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With the increased availability of quantum technological devices, it becomes fundamental to have tools to guarantee their correct non-classical behavior. This is especially important for quantum networks, which constitute the platforms where multipartite cryptographic protocols will be implemented, and where guarantees of non-classicality translate into security proofs. We derive linear and non-linear Bell-like inequalities for networks, whose violation certifies the absence of a minimum number of classical sources in them. We do so, firstly, without assuming that nature is ultimately governed by quantum mechanics, providing a hierarchy interpolating between network nonlocality and full network nonlocality. Secondly we insert this assumption, which leads to results more amenable to certification in experiments., 5+8 pages, 2+2 figures, RevTeX 4.2

Previous research has shown that an individual’s proximity to the epicenter can influence their perception and response to risk. However, this aspect has been largely overlooked in the supply chain risk literature. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the impact of distance on the perception and response to supply chain disruption risk. An online survey was conducted with 1055 managers working within the supply chain of ZTE, a Chinese multinational company providing integrated communications and information solutions. The survey aimed to examine how their distance from the disruption epicenter (i.e., ZTE) affected their risk perception and subsequent managerial responses. The findings indicate that those closer to the epicenter perceive a lower risk of disruption compared to those farther away, resulting in a reduced likelihood of taking management action. This phenomenon is referred to as the “psychological typhoon eye” (PTE) effect in supply chain disruption risk. Further analysis revealed that risk information quality mediated the relationship between distance and risk perception, while an individual’s job position level moderated the relationship between risk information quality and disruption risk perception. To mitigate the PTE effect in the multi-tier supply chain, the focal firm must prioritize high-quality information synchronization, extending beyond single-company initiatives.

With the development of nuclear technology application, radiation safety has been widely concerned, and there is an urgent need for novel shielding materials. Among the various options available, non-lead organic composite shielding material has emerged as a promising solution in the field of radiation shielding due to its high strength, easy processing, and light weight. In this study, tungsten/epoxy resin (W/EP) composite samples with tungsten weight fraction from 0% to 60% were prepared. The shielding and mechanical properties of W/EP composites were investigated. The results show that the results showed that the higher the tungsten content, the greater the shielding capacity of W/EP composites, particularly for low-energy gamma ray (γ) shielding. However, the addition of tungsten reduces the impact strength and tensile properties of the material. Overall, for 300 keV γ-ray, W/EP with 30% tungsten content has comparable shielding capacity to ordinary concrete. W/EP composite materials can serve as shielding materials for low-energy γ-rays.

Understanding the nonlocality of many-body systems offers valuable insights into the behaviors of these systems and may have practical applications in quantum simulation and quantum computing. Gisin's Theorem establishes the equivalence of three types of quantum correlations: Bell nonlocality, EPR-steering, and entanglement for isolated systems. No similar result exists with regard to genuine multipartite correlations. We answer this open problem by proposing a new network-inflation method. Our approach demonstrates that genuine multipartite nonlocality, genuine multipartite EPR-steering, and genuine multipartite entanglement are equivalent for any isolated many-body system. This is achieved through an extended Bell test on an inflated network consisting of multiple copies of the given sources. The device-independent method is also robust against noise., Main results, 5 pages, 2 figures, comments welcome

During the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in 2020, we conducted a nationwide survey of 8170 respondents from 31 provinces/municipalities in China via Sojump to examine the relationship between the distance to respondents’ city of residence from Wuhan and their safety concerns and risk perception of the epidemic that occurred in Wuhan City. We found that (1) the farther (psychologically or physically) people were from Wuhan, the more concerned they were with the safety of the epidemic risk in Wuhan, which we dubbed the psychological typhoon eye (PTE) effect on responses to the outbreak of COVID-19; (2) agenda setting can provide a principled account for such effect: the risk information proportion mediated the PTE effect. The theoretical and managerial implications for the PTE effect and public opinion disposal were discussed, and agenda setting was identified to be responsible for the preventable overestimated risk perception.

International audience; Strength-ductility trade-off is usually an inevitable scenario in most engineering materials, including metal matrix composites (MMCs) where reinforcement particles significantly degrade ductility. The decrease of ductility is mainly attributed to dislocation pile-ups at the high mismatch interface between reinforcement particles and matrix, which can not lead to effective dislocation multiplication and annihilation, finally leading to a low work hardening rate. To address this challenge, herein we propose a precipitation-assisted interface tailoring (PAIT) mechanism to improve the coherency of interface between reinforcement particles and matrix by introducing an interphase (IP). To achieve this PAIT mechanism, we design a manufacturing process combining the conventional casting, friction stir processing (FSP), hot extrusion with heat treatment. A TiB2/Al-Zn-Mg-Cu composite fabricated with this process shows higher strength and ductility, which stand out from most available Al-based materials. In this composite, a Mg(Zn1.5Cu0.5) IP is introduced to improve the coherency and strength of the TiB2/Al interface by transforming the high mismatch TiB2/Al interface into the low mismatch TiB2/IP/Al multi-interfaces (i.e. sandwich structure). This effectively promotes dislocation multiplication and subsequent dislocation annihilation to increase the work hardening rate by restricting the dislocation pile-ups surrounding the interface, thus leading to a higher ductility. Our study aims to overcome the strength-ductility trade-off of MMCs by tailoring interface structure, which can provide insight into the production of high-performance MMCs.

Various predictive biomarkers are needed to select candidates for optimal and individualized treatments. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells have gained increasing interest in cancer research for the prediction of therapeutic response and survival. However, the role of dendritic cells (DCs) in PD-1 blockade immunotherapy remains unclear. In this study, we identified a population of PD-1+ DCs in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of cervical cancer (CC). The accumulation of PD-1+ DCs in cervical tumors was correlated with advanced stages, elevated preoperative squamous cell carcinoma antigen levels and lymph-vascular space invasion. PD-1 expression was induced on activated tumor-associated DCs (TADCs) in vitro compared with their resting counterparts. This PD-1+ DC population was characterized by reduced secretion of cytokines (IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-1β) and dysfunctional induction of T cell proliferation and cytotoxic reaction. PD-1 blockade significantly reinvigorated PD-1+ DCs to release IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-1β compared with PD-1- DCs. TILs from samples with higher PD-1+ DC infiltration could be induced to achieve a greater killing effect of PD-1 blockade treatment. Our findings suggested a role for PD-1+ DCs in immune surveillance dysfunction and CC progression. PD-1+ DC density in the TME may serve as a diagnostic factor for predicting the optimal beneficiaries of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade immunotherapy in CC.

Meng-Meng Zheng,1,&ast; Ming-Xing Guo,2,&ast; Li-Min Shang,1,&ast; Jian Zhang,1 Jun Lin,1 Ye Tian,1 Xiang-Li Cui,2,&ast; Yi-Chen Zhu1,&ast; 1Department of Urology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiang-Li Cui, Department of Pharmacy, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yong’an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, People’s Republic of China, Email xianglicui@ccmu.edu.cn Yi-Chen Zhu, Department of Urology, Capital Medical University, Beijing Friendship Hospital, No. 95 Yong’an Road, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100050, People’s Republic of China, Email zhuyc@ccmu.edu.cnBackground: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infection has proven to be difficult to control and typically presents with devastating effects.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on the renal recipients at our institution between January 2021 to January 2022. Clinical data was collected to identify factors associated with CRKP infection and clinical outcomes.Results: There were 104 cases out of 186 total renal recipients who presented with at least one infection within 3 months after KT, and 14 cases developed unfavorable clinical outcomes. We identified 16 confirmed CRKP infected cases with the incidence of 8.60%. Possible donor derived infection (DDI) (OR = 6.743; 95% CI: 1.477– 30.786; P = 0.014) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of CRKP infection of renal recipients in our analysis, CRKP infection (OR = 20.723; 95% CI: 3.448– 124.547; P = 0.001) and pneumonia (OR = 28.458; 95% CI: 1.956– 413.984 P = 0.014) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of unfavorable clinical outcomes following KT, and the occurrence of unfavorable clinical outcomes following KT were significantly associated with CRKP infection (r = 0.535; P < 0.001) and antibiotic regimen containing ceftazidime/avibactam (CZA) (r = − 0.655; P = 0.006). The use of CZA was significantly different in the comparison of antibiotic regimens between the CRKP infected renal recipients with unfavorable outcomes and CRKP infected patients with favorable outcomes.Conclusion: It is possible that DDI can lead to CRKP infection, and CRKP infection and pneumonia were closely correlated with poor prognosis. The use of CZA may play a role in avoiding the unfavorable outcomes of CRKP infected recipients.Keywords: kidney transplant, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, early infections, risk factors, clinical outcomes

First-principles calculations and simulations are conducted to clarify the nonmagnetic insulating ground state of the honeycomb lattice compound Na2RuO3 with 4d^4 electronic configuration and explore the evolutions of crystal structure and electronic property under pressure. We reveal that individual Coulomb correlation or spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect cannot reproduce the experimentally observed nonmagnetic insulating behavior of Na2RuO3, whereas the Coulomb correlation enhanced SOC interactions give rise to an unusual spin-orbital-entangled J = 0 nonmagnetic insulating state, which contrasts with the SOC assisted Mott insulating state in d^5 ruthenates and iridates. Furthermore, a pressure-induced structural dimerization transition has been predicted around 15-17.5 GPa. The honeycomb lattice of the high-pressure dimerized phase features with parallel pattern of the short Ru-Ru dimers aligning along the crystallographic b direction. Accompanied with the structural dimerization, the electronic structure shows striking reconstruction by formation of molecular orbitals. Interestingly, the cooperation of Coulomb correlation together with SOC can realize a nonmagnetic insulating state in the high-pressure dimerized phase. The d^4 ruthenate Na2RuO3 with honeycomb lattice will provide a new platform to explore unusual physics and rich phase diagram due to the delicate interplay of lattice degree of freedom, electron correlations, and SOC interactions., 24 pages, 9 figures

Objective: To identify potential risk factors of unsatisfactory screw position during robot-assisted pedicle screw fixation.Methods: A retrospective analysis of robot-assisted pedicle screw fixation performed in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital from March 2018 to March 2019 was conducted. Research data was collected from the medical record and imaging systems. Univariate tests were performed on the potential risk factors (patient’s characteristics and surgical factors) of unsatisfactory screw position during robot-assisted pedicle screw fixation. For statistically significant variables in univariate tests, a logistic regression test was used to identify independent risk factors for unsatisfactory screw position.Results: A total of 780 pedicle screws placed in 163 robot-assisted surgeries were analyzed. The rate of perfect screw positions was 93.08%, and the unsatisfactory rate was 6.92%. In patients with severe obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2) (odds ratio [OR], 2.459; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.199–5.044; p = 0.014), osteoporosis (T ≤ -2.5) (OR, 1.857; 95% CI, 1.046–3.295; p = 0.034), and the segments 3 levels away from the tracker (OR, 2.216; 95% CI, 1.119–4.387; p = 0.022), robot-assisted pedicle screw placement has a higher risk of screw malposition.Conclusion: During robot-assisted pedicle screw placement for patients with severe obesity, osteoporosis, and segments 3 levels away from the tracker, vigilance should be maintained during surgery to avoid postoperative complications due to unsatisfactory screw position.

AIM: To assess and compare the effectiveness of selective laser trabeculoplasty(SLT)in preventing primary open angle glaucoma(POAG)with various stages.METHODS: Fifty-one eyes of 27 patients 51 eye with POAG were included in this retrospective study. All the cases were divided into three groups depending on the mean deviation(MD): the early stage group(MD>-6dB, 15 eyes), middle stage group(-12dB≤MD≤-6dB, 15 eyes)and late stage group(MD0.05). There were significant differences in VFI and MD among early, middle and late groups(P

In this study, the rotor loss as well as the temperature variations due to the static air‐gap eccentricity (SAGE) and the rotor inter‐turn short circuit (RISC) in synchronous generators is presented. Different from the previous studies, this study investigates the loss/temperature changes under not only the single SAGE fault and the single RISC fault but also the combined faults (CF) that are composed of these two single faults. Detailed formula derivation on the hysteresis loss (HL) and the eddy current loss (ECL), together with the rotor temperature rise due to varied fault types and different operating conditions, are first carried out based on a theoretical analysis of the magnetic flux density (MFD) variation. Then, 3‐D finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental verifications are performed on a CS‐5 prototype generator that has two poles and a rated rotating speed of 3000 rpm. It shows that the occurrence of either SAGE or RISC will increase the rotor loss and temperature. Comparatively, the single RISC fault overweighs the single SAGE fault in the rotor temperature increment, while the combined fault overweighs both of these single faults. In the same fault cases, the rotor temperature will have the highest value under full‐load operation.

The use of fossil fuels leads to depletion of fuel reserves and environmental pollution. One way to achieve a sustainable future in urban areas and remote communities is to use the independent renewable energy systems. Meanwhile, solar energy is one of the most common sources of energy generation that has attracted of the world. The present study provides the comprehensive examine the performance of two parabolic dish collector and flat-plate collector from energy, exergy, Enviroeconomic and Exergoenviroeconomic view of points. To examine the performance of solar systems, the climatic conditions of two different cities in Asia (Beijing and Tehran) have been used. In addition, the performance of the systems is investigated under different parameters and using different working fluids and MWCNT nanoparticle. It was found that the both solar systems have better overall performance in Tehran than in Beijing. Moreover, in the months when the solar collector has lower exergy efficiency, its use in Tehran compared to that Beijing has a better exergy performance than other months. In addition, the lowest and highest Levelized Cost of Energy are belong to dish collector (in Tehran with water) and flat plate collector (in Beijing with Dowtherm Q), respectively. For Tehran, LCOE of dish collector increases more than 5.5-fold when using water/MWCNT nanofluid instead of water.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the imaging characteristics, diversity and changing trend in CT scans of pediatric patients infected with Delta-variant strain by studying imaging features of children infected with Delta and comparing the results to those of children with original COVID-19. METHODS: A retrospective, comparative analysis of initial chest CT manifestations between 63 pediatric patients infected with Delta variant in 2021 and 23 pediatric patients with COVID-19 in 2020 was conducted. Corresponding imaging features were analyzed. In addition, the changing trend in imaging features of COVID-19 Delta-variant cases were explored by evaluating the initial and follow-up CT scans. RESULTS: Among 63 children with Delta-variant COVID-19 in 2021, 34 (53.9%) showed positive chest CT presentation; and their CT score (1.10 ± 1.41) was significantly lower than that in 2020 (2.56 ± 3.5) (P = 0.0073). Lesion distribution: lung lesions of Delta cases appear mainly in the lower lungs on both sides. Most children had single lobe involvement (18 cases, 52.9%), 14 (41.2%) in the right lung alone, and 14 (41.2%) in both lungs. A majority of Delta cases displayed initially ground glass (23 cases, 67.6%) and nodular shadows (13 cases, 38.2%) in the first CT scan, with few extrapulmonary manifestations. The 34 children with abnormal chest CT for the first time have a total of 92 chest CT examinations. These children showed a statistically significant difference between the 0-3 day group and the 4-7 day group (P = 0.0392) and a significant difference between the 4-7 day group and the more than 8 days group (P = 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: The early manifestations of COVID-19 in children with abnormal imaging are mostly small subpleural nodular ground glass opacity. The changes on the Delta-variant COVID-19 chest CT were milder than the original strain. The lesions reached a peak on CT in 4-7 days and quickly improved and absorbed after a week. Dynamic CT re-examination can achieve a good prognosis.

Although consumers generally accept and care about environmental issues, consumers have not adjusted their behavior accordingly. Based on the diamond model theory, this study proposes and tests the direct impact of personal green commitments on low-carbon travel motivation and constraint, and the possibility of subsequent low-carbon travel intention. According to the results of 358 valid questionnaire surveys, this study shows that green commitments positively affect the low-carbon travel motivation and intention, while negatively affecting the low-carbon travel constraint. The low-carbon travel motivation has some mediating effects. The research results can be used as a reference by relevant managers of the tourism industry to make changes in the content of travel services that are more suitable for specific populations.

AIM: To investigate whether ultrasound-targeted cationic microbubbles (CMBs) destruction could deliver endostatin-green fluorescent protein (GFP) plasmids efficiently to the human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) and inhibit retinal neovascularization in mice. METHODS: CMBs were prepared and the presentation of GFP reporter was confirmed by flow cytometry and laser confocal microscopy. Experiments assessing HRECs migration and vascular formation were performed to evaluate gene therapy's efficiency in vitro. A mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy was employed and the expression of Bcl-xl, Bcl-2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endostatin in the retina of mice were determined by Western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The expression of endostatin-GFP in the retina was examined by laser confocal microscopy at 5, 14, and 28d after treatment. RESULTS: The gene expression of endostatin was the highest in the group of the CMBs. Besides, the inhibition and antiangiogenesis effect of the migration and development of HRECs were improved following treatment with CMBs compared with the other groups in vitro. In vivo, retinal neovascularization was significantly inhibited and the fluorescence intensity of endostatin-GFP in the mouse retina was importantly higher in the group of CMBs than that in other groups. CONCLUSION: The research illustrates ultrasound-targeted CMBs destruction possessed distinct effect on the inhibition of the vascular formation and the development of retinal neovascularization both in vitro and in vivo.

The parameterized entanglement monotone, the $q$-concurrence, is also a reasonable parameterized entanglement measure. By exploring the properties of the $q$-concurrence with respect to the positive partial transposition and realignment of density matrices, we present tight lower bounds of the $q$-concurrence for arbitrary $q\geqslant 2$. Detailed examples are given to show that the bounds are better than the previous ones., 15 pages,3 figures

Shannon information was defined for characterizing the uncertainty information of classical probabilistic distributions. As an uncertainty measure it is generally believed to be positive. This holds for any information quantity from two random variables because of the polymatroidal axioms. However, it is unknown why there is negative information for more than two random variables on finite dimensional spaces. We first show the negative tripartite Shannon mutual information implies specific Bayesian network representations of its joint distribution. We then show that the negative Shannon information is obtained from general tripartite Bayesian networks with quantum realizations. This provides a device-independent witness of negative Shannon information. We finally extend the result for general networks. The present result shows new insights in the network compatibility from non-Shannon information inequalities., 6+11 pages, 7 figures

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have attracted increased attention due to their extraordinary properties. However, the multicomponent characteristic of equiatomic HEAs inevitably leads to high material costs, which thus limits their widespread industrial applications. Although HEAs are claimed to be suitable for applications in extreme environment due to their comprehensive properties, the actual properties of HEAs dramatically vary with compositions and processes. Therefore, the development of cost-effective HEAs with comprehensive properties is indispensable for industrial uses. Till now, although comprehensive review papers on HEAs are available, few works focused on the cost-effectiveness of HEAs, particularly Fe-rich HEAs recently developed. This review thus aims to fill this gap by reviewing the current research progress in Fe-rich HEAs with a focus on the composition design, microstructure, and properties, including mechanical properties, and resistances for oxidation, wear, and corrosion. The challenges for applying cost-effective Fe-rich HEAs into industries are also arising as future research topics.

The search for new two-dimensional monolayers with diverse electronic properties has attracted growing interest in recent years. Here, we present an approach to construct MA2Z4 monolayers with a septuple-atomic-layer structure, that is, intercalating a MoS2-type monolayer MZ2 into an InSe-type monolayer A2Z2. We illustrate this unique strategy by means of first-principles calculations, which not only reproduce the structures of MoSi2N4 and MnBi2Te4 that were already experimentally synthesized, but also predict 72 compounds that are thermodynamically and dynamically stable. Such an intercalated architecture significantly reconstructs the band structures of the constituents MZ2 and A2Z2, leading to diverse electronic properties for MA2Z4, which can be classified according to the total number of valence electrons. The systems with 32 and 34 valence electrons are mostly semiconductors. Whereas, those with 33 valence electrons can be nonmagnetic metals or ferromagnetic semiconductors. In particular, we find that, among the predicted compounds, (Ca,Sr)Ga2Te4 are topologically nontrivial by both the standard density functional theory and hybrid functional calculations. While VSi2P4 is a ferromagnetic semiconductor and TaSi2N4 is a type-I Ising superconductor. Moreover, WSi2P4 is a direct gap semiconductor with peculiar spin-valley properties, which are robust against interlayer interactions. Our study thus provides an effective way of designing septuple-atomic-layer MA2Z4 with unusual electronic properties to draw immediate experimental interest., The discovery of a new two-dimensional van der Waals layered MoSi2N4 material inspires many attentions. Here, the authors report intercalation strategies to explore a much wider range of MA2Z4 family and predict amount of materials accessible to experimental verifications with emergent topological, magnetic or Ising superconductivity properties.

Background Many recent studies have shown that miRNAs play important roles in the regulation of animal reproduction, including seasonal reproduction. The pineal gland is a crucial hub in the regulation of seasonal reproduction. However, little is known about the expression characteristics of pineal miRNAs in different reproductive seasons (anestrus and breeding season). Therefore, the expression profiles and regulatory roles of ovine pineal miRNAs were investigated during different reproductive stages using Solexa sequencing technology and dual luciferase reporter assays. Results A total of 427 miRNAs were identified in the sheep pineal gland. Significant differences in miRNA expression were demonstrated between anestrus and the breeding season in terms of the frequency distributions of miRNA lengths, number of expressed miRNAs, and specifically and highly expressed miRNAs in each reproductive stage. KEGG analysis of the differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs between anestrus and the breeding season indicated that they are significantly enriched in pathways related to protein synthesis, secretion and uptake. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed that many target genes of DE miRNAs in the ribosome pathway showed relatively low expression in the breeding season. On the other hand, analyses combining miRNA-gene expression data with target relationship validation in vitro implied that miR-89 may participate in the negative regulation of aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) mRNA expression by targeting its 3’UTR at a unique binding site. Conclusions Our results provide new insights into the expression characteristics of sheep pineal miRNAs at different reproductive stages and into the negative regulatory effects of pineal miRNAs on AANAT mRNA expression.

Quantum entropy is an important measure for describing the uncertainty of a quantum state, more uncertainty in subsystems implies stronger quantum entanglement between subsystems. Our goal in this work is to quantify bipartite entanglement using both von Neumann entropy and its complementary dual. We first propose a type of dual entropy from Shannon entropy. We define $S^{t}$-entropy entanglement based on von Neumann entropy and its complementary dual. This implies an analytic formula for two-qubit systems. We show that the monogamy properties of the $S^{t}$-entropy entanglement and the entanglement of formation are inequivalent for high-dimensional systems. We finally prove a new type of entanglement polygon inequality in terms of $S^{t}$-entropy entanglement for quantum entangled networks. These results show new features of multipartite entanglement in quantum information processing., 13 pages + 4 figures

Background Most Mahaim fibers are right free-wall atriofascicular accessory pathways with only antegrade conduction. Concealed Mahaim fiber is not very rare; however, concealed nodoventricular fiber is a very rare kind of retrograde accessory pathway in supraventricular tachycardia with atrioventricular (AV) dissociation. Only a few cases about successful ablation of the nodoventricular accessory pathway have been reported. We describe the case of a 32-year-old woman who underwent an electrophysiology study and radiofrequency (RF) ablation of a rare narrow QRS tachycardia with AV dissociation. Case summary A 32-year-old woman with a history of paroxysmal palpitation was admitted to our hospital for RF ablation. Electrocardiography revealed a narrow QRS complex tachycardia with the same morphology in sinus rhythm. Echocardiography showed no structural heart disease. A right-sided concealed AV accessory pathway and a right-sided concealed nodoventricular accessory pathway were involved in the orthodromic atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia. His bundle-ventricular interval during tachycardia was the same as that in sinus rhythm. The tachycardia could be initiated and entrained by ventricular pacing. Premature right ventricular stimulus introduced during the His-bundle refractory period when tachycardia occurred was able to advance the next atrial potential. The earliest atrial activation was mapped near the proximal slow AV nodal pathway. RF ablation of both accessary pathways was successfully performed under the guidance of a three-dimensional mapping system by recording the earliest retrograde atrial potential, and tachycardia could no longer be induced. Conclusion Narrow QRS tachycardia with AV dissociation is inducible by concealed nodoventricular fiber and ablated by recording the earliest retrograde atrial potential.

Bond wires aging is one of the most common failure modes of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module. Real-time monitoring of bond wires status is an important guarantee for the stable operation of power electronics system. In this paper, a method of monitoring the aging state of bond wires in IGBT module based on the spectrum characteristics of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) signature is proposed. Firstly, the turn-off process of IGBT module is analyzed, and the behavior model of IGBT module in the stage of rapid current change is established, which shows that EMR interference in buck converter mainly occurs during the turn-off process of IGBT module. Secondly, the relationship between the aging degree of bond wires and differential mode (DM) interference signal is deduced. Thirdly, the IGBT module is equivalent to a magnetic dipole, which proves that the change of DM interference signal will cause the change of EMR signal, thus demonstrating the feasibility of using EMR signal to monitor bond wires aging. Finally, a buck converter composed of IGBT module is used as the equipment to be tested. The EMR signal is extracted by the near-field probe, and the EMR signal spectrum is used to monitor the aging degree of the bond wires. The experimental results show that with the deepening of the aging degree of bond wires, the spectrum amplitude of EMR signal increases.

Gesture recognition utilizes deep learning network model to automatically extract deep features of data; however, traditional machine learning algorithms rely on manual feature extraction and poor model generalization ability. In this paper, a multimodal gesture recognition algorithm based on convolutional long-term memory network is proposed. First, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is employed to automatically extract the deeply hidden features of multimodal gesture data. Then, a time series model is constructed using a long short-term memory (LSTM) network to learn the long-term dependence of multimodal gesture features on the time series. On this basis, the classification of multimodal gestures is realized by the SoftMax classifier. Finally, the method is experimented and evaluated on two dynamic gesture datasets, VIVA and NVGesture. Experimental results indicate that the accuracy rates of the proposed method on the VIVA and NVGesture datasets are 92.55% and 87.38%, respectively, and its recognition accuracy and convergence performance are better than those of other comparison algorithms.

In this era of rapid development, the exchanges between countries are increasing rapidly, which leads to the integration of multiculturalism and its impact on the local culture, making it diluted. Taking the plastic art features of the nomadic civilization in the northern grasslands as an example, the plastic art features of the nomadic civilization are very rich, including color, texture, shape, and local characteristics; the use of traditional methods will lead to poor feature effects, and it is difficult to obtain high-level information. There will also be problems with image recognition. With the hot development of deep learning, for these problems, its advantages and characteristics are introduced and applied to the characteristics of plastic arts, and a deep and shallow network is constructed as its input and feature recognition, which solves the problem of image feature recognition. At the same time, the convolution idea is introduced to enlarge its features, which is more conducive to feature recognition, extraction, and analysis. For the neural network model of deep learning, the traditional optimization algorithm is changed to the Adam optimization algorithm, which solves the problem of decreasing accuracy, improves the accuracy of prediction, and makes it more stable. From the final experimental results, it is not difficult to find that the feature algorithm greatly improves the accuracy rate under different noises, and the time consumption of the algorithm operation is also reduced. The traditional algorithm of the deep learning neural network model is changed to the Adam optimization algorithm, which also improves the prediction accuracy and makes it more stable. In the future development, the unsaturated function can be used as the activation function to optimize or change the model feature algorithm to make the model easier to build and have better training effects.

Quantum entangled states have shown distinguished features beyond any classical state. Many methods like quantum state tomography have been presented to verify entanglement. In this work, we aim to identify unknown entanglements with partial information of the state space by developing a nonlinear entanglement witness. The witness consists of a generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like paradox expressed by Pauli observables, and a nonlinear inequality expressed by density matrix elements. First, we verify unknown bipartite entanglements and study the robustness of entanglement witnesses against the white noise. Second, we generalize such a verification to unknown multipartite entangled states, including the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-type states and the cluster states under local channel operations. Third, we give a quantum-information application related to the quantum zero-knowledge proof. Our results provide a useful method in verifying universal quantum computation resources with robustness against white noises. Our work is applicable to detect unknown entanglement without the state tomography., 5+9 pages, 4 figures

There are multipartite entangled states in many-body systems which may be potential resources in various quantum applications. There are lots of methods to witness specific entangled systems. However, no efficient method is available to explore many-body systems without multipartite entanglement. It may provide necessary restrictions for experimental preparations of multipartite entanglement. Our goal is to solve this problem for spin systems. The maximal effective velocity with propagation of information is bounded in quantum spin systems with short-range interactions from Lieb-Robinson's inequalities. This implies two clustering theorems for ground states and thermal states. With these propagation relations, we show that both the gapped ground state and thermal state at an upper-bounded inverse temperature have no genuine multipartite nonlocality when disjoint regions are far away from each other. The present $n$-particle system shows only biseparable quantum correlations when the propagation relations show exponential decay. Similar result holds for spin systems with product states as initial states. These results show interesting features of quantum many-body systems with exponential decay of correlations., 17 pages, 3 figures

This paper proposes a systematic image mosaicking methodology to produce hyperspectral image for environment monitoring using an emerging UAV-based push-broom hyperspectral imager. The suitability of alternative methods in each step is assessed by experiments of an urban scape, a river course and a forest study area. First, the hyperspectral image strips were acquired by sequentially stitching the UAV images acquired by push-broom scanning along each flight line. Next, direct geo-referencing was applied to each image strip to get initial geo-rectified result. Then, with ground control points, the curved surface spline function was used to transform the initial geo-rectified image strips to improve their geometrical accuracy. To further remove the displacement between pairs of image strips, an improved phase correlation (IPC) and a SIFT and RANSAC-based method (SR) were used in image registration. Finally, the weighted average and the best stitching image fusion method were used to remove the spectral differences between image strips and get the seamless mosaic. Experiment results showed that as the GCPs‘ number increases, the mosaicked image‘s geometrical accuracy increases. In image registration, there exists obvious edge information that can be accurately extracted from the urban scape and river course area; comparative results can be achieved by the IPC method with less time cost. However, for the ground objects with complex texture like forest, the edges extracted from the image is prone to be inaccurate and result in the failure of the IPC method, and only the SR method can get a good result. In image fusion, the best stitching fusion method can get seamless results for all three study areas. Whereas, the weighted average fusion method was only useful in eliminating the stitching line for the river course and forest areas but failed for the urban scape area due to the spectral heterogeneity of different ground objects. For different environment monitoring applications, the proposed methodology provides a practical solution to seamlessly mosaic UAV-based push-broom hyperspectral images with high geometrical accuracy and spectral fidelity.

YgfY(SdhE/CptB) is highly conserved while has controversial functions in bacteria. It works as an antitoxin and composes a type IV toxin–antitoxin system with YgfX(CptA) typically in Escherichia coli, while functions as an flavinylation factor of succinate dehydrogenase and fumarate reductase typically in Serratia sp. In this study, we report the contribution of YgfY in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 to tolerance of low temperature and nitrite. YgfY deficiency causes several growth defects of S. oneidensis MR-1 at low temperature, while YgfX do not cause a growth defect or morphological change of S. oneidensis MR1-1 and E. coli. YgfY do not interact with FtsZ and MreB nor with YgfX examined by bacterial two-hybrid assay. YgfY effect on growth under low temperature is not attributed to succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) because a mutant without SDH grows comparably with the wild-type strain in the presence of succinate. The ygfY mutant shows impaired tolerance to nitrite. Transcription of nitrite reductase and most ribosome proteins is significantly decreased in the ygfY mutant, which is consistent with the phenotypes detected above. Effects of YgfY on growth and nitrite tolerance are closely related to the RGXXE motif in YgfY. In summary, this study demonstrates pleiotropic impacts of YgfY in S. oneidensis MR-1, and sheds a light on the physiological versatility of YgfY in bacteria.

Clanis bilineata tsingtauica Mell, 1922 (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae), also known as “Doudan” in China, is an important pest in legume crops. As an edible insect, it is most commonly consumed in Jiangsu, Shandong, and Henan Provinces. Mass rearing requires access to large numbers of eggs. This stage, however, is of short duration and supplies are frequently not sufficient for insect production. Therefore, we identified the cold storage conditions for C. bilineata tsingtauica that can effectively prolong the storage time of the eggs, to make supplies more readily available. We found that when stored at 4 °C, only 7.5% of the eggs hatched after 7 days, while at 10 °C the hatch rate was 78.3%. At 15 °C, the egg hatch rate remained at this same level (77.8% even after 14–20 days). Considering various combinations, we found that optimal egg hatch occurred if eggs were stored at 15 °C for 11 days, and then held at 15–20 °C under dark conditions. Stored as described above, the egg hatch rate was not significantly different from the control group (at 28 °C). These conditions allow for easier mass rearing of C. bilineata tsingtauica by providing a stable supply of eggs.

Deciphering the complicated excited-state process is critical for the development of luminescent materials with controllable emissions in different applications. Here we report the emergence of a photo-induced structural distortion accompanied by an electron redistribution in a series of gold nanoclusters. Such unexpected slow process of excited-state transformation results in near-infrared dual emission with extended photoluminescent lifetime. We demonstrate that this dual emission exhibits highly sensitive and ratiometric response to solvent polarity, viscosity, temperature and pressure. Thus, a versatile luminescent nano-sensor for multiple environmental parameters is developed based on this strategy. Furthermore, we fully unravel the atomic-scale structural origin of this unexpected excited-state transformation, and demonstrate control over the transition dynamics by tailoring the bi-tetrahedral core structures of gold nanoclusters. Overall, this work provides a substantial advance in the excited-state physical chemistry of luminescent nanoclusters and a general strategy for the rational design of next-generation nano-probes, sensors and switches., Excited-state structural and electronic changes, observed in molecules, are hampered in nanomaterials. Here the authors identify structural distortion and electron redistribution in three photoexcited gold nanoclusters, connecting molecular and nanocrystal regimes, enabled by flexibility of the tetrahedral core units.

Mountain building (orogeny) has a strong causal relationship with compression induced by plate drifting. It is generally accepted that orogenic belts are distributed perpendicular to the direction of plate movement. Extensive Late Mesozoic intra-continental deformations occurred around the North China Craton (NCC) in three different directions (i.e. EW-, WNW- and NNE-striking), which were previously attributed to three different geodynamic processes; the closure of the Mongolia-Okhotsk Ocean, convergence of the NCC and the South China block, and subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate. Remarkably, all these tectonic events were synchronised. Analogue modelling experiments were used to constrain far-field stress and basement shapes, to reconsider tectonic evolution around the NCC during this period. Results showed that all of these tectonic deformations could be plausibly interpreted as a unitary geodynamic regime governed by the westward indentation of the wedge-shaped NCC, driven by subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate. Mountain chains were formed along the edges of the wedge, indicating that the distribution of orogenic belts is not necessarily correlated with the direction of plate movement.

White celery (Apium graveolens L.), a variety of common celery, is an important leafy vegetable in the Apiaceae family and is famous for its nutritional value. However, limited work has been devoted to quality formation and regulation in white celery. In this study, four white celery varieties, ‘Xuebaiqincai’, ‘Saixue’, ‘Baiganshiqin’ and ‘Ruixue’, were selected and analyzed for the comparison of ascorbic acid (AsA) and lignin levels, which are two important quality evaluation indicators in celery. The expression levels of the genes involved in AsA and lignin metabolic pathways were also detected. In the leaf blades, the AsA content was highest in ‘Xuebaiqincai’ compared with other varieties, whereas the most abundant AsA levels in the petioles were observed in ‘Baiganshiqin’ and ‘Ruixue’. The expression levels of AsA-related genes varied among the studied varieties. The highest level was detected in ‘Xuebaiqincai’, whereas other varieties exhibited relatively lower levels. The lignin content in the leaf blades was lower than that in the petioles. Correspondingly, the transcript profiles of genes involved in lignin biosynthesis were in accordance with the different levels in the petioles and blades. The results of this study provide potentially useful information for white celery breeding aimed at quality improvement and regulation.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Background: Available research about the anatomic patterns of intertrochanteric fractures is lacking, and fracture mapping has not previously been performed on intertrochanteric fractures. This study aimed to determine the major trajectories of intertrochanteric fracture lines using computed tomography data from a series of surgically treated patients. Methods: In this study, 504 patients with intertrochanteric fractures were retrospectively analyzed. Fracture patterns were graded according to Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) classification. Fracture lines were transcribed onto proximal femoral templates and graphically superimposed to create a compilation of fracture maps that were subsequently divided into anterior, posterior, lateral, and medial fracture maps to create a three-dimensional (3D) pattern by reducing fragments in the 3D models. The fracture maps were then converted into frequency spectra. The major fracture patterns were assessed by focusing on the lateral femoral wall, lesser trochanter, intertrochanteric crest, and inner cortical buttress. Results: Anterior, posterior, lateral, and medial fracture maps were created. The majority of fracture lines (85.9%, 433/504) on the anterior maps were along the intertrochanteric line where the iliofemoral ligament was attached. In the medial plane, the majority of fracture lines (49.0%, 247/504) shown on the frequency spectrum included the turning point involving the third quadrant. In the posterior plane, the majority of fracture lines (52.0%, 262/504) involved the intertrochanteric crest from the greater to the lesser trochanter. In the lateral plane, the majority of fracture lines (62.7%, 316/504) involved the greater trochanter at the gluteus medius attachment. Conclusions: The fracture patterns observed in the present study might be used to describe morphologic characteristics and aid with management strategies. Further classifications or modifications that incorporate the fracture patterns identified in this study may be used in future research.

Large-scale quantum networks have been employed to overcome practical constraints of transmissions and storage for single entangled systems. Our goal in this article is to explore the strong entanglement distribution of quantum networks. We firstly show any connected network consisting of generalized EPR states and GHZ states satisfies strong CKW monogamy inequality in terms of bipartite entanglement measure. This reveals interesting feature of high-dimensional entanglement with local tensor decomposition going beyond qubit entanglement. We then apply the new entanglement distribution relation in entangled networks for getting quantum max-flow min-cut theorem in terms of von Neumann entropy and R\'{e}nyi-$\alpha$ entropy. We finally classify entangled quantum networks by distinguishing network configurations under local unitary operations. These results provide new insights into characterizing quantum networks in quantum information processing., Comment: 5+15 pages, 10 figures. Comments welcome

The physics of flat band is novel and rich but difficult to access. In this regard, recently twisting of bilayer van der Waals (vdW)-bounded two-dimensional (2D) materials has attracted much attention, because the reduction of Brillouin zone will eventually lead to a diminishing kinetic energy. Alternatively, one may start with a 2D kagome lattice, which already possesses flat bands at the Fermi level, but unfortunately these bands connect quadratically to other (dispersive) bands, leading to undesirable effects. Here, we propose, by first-principles calculation and tight-binding modeling, that the same bilayer twisting approach can be used to isolate the kagome flat bands. As the starting kinetic energy is already vanishingly small, the interlayer vdW potential is always sufficiently large irrespective of the twisting angle. As such the electronic states in the (connected) flat bands become unstable against a spontaneous Wigner crystallization, which is expected to have interesting interplays with other flat-band phenomena such as novel superconductivity and anomalous quantum Hall effect.

We address the time evolution of the quantum correlations ($QCs$) such as entanglement, purity, and coherence for a model of two non-interacting qubits initially prepared as a maximally entangled bipartite state. We contrast the comparative potential of the classical fields to preserve these $QCs$ in the noisy and noiseless realms. We also disclose the characteristic dynamical behavior of the $QCs$ of the two-qubit state under the static noisy effects originating from the common and different configuration models. We show that there is a direct connection between the fluctuations allowed by an environment and the $QCs$ preservation. Due to the static noisy dephasing effects, the $QCs$ are suppressed, resulting in the separability of the two-qubit entangled state after a finite duration. Here, the $QCs$ decay effects are found much smaller in the common configuration model than that of the opponent. Furthermore, this protection of the $QCs$ under static noise for large intervals is entirely attributable to the existence of the entanglement sudden death and birth phenomenon. Most importantly, we found the bipartite $QCs$ less fragile than the tripartite ones in comparison under the static noise. In the case of the measures, the concurrence is found to be sharper for showing the entanglement sudden death and birth revivals in comparison to the purity and decoherence., 16 pages, 5graphs, 1 table

Entangled quantum networks provide great flexibilities and scalabilities for quantum information processing or quantum Internet. Most of results are focused on the nonlocalities of quantum networks. Our goal in this work is to explore new characterizations of any networks with theory-independent configurations. We firstly prove the configuration inequality for any network using the fractional independent set of the associated graph. These inequalities can be built with polynomial-time complexity. The new result allows featuring correlations of any classical network depending only on its network topology. Similar inequalities hold for all entangled quantum networks with any local measurements. This shows an inherent feature of quantum networks under local unitary operations. It is then applied for verifying almost all multipartite entangled pure states with linear complexity, and witnessing quantum network topology without assumption of inputs. The configuration theory is further extended for any no-signalling networks. These results may be interesting in entanglement theory, quantum information processing, and quantum networks., 6+22 pages, 3+14 figures. Add new results for quantum networks

The leafminer fly, Liriomyza trifolii, is an invasive pest of horticultural and vegetable crops that possesses a robust competitive ability when compared to congeneric species, especially with respect to temperature and insecticide tolerance. Abamectin, which is commonly used to control L. trifolii in the field, was selected as the target insecticide in this study. Our objective was to study the effect of abamectin and high temperature stress on L. trifolii mortality and the expression of genes encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP450s) and heat shock proteins (Hsps) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). When L. trifolii was exposed to abamectin followed by exposure to 40 °C (LC50 +HT40), mortality showed a significant increase, whereas exposure to 40 ℃ followed by abamectin (HT40+LC50) reduced mortality relative to abamectin or HT40 alone. Expression of three CYP450s in the CYP4 family was highest in the HT40+LC50 treatment, followed by the LC50+HT40 treatment. The expression levels of CYP18A1 (CYP18 family) were not significantly different among treatments, and CYP301A1 (CYP301 family) was only sensitive to temperature (HT40). The expression of five sHsps showed similar expression patterns and were highly responsive to the LC50+HT40 treatment, followed by the HT40 and HT40+LC50 treatments. Based on CYP450s and Hsps expression levels, our findings that suggest that L. trifolii exhibits adaptive cross-tolerance to high temperature and abamectin. This study provides a framework for selecting the most effective application time for abamectin with respect to controlling L. trifolii, which will ultimately reduce the overuse of pesticides.

Chronic constipation is a common gastrointestinal disorder, with a worldwide incidence of 14–30%. It negatively affects quality of life and is associated with a considerable economic burden. As a disease with multiple etiologies and risk factors, it is important to understand the pathophysiology of chronic constipation. The purpose of this review is to discuss latest findings on the roles of gut motility, fluid, and electrolyte transport that contribute to chronic constipation, and the main drugs available for treating patients. We conducted searches on PubMed and Google Scholar up to 9 February 2021. MeSH keywords “constipation”, “gastrointestinal motility”, “peristalsis”, “electrolytes”, “fluid”, “aquaporins”, and “medicine” were included. The reference lists of searched articles were reviewed to identify further eligible articles. Studies focusing on opioid-induced constipation, evaluation, and clinic management of constipation were excluded. The occurrence of constipation is inherently connected to disorders of gut motility as well as fluid and electrolyte transport, which involve the nervous system, endocrine signaling, the gastrointestinal microbiota, ion channels, and aquaporins. The mechanisms of action and application of the main drugs are summarized; a better understanding of ion channels and aquaporins may be helpful for new drug development. This review aims to provide a scientific basis that can guide future research on the etiology and treatment of constipation.

Previous studies have shown that BMPR1B promotes follicular development and ovarian granulosa cell proliferation, thereby affecting ovulation in mammals. In this study, the expression and polymorphism of the BMPR1B gene associated with litter size in small-tail Han (STH) sheep were determined. The expression of BMPR1B was detected in 14 tissues of STH sheep during the follicular phase as well as in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis of monotocous and polytocous STH sheep during the follicular and luteal phases using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Sequenom MassARRAY® single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) technology was also used to detect the polymorphism of SNPs in seven sheep breeds. Here, BMPR1B was highly expressed in hypothalamus, ovary, uterus, and oviduct tissue during the follicular phase, and BMPR1B was expressed significantly more in the hypothalamus of polytocous ewes than in monotocous ewes during both the follicular and luteal phases (P). For genotyping, we found that genotype and allele frequencies of three loci of the BMPR1B gene were extremely significantly different (P) between the monotocous and polytocous groups. Association analysis results showed that the g.29380965A>G locus had significant negative effects on the litter size of STH sheep, and the combination of g.29380965A>G and FecB (Fec – fecundity and B – Booroola; A746G) at the BMPR1B gene showed that the litter size of AG–GG, AA–GG, and GG–GG genotypes was significantly higher compared with other genotypes (P). This is the first study to find a new molecular marker affecting litter size and to systematically analyze the expression of BMPR1B in different fecundity and physiological periods of STH sheep.

Yi Kuang,1,2 Ming-Xing Xu,1,3 Shu-Wen Yang,1,2 Yang Ding,1,2 Rui Zheng,1,2 John Taplin,4 Shu Li1,5 1CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioural Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Transportation, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, 350118, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia; 5Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shu LiCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-10-64841536Fax +86-10-64841536Email lishu@psych.ac.cnIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has received broad public attention and has been subject to social media discussion since the beginning of 2020. Previous research has demonstrated that framing could influence perception and behaviors of audience members in the mass media. The question addressed in this paper concerns which information frame is best for reporting negative news (eg, deaths) and positive news (eg, recoveries or cures) related to the outbreak of COVID-19.Methods: During the Spring Festival holidays of 2020 in China, we investigated a sample of 8170 participants’ risk perceptions and emotional responses to the pandemic, and their willingness to forward updates when the information is presented in different frames by using a 2 (domain: living [good news] vs dying [bad news]) × 2 (count: absolute vs relative) × 2 (population base: excluding population base vs including population base) × 2 (content: text-only vs text-plus-graphic) mixed factorial design, with the first factor being a within-subjects factor and the last three being between-subjects factors.Results: Results indicated that (1) participants were more willing to forward good news (eg, cures) than bad news (eg, deaths); (2) when reporting bad news, the inclusion of the “population base” was effective in minimizing negative emotions; (3) when reporting good news, excluding the “population base” was more effective than including it in order to maximize positive emotions; (4) a text-plus-graphic frame worked better than a text-only frame in lowering the level of risk perception and negative emotions.Discussion: This study is relevant to how individuals and organizations communicate information about this viral pandemic and the probable impact of this news on the general public.Keywords: COVID-19, information frame, perception, emotion

Background: We aim to compare the safety and effectiveness of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) versus percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) in treating overactive bladder. Methods: A systematical search on PubMed, Embase, clinicalTrial.gov, and Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials from January 1, 1999 to November 1, 2020 was performed. The primary outcomes were the changes in a 3-day voiding diary. Quality of life scores were also evaluated. Review Manager 5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK) was applied to conduct all statistical analyses. Results: A total of 4 trials (2 randomized controlled trials, 1 retrospective study, and 1 before-after study) with 142 patients were eventually enrolled. Compared with PTNS, TTNS had a similar performance in the voiding frequency in 24 hours (mean difference [MD] = −0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −1.35 to 0.05, P = .07), the number of urgency episodes in 24 hours (MD = 0.13, 95% CI: −0.36 to 0.62, P = .60), the number of incontinence episodes in 24 hours (MD = 0.01, 95% CI: −0.13 to 0.14, P = .93), as well as in the nocturia frequency (MD = −0.14, 95% CI: −0.52 to 0.24, P = .47). Moreover, comparable results were observed regarding HRQL scores (P = .23) and incontinence quality of life scores (P = .10) in both groups. The total complication rate in the current study was 2.1% (3/142). No adverse events were identified in the TTNS group. Conclusion: Current data supported that TTNS is as effective as PTNS for the treatment of overactive bladder, moreover, with no reported adverse events. However, the evidence is low-grade and well-designed prospective studies with a large sample size are warranted to verify our findings.

Simple Summary Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are members of the heat shock protein (HSP) family that play an important role in heat stress, and heat shock factors (HSFs) are transcriptional activators that mainly regulate the expression of HSPs. Cotesia chilonis, the major endoparasitoid of Chilo suppressalis, widely distributes in China and other Asian regions. Previous studies have shown that C. chilonis has a certain thermal tolerance. Here, heat-induced HSP11.0 and master-regulator HSF were cloned and characterized from C. chilonis. The transcription patterns of them in response to different temperatures and time course after temperature treatment were analyzed. This study is the first report on the analysis on hsf gene of C. chilonis. The results of expression patterns will provide new insights into thermoregulation of C. chilonis in response to climate change. Abstract Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are members of the heat shock protein (HSP) family that play an important role in temperature stress, and heat shock factors (HSFs) are transcriptional activators that regulate HSP expression. Cotesia chilonis, the major endoparasitoid of Chilo suppressalis, modulates the C. suppressalis population in the field. In this study, we cloned and characterized two genes from C. chilonis: the heat-induced HSP11.0 gene (Cchsp11.0) that consisted of a 306-bp ORF, and the master regulator HSF (Cchsf) containing an 1875-bp ORF. CcHSP11.0 contained a chaperonin cpn10 signature motif that is conserved in other hymenopteran insects. CcHSF is a typical HSF and contains a DNA-binding domain, two hydrophobic heptad repeat domains, and a C-terminal trans-activation domain. Neither Cchsp11.0 or Cchsf contain introns. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that Cchsp11.0 and Cchsf were highly induced at 36 °C and 6 °C after a 2-h exposure. Overall, the induction of Cchsf was lower than Cchsp11.0 at low temperatures, whereas the opposite was true at high temperatures. In conclusion, both Cchsp11.0 and Cchsf are sensitive to high and low temperature stress, and the expression pattern of the two genes were positively correlated during temperature stress.

Shewanella oneidensis is a model strain of electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) because of its strong capability of performing extracellular electron transfer (EET) and its genetic tractability. In this study, we investigated the effect of carbon sources on EET in S. oneidensis by using reduction of palladium ions [Pd(II)] as a model and found that pyruvate greatly accelerated Pd(II) reduction compared with lactate by resting cells. Both the Mtr pathway and hydrogenases played a role in Pd(II) reduction when pyruvate was used as a carbon source. Furthermore, in comparison with lactate-feeding S. oneidensis, the transcriptional levels of formate dehydrogenases involved in pyruvate catabolism, the Mtr pathway, and hydrogenases in pyruvate-feeding S. oneidensis were upregulated. Mechanistically, the enhancement of electron generation from pyruvate catabolism and electron transfer to Pd(II) explains the pyruvate effect on Pd(II) reduction. Interestingly, a 2-h time window is required for pyruvate to regulate transcription of these genes and profoundly improve Pd(II) reduction capability, suggesting hierarchical regulation for pyruvate sensing and response in S. oneidensis. IMPORTANCE The unique respiration of EET is crucial for biogeochemical cycling of metal elements and diverse applications of EAB. Although a carbon source is a determinant factor of bacterial metabolism, research into the regulation of the carbon source of EET is rare. In this work, we report pyruvate-specific regulation and improvement of EET in S. oneidensis and reveal the underlying mechanism, which suggests potential targets for engineering and improvement of the EET efficiency of this bacterium. This study sheds light on the regulatory role of carbon sources in anaerobic respiration in EAB, providing a way to regulate EET for diverse applications from a novel perspective.

Heat shock 70kDa proteins (HSP70s) and their cochaperones DNAJs are ubiquitous molecular chaperones, which function as the “HSP70/DNAJ machinery” in a myriad of biological processes. At present, a number of HSP70s have been classified in many species, but studies on DNAJs, especially in insects, are lacking. Here, we first systematically identified and characterized the HSP70 and DNAJ family members in the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, a destructive rice pest in Asia. A total of nine HSP70 and 31 DNAJ genes were identified in the BPH genome. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed the high diversity of the NlDNAJ family. Additionally, spatio-temporal expression analysis showed that most NlHSP70 and NlDNAJ genes were highly expressed in the adult stage and gonads. Furthermore, RNA interference (RNAi) revealed that seven NlHSP70s and 10 NlDNAJs play indispensable roles in the nymphal development, oogenesis, and female fertility of N. lugens under physiological growth conditions, in addition, one HSP70 (NlHSP68) was found to be important in the thermal tolerance of eggs. Together, our results in this study shed more light on the biological roles of HSP70/DNAJ in regulating life cycle, coping with environmental stresses, and mediating the interactions within, or between, the two gene families in insects.