Search

The dynamic interaction between the vehicle and track is strongly influenced by out-of-round wheels and turnout rail profile geometries, which result in high-magnitude contact forces and abnormal vibrations. This study presents the dynamic response of the tram-turnout interaction due to polygonal wheel wear and analyses its transmission between the wheelsets. A three-dimensional coupled tram-turnout dynamic model was formulated, taking into account the polygonal wear on the front bogie wheelsets. Through numerical simulations, the dynamic characteristics of a tram passing through the turnout switch and crossing panels under the influence of polygonal wear were simulated. Furthermore, the impact of polygonal wear amplitudes and tram speeds on the transmission of dynamic impact forces and vibrations from the front bogie wheelset to the trailer bogie wheels are described. According to the numerical findings, when the flexible wheelset experiences polygonal wear, it can lead to substantial impact forces and vibrations as the tram moves through the turnout switch and crossing zones. Moreover, the transmission of dynamic impact forces and vibrations from the front bogie wheelset to the trailer wheels increases as the wheel wear amplitude and the vehicle speed increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Versailles literature, a newly immerged genre on Chinese social media, is aptly defined as "humblebragging": bloggers showing off different aspects of themselves in a humble way. Previous research on the genre have focused on the "humble" part of the genre, arguing that the different strategies bloggers use to appear humble are for the purpose of appearing to be modest, a key value in Chinese politeness. But do the bloggers achieve that end, i.e., does humblebragging improve the self-image of the humblebraggers? In this paper, we report on an empirical study on this question and find that Versailles literature posters do not improve their self-image via humblebragging. In fact, evidence suggests that their image is damaged. Instead of appearing to be humble, these posters are perceived as showing and hypocritic. Our study therefore contributes to several strands of pragmatics: politeness evaluation, Chinese politeness, and internet pragmatics. • Versailles Literature (VL), defined as humblebragging, is a new genre in Chinese social media. • The literature on VL has focused on the humble, arguing that appearing humble helps enhance the image of VL posters. • This study reveals that VL damages the image of its posters, not enhancing it. • This study contributes to politeness evaluation, politeness research, and internet pragmatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a contemporaneous bilinear transformation for a p × q matrix time series to alleviate the difficulties in modeling and forecasting matrix time series when p and/or q are large. The resulting transformed matrix assumes a block structure consisting of several small matrices, and those small matrix series are uncorrelated across all times. Hence, an overall parsimonious model is achieved by modeling each of those small matrix series separately without the loss of information on the linear dynamics. Such a parsimonious model often has better forecasting performance, even when the underlying true dynamics deviates from the assumed uncorrelated block structure after transformation. The uniform convergence rates of the estimated transformation are derived, which vindicate an important virtue of the proposed bilinear transformation, that is, it is technically equivalent to the decorrelation of a vector time series of dimension max(p, q) instead of p × q. The proposed method is illustrated numerically via both simulated and real data examples. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terpenoids have extensive pharmacological activities and are extensively applied in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. Increasing the structural diversity of terpenoids would expand their potential applications. Noncanonical backbones can be generated by coexpressing the canonical mevalonate pathway and C-methyltransferases, or the lepidopteran mevalonate pathway, in engineered strains. The design and chemical synthesis of farnesyl pyrophosphate analogs to create unnatural terpenoids promises two advantages: it complements other methods of terpene synthesis and bypasses the task of engineering entire metabolic pathways to produce alternative substrates in vivo. The artificial metalloenzyme Ir(Me)-porphyrin IX CYP119 allows cyclopropanation of limonene to synthesize high titers of unnatural products with high diastereoselectivity. Terpenoids display chemical and structural diversities as well as important biological activities. Despite their extreme variability, the range of these structures is limited by the scope of natural products that canonically derive from interconvertible five-carbon (C5) isoprene units. New approaches have recently been developed to expand their structural diversity. This review systematically explores the combinatorial biosynthesis of noncanonical building blocks via the coexpression of the canonical mevalonate (MVA) pathway and C-methyltransferases (C-MTs), or by using the lepidopteran mevalonate (LMVA) pathway. Unnatural terpenoids can be created from farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) analogs by chemobiological synthesis and terpene cyclopropanation by artificial metalloenzymes (ArMs). Advanced technologies to accelerate terpene biosynthesis are discussed. This review provides a valuable reference for increasing the diversity of valuable terpenoids and their derivatives, as well as for expanding their potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Class III peroxidases (CIII PRXs) are plant-specific enzymes with high activity that play key roles in the catalysis of oxidation-reduction reactions. In plants, CIII PRXs can reduce hydrogen peroxide to catalyze oxidation–reduction reactions, thereby affecting plant growth, development, and stress responses. To date, no systematic analysis of the CIII PRX gene family in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) has been documented, although the genome has been reported. In this study, a total of 77 CIII PRX (designated LcPRX) gene family members were predicted in the litchi genome to provide a reference for candidate genes in the responses to abiotic stresses during litchi growth and development. All of these LcPRX genes had different numbers of highly conserved PRX domains and were unevenly distributed across fifteen chromosomes. They were further clustered into eight clades using a phylogenetic tree, and almost every clade had its own unique gene structure and motif distribution. Collinearity analysis confirmed that there were eleven pairs of duplicate genes among the LcPRX members, and segmental duplication (SD) was the main driving force behind the LcPRX gene expansion. Tissue-specific expression profiles indicated that the expression levels of all the LcPRX family members in different tissues of the litchi tree were significantly divergent. After different abiotic stress treatments, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that the LcPRX genes responded to various stresses and displayed differential expression patterns. Physicochemical properties, transmembrane domains, subcellular localization, secondary structures, and cis-acting elements were also analyzed. These findings provide insights into the characteristics of the LcPRX gene family and give valuable information for further elucidating its molecular function and then enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in litchi through molecular breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Muscle wasting frequently occurs following joint trauma. Previous research has demonstrated that joint distraction in combination with treadmill exercise (TRE) can mitigate intra-articular inflammation and cartilage damage, consequently delaying the advancement of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). However, the precise mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains unclear. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine whether the mechanism by which TRE following joint distraction delays the progression of PTOA involves the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), as well as its impact on muscle wasting. Methods: Quadriceps samples were collected from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and normal patients with distal femoral fractures, and the expression of PGC-1α was measured. The hinged external fixator was implanted in the rabbit PTOA model. One week after surgery, a PGC-1α agonist or inhibitor was administered for 4 weeks prior to TRE. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of PGC-1α and Muscle atrophy gene 1 (Atrogin-1). We employed the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique to examine pro-inflammatory factors. Additionally, we utilized quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to analyze genes associated with cartilage regeneration. Synovial inflammation and cartilage damage were evaluated through hematoxylin-eosin staining. Furthermore, we employed Masson's trichrome staining and Alcian blue staining to analyze cartilage damage. Results: The decreased expression of PGC-1α in skeletal muscle in patients with OA is correlated with the severity of OA. In the rabbit PTOA model, TRE following joint distraction inhibited the expressions of muscle wasting genes, including Atrogin-1 and muscle ring finger 1 (MuRF1), as well as inflammatory factors such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in skeletal muscle, potentially through the activation of PGC-1α. Concurrently, the production of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the synovial fluid was down-regulated, while the expression of type II collagen (Col2a1), Aggrecan (AGN), SRY-box 9 (SOX9) in the cartilage, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the synovial fluid was up-regulated. Additionally, histological staining results demonstrated that TRE after joint distraction reduced cartilage degeneration, leading to a significant decrease in OARSI scores.TRE following joint distraction could activate PGC-1α, inhibit Atrogin-1 expression in skeletal muscle, and reduce C-telopeptides of type II collagen (CTX-II) in the blood compared to joint distraction alone. Conclusion: Following joint distraction, TRE might promote the activation of PGC-1α in skeletal muscle during PTOA progression to exert anti-inflammatory effects in skeletal muscle and joint cavity, thereby inhibiting muscle wasting and promoting cartilage regeneration, making it a potential therapeutic intervention for treating PTOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall has a significant impact on urban population mobility, posing great challenges to traffic management and urban planning. An understanding of this influence from multiple perspectives is urgently needed. In this study, we devised a multiscale comparative research framework to explore the spatiotemporal effects of rainfall on taxi travel patterns, aiming to provide a new perspective on the investigation of rainfall's impact on urban human mobility. More specifically, at the macroscopic scale, we computed taxi travel indicators across the entire study area and used kernel density estimates to observe the spatiotemporal distribution patterns influenced by rainfall. Subsequently, complex traffic networks were constructed by considering urban road intersections as nodes and combined with visualization methods to understand changes in taxi travel patterns visually at the microscopic level. We selected Wuhan City, a typical urban area in southern China with frequent rainfall, as the study area and used meteorological data along with a large volume of taxi spatiotemporal trajectory data for investigation. Results indicated a 4.16% decrease in weekly travel volume due to rainfall, with a 3.96% decrease on workdays and a 4.64% decrease on weekends. However, nighttime rainfall between 19:00 and 22:00 on weekdays increased the demand for taxi travel. Furthermore, the impact of rainfall on weekends exceeded that on workdays, restricting people's mobility and leisure activities, resulting in reduced travel to recreational tourist spots and commercial pedestrian streets. Rainfall altered residents' travel preferences to some extent, with more residents choosing taxis during rainy weather, which led to decreased transportation efficiency and increased traffic congestion. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between population mobility patterns and the urban ecological environment, providing valuable insights for planning resident travel and taxi dispatching under adverse weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bayesian network (BN) models were developed to explore the specific relationships between influencing factors and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), coronary heart disease (CAD), and their comorbidities. The aim was to predict disease occurrence and diagnose etiology using these models, thereby informing the development of effective prevention and control strategies for T2DM, CAD, and their comorbidities. Method: Employing a case-control design, the study compared individuals with T2DM, CAD, and their comorbidities (case group) with healthy counterparts (control group). Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify disease-influencing factors. The BN structure was learned using the Tabu search algorithm, with parameter estimation achieved through maximum likelihood estimation. The predictive performance of the BN model was assessed using the confusion matrix, and Netica software was utilized for visual prediction and diagnosis. Result: The study involved 3,824 participants, including 1,175 controls, 1,163 T2DM cases, 982 CAD cases, and 504 comorbidity cases. The BN model unveiled factors directly and indirectly impacting T2DM, such as age, region, education level, and family history (FH). Variables like exercise, LDL-C, TC, fruit, and sweet food intake exhibited direct effects, while smoking, alcohol consumption, occupation, heart rate, HDL-C, meat, and staple food intake had indirect effects. Similarly, for CAD, factors with direct and indirect effects included age, smoking, SBP, exercise, meat, and fruit intake, while sleeping time and heart rate showed direct effects. Regarding T2DM and CAD comorbidities, age, FBG, SBP, fruit, and sweet intake demonstrated both direct and indirect effects, whereas exercise and HDL-C exhibited direct effects, and region, education level, DBP, and TC showed indirect effects. Conclusion: The BN model constructed using the Tabu search algorithm showcased robust predictive performance, reliability, and applicability in forecasting disease probabilities for T2DM, CAD, and their comorbidities. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing prevention and control strategies and exploring the application of BN in predicting and diagnosing chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catch and release has become a very popular fish conservation strategy and fisheries management tool. The physiological and behavioral changes in individuals who experience catch and release may be adaptive. These individuals may exhibit more cautious bait use or hook avoidance behavior when faced with lures again. Here, our study was conducted on crucian carp (Carassius auratus) to compare energy metabolism and personality (e.g. activity) before and after angling for three bouts of repeated angling. Our study showed that the standard metabolic rate, maximum metabolic rate, aerobic scope and factorial aerobic scope were all lower after three bouts of repeated angling, and the metabolic rates were greater before angling than after angling in the first two bouts of angling. In addition, the total magnitude of excess postexercise oxygen consumption after repeated angling also showed a decreasing trend as the number of angled bouts increased. The percentage of time spent moving increased after three bouts of repeated angling, but there were no changes in either individual swimming speed or total distance traveled. Our results suggest that repeated angling causes a high death rate and decreases the aerobic/anaerobic metabolic capacity of crucian carp, which may reduce their metabolic potential for other physiological functions, such as locomotion, growth and digestion. Future studies should continue to focus on the effects of fishing on the physiology, behavior, and population dynamics of fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired from quantum Monte Carlo, by sampling discrete and continuous variables at the same time using the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm, we present a novel, fast, and accurate high performance Monte Carlo Parametric Expectation Maximization (MCPEM) algorithm. We named it Randomized Parametric Expectation Maximization (RPEM). We compared RPEM with NONMEM's Importance Sampling Method (IMP), Monolix's Stochastic Approximation Expectation Maximization (SAEM), and Certara's Quasi‐Random Parametric Expectation Maximization (QRPEM) for a realistic two‐compartment voriconazole model with ordinary differential equations using simulated data. We show that RPEM is as fast and as accurate as the algorithms IMP, QRPEM, and SAEM for the voriconazole model in reconstructing the population parameters, for the normal and log‐normal cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) combines physical grinding and chemical reactions to planarize the wafer surface. The complex mechanism of CMP brings great challenges to the mechanism-based modeling process. The data-driven CMP modeling process is limited by insufficient datasets. At the same time, these two types of models generally have high computational complexity. In this paper, we introduce the group method of data handling (GMDH)-type polynomial network to build the CMP model to address the above challenges. We designed and manufactured the test chip using a 28nm process. The measurement data from the test chip shows that compared with the mechanism-based CMP model, the trained CMP model based on GMDH-type polynomial network has higher accuracy and lower computational complexity, with the average simulation speed being 115x faster. Experiments based on silicon data show that this modeling method has a small demand for data, and 20 randomly selected sets of data can meet the needs for modeling the current CMP process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the case of multicollinearity, biased estimators are always introduced to correct the least squares estimator. In this paper, we propose a new biased estimator for the restricted linear model. The properties of the new estimator and its superiority over the restricted least squares estimator in terms of the mean square error and Pitman closeness criterion are theoretically analysed. Furthermore, we optimize and verify the feasibility of the new estimator using a numerical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsed power generators utilizing magnetic switch technology within the 100 ns scale have become widespread for surface treatment, high power microwave generation, and food processing, in which the dynamic characteristics of the magnetic switch perform an important function. The saturation process, electric field between layers, and energy loss are closely associated with the applied time scale of the magnetic core, which affects the dynamic characteristics of the switch. However, compared with the study within the microsecond scale, the dynamic characteristics of magnetic switches within the 100 ns scale have not been studied in depth. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of a coaxial magnetic switch modulating pulse forming networks (PFNs) are studied via both field-loop co-simulation and scaled experimental test. It is found that increasing PFN section number (Ns) leads to an acceleration in the saturation process of the core, which helps understand the switch performance of the magnetic core more clearly. With respect to a specific magnetic switch based on a ferromagnetic core, it is quantitatively analyzed that increasing Ns from 1 to 10 leads to a 16.1% reduction in core saturation time (tsat), a 13.4% increase in eddy loss (EET), and a 5.7% rise in maximum interlamination field strength (Emax) under the 100 ns scale; however, tsat is reduced by 19.3%, EET increases by 5.2%, and Emax rises by 2.3% under the microsecond scale. The results could provide a design reference for magnetic switches in pulsed power generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The industrial applications of enzymes are usually hindered by the high production cost, intricate reusability, and low stability in terms of thermal, pH, salt, and storage. Therefore, the de novo design of nanozymes that possess the enzyme mimicking biocatalytic functions sheds new light on this field. Here, we propose a facile one-pot synthesis approach to construct Cu-chelated polydopamine nanozymes (PDA-Cu NPs) that can not only catalyze the chromogenic reaction of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DP) and 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AP), but also present enhanced photothermal catalytic degradation for typical textile dyes. Compared with natural laccase, the designed mimic has higher affinity to the substrate of 2,4-DP with K m of 0.13 mM. Interestingly, PDA-Cu nanoparticles are stable under extreme conditions (temperature, ionic strength, storage), are reusable for 6 cycles with 97 % activity, and exhibit superior substrate universality. Furthermore, PDA-Cu nanozymes show a remarkable acceleration of the catalytic degradation of dyes, malachite green (MG) and methylene blue (MB), under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. These findings offer a promising paradigm on developing novel nanozymes for biomedicine, catalysis, and environmental engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reported a visible‐light‐induced iron‐catalyzed α‐alkylation of oxindoles with alcohols to offer a variety of α‐alkyled oxindoles at room temperature. This reaction featured broad substrate scope with good functional tolerance under simple conditions. Through a series of controlled experiments, we tried to elucidated the important role of light in this borrowing hydrogen (BH) reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the impact of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) on mobility and gait during dual-task walking in post-stroke survivors. In this cross-sectional, factorial design trial, stroke survivors performed four randomized tasks: (1) dual-task walking with AFOs, (2) single-task walking with AFOs, (3) dual-task walking without AFOs, and (4) single-task walking without AFOs. Primary outcome was the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, with secondary outcomes including gait metrics, Tinetti scores, and auditory N-back tests. In the results, 48 subjects (38 males and 10 females; 19-65 years) completed the trial. Patients had a greater TUG score with AFOs compared with non-AFOs conditions (95% CI: 7.22–14.41, P < 0.001) in single-task and dual-task conditions. Secondary outcomes showed marked enhancement with AFOs during dual-task walking, with significant interaction effects in gait metrics, balance, and cognitive function (P < 0.05). Although not statistically significant, dual-task effects of TUG and walking speed were more pronounced during dual-task walking. In conclusion, AFOs enhance mobility and gait during both single and dual-task walking in post-stroke survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although there is evidence that ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 (RRM2) is associated with numerous cancers, pan-cancer analysis has seldom been conducted. This study aimed to explore the potential carcinogenesis of RRM2 in pan-cancer using datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Methods: Data from the UCSC Xena database were analyzed to investigate the differential expression of RRM2 across multiple cancer types. Clinical data such as age, race, sex, tumor stage, and status were acquired to analyze the influence of RRM2 on the clinical characteristics of the patients. The role of RRM2 in the onset and progression of multiple cancers has been examined in terms of genetic changes at the molecular level, including tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), biological pathway changes, and the immune microenvironment. Results: RRM2 was highly expressed in most cancers, and there was an obvious correlation between RRM2 expression and patient prognosis. RRM2 expression is associated with the infiltration of diverse immune and endothelial cells, immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Moreover, the cell cycle is involved in the functional mechanisms of RRM2. Conclusions: Our pan-cancer study provides a comprehensive understanding of the carcinogenesis of RRM2 in various tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing amounts of textile waste, textile to textile recycling is of prime concern. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) represents the most extensively used type of chemical fiber. Its spinnability suffers from impurities and degradation in the processing, which limits its recycling to new fibers. Here, recycled polyester is blended with a small amount of recycled nylon, and the regenerated fibers, which demonstrated good mechanical properties, were obtained via a melt spinning machine. The mechanical properties, thermal properties, rheological properties, and chemical structure of the modified recycled fibers were investigated. It was found that when compared with rPET-T fibers, the elongation at break of rPET-Ax fibers increased to 17.48%, and the strength at break decreased to 3.79 cN/dtex. The compatibility of PET and PA6 copolymer were enhanced by copolymers produced by in-situ reaction in the processing. Meanwhile, the existence of PA6 increases the crystallization temperature and improves the hydrophilicity of the fibers. This study realized the high-value recycling of waste PET fabric to new fibers, which opens a door for the large utilization of waste textiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intravenous oxytocin is commonly used for labor induction. However, a consensus on the initial dosing regimen is lac with conflicting research findings and varying guidelines. This study aimed to develop a population kinetic‐pharmacodynamic (K‐PD) model for oxytocin‐induced uterine contractions considering real‐world data and relevant influencing factors to establish an optimal starting dosing regimen for intravenous oxytocin. Methods: This retrospective study included pregnant women who underwent labor induction with intravenous oxytocin at Peking University Third Hospital in 2020. A population K‐PD model was developed to depict the time course of uterine contraction frequency (UCF), and covariate screening identified significant factors affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oxytocin. Model‐based simulations were used to optimize the current starting regimen based on specific guidelines. Results: Data from 77 pregnant women with 1095 UCF observations were described well by the K‐PD model. Parity, cervical dilation, and membrane integrity are significant factors influencing the effectiveness of oxytocin. Based on the model‐based simulations, the current regimens showed prolonged onset times and high infusion rates. This study proposed a revised approach, beginning with a rapid infusion followed by a reduced infusion rate, enabling most women to achieve the target UCF within approximately 30 min with the lowest possible infusion rate. Conclusion: The K‐PD model of oxytocin effectively described the changes in UCF during labor induction. Furthermore, it revealed that parity, cervical dilation, and membrane integrity are key factors that influence the effectiveness of oxytocin. The optimal starting dosing regimens obtained through model simulations provide valuable clinical references for oxytocin treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Borodin–Kostochka Conjecture states that for a graph G, if Δ (G) ≥ 9 , then χ (G) ≤ max { Δ (G) - 1 , ω (G) } . In this paper, we prove the Borodin–Kostochka Conjecture holding for odd-hole-free graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an on-demand mobility service, parking reservations can greatly alleviate the issue of parking challenges. There are currently three primary strategies for parking reservation: first-come-first-served, permit reservation, and auction. In contrast to the first-come-first-served and permit-reserved strategies, the auction strategy uses dynamic pricing to allocate parking supplies efficiently based on the auction, which attracts more scholars for the research. However, parking reservations based on the auction process may have an inequity issue because drivers' age, gender, income level, and location of residence fluctuate. This inequity may limit the growth of reserved parking by influencing parking drivers' acceptance of reserved parking. But currently, very few scholars focus on the issue of reserved parking equity, and even fewer measure this nebulous and personal issue. In consideration of this, the Lorenz curve of parking reservation and the vertical equity index of parking reservation are proposed in this paper along with the calculation method for the index, which enables the problem of reserved parking vertical equity to be visualized and made concrete. The numerical experimental method is used to analyze the vertical equity of drivers with varying income levels, utilizing the Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) auction process as an example. According to the research, loss-averse drivers are more than gain-neutral and gain-seeking drivers when the income levels of the drivers using reserved parking are the same. With the increasing number of high-income drivers involved in the parking reservation, medium to low-income drivers would lose their chances of successful reservations because of their uncompetitive bid price which leads to inequity issues when the number is less than the number of parking spaces. In contrast, the vertical equity index changes more for gain-seeking drivers while being generally steady when loss-averse and gain-neutral drivers participate. For instance, when the profit and loss coefficient is 3 and 15% of drivers with high-income levels use the parking reservation platform, the vertical equity index rises from 0.09128 to 0.45434. The reference price has a moderating influence on the vertical equity index when the number of driver participants at high-income levels remains constant. In general, within a reasonable range, the higher the reference price, the more equitable the parking reservation procedure and the lower the vertical equity index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the difference in prognosis of patients with early-stage liver cancer after surgery or external radiation. Methods: Between 2010 and 2015, 2155 patients with AJCC 7th stage I liver cancer were enrolled in the SEER database. Among these, 1972 patients had undergone surgery and 183 had undergone external beam radiation. The main research endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). The competitive risk model was used to calculate the risk ratio of liver cancer-specific deaths when there was a competitive risk. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method using a 1:1 ratio was used to match confounders such as sex, age, and treatment method. Conditional survival was dynamically assessed for patient survival after surgery or external radiation. Results: Multivariate analysis of the competitive risk model showed that age, disease diagnosis time, grade, and treatment [surgery and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT)] were independent prognostic factors for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Surgery had a higher survival improvement rate than that of EBRT. As the survival of patients with liver cancer increased, the survival curve of surgery declined more slowly than that of radiotherapy patients and stabilized around 3 years after surgery. The survival curve of radiotherapy patients significantly dropped within 4 years and then stabilized. Conclusion: Surgery was better than EBRT for patients with stage I liver cancer. Close follow-up was required for 3 years after surgery or 4 years after external radiation. This study can help clinicians make better informed clinical decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extended cubic Camassa-Holm equation can be derived as asymptotic model from shallow-water approximation to the 2D incompressible Euler equations. This model encompasses both quadratic and cubic nonlinearities and the solution of the extended cubic Camassa-Holm equation possible development of singularities in finite time. This paper is devoted to the continuation of solutions to the extended cubic Camassa-Holm equation beyond wave breaking, and the global existence and uniqueness of the Hölder continuous energy conservative solutions for the Cauchy problem of the extended cubic Camassa-Holm type equation are investigated. An equivalent semilinear system was first introduced by a new set of independent and dependent variables, which can resolve all singularities due to possible wave breaking. Returning to the original variables, depending continuously on the initial data, the existence of the global conservative weak solutions can be obtained. Moreover, by analyzing the evolution of the quantities u and v = 2 arctan ⁡ u x along each characteristic, the uniqueness of the global conservative solutions for the Cauchy problem with general initial data u 0 ∈ H 1 (R) was proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the rapid development of vaccines against COVID-19, they have important limitations, such as safety issues, the scope of their efficacy, and the induction of mucosal immunity. The present study proposes a potential component for a new generation of vaccines. The recombinant nucleocapsid (N) protein from the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was combined with the ODN-39M, a synthetic 39 mer unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG ODN), used as an adjuvant. The evaluation of its immunogenicity in Balb/C mice revealed that only administration by intranasal route induced a systemic cross-reactive, cell-mediated immunity (CMI). In turn, this combination was able to induce anti-N IgA in the lungs, which, along with the specific IgG in sera and CMI in the spleen, was cross-reactive against the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-1. Furthermore, the nasal administration of the N + ODN-39M preparation, combined with RBD Delta protein, enhanced the local and systemic immune response against RBD, with a neutralizing capacity. Results make the N + ODN-39M preparation a suitable component for a future intranasal vaccine with broader functionality against Sarbecoviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As protective coatings for the thermal parts of aero-engines, AlCoCrFeNi coatings have good application prospects. In this study, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) was used to prepare AlCoCrFeNi high-entropy coatings (HECs), which were oxidized from 650 °C to 1000 °C. The mechanism of the oxide layer formation and the internal phase transition were systematically investigated. The results show that a mixed oxide scale with a laminated structure was formed at the initial stage of oxidation. The redistribution of elements and phase transition occurred in the HECs' matrix; the BCC/B2 structure transformed to Al-Ni ordered B2 phase and Fe-Cr disordered A2 phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MADS-box protein is an important transcription factor in plants and plays an important role in regulating the plant abiotic stress response. In this study, a total of 94 MADS-box genes were predicted in the litchi genome, and these genes were widely distributed on all the chromosomes. The LcMADS-box gene family was divided into six subgroups (Mα, Mβ, Mγ, Mδ, MIKC, and UN) based on their phylogenetical relationships with Arabidopsis, and the closely linked subgroups exhibited more similarity in terms of motif distribution and intron/exon numbers. Transcriptome analysis indicated that LcMADS-box gene expression varied in different tissues, which can be divided into universal expression and specific expression. Furthermore, we further validated that LcMADS-box genes can exhibit different responses to various stresses using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Moreover, physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, collinearity, and cis-acting elements were also analyzed. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the MADS-box gene family in litchi, specifically in relation to stress response. The identification of hormone-related and stress-responsive cis-acting elements in the MADS-box gene promoters suggests their involvement in stress signaling pathways. This study contributes to the understanding of stress tolerance mechanisms in litchi and highlights potential regulatory mechanisms underlying stress responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune‐related pneumonitis is a rare and potentially fatal adverse event associated with sintilimab. We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting the risk of immune‐related pneumonitis in patients treated with sintilimab. Methods: The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to determine risk factors. Multivariable logistic regression was used to establish a prediction model. Its clinical validity was evaluated using calibration, discrimination, decision, and clinical impact curves. Internal validation was performed against the validation set and complete dataset. Results: The study included 632 patients; 59 were diagnosed with immune‐related pneumonitis. LASSO regression analysis identified that the risk factors for immune‐related pneumonitis were pulmonary metastases (odds ratio [OR], 4.015; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.725–9.340) and metastases at >3 sites (OR, 2.687; 95% CI: 1.151–6.269). The use of combined antibiotics (OR, 0.247; 95% CI: 0.083–0.738) and proton pump inhibitors (OR, 0.420; 95% CI: 0.211–0.837) were protective factors. The decision and clinical impact curves showed that the nomogram had clinical value for patients treated with sintilimab. Conclusions: We have developed and validated a practical nomogram model of sintilimab‐associated immune‐related pneumonitis, which provides clinical value for determining the risk of immune‐related pneumonitis and facilitating the safe administration of sintilimab therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to the relevant spectral-spatial information, hyperspectral images (HSIs) have been widely exploited in Earth observation. Recently, graph convolutional networks (GCNs) have attracted increasing attention in HSI classification due to their advantages in processing non-Euclidean structure data. Unlike convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which perform convolution operations on regular square regions, GCNs can directly work on graph structure data to extract the relationships among adjacent land covers. However, extracting meaningful and deep discriminative spectral-spatial features from HSIs is still a challenging task. In this article, a novel multi-scale feature learning via residual dynamic graph convolutional network is designed for HSI classification, which can extract large-scale contextual spatial structures at superpixel-level graph and local spectral-spatial information at pixel-level, significantly improving the performance of HSI classification. Unlike from the existing GCN-based methods that operate on a graph with a fixed neighbourhood size, multiple graphs with diverse neighbourhood scales are built to comprehensively leverage spectral-spatial information and relationship at multiple scales, and these graphs are dynamically updated to generate more discriminative features (via dynamic GCN) during the convolution process. Moreover, to fully use the multi-scale features extracted from HSIs, a multi-scale feature fusion module is developed to emphasize important features and suppress irrelevant ones. Extensive experiments carried on three benchmark data sets demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach over other state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been associated with lipid-lowering drugs in observational studies. Drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) was utilized in this study to examine the causal relationship between lipid-lowering drugs and incidence of IBD, aiming to identify new preventive uses for the drugs. Methods: We identified instrumental variables for three classes of lipid-lowering drugs: HMGCR inhibitors, PCSK9 inhibitors, and NPC1L1 inhibitors, using data from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium. Summary statistics of IBD were obtained from UK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics. The summary-data-based MR (SMR) and the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) MR were used for analysis. Sensitivity analyses were performed by conventional MR methods. Results: The SMR analysis showed no significant genetic association between increased gene expression of HMGCR, PCSK9, and NPC1L1 and IBD, Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). According to IVW-MR analysis, increased HMGCR expression is associated with a reduced risk of IBD (OR = 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59–0.90, P = 0.003) and CD (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.57–0.97, P = 0.03), but not with UC. Additionally, increased NPC1L1 gene expression was associated with elevated risk of IBD (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 1.07–2.40, P = 0.023), but not with CD and UC. However, no significant causal relationships were found between PCSK9 gene expression and IBD, CD, and UC. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated no evidence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy among the reported results. Conclusions: The heightened expression of genetic variations in HMGCR inhibitor targets could potentially reduce the risk of IBD and CD, while genetic variation in the expression of NPC1L1 targets was positively associated with IBD. Key messages: What is already known? IBD were associated with lipid-lowering drugs in previous studies, but the causal relationship is unknown. There were two studies exploring the relationship, but the results were inconsistant. What is new here? We used two methods to investigate the relationship between lipid-lowering drugs and IBD and obtained different results compared to previous studies. How can this study help patient care? This study provides new possibilities for the future use of existing lipid-lowering drugs in the treatment of IBD, representing a case of "repurposing old drugs." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate ambiguity in language use that is intended by the speaker. Our overall argument is that, as a general feature of language resulting from the indeterminacy of meaning at all levels of language, ambiguity can be taken advantage of in specific contexts for a host of purposes. Given that an ambiguous utterance has (at least) two possible meanings – A and B – there are two logical possibilities for a speaker in a deliberate ambiguity: to mean both A and B or to mean only A (or B). However, a closer examination of the literature and available data reveal a far more complicated picture: there are more strategies under either of these possibilities, each of which closely interacts with the context and is motivated by the speaker's purpose of communication in that context. The treatment of deliberate ambiguity in the present study is thus more coherent theoretically and more comprehensive in coverage than what is found in the sizable literature on the subject. • Ambiguity can be deliberate and advantageous for both the speaker and hearer. • Deliberate ambiguity leads to seven strategies. • Five of the seven are speaker-oriented, two are hearer-oriented. • Deliberate ambiguity strategies are motivated by specific contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively control the pressure and energy consumption of multiple air compressors within an acceptable range, an intelligent pressure switching control method for air compressor group control based on multi-agent RL is studied. This method uses sensors in the air compressor field control cabinet to collect data such as header pressure, air storage tank pressure, and air storage tank temperature and sends them to the edge data collector for integration. After integration, the main control cabinet sends them to the upper computer. Combined with the on-site collected data, a multi-agent-based air compressor group control model is designed to convert multiple air compressors in the air compressor group control problem into a multi-agent mode, facilitating unified switching control of the air compressor group. Then, using the intelligent pressure switching control method based on deep Q-learning, driven by a neural network controller, the frequency of the frequency converter is adjusted to control the pressure at the outlet of the air compressor terminal header within the set value range, completing the pressure intelligent switching control. After testing, this method has good application results in pressure control, energy saving, and other aspects after being used for intelligent pressure switching control of air compressor group control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Carboniferous Yanghugou Formation in the western margin of the Ordos Basin exhibits significant potential for oil and gas exploration. However, due to the influence of complex tectonic activities, there are substantial variations in stratigraphic thickness and depositional environments across the formation. The lack of a systematic source–sink comparative study has resulted in an unclear understanding of sediment sources and paleogeographic patterns, impacting the exploration for hydrocarbon accumulations. We conducted a comprehensive study of the source–sink system characteristics and paleogeography in the research area through field outcrop observations and drilling core sampling. By utilizing detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry, paleocurrent directions, lithofacies types, and sedimentary features, we delve into the understanding of the source–sink systems. Four major source–sink regions in the research area were identified: the Alxa, Yinshan, Alxa–Yinshan mixed and Qilian source–sink regions. The Alxa source–sink region formed a transitional delta-barrier-island sedimentary system. The northern part of the Yinshan source–sink region developed a transitional tidal-controlled delta-tidal-flat sedimentary system, while the southern deep-water area developed a shallow marine to semi-deep marine shelf sedimentary systems. The sediments of Alxa–Yinshan mixed source–sink region were deposited in a transitional tidal-controlled delta-tidal-flat barrier-island system. The Qilian source–sink region is characterized by small tidal-controlled delta-barrier-island system. From the analysis of the source–sink systems, it is inferred that the Alxa Block and the North China Craton had already merged before deposition of the late Carboniferous Yanghugou Formation. The delta sand bodies in the Alxa–Yinshan mixed source–sink region have the highest compositional and structural maturity, the best reservoir performance, and the great exploration potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐dimensional lead‐based metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have many exceptional photoelectric capabilities thanks to the 6 s2 electron structure of lead ion (Pb2+). Pb2+′s toxicity, however, has prevented its widespread development and use. Finding ions in the valence layer that have a comparable electrical structure thus makes sense as Pb2+ replacements. In this work, all inorganic zero‐dimensional (0D) Cs3BiCl6 single crystal was synthesized by the anti‐solvent crystallization method. There is no obvious photoluminescence (PL) phenomenon for Cs3BiCl6 at room temperature (RT). It is found that the extremely strong exciton‐phonon interaction leads to seriously non‐radiative recombination. After doping with Sb3+, Cs3BiCl6: Sb achieved broadband emission with a significant Stokes shift, the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) up to 15.85 %, which has a microsecond PL decay lifetime and excellent environmental stability. Systematic spectroscopic characterizations unveil the PL mechanism of Cs3BiCl6: Sb is self‐trapped excitons (STEs) emission, and theoretical calculation revealed the indirect bandgap properties of Cs3BiCl6 and Cs3BiCl6: Sb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A house is the graph that consists of an induced 4-vertex cycle and a single vertex with precisely two adjacent neighbors on the cycle. The Borodin–Kostochka Conjecture states that for each graph G with Δ (G) ≥ 9 , we have χ (G) ≤ max { Δ (G) − 1 , ω (G) }. We show that this conjecture holds for { P 2 ∪ P 3 , house } -free graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph convolutional networks (GCN) have attracted increasing attention in hyperspectral images (HSIs) classification because of its excellent capacities in modeling arbitrarily irregular data. The essential aim of GCN-based methods is obtaining a more reliable graph that accurately describes the similarity between graph nodes and makes its representation more discriminative. However, it is a challenging task to get a high-quality graph during the convolution process. In this paper, a novel spectral-spatial dynamic graph convolutional network (SSD-GCN) is proposed for HSIs classification, which not only can adaptively update graph according to the HSI content but also can generate the discriminative node features during the convolution process, by integrating the current spectral-spatial information of nodes and the graph embedding in the previous layers. Unlike the traditional GCN-based methods that directly convert the raw HSI into a graph in the preprocessing process, we further integrate the graph mapping into the network, to reduce the irrelevant information among spectral bands and facilitate node feature learning. In addition, an auxiliary local context-aware feature reconstruction is constructed to enhance the local representational capacities of the node features and alleviate over-smoothing. Extensive experiments compared with state-of-the-art methods on three HSIs datasets, including Pavia University, Salinas, and Kennedy Space Center, demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed SSD-GCN method, even with small-sized training data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel time-resolved fluorescence nanoprobe (PBMO, PLNR-BSA-Mn2+-OPD) is fabricated for the label-free determination of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The ZnGeO:Mn persistent luminescence nanorod (PLNR) and Mn(II) are, respectively, exploited as the signal molecule and quencher to construct the PBMO nanopobe using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the surface-modified shell and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) as the reducing agent. In the presence of H2O2, the persistent luminescence of PBMO at 530 nm is enhanced remarkably within 30 s due to the oxidation of Mn(II). H2O2 can react with thiocholine (TCh), which is produced through the enzymatic degradation of acetylcholine (ATCh) by AChE. The PBMO nanoprobe is successfully applied to the determination of AChE in the linear range of 0.08–10 U L−1, with a detection limit of 0.03 U L−1 (3σ/s). The practicability of this PBMO nanoprobe is confirmed by accurately monitoring AChE contents in human serum samples, giving rise to satisfactory spiking recoveries of 96.2–103.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oral microbiota is essential for the maintenance of oral and systemic health but is poorly characterized in primates. We used positive reinforcement training to collect 20 oral samples from three infant, ten juvenile/subadult, and seven adult Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana). We subjected these samples to 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, as well as bacterial culture and identification. The 16S rRNA sequencing data showed the diversity of the oral flora did not differ significantly across these three age groups, while at the phyla level, the dominant flora in the oral cavity were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria (totaling 77.62%), and the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the adults was significantly higher than in the juvenile/subadults. Meanwhile, Enterococcus was the most abundant genus in this population, and there was no significant difference in the oral flora at the genus level across the age groups. We also isolated several opportunistic pathogenic bacteria in the oral samples from noninfant, Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys. Although our sample size is small, particularly for infants, our study describes the characteristics of oral flora in captive, Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys of different age groups and provides important information about possibly pathogenic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rail joints are the weakest link in the railway track structure due to the presence of discontinuities in the track stiffness and wheel-rail contact geometry. This paper presents the dynamic response of vehicle-track interaction at the bolted rail joint (BRJ) in the presence of polygonal wheel wear. A three-dimensional coupled vehicle-track dynamic model was established using the finite element method (FEM) and the multi-body system (MBS) approach, in which the flexibilities of the wheelset and track are taken into account. The proposed dynamic model is validated by the comparisons of field measurement and calculated vertical axle-box acceleration in time and frequency domains. The effects of the flexible wheelset in the presence of polygonal wear on the vehicle-track dynamic interaction at the BRJs are illustrated through comparisons with those obtained using without polygonal wheel model. The results show that the polygonal wheel wear and the rail joint irregularities can induce high-magnitude vertical wheel-rail contact force, and exacerbate the vibration responses of the axle box, the wheelset, and the rails. The simulation results also indicate that the wheelset bending modes, the P2 resonance due to rail joint excitation, and the track vibration modes have significant effects on the vertical vehicle-track dynamic interaction at the supported and suspended BRJs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the problem of single-image haze removal based on retinex model and new deep retinex decomposition architecture. Reformulating dehazing as reverse retinex, we propose a depth-guided retinex decomposition network, which consists of the Decom-Net, with two-branches for the retinex decomposition on the reversed hazy image, and the Guide-Net, with depth information for guiding the estimation of ideal illumination. To promote the accuracy of retinex decomposition, we develop an effective boosted decoder with a fusion attention mechanism to optimize the illumination iteratively, giving rise to a refined reflectance. Additionally, due to the reversible relationship between haze and low-light images, our network could effectively realize dehazing in nighttime. Through sets of experiments on a variety of synthetic and natural images, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed model in haze removal, competitively in terms of visual appearance and metrics, considering both daytime and nighttime cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of methane to value‐added chemicals by traditional reforming processes suffers from intensive energy consumption due to its particularly strong C─H bonds. Thus, it is urgent to optimize the driving force structure for methane conversion by accelerating the integration of sustainable energy. In this review, the advances in sustainable energy‐driven methane conversion are systematically summarized to provide a scientific understanding of methane conversion in operation/storage concepts, reactor design, technological maturity, system optimization, and remaining issues. Furthermore, the essence, economic evaluations, energy balance, and social impacts of methane conversion driven by sustainable energy are carefully discussed, paving a path for the future course of research and development. Diversifying the energy mix can play an important role in the future of sustainable energy‐driven methane conversion industries, being used as a crucial step for the transition to sustainable energy, especially the combination of solar/nuclear energy with fossil fuels to produce value‐added chemicals. Additionally, this review intends to bridge the studies of methane conversion and sustainable energy‐driven development, with the ultimate goal of offering a robust framework to understand the current status of sustainable energy‐driven methane conversion and provide guidance for the design of sustainable solutions for a greener future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stimuli-responsive luminescence plays a crucial role in the development of mechanoluminescent materials. Here, we designed and synthesized four o-carborane-based aggregation-induced emission molecules, two of which, CB-Ph-P and CB-Ph-PAn, exhibited multiple solid-state fluorescence emissions. Upon mechanical stimulation, the recrystallization solid of CB-Ph-P caused a bathochromic shift in its fluorescence emission from 423 nm to 608 nm. Similarly, CB-Ph-PAn exhibits a transition in the fluorescence emission wavelength from 393 nm to 623 nm when in the solid state. In order to gain insight into the mechanism behind their luminescence behavior, we performed analyses including powder X-ray diffraction, photophysical properties, thermal properties, and single-crystal structure analysis. It is deemed that the polymorphism may be related to different weak interactions, packing modes and torsion angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of manufacturing industry, the application range of NC machining technology has been further expanded. The contour accuracy is strongly related to the NC machining quality as a key machine tool performance indicator. Its application efficiency is plainly low as the majority of offline compensation-based contour accuracy adjustments rely heavily on manual experience. Moreover, the isolated research on automatic error compensation and its combination with algorithms does not start with the characteristics of contour accuracy in data processing. Therefore, based on the advantages of strong the robustness of the fuzzy algorithm and the high effectiveness of parameter adjustment, an automatic compensation method for NC machining contour error based on fuzzy control is proposed. The contour error prediction model is designed according to the machining path, and then the automatic compensation strategy for contour error under fuzzy control is designed based on the feed speed. The results showed that under this method, the contour error can reach a maximum of 0.06 and a minimum of 0.025, which was 0.015 lower than the minimum contour error of genetic algorithm. This indicated that the method greatly reduced the CNC machining contour error and improved the contour accuracy, as well as reducing the time cost of contour error compensation, improving the efficiency of contour error compensation, and realizing the automation of error compensation control capability. This is helpful for advancing CNC machining automation technology and supporting the intelligent development of machinery manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common worldwide, and novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers are needed to improve outcomes. In this study, bioinformatics analyses combined with in vitro and in vivo assays were used to identify the potential therapeutic targets. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) in HCC were identified by the intersection between The Cancer Genome Atlas and International Cancer Genome Consortium data. The DEGs were evaluated by a gene set enrichment analysis as well as Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. A protein interaction network, univariate Cox regression, and Lasso regression were used to screen out hub genes correlated with survival. Increased expression of the long noncoding RNA GBAP1 in HCC was confirmed in additional datasets and its biological function was evaluated in HCC cell lines and nude mice. Among 121 DEGs, GBAP1 and PRC1 were identified as hub genes with significant prognostic value. Overexpression of GBAP1 in HCC was confirmed in 21 paired clinical tissues and liver cancer or normal cell lines. The inhibition of GBAP1 expression reduced HCC cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis by inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, GBAP1 has a pro-oncogenic function in HCC and is a candidate prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid development of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 as well as the real threat of new coronavirus zoonosis events, the development of a preventive vaccine with a broader scope of functionality is highly desirable. Previously, we reported the functionality of a nasal formulation containing the nucleocapsid protein and the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 combined with the ODN-39M adjuvant. This combination induced cross-reactive immunity in mucosal and systemic compartments at the sarbecovirus level. In the present study, we explored the magnitude of the immunity generated in BALB/c mice by the same formulation with alum added as an additional adjuvant, to enhance the humoral immunity against the two antigens. Animals were immunized with three doses of the bivalent formulation, administered by subcutaneous route. Humoral immunity was tested by ELISA, and the neutralizing capacity of the resulting antibodies (Abs) was evaluated using a surrogate test and a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) pseudovirus-based assay. Cell-mediated immunity was also investigated using an IFN-γ ELISpot assay. High levels of antibodies against both antigens (N and RBD) were obtained upon immunization. Anti-RBD Abs with neutralizing capacity reacted with the RBD of three SARS-CoV-2 variants tested, including Omicron. Abs recognizing the nucleocapsid proteins of SARS-CoV-1 and the SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants were also detected. Taken together, these results suggest that this bivalent formulation could be an attractive component of a pancorona vaccine able to broaden the scope of humoral immunity against both antigens. This will be particularly important for the reinforcement of immunity in previously vaccinated and/or infected populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovering underlying low dimensional structure of a high-dimensional matrix is traditionally done through low rank matrix approximations in the form of a sum of rank-one matrices. In this article, we propose a new approach. We assume a high-dimensional matrix can be approximated by a sum of a small number of Kronecker products of matrices with potentially different configurations, named as a hybrid Kronecker outer Product Approximation (hKoPA). It provides an extremely flexible way of dimension reduction compared to the low-rank matrix approximation. Challenges arise in estimating a hKoPA when the configurations of component Kronecker products are different or unknown. We propose an estimation procedure when the set of configurations are given, and a joint configuration determination and component estimation procedure when the configurations are unknown. Specifically, a least squares backfitting algorithm is used when the configurations are given. When the configurations are unknown, an iterative greedy algorithm is developed. Both simulation and real image examples show that the proposed algorithms have promising performances. Some identifiability conditions are also provided. The hybrid Kronecker product approximation may have potentially wider applications in low dimensional representation of high-dimensional data. for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze humorous mockery in terms of politeness. Using data from a Chinese standup comedy competition, Rock and Roast , we demonstrate that politeness is a determining factor in the contestants' selection of targets for their mockeries (primarily those close to them), in the characteristics of the targets being mocked (primarily those that reflect the targets' persona as opposed to the person), and in the fact that, when individuals are expressly mocked, they are very often vehicles for parodic or sarcastic criticisms of specific social issues. By looking at how politeness interacts with the play frame of the standup comedy genre, our paper contributes to both humor research and politeness theorizing. • Politeness is very much at work in the context of the play frame of humorous mockery. • Humorists target FACE 2 (persona), not FACE 1, in an attempt to be polite. • Humorists target those close to them more than those who are not. • Mockeries may also serve to enhance the image of self and other. • Politeness is relevant to humor as it is for other types of language use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The alcoholysis process for one of organophosphorus pesticides, phoxim, was systematically examined by using the M06‐2X/6–311++G(d,p) and MP2/6–311++G(d,p)//M06‐2X/6–311++G(d,p) levels. Two possible alcoholysis mechanisms, P–OR1, P–OEt rupture channels together with the concerted and stepwise steps, were theoretically evaluated. The catalytic role of an extra methanol was also simulated. Furthermore, the influence of solvent on water was also taken into consideration for the M06‐2X/6–311++G(d,p) level of theory. Our predicted results show convincingly that the P–OEt disintegration pathway is slightly more favorable than the P–OR removal channel. The stepwise pathway is calculated to be more prominent than the concerted one for all reactions. It can be observed that the methanol‐assisted alcoholysis is more easier to take place than the direct alcoholysis. Solvent effect does not have remarkable effect on the reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find and prove a class of congruences modulo 4 for Andrews' partition with certain ternary quadratic form. We also discuss distribution of E O ¯ (n) and further prove that E O ¯ (n) ≡ 0 (mod 4) for almost all n. This study was inspired by similar congruences modulo 4 in the work by the second author and Garvan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify patients in the subclinical psoriatic arthritis (Sub-PsA) phase by ultrasound (US) and provide a solution to screen them. Methods: A total of 490 participants with moderate-to-severe psoriasis were evaluated. Among them, 384 participants without arthritis symptoms were enrolled into the silent psoriasis group and 106 participants with arthritis symptoms, called prodromal/active PsA phase, were enrolled into the clinical PsA group. Another 80 non-psoriasis participants were enrolled into the control group. Each participant received clinical assessments and US examinations of 60 joints, 38 tendons, and 40 entheses. We compared the incidences of synovio-enthesitis, synovitis, tenosynovitis, erosion, and dactylitis detected on US among the three groups. Subsequently, on the basis of significant US findings, we distinguished Sub-PsA from psoriasis alone (PsO) in the silent psoriasis group and analyzed the clinical characteristics, mainly including basic clinical characteristics, body surface area (BSA), and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score. Results: Only synovio-enthesitis significantly differed between the control group and the silent psoriasis group (1.3% vs. 16.1%, p < 0.001). The knee was the most commonly involved site of synovio-enthesitis (79.0%). Taking synovio-enthesitis as the standard, 16.1% of silent psoriasis participants and 12.7% of all psoriasis participants were in the Sub-PsA phase. Furthermore, there were no differences in BSA and PASI among the three phases of PsO, Sub-PsA, and prodromal/active PsA. Conclusions: Since the psoriasis patients in Sub-PsA phase was as high as 12.7% in all patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, US-detected synovio-enthesitis was recommended routinely for screening them regardless of arthritis symptoms, especially in the lower limbs. Key Points: • Synovio-enthesitis on ultrasound was significantly associated with subclinical psoriatic arthritis, especially in the lower limbs. • Routine ultrasound evaluation could help screen psoriasis patients in the subclinical psoriatic arthritis phase, which was as high as 12.7% in all psoriasis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar water splitting promises a solution to challenges associated with the intermittent nature of solar energy. Of different implementations, photoelectrochemical water splitting, where one or more photoelectrodes harvest light and catalyze water splitting, represents a convenient platform to understand the governing principles of charge behaviors, especially at the light absorber|H2O interface. This Perspective recognizes and discusses the importance of the photoelectrode surface to solar water splitting performance. It presents discussions within the context of a prototypical water splitting material, Ta3N5, which has gained growing attention lately for its outstanding initial performance. Insights into the mechanisms by which Ta3N5 functions are presented, followed by examples of recent efforts to circumvent the issues that Ta3N5 decays rapidly under solar water splitting conditions. Our visions on the future directions of semiconductor-based solar water splitting will be presented at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]