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With more and more lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) being put into production and application, precious metals such as lithium and cobalt are scarce, so it is imminent to recover various strategic metal resources from spent LIBs. Meanwhile, the complex and difficult problem of separating and recovering metals from leaching solutions has been an urgent question that needs to be resolved. In this work, a phosphoric acid-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) was developed for extracting metals from spent LIBs and one-step selectively separating and efficiently recovering transition metal. The prepared DES shows excellent extraction performance for Li (100%) and Co (92.8%) at 100 °C. In addition, the extraction system can effectively separate and precipitate Co through its own components, avoiding the introduction of new precipitants and the destruction of the original composition structure of DES. This also contributes to the good cycle stability of the extraction system with excellent extraction performance for Li (94.3%) and Co (80.8%) after 5 cycles. This work proposes a green method for one-step selectively separating and recovering valuable metals from spent LIBs.

Sutureless anastomotic devices present several advantages over traditional suture anastomosis, including expanded global access to microvascular surgery, shorter operation and ischemic times, and reduced costs. However, their adaptation for arterial use remains a challenge. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sutureless anastomotic approaches that are either FDA-approved or under investigation. These approaches include extraluminal couplers, intraluminal devices, and methods assisted by lasers or vacuums, with a particular emphasis on tissue adhesives. We analyze these devices for artery compatibility, material composition, potential for intimal damage, risks of thrombosis and restenosis, and complications arising from their deployment and maintenance. Additionally, we discuss the challenges faced in the development and clinical application of sutureless anastomotic techniques. Ideally, a sutureless anastomotic device or technique should eliminate the need for vessel eversion, mitigate thrombosis through either biodegradation or the release of antithrombotic drugs, and be easily deployable for broad use. The transformative potential of sutureless anastomotic approaches in microvascular surgery highlights the necessity for ongoing innovation to expand their applications and maximize their benefits.

Background: Universities face increasing pressure to model healthy campuses in response to the ongoing mental health crisis, yet limited research explores ways to improve student wellness. Aim: This study explored strategies architecture and landscape architecture students adopt to overcome stress and solutions for promoting wellness in a school of architecture. Methods: The study utilized a convergent mixed methods research design. First, design students (n = 277) responded to an online wellness survey to explore how they lower stress during their academic studies. Second, semi-structured interviews (n = 37) uncovered students’ coping mechanisms to overcome stress during their academic studies and recommendations for creating a more healthful environment. Results: Strategies students most often adopted to lower stress were socializing, sleeping, exercising, taking personal time, spending time outdoors, and improving time management. Students recommended improving communication and time management, a sense of community, and building a health and wellness culture. Findings were translated into design considerations for creating healthier places on college campuses. Conclusions: Design students employ a variety of strategies to overcome the debilitating effects of mental distress. Policies and campus planning efforts should work toward student-informed solutions to promote wellness.

Background: College students are experiencing increasing levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, but little research exists on factors weakening the mental health of design students. Aim: This study investigates the prevalence and precursors of mental health challenges among architecture and landscape architecture students. Methods: This study used a convergent mixed-methods research design with three data collection methods: The Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21; n = 399 students), an online wellness survey (n = 269), and semi-structured interviews (n = 37). Results: Findings reveal that 33%, 46%, and 33% of students screened positive for moderate to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The leading factors elevating stress included school deadlines and schedule, workload demands or amount of work outside of class, inadequate sleep, and time spent at work. Negative behaviors due to stress were discussed, including neglect of self-care (e.g., poor sleep patterns, eating habits, and physical inactivity), inability to focus, emotional instability, and social withdrawal. Conclusions: This study underscores mental health concerns among design students and identifies potential factors that contribute to unhealthy habits and compromise academic performance, including pedagogical approaches, learning and teaching culture, studio environment, and lifestyle choices.

Abstract With the continuous progress of technology, the subject of life science plays an increasingly important role, among which the application of artificial intelligence in the medical field has attracted more and more attention. Bell facial palsy, a neurological ailment characterized by facial muscle weakness or paralysis, exerts a profound impact on patients’ facial expressions and masticatory abilities, thereby inflicting considerable distress upon their overall quality of life and mental well-being. In this study, we designed a facial attribute recognition model specifically for individuals with Bell’s facial palsy. The model utilizes an enhanced SSD network and scientific computing to perform a graded assessment of the patients’ condition. By replacing the VGG network with a more efficient backbone, we improved the model’s accuracy and significantly reduced its computational burden. The results show that the improved SSD network has an average precision of 87.9% in the classification of light, middle and severe facial palsy, and effectively performs the classification of patients with facial palsy, where scientific calculations also increase the precision of the classification. This is also one of the most significant contributions of this article, which provides intelligent means and objective data for future research on intelligent diagnosis and treatment as well as progressive rehabilitation.

Abstract Domesticated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a widely cultivated edible oil crop. However, despite its economic importance, the genetic basis underlying key traits such as oil content, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and flowering time remains poorly understood. Here, we present the genome assembly for C. tinctorius variety Jihong01, which was obtained by integrating Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and BGI-SEQ500 sequencing results. The assembled genome was 1,061.1 Mb, and consisted of 32,379 protein-coding genes, 97.71% of which were functionally annotated. Safflower had a recent whole genome duplication (WGD) event in evolution history and diverged from sunflower approximately 37.3 million years ago. Through comparative genomic analysis at five seed development stages, we unveiled the pivotal roles of fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) and fatty acid desaturase 6 (FAD6) in linoleic acid (LA) biosynthesis. Similarly, the differential gene expression analysis further reinforced the significance of these genes in regulating LA accumulation. Moreover, our investigation of seed fatty acid composition at different seed developmental stages unveiled the crucial roles of FAD2 and FAD6 in LA biosynthesis. These findings offer important insights into enhancing breeding programs for the improvement of quality traits and provide reference resource for further research on the natural properties of safflower.

Abstract The corrosion failure of amorphous carbon (a-C) coatings is commonly ascribed to the existence of growth microdefects, which serve as pathways for corrosive fluids to permeate the substrate. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is renowned for its ability to augment the corrosion resistance of metallic materials. Graphite-like carbon (GLC) is one of the amorphous carbon materials dominated by hybridized sp2-C bonds. In this study, an ALD-deposited Al2O3 layer is specially introduced on the Cr/GLC multilayer coating to solve the aforementioned corrosion risk of a-C by taking the sealing conception for defects. Compared to the as-deposited Cr/GLC coating, the coating encapsulated with Al2O3 layer depicts the reduction of corrosion current density over two orders of magnitude under a wide pressure range of 0.1 ~ 15 MPa. Particularly, the presence of released Crn+ and Fen+ in the corrosion solution is significantly diminished, accompanying with a small quantity of Aln+ generated in sealed coating during corrosion. Microstructural analysis and electrochemical results identified that both the dense Al2O3 layer offered strong safeguard for Cr elements released from multilayers, whilst amorphous carbon network inhibited the likelihood chloride penetration induced by partially infiltrated Al2O3, which made the synergistic contributions to the enhancement of corrosion resistance for Cr/GLC coating for deep-sea applications.

Abstract The emergence of drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae carrying plasmid-mediated β-lactamase genes has become a significant threat to public health. Organisms in the Enterobacteriaceae family containing New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase‑1 (NDM-1) and its variants, which are capable of hydrolyzing nearly all β-lactam antibacterial agents, including carbapenems, are referred to as superbugs and distributed worldwide. Despite efforts over the past decade, the discovery of an NDM-1 inhibitor that can reach the clinic remains a challenge. Here, we identified oxidized glutathione (GSSG) as a metabolic biomarker for bla NDM-1 using a non-targeted metabolomics approach and demonstrated that GSSG supplementation could restore carbapenem susceptibility in Escherichia coli carrying bla NDM-1 in vitro and in vivo. We showed that exogenous GSSG promotes the bactericidal effects of carbapenems by interfering with intracellular redox homeostasis and inhibiting the expression of NDM-1 in drug-resistant E. coli. This study establishes a metabolomics-based strategy to potentiate metabolism-dependent antibiotic efficacy for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Due to the colloidal stability, the high compressibility and the high hydration of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), it is difficult to efficiently dehydrate sludge. In order to enhance sludge dewatering, the process of ultrasonic (US) cracking, chitosan (CTS) re-flocculation and sludge-based biochar (SBB) skeleton adsorption of water-holding substances to regulate sludge dewaterability was proposed. Based on the response surface method, the prediction model of the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and sludge cake moisture content (MC) was established. The US cracking time and the dosage of CTS and SBB were optimized. The results showed that the optimal parameters of the three were 5.08 s, 10.1 mg/g dry solids (DS) and 0.477 g/g DS, respectively. Meantime, the SRF and MC were 5.4125 × 1011 m/kg and 76.8123%, which significantly improved the sludge dewaterability. According to the variance analysis, it is found that the fitting degree of SRF and MC model is good, which also confirms that there is significant interaction and synergy between US, CTS and SBB, and the contribution of CTS and SBB is greater. Moreover, the process significantly improves the sludge's calorific value and makes its combustion more durable. HIGHLIGHTS Ultrasonic (US) cracking, chitosan (CTS) flocculation and sludge-based biochar (SBB) adsorption of water-holding substances synergistically enhance sludge dewaterability.; Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the US time and the dosage of CTS and SBB.; Established predictive models for the specific resistance to filtration and sludge cake moisture content.;

Abstract As one of the three major outdoor components of the railroad signal system, the track circuit plays an important role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of train operation. Therefore, when a fault occurs, the cause of the fault needs to be found quickly and accurately and dealt with in a timely manner to avoid affecting the efficiency of train operation and the occurrence of safety accidents. This article proposes a fault diagnosis method based on multi-scale attention network, which uses Gramian Angular Field (GAF) to transform one-dimensional time series into two-dimensional images, making full use of the advantages of convolutional networks in processing image data. A new feature fusion training structure is designed to effectively train the model, fully extract features at different scales, and fusing spatial feature information through spatial attention mechanisms. Finally, experiments are conducted using real track circuit fault datasets, and the accuracy of fault diagnosis reaches 99.36%, and our model demonstrates better performance compared to classical and state-of-the-art models. And the ablation experiments verified that each module in the designed model plays a key role.

Abstract The rise in sea levels, driven by global climate change, poses a significant threat to cultural heritage in coastal regions. Traditional risk assessment methods, focusing on direct inundation, often fail to consider the crucial impact of socio-economic factors, which are significantly vulnerable to sea level rise. To bridge this gap, this study introduces an innovative Sea Level Rise Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment Model (SLR-CHIA Model), a novel approach that integrates both land inundation and socio-economic aspects. This comprehensive model evaluates potential risks to various types of cultural heritage in coastal China, including intangible cultural heritage, relics, and traditional villages. The study’s findings are striking: (1) About 7.79% of coastal villages, 53.94% of relics, and 2.53% of intangible cultural heritage are potentially at high risk in a 100-year sea level rise event; (2) Relics in the Eastern coast and villages in the Southern coast are most vulnerable; (3) Different types of cultural heritage rely on diverse principal factors for protection, resulting in varied risk levels under sea level rise conditions. The SLR-CHIA Model provides a vital methodological framework for evaluating cultural heritage risks in other global regions.

Abstract Functional traits reflect plants' adaptability to their environment, and environmental gradients influence their distribution. But few studies have investigated the link between these traits and species substitution patterns or the relevant ecological factors. We measured the aboveground (leaf) and belowground (root) functional traits of Stipa species in 17 plots across natural grasslands in Ningxia in Northern China. Redundancy analysis was used to explore the relationships between Stipa's functional traits and its species substitution distribution. Then, on the species substitution gradient, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to verify and quantify the leaf economic spectrum (LES), root economic spectrum (RES), and whole‐plant economic spectrum (WPES), with the relation between these spectra investigated by fitting standardized major axis regressions. The effects of aboveground, belowground, and whole‐plant ecological factors were quantified and ranked by variance decomposition and hierarchical partitioning. Our results showed that functional traits drive the substitution distribution of Stipa species, in being variously coupled with its desert, typical, and meadow steppe habitat types. The leaf, root, and whole‐plant economic spectra of Stipa species in desert steppe exhibit a “quick investment‐acquisition” strategy. In typical steppe, the leaf and whole‐plant economic spectra of Stipa species correspond to a “fast investment‐acquisition” strategy, whereas the root economic spectrum adopts a “slow investment‐acquisition” strategy. On meadow steppe, the leaf, root, and whole‐plant economic spectra of Stipa species similarly adopt a “slow investment‐acquisition” strategy. Finally, when considering the environmental factors involved, we find that the substitution distribution of Stipa spp. is chiefly a response to shifting soil patterns, these mainly driven by soil total nitrogen and nitrogen/phosphorus ratio. Collectively, these findings provide an important reference for the ecological restoration and reconstruction of grassland ecosystems, to better understand the relationship between plant functional traits and ecological niche attributes, and thus guide the reasonable restoration of grassland vegetation.

BackgroundHematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an approach that has significantly improved the prognosis and survival of hematological patients. However, ovarian dysfunction and infertility following HSCT have gained increasing attention. Live births have been reported following ovarian tissue cryopreservation prior to HSCT and subsequent retransplantation of these tissues. Still, the feasibility of ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) following graft failure (GF) of HSCT remains unknown. In this study, we report the first case of OTC following a GF of allogenic HSCT (allo-HSCT), as well as the cryopreservation of four MII oocytes via in vitro maturation with informed consent. Despite the lack of clinical outcomes after cryopreserved ovarian tissue retransplantation, we documented an interesting case in a woman after GF of allo-HSCT exhibiting functional ovaries and emphasized a clinical dilemma: whether OTC should be offered to women suffering from GF of HSCT.Case presentationA 22-year-old woman with severe aplastic anemia who had suffered GF of allo-HSCT from her sibling brother [HLA allele match (7/10)] with a reduced dose conditioning regimen including fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and antithymocyte globulin came to our reproductive center for fertility preservation, as she was about to receive the second allo-HSCT. We evaluated the ovarian reserve of this patient. Hormone assessments showed an anti-Müllerian hormone level of 3.921 ng/mL, a follicle-stimulating hormone level of 5.88 IU/L, a luteinizing hormone level of 10.79 IU/L, and an estradiol level of 33.34 pg/mL. Antral follicle counts accessed transvaginally showed 12–15 follicles. All assessments indicated a well-protected ovarian reserve. Due to the urgency of the second allo-HSCT, the patient decided to undergo ovarian cryopreservation. Laparoscopic surgery proceeded. Ovarian tissues were successfully cryopreserved using vitrification technology, and histologic evaluation demonstrated a follicle density of 20 per 2 × 2 mm2 biopsy with good viability. Four MII oocytes were obtained via in vitro maturation technology and cryopreserved. After the second HSCT, the patient relieved from aplastic anemia but suffered iatrogenic premature ovarian failure as predicted.ConclusionOTC is applicable to fertility preservation in those undergoing GF of HSCT with benign hematological disorders and especially those who are about to receive the second HSCT.

PurposeSome clinicians use endografts to cover half the left subclavian artery (LSA) ostium to cure some cases with insufficient proximal landing zone (PLZ) in thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) treatment. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study the hemodynamic changes in the LSA because they may cause acute thrombosis or arteriosclerosis.MethodsThe digital model of the aortic arch was established and named model A, which only included the supraarch branch of the LSA. By directly covering half of the LSA ostium, which was named as model B. All established models were imported into the Gambit grid division software for grid division and were subsequently imported into the Fluent software for hemodynamic numerical simulation and calculation to analyze the related changes in LSA hemodynamic parameters after stent implantation.ResultsUnder the same aortic inlet flow, in model B, the local blood flow velocity of the LSA ostium increased and the whole blood flow velocity at the distal end decreased. The average wall shear stress (WSS) of the LSA was significantly decreased. Meanwhile there was an obvious turbulent flow in the LSA lumen, and the related blood flow state was disordered.ConclusionCFD research confirmed that the implantation of an endograft covering half the LSA ostium can cause obvious hemodynamic changes, which is likely to cause a long-term arteriosclerosis or acute thrombosis of the LSA, finally increasing the risk of stroke. Once this operation is performed in some specific clinical cases for simplicity and economy, it seems that we should actively antiplatelet and follow up regularly.

Optically spatial displacement and material modification hold great potential for the appealing applications in nanofabrication and reconfiguration of functional optical devices. Here, we propose and demonstrate a scheme to achieve simultaneous deformation and phase change in vanadium dioxide (VO2)/Si3N4/Au hybrid nanostructures by laser stimuli. Low triggering threshold and significant deformation characteristics of VO2, based on controllable phase transition, are demonstrated in microscale cantilevers. The plasmonic properties of the nanostructure array are further utilized to achieve a polarization-selective dynamic response. The persistence of deformation and dynamical optical modulation are further demonstrated. Such high-precision fabrication methods and non-contact reconfiguration methods are useful for future applications in dynamic optical manipulation.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) serves as a crucial foundation for children’s holistic growth and lifelong learning. Despite its significance, comparative analyses of leading ECEC documents across cultures remain limited. To address this gap, our study conducts a comparative analysis to identify key aspects and examine similarities and differences in national ECEC documents from China and Finland. Methodologically, we used a triangle of researchers from China and Finland. We employed qualitative content analysis to systematically identify, examine, and compare the key aspects in these two countries from the leading ECEC documents, i.e., the Chinese national ECEC guidelines and the Finnish ECEC national core curriculum. The findings reveal numerous similarities alongside notable differences. Both countries place a high value on ECEC, emphasizing principles that shape the learning environment and use diverse pedagogical methods. However, nuanced variations exist in the approaches. The Chinese documents feature more specific guidelines tailored to different age groups, accompanied by detailed pedagogical suggestions, while the Finnish national core curriculum offers general guidelines for all preschool age groups, complemented by the unique feature of individual development plans for each child. The findings have significant implications for policymakers, ECEC educators, and practitioners in international contexts. Future studies are needed to further explore the specific pedagogies in ECEC between these two nations and to analyze how the curriculum and educational guidelines are implemented in pedagogical practices.

Abstract Pleckstrin homology domain-containing family M member 2 (PLEKHM2) is an essential adaptor for lysosomal trafficking and its homozygous truncation have been reported to cause early onset dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, the molecular mechanism of PLEKHM2 deficiency in DCM pathogenesis and progression is poorly understood. Here, we generated an in vitro model of PLEKHM2 knockout (KO) induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) to elucidate the potential pathogenic mechanism of PLEKHM2-deficient cardiomyopathy. PLEKHM2-KO hiPSC-CMs developed disease phenotypes with reduced contractility and impaired calcium handling. Subsequent RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed altered expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function, autophagy and apoptosis in PLEKHM2-KO hiPSC-CMs. Further molecular experiments confirmed PLEKHM2 deficiency impaired autophagy and resulted in accumulation of damaged mitochondria, which triggered increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm). Importantly, the elevated ROS levels caused oxidative stress-induced damage to nearby healthy mitochondria, resulting in extensive Δψm destabilization, and ultimately leading to impaired mitochondrial function and myocardial contractility. Moreover, ROS inhibition attenuated oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial damage, thereby partially rescued PLEKHM2 deficiency-induced disease phenotypes. Remarkably, PLEKHM2-WT overexpression restored autophagic flux and rescued mitochondrial function and myocardial contractility in PLEKHM2-KO hiPSC-CMs. Taken together, these results suggested that impaired mitochondrial clearance and increased ROS levels play important roles in PLEKHM2-deficient cardiomyopathy, and PLEKHM2-WT overexpression can improve mitochondrial function and rescue PLEKHM2-deficient cardiomyopathy.

Abstract Background Liver cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease with hepatocyte necrosis and lesion. As one of the TCM formulas Wuling Powder (WLP) is widely used in the treatment of liver cirrhosis. However, it’s key functional components and action mechanism still remain unclear. We attempted to explore the Key Group of Effective Components (KGEC) of WLP in the treatment of Liver cirrhosis through integrative pharmacology combined with experiments. Methods The components and potential target genes of WLP were extracted from published databases. A novel node importance calculation model considering both node control force and node bridging force is designed to construct the Function Response Space (FRS) and obtain key effector proteins. The genetic knapsack algorithm was employed to select KGEC. The effectiveness and reliability of KGEC were evaluated at the functional level by using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Finally, the effectiveness and potential mechanism of KGEC were confirmed by CCK-8, qPCR and Western blot. Results 940 effective proteins were obtained in FRS. KEGG pathways and GO terms enrichments analysis suggested that effective proteins well reflect liver cirrhosis characteristics at the functional level. 29 components of WLP were defined as KGEC, which covered 100% of the targets of the effective proteins. Additionally, the pathways enriched for the KGEC targets accounted for 83.33% of the shared genes between the targets and the pathogenic genes enrichment pathways. Three components scopoletin, caryophyllene oxide, and hydroxyzinamic acid from KGEC were selected for in vivo verification. The qPCR results demonstrated that all three components significantly reduced the mRNA levels of COL1A1 in TGF-β1-induced liver cirrhosis model. Furthermore, the Western blot assay indicated that these components acted synergistically to target the NF-κB, AMPK/p38, cAMP, and PI3K/AKT pathways, thus inhibiting the progression of liver cirrhosis. Conclusion In summary, we have developed a new model that reveals the key components and potential mechanisms of WLP for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. This model provides a reference for the secondary development of WLP and offers a methodological strategy for studying TCM formulas.

Ship detection holds a pivotal position in intelligent maritime transportation systems, ensuring the stable development of maritime engineering. However, the complex marine environment and practical deployment requirements pose numerous challenges to ship detection tasks. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a robust and real-time ship object detection method based on enhanced CNN (RRSD). Firstly, an efficient feature extraction module (EFEM) is proposed, which introduces a cross-stage stacked enhanced multi-head self-attention to reduce the computational complexity of the model while enhancing the network’s feature extraction capability. Next, a feature fusion network (FFM) is introduced to enhance the feature representation capability of small objects by effectively aggregating features of different scales in the backbone. To focus on the attention regions in the image, designing a lightweight enhanced attention module (EAM) to improve the model’s inference speed and classification ability. Additionally, by utilizing data augmentation techniques without any additional cost, the overall performance of the model is intuitively and efficiently improved. The proposed method is extensively experimented on a self-built ship detection dataset (SDD2024) through qualitative and quantitative experiments. The experimental results indicate that RRSD achieves a detection performance of 88.01mAP50 (mean average precision at an intersection over unionof 50) and 7.8ms, significantly outperforming object detection models of the same scale, and achieving a good trade-off between detection accuracy and speed. Furthermore, robustness experiments and embedded deployment tests demonstrate its good detection accuracy, fast speed, and satisfactory robustness in ship detection tasks, which basically meet the practical requirements of deployment and implementation.

Online retailers offer free shipping services, such as threshold free shipping (TFS) and membership free shipping (MFS), to promote sales and provide a better shopping experience to consumers in online retailing. Although MFS attracts more member-consumers, it encourages consumers to place more small orders than TFS, which significantly increases the operational costs of the online retailer. To address this issue, we propose two price discount policies under the MFS service, namely the limited-time discount and the threshold discount. Then, we build analytical models under these two policies to explore the impacts of offering price discounts on the retailer’s profit and consumers’ welfare. We find that no matter which discount policy is adopted, consumers are more likely to consolidate several small orders from different time periods into a big one to obtain the discount. The economies of scale generated by consumers consolidating their orders under these discount policies can help reduce online retailers’ operational costs. Therefore, regardless of any discount policy offered by the online retailer under the MFS service, consumers will place more big orders and more member-consumers are attracted, i.e., the online retailer can have its cake and eat it too. Our research findings provide decision-making insights for practitioners who offer free shipping services and price discounts to consumers in online retailing.

Abstract Breast cancer metastasis and invasion are both promoted by the oncoprotein Metadherin (MTDH). However, the the role of Metadherin in breast cancer progression and its role in the immune microenvironment. Are not clear. A bioinformatic analysis was performed to demonstrate the prognostic value of Metadherin in BC. In the present study, we found that Metadherin is overexpressed in BC and is significantly correlated with individual cancer stage, age, subclasses, menopause and nodal metastasis status. Metadherin overexpression was associated with a significant decrease in OS and DSS. Cox multivariate analysis indicated that Metadherin was an independent negative prognostic indicator for OS and DSS. Moreover, Metadherin hypomethylation status was associated with poor prognosis. A negative correlation was also noted between Metadherin overexpression and the number of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, cluster of differentiation 8+ T cells, and natural killer cells. Association patterns varied with different subtypes. Various associations between Metadherin levels and immune cell surface markers were revealed. A total of 40 groups of BC and adjacent normal breast tissue samples were collected. Metadherin mRNA was detected by PCR, and its expression levels in BC tissues were significantly increased compared with those noted in normal tissues. The expression levels of Metadherin were also measured in normal and BC cell lines, respectively, and similar conclusions were obtained. The Metadherin mRNA levels were knocked down in SK-BR3 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines and the cell proliferative and migratory activities were determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 and scratch assays, respectively. The results indicated that the cell proliferative and migratory abilities were reduced following knockdown of Metadherin expression. Therefore, Metadherin may be considered as a novel prognostic biomarker in BC.

An improved incremental capacitor voltage balancing control strategy is proposed to solve the problems of large switching frequency, high complexity of the bubble method sorting algorithm, and exceeding the limit of the capacitor voltage fluctuation rate in the traditional capacitor voltage balancing control of modular multilevel converter. First, the radix sort algorithm is used instead of the traditional bubble sorting algorithm to sort the submodule capacitor voltage to improve the sorting speed. Second, the incremental capacitor voltage balancing algorithm is used instead of the traditional voltage balancing control strategy to reduce the switching frequency. Individual submodules have capacitive overvoltages when power quality requirements are high and the unbalance threshold is set high. Therefore, based on the incremental voltage compensation control strategy, the upper and lower limit control is introduced to reduce the voltage deviation during incremental switching and to solve the problem of the capacitor voltage fluctuation rate exceeding the limit. Finally, the simulation verifies the effectiveness of the control strategy and realizes the stable operation of the system at a low switching frequency.

In today’s interconnected world, identity authentication and key agreement are important links in the secure communication process of IoT terminal devices. In the edge computing environment, with the frequent cross-domain authentication and data sharing of IoT devices in different security domains, identity authentication faces a series of challenges and security issues. Most of the traditional identity authentication methods are based on public key infrastructure, which is prone to single point of failure and is not applicable to the distributed architecture of edge computing. In this article, we apply blockchain technology to the identity authentication and key agreement process of IoT terminal devices. In order to meet cross-domain requests from terminal devices in different security domains, a multi-layer blockchain authentication architecture is designed. The hash value of the digital certificate is stored on the blockchain and combined with dynamic accumulator technology to enhance the reliability and authentication efficiency of the digital certificate. Security analysis and experimental results demonstrate that our scheme can achieve efficient and secure authentication and key agreement.

Calmodulin mutations can cause life-threatening long QT syndrome involving CALM1, CALM2, and CALM3. In this study, human induced pluripotent stem cells ZZUNEUi030-A were derived from a female patient with heterozygous CALM2 gene c. 395A → T by Sendai virus non-integrated reprogramming technology. The cell line showed a normal female karyotype (46, XX), expressed pluripotency markers, and had the ability to differentiate into three germ layers in vitro. ZZUNEUi030-A can be used as a cell disease model to study the pathogenesis of LQT caused by calmodulin mutations.

Introduction Gingivitis is a prevalent complication in adolescents undergoing fixed orthodontic treatments. However, changes in the supragingival microbiome associated with gingivitis and the impact of Candida albicans remain elusive. Therefore, we investigated supragingival microbiome discrepancy and C. albicans colonization in adolescent orthodontic patients with gingivitis.Methods Dental plaques were collected from 30 gingivitis patients and 24 healthy adolescents, all undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. The supragingival microbiome composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. C. albicans colonization was determined using fungal culture and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Results Our analysis revealed significantly heightened microbial diversity in the Gingivitis group. Notably, patients with gingivitis exhibited an enrichment of periodontal pathogens, such as Saccharibacteria (TM7) [G-1], Selenomonas, Actinomyces dentalis, and Selenomonas sputigena. Additionally, 33% of the gingivitis patients tested positive for C. albicans, exhibiting significantly elevated levels of absolute abundance, while all healthy patients tested negative. Significant differences in microbial composition were also noted between C. albicans-positive and -negative samples in the Gingivitis group.Conclusion Significant disparities were observed in the supragingival microbiome of adolescent orthodontic patients with and without gingivitis. The presence of C. albicans in the supragingival plaque may alter the microbiome composition and potentially contribute to gingivitis pathogenesis.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate 10 estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations in central China population and construct a diagnostic prediction model for assessing the kidney damage severity.MethodsThe concordance of 10 eGFR equations was investigated in healthy individuals from central China, and their clinical effectiveness in diagnosing kidney injury was evaluated. Subsequently, relevant clinical indicators were selected to develop a clinical prediction model for kidney damage.ResultsThe overall concordance between CKD-EPIASR-Scr and CKD-EPI2021-Scr was the highest (weightedκ = 0.964) in healthy population. The CG formula, CKD-EPIASR-Scr and CKD-EPI2021-Scr performed better than others in terms of concordance with referenced GFR (rGFR), but had poor ability to distinguish between rGFR < 90 or < 60 mL/min·1.73 m2. This finding was basically consistent across subgroups. Finally, two logistic regression prediction models were constructed based on rGFR < 90 or 60 mL/min·1.73 m2. The area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic values of two prediction models were 0.811 vs 0.846 in training set and 0.812 vs 0.800 in testing set.ConclusionThe concordance of CKD-EPIASR-Scr and CKD-EPI2021-Scr was the highest in the central China population. The Cockcroft-Gault formula, CKD-EPIASR-Scr, and CKD-EPI2021-Scr more accurately reflected true kidney function, while performed poorly in the staging diagnosis of CKD. The diagnostic prediction models showed the good clinical application performance in identifying mild or moderate kidney injury. These findings lay a solid foundation for future research on renal function assessment and predictive equations.

Hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets typically presents in infancy or early childhood with skeletal deformities and growth plate abnormalities. In this report, the SMUSHi005-A human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line was successfully established from the PBMCs of a female patient carrying the PHEX mutation with c.1586–1586+1 delAG. The iPSC line has been confirmed to have a normal karyotype. The displayed cells clearly exhibit characteristics similar to embryonic stem cells, expressing pluripotency markers and demonstrating the ability to differentiate into three germ layers.

Soil bacterial α and β diversity patterns under nitrogen (N) addition have been intensively examined, but γ diversity patterns remain largely unknown, especially, the mechanisms that concurrently control changes in α, β and γ diversity remain elusive. Therefore, we formulated a conceptual framework that simultaneously considers candidate drivers including ubiquitous species, rare species, and community assembly processes to elucidate the driving mechanisms of α, β and γ diversity under N addition. The conceptual framework was tested by compiling the sequence data of seven studies published from January 1997 to May 2022 and following the same analysis as our own two long-term multilevel N addition experiments. We demonstrate that subtractive heterogenization based on environment selection simultaneously predicts the changes in α, β and γ diversity under long-term N addition. That is, long-term N addition led to the decline of ubiquitous species (subtractive processes) through low soil pH, and promoted the strength of heterogeneous selection (heterogeneous processes) via enhancing environmental heterogeneity, subsequently causing lower α diversity and γ diversity but higher β diversity. These results mean that N addition may lead to a significant loss of soil bacterial diversity around the world. Together, these findings offer a way to simultaneously predict soil bacterial α, β and γ diversity responses to the ongoing atmospheric nitrogen deposition.

The Sichuan-Yunnan region is the main production area of yaks in southwestern China, with rich genetic resources of Yaks. Nevertheless, there have been limited study on the genetic characteristics of the entire yak populations in Tibet and southwestern China. In this study, we performed whole-genome resequencing to identify genetic variation information in a total of 198 individuals from six yak breeds (populations) in Sichuan (Muli yak, Jinchuan yak, Changtai yak, Maiwa yak), Yunnan (Zhongdian yak), and Tibet (Tibetan yak). The aim was to investigate the whole-genome genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and genome selection signatures. We observed that all six populations exhibit abundant genetic diversity. Except for Tibetan yaks, which showed low nucleotide diversity (0.00104), the remaining yak populations generally displayed high nucleotide diversity (0.00129–0.00153). Population genetic structure analysis revealed that, among the six yak populations, Muli yak exhibited greater differentiation from other yak populations and formed a distinct cluster independently. The Maiwa yak population displayed a complex genetic structure and exhibited gene exchange with Jinchuan and Changtai yaks. Positive selection signals were detected in candidate genes associated with growth (GNB4, HMGA2, TRPS1, and LTBP1), reproduction (PI4KB, DYNC1I1, and GRIP1), immunity (CD200 and IL1RAP), lactation (SNX13 and CPM), hypoxia adaptation (NDUFB6, PRKN, and MRPS9), hair (KRT24, KRT25, and KRT26), meat quality (SUCLG2), digestion and absorption (CLDN1), and pigment deposition (OCA2) using the integrated Pi and FST methods. This study provides significant insights into understanding the whole-genome genetic characteristics of yak populations in Tibet and southwestern China.

The impact of the built environment and weather conditions on travel behavior has been widely studied. However, limited studies have focused on better understanding such effects in medium-sized cities with bus-oriented transit systems, particularly from a separate perspective of travelers’ origins and destinations. We took Weinan, China, as a representative of second-tier cities in developing countries that concentrate on bus-oriented development strategies. New evidence of feature importance and nonlinear effects of crucial factors were revealed by an interpretable machine learning-based approach combining XGBoost and Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP) with multi-source data. Most key factors were critical at both origins and destinations, such as the density of residential and commercial facilities. However, several important factors, such as road density and boarding time, had strong imbalanced effects on travel behavior. These findings provide novel insights and empirical implications to support urban planning strategies in medium-sized cities.

Background The only clinically approved drug that reduces doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is dexrazoxane, but its application is limited due to the risk of secondary malignancies. So, exploring alternative effective molecules to attenuate its cardiotoxicity is crucial. Colchicine is a safe and well‐tolerated drug that helps reduce the production of reactive oxygen species. High doses of colchicine have been reported to block the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes in cancer cells. However, the impact of colchicine on the autophagy activity within cardiomyocytes remains inadequately elucidated. Recent studies have highlighted the beneficial effects of colchicine on patients with pericarditis, postprocedural atrial fibrillation, and coronary artery disease. It remains ambiguous how colchicine regulates autophagic flux in doxorubicin‐induced heart failure. Methods and Results Doxorubicin was administered to establish models of heart failure both in vivo and in vitro. Prior studies have reported that doxorubicin impeded the breakdown of autophagic vacuoles, resulting in damaged mitochondria and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Following the administration of a low dose of colchicine (0.1 mg/kg, daily), significant improvements were observed in heart function (left ventricular ejection fraction: doxorubicin group versus treatment group=43.75%±3.614% versus 57.07%±2.968%, P=0.0373). In terms of mechanism, a low dose of colchicine facilitated the degradation of autolysosomes, thereby mitigating doxorubicin‐induced cardiotoxicity. Conclusions Our research has shown that a low dose of colchicine is pivotal in restoring the autophagy activity, thereby attenuating the cardiotoxicity induced by doxorubicin. Consequently, colchicine emerges as a promising therapeutic candidate to improve doxorubicin cardiotoxicity.

Understanding the spatial patterns and interaction of trees is crucial for exploring forest dynamics. However, limited research has explored the spatial pattern and interactions between adult trees and their offspring population in arid mountain forest ecosystems. We investigated the spatial distribution and interaction of recruitment, survival, and mortality at different size classes in the Populus davidiana forest in the Luoshan Mountains (Ningxia, China), to gain insights into its stand dynamics. (1) This demonstrated the characteristic shift from an aggregated to random distribution as seedlings grew and developed into adult trees. (2) The adult trees exhibited strong positive and weak negative spatial associations with seedlings and saplings, respectively, with an increasing spatial scale, yet both stages underwent stark transitions from negative (1–15 m scales) to positive (> 20 m scale) associations. (3) Generally, the closer the individual trees were to each other, the greater the negative impact of neighboring trees on the size of an individual tree. (4) Additionally, adult trees strongly increased the risk of seedling mortality across the spatial scale of 0–50 m. (5) Live seedlings were less than the dead ones around dead seedlings. There was a stronger aggregation of dead seedlings than live seedlings. Moreover, the density-dependent mortality in our study rejected the random mortality hypothesis. In summary, these results suggest that spatial separation occurs between dead and live seedlings of P. davidiana. Under adult trees, negative dependence plays an important role in the arid mountain forest recruitment. Our findings will contribute to the restoration and conservation of arid mountain forests and provide theoretical support for forest management.

Faced with the continuous occurrence of coal and gas outburst (hereinafter referred to as “outburst”) disasters, as a main controlling factor in the evolution process of an outburst, for gas pressure, it is still unclear about the phased characteristics of the coupling process with in situ stress, which induce coal damage and instability. Therefore, in the work based on the mining stress paths induced by typical outburst accidents, the gradual and sudden change of three-dimensional stress is taken as the background for the mechanical reconstruction of the disaster process. Then the true triaxial physical experiments are conducted on the damage and instability of coal containing gas under multiple stress paths. Finally, the response characterization between coal damage and gas pressure has been clarified, revealing the mechanism of action of gas pressure during the initial failure of coals. And the main controlling mechanism during the outburst process is elucidated in the coupling process of in situ stress with gas pressure. The results show that during the process of stress loading and unloading, the original gas pressure enters the processes of strengthening and weakening the action ability successively. And the strengthening effect continues to the period of large-scale destruction of coals. The mechanical process of gas pressure during the initial failure of coals can be divided into three stages: the enhancement of strengthening action ability, the decrease of strengthening action ability, and the weakening action ability. The entire process is implemented by changing the dominant action of in situ stress into the dominant action of gas pressure. The failure strength of coals is not only affected by its original mechanical strength, but also by the stress loading and unloading paths, showing a particularly significant effect. Three stages can be divided during outburst inoculation process. That is, firstly, the coals suffer from initial damage through the dominant action of in situ stress with synergy of gas pressure; secondly, the coals with spallation of structural division are generated through the dominant action of gas pressure with synergy of in situ stress, accompanied by further fragmentation; and finally, the fractured coals suffer from fragmentation and pulverization with the gas pressure action. Accordingly, the final broken coals are ejected out with the gas action, initiating an outburst. The research results can provide a new perspective for deepening the understanding of coal and gas outburst mechanism, laying a theoretical foundation for the innovation of outburst prevention and control technologies.

Abstract As an economically important insect pest, the flower thrips Frankliniella intonsa (Trybom) causes great damage to host plants by directly feeding and indirectly transmitting various pathogenic viruses. The lack of a well-assembled genomic resource has hindered our understanding of the genetic basis and evolution of F. intonsa. In this study, we used Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long reads and High-through chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) linked reads to construct a high-quality reference genome assembly of F. intonsa, with a total size of 225.5 Mb and a contig N50 of 3.37 Mb. By performing the Hi-C analysis, we anchored 91.68% of the contigs into 15 pseudochromosomes. Genomic annotation uncovered 17,581 protein-coding genes and identified 20.09% of the sequences as repeat elements. BUSCO analysis estimated over 98% of genome completeness. Our study is at the first time to report the chromosome-scale genome for the species of the genus Frankliniella. It provides a valuable genomic resource for further biological research and pest management of the thrips.

Abstract Cracking furnaces, operating under high temperatures and in a hydrocarbon medium, subject their tubes to complex stresses such as internal pressure, self-weight, fatigue, and thermal shock during start-up and shutdown. As a result, these furnace tubes frequently experience failures characterized by cracks and corrosion perforation. The high-temperature environment, constantly evolving structure of the tubes, and the close arrangement of the cracks within the tube box hinder detecting the cracks using conventional single-detection methods is challenging. This paper breaks through the limitations of the traditional single detection method and studies the effectiveness of the combination of ultrasonic-guided wave and low-frequency electromagnetic detection methods. The experiment was carried out by deliberately making cracks and thinning defects caused by corrosion on the cracking furnace tube of Cr35Ni45Nb after two years of service. The experimental results show that the ultrasonic guided wave detection technology can quickly detect the defects running through the whole furnace tube and effectively identify the manufacturing defects. On the other hand, low-frequency electromagnetic detection makes it possible to scan suspicious local defects and make qualitative and quantitative analyses of defect signals. The combination of ultrasonic guided wave and low-frequency electromagnetic detection can realize the rapid location and comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of furnace tube defects, thus making up for the defects missed detection caused by the lack of effectiveness of single detection and the resulting safety problems. The research results have great popularization value in practical engineering applications.

Abstract Background Tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) is widely known as an additional source of food, oil and feed worldwide. The agricultural production of tiger nut has been greatly hindered by drought stress, reducing both yield and quality. Protein phosphatase 2 C (PP2Cs) plays an important role in plant responses to drought stress however, the molecular mechanism of PP2Cs in tiger nuts still unclear. Results In this study, we identified a putative group A PP2C-encoding gene (CePP2C19) from tiger nut using transcriptome analysis, which is highly induced by drought stress. The transient expression assay suggested that CePP2C19 was localized to nucleus. Furthermore, the interaction between CePP2C19 and CePYR1, a coreceptor for ABA signaling, was first detected using a yeast two-hybrid assay and then verified using a bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis. In addition, the transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing CePP2C19 exhibited extreme tolerance to ABA and mannitol stresses during seed germination and root growth. At the mature stage, overexpression of CePP2C19 resulted in a higher tolerance to drought stress in transgenic Arabidopsis, as confirmed by a visible phenotype and several physiological parameters. Noticeably, the silencing of CePP2C19 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed obvious reduction in drought tolerance in tiger nut plants. Conclusions The CePP2C19 emerges as a pivotal gene involved in the ABA signaling pathway, which likely reduce ABA sensitivity and thus enhances drought tolerance in Cyperus esculentus.

Abstract Background Some patients show persistent cognitive decline for weeks, months or even years after surgery, which seriously affects their long-term prognosis and quality of life. However, most previous basic studies have focused mainly on the mechanisms of early postoperative cognitive decline, whereas cognitive decline in the longer term after surgery is less well-understood. The subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus exhibits life-long neurogenesis, supporting hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Main text The aim of this study was to investigate whether adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) involves in cognitive decline later following surgery and to further explore the roles of CD8 + T lymphocytes infiltrating the hippocampal parenchyma after surgery in this pathological process. Cognitive function was examined in adult mice that underwent laparotomy combined with partial hepatectomy, and the results showed that cognitive decline persisted in mice who underwent surgery during the first postoperative month, even though there was a trend toward continuous improvement over time. Significantly decreased numbers of DCX + cells, BrdU + cells, and BrdU + /DCX + cells were observed on day 8 after surgery, and a significantly decreased number of NeuN + /BrdU + cells was observed on day 28 after surgery, which indicated inhibition of AHN. After surgery, T lymphocytes, the majority of which were CD8 + T cells, infiltrated the hippocampus and secreted Interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Depletion of CD8 + T cells could inhibit the increase of IFN-γ synthesis, improve hippocampal neurogenesis, and improve postoperative cognitive function. Hippocampal microinjection of IFN-γ neutralizing antibody or adeno-associated virus to knock down IFN-γ receptor 1 (IFNGR1) could also partially attenuate the inhibition of AHN and improve postoperative cognitive function. Conclusions These results demonstrate that postoperative infiltration of CD8 + T cells into the hippocampus and subsequent secretion of IFN-γ contribute to the inhibition of AHN and cognitive decline later following surgery.

Background and Aims The diagnostic standard of coronary artery disease (CAD) is coronary angiography (CAG). Since CAG is an invasive procedure underscores the need for identifying non-invasive, effective, and innovative biomarkers. Our study aimed to retrospectively analyze hematological markers for predicting the severity of CAD. Methods and Results Case data were collected from 195 CAD patients admitted to the hospital for CAG. According to Gensini score, patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe CAD groups. Blood indexes and predictive efficacy of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index were retrospectively analyzed. Among 195 CAD patients, 81 had mild CAD, 60 had moderate CAD, and 54 had severe CAD. Sex, fast blood glucose (FBG), TyG index, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) significantly differed among the three groups. The TyG index demonstrated higher values in patients with moderate (9.07[8.62-9.44]) and severe (8.98[8.46-9.45]) CAD compared to those with mild CAD (8.75[8.49-9.14]). The AUC of the TyG index was 0.615 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.536-0.694, P =.004), with a cut-off value of 8.997, specificity of 0.704, and sensitivity of 0.535. Logistics analysis showed the risk of moderate and severe CAD with an odds ratio (OR) value of 2.595 (95% CI: 1.199-5.619, adjusted P = .016) following regrouping by the TyG index optimal cut-off value of 8.997. The TyG index combined with FBG and hs-CRP had an elevated AUC value, significantly higher than other combinations ( P = .011 and 0.02, respectively). Conclusions The severity of CAD is positively correlated with an increased TyG index value. A combination of TyG, FBG, and hs-CRP has demonstrated improved diagnostic efficiency, suggesting its potential as a novel indicator for predicting and diagnosing CAD progression.

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites are important structural materials and are widely used in structure engineering. In this study, a new V-notch non-standard tensile specimen is proposed. All the in-plane stiffness coefficients of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites could be obtained by the virtual fields method with only one uniaxial tensile test. First, the special virtual fields method for inversion of elastic constitutive parameters of orthotropic materials in the uniaxial tensile test was introduced. The optimization of the geometrical design of the specimen was conducted using finite element simulation experiments. Batch modeling calculation was conducted within the designed range of the geometric parameters of the specimen. The generated ideal strain field data were substituted into the virtual fields method to invert and identify the stiffness coefficients. The optimized geometry of the specimen was determined according to the objective function of minimum error. Through a tensile experiment on glass fiber composites, the influence of specimen deformation on the identification results was assessed, and the load level suitable for parameter identification was determined. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the inversion identification accuracy meets the requirements of engineering measurement.

Background: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is the primary cause of death in patients suffering acute myocardial infarction. As an emerging and efficacious therapeutic approach, Chinese herbal injections (CHIs) are gaining significant popularity in China. However, the optimal CHIs for treating CS remain uncertain.Method: We searched eight databases from inception to 30 September 2023. Subsequently, we conducted the Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA). Interventions were ranked based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) probability values. To compare the effects of CHIs on two distinct outcomes, a clustering analysis was performed. Furthermore, the quality of the studies was assessed.Results: For the study, we included 43 RCTs, encompassing 2,707 participants. The study evaluated six herbal injections, namely, Shenfu injection (SF), Shengmai injection (SM), Shenmai injection (Sm), Danshen injection (DS), Huangqi injection (HQ), and Xinmailong injection (XML). The analysis findings suggested that Sm (MD = −1.05, 95% CI: −2.10, −0.09) and SF (MD = −0.81, 95% CI: −1.40, −0.25) showed better efficacy compared to Western medicine (WM) alone in reducing in-hospital mortality. The SUCRA values revealed that Sm + WM ranked first in terms of in-hospital mortality, cardiac index (CI), and hourly urine output but second in improving left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). SF + WM, however, had the greatest impact on raising the clinical effective rate. In MAP, SM + WM came out on top. Moreover, in terms of safety, only 14 studies (31.8%), including five types of CHIs: SF, Sm, SM, HQ, and XML, observed adverse drug reactions.Conclusion: To summarize, this analysis discovered that, in terms of patients suffering from CS, CHIs + WM yielded significantly greater advantages than WM alone. Based on in-hospital mortality and the remaining outcomes, Sm performed excellently among all the involved CHIs.Systematic Review Registration: https://www.Crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42022347053.

Infection by an emerging bacterial pathogen Rahnella aquatilis caused enteritis and septicemia in fish. However, the molecular pathogenesis of enteritis induced by R. aquatilis infection and its interacting mechanism of the intestinal microflora associated with microRNA (miRNA) immune regulation in crucian carp Carassius auratus are still unclear. In this study, C. auratus intraperitoneally injected with R. aquatilis KCL-5 was used as an experimental animal model, and the intestinal pathological changes, microflora, and differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were investigated by multi-omics analysis. The significant changes in histopathological features, apoptotic cells, and enzyme activities (e.g., lysozyme (LYS), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)) in the intestine were examined after infection. Diversity and composition analysis of the intestinal microflora clearly demonstrated four dominant bacteria: Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. A total of 87 DEMs were significantly screened, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed that the potential target genes were mainly involved in the regulation of lipid, glutathione, cytosine, and purine metabolism, which participated in the local immune response through the intestinal immune network for IgA production, lysosome, and Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. Moreover, the expression levels of 11 target genes (e.g., TLR3, MyD88, NF-κB, TGF-β, TNF-α, MHC II, IL-22, LysC, F2, F5, and C3) related to inflammation and immunity were verified by qRT-PCR detection. The correlation analysis indicated that the abundance of intestinal Firmicutes and Proteobacteria was significantly associated with the high local expression of miR-203/NF-κB, miR-129/TNF-α, and miR-205/TGF-β. These findings will help to elucidate the molecular regulation mechanism of the intestinal microflora, inflammation, and immune response-mediated miRNA–target gene axis in cyprinid fish.

In recent years, the centrifugal casting material Cr35Ni45Nb has been widely used in cracking furnace tubes. The common failure forms in the service process are carburizing cracking, bending, bulging, creep cracking, thermal fatigue cracking, thermal shock cracking, and oxidation, among which the inner wall oxidation and carburization of cracking furnace tubes cause the largest proportion of material failure. In this paper, we will discuss the inner wall oxidation behavior of cracking furnace tubes and its influence on the lasting strength of the furnace tubes. Several groups of endurance tests were designed for service furnace tubes, and the oxidation characteristics, oxide film rupture damage, and its influence on the endurance life of furnace tubes in different service times were analyzed by means of XRD, SEM, and so on. The results show that the oxide layer of the furnace tube is divided into two layers, the outer layer is repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. With the continuous evolution of material structure, its properties also deteriorate, and its tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and durable life all decrease significantly.

TGF-β-activated kinase 1 binding protein 2 (TAB2) is an intermediate protein that connects TNFR1 and other receptor signals to the TGF-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) signaling complex. TAB2 has been proved clinically relevant to congenital heart defects (CHD) and cardiomyopathy. In this study, we created a TAB2 knockout human embryonic stem cell line by CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The WAe009-A-Z cell line displayed stem cell morphology, pluripotency and normal karyotype, which could develop into three germ layers in vitro.

Escherichia coli is a major bacterial pathogen which causes diarrhea in the giant panda. This study investigated the biological characteristics of 100 E. coli strains isolated from fecal samples collected from 100 captive giant pandas of different age groups and sexes. A standard Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed with the isolates and we then further evaluated the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by high-throughput quantitative PCR. Additionally, we then analyzed O serogroups through a slide agglutination test, virulence genes and the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) by PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing demonstrated that the 100 E. coli strains were mainly resistant to ENR (68%), AM (56%), IPM (55%), AMX (54%) and CA (52%), but were susceptible to MEM and FOX. The resistance to TZP, AK, FEP, CAZ, AMS, AZM, AT and IPM was significantly related to age (p

Triterpenoid saponins and flavonoids have several pharmacological activities against P. tenuifolia. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and chalcone synthase (CHS) are the rate-limiting enzymes of triterpenoid saponin and flavonoid biosynthesis, respectively. In this study, HMGR and CHS genes were cloned from P. tenuifolia, and their bioinformatics analyses and tissue-specific expression were investigated. The results showed that the HMGR and CHS genes were successfully cloned, separately named the PtHMGR gene (NCBI accession: MK424118) and PtCHS gene (NCBI accession: MK424117). The PtHMGR gene is 2323 bp long, has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1782 bp, and encods 593 amino acids. The PtCHS gene is 1633 bp long with an ORF of 1170 bp, encoding 389 amino acids. PtHMGR and PtCHS were both hydrophobic, not signal peptides or secreted proteins, containing 10 conserved motifs. PtHMGR and PtCHS separately showed high homology with HMGR and CHS proteins from other species, and their secondary structures mainly included α-helix and random curl. The tertiary structure of PtHMGR was highly similarity to that the template 7ULI in RCSB PDB with 92.0% coverage rate. The HMG-CoA-binding domain of PtHMGR is located at 173-572 amino acid residues, including five bound sites. The tertiary structure of PtCHS showed high consistency with the template 1I86 in RCSB PDB with 100% coverage rate, contained malonyl CoA and 4-coumaroyl-CoA linkers. The expression of PtHMGR and PtCHS is tissue-specific. PtHMGR transcripts were mainly accumulated in roots, followed by leaves, and least in stems, and were significantly positively correlated with the contents of total saponin and tenuifolin. PtCHS was highly expressed in the stems, followed by the leaves, with low expression in the roots. PtCHS transcripts showed a significant positive correlation with total flavonoids content, however, they were significantly negatively correlated with the content of polygalaxanthone III (a type of flavonoids). This study provided insight for further revealing the roles of PtHMGR and PtCHS.

As a commonly used mode of transportation in people’s daily lives, the normal operation of railway transportation is crucial. The track circuit, as a key component of the railway transportation system, is prone to malfunctions due to environmental factors. However, the current method of inspecting track circuit faults still relies on the experience of on-site personnel. In order to improve the efficiency and accuracy of fault diagnosis, we propose to establish an intelligent fault diagnosis system. Considering that the fault data are a one-dimensional time series, this paper presents a fault diagnosis method based on the UNet-LSTM network (ULN). The LSTM network is established on the basis of fault data and used for ZPW-2000A track circuit fault diagnosis. However, the use of a single LSTM network has a high error rate in the common fault diagnosis of track circuits. Therefore, this paper proposes a feature extraction method based on the UNet network. This method is used to extract the features of the original data and then input them into the LSTM network for fault diagnosis. Through experiments with on-site fault data, it has been verified that this method can accurately classify seven common track circuit faults. Finally, the superiority of the method is verified by comparing it with other commonly used fault classification methods.

BackgroundDuring the special period of the global spread of COVID-19, pregnant women are sensitive groups to the impacts of COVID-19 epidemic. However, the effects of lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 on fetal birthweight remain unclear.ObjectivesThis study investigated the associations of COVID-19 lockdown with birth weight in Chinese population.MethodsWe collected 730,153 data of participants from hospitals of five cities in the south of China, we defined the time period of level I response (1/23-2/24/2020) as level I lockdown, and women who were pregnant during level I lockdown as the exposure group. Women who were pregnant during the same calendar month from 2015 to 2019 were defined as the unexposed group. We quantitatively estimate the individual cumulative exposure dose by giving different weights to days with different emergency response levels. Generalized linear regression models were used to estimate the association between COVID-19 lockdown exposure with birth weight and risk of low birth weight (4,000 g).ResultsThe birth weight of the exposed group is heavier than the unexposed group (3,238.52 vs. 3,224.11 g: adjusted β = 24.39 g [95% CI: 21.88, 26.91 g]). The exposed group had a higher risk of macrosomia (2.8% vs. 2.6%; adjusted OR = 1.17 [95% CI: 1.12, 1.22]). More obvious associations were found between COVID-19 lockdown and macrosomia in women who experienced the lockdown in their early pregnancy. Women who experienced the lockdown at their 4–7 weeks of pregnancy showed statistically significant heavier birth weight than unexposed group (after adjustment): β = 1.28 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.46) g. We also observed a positive association between cumulative exposure dose of COVID-19 lockdown in all pregnant women and birth weight, after divided into four groups, Q1: β = 32.95 (95% CI: 28.16, 37.75) g; Q2: β = 18.88 (95% CI: 14.12, 23.64) g; Q3: β = 19.50 (95% CI: 14.73, 24.28) g; Q4: β = 21.82 (95% CI: 17.08, 26.56) g. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the risk of low birth weight between exposed and unexposed groups.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 lockdown measures were associated with a heavier birth weight and a higher risk of macrosomia. Early pregnancy periods may be a more susceptible exposure window for a heavier birth weight and a higher risk of macrosomia. We also observed a positive association between cumulative exposure dose of COVID-19 lockdown and birth weight. The government and health institutions should pay attention to the long-term health of the infants born during the COVID-19 lockdown period, and follow up these mothers and infants is necessary.

Abnormal energy metabolism is one of the ten hallmarks of tumors, and tumor cell metabolism provides energy and a suitable microenvironment for tumorigenesis and metastasis. Tumor cells can consume large amounts of glucose and produce large amounts of lactate through glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen, a process called aerobic glycolysis, also known as the Warburg effect. Lactate is the end product of the aerobic glycolysis. Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), which is highly expressed in cancer cells, promotes lactate production and transports lactate to the tumor microenvironment and is taken up by surrounding stromal cells under the action of monocarboxylate transporter 1/4 (MCT1/4), which in turn influences the immune response and enhances the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Therapeutic strategies targeting lactate metabolism have been intensively investigated, focusing on its metastasis-promoting properties and various target inhibitors; AZD3965, an MCT1 inhibitor, has entered phase I clinical trials, and the LDHA inhibitor N-hydroxyindole (NHI) has shown cancer therapeutic activity in pre-clinical studies. Interventions targeting lactate metabolism are emerging as a promising option for cancer therapy, with chemotherapy or radiotherapy combined with lactate-metabolism-targeted drugs adding to the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Based on current research, this article outlines the role of lactate metabolism in tumor metastasis and the potential value of inhibitors targeting lactate metabolism in cancer therapy.