary lymph node positivity. In multivariate analysis, VI was the only independent risk factor for node positivity in patients with cT1–2N0 disease (OR: 3.723, confidence interval [CI]: 2.380–5.824, p < 0.001). Otherwise, pathological node positivity was not significantly different between AUS-cN0 and FNA-cN0 groups (23.4% vs. 28.8%, p = 0.193). However, the rate of high nodal burden (≥3 positive nodes) was significantly higher in FNA-cN0 group. Further investigation revealed that FNA-cN0 and VI were independently associated with a high nodal burden (OR: 2.650, CI: 1.081–6.496, p = 0.033; OR: 3.521, CI: 1.249–9.931, p = 0.017, respectively). Conclusions: cT1–2 breast cancer patients with clinically negative axillary lymph nodes may have pathologically positive lymph nodes and even a high nodal burden. False negatives in AUS and AUS-guided FNA should not be ignored, and sentinel lymph node biopsy remains an ongoing necessity for cT1–2N0 breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis are closely associated, and play vital roles in the medical strategy of multiple cardiovascular diseases. However, their implications in intracranial aneurysms (IAs) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore whether mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis could be identified as valuable starting points for predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine for IAs. The transcriptional profiles of 75 IAs and 37 control samples were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression were used to screen key genes. The ssGSEA algorithm was performed to establish phenotype scores. The correlation between mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis was evaluated using functional enrichment crossover, phenotype score correlation, immune infiltration, and interaction network construction. The IA diagnostic values of key genes were identified using machine learning. Finally, we performed the single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis to explore mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis at the cellular level. In total, 42 IA-mitochondrial DEGs and 15 IA-necroptosis DEGs were identified. Screening revealed seven key genes invovled in mitochondrial dysfunction (KMO, HADH, BAX, AADAT, SDSL, PYCR1, and MAOA) and five genes involved in necroptosis (IL1B, CAMK2G, STAT1, NLRP3, and BAX). Machine learning confirmed the high diagnostic value of these key genes for IA. The IA samples showed higher expression of mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis. Mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis exhibited a close association. Furthermore, scRNA-seq indicated that mitochondrial dysfunction and necroptosis were preferentially up-regulated in monocytes/macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) within IA lesions. In conclusion, mitochondria-induced necroptosis was involved in IA formation, and was mainly up-regulated in monocytes/macrophages and VSMCs within IA lesions. Mitochondria-induced necroptosis may be a novel potential target for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern power systems or new energy power stations, the medium voltage circuit breakers (MVCBs) are becoming more crucial and the operation reliability of the MVCBs could be greatly improved by online monitoring technology. The purpose of this research is to put forward a fault diagnosis approach based on vibration signal envelope analysis, including offline fault feature training and online fault diagnosis. During offline fault feature training, the envelope of the vibration signal is extracted from the historic operation data of the MVCB, and then the typical fault feature vector M is built by using the wavelet packet-energy spectrum. In the online fault diagnosis process, the fault feature vector T is built based on the extracted envelope of the real-time vibration signal, and the MVCB states are assessed by using the distance between the feature vectors T and M. The proposed method only needs to handle the envelope of the vibration signal, which dramatically reduces the signal bandwidth, and then the cost of the processing hardware and software could be cut down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate near-surface velocity models are necessary for land seismic imaging. First-arrival traveltime tomography (FTT) routinely used for estimating near-surface velocity models may fail in geological complex areas. Supervised deep learning (SDL) is capable of building accurate velocity models, based on tens of thousands of velocity model-shot gathers training pairs. It takes lots of time and memory space, which may be unaffordable for practical applications. We propose integrating the FTT and SDL to build near-surface velocity models. During the neural network training, the FTT-inverted models rather than the original seismic data are used as the network inputs and corresponding true models are the outputs. The FTT-inverted and true models are the same physical quantities and with the same dimensions. Their relationship is less non-linear than that between shot gathers and true models. Thus, the neural network of the proposed method can be trained well using only a small number of training samples, dramatically reducing the time and memory costs. Numerical tests demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. We applied the proposed method to a land data set obtained in mountainous areas in the west of China and obtained satisfactory near-surface velocity models and stacking images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gliomas are commonly known as primary brain tumors and associated with frequent recurrence and an unsatisfactory prognosis despite extensive research in the underlying molecular mechanisms. We aimed to examine the role of ANTXR1 in glioma tumorigenesis and explore its downstream regulatory mechanism. ANTXR1 expression in clinical specimens and its relationship with some pathological characteristics were detected using immunohistochemical staining. After silencing/upregulating ANTXR1 through lentiviral transfection in glioma cell lines, qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to examine mRNA and protein levels, and cell phenotype was also detected. ANTXR1-knockdown and -overexpression cells were then processed by AKT activator and PI3K inhibitor, respectively, to verify downstream PI3K/AKT pathway regulated by ANTXR1. Xenograft nude mice models were constructed to verify the role of ANTXR1 in vivo. We found overexpression of ANTXR1 in both cell lines in comparison with those in normal brain tissues. Glioma cell growth and migratory ability were dramatically impaired as a result of silencing ANTXR1 by shANTXR1 lentiviruses. ANTXR1 blockade also accelerated cell apoptosis and held back cell cycle via targeting G2 phrase during cell mitosis. In vivo xenograft models verified in vitro findings above. Further exploration disclosed that AKT activator promoted anti-tumor effects mediated by ANTXR1 knockdown, while PI3K inhibitor limited pro-tumor effects mediated by ANTXR1 overexpression, indicating that ANTXR1 functioned in glioma cells through regulating PI3K/AKT pathway. ANTXR1 could play an indispensable role in glioma tumorigenesis via activating PI3K/AKT-mediated cell growth. Our study provides a theoretical basis for targeting ANTXR1 as a molecular target in glioma clinical therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new type of three-component optic fiber balance based on Fabry–Perot displacement measurement technology based on the structure of the pulse wind tunnel balance. This paper systematically introduces the force measurement principle and design process of a three-component optic fiber balance and conducts relevant simulation analysis and experimental verification. The simulation results show that the Fabry–Perot sensor can achieve significant sensitivity to cavity length changes, and when used in existing balance structures, sensitivity gains can be achieved by changing the probe height without the need to modify the original structure of the balance. Finally, the feasibility of the design method was verified through calibration experiments: the optic fiber balance has high sensitivity and good linearity compared to simulation sensitivity, the error is less than 6%, and the calibration accuracy of each component is better than 0.13%, which is better than the existing traditional strain balance (0.37%). The pulse wind tunnel force measurement test has a short test time and a large model mass, and the balance needs to have a large stiffness to meet the short-term force measurement requirements. The introduction of more sensitive optic fiber balance force measurement technology is expected to solve the contradiction between the stiffness and sensitivity of force measurement systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest fires are one of the most devastating natural disasters, and technologies based on remote sensing satellite data for fire prevention and control have developed rapidly in recent years. Early forest fire smoke in remote sensing images, on the other hand, is thin and tiny in area, making it difficult to detect. Satellites with high spatial resolution sensors can collect high-resolution photographs of smoke, however the impact of the satellite's repeat access time to the same area means that forest fire smoke cannot be detected in time. Because of their low spatial resolution, photos taken by satellites with shorter return durations cannot capture small regions of smoke. This paper presents an early smoke detection method for forest fires that combines a super-resolution reconstruction network and a smoke segmentation network to address these issues. First, a high-resolution remote sensing multispectral picture dataset of forest fire smoke was created, which included diverse years, seasons, areas, and land coverings. The rebuilt high-resolution images were then obtained using a super-resolution reconstruction network. To eliminate data redundancy and enhance recognition accuracy, it was determined experimentally that the M11 band (2225–2275 nm) is more sensitive to perform smoke segmentation in VIIRS images. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated experimentally that improving the accuracy of reconstructed images is more effective than improving perceptual quality for smoke recognition. The final results of the super-resolution image segmentation experiment conducted in this paper show that the smoke segmentation results have a similarity coefficient of 0.742 to the segmentation results obtained using high-resolution satellite images, indicating that our method can effectively segment smoke pixels in low-resolution remote sensing images and provide early warning of forest fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campylobacter is among the four main causes of gastroenteritis worldwide. Most reported Campylobacter infections are caused by C. jejuni and C. coli. However, other emerging Campylobacter pathogens have been recognized as important pathogens in humans and animals. A novel bacterial strain, PS10T, was isolated from the gastric mucous of pigs in 2022 in Beijing, China. The cell was Gram-negative, microaerobic, motile, and negative for catalase, oxidase, and urease. Phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene and core genome indicated that this isolate belongs to the genus Campylobacter. There were low dDDH relatedness and ANI values shared within this strain and its closest species C. mucosalis below the cut-off values generally recognized for isolates of the same species. The draft genome size of PS10T is 2,240,910 bp in length with a percentage of DNA G+C contents of 37.72%. Comparing the phenotypic and phylogenetic features among this isolate and its related organisms, strain PS10T represents a novel species within the genus Campylobacter, for which the name Campylobacter gastrosuis sp. nov. (Type strain PS10T = GDMCC 1.3686T = JCM 35849T) is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The difference in meteorological factors (such as weather phenomena, wind speed, and visibility) of sand–dust weather between China and Mongolia from 2011 to 2021 was analyzed using meteorological observational data and international exchange of meteorological observation data. Additionally, consistency analysis was performed by integrating satellite retrieval products with meteorological observation data. The results showed that the average annual frequency of sand–dust weather in Mongolia was significantly higher than that in China. In China, the sand–dust weather was mainly characterized by floating dust or blowing dust, while in Mongolia, it was primarily characterized by blowing dust or a sand and dust storm. The average annual wind speed and visibility during sand–dust weather in Mongolia were relatively higher than those in China. Based on the dust grade standard of China, when the floating dust occurred in Mongolia, there were cases with wind speed > level 3 and visibility > 10 km; when the blowing dust or sand and dust storm occurred in Mongolia, there were cases with wind speed ≤ level 3 and visibility > 10 km. In China, the sand–dust weather mainly occurred in the spring, while the sand-dust weather occurred frequently throughout the year in Mongolia. The number of days with dust lasting for 2 days or more in Mongolia exceeded that of China, and Mongolia had a significant impact on the sand–dust weather in China. According to the ground observation data and satellite retrieve products during the dust events, all dust events that significantly affected China and Mongolia during the same period from 2021 to 2022 were classified into three categories; among them, the proportion of types of large-scale sand–dust weather phenomena observed by both satellite and ground observation stations was significantly higher (6 times). By integrating ground observation data and satellite retrieval products and following the dust grade standard of China, the consistent correction of sand–dust weather phenomena was carried out. This laid the foundation for the future development of international dust grade standards and provided technological support for improved dust forecasting services in the Asian region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The porous media in tight reservoirs are mainly composed of micro- and nanopores, gas seepage through which is complex, making it difficult to study. Physical simulation using micron tubes is an intuitive and effective method to study the seepage mechanism of tight gas. The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is the most effective method for the tight gas seepage simulation, and it has been widely used. Microscale gas seepage simulation experiments and LBM simulations of micron tubes with different inner diameters were performed. The results showed that in micron tubes, the gas flow increases nonlinearly with an increasing pressure gradient. Influenced by compression and rarefaction effects, the degree of the nonlinearity of pressure distribution in series micron tubes increases with inlet pressure. The existence of a connecting channel between parallel micron tubes breaks the linear distribution of pressure in the original micron tubes, and the gas forms a raised relative high-pressure area at the connection of the two micron tubes; the wider the channel, the greater the bulge. The average gas flow rate in the whole micron tube increases with the channel width, and the seepage capacity increases instead of decreases. The diameter change of one micron tube has no effect on the gas flow in the other micron tube. Although the two micron tubes are connected, they are still relatively independent individuals. These research results lay a foundation for the correct understanding of the characteristics and laws of tight gas seepage in the pores of reservoirs at the micro- and nanoscales, and they have important theoretical significance for the study of seepage mechanisms in tight gas reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the highest incidence rate cancers worldwide and the search for new biomarkers remains urgent due to its relatively poor prognosis and limited treatment methods. Ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) and iron sulfur domain 1 (CISD1) promoted malignant tumor progression as ferroptosis suppressors in a variety of tumors, but their study in GC remains to be explored. Methods: In our study, FSP1 and CISD1 expression were predicted through different databases and confirmed by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Enrichment analyses were exploited to explore the potential functions of FSP1 and CISD1. Finally, their relationship with immune infiltration was determined by Tumor Immune Estimation Resource and ssGSEA algorithm. Results: The expression of FSP1 and CISD1 was higher in GC tissues. Their strongly positive immunostaining was associated with increased tumor size, degree of differentiation, depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis in GC patients. Up-regulated FSP1 and CISD1 predicted poorer overall survival of patients with GC. Furthermore, FSP1 and CISD1 as ferroptosis inhibitors were predicted to be involved in GC immune cell infiltration. Conclusions: Our study suggested that FSP1 and CISD1 acted as biomarkers of poor prognosis and promising immunotherapeutic targets for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic pruritic skin disease which is difficult to treat. Current treatment options often lead to limited clinical benefit or severe side effects. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dupilumab in the treatment of PN in adults. Method: This study is a retrospective cohort study. Twenty-four adult patients with PN were included and treated with dupilumab. The primary outcomes were the mean reduction in the Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) score and pruritus numeric rating scale (p-NRS) score. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, week 4, week 16, and week 36. Results: The study included 24 patients, of whom 9 (37.5%) were male, and the mean (SD) age of the enrolled patients was 49.88 ± 16.71 years. At the end of the 16-week treatment, the mean p-NRS score decreased from 7.50 ± 2.21 to 1.41 ± 0.91 (p < 0.001), sleeplessness numeric rating scale (s-NRS) score declined from 5.33 ± 3.29 to 0.18 ± 0.59 (p < 0.001), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score decreased from 13.32 ± 4.88 to 0.91 ± 0.81 (p < 0.001). Fourteen (63.6%) of 22 patients achieved IGA 0/1 and 21 (95.5%) patients achieved IGA activity 0/1. Among 14 patients who achieved IGA 0/1, 10 had an elevated serum IgE level, and patients with a high serum IgE level showed a more remarkable reduction in IGA (r = 0.52, p = 0.03). Patients with AD responded faster than those without AD (3.76 ± 1.71 weeks vs. 6.40 ± 1.67 weeks, p = 0.01). Adverse events were recorded in 4/24 (16.6%) patients, with conjunctivitis being the most frequent. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that dupilumab is effective and safe for PN and could be a potential therapeutic option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]