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A stretchable conductive Janus hydrogel with controllable porous structures is developed for highly sensitive monitoring of human motion. The Janus porous structure of the hydrogel is fabricated using patterned single‐layer droplets produced by microfluidics as pore‐forming templates. The hydrogel possess dual‐crosslinked polymeric networks to achieve good stretchability (480%), which allows fully cover the stretching range of human skin (usually <200%). Meanwhile, the hydrogel possess controllable Janus porous structures with local strain/stress enhancement to achieve high sensitivity (GF = 5.2) for strain‐sensing. The Janus hydrogel shows fast response for stretching (175 ms) and recovery (170 ms), and good durability (200 cycles at 50% strain). The conductive Janus hydrogel with high sensitivity and good mechanical properties are promising for developing soft wearable sensors in fields such as human health monitoring and human motion detection.

Through bioassay-guided isolation, eight undescribed coumarins (1–8), along with six reported coumarins (9–14), were obtained from Coriaria nepalensis.The new structures were determined by using IR, UV, NMR, HRESIMS, and ECD calculations. The results of the biological activity assays showed that compound 9exhibited broad spectrum antifungal activities against all tested fungi in vitroand a significant inhibitory effect on Phytophthora nicotianaewith an EC50value of 3.00 μg/mL. Notably, compound 9demonstrated greater curative and protective effects against tobacco balack shank than those of osthol in vivo. Thus, 9was structurally modified to obtain new promising antifungal agents, and the novel derivatives (17b, 17j, and 17k) exhibited better effects on Sclerotinia sclerotiorumthan did lead compound 9. Preliminary mechanistic exploration illustrated that 9could enhance cell membrane permeability, destroy the morphology and ultrastructure of cells, and reduce the exopolysaccharide content of P. nicotianaemycelia. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity results revealed that compound 9exhibited relatively low cytotoxicity against HEK293 cell lines with an inhibition rate of 33.54% at 30 μg/mL. This research is promising for the discovery of new fungicides from natural coumarins with satisfactory ecological compatibility.

Microglia are resident immune cells of the central nervous system and play key roles in brain homeostasis. During anesthesia, microglia increase their dynamic process surveillance and interact more closely with neurons. However, the functional significance of microglial process dynamics and neuronal interaction under anesthesia is largely unknown. Using in vivo two-photon imaging in mice, we show that microglia enhance neuronal activity after the cessation of isoflurane anesthesia. Hyperactive neuron somata are contacted directly by microglial processes, which specifically colocalize with GABAergic boutons. Electron-microscopy-based synaptic reconstruction after two-photon imaging reveals that, during anesthesia, microglial processes enter into the synaptic cleft to shield GABAergic inputs. Microglial ablation or loss of microglial β2-adrenergic receptors prevents post-anesthesia neuronal hyperactivity. Our study demonstrates a previously unappreciated function of microglial process dynamics, which enable microglia to transiently boost post-anesthesia neuronal activity by physically shielding inhibitory inputs.

The hot carrier injection (HCI) reliability of n-type FinFETs in ring oscillators (ROs) is investigated with consideration of the circuit-level time-varying electrothermal effects in the ROs. The oscillating voltages and electrical power in a nine-stage RO are captured by circuit simulation in Cadence with its layout that is designed and verified based on FreePDK15. Spatial temperature response is obtained by heat conduction simulation with finite element analysis in the 3-D integrated structure that is accordingly constructed from the layout of the RO, where the heat generation is extracted from the Cadence simulation. With the obtained ac stress voltages and transient temperature, the HCI-induced threshold voltage shift (TVS) of n-type FinFETs under the circuit-level time-varying electrothermal effects is successfully predicted. The impacts of electrical and thermal parameters of the RO, including the supply voltage and thermal surrounding, on the electrothermal response and HCI reliability of FinFETs are also revealed.

According to the requirements of Chang’e 4 mission, the configuration and layout of Queqiao relay satellite are designed based on the mission analysis. The satellite’s shape, structure size, mechanical interface of launch vehicle adapter, module division, primary structure and equipment layout are determined. Based on small satellite’s platform and main structure, we optimized configuration and layout of structure size, solar array fixing, tank fixing, big antenna fixing. Combining with light-weighting technology and 3D printing technology, achieving a goal of zero-counterweight, the loading ratio reaches a high level of advanced small satellite. To pursue the tenet of “Simplicity, symmetry, and harmony”, the design ability is highlighted by combining the functionality and simplicity. It provides the reference to the similar satellite configuration and layout.

This letter presents an E-plane beam-steerable three-element patch array with the nonradiating resonators (NRRs) inserted between the driven element and the parasitic elements. The additional NRRs can provide a large maximum phase difference between the adjacent radiating elements to improve the steering range, achieve a large induced voltage on the parasitic elements to improve the directivity, and increase the distance between the two adjacent radiating elements to narrow the half-power beamwidth. By tuning the resonant frequencies of the NRRs and the parasitic elements using the varactors, the beam of the array can continuously scan around the boresight direction. Finally, a demonstration is designed, fabricated, and tested. The measured (simulated) results show this patch array operated at 2.41 GHz (2.4 GHz) can scan from +26° to −29° (+31° to −31°) with the realized gain varying from 6.3 to 8.8 dBi (8.1–10.4 dBi).

Background and objective: Acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) regulates the differentiation of Th1, Th2, Th17 cells and Treg cells, which play a critical role in airway inflammation of asthma. Here we investigated the role of ACC in the pathogenesis of asthma. Methods: Chicken Ovalbumin-sensitized and -challenged mice were divided into three groups, PBS group, DMSO (solvent of TOFA) group and ACC inhibitor 5-tetradecyloxy-2-furoic acid (TOFA)?+?DMSO group. Airway inflammation was assessed with histology, percentages of CD4+T cell subsets in lung and spleen was assessed with flow cytometry, and airway responsiveness was assessed with FinePointe RC system. The expression of characteristic transcription factors of CD4+T cell subsets was evaluated with real-time PCR. Cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum was determined with ELISA. Results: In asthma mice, the expression of ACC increased, while the expression of phosphorylated ACC (pACC) decreased. TOFA had no significant effect on pACC expression. TOFA reduced serum IgE, airway inflammatory cells infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia, but dramatically increased airway responsiveness. TOFA significantly reduced the percentages of Th1, Th2, Th17 cells in lung and spleen, the expression of GATA3 and ROR?t in lung, and IFN-?, IL-4, IL-17A levels in BALF and serum. TOFA had no significant effect on the percentage of Treg cells, IL-10 level and the expression of T-bet and Foxp3. Conclusion: Acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor TOFA might have a distinct effect on asthmatic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness.

Proinflammatory M1 macrophages are critical for the progression of atherosclerosis. The Par3-like protein (Par3L) is a homolog of the Par3 family involved in cell polarity establishment. Par3L has been shown to maintain the stemness of mammary stem cells and promote the survival of colorectal cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the roles of the polar protein Par3L in M1 macrophage polarization and atherosclerosis. To induce atherosclerosis, Apoe−/−mice were fed with an atherosclerotic Western diet for 8 or 16 weeks. We showed that Par3L expression was significantly increased in human and mouse atherosclerotic plaques. In primary mouse macrophages, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL, 50 μg/mL) time-dependently increased Par3L expression. In Apoe−/−mice, adenovirus-mediated Par3L overexpression aggravated atherosclerotic plaque formation accompanied by increased M1 macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques and bone marrow. In mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) or peritoneal macrophages (PMs), we revealed that Par3L overexpression promoted LPS and IFNγ-induced M1 macrophage polarization by activating p65 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) rather than p38 and JNK signaling. Our results uncover a previously unidentified role for the polarity protein Par3L in aggravating atherosclerosis and favoring M1 macrophage polarization, suggesting that Par3L may serve as a potential therapeutic target for atherosclerosis.

Currently, the use of piezoelectric materials to provide sustainable and noninvasive bioelectric stimulation to eradicate tumor cells and accelerate wound healing has raised wide attention. The development of a multifunctional piezoelectric elastomer with the ability to perform in situ tumor therapy as well as wound repair is of paramount importance. However, current piezoelectric materials have a large elastic modulus and limited stretchability, making it difficult to match with the dynamic curvature changes of the wound. Therefore, by copolymerizing lactic acid, butanediol, sebacic acid, and itaconic acid to develop a piezoelectric elastomer (PLBSIE), we construct a new ultrasound-activated PLBSIE-based tumor/wound unified therapeutic platform. Excitedly, it showed outstanding piezoelectric performance and high stretchability, and the separated carrier could react with water to generate highly cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), contributing to effectively killing tumor cells and eliminating bacteria through piezoelectric therapy. In addition, ultrasound-triggered piezoelectric effects could promote the migration and differentiation of wound-healing-related cells, thus accelerating wound healing. Herein, such a piezoelectric elastomer exerted a critical role in postoperative tumor-induced wound therapy and healing with the merits of possessing multifunctional abilities. Taken together, the developed ultrasound-activated PLBSIE will offer a comprehensive treatment for postoperative osteosarcoma therapy.

Inspired by eagle eye mechanisms, the structure and information processing characteristics of the eagle’s visual system are used for the target capture task of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a mechanical arm. In this paper, a novel eagle-eye inspired multi-camera sensor and a saliency detection method are proposed. A combined camera system is built by simulating the double fovea structure on the eagle retina. A saliency target detection method based on the eagle midbrain inhibition mechanism is proposed by measuring the static saliency information and dynamic features. Thus, salient targets can be accurately detected through the collaborative work between different cameras of the proposed multi-camera sensor. Experimental results show that the eagle-eye inspired visual system is able to continuously detect targets in outdoor scenes and that the proposed algorithm has a strong inhibitory effect on moving background interference.

This article investigates the stabilization of stochastic highly non-linear coupled systems (SHNCSs) with multiple time delays by using periodically intermittent control (PIC). It is worth noting that coefficients in SHNCSs dissatisfy the linear growth condition, which weakens the previous stability conditions. In addition, PIC and multiple time delays are first introduced into the study of highly nonlinear systems, which leads to the existing methods being inapplicable to investigate the stability of SHNCSs with multiple time delays. Therefore, a novel Halanay-type differential inequality is established, which can be employed to deal with highly nonlinear systems with PIC. Based on the Lyapunov method, the graph theory, and the novel differential inequality, SHNCSs with multiple time delays are first studied, and stability criteria are presented. Next, the theoretical results can be applied to modified FitzHugh–Nagumo models. At last, a numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness of our results.

Objective: Neuroinflammation caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to neurological deficits. Acupuncture can inhibit neuroinflammation and promote nerve repair; however, the specific mechanism is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore whether acupuncture could modulate the M1 and M2 phenotypic polarization of microglia in a rat model of TBI via the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/intracellular toll-interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon-β (TRIF)/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) pathway.Methods: A total of 90 adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, SPF grade, were randomly divided into a normal group, model group and acupuncture group. Each group was further divided into three subgroups (first, third, and fifth day groups) according to the treatment time (n= 10 rats/subgroup). We used the modified neurological severity score (mNSS) method to quantify neurological deficits before and after modeling. We used Nissl staining to observe the pathological changes in brain tissue, flow cytometry to detect the proportion of M1 and M2 polarized microglia in the injured area on the first, third and fifth day, and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) to examine TLR4/TRIF/MyD88 expression in microglia on the first, third and fifth day, as well as expression of the amount of binding of TLR4 with TRIF and MyD88.Results: Compared to the model group, mNSS in the acupuncture group gradually decreased and pathological morphology improved. The proportion of CD11b/CD86 positive cells was decreased, while that of CD11b/CD206 was increased in the acupuncture group. Expression of IP TLR4, IP TRIF and IP MyD88 also decreased in the acupuncture group.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that one of the mechanisms through which acupuncture mitigates neuroinflammation and promotes nerve repair in TBI rats may be inhibition of M1 phenotypic polarization and promotion of M2 phenotypic polarization through inhibition of the TLR4/TRIF/MyD88 signaling pathway.

A topologically constrained optimization methodology associated with a discretized differential evolution (DE) is employed for the structure design of a magnetic pulse welding (MPW) coil. To reveal the explicit expression for the effective welding area produced by the MPW process, the impact angle and collision velocity are innovatively considered for determination of the objective function. As several disconnected regions are generated by the Rand-to-Best/2/exp mutation strategy and subsequent superposition-style crossover operation, the algorithm is combined with geometrical correction to form a simply connected conductor. The proposed algorithm is effective and robust as it have been verified based on the evolutionary history and numerical trials with coupled electromagnetic–mechanical simulations. According to physical validation results, a wider effective welding area is produced between aluminum alloy and steel planar plates by the optimized coil, which results in better performance in a tensile test. Under a 23 kJ discharge current, the maximum loading is significantly enhanced by 46.21% compared with the original coil.

The self-reported quality of life (QoL) should be carefully listened to in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from the patient-centered perspective. However, there was still a lack of short QoL measurement tool in atypical parkinsonism. We aimed to test whether the short Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-8 (PDQ-8) was effective in assessing QoL in PSP, comparing with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Quality of Life Scale (PSP-QoL) and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). 132 patients with clinical diagnosed PSP, including PSP-Richardson syndrome (RS) subtype (n= 71) and PSP-non-RS subtype (n= 61) were recruited for clinical evaluation including QoL assessment. The detailed QoL profiles and possibility of using PDQ-8 were systemically analyzed. The determinants to the QoL were then calculated by multivariate linear regression analysis. The PSP-QoL total score summary index (SI) was 22.8 (10.1, 41.1), while the PDQ-8 and PDQ-39 total SI score were 28.1 (12.5, 46.9) and 29.5 (15.4, 49.4). Mobility, activities of daily life, cognition and communication were the main affected QoL subdomains (median SI: 40.0, 31.3, 25.0 and 25.0 respectively). PSP-RS subtype showed more severe damage physically (p<0.001) and mentally (p= 0.002) compared to other subtypes. More importantly, the strong relevance of PDQ-8 and recommended PSP QoL tools were confirmed (p<0.001). In addition, disease severity, depression and daytime sleepiness were proved to be critical determinants for QoL in PSP. PDQ-8 could be an easy, reliable, and valid tool to evaluate QoL in patients with PSP. Besides motor symptoms, more attention should be paid to non-motor impairment such as depression in PSP.

Multilayer black phosphorus (BP) has been widely used in many infrared applications due to its narrow bandgap below 3.7-µm wavelength range. Approaches that reduce the bandgap to less than 0.33 eV would extend the cutoff wavelength and are of paramount importance. Moreover, the poor air stability of BP severely limits its practical applications. However, none of the current methods ensure effective bandgap tuning while enhancing air stability of BP for long-term device operation. This paper solved both problems by substituting BP with congener arsenic (As) atoms. We achieved millimeter-sized As-substituted BP (b-AsxP1−x) by optimizing the chemical vapor transport parameters, with As concentrations (x) varying as 0, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6. According to the scanning tunneling microscopy results, arsenic atoms are resolved to be randomly embedded in the phosphorus host lattice, while maintaining a well-ordered lattice arrangement. Therefore, the electrical bandgap of pristine BP is narrowed to ∼0.16 ± 0.02 eV for the b-As0.6P0.4sample, accompanied by the accumulated p-doping and red-shifting BP Raman feature. Furthermore, the device based on b-As0.6P0.4exhibits no signs of oxidation under ambient conditions (temperature ∼20°C; humidity ∼33%) for 48 h and shows a photoresponsivity of up to ∼882 mA W−1, exceeding the values of ∼314 mA W−1for pristine BP devices due to the strong doping without obvious lattice distortion. Our findings indicate that arsenic-substituted BP has potential application in developing ambient-stable photodetectors and optical modulators.

ABSTRACTIntroductionHistone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been considered as an attractive strategy to reverse aberrant epigenetic changes associated with cancer treatments. The use of HDAC inhibitors in various cancer types has continued to develop for decades, bringing several novel HDAC inhibitors successfully into clinical trials. The combination use of HDAC inhibitors with other agents have also been developed and have demonstrated superior efficacy compared to that of monotherapy in recent studies. Hence, development of new anticancer treatment and therapeutic regimen is necessary.Areas coveredThis review summarizes a comprehensive review of the patent literature from 2020 to 2022 including HDAC inhibitors and their use as anticancer agents (searched from European Patent Office, 2020–2022). The approved and developing HDAC inhibitors are described. It also provides perspectives on the challenges and future opportunities.Expert opinionAlthough hundreds of clinical trials of HDAC inhibitors are still going on, the application for HDAC inhibitors has been limited at present . Not only in the anticancer treatment, but also non-oncology disease therapies are being investigated eagerly. Recently, applications of HDAC inhibitors in non-oncology diseases have also been revealed and proceeded to clinical trials. New indications for HDAC inhibitors are needed urgently in the future.

Owing to advancement in advanced manufacturing technology, the reinforcement design of concrete structures has become an important topic in structural engineering. Based on bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO), a new approach is developed in this study to optimize the reinforcement layout in steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) structures. This approach combines a minimum compliance objective function with a hybrid truss-continuum model. Furthermore, a modified bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (M-BESO) method is proposed to control the level of tensile stress in concrete. To fully utilize the tensile strength of steel and the compressive strength of concrete, the optimization sensitivity of steel in a concrete–steel composite is integrated with the average normal stress of a neighboring concrete. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedures, reinforcement layout optimizations of a simply supported beam, a corbel, and a wall with a window are conducted. Clear steel trajectories of SRC structures can be obtained using both methods. The area of critical tensile stress in concrete yielded by the M-BESO is more than 40% lower than that yielded by the uniform design and BESO. Hence, the M-BESO facilitates a fully digital workflow that can be extremely effective for improving the design of steel reinforcements in concrete structures.

ABSTRACTThe abundant carbon emissions generated by the construction industry have gradually become a significant problem. Rather than employing traditional construction methods, the industrialized building system adopts the efficient on-site assembly of prefabricated components, which provides a new solution for reducing industry carbon emissions. Currently, great differences exist in the life cycle assessment schemes for prefabricated buildings and components, which requires considering many different factors. The accuracy and applicability of the results must therefore be improved. In this study, an improved life cycle calculation framework is proposed to assess the carbon emissions of prefabricated concrete columns in the construction stage. Based on the commonly used calculation methods of carbon emission factors, the framework uses a new calculation method with more considerations for vehicle transportation and uses the consumer lifestyle method to estimate construction workers’ carbon emissions. The framework also fully considers the loss of components in the transportation process. The calculated results are compared with the traditional carbon emission factor calculation methods. Overall, the results for the framework are relatively significant because they more comprehensively consider various factors when compared to results using the traditional calculation methods.

This study used a facile method to develop a novel silver/Graphene–polypyrrole (Ag/G–PPy)‐modified electrode that can be used as an electrochemical sensor for levosimendan detection. The properties of the synthesized Ag/G–PPy‐modified electrode were examined through field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, x‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The Ag/G–PPy‐modified electrode exhibited satisfactory current signals toward levosimendan concentrations ranging from 0.21 to 6.88 μM and exhibited a low detection limit (0.12 μM). Accordingly, the proposed electrode can serve as a simple and inexpensive electrochemical sensor for levosimendan detection. A novel silver/Graphene–polypyrrole (Ag/G–PPy)‐modified electrode for levosimendan detection. The Ag/G–PPy‐modified electrode showed current signals toward levosimendan concentrations ranging from 0.21 to 6.88 μM and exhibited a low detection limit of 0.12 μM. Accordingly, the proposed electrode can serve as a simple and inexpensive electrochemical sensor for levosimendan detection.

A Goldberg polyhedron is a convex polyhedron made of hexagons and pentagons that have icosahedral rotational symmetry. Goldberg polyhedra have appeared frequently in art, architecture, and engineering. Some carbon fullerenes, inorganic cages, viruses, and proteins in nature exhibit the fundamental shapes of Goldberg polyhedra. According to Euler’s polyhedron formula, an icosahedral Goldberg polyhedron always has exactly 12 pentagons. In Goldberg polyhedra, all pentagons are surrounded by hexagons only—this is known as the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). This study systematically developed new families of cage-like structures derived from the initial topology of Goldberg polyhedra but with the 12 pentagons fused in five different arrangements and different densities of hexagonal faces. These families might be of great significance in biology and chemistry, where some non-IPR fullerenes have been created recently with chemical reactivity and properties markedly different from IPR fullerenes. Furthermore, this study has conducted an optimization for multiple objectives and constraints, such as equal edge length, equal area, planarity, and spherical shape. The optimized configurations are highly desirable for architectural applications, where a structure with a small number of different edge lengths and planar faces may significantly reduce the fabrication cost and enable the construction of surfaces with flat panels.Graphical Abstract

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has evolved rapidly over the last 40 years, offering hope to individuals and couples struggling with infertility. As technology continues to evolve, simulating a realistic female reproductive system environment has become a common goal for all types of ARTs, thereby reducing the impact of the artificial microenvironment on perinatal and offspring health. In this review, we provide a brief history of the development of each major ART and discuss the impact of ART on perinatal and offspring health. We also explore how the negative consequences of ART may be overcome and how its benefits can be maximized.

The International Society of Reproductive Genetics (ISRG) assembled a workgroup made up of clinicians, clinical laboratory directors, and scientists for the purpose of creating the guidelines for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). The most up-to-date information and clinical insights for the optimal PGT practice were incorporated in these guidelines. Recommendations are provided for embryologists, medical geneticists, clinical laboratorians, and other healthcare providers to improve the wellbeing of patients seeking assisted reproductive treatment and their offspring.

ABSTRACT This paper presents a study on the effect of luffa fibres by different chemical treatments of luffa fibres on cracking resistance and drying shrinkage of cement mortar. This research [...]

While early-onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD) caused by mutations in the parkin gene (PRKN) tends to have a relatively benign course compared to genetically undetermined (GU)-EOPD, the exact underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We aimed to search for the differences between PRKN-EOPD and GU-EOPD by dopamine transporter (DAT) and glucose metabolism positron-emission-tomography (PET) imaging. Twelve patients with PRKN-EOPD and 16 with GU-EOPD who accepted both 11C-2b-carbomethoxy-3b-(4-trimethylstannylphenyl) tropane (11C-CFT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET were enrolled. The 11C-CFT uptake was analyzed on both regional and voxel levels, whereas glucose metabolism was assessed in a voxel-wise fashion. Correlations between DAT and glucose metabolism imaging, DAT imaging and clinical severity, as well as glucose metabolism imaging and clinical severity were explored. Both clinical symptoms and DAT-binding patterns in the posterior putamen were highly symmetrical in patients with PRKN-EOPD, and dopaminergic dysfunction in the ipsilateral putamen was severer in patients with PRKN-EOPD than GU-EOPD. Meanwhile, the DAT binding was associated with the severity of motor dysfunction in  patients with GU-EOPD only. Patients with PRKN-EOPD showed increased glucose metabolism in the contralateral medial frontal gyrus (supplementary motor area (SMA)), contralateral substantia nigra, contralateral thalamus, and contralateral cerebellum. Notably, glucose metabolic activity in the contralateral medial frontal gyrus was inversely associated with regional DAT binding in the bilateral putamen. Patients with PRKN-EOPD showed enhanced metabolic connectivity within the bilateral putamen, ipsilateral paracentral and precentral lobules, and the ipsilateral SMA. Collectively, compared to GU-EOPD, PRKN-EOPD is characterized by symmetrical, more severe dopaminergic dysfunction and relative increased glucose metabolism. Meanwhile, SMA with elevated glucose metabolism and enhanced connectivity may act as compensatory mechanisms in PRKN-EOPD.

The advancement of two-dimensional polar metals tends to be limited by the incompatibility between electric polarity and metallicity as well as dimension reduction. Here, we report polar and metallic Janus monolayers of the MoSi2N4family by breaking the out-of-plane structural symmetry through Z (P/As) substitution of N. Despite the semiconducting nature of MoSi2X4(X = N/P/As), four Janus MoSi2NxZ4−xmonolayers are found to be polar metals owing to the weak coupling between the conducting electrons and electric polarity. The metallicity is originated from the Z substitution induced delocalization of occupied electrons in Mo-d orbitals. The out-of-plane electric polarizations around 1.5–15.7 pC m−1are determined by the asymmetric out-of-plane charge distribution due to the non-centrosymmetric Janus structure. The corresponding out-of-plane piezoelectricity is further revealed as high as 18.7–73.3 pC m−1and 0.05–0.25 pm V−1for the piezoelectric strain and stress coefficients, respectively. The results demonstrate polar metallicity and high out-of-plane piezoelectricity in Janus MoSi2NxZ4−xmonolayers and open new vistas for exploiting unusual coexisting properties in monolayers derived from the MoSi2N4family.

In this study, we propose a novel method to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to monitor patients’ lower limb microcirculation with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We controlled the ECMO system's speed and measured hemodynamics using NIRS devices which attached to both calves at approximately 60% of the tibia length. Features from the collected blood oxygen data were extracted and utilized as machine learning inputs for classification. The patients were divided into two groups based on discharge and mortality. In venovenous (VV) ECMO, we found that the construction of the classification model based on the characteristics of this type with better discriminating ability can effectively distinguish the two groups.

Open set recognition (OSR) aims to correctly recognize the known classes and reject the unknown classes for increasing the reliability of the recognition system. The distance-based loss is often employed in deep neural networks-based OSR methods to constrain the latent representation of known classes. However, the optimization is usually conducted using the nondirectional euclidean distance in a single feature space without considering the potential impact of spatial distribution. To address this problem, we propose orientational distribution learning (ODL) with hierarchical spatial attention for OSR. In ODL, the spatial distribution of feature representation is optimized orientationally to increase the discriminability of decision boundaries for open set recognition. Then, a hierarchical spatial attention mechanism is proposed to assist ODL to capture the global distribution dependencies in the feature space based on spatial relationships. Moreover, a composite feature space is constructed to integrate the features from different layers and different mapping approaches, and it can well enrich the representation information. Finally, a decision-level fusion method is developed to combine the composite feature space and the naive feature space for producing a more comprehensive classification result. The effectiveness of ODL has been demonstrated on various benchmark datasets, and ODL achieves state-of-the-art performance.

Commonly applied in situ techniques and their applications on representative electrode materials are summarized, aiming at elucidating the composition/structure-performance relationship for electrochemical performance improvement to meet the global transition towards low-carbon energy.

Objective: To elucidate the role of transsphenoidal surgery in the treatment of pituitary microprolactinoma. Methods: The clinical data of 107 prolactinoma cases treated by extra-pseudocapsular transnasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETTS) for different indications in our department since 2011 was retrospectively analyzed. Results: The most common indication was the ineffectiveness of oral medication (41.1%), followed by the personal willingness of the patient (35.5%), and 20.6% of the patients were young women with clear tumor boundaries. The pseudocapsule was not observed in 63 cases (58.9%), incomplete pseudocapsule was observed in 26 cases (24.3%), and complete pseudocapsule in 18 cases (16.8%). A total of 97 patients (90.7%) obtained 1-year post-operation remission. According to the relative location of the adenoma and pituitary gland on the MRI scan, 46 patients were classified into a central type, 59 a lateral type, and 2 a supra-pituitary type. Two patients developed hypogonadism, one patient developed hypocortisolism, and one patient developed post-operative hypothyroidism. Two patients were administrated with hormone replacement treatment, and the treatment was stopped within one week. There was no permanent hypopituitarism. Further investigation demonstrated that the adenoma types could affect the remission rates of hyperprolactinemia and gross total resection rate in microprolactinoma. Conclusion: ETTS was an effective treatment for pituitary microprolactinomas. This could be the first choice for patients who presented enclosed adenoma on the MRI and were potentially curable in a preoperative evaluation. Maximal safe removal of the adenoma by ETTS with the aim to increase the sensitivity of the drugs was also recommended for patients with invasive dopamine agonist resistant prolactinomas and patients with difficulty in childbirth.

Byline: Meng. Sun, Yang. Shen, Mu-Lan. Ren, Yi-Min. Dong Aim: Although routine screening contributes to substantial reductions in cervical cancer morbidity and mortality, the low specificity of HPV detection and [...]

The development of ligands for biological targets is critically dependent on the identification of sites on proteins that bind molecules with high affinity. A set of compounds, called FragLites, can identify such sites, along with the interactions required to gain affinity, by X-ray crystallography. We demonstrate the utility of FragLites in mapping the binding sites of bromodomain proteins BRD4 and ATAD2 and demonstrate that FragLite mapping is comparable to a full fragment screen in identifying ligand binding sites and key interactions. We extend the FragLite set with analogous compounds derived from amino acids (termed PepLites) that mimic the interactions of peptides. The output of the FragLite maps is shown to enable the development of ligands with leadlike potency. This work establishes the use of FragLite and PepLite screening at an early stage in ligand discovery allowing the rapid assessment of tractability of protein targets and informing downstream hit-finding.

The first general synthesis of branched tetraenes ([4]dendralenes) involves two or three steps from inexpensive, commodity chemicals. It involves an unprecedented variation on Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling, generating two new C–C bonds in a one-flask operation with control of diastereoselectivity. The broad scope of the method is established through the synthesis of more than 60 diversely substituted [4]dendralene molecules, along with substituted buta-1,3-dienes and other [n]dendralenes. [4]Dendralenes are demonstrated to be significantly more kinetically stable than their well-known [3]dendralene counterparts. The first stereoselective synthesis of these compounds is also reported, through the catalyst-controlled generation of both E- and Z-diastereomeric products from the same precursor. Novel, through-conjugated/cross-conjugated hybrid molecules are introduced. The first selective dienophile cycloadditions to substituted [4]dendralenes are reported, thus paving the way for applications in target-oriented synthesis.

Low-protein diet (less than 0.8g/kg/day) has been practiced in the management of chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR]<60ml/min/1.73m2or urine albumin-to-creatinine ratios [UACR] ≥30mg/g) for decades. However, its effect on all-cause mortality is unclear. We investigated the association between a low-protein intake and all-cause mortality in subjects with varying degrees of renal impairment.

A study was conducted to examine the sources of knowledge-intensive service industry performance. The relative importance of region, country, and industry effects are also compared. Findings indicate that regional effects have little significant influence on industry performance. Country effects, on the other hand, dominate industry performance around the world.

This study investigated the effects of grape seed extract (GSE) on fresh and cooked meat color and premature browning (PMB) in ground meat patties (85% beef and 15% pork back fat) packaged under high-oxygen modified atmospheres (HiOx-MAP). The GSE was added to patties at concentrations of 0, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g kg−1. This study evaluated the surface color, pH, lipid oxidation, and total viable counts (TVC) of raw patties, and the internal color and pH of patties cooked to a temperature of 66 or 71°C over 10-day storage at 4°C. Compared with the control (0 g kg−1GSE), GSE improved the color stability (P<0.05) and significantly inhibited the lipid and myoglobin oxidation of raw patties from day 5 to 10, but GSE had no effect (P>0.05) on TVC. Patties containing 0.50 and 0.75 g kg−1GSE cooked to 66°C exhibited greater (P<0.05) interior redness than the control and reduced the PMB of cooked patties in the late storage stage. These results suggested that 0.50 and 0.75 g kg−1GSE can improve fresh meat color and minimize PMB of HiOx-MAP patties.

Efforts have been made to alleviate plenty of various environmental issues and economic backwardness of elementary and secondary schools in rural China. In this paper, a multiple-perspective assessment framework was applied to evaluate the performance of three eco-campus systems. A set of emergy analysis, life cycle assessment, economic and social analysis indicators of the integrated framework were quantified and analyzed in detail. The results showed that the “Toilet-Biogas-Vegetables” mode (ESI=3.23) had the best sustainability in terms of comprehensive performance, followed by the “Grass-Goats&Toilet-Biogas-Fruits” mode (ESI=1.62) and the “Pigs&Toilet-Biogas-Vegetables” mode (ESI=0.82). In terms of environmental impact, the XDZS has the highest greenhouse gas emission reduction potential, reaching 26.44 ton in total. However, compared to common biogas integrated ecosystems, the three systems have some similarities in many aspects, such as appreciable resource recycling, net carbon sink, energy conservation, and economic feasibility. In this case, the combination of emergy synthesis, life cycle assessment, economic and social analysis provided a better insight into the comprehensive properties of rural campuses and thus could help us make a better environment for all the students and faculty.

Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) is currently treated mostly with photocatalysts that the preparation process is complicated and costly, limiting its large-scale application. In this study, slag-based geopolymer microspheres (SGMs) photocatalysts were prepared from low-cost slag as raw material using geopolymer technology, and excellent visible-light degradation properties for TC could be obtained by simple calcination. When the water addition was 4 g, the stirring speed was 1000 rpm and the calcination temperature was 800 °C for 3 h, the initial pH was 4.72 and the photocatalyst dosage was 0.4 g/L, SGMs showed excellent photocatalytic performance for TC with 94.76 % degradation in visible-light. Compared with the traditional powder materials, SGMs can achieve rapid separation with excellent settling performance (it can be completely settled within 1 min). With degradation rate remaining over 90 % after five cycles, it showed excellent cyclic stability. The degradation mechanism of SGMs on TC was as follows: firstly, TC adsorption takes place on the SGMs surface during the dark reaction stage; secondly, with Ca2+in the SGMs enter the solution, it complexed with the TC, making it positively charged and accelerating the generation of free radicals, adsorption and degradation occurred simultaneously, with the order of active free radical action on TC degradation being ·O2->·OH > h+. The SGMs prepared in this project has the benefits of being inexpensive, easy to operate, environmental protection, excellent visible-light photocatalyst performance, and potential industrial application prospects.

The cold joint defect is an initial issue arising from the discontinuous pouring process commonly encountered in large-volume concrete structures, particularly in tunnel lining. However, as of now, there is no established analysis method for evaluating the stress and safety status of lining structures containing cold joints. To address this gap, we propose a comprehensive analysis method. Initially, based on the flow characteristics of concrete and the numerical calculation model for lining pouring, we introduce the interface characteristics and discrimination methods for cold joints with different pouring intervals. Subsequently, mechanical parameters of the cold joint interface are determined through a three-point bending component experiment involving concrete containing cold joints. The next step involves constructing numerical calculation models for three distinct working conditions based on on-site inspections. These models are then used to analyze the influence of cold joint defects on the stress state and deformation trends of the lining. Additionally, we discuss the damage state of cold joints within the model. Our research demonstrates the feasibility of identifying the pouring interval of cold joints by evaluating the height difference of the interface line. Notably, the height difference decreases as the pouring interval increases. Cold joint defects significantly alter the stress distribution and deformation trends of the lining. In structures with cold joint defects, the maximum stress and deformation concentrate near the cold joint area. Conventional analysis methods may lead to a misjudgment of the safety status of the lining. Under all three working conditions, there are areas where the damage value of the cold joint interface unit exceeds 0.99. This indicates that the cold joints have undergone damage failure, expanding into macroscopic cracks. Special attention should be given to cold joint defects situated near the arch waist and those with small height differences in the interface line. This article proposes an analysis process for the safety status of plain concrete lining with cold joints, which providing a basis for on-site inspection and reinforcement work.

Conventional practices in earth construction, such as cement stabilization and the energy-intensive firing of bricks, contribute significantly to carbon emissions due to the processes involved in cement production and kiln operation. Additionally, concerns over the low strength of earth-based materials have limited their broader applications. This research addresses these challenges by implementing ultra-high pressures (200 MPa and 400 MPa) and bio-binders (animal glue and xanthan gum) to enhance earth materials for construction. Unstabilized earth mixture and normal pressure case (20 MPa) are also included in this study for comparison. A custom-designed mold and a specialized production process are developed to fabricate cylindrical earth samples for testing. After undergoing three hours of consolidation and 28 days of curing, unconfined compressive strengths are measured. Scanning electron microscopy is used to investigate the influence of ultra-high pressures and bio-binders on the microstructures of compressed earth blocks. The experimental results demonstrate that animal-glue- and xanthan-gum-stabilized samples under ultra-high pressure achieve compressive strengths comparable to traditional fired bricks, while unstabilized samples exhibit the strength of cement-stabilized rammed earth. This research demonstrates that ultra-compression combined with bio-binder stabilization presents a viable strategy for reducing the carbon footprint of earth construction while significantly enhancing the mechanical properties.