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Back-illuminated modified uni-traveling carrier photodiode (MUTC-PD) with improved saturation performance at high frequencies is developed and its application in wireless communications is demonstrated. A gradient doped absorption region and a cliff layer with optimized doping concentration are adopted to fine-tune the electric field within the device, so as to alleviate the space-charge screening for high saturation performance. Passive circuits are fabricated on 127-μm-thick quartz substrate for low transmission loss. The fabricated 8-μm-diameter MUTC-PD exhibits flat frequency responses at F-band (90–140 GHz) and high saturation power of 2.3 dBm at 100 GHz. The packaged MUTC-PD module with WR-8 waveguide output serves as a photonics-assisted transmitter for high-performance sub-THz wireless data transmission in the F-band. We have successfully demonstrated a 1-m free space transmission at a carrier frequency of 131.5 GHz. The maximum line rate achieved in our experiment is 120 Gb/s, utilizing 30-Gbaud 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals. Accounting for the overhead of soft-decision forward error correction (SD-FEC), we have achieved a net rate of 104.35 Gb/s for a single channel. Furthermore, a line rate of 100 Gb/s can be maintained for extended distance of free space transmission by simply increasing the input optical power.

Applying the staggered grid finite difference method (SGFDM) for simulating acoustic responses in large-scale, complex, 3-D models poses substantial challenges in geophysics, especially in high-resolution stratigraphic model, due to the high computational burden. To address this problem, we have proposed a low overhead parallel optimization method (LOPOM) suitable for heterogeneous architectures, using high-resolution borehole models as examples. The LOPOM enhances computational intensity and optimizes memory bandwidth utilization. This is achieved through the technique of data reuse along the discontinuities of the model and by minimizing such discontinuities within the halo region. LOPOM was implemented and tested on the CUDA platform and the Sunway supercomputer. In each instance, LOPOM demonstrated an optimal acceleration ratio, thus proving its robust performance. Furthermore, the method’s effectiveness was confirmed through its application to fracture-vuggy formation models and digital core models. Finally, the numerical simulation results and the actual logging data are combined to illustrate the application value of LOPOM.

The next generation Sunway supercomputer employs the SW26010pro processor, which features a specialized on-chip heterogeneous architecture. Applications with significant hotspots can benefit from the great computation capacity of Sunway many-core architectures by carefully making intensive manual many-core parallelization efforts. However, some projects with large codebases contain numerous lines of code and do not have significant hotspots. The cost of manually porting such applications to the Sunway architecture is almost unaffordable. To overcome such a challenge, we have developed a toolkit named O2ATH. O2ATH forwards GNU OpenMP runtime library calls to Sunway’s Athread library, which greatly simplifies the parallelization work on the Sunway architecture. O2ATH enables users to write both MPE and CPE code in a single file, and parallelization can be achieved by utilizing OpenMP directives and attributes. Users can efficiently port projects with large codebases to CPEs and achieve a competitive speedup by using O2ATH. In practice, O2ATH has helped us to port two large projects, CESM and ROMS. In the experiments, compared to the kernels that only run on MPEs, kernels using O2ATH achieved speedups ranging from 3 to 15 times, resulting in 3 to 6 times whole application speedups. Furthermore, O2ATH requires significantly fewer code modifications compared to manually crafting CPE functions. This indicates that O2ATH can greatly enhance development efficiency when porting or optimizing large software projects on Sunway supercomputers.

A gain-coupled high-power low-RIN $1.55~\mu \text{m}$ single-mode distributed feedback (DFB) laser with a 6- $\mu \text{m}$ -wide ridge waveguide is demonstrated based on an optimized double trench ridge waveguide structure. Gain-coupling mechanism is implemented by carrier-injection gratings. The impact of the doping concentration and thickness variations in the p-InP spacer layer on the carrier density ripple within the active region is investigated to achieve a large gain-coupling coefficient. The fabricated DFB laser exhibits a ~ 220 mW kink-free output power with a relative intensity noise (RIN) below −166 dB/Hz at 25°C. The side-mode suppression-ratio (SMSR) is about 60 dB and the far-field full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) divergence angles are $10^{\circ }\times 20^{\circ }$ .

Depression, a significant psychiatric disorder, affects individuals' physical well-being and daily functioning. This focused analysis provides a comprehensive exploration of contemporary research conducted between 2012 and 2023 that delves into the utilization of sophisticated machine learning methodologies aimed at identifying correlates of depression within social media content. Our study meticulously dissects various data sources and performs a comprehensive examination of different machine learning algorithms cited in the researched articles and literature, aiming to pinpoint an approach that can enhance detection accuracy. Furthermore, we have scrutinized the use of varied data from social media platforms and pinpointed emerging trends, notably spotlighting novel applications of artificial neural networks for image processing and classification, along with advanced gait image models. Our results offer essential direction for future research focused on enhancing detection precision, acting as a valuable reference for academic and industry scholars in this field.

Molecular dynamics (MD) is one of the most crucial computer simulation methods for understanding real-world processes at the atomic level. Reactive potentials based on the bond order concept have the ability to model dynamic bond breaking and formation with close to quantum mechanical (QM) precision without actually requiring expensive QM calculations. In this article, we focus on the adaptive intermolecular reactive empirical bond-order (AIREBO) potential in LAMMPS for the simulation of carbon and hydrocarbon systems on the new Sunway supercomputer. To achieve scalable performance, we propose a parallel two-level building scheme and periodic buffering strategy for the tailored data design to explore data locality and data reuse. Furthermore, we design two optimized nearest-neighbor access algorithms: the redistribution of accumulated coefficients algorithm and the double-end search connectivity algorithm. Finally, we implement parallel force computation with an AoS data layout and hardware/software co-cache. In addition, we have designed a low-overhead atomic operation-based load balancing method and vectorization. The overall performance of AIREBO achieves a speedup of nearly $20\times$20× on a single core group (CG), and more than $5\times$5× and $4\times$4× over an Intel Xeon E5 2680 v3 core and an Intel Xeon Gold 6138 core, respectively. Compared with the Intel accelerator package in LAMMPS, our performance further achieves $3.0\times$3.0× of an Intel Xeon E5 2680 v3 core and is better than that of an Intel Xeon Gold 6138 core. We complete the validation of the results in no more than 20.5 hours on a single node with 2,000,000 running steps (i.e., 1 ns). Our experiments show that the simulation of 2,139,095,040 atoms on 798,720 ((1MPE+64CPEs) × 12,288 processes) cores exhibits a parallel efficiency of 88% under weak scaling.

With the increasing complexity of scientific computing, it is imperative to enhance the efficiency and ease of High Performance Computing (HPC) utilization. Scientific workflow is introduced to that aim, but the current infrastructure still needs optimization. In this paper, we discuss the current problems based on scientific computing scenarios and design a more user-friendly workflow system solution targeting HPC services. In the proposed solution, we introduce a structured method to describe the workflow and employ a more user-friendly interface for scientific workflows to bring a better experience than traditional command line approaches. We have integrated a variety of methods to enhance the user experience during geoscience experiments. Data analytics are being used to make more intelligent recommendations to users. Runtime predictions help users to better plan their schedules for research. The statistics of the testing period and user feedback show that the proposed workflow management system can effectively save the operating time and complexity of the scientists, while saving computing resources. Our proposed system has a variety of advantageous features, including the ease of use, uniform specification with scalability, improved utilization of computing resources, and exemplary significance.

Introduction: Ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir is a novel antiretroviral therapy regimen used to treat human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection. This study aimed to compare the pharmacokinetics of ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir in HIV-1-infected patients aged ≥ 65 (elderly patients) and ≤ 40 years (young patients). Methods: This prospective, open-label, parallel controlled clinical study included 15 young and 15 elderly patients. Blood (1 mL) was collected 30 min before dosing and at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24 h after dosing, to measure the plasma concentrations of ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir. Safety was assessed by monitoring the adverse events, physical examinations, and clinical laboratory tests. Results: Plasma concentrations of each ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir component reached peak levels 1–4 h after dosing and gradually decreased during the remaining observation period. Compared with the young group, ainuovirine had significantly higher T1/2Ke, AUC0–24, and AUC0–inf(all P< 0.05) in the elderly group, whereas Ke(P= 0.002) was significantly lower. However, the Cmaxand Tmaxof ainuovirine did not differ significantly. Lamivudine and tenofovir also had a significantly higher Cmax(p= 0.004 and p= 0.008, respectively) and AUC0–inf(P= 0.014 and P= 0.006, respectively) in the elderly group, whereas there was no significant difference in Tmax, Ke, and T1/2Ke. Ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir was well tolerated in both the young and elderly groups. Conclusion: This study suggests that the ainuovirine/lamivudine/tenofovir regimen might be an effective and safe treatment regimen for HIV-1-infected patients aged ≥ 65 years and ≤ 40 years. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and develop optimal dosing regimens for elderly HIV-1-infected patients.

Diamond grinding wheel grinding has gradually become the main method for processing hard and brittle materials such as silicon carbide. Surface-structured grinding wheel prepared by laser ablation is a key technology to enhance grinding performance. A novel laser ablation vein-like structured grinding wheel (VLSGW) is suggested in this paper. The vein structure can effectively reduce the flow resistance. Four kinds of bionic vein structure flow channels were ablated on grinding wheels by picosecond pulse laser. The influence of the VLSGW on the air backflow and air pressure on the workpiece surface was analyzed by simulation. The grinding performance of VLSGW and unstructured grinding wheel (USGW) grinding SiC were compared. Compared with USGW, VLSGW can reduce normal and tangential grinding forces by up to 47.37 % and 41.06 %. At the same time VLSGW has a better workpiece surface topology and wear resistance than USGW.

As one of the best electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction, platinum catalysts are a benchmark for the performance evaluation of new catalysts. However, platinum catalysts reported in the literature show diverse electrocatalytic performances, resulting in the lack of a common reference standard. In this study, we investigated several factors that affect the performance of platinum catalysts by performing experimental measurements and data processing. These factors included the solution resistance, electrolyte temperature, loading quantity, catalyst microstructure, and normalization method of the current density. Finally, we recommended criteria for the performance evaluation of electrocatalysts.

This installment of Computer’s series highlighting the work published in IEEE Computer Society journals comes from IEEE Transactions on Computers.

Transition-metal spinel oxides have attracted considerable interest as high-performance electrodes for electrochemical energy storage and conversion, where irreversible or reversible spinel–rocksalt (S–R) phase transformation at the oxide surface has been frequently observed, which sensitively controls their performance. Exploring key factors controlling the S–R transformation and its reversibility at the atomic scale is important for understanding the electrochemical performance of spinel oxides. Using Co3O4nanoparticles as an example, which represent a promising electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction, we present in situ atomic-scale imaging of the S–R transformation by using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with the integrated differential phase contrast imaging technique to visualize oxygen anions and transition-metal cations simultaneously. We reveal that the S–R transformation is not only determined by the oxygen vacancy formation energy but also largely controlled by the surface polarity of the reconstructed rocksalt layer, leading to a faster S–R transformation at the (001) surface than the (111) surface. Moreover, cobalt and oxygen vacancies are directly identified at the spinel/rocksalt interface, leading to the formation of an intermediate defective rocksalt phase and a two-step S–R transformation process. The existence of the intermediate defective rocksalt phase or not decisively controls the reversibility of the two-step S–R transformation. The uncovered facet dependence and vacancy-controlled reversibility of the S–R transformation provide important insights into the shape-dependent reactivity and stability of spinel oxide electrodes for electrochemical energy applications.

Scientific visualization is important in modern technological activities and engineering exploration. Due to the dark and high-pressure characteristics of deep sea, it is difficult to visualize the entire operation of deep-sea equipment. Thus, it is of great necessity to use virtual simulation technology to help people understand the operation process of some deep-sea exploration equipment on the sea floor. In this paper, science, art, and new media are combined through artistic rendering, visual processing, and the technology of virtual reality (VR) and holography, which makes the exploration of the latest deep-sea lander and intelligent submersible named “Luling” look more intuitive and smart and have more visual impact and expression. Apart from that, automatic manipulation videos of the rover robot in the deep sea captured by the Luling are effectively nested to realize the goal of virtual and real presentation. The designed scientific visualization of deep-sea equipment can not only adapt to the display output of VR, mobile phones, TV, 360° showcase, and other platforms, but also achieve immersive experience and virtual simulation learning through HTC Vive VR equipment. The technology and design way of scientific visualization in this paper is universal and suitable to the same kind of engineering simulation.

Recent advances in multi-band amplification support ultra-wideband (UWB) systems as a suitable solution to cope with the increasing fiber communications traffic demand. The combination of UWB with spectral-efficient modulation formats can significantly increase in the total throughput of wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) transmission systems. In this work, we demonstrate a 240×70 Gbaud PCS-256QAM WDM transmission using an optical bandwidth of 150 nm across the S, C and L bands. We combine doped-fiber amplifiers, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA) and backward distributed Raman amplification to achieve 200.5 Tbit/s of total generalized mutual information (GMI) throughput over two 100 km pure-silica-core fibers (PSCFs). We also present the digital twin of this experiment, providing the impact of wavelength-dependent impairments on the system performance. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of high-throughput multi-span UWB transmission.

Introduction: Bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) and dolutegravir plus lamivudine (DTG + 3TC) are well tolerated and effective in clinical trials. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these two schemes in a real-world setting and to obtain the first dataset for switching to BIC/FTC/TAF and DTG + 3TC in a Chinese population. Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study in China included participants who switched to DTG + 3TC or BIC/FTC/TAF between January 2020 and February 2023. The main endpoint was the proportion of participants with HIV-1 RNA levels of ≥ 50 copies/mL. Safety, tolerance, and the incidence of low-level viremia (LLV) were evaluated. Results: A total of 525 participants were included, 454 of whom were included in the PP analysis. At week 48, the proportions of participants with HIV-1 RNA ≥ 50 copies/mL were 4.4% (10/225) for DTG + 3TC and 6.1% (14/229) for BIC/FTC/TAF; virological efficacy did not differ significantly between the two groups. Consistent results were obtained in an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis. The incidences of LLV were 3.6% (7/193) and 4.9% (10/206), respectively. During the study, none of the participants stopped taking drugs because of a lack of efficacy or adverse reactions. Conclusions: Both regimens are well tolerated and effective for switching HIV-1 infection therapy. However, the detection of genotypic drug resistance should be considered when baseline virological non-suppression is observed.

The discovery of ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity has always been an urgent task to break through the thermoelectric performance of environment-friendly SnTe materials. As an effective lattice modulation strategy, lattice softening without deteriorating electrical transport has attracted much attention. Herein, we systematically compare and explore the electron-phonon transport characteristics of Q-doped SnTe-GeTe alloys (Q = Bi, Sb, and Ag), especially the visible lattice softening at sound velocity. The high solid-solution of GeTe significantly reduces the sound velocity, and the apparent strong phonon softening is the major contribution to the low lattice thermal conductivity. However, additional Sb/Bi/Ag doping exhibits various modulations on its “softening”. Bi and Ag with large ionic radii easily destroy the crystal structure and restore the sound velocity close to that of pristine SnTe, while Sb with smaller ionic radius maintains the sound velocity. The Debye-Callaway model quantifies phonon softening and defect scattering, elucidating the exotic lattice thermal conductivity distortion. Additionally, the compensated band convergence and carrier concentration modulation synergistically optimize the electrical transport. The trade-off between lattice softening and electronic band modulation ultimately leads to the zTvalues of ~1.0, ~1.1, and ~0.8 in Sn0.66Ge0.3Bi0.04Te, Sn0.66Ge0.3Sb0.04Te, and Sn0.66Ge0.3Ag0.04Te, respectively. This work not only confirms the feasible manipulation of high-concentration GeTe alloying on the lattice softening of SnTe, but also emphasizes the significant modulation effect of trace aliovalent ion doping, providing a useful reference for optimization of lattice thermal conductivity.

High-speed light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are ideal light sources for low-cost plastic optical fiber communication in data-centers and vehicles. Here, high-speed micro-LEDs based on InGaN quantum dot (QD) active region with different diameters are fabricated and characterized. The −3dB bandwidth around 3.6 GHz and 1.4 GHz are achieved in the blue and green micro-LEDs under current density less than 1 kA/cm2, respectively, which can work at an environmental temperature of 125 °C. An equivalent circuit model is proposed to analyze the limiting factors of the bandwidth, using which the effects of carrier recombination and RC time constant on modulation bandwidth are separated. It is found that carrier recombination rate is fast enough and the RC constant is still the main limiting factor for the blue micro-LEDs at an injection current density of more than 500 A/cm2 even when the diameter scales down to $20 \mu \text{m}$ , while the recombination rate mainly limits the bandwidth of the green micro-LEDs.

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) contributes to up to half of the terrestrial C stock and is especially significant in arid and semi-arid environments, yet has not been explored as much as soil organic carbon (SOC). SIC plays an important role in agriculture, CO2sequestration and emission and climate regulation. To address this, a comprehensive review is presented on the digital mapping of soil inorganic carbon including a discussion of SIC vertical variation, its controlling factors, and sequestration/emission capability. We surveyed SIC distribution and mapping efforts in Australia, South Africa, Chile, the Mediterranean basin, Iran, China, France, and the United States. We found that current detailed spatial information on SIC distribution and stock is relatively scarce and digital soil mapping (DSM) efforts to address this are modest. Furthermore, we do not have a complete soil C model that explicitly accounts for all sources and sinks of soil carbon. This review showed that many aspects of SIC in DSM and soil C studies have been so far ignored and that SIC has a crucial role in climate regulation. This review provides some insights into the importance and unknown aspects of SIC.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the case fatality rate (CFR) becomes an urgent goal. Objective: This study explored the effect of vaccination and variants on COVID-19 fatality and provide a basis for the adjustment of control measures. Methods: This study collected epidemiological information on COVID-19 from January to October 2021. By setting different lag times, we calculated the adjusted CFR. The Spearman correlation coefficient and beta regression were used to explore factors that may affect COVID-19 fatality. Results: Every 1% increase in the percentage of full vaccinations may reduce the 3 weeks lagging CFR by 0.66%. Increasing the restrictions on internal movement from level 0 to 1, restrictions on international travel controls from level 2 to 3, and stay-at-home restrictions from level 0 to 2 were associated with an average reduction in 3 weeks lagging CFR of 0.20%, 0.39%, and 0.36%, respectively. Increasing strictness in canceling public events from level 0 to 1 and 2 may reduce the 3 weeks lagging CFR by 0.49% and 0.37, respectively. Increasing the severity of school and workplace closures from level 1 or level 0 to 3 may increase the 3 weeks lagging CFR of 0.39% and 0.83, respectively. Every 1-point increase in the Global Health Security (GHS) index score may increase the 3 weeks lagging CFR by 0.12%. Conclusion: A higher percentage of full vaccinations, higher levels of internal movement restrictions, international travel control restrictions, cancelations of public events, and stay-at-home restrictions are factors that may reduce the adjusted CFR.

IMPORTANCE: Mild thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) negatively impacts quality of life, yet no clinical guidelines for its treatment are available. Existing evidence supports the use of doxycycline in treating mild TAO. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short-term (12 weeks) efficacy of doxycycline in treating mild TAO. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this placebo-controlled multicenter randomized double-masked trial, 148 patients were assessed for eligibility. After exclusions (patients who were pregnant or lactating, had an allergy to tetracyclines, or had uncontrolled systematic diseases), 100 patients with mild TAO (orbital soft tissue affected mildly) at 5 centers in China were enrolled from July 2013 to December 2019 and monitored for 12 weeks. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive doxycycline (50 mg) or placebo once daily for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the rate of improvement at 12 weeks compared with baseline assessed by a composite indicator of eyelid aperture (reduction ≥2 mm), proptosis (reduction ≥2 mm), ocular motility (increase ≥8°), and Graves ophthalmopathy-specific quality-of-life (GO-QOL) scale score (increase ≥6 points). Adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 50 participants were assigned to doxycycline and 50 to placebo. The mean (SD) age was 36.7 (9.1) years; 75 participants (75.0%) were female and 100 (100.0%) were Asian. Medication compliance was checked during participant interviews and by counting excess tablets. At week 12, the improvement rate was 38.0% (19 of 50) in the doxycycline group and 16.0% (8 of 50) in the placebo group (difference, 22.0%; 95% CI, 5.0-39.0; P = .01) in the intention-to-treat population. The per-protocol sensitivity analysis showed similar results (39.6% [19 of 48] vs 16.0% [8 of 50]; difference, 23.6%; 95% CI, 6.4-40.8; P = .009). No adverse events other than 1 case of mild gastric acid regurgitation was recorded in either group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The results of this study indicate that oral doxycycline, 50 mg daily, resulted in greater improvement of TAO-related symptoms at 12 weeks compared with placebo in patients with mild TAO. These findings support the consideration of doxycycline for mild TAO but should be tempered by recognizing the relatively short follow-up and the size of the cohort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02203682

The exploitation of M-NXsites, where M is a transition metal atom, is widely regarded as an effective catalytic strategy to promote the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In addition, some studies have shown that transition metal nanoparticles (M-NPs) coated with carbon layers can improve the reactivity of ORR and ameliorate the overpotential of the reaction. In this study, we synthesized carbon nanotubes with single-atom Co-NXactive sites, Co-NPs outside the tube, and Co-NPs wrapped in the tube by the complexation-pyrolysis synthesis method and explored the role of the particles and Co-NXsites through different pickling steps. The catalyst synthesized with the new stratagem in this study shows outstanding selectivity and also ORR activity. Furthermore, a natural air diffusion electrode fabricated using this material can produce H2O2at 323 mg L–1h–1under neutral conditions without oxygen aeration.

Single-photon emitters (SPEs) play an important role in many optical quantum technologies. However, an efficient large-scale approach to the generation of high-quality SPE arrays remains an elusive goal at room temperature. Here, we demonstrate a scalable method of generating SPE arrays in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with high yield, brightness, and purity using single-pulse irradiation by a femtosecond laser. Our use of a single pulse per defect pattern minimized heat-related damages and improved the purity of SPEs compared with the previous laser-based approaches. Under the optimized fabrication and post-treatment conditions, SPE arrays were successfully generated from the 3.0 μm defect patterns with 43% yield, the highest among the 2D-based top-down approaches. Importantly, we found that 100% of the bright defect patterns are SPEs with g2(0) < 0.5 under such conditions, with the lowest g2(0) = 0.06 ± 0.03. Our SPEs also exhibit the highest brightness with the saturation SPE rate at 7.15 million counts per second. We believe that our overall high-quality and large-scale approach will help a wide range of applications of SPEs in on-chip quantum technologies.

Soil depth is critical for eco-hydrological modeling, carbon storage calculation and land evaluation. However, its spatial variation is poorly understood and rarely mapped. With a limited number of sparse samples, how to predict soil depth in a large area of complex landscapes is still an issue. This study constructed an ensemble machine learning model, i.e., quantile regression forest, to quantify the relationship between soil depth and environmental conditions. The model was then combined with a rich set of environmental covariates to predict spatial variation of soil depth and straightforwardly estimate the associated predictive uncertainty in the 140 000 km2Heihe River basin of northwestern China. A total of 275 soil depth observation points and 26 covariates were used. The results showed a model predictive accuracy with coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.587 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.98 cm (square root scale), i.e., almost 60% of soil depth variation explained. The resulting soil depth map clearly exhibited regional patterns as well as local details. Relatively deep soils occurred in low lying landscape positions such as valley bottoms and plains while shallow soils occurred in high and steep landscape positions such as hillslopes, ridges and terraces. The oases had much deeper soils than outside semi-desert areas, the middle of an alluvial plain had deeper soils than its margins, and the middle of a lacustrine plain had shallower soils than its margins. Large predictive uncertainty mainly occurred in areas with a lack of soil survey points. Both pedogenic and geomorphic processes contributed to the shaping of soil depth pattern of this basin but the latter was dominant. This findings may be applicable to other similar basins in cold and arid regions around the world.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and molecular pathways in eutopic endometrial stromal cells (EuESCs) from adenomyosis (AM) patients and to provide a new insight into the disease mechanisms. The gene expression profiles in adenomyotic EuESCs (A-EuESCs) and normal ESCs (N-ESCs) were analyzed by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) and validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways enrichment analyses were performed to obtain insights into the functions of DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database and visualized by Cytoscape software, and their hub genes were identified. A total of 458 up-/363 down-regulated genes were identified in A-EuESCs versus N-ESCs. The GO enrichment analysis showed that these genes were significantly enriched in calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The most significant term of the KEGG pathway analysis was cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. There were 145 nodes in the PPI network of the 157 DEGs, which were identified in significant enrichment pathway by the KEGG pathway analysis in N-ESCs and A-EuESCs. The PPI network revealed that IL-6 was a central hub gene. Besides, IL-6 was found as a central hub gene in the pro-inflammatory/chemotactic subnetwork, and EGF was noted as a central hub gene in the angiogenesis subnetwork. Our study indicated the alterations of transcriptomic profiles in A-EuESCs and provided new insights into the pathogenesis of AM. The A-EuESCs in women with AM have fundamental abnormalities that may predispose to pro-invasion/migration and angiogenesis.

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