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Background: Stricture in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) carries a high risk of CD-related surgery in the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of occurrence of CD-related surgery and to determine baseline risk factors predicting subsequent surgery in this patient group. Methods: Patients registered with stricturing CD were included. All baseline and follow-up data were collected retrospectively. Patients attended the clinic for follow-up at week 14 to assess their response to infliximab (IFX). CD-related surgery was the observational endpoint. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used. Results: A total of 123 patients with stricturing CD were included in this study. The cumulative risk of CD-related surgery for years 1–5 after diagnosis was 18.0%, 26.7%, 32.6%, 40.7%, and 46.4%, respectively. Prior gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, low body mass index (BMI), and high platelet count might be risk factors for future CD-related surgery. With 97 participants treated by IFX, prior GI surgery and primary non-response (PNR) to IFX correlated with future CD-related surgery. Conclusion: Prior GI surgery, BMI, and platelet counts were related to future CD-related surgery. Patients who were PNR to IFX had a higher risk of CD-related surgery in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charge transport in quasi‐2D perovskites limits their applications despite the superior stability and optoelectronic properties. Herein, a novel strategy is proposed to enhance the charge transport by regulating 3D perovskite phase in quasi‐2D perovskite films. The carbohydrazide (CBH) as an additive is introduced into (PEA)2MA3Pb4I13 precursors, which slows down the crystallization process and improves the phase ratio and crystal quality of the 3D phase. This structure change results in a significant improvement in charge transport and extraction, leading to the device demonstrating an almost 100% internal quantum efficiency, a peak responsivity of 0.41 A W−1, and a detectivity of 1.31 × 1012 Jones at 570 nm under 0 V bias. Furthermore, the air and moisture stability of (PEA)2MA3Pb4I13 films is not deteriorated but gets significantly improved due to the better crystal quality and the passivation of defects by the residual CBH molecule. This work demonstrates a strategy for improving the charge transport properties of quasi‐2D perovskites and also sheds light on solving the stability issue of 3D perovskite films via the proper passivation or additives, which will inspire the fast development of the perovskite community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, substantial advancements have been made in the development of enzyme-free glucose sensors utilizing pristine metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their combinations. This paper provides a comprehensive exploration of various MOF-based glucose sensors, encompassing monometallic MOF sensors as well as multi-metal MOF combinations. These approaches demonstrate improved glucose detection capabilities, facilitated by the augmented surface area and availability of active sites within the MOF structures. Furthermore, the paper delves into the application of MOF complexes and derivatives in enzyme-free glucose sensing. Derivatives incorporating carbon or metal components, such as carbon cloth synthesis, rGO-MOF composites, and core–shell structures incorporating noble metals, exhibit enhanced electrochemical performance. Additionally, the integration of MOFs with foams or biomolecules, such as porphyrins, enhances the electrocatalytic properties for glucose detection. Finally, this paper concludes with an outlook on the future development prospects of enzyme-free glucose MOF sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the lubrication performance of polystyrene microspheres (PS) as solid lubricant in drilling fluids, elastic graphite–polystyrene composite microspheres (EGR/PS), montmorillonite–elastic graphite–polystyrene composite microspheres (OMMT/EGR/PS), and polytetrafluoroethylene–polystyrene composite microspheres (PTFE/PS) were prepared by suspension polymerization. OMMT/EGR/PS has a rough surface, while the surfaces of the other three composite microspheres are smooth. Among the four kinds of composite microspheres, the largest particle is OMMT/EGR/PS, and the average size is about 400 μm. The smallest particle is PTFE/PS, and the average size is about 49 μm. Compared with pure water, the friction coefficient of PS, EGR/PS, OMMT/EGR/PS and PTFE/PS reduced by 25%, 28%, 48%, and 62%, respectively. The wear tracks of EGR/PS, OMMT/EGR/PS and PTFE/PS are narrower and smoother than those of pure water. When the content of PTFE is 4.0 wt%, the friction coefficient and wear volume of PTFE/PS are 0.213 and 2.45 × 10−4 mm3—74% and 92.4% lower than that of pure water, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced DNA damage is a major risk factor for skin cancer development. UV-induced redistribution of melanin near keratinocyte nuclei leads to the formation of a supranuclear cap, which acts as a natural sunscreen and protects DNA by absorbing and scattering UV radiation. However, the mechanism underlying the intracellular movement of melanin in nuclear capping is poorly understood. In this study, we found that OPN3 is an important photoreceptor in human epidermal keratinocytes and is critical for UVA-mediated supranuclear cap formation. OPN3 mediates supranuclear cap formation via the calcium-dependent G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway and ultimately upregulates Dync1i1 and DCTN1 expression in human epidermal keratinocytes via activating calcium/CaMKII, CREB, and Akt signal transduction. Together, these results clarify the role of OPN3 in regulating melanin cap formation in human epidermal keratinocytes, greatly expanding our understanding of the phototransduction mechanisms involved in physiological function in skin keratinocytes. The G protein-coupled receptor Opsin 3 is critical for supranuclear cap formation mediated by solar ultraviolet radiation in human epidermal keratinocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reports of Mycobacterium colombiense infection are extremely rare and are often overlooked. • We first report the clinical features of disseminated M. colombiense infection. • Patients infected with M. colombiense can present as disseminated infections. • Metagenomic next-generation sequencing plays a crucial role in early diagnosis of M. colombiense infection. • Early antinontuberculous combination therapy improves the clinical prognosis. Localized or disseminated infection caused by different nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species has been increasingly reported in recent years, but reports of Mycobacterium colombiense infection are extremely rare. Herein, we analyzed the clinical features of patients with disseminated M. colombiense infection. Patients diagnosed with disseminated M. colombiense infection between February 4, 2016 and August 25, 2021 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. NTM infection was diagnosed in 248 HIV-negative patients. Of these, nine patients with disseminated M. colombiense infection were enrolled. Five of these patients were positive for anti-interferon-γ autoantibodies. The lung, lymph nodes, bones, and joints were the most commonly involved organs. Anemia, fever, lymphadenopathy, cough and expectoration, and ostealgia were the most common symptoms. The levels of white blood cells and neutrophils were increased in eight patients. M. colombiense was detected by both metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and culture in four patients and only by mNGS in the remaining five patients. All patients received combination anti-NTM therapy; five underwent surgery. The condition of eight patients improved, and one died during the treatment. Patients infected with M. colombiense can present as disseminated infections, easily involving multiple organs, such as the lung, lymph nodes, bone, and joints, with fever, lymphadenopathy, and increased white blood cell and neutrophil counts. mNGS plays a crucial role in the early diagnosis of M. colombiense infection. Once diagnosed, timely and effective anti-NTM therapy, combined with local surgery if necessary, can improve the prognosis of patients with this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: According to the different characteristics of patients and cervical lymph node metastasis of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, the marginal mandibular branches of facial nerves were treated by different surgical procedures, and the safety and protective effects of different surgical procedures were investigated. Methods: One hundred ninety-seven patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer satisfying the inclusion criteria were selected. According to the different characteristics of patients and cervical metastatic lymph nodes, three different surgical procedures were used to treat the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerve: finding and exposing the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves at the mandibular angles of the platysma flaps, finding and exposing the marginal mandibular branches of facial nerves at the intersections of the distal ends of facial arteries and veins with the mandible, and not exposing the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves. The anatomical position, injury, and complications of the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves were observed. Results: The marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves were found and exposed at the mandibular angles of the platysma flaps in 102 patients; the marginal mandibular branches of facial nerves were found and exposed at the intersections of the distal ends of the facial arteries and veins with the mandibles in 64 patients; the marginal mandibular branches of facial nerves were not exposed in 31 patients; among them, four patients had permanent injury of the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves, and temporary injury occurred in seven patients. There were statistically significant differences in the protection of the mandibular marginal branch of the facial nerve among the three different surgical methods (P = 0.0184). The best protective effect was to find and expose the mandibular marginal branch of the facial nerve at the mandibular angle of the platysma muscle flap, and the injury rate was only 2.94%. Conclusion: The three different surgical procedures were all safe and effective in treating the marginal mandibular branches of the facial nerves, the best protective effect was to find and expose the mandibular marginal branch of the facial nerve at the mandibular angle of the platysma muscle flap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submental island flap has certain advantages in repairing postoperative defects of oral cancer, and it can often achieve similar or even better effects compared with those of the free tissue flap. In this study, according to the different characteristics of patients and postoperative defects of oral cancer, submental island flaps with different states of vascular pedicle were prepared, and its repair methods, safety, and clinical effects in treating postoperative defects of oral cancer were investigated. 83 patients with oral cancer who met the inclusion criteria were selected. According to the different characteristics of the patients and postoperative defects of oral cancer, the traditional submental island flap vascular pedicle was modified into three different states: submental artery perforator flap, vascular pedicled flap with the anterior belly of digastric muscle but without the submandibular gland (SIF with anterior belly of DM), and vascular pedicled flap with the anterior belly of the digastric muscle and the submandibular gland (SIF with anterior belly of DM and SG). The types of the submental artery and the drainage vein, flap survival, and complications, were observed. The flap was successfully harvested for all patients, and the submental artery could be found or separated for all of them, with the venous drainage to the internal jugular vein in 57 (57/83, 68.67%), to the external jugular vein in 18 (18/83, 21.69%), and to the anterior jugular vein in eight (8/83, 9.64%) cases. Submental artery perforator flap was used for 11 cases, complete necrosis occurred in two cases (2/11, 18.18%), partial necrosis occurred in one case (1/11, 9.09%); SIF with anterior belly of DM was used for 49 cases, complete necrosis occurred in one case (1/49, 2.04%), partial necrosis occurred in four cases (4/49, 8.16%); SIF with anterior belly of DM and SG was used for 23 cases, including chimeric flap combining the submental island flap and the submandibular gland used for 15 cases, there were no cases of complete or partial necrosis. Submental island flap was effective in repairing postoperative defects of oral cancer. Submental island flaps with three different states of vascular pedicle could repair oral cancer-affected tissues with different defect characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High titers of anti-interferon-γ autoantibodies (AIGAs) are an important factor leading to persistent, relapsed, and refractory infections in HIV-negative hosts infected with Talaromyces marneffei (TM). We report 5 patients treated with pulses of high-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY) who were followed for 2 years. Before IVCY therapy, all patients had multiple relapses, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 2 (1–3) instances of relapse. The median serum AIGA titers (IQR) were 58 753 (41 203–89 605) ng/mL at diagnosis, 48 189.4 (15 537–83 375) ng/mL before IVCY therapy, and 10 721.2 (5637–13 245) ng/mL at the end of IVCY therapy (P <.05). After 3 months of follow-up, the median AIGA titers (IQR) rose gradually to 21 232.6 (9896–45 626) ng/mL, and to 37 464.2 (19 872–58 321) ng/mL at 24 months (P <.05). Five patients discontinued antimicrobial therapy within 3–12 months after completion of IVCY therapy, but only 1 patient had a relapse. In conclusion, pulses of short-term and high-dose IVCY can effectively reduce AIGA titers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma is the most common primary tumor in the central nervous system, and thrombosis-associated genes are related to its occurrence and progression. Univariate Cox and LASSO regression analysis were utilized to develop a new prognostic signature based on thrombosis-associated genes. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and HALLMARK were used for functional annotation of risk signature. ESTIMATE, MCP-counter, xCell, and TIMER algorithms were used to quantify immune infiltration in the tumor microenvironment. Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) was used for selecting potential drug compounds. Risk signature based on thrombosis-associated genes shows moderate performance in prognosis prediction. The functional annotation of the risk signature indicates that the signaling pathways related to the cell cycle, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and immune suppression are rich in the high-risk group. Somatic mutation analysis shows that tumor-suppressive gene TP53 and oncogene PTEN have higher expression in low-risk and high-risk groups, respectively. Potential drug compounds are explored in risk score groups and show higher AUC values in the low-risk score group. A nomogram with valuable prognostic factors exhibits high sensitivity in predicting the survival outcome of GBM patients. Our research screens out multiple thromboses-associated genes with remarkable clinical significance in GBM and further develops a meaningful prognostic risk signature predicting drug sensitivity and survival outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aimed to investigate the value of prenatal ultrasonography in the differential diagnosis of fetal space-occupying lesions in the adrenal gland. Methods: Thirty-six fetuses with adrenal gland space-occupying lesions diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography between January 2019 and July 2021 were included in this retrospective study. The clinical data, ultrasonographic features, treatments, and prognoses of the fetuses were analyzed. Postnatal diagnoses were made using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and surgical resection. Results: Of the 36 fetuses, 10 were diagnosed with adrenal hematomas, eight with adrenal neuroblastomas, seven with adrenal cysts, seven with subphrenic pulmonary sequestration, and four with adrenal teratomas. The accuracy of prenatal diagnosis was highest in those with adrenal cysts and subphrenic pulmonary sequestration, with the accuracy being 85.7% for both conditions. The mean gestational age at first detection of subphrenic pulmonary sequestration was 22.5 ± 3.1 weeks, which was significantly lower than that of other diagnoses (P < 0.05), and the mean diameter of adrenal cysts was 15.1 ± 4.2 mm, which was significantly smaller than that of other lesions (P < 0.05). All newborns with adrenal teratomas and neuroblastomas were treated surgically. Five of the seven patients with subphrenic pulmonary sequestration and three of the seven patients with cysts were also treated surgically. Follow-ups of the remaining cases were carried out by enhanced CT examination, and the prognoses were good. Conclusion: Prenatal ultrasonography can help differentiate between different types of fetal adrenal space-occupying lesions, and there is a high coincidence rate between the diagnosis of adrenal cysts and subphrenic pulmonary sequestration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultra-long V 2 O 5 nanobelts were prepared by the improved PVD method. The performance of V 2 O 5 nanobelts photodetectors modified with Pt NPs was investigated from visible to near-infrared region, and the mechanism of enhancing the performance of V 2 O 5 nanobelts photodetectors modified by Pt NPs was revealed. [Display omitted] • Large-scale and ultra-long V 2 O 5 nanobelts have been prepared. • The property of the V 2 O 5 nanobelt photodetector is enhanced by modification with Pt NPs. • The mechanism of the formation of Schottky barrier by Pt modification is revealed. • The Pt NPs-modified V 2 O 5 nanobelt photodetector exhibits excellent performance. Schottky-contacted nanosensors have attracted extensive attention due to their high sensitivity and fast response time. In this article, we proved that the construction of Schottky contact by Pt nanoparticles (NPs) decoration can effectively improve the performance of V 2 O 5 nanobelts photodetectors. After modified by Pt NPs, the photocurrent of V 2 O 5 nanobelts is increased by more than two orders of magnitude, and the photoresponse speed is improved by at least three orders of magnitude. Detailed studies have shown that the performance enhancement is attributed to the formation of the Schottky contact at the electrode-semiconductor interface due to the decrease of surface gas adsorption and the increase of V 2 O 5 work function after Pt NPs modification. The strong built-in field in the Schottky barrier region will quickly separate photogenerated carriers, thereby reducing the electron-hole recombination rate, resulting in the fast response time and an increase in the free carrier density. Moreover, it is found that this enhancement effect can be regulated by controlling the pressure to modulating the Schottky barrier height at the interface. Overall, the Pt NPs-modified V 2 O 5 nanobelts photodetector exhibits a broad response spectrum (visible to near infrared), fast rise/fall response time (less than 6.12/6.15 ms), high responsivity (5.6 A/W), and high specific detectivity (6.9 × 108 Jones). This study demonstrates the feasibility of building a Schottky barrier to enhance the photodetection performance, which provides a general and effective strategy towards the construction and its practical application of supersensitive and fast-response nanosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rising environmental concerns, particularly air quality, the emission regulations for non-road mobile machinery are becoming increasingly strict. Real-time emission prediction from diesel engines is significant for emission control and regional pollution estimation. This study aims to develop a machine learning model and optimize its hyperparameters by using a hyperparameter optimization method to NO X emission. Firstly, we collected NO X emission data from test under the non-road transient test cycle (NRTC) and built a significant dataset to choose a best model. Then, the model was trained by dataset and the hyperparameters were automatically optimized by combining Bayesian and Population based training. The accuracy of the optimized was indicated by an R2 value of 0.9784 with the 8 input features. The relative error in the cycle level was 1.3%. Lastly, the quality of NO X emissions during the cycle and the effect of each parameter on NO X emissions were analyzed. The results show that the model is able to predict the real-time concentration changes of NO X more accurately. It can provide a reference for the research and development of emission control technology for non-road mobile machinery. [Display omitted] • Construct a highly accurate NOx emission prediction model based on data-driven methods. • The combination of Population Based Training and Bayesian optimization method improves the model accuracy. • The relative error in the cycle level was 1.3%. • NOx emission has a good correlation with rotational speed, torque and exhaust temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of N-(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives were synthesized. • IC 50 of 7l were 0.83, 2.12, 3.12, and 8.61 on MV4-11, HT29, MCF-7, HeLa. • 7l was less toxic on normal embryonic kidney cells HEK293 with high selectivity index. • 7l showed potent and similar CDK2 inhibitory activity to AZD5438 with an IC 50 of 64.42 nM. • 7l caused cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. The discovery and development of CDK2 inhibitors has currently been validated as a hot topic in cancer therapy. Herein, a series of novel N -(pyridin-3-yl)pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives were designed and synthesized as potent CDK2 inhibitors. Among them, the most promising compound 7l presented a broad antiproliferative efficacy toward diverse cancer cells MV4-11, HT-29, MCF-7, and HeLa with IC 50 values of 0.83, 2.12, 3.12, and 8.61 μM, respectively, which were comparable to that of Palbociclib and AZD5438. Interestingly, these compounds were less toxic on normal embryonic kidney cells HEK293 with high selectivity index. Further mechanistic studies indicated 7l caused cell cycle arrest and apoptosis on HeLa cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, 7l manifested potent and similar CDK2/cyclin A2 nhibitory activity to AZD5438 with an IC 50 of 64.42 nM. These findings revealed that 7l could serve as a highly promising scaffold for CDK2 inhibitors as potential anticancer agents and functional probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses play a core role and encompass the main workforce in health care systems. Their role model of health promoting lifestyle behaviors (HPLB) would directly or indirectly affect their clients' beliefs or attitudes of health promotion. There is limited evidence on HPLB in clinical registered nurses. The current study aimed to explore the HPLB and associated influencing factors among clinical registered nurses in China. Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional anonymous online survey was conducted in 2020. Participants were asked to complete social demographic information as well as the revised Chinese edition of Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Independent-Sample T-Test, One-Way ANOVA, and categorical regression (optimal scaling regression) were the main methods to analyze the relationship between demographic data and the score of HPLB. Results: 19,422 nurses were included in the study. The mean score of self-actualization, health responsibility/physical activity, nutrition, job safety, interpersonal support, and overall Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile were, 27.61(5.42) out of a score of 36, 22.71(7.77) out of a score of 44, 10.43(2.97) out of a score of 16, 22.05(3.97) out of a score of 28, 20.19(4.67) out of a score of 28, and 102.99 (19.93) out of a score of 144, respectively. There was a significant relationship among Hospital levels, working years, nightshift status, and monthly income per person, and mean score of all subscales and the overall HPLP (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Nurses who participated in the study presented a moderate level of health promoting lifestyle behaviors. Hospital levels, working years, nightshift status, and monthly income per person were predictors for all subscales and overall HPLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: OPN3 upregulation associated with metastasis was recently described in two subtypes of lung cancers. And OPN3 identified in light‐independent functions in epidermal melanocytes has already shown promise. However, in malignant melanocytic tissues, the expression and characterization of OPN3 remain uncharacterized. Objectives: We investigated the clinico‐histopathologic features in relation to OPN3 expression of acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), which is a rare cutaneous melanoma subtype and not associated with prior sunlight exposure. Methods: In all, 84 samples of junctional melanocytic nevi (JMN, n = 12), primary ALMs (n = 39) and inguinal lymph node metastasis (ILNM, n = 23) from ALMs were evaluated for the immunohistochemical expression of OPN3. OPN3 messenger RNA and protein level were further determined in melanocytic tumors using quantitative real‐time PCR, multiimmunofluorescence and Western blot assays. We also estimated the associations OPN3 expression between clinicopathological features and prognosis. Results: ILNMs, in contrast to JMN and ALMs, had higher OPN3 expression scores (p <.001) by immunohistochemistry analysis. High OPN3 score was associated with presence of ulceration, increased Breslow depth and Clark level (p =.025, p =.042, and p =.012, respectively). Furthermore, a remarkable difference (p =.037) of patient overall survival was found when comparing the OPN3 expression of immunohistochemical score between equal to or larger than 100 and below 100 groups. Also, Cox regression models showed that high OPN3 scores were associated with worse melanoma survival. Conclusion: High OPN3 expression is significantly associated with ALMs and metastatic phenotype as well as a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Information about global and local epidemiology and trends of skin cancers is limited, which increases the difficulty of cutaneous cancer control. Methods: To estimate the global spatial patterns and temporal trends of skin cancer burden. Based on the GBD 2019, we collected and analyzed numbers and age‐standardized rates (ASR) of skin cancer incidence, disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) and mortality (ASIR, ASDR, and ASMR) in 204 countries from 1990 through 2019 were estimated by age, sex, subtype (malignant skin melanoma [MSM], squamous‐cell carcinoma [SCC], and basal‐cell carcinoma [BCC]), Socio‐demographic Index (SDI), region, and country. Temporal trends in ASR were also analyzed using estimated annual percentage change. Results: Globally, in 2019, there were 4.0 million BCC, 2.4 million SCC, and 0.3 million MSM. There were approximately 62.8 thousand deaths and 1.7 million DALYs due to MSM, and 56.1 thousand deaths and 1.2 million DALYs were attributed to SCC, respectively. The men had higher ASR of skin cancer burden than women. The age‐specific rates of global skin cancer burden were higher in the older adults, increasing trends observed from 55 years old. Geographically, the numbers and ASR of skin cancers varied greatly across countries, with the largest burden of ASIR in high SDI regions. However, an unexpected increase was observed in some regions from 1990 to 2019, such as East Asia, and Sub‐Saharan Africa. Although there was a slight decrease of the ASMR and ASDR, the global ASIR of MSM dramatically increased, 1990–2019. Also, there was a remarkable increase in ASR of BCC and SCC burden. Conclusions: Skin cancer remains a major global public health threat. Reducing morbidity and mortality strategies such as primary and secondary prevention should be reconsidered, especially in the most prevalent and unexpected increased regions, especially for those areas with the greatest proportions of their population over age 55. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the synthesized Co 3 O 4 /NiCo 2 O 4 /CC is a layered structure, which was prepared by a feasible method of hydrothermal reaction, thermal annealing of ZIF-67 template and other thermal treatment. This novel structure is based on carbon cloth, and Co 3 O 4 hollow nanocubes as semiconductor material grow in situ on nanowire arrays. Under the condition of different temperatures and different concentrations of ethanol, the response of the gas sensor based on Co 3 O 4 /NiCo 2 O 4 was studied. The result shows high sensitivity, good linear relationship and excellent response-recovery properties. And its high sensitivity is demonstrated with a maximum response up to 35 at 180 °C and 200 ppm. The sensor performs well in gas sensitivity thanks to the structure of the material. Large specific surface area, high porosity and fast electronic transport channel between Co 3 O 4 and CC are all important reasons. Accordingly, this method of preparing the novel hierarchical structure can improve the gas sensitive performance. This work would provide a reference for further research on the application of Co 3 O 4 MOF-derived structure in gas sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have protective roles in ischemic injury due to their ability to improve endothelial function and modulate angiogenesis. Microvesicles (MVs) are small membrane particles released by various cell types, including EPCs, which affect various target cells by transferring carried genetic information, including microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs). Depending on the stimuli and cell types, MVs exert different functions. In the present study, oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was used to mimic ischemic-hypoxic (HI) insult, where the effects of HI insult on EPC-derived MVs (EPC-MVs) were subsequently investigated. OGD induced Ca2+ influx in EPCs and increased the release of EPC-MVs compared with normoxic conditions. In addition, MVs prepared from EPCs cultured under normoxic conditions or OGD conditions (OGD-EMVs) had the ability to stimulate the proliferation of EPCs. Furthermore, OGD-EMVs induced stronger effects on proliferation, which may be associated with the upregulation of miR-210 in EPC-MVs. In conclusion, the present results indicated that HI insult promoted the release of MVs from EPCs and upregulated miR-210 in MVs, leading to positive modulation of the proliferation of EPCs cultured under normoxic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-level buck (TLB) converter has the characteristics of higher voltage conversion efficiency, lower inductor current ripples, output voltage ripples and voltage stresses on switches when compared with the buck converters in continuous conduction mode (CCM). With a TLB converter integrated on a chip, we cannot avoid its discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) operation due to a smaller inductance and load variation. In this paper, we'll present and discuss the analysis, design and control of a TLB converter under DCM operation, implemented in a 65 nm CMOS process. Transistor level simulation results show that when the TLB converter operates at 100 MHz with a 5 nH on-chip inductor, a 10 nF output capacitor and a 10 nF flying capacitor, it can achieve an output conversion range of 0.7–1.2 V from a 2.4 V input supply, with a peak efficiency of 81.5%@120 mW. The output load transient response is 100 mV with 101 ns for undershoot, and 86 mV with 110 ns for overshoot when I OUT = 1 0 –100 mA. The maximum output voltage ripple is less than 19 mV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate the changes of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in patients after an attack of primary acute angle closure glaucoma (PAACG) and to assess the impact of attack time on prognosis of retinal changes. Design. cross-sectional study. Methods. Twenty-six patients with unilateral PAACG attack and cataracts from 2017 to 2019 were enrolled. Eyes with PAACG attack time less than 1 day constituted the group A (n = 13), while eyes with PAACG attack time more than 1 day constituted the group B (n = 13). All patients received phacoemulsification and viscogoniosynechialysis after intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering. All patients underwent ophthalmic examinations including IOP, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and visual field (VF). Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was used to obtain circumpapillary RNFL vessel density (cpVD). Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to examine the peripapillary RNFL and macular ganglion cell complex (GCC). All patients accepted 2 assessments before and 1 month after the procedure. Results. The IOP of all patients recovered to normal (12.77 ± 2.65 mm Hgvs. 12.77 ± 3.85 mmHg, p=0.834) after the procedure. Patients in the group A had better BCVA improvement than those in the group B (1.32 ± 0.84 vs. 0.50 ± 0.21, p=0.004), as well as better mean defect (MD) values from VF (−3.65 ± 2.54 vs −16.05 ± 5.99, p<0.001). Compared with group B, patients in the group A had thicker macula (Fovea area: 255.00 ± 27.94 μm vs. 203.92 ± 59.73 μm, p=0.010), thicker GCC (82.62 ± 8.76 μm vs. 65.23 ± 18.56 μm, p=0.005), and thicker RNFL (105.08 ± 9.38 μm vs. 77.69 ± 20.23 μm, p<0.001). Higher blood flow density in all-plexus peripapillary retina was observed in the group A eyes compared with group B (full sector: 0.56 ± 0.02 vs. 0.41 ± 0.07, p<0.001). In both groups, the association between average RNFL thickness and cpVD as well as MD values and pattern standard deviation (PSD) values from VF was stronger (R2 = 0.58, 0.60, −0.54, respectively, all p<0.001) than the association between GCC thickness and cpVD, as well as MD values and PSD values (R2 = 0.37, p=0.001; R2 = 0.37, p=0.001; R2 = −0.27, p=0.007). Conclusion. Patients with attack time less than 1 day had better retinal thickness and all-plexus peripapillary retina blood flow density. Controlling the attack time could decrease retinal damage by PAACG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Screening of immune genes of Coptotermes formosanus by genome analysis increases the number of known immune genes. • Metarhizium anisopliae and nematodes induce a significant change in the expression of about 10 immune genes. • Most of immune genes affected by M. anisopliae and nematodes shows a significant decrease in the expression level. • The lethal effect of M. anisopliae on termites significantly increases after inhibition of Cf PGRP-SC1, Cf SCRB3 and CfHemocytin. In recent years, the use of microbes to control termites has attracted increasing attention. It was found that pathogenic bacteria, nematodes, and fungi effectively control termites under laboratory conditions. However, their effects have not been replicated in the field, and one reason for this is the complex immune defense mechanisms of termites, which are mainly regulated by immune genes. Therefore, altering the expression of immune genes may have a positive influence on the biocontrol efficacy of termites. Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki is one of the most economically important termite pests worldwide. Currently, the large-scale identification of immune genes in C. formosanus is primarily based on cDNA library or transcriptome data rather than at the genomic level. In this study, we identified the immune genes of C. formosanus according to genome-wide analysis. In addition, our transcriptome analysis showed that immune genes were significantly downregulated when C. formosanus was exposed to the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae or nematodes. Finally, we found that injecting dsRNA to inhibit three immune genes (CfPGRP-SC1 , CfSCRB3 , and CfHemocytin), which recognize infectious microbes, significantly increased the lethal effect of M. anisopliae on termites. These immune genes show great potential for C. formosanus management based on RNAi. These results also increase the number of known immune genes in C. formosanus which will provide a more comprehensive insight into the molecular basis of immunity in termites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hybrid terrestrial-satellite system is a promising and attractive infrastructure for future communication networks, conceived to provide navigation assistance, wide coverage, and services in tunnel areas. In this paper, we analyze the performance of two-way hybrid terrestrial-satellite relaying systems over generalized fading channels. More specifically, the satellite-relay link is modeled as the $\kappa$ - $\mu$ shadowed fading channel, whereas the user equipment (UE)-relay link is assumed to follow the Nakagami- $m$ distribution. Despite mathematical intractability, we derive novel and exact outage probability, symbol error probability, and achievable rate expressions in order to tap into hitherto unexplored performance analysis. To obtain better insight into the implications of the channel parameters on the system performance, we also provide asymptotic outage probability expressions at high signal-to-noise ratios. To further improve the system performance, we extend our analysis to a multiple-relay network and propose two relay selection schemes. It is interesting to find that the relay selection scheme of maximizing the received signal power of the satellite can significantly achieve better outage probability performance than that of the $N$ th worst relay selection scheme for the sake of conserving the satellite's power. Finally, we provide simulation results to verify the accuracy of the derived analytical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some bioactive properties of p -coumaric acid and fucose-rich polysaccharide in skin health have been studied, including melanogenesis inhibition of the phenolic acid and growth inhibitory effects of the polysaccharide on melanoma. The dermatological benefits of bird's nest fern extracts (BNFE), containing both substantial fucose-rich polysaccharide and p -coumaric acid, like promoting collagen production and growth of fibroblast cell and further improving the elasticity and dryness of human skins have been demonstrated in our previous study. Besides, the anti-melanization effects of various BNFE on B16-F10 melanoma and human skin were first studied here. The promising extracts revealed that the main phenolic acid, p -coumaric acid, in BNFE resulted in suppression against tyrosinase activity from melanogenesis. The inhibitory kinetics on the diphenolase activity indicated that AE40 was a noncompetitive inhibitor of mushroom tyrosinase. On the other hand, the fucose-rich mucilage of BNFE showed pronouncedly suppressing effect on B16-F10 melanoma viability. Clinical trial was performed by recruiting 46 female volunteers and the results indicated that the lotions with 1% of BNFE was non-irritant and reduced effectively the pigmentation on human skin after 7–14 days of continuous application. It was suggested that the fucose-rich mucilage and p -coumaric acid in BNFE may have potential for nutricosmetics and phytotherapy applications as a natural hypopigmenting agent. Image 1 • The anti-melanization effects of Asplenium australasicum extracts were identified firstly via cellular and human model. • The relation between melanogenesis-inhibiting activities and potential bioactive compounds was understood. • These extracts were relatively more innocent nutricosmetics for reducing hyperpigmentation in cutaneous applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An intricate sea-urchin-like hexagonal WO 3 nanostructure was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach. Sensing properties of the as-fabricated sensor exhibited surpassing response and selectivity for NO 2 in comparison of H 2 after corroborating the composition, phase-purity and surface morphology using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Formation of the urchin-like structure was ascribed to the capping effects of potassium sulfate that prompts the anisotropic growth of WO 3 , leading to hierarchical complex with a large surface-volume ratio. In particular, first-principle calculation had provided a new perspective for us to delve into the sensing process of H 2 and NO 2 from an atomic level. It was found that the sensing properties mainly arose from the tuning of electronic structure and electrons transfer between the adsorbed gas and the sensitized surface along with the charge relocation between them. Finally, a plausible mechanism was proposed as theoretical guidance for achieving high-performance sensors experimentally and supposedly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this work, we report a simple synthesis of hierarchical flower-like NiO/ZnO heterostructure consisting of numerous nanosheets via a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The gas-sensing results reveal that the NiO/ZnO composite based sensor presents excellent properties towards ethanol such as high gas response and good repeatability. The excellent performances are predominantly ascribed to the p-n heterojunction strengthening at the interface between p-type NiO and n-type ZnO, which causes the change of depletion layer and potential barrier height. Moreover, the unique hierarchical architectures may play an evenly important role in the surface sensing reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring the physical layer security (PHY-security) of millimeter-wave (mmWave) communications is one of the key factors for the success of 5G. Recent field measurements show that conventional fading models cannot accurately model the random fluctuations of mmWave signals. To tackle this challenge, the fluctuating two-ray (FTR) fading model has been proposed. In this correspondence, we comprehensively analyze the PHY-security in mmWave communications over FTR fading channels. More specifically, we derive analytical expressions for significant PHY-security metrics, such as the average secrecy capacity, the secrecy outage probability, and the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity, with simple functions. The effect of channel parameters on the PHY-security has been validated by numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castleman disease (CD) is clinically divided into unicentric CD (UCD) and multicentric CD (MCD). Hyaline-vascular variant (HV) is the most common pathological type of UCD, while the plasma cell type (PC) is the most common type of MCD and thus, hyaline-vascular variant multicentric CD (HV-MCD) is a rare type of CD. In addition, its etiology has remained elusive. The present study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 3 patients diagnosed as HV-MCD admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University (Guangxi, China) between January 2007 and September 2020. A total of 2 males and 1 female were admitted. The areas involved varied considerably. Respiratory symptoms were seen in 3 cases, along with fever, weight loss and splenomegaly. Damage to the skin and mucous membranes resulted in oral ulcers when accompanied by paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). Dry and wet rales were found in all patients. All 3 cases were complicated with PNP and had hypoxemia and obstructive ventilation dysfunction. In accordance with PC-MCD, it manifested as lymph node enlargement and may involve several lymph nodes. Computed tomography mainly indicated bronchiectasis and mediastinal lymph node enlargement. In 1 case, chemotherapy failed after local mass excision, 1 case remitted after chemotherapy but the lung lesion was irreversible and 1 case was untreated and soon died of respiratory failure. The cases of HV-MCD with pulmonary involvement were induced by small airway lesions and associated with poor prognosis. Respiratory symptoms along with systemic symptoms were common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D hierarchical porous MoS 2 microspheres assembled by nanosheets were successfully fabricated via a facile yet efficient hydrothermal process using an assistance of CTAB as soft template which had significant effects on the final morphology of MoS 2 products. The possible formation mechanism of the harvested porous MoS 2 microspheres were preliminarily presented on the basis of the experimental results. Moreover, the gas sensing properties of the samples were investigated. The hierarchical porous MoS 2 microspheres are found to exhibit an excellent gas response capability, good response-recovery properties, reproducibility and selectivity, which provides further evidence that assistance CTAB is critical for governing the morphology and properties of the MoS 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluctuating two-ray (FTR) fading model provides a much better fit than other fading models for small-scale fading measurements in millimeter wave communications. In this paper, using a mixture of gamma distributions, new exact analytical expressions for the probability density and cumulative distribution functions of the FTR distribution with arbitrary fading parameters are presented. Moreover, the performance of digital communication systems over the FTR fading channel is evaluated in terms of the channel capacity and the bit error rate. The interaction between channel fading parameters and system performance is further investigated. Our newly derived results extend and complement previous knowledge of the FTR fading model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aqueous sodium‐ion battery of low cost, inherent safety, and environmental benignity holds substantial promise for new‐generation energy storage applications. However, the narrow potential window of water and the enlarged ionic radius because of hydration restrict the selection of electrode materials used in the aqueous electrolyte. Here, inspired by the efficient redox reaction of biomolecules during cellular energy metabolism, a proof of concept is proposed that the redox‐active biomolecule alizarin can act as a novel electrode material for the aqueous sodium‐ion battery. It is demonstrated that the specific capacity of the self‐assembled alizarin nanowires can reach as high as 233.1 mA h g−1, surpassing the majority of anodes ever utilized in the aqueous sodium‐ion batteries. Paired with biocompatible and biodegradable polypyrrole, this full battery system shows excellent sodium storage ability and flexibility, indicating its potential applications in wearable electronics and biointegrated devices. It is also shown that the electrochemical properties of electrodes can be tailored by manipulating naturally occurring 9,10‐anthroquinones with various substituent groups, which broadens application prospect of biomolecules in aqueous sodium‐ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) are often accompanied with varying degrees of renal diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify rs37369 polymorphism of AGXT2 specific to the renal function of CHF patients. A total of 1012 southern Chinese participants, including 487 CHF patients without history of renal diseases and 525 healthy volunteers, were recruited for this study. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine the genotypes of AGXT2 rs37369 polymorphism. Levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCr) were detected to indicate the renal function of the participants. BUN level was significantly higher in CHF patients without history of renal diseases compared with healthy volunteers ( p = 0.000). And the similar result was also obtained for SCr ( p = 0.000). Besides, our results indicated that the level of BUN correlated significantly with SCr in both the CHF patients without renal diseases ( r = 0.4533, p < 0.0001) and volunteers ( r = 0.2489, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, we found that the AGXT2 rs37369 polymorphism could significantly affect the level of BUN in CHF patients without history of renal diseases ( p = 0.036, AA + AG vs GG). Patients with rs37369 GG genotype showed a significantly reduced level of BUN compared to those with the AA genotype ( p = 0.024), and the significant difference was still observed in the smokers of CHF patients without renal diseases ( p = 0.023). In conclusion, we found that CHF might induce the impairment of kidney and cause deterioration of renal function. AGXT2 rs37369 polymorphism might affect the renal function of CHF patients free from renal diseases, especially in patients with cigarette smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pristine and Cr-doped ZnO nanorods were successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route. We found that the ethanol gas response of ZnO was improved significantly by Cr doping. In particular, the enhanced gas-sensing mechanism was investigated by first-principles calculations upon proposed surface adsorption models. The calculated results revealed that the Cr-doped ZnO (0 0 0 1) surface enabled transfer larger electrons and adsorb more oxygen molecules than that of undoped one, thus holding the potential for further enhancement in gas response of ZnO-based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microencapsulation of bioactive neurotrophic factors in biodegradable poly(lactide- co -glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres has been a promising tool in the treatment of various nervous system disorders. However, challenges still exist; the PLGA burst drug release and acidic degradation products often limit clinical application. In this study, cores–shell PLGA-chitosan microparticles (MPs) were fabricated with a single shell of chitosan and multi - cores of PLGA using a re - emulsification method. The glial cell line - derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) was encapsulated at the PLGA cores of the cores–shell MPs. The cores–shell MPs prepared by different chitosan concentrations showed a rough surface, and the particle mean size varied between 32.3 and 45.2 μm. The fluorescence images indicated that Nile red - stained PLGA microspheres were uniformly distributed in the cores–shell MPs. Compared with PLGA microspheres, the cores–shell MPs were able to reduce the initial burst release of GDNF and neutralize the acidity of PLGA degradation products, which could be modulated by changing the chitosan concentrations. Further differentiation of PC12 cells toward a neuronal phenotype in vitro indicated that the cores–shell MPs were capable of maintaining the bioactivity of GDNF during preparation. Taken together, these findings highlight the possibility of using cores–shell PLGA-chitosan MPs for the sustained release of GDNF, which offers potential applications in nerve injury repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) can potentially confer a growth advantage to individual cellular clones. Currently, the recommended treatment for patients with high-risk MDS is the methylation agent decitabine (DAC), a drug that can induce the reexpression of silenced tumor suppressor genes. We investigated the effects of DAC treatment on the myeloid MDS cell line SKM-1 and investigated the role of FOXO3A, a potentially tumor-suppressive transcription factor, by silencing its expression prior to DAC treatment. We found that FOXO3A exists in an inactive, hyperphosphorylated form in SKM-1 cells, but that DAC both induces FOXO3A expression and reactivates the protein by reducing its phosphorylation level. Furthermore, we show that this FOXO3A activation is responsible for the DAC-induced differentiation of SKM-1 cells into monocytes, as well as for SKM-1 cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy. Collectively, these results suggest that FOXO3A reactivation may contribute to the therapeutic effects of DAC in MDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We quantify different ecological indicators and obtain ecological security pattern and key regions. • Landscape connectivity is used to identify priority protected areas that meet future requirements. • We quantify the effectiveness of existing protected areas and identify isolated protected areas. • Future conservation measures are proposed from the perspectives of different priority conservation areas. Protected areas (PAs) play a key role in mitigating ecological crises. Currently, priority protected areas (PPAs) focus on biological conservation, and a few studies have considered the connectivity between patches. Few studies have formulated future conservation measures from the two dimensions of ecological security pattern (ESP) and reserve effectiveness. To fill this gap, this study considered the use of the ESP to identify areas that meet future conservation objectives. We take the Wuhan metropolitan area as the research area. We constructed a framework for formulating conservation development plans based on priority protected areas. The framework constructed a complete method system, and we focused on the construction of the evaluation index system based on landscape connectivity. Then, the effectiveness of the PAs could be evaluated, and the PPAs could be identified. The results showed that there were five isolated PAs among the existing PAs. Moreover, the total area of PPAs was 9328.91 km2, and they had high connectivity and ecological value. Due to the low protection rate of PPAs, PPAs are not the main protection target of PAs; thus, we take PPAs as a new area of future PAs. According to our plan, PPAs with different classes will achieve different functions in future protection work. Our framework focuses on achieving sustainable conservation and formulates new environmental protection and land planning measures to balance ecological conservation and urban development. It can provide key information to support the realization of the 2030 vision of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Many studies have reported that genetic variants correlate with higher risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) or in-stent restenosis (ISR) after bare metal stent (BMS) implantation. However, there is limited data assessing the impact of these variants on ISR in patients treated with drug-eluting stent (DES). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of genetic risk factors on ISR in Chinese Han patients treated with DES. Methods: A total of 425 patients with a diagnosis of CAD who underwent successful revascularization in native coronary arteries with DES were included in this retrospective study. Genotyping was performed on six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene (eNOS), the angiotensin converting enzyme gene (ACE), the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene (AT1R), the transforming growth factor beta gene (TGF-β), and the vascular endothelial growth factor gene (VEGF). Quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) was performed during the follow-up period to detect ISR. Logistic regression models were used to test for association. Results: Fifty-four patients (12.7%) developed ISR during the follow-up period. Of the six analyzed SNPs, the frequency of the C allele of T786C polymorphism in eNOS was significantly higher in the ISR group (22.2%) compared to the non-ISR group (12.7%) (p<0.01). In the ISR group, the frequency of the TT, TC, and CC genotypes was 61.1%, 33.3%, and 5.6%, respectively, and in the non-ISR group, the frequencies were 76.8%, 21.0%, and 2.2%, respectively. The multivariable analysis adjusted for potential confounders and revealed that the T786C polymorphism increased the risk of ISR in both additive and dominant models with odds ratios of 1.870 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.079–3.240, p = 0.03) and 2.045 (95% CI: 1.056–3.958, p = 0.03), respectively. Conclusion: The eNOS T786C polymorphism was associated with ISR in Chinese Han patients treated with DES. Genotyping may be helpful to identify patients with higher risks of ISR after DES implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner how nano building blocks assemble into hierarchical architectures exerts a tremendous influence on gas-sensing performance of the metal oxides. Herein, we focus on tuning the 1D nanorods into 3D hierarchical urchins with various assembly densities, aiming at investigating the effect between gas diffusion and charge transfer. Via modulating the additive amount of NaOH, loose-, moderate- and close-assembled SnO 2 nanourchins aggregated with nanorods were successfully prepared, respectively. The relationships of nanorond assembly behavior to specific surface and average pore size of the urchin-like nanostructures were discussed in detail. A comparison study reveals that an enhanced gas sensing performance for the sensor made of the moderate-assembled SnO 2 nanourchins towards ethanol occurs over the other two, implying that perhaps there exists an optimizing assembly density range which provides not only enough space for gas diffusion but also sufficient contact network for charge transfer, in terms of good contacts among nanorods in an urchin-like sphere and among nanorods from adjacent spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malaria remains a major public health burden to children under five, especially in Eastern Africa (E.A), —a region that is also witnessing the increasing occurrence of floods and extreme climate change. The present study, therefore, explored the trends in floods, as well as the association of their occurrence and duration with the malaria incidence in children < 5 years in five E.A partner countries of Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), including Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania between 1990 and 2019. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data retrieved from two global sources was performed: the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) and the Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBD) between 1990 and 2019. Using SPSS 20.0, a correlation was determined based on ρ= -1 to + 1, as well as the statistical significance of P = < 0.05. Time plots of trends in flooding and malaria incidence were generated in 3 different decades using R version 4.0. Results: Between 1990 and 2019, the occurrence and duration of floods among the five E.A partner countries of FOCAC increased and showed an upward trend. On the contrary, however, this had an inverse and negative, as well as a weak correlation on the malaria incidence in children under five years. Only Kenya, among the five countries, showed a perfect negative correction of malaria incidence in children under five with flood occurrence (ρ = -0.586**, P-value = 0.001) and duration (ρ = -0.657**, P-value = < 0.0001). Conclusions: This study highlights the need for further research to comprehensively explore how different climate extreme events, which oftentimes complement floods, might be influencing the risk of malaria in children under five in five E.A malaria-endemic partner countries of FOCAC. Similarly, it ought to consider investigating the influence of other attributes apart from flood occurrence and duration, which also compound floods like displacement, malnutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene on the risk and distribution of malaria and other climate-sensitive diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the synthesis of pristine and Cu-doped SnO 2 spheres using a facile hydrothermal method and investigate their microstructures and gas-sensing response. We focus on how Cu doping can have an impact on gas-sensing behavior of SnO 2 -based sensors toward H 2 S. We find that Cu doping can enhance significantly the gas response of SnO 2 toward H 2 S, the origin of which can be clarified with a proposed adsorption model. First-principles calculations reveal that adsorption energy of H 2 S on Cu-doped surface is lower than that on undoped one and the interaction between adsorbed H 2 S and Cu-doped surface is stronger than that between adsorbed H 2 S and pure surface, which consequently improves gas-sensing performances of SnO 2 toward H 2 S. Such a combined experimental and calculational study offers an explanation on how Cu doping affects gas-sensing performances of SnO 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impulsive processes frequently occur in many fields, such as radar, sonar, communications, audio and speech processing, and biomedical engineering. In this paper, we propose a nonconvex linear regression (NLR) based minimum dispersion beamforming technique for impulsive signals to achieve significant performance improvement over the conventional minimum variance beamformer. The proposed beamformer minimizes the \ellp-norm of the output with p<1 subject to a linear distortionless response constraint, resulting in a difficult nonconvex and nonsmooth optimization problem. The constrained optimization problem is first reduced to a multivariate linear regression via constraint elimination. As a major contribution of this paper, a coordinate descent algorithm (CDA) is devised for solving the resultant NLR problem of \ellp-minimization with p<1 at a computational complexity of \cal O(MN^2), where M is the number of sensors and N is the sample size. At each inner iteration of the CDA, an efficient algorithm is designed to find the global minimum of each subproblem of univariate linear regression. The convergence of the CDA is analyzed. The NLR beamformer with a single constraint is further generalized to the case of multiple linear constraints, which is robust against model mismatch. Simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of nonconvex optimization based beamformer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a successful synthesis of three hierarchical NiO nanoflowers via a surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method. We find that the NiO hierarchical architectures are self-assembled by uniform nanosheets with different petal thicknesses. Moreover, we develop gas sensors based upon the nanomaterials and demonstrate that the nanoflower with the thinnest petal exhibits the best gas-sensing functionalities. By conducting a comprehensive characterization of microstructures and morphologies of the nanomaterials, we propose a possible nucleation-growth mechanism and explain how the petal thickness affects the gas-sensing properties of the nanoflowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greedy pursuit, which includes matching pursuit (MP) and orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), is an efficient approach for sparse approximation. However, conventional greedy pursuit algorithms designed for inner product space are not robust against outliers. In this paper, we devise a new definition of correlation in \ell p-space with p>0, called \ell p-correlation, and introduce the concept of orthogonality in \ell p-space. Based on the \ell p-correlation and \ell p-orthogonality, which are generalizations of the absolute inner product and orthogonality of inner product space, respectively, we develop three greedy pursuit algorithms, namely, \ell p-MP, \ell p-OMP, and weak \ell p-MP, for robust sparse approximation in the presence of outliers. The convergence of the three algorithms is proved. In particular, the \ell p-norm of the residual of each algorithm decays exponentially. It is revealed that the exponential decay factor in the worst case is related to the minimal \ell p-correlation of the residual and the dictionary. Numerical examples on sparse signal recovery and harmonic retrieval in impulsive noise demonstrate that the \ell p-greedy pursuit algorithms with 0< p< 2 are more outlier-resistant than their counterparts in inner product space. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A common approach to time-delay estimation (TDE) and joint delay-Doppler estimation (JDDE) for target localization is matched filtering, which is equivalent to the cross correlation of the received and transmitted signals. The conventional correlation in Hilbert space is statistically optimal in white Gaussian noise. However, its performance significantly degrades in the presence of non-Gaussian noise or clutter. In this paper, two new concepts called \ellp-correlation and \ellp-ambiguity functions, which generalize the conventional matched filtering from Hilbert space to \ellp-space, are proposed. In addition, several important mathematical properties of the \ellp-correlation and \ellp-ambiguity functions are given and proved. Compared with conventional ambiguity function, the time-frequency concentration of the \ellp-ambiguity function is significantly enhanced, i.e., the delay-Doppler resolution is improved and the sidelobes are suppressed. Based on these two newly defined functions, a family of TDE and JDDE algorithms that are robust against impulsive noise or clutter are developed. Furthermore, the Cramér–Rao bounds of TDE and JDDE for non-Gaussian noise with arbitrary probability distribution are derived. Simulation results under several impulsive noise models demonstrate that the performance in terms of robustness, resolution, and estimation accuracy is substantially improved when compared with the conventional matched filtering and fractional lower-order moment based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless technology will be widely used in libraries with the development of the mobile network in the near future. This paper focuses on MAC protocol for wireless network based on ultra-wideband band (UWB) to solve the problems of real-time and reliability in the wireless transmitting. According to the particular signal characteristics such as low energy consumption and excellent location, we propose a multichannel MAC protocol (UWBIMAC) based on status-adaptive to choose the channel mechanism. Simulation results show that the protocol had the ability of stronger antijamming, improved network throughput, and provided better average delay performance than IEEE802.15.4 MAC, IEEE802.11 MAC, and other UWBIMAC protocols. This method could be used in the process of wireless transmission service in the library or other similar scenarios. To a certain extent, it solves the problem of real-time and reliable performance in the process of wireless communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ignition delay times of methane/air mixture diluted by N 2 and CO 2 were experimentally measured in a chemical shock tube. The experiments were performed over the temperature range of 1300–2100 K, pressure range of 0.1–1.0 MPa, equivalence ratio range of 0.5–2.0 and for the dilution coefficients of 0%, 20% and 50%. The results suggest that a linear relationship exists between the reciprocal of temperature and the logarithm of the ignition delay times. Meanwhile, with ignition temperature and pressure increasing, the measured ignition delay times of methane/air mixture are decreasing. Furthermore, an increase in the dilution coefficient of N 2 or CO 2 results in increasing ignition delays and the inhibition effect of CO 2 on methane/air mixture ignition is stronger than that of N 2 . Simulated ignition delays of methane/air mixture using three kinetic models were compared to the experimental data. Results show that GRI_3.0 mechanism gives the best prediction on ignition delays of methane/air mixture and it was selected to identify the effects of N 2 and CO 2 on ignition delays and the key elementary reactions in the ignition chemistry of methane/air mixture. Comparisons of the calculated ignition delays with the experimental data of methane/air mixture diluted by N 2 and CO 2 show excellent agreement, and sensitivity coefficients of chain branching reactions which promote mixture ignition decrease with increasing dilution coefficient of N 2 or CO 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]