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In order to achieve efficient and durable oil-water emulsion separation, the membranes possessing high separation efficiency and mechanical strength attract extensive attention and are in great demand. In present study, a kind of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based bilayer membrane was fabricated by electrospinning fibrous PTFE (fPTFE) on an expanded PTFE (ePTFE) substrate. The morphological observation revealed that the fibrous structure of the fPTFE layer could be tailored by controlling the formulation of spinning solution. The addition of appropriate polyoxyethylene (PEO) would make the fibers in the fPTFE layer finer and more uniform. As a result, the compounded membrane exhibited a small pore size of approximately 1.25 µm and a substantial porosity nearing 80%. This led to super-hydrophobicity, characterized by a high water contact angle (WCA) of 149.8°, and facilitated rapid oil permeation. The water-in-oil emulsion separation experiment further confirmed that the compounded membrane not only had a high separation efficiency closing 100%, but such an outstanding separation capacity could be largely retained, either through multiple cycles of use or through strong acid (pH=1), strong alkali (pH=12), or high-temperature (100 °C) treatment. Additionally, the mechanical behavior of the bilayer membrane was basically contributed by that of each layer in terms of their volume ratio. More significantly, the poor creep resistance of fPTFE layer was suppressed by compounding with ePTFE substrate. Hence, this study has laid the groundwork for a novel approach to create PTFE-based compounded membranes with exceptional overall characteristics, showing promise for applications in the realm of emulsion separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the flow characteristics in front chamber and rear chamber in pump mode and pump as turbine mode, a 3D computational model of a centrifugal pump was established, including the front and rear chamber. Based on Realizable k-ε turbulence model, numerical calculations of incompressible flow were carried out for internal viscous flow in two operating modes. Further analysis was conducted on the flow stability and hydraulic losses under two modes using energy gradient theory and entropy production theory. The numerical simulation results are within reasonable error compared to the experimental results in pump operation mode, which ensures the reliability of the numerical calculation method. The results indicate that the volumetric efficiency in both two modes is on an upward trend with increasing flow, but the volumetric efficiency of the pump mode is more significantly affected by changes in flow; the distribution patterns of dimensionless circumferential velocity and dimensionless radial velocity in the front and rear chambers under two operating modes are similar, but the distribution pattern of dimensionless radial velocity in the front chamber in turbine mode is significantly different from other operating conditions; flow instability is most likely to occur at the outlet of impeller, and the energy loss in clearance of wear-rings is greater than that in the pump chamber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the unsteady Bernoulli equation for the piping system and the angular momentum equation for the rotor, derives here a theoretical model to predict the startup performance of a pump as turbine (PAT). This model is effective for predicting the instantaneous evolution characteristics of the main performance parameters of PAT during startup, and these changings are initially faster and then slowly as a whole. The effect of the rotor moment of inertia and the final stabilized rotational speed of PAT on evolution characteristics of parameters is opposite. The rotational speed, head, hydraulic power, and conversion efficiency show a upward rising trend with the startup time, whereas the flow rate and hydraulic head loss display a downward trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the plasma polymerization reaction of fluorocarbon gases, with specific focus on three monomers: tetrafluoromethane, hexafluoroethane, and octafluorocyclobutane. Optical emission spectroscopy was employed to observe species within the glow discharge, while detecting plasma species in fluorocarbon plasma polymerization. Fluorocarbon plasma polymerized films surface morphology and roughness were scrutinized using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Chemical bonding on film surfaces was probed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Experimental outcomes highlight the essential role of chemical interactions between fluorocarbon plasma and monomers, with film surface composition inferred from fluorocarbon ratio analysis. These analyses improve the understanding of fluorocarbon-to-carbon ratio and duty cycle contributions to plasma polymerized film growth, which promises advancements in the ability to tailor fluorocarbon films to specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the efficiency of the self-priming pump in the outdoor emergency rescue mobile pump truck, this paper took the key energy conversion component-impeller as the target and used the orthogonal experimental design method to optimize its hydraulic performance. Firstly the numerical calculations were compared with the experimental results to confirm the reliability of the calculation method. Then, L9 (34) orthogonal design was applied to investigate the influence of the impeller diameter, the blade outlet width, the blade wrap angle and the number of blades on the hydraulic performance of the self-priming pump. Through range analysis, the order of influence of each influencing factor on the head and efficiency of the self-priming pump was determined, and finally obtained the optimal parameter combination scheme. The results show that the optimized self-priming pump exceeds the head of the prototype pump at all flow conditions, and the efficiency curve at high flow conditions is significantly improved and has a wide high efficiency zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arginase has shown promising potential in treating cancers by arginine deprivation therapy; however, low enzymatic activity and stability of arginase are impeding its development. This study was aimed to improve the enzymological properties of a marine bacterial arginase by carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) conjugation. An arginase producing marine bacterium Priestia megaterium strain P6 was isolated and identified. The novel arginase PMA from the strain was heterologously expressed, purified, and then conjugated to CMCS by ionic gelation with calcium chloride as the crosslinking agent. Enzymological properties of both PMA and CMCS-PMA conjugate were determined. The optimum temperature for PMA and CMCS-PMA at pH 7 were 60 °C and 55 °C, respectively. The optimum pH for PMA and CMCS-PMA at 37 °C were pH 10 and 9, respectively. CMCS-PMA showed higher thermostability than PMA over 55–70 °C and higher pH stability over pH 4–11 with the highest pH stability at pH 7. At 37 °C and pH of 7, i.e., around the human blood temperature and pH, CMCS-PMA was higher than the free PMA in enzymatic activity and stability by 24% and 21%, respectively. CMCS conjugation not only changed the optimum temperature, optimum pH, and enzymatic activity of PMA, but also improved its pH stability and temperature stability, and thus made it more favorable for medical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effect of the width-to-narrow ratio on the forward and reverse flow characteristics of the Tesla valve, five different models of the Tesla valve with different width-to-narrow ratios are established in this paper. The numerical calculations of forward and reverse flow under different working conditions are carried out by the CFD method in the laminar flow regime, and the reliability of the numerical calculation method is verified by comparing it with the experimental results. The results show that: in forward flow, the main flow-through channel is not related to the width-to-narrow ratio, the flow rate of the straight channel increases with the increase of the width-to-narrow ratio, and the static pressure in the diversion section is in the shape of "∞"; while in reverse flow, the main flow-through channel is weakly related to the width-to-narrow ratio, the flow rate of the arc channel is not increased with the increase of the width-to-narrow ratio, and the static pressure in the diversion section is in the shape of "bench". As the width-to-narrow ratio decreases, the pressure drop during forward and reverse flow becomes more significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the influence of starting acceleration on starting process of a pump as turbine system, this paper carries out a numerical calculation of the three-dimensional viscous unsteady flow of pump as turbine circulating piping system under three starting acceleration conditions, and obtains the external and internal flow characteristics of each overflow component during the starting process, and also analyzes the energy loss of each component in the piping system in depth with the help of entropy production method and Q criterion method. The results show that during system start-up, the flow rate and outlet static pressure curves of the pump as turbine are hysteresis relative to the rotational speed, the head curve is similar to a linear rise during slow and medium speed start-up, while it shows a parabolic rise during rapid start-up, the entropy production and vorticity in the impeller domain of the pump as turbine are mainly distributed between the blades, and the distribution decreases during start-up. In addition, the pump similarity law does not apply to the performance prediction during the transient start of the pump as turbine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newborn neurons from the subventricular zone (SVZ) are essential to functional recovery following ischemic stroke. However, the number of newly generated neurons after stroke is far from enough to support a potent recovery. Adiponectin could increase neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of hippocampus in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effect of adiponectin on the neurogenesis from SVZ and the functional recovery after ischemic stroke was unknown, and the underlying mechanism was not specified either. The middle cerebral artery occlusion model of mice was adopted and adiponectin was administrated once a day from day 3 to 7 of reperfusion. The levels of BDNF and p-STAT3 were detected by western blotting on day 7 of reperfusion. The virus-encoded BDNF shRNA with GFAP promoter and a STAT3 inhibitor Stattic were used, respectively. Neurogenesis was evidenced by the expression of doublecortin and 5-bromo-2ʹ-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling and brain atrophy was revealed by Nissl staining on day 28 of reperfusion. Neurological functional recovery was assessed by the adhesive removal test and the forepaw grip strength. We found that adiponectin increased both the doublecortin-positive cells and NeuN/BrdU double-positive cells around the injured area on day 28 of reperfusion, along with the improved long-term neurological recovery. Mechanistically, adiponectin increased the protein levels of p-STAT3 and BDNF in astrocytes on day 7 of reperfusion, while silencing BDNF diminished the adiponectin-induced neurogenesis and functional recovery. Moreover, inhibition of STAT3 not only prevented the increase of BDNF but also the improved neurogenesis and functional recovery after stroke. In conclusion, adiponectin enhances neurogenesis and functional recovery after ischemic stroke via STAT3/BDNF pathway in astrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the physicians usually predict functional outcomes of stroke based on clinical experiences and big data, so we wish to develop a model to accurately identify imaging features for predicting functional outcomes of stroke patients. Using magnetic resonance imaging of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients, we developed and trained a VGG-16 convolutional neural network (CNN) to predict functional outcomes after 28-day hospitalization. A total of 44 individuals (24 men and 20 women) were recruited from Taoyuan General Hospital and China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital to enroll in the study. Based on "modified Rankin Scale (mRS)" and "National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)" assessments, men, women, and mixed men and women were trained separately to evaluate the differences of the results, and we have shown that VGG-16 demonstrated high accuracy in predicting the functional outcomes of stroke patients. The new deep-learning approach has provided an automated decision support system for personalized recommendations and treatments, assisting the physicians to predict functional outcomes of stroke patients in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of active ingredients from plant volatile organic compounds as natural gaseous fungicides shows remarkable potential for controlling fungal decay in postharvest agroproducts. Although 1-octanol is a common component of cereal volatiles, its antifungal potency against spoilage fungi in postharvest grains remains unclear. In this study, we studied the effectiveness of 1-octanol against Aspergillus flavus growth in postharvest grains and its mechanisms of action. 1-Octanol vapor and liquid contact dose-dependently inhibited A. flavus spore germination and mycelial growth at a low concentration. The simulated storage experiment demonstrated that 300 μL/L of 1-octanol vapor completely controlled A. flavus growth in wheat, corn, and paddy grains with 20% moisture content. 1-Octanol treatment irreversibly damaged the conidial and mycelial morphology of A. flavus and caused electrolyte leakage due to reduced plasma membrane integrity. It induced apoptosis along with morphological abnormalities, phosphatidylserine externalization, mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization, intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation, and DNA fragmentation in A. flavus cells. Metabolomic analysis revealed that 1-octanol treatment disrupted the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, ATP-binding cassette transporters, amino acid metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. This study demonstrated the promising application potential of 1-octanol as a biofumigant for preventing fungal spoilage of postharvest cereal grains. Key points: • (1) 1-Octanol inhibits Aspergillus flavus growth in the vapor phase and liquid contact; • (2) 1-Octanol damages membrane integrity and induces apoptosis of A. flavus; • (3) Metabolomic changes in A. flavus mycelia were analyzed after 1-octanol treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After reviewing Grunsky operator and Faber operator acting on Dirichlet space, we discuss the boundedness of Faber operator on BMOA, a new subject which turns out to be closely related to the BMO theory of the universal Teichmüller space. In particular, we show that the Faber operator acts as a bounded operator on BMOA if the symbol conformal map stays nearly to the base point in the BMO-Teichmüller space. Meanwhile, we obtain several results on quasiconformal mappings, BMO-Teichmüller space and chord-arc curves as well. As by-products, this provides a complex analysis approach to the boundedness of the Cauchy integral acting on BMO functions on a chord-arc curve near to the unit circle in the BMO-Teichmüller space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchanged folded hyerpcube is a brand-new interconnection network proposed by Qi et al. This paper considers the case such that n = 1 + s + t, and the exchanged folded hypercube is denoted by EFH(s, t). The bus topology is one of the most well-known topologies in WDM optical networks. A bus-topology WDM optical network with N terminals can be described by a linear array graph Ln, where N = 2n. In this article, the routing and wavelength allotment problem for embedding EFH(s, t) communication pattern on Ln is studied. To address this problem, the author proposed an embedding scheme as well as a wavelength allotment algorithm. Moreover, the number of allotted wavelengths is shown to be 2s+t + 2s+t− 2 + ⌊2t/3⌋. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical control of fungal spoilage of postharvest cereal grains is an important strategy for the management of grain storage. Here, the potential antifungal activity of 1-nonanol, a main component of cereal volatiles, against Aspergillus flavus was studied. The growth of A. flavus was completely inhibited by 0.11 and 0.20 μL/mL 1-nonanol at vapor and liquid contact phases, respectively. Metabolomic analysis identified 135 metabolites whose expression was significantly different between 1-nonanol-treated and untreated A. flavus. These metabolites were involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid biosynthesis, protein degradation and absorption, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, mineral absorption, and in interactions with ABC transporters. Biochemical validation confirmed the disruptive effect of 1-nonanol on A. flavus growth, as indicated by the leakage of intracellular electrolytes, decreased succinate dehydrogenase, mitochondrial dehydrogenase, and ATPase activity, and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. We speculated that 1-nonanol could disrupt cell membrane integrity and mitochondrial function and might induce apoptosis of A. flavus mycelia. Simulated grain storage experiments showed that 1-nonanol vapor, at a concentration of 264 μL/L, completely inhibited A. flavus growth in wheat, corn, and paddy grain with an 18% moisture content. This study provides new insights into the antifungal mechanism of 1-nonanol against A. flavus, indicating that it has a promising potential as a bio-preservative to prevent fungal spoilage of postharvest grains. Key points: • 1-Nonanol showed higher antifungal activity against A. flavus. • The antifungal mechanisms of 1-nonanol against A. flavus were revealed. • 1-Nonanol could damage cell membrane integrity and mitochondrial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-Hermitian parity-time (P T ) and anti-parity-time (APT )-symmetric systems exhibit novel quantum properties and have attracted increasing interest. Although many counterintuitive phenomena in P T - and APT -symmetric systems were previously studied, coherence flow has been rarely investigated. Here, we experimentally demonstrate single-qubit coherence flow in P T - and APT -symmetric systems using an optical setup. In the symmetry unbroken regime, we observe different periodic oscillations of coherence. Particularly, we observe two complete coherence backflows in one period in the P T -symmetric system, while only one backflow in the APT -symmetric system. Moreover, in the symmetry broken regime, we observe the phenomenon of stable value of coherence flow. We derive the analytic proofs of these phenomena and show that most experimental data agree with theoretical results within one standard deviation. This work opens avenues for future study on the dynamics of coherence in P T - and APT -symmetric systems. The gain and loss inherent in non-Hermitian quantum systems can modify the flow of coherence between subsystems, which may be lost or recovered from the environment. Here, the coherence flow in PT-symmetric and anti-PT symmetric systems is investigated experimentally and theoretically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ding's LISH procedure, the lymph nodes alongside the ileocolic artery are dissected, but these are not the regional lymph nodes of transverse colon cancer, according to the definition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual [[3]]. Laparoscopic surgery, Transverse colon cancer, Lymph node dissection Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery; Transverse colon cancer; Lymph node dissection EN Laparoscopic surgery Transverse colon cancer Lymph node dissection 419 420 2 04/12/23 20230501 NES 230501 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10151-022-02668-z. [Extracted from the article]

The ventilation work is an important step to be completed before the start of the positive pressure explosion-proof robot. The existing explosion-proof technology uses constant pressure inflation, which will cause explosive gas to accumulate in the corner area of the cavity for a long time. In order to solve this problem, a ventilation method with periodic pulse intake is proposed. Based on the finite element method, the cleaning and ventilation process of the positive pressure explosion-proof robot is simulated and analyzed. The concentration of explosive gas in the robot cavity with time under constant pressure intake and pulse intake with different periods and amplitudes is compared. The simulation results show that the pulse intake is beneficial to the ventilation of the corner position. The period and amplitude of the pulse intake has an effect on the ventilation efficiency, when the period is the same, the greater the amplitude of the pulse intake, the higher the ventilation efficiency; when the amplitude is the same, the smaller the period of the pulse intake, the higher the ventilation efficiency. After experimental verification, the validity of the simulation results is proved. This study helps to improve the ventilation efficiency of positive-pressure explosion-proof robots and provides guidance for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to study the irreducibility on complete prefix code (CPC-irreducibility) of a Markov shift over a free group, a topological mixing property first considered for shift spaces over free semigroups that induces chaotic behavior such as the existence of a dense set of periodic points. An example shows that the (d , c) -reduction, an effective algorithm of determination of CPC-irreducibility of Markov shifts over free semigroups (Ban et al. in J Stat Phys 177:1043–1062, 2019), fails for general Markov shifts over free groups. This paper reveals an algorithm for determining the CPC-irreducibility of Markov shifts over both free semigroups and groups. Furthermore, such an examination is finitely checkable, and an upper bound for the complexity of the algorithm is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To implement various artificial intelligence and automation applications in smart factories, edge computing and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices must be widely deployed, so as to increase the demand of coping with huge-scale and high-diversity data. Through deployment of fifth-generation (5G) networks (providing wide broadband, low latency, and massive machine type communications), industrial wireless networks, cloud, and fixed/mobile end devices in smart factories are interoperated in a harmony. However, with the huge-scale deployment of 5G networks and the IIoT in smart factories, threats and attacks against various vulnerabilities increase enormously, and cause considerable security and privacy challenges. Consequently, this article investigates crucial security and privacy issues for 5G-IIoT smart factories in three entities (i.e., physical layer, data layer and application layer), and further surveys recent approaches based on deep learning, reinforcement learning, and blockchain. In addition, this article provides future perspectives and challenges along this line of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the analysis of two particular models, from deterministic and random perspective respectively, for spreading processes. With a proper encoding of propagation patterns, the spread rate of each pattern is discussed for both models by virtue of the substitution dynamical systems and branching process. In view of this, we are empowered to draw a comparison between two spreading processes according to their spreading models, based on which explanations are proposed on a higher frequency of a pattern in one model than the other. These results are then supported by the numerical evidence later in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles are widely used in biomedical applications and cancer treatments due to their minute scale, multi-function, and long retention time. Among the various nanoparticles, the unique optical property derived from the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of metallic nanoparticles is a primary reason that metallic nanoparticles are researched and applied. Copper and Iron nanoparticles have the potential to generate hydroxyl radicals in excess H2O2 via Fenton or Fenton-like reactions. On the other hand, gold nanoparticles equipped with a photosensitizer can transfer the energy of photons to chemical energy and enhance the production of singlet oxygen, which is suitable for cancer treatment. With the actions of these two reactive oxygen species in the tumor microenvironment, cell apoptosis can further be induced. In this work, we first synthesized dual metal nanoparticles with poly[styrene-alt-(maleic acid, sodium salt)(Cu ferrite oxide-polymer) by a simple one-step hydrothermal reduction reaction. Then, gold(III) was reduced and doped into the structure, which formed a triple metal structure, Au-doped Cu ferrite nanoparticles (Au/Cu ferrite oxide-polymer NPs). The metal ratio of the product could be controlled by manipulating the Fe/Cu ratio of reactants and the sequence of addition of reactants. The core–shell structure was verified by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen generation ability of Au/Cu ferrite oxide-polymer was proved. The chemodynamic and photodynamic effect was measured, and the in vitro ROS generation was observed. Furthermore, the behavior of endocytosis by cancer cells could be controlled by the magnetic field. The result indicated that Au/Cu ferrite oxide-polymer core–shell nanoreactor is a potential agent for chemodynamic/photodynamic synergetic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-entropy alloys have been proved to be potential candidate materials in the biomedical field due to their balanced mechanical properties and excellent biocompatibility. The effects of atomic ratios on the as-cast microstructural evolution, mechanical properties, and electrochemical property of TiZrTaNbSn high-entropy alloys were studied systematically. The crystal structure of TiZrTaNbSn high-entropy alloys is single BCC phase, and the microstructural evolution is based on atomic ratio. The dendric structure, peritectic structure, pseudo eutectic and equiaxed grain, which are associated with element segregation, can be obtained by non-equal atomic ratio. Ti30Zr20Ta20Nb20Sn10 alloy demonstrates a high compressive strength and fracture strain, which are 2,571.8 MPa and 12%, respectively, and the fracture behavior is quasi-cleavage faults. The Ti45Z35Ta5Nb5Sn10, Ti30Zr20Ta20Nb20Sn10 and Ti35Zr25Ta15Nb15Sn10 alloys show excellent corrosion resistance according to Nyquist diagram, polarization curves and corrosion morphology. Compared with TiZrTaNbSn alloy, the corrosion rate of Ti45Zr35Ta5Nb5Sn10 alloy increases by about 98.9%. It can be concluded that non-equal atomic ratios are effective for microstructure control and performance optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therefore, the wording of the Methods, subsection "Construct drug similarity network based on side effects" closely resembles the method description in Reference 57 designed for symptom-based similarity detection, but this reference was not cited in this section. To construct drug similarity network based on side effects, the Authors used the data and the method reported by Zhou et al. whose paper is cited as Reference 57 in the Article. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: The exploitation of plant volatile organic compounds as biofumigants to control postharvest decaying of agro-products has received considerable research attention. Our previous study reported that 1-nonanol, the main constituent of cereal volatiles, can inhibit Aspergillus flavus growth and has the potential as a biofumigant to control the fungal spoilage of cereal grains. However, the antifungal mechanism of 1-nonanol against A. flavus is still unclear at the molecular level. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of 1-nonanol against A. flavus spores were 2 and 4 μL/mL, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the 1-nonanol can distort the morphology of A. flavus spore. Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining showed that 1-nonanol induced phosphatidylserine eversion and increased membrane permeability of A. flavus spores. Transcriptional profile analysis showed that 1-nonanol treatment mainly affected the expression of genes related to membrane damage, oxidative phosphorylation, blockage of DNA replication, and autophagy in A. flavus spores. Flow cytometry analysis showed that 1-nonanol treatment caused hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and accumulation of reactive oxygen species in A. flavus spores. 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining showed that treatment with 1-nonanol destroyed the DNA. Biochemical analysis results confirmed that 1-nonanol exerted destructive effects on A. flavus spores by decreasing intracellular adenosine triphosphate content, reducing mitochondrial ATPase activity, accumulating hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anions, and increasing catalase and superoxide dismutase enzyme activities. This study provides new insights into the antifungal mechanisms of 1-nonanol against A. flavus.• 1-Nonanol treatment resulted in abnormal morphology of A. flavus spores.• 1-Nonanol affects the expression of key growth-related genes of A. flavus.• The apoptosis of A. favus spores were induced after exposed to 1-nonanol.Key points: The exploitation of plant volatile organic compounds as biofumigants to control postharvest decaying of agro-products has received considerable research attention. Our previous study reported that 1-nonanol, the main constituent of cereal volatiles, can inhibit Aspergillus flavus growth and has the potential as a biofumigant to control the fungal spoilage of cereal grains. However, the antifungal mechanism of 1-nonanol against A. flavus is still unclear at the molecular level. In this study, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of 1-nonanol against A. flavus spores were 2 and 4 μL/mL, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the 1-nonanol can distort the morphology of A. flavus spore. Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining showed that 1-nonanol induced phosphatidylserine eversion and increased membrane permeability of A. flavus spores. Transcriptional profile analysis showed that 1-nonanol treatment mainly affected the expression of genes related to membrane damage, oxidative phosphorylation, blockage of DNA replication, and autophagy in A. flavus spores. Flow cytometry analysis showed that 1-nonanol treatment caused hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and accumulation of reactive oxygen species in A. flavus spores. 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining showed that treatment with 1-nonanol destroyed the DNA. Biochemical analysis results confirmed that 1-nonanol exerted destructive effects on A. flavus spores by decreasing intracellular adenosine triphosphate content, reducing mitochondrial ATPase activity, accumulating hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anions, and increasing catalase and superoxide dismutase enzyme activities. This study provides new insights into the antifungal mechanisms of 1-nonanol against A. flavus.• 1-Nonanol treatment resulted in abnormal morphology of A. flavus spores.• 1-Nonanol affects the expression of key growth-related genes of A. flavus.• The apoptosis of A. favus spores were induced after exposed to 1-nonanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia–methane (NH3–CH4) mixtures have potentials to serve as low-carbon fuels for gas turbines. Recent studies demonstrated that secondary air injection was an effective strategy to reduce NOx emissions from the combustion of NH3–CH4–air mixtures. However, the effects of secondary air injection on the performance of thermoacoustic instability of NH3–CH4–air flames remain unknown. To this end, this study experimentally investigated the thermoacoustic instability performance of a premixed, swirl-stabilized NH3–CH4–FF air combustor without and with secondary air injection. Without secondary air injection, thermoacoustic instabilities were widely detected at NH3 ratios below 50% (by volume). It was discovered that such instabilities were significantly suppressed by secondary air injection over a wider range of operating conditions. In conjunction with the analysis of the flame and flow dynamics, it was revealed that the secondary air injection suppressed the large amplitude axial oscillations of the flame and the flow field. Combined with the experimental results, it was inferred that the introduction of secondary air changed the velocity and pressure distribution downstream of the primary combustion zone, which in turn affected the formation and evolution of the vortex structures, thereby mitigating thermoacoustic coupling. Finally, emission measurements were discussed and the results indicated that the secondary air injection strategy reduced unburnt NH3 and CO emissions to a certain extent as well as decreased NOx emissions at specific equivalence ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of a global paper resource shortage, there is a growing need to identify fast-growing tree species capable of producing long-lasting paper. Three plant species namely Broussonetia kazinoki, Broussonetia papyrifera and hybrid paper mulberry, belong to the Broussonetia genus, were collected from China to study their white bark suitability for pulp and papermaking. Their chemical composition revealed that the holocellulose content in Broussonetia kazinoki and Broussonetia papyrifera was more than 80%. The molecular weight distribution of several holocellulose/α-cellulose is observed by GPC, which allows us to better observe the changes of various components on the molecular weight. The yield, lignin, whiteness, and molecular weight of the pulps obtained by NaOH treatment were determined. Optical microscope was used to characterize the fiber length-width ratio and rigidity. Finally, the improvement of the fiber rigidity method based on the Kratky-Porod chain model makes it more theoretical and further reveals the influencing factors of fiber rigidity. This study demonstrates the high potentiality of these three species for papermaking applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and disease threaten shrimp farming. Here, we studied the beneficial properties of a phytogenic formulation, Shrimp Best (SB), in whiteleg shrimp. Functional studies showed that SB dose-dependently increased shrimp body weight and decreased feed conversion ratio. We found that SB protected against Vibrio parahaemolyticus as evidenced by survival rate, bacterial load, and hepatopancreatic pathology in shrimp. Finally, we explored the likely mechanism by which SB affects growth performance and vibriosis in shrimp. The 16S rRNA sequencing data showed that SB increased 6 probiotic genera and decreased 6 genera of pathogenic bacteria in shrimp. Among these, SB increased the proportion of Lactobacillus johnsonii and decreased that of V. parahaemolyticus in shrimp guts. To dissect the relationship among SB, Lactobacillus and Vibrio, we investigated the in vitro regulation of Lactobacillus and Vibrio by SB. SB at ≥ 0.25 μg/mL promoted L. johnsonii growth. Additionally, L. johnsonii and its supernatant could inhibit V. parahaemolyticus. Furthermore, SB could up-regulate five anti-Vibrio metabolites of L. johnsonii, which caused bacterial membrane destruction. In parallel, we identified 3 fatty acids as active compounds from SB. Overall, this work demonstrated that SB improved growth performance and vibriosis protection in shrimp via the regulation of gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal keratitis (FK) is a vision-threatening infection. We aimed to explore the antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects of pseudolaric acid B (PAB) on FK and the underlying mechanisms involved. Network pharmacology utilized to acquire the potential target genes, and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) was consistently downregulated in Gene Expression Omnibus dataset and clinical samples. Molecular docking analysis showed that PAB and SIRT1 had good binding activity. No toxicity was observed in vivo and in vitro with a PAB concentration below 0.3 μM. PAB exerted its antifungal activity by destroying the integrity of hyphae, and alleviated the severity of FK in rats by decreasing clinical scores, fungal burden and inhibiting inflammatory cell infiltration. PAB increased SIRT1 to regulate the crosstalk between nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), decreasing the levels of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6; and pattern recognition receptors, C-type lectin domain containing 7A (Dectin-1), lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1), toll like receptor (TLR)-2, and TLR4 both in vivo and in vitro. However, this anti-inflammatory effect of PAB was abolished by the SIRT1 inhibitor EX527. This study provides new evidence that PAB has antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects in FK and may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of FK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gengma-Lancang-Menghai seismic belt, the southernmost part of the North-South seismic belt, is controlled by four active faults: the Nantinghe fault (NTHF), the Sanjianshan fault (SJSF), the Hanmuba-Lancang fault (HMB-LCF), and the Heihe fault (HHF), from northwest to southeast. However, the tectonic activity of the faults in the Gengma-Lancang-Menghai seismic belt has not been fully studied yet. In the present work, we conducted tectonic geomorphic indices to analyze the relative tectonic activity along the faults in the seismic belt based on the digital elevation model. We interpreted asymmetric factor, index of drainage basin shape, hypsometric integral, normalized stream-length gradient, valley floor-to-width to height ratio, and longitudinal profiles to show that the relative tectonic activity is higher in the north and lower in the south, and is strong in the region from Shanjia to Huimin in the center of the seismic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Osteoporosis is the most susceptible disease for people over 60. The main cause of osteoporosis is the decreased osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here we showed that upstream stimulatory factor 2 (USF2)/microRNA-34a (miR-34a)/bone morphogenetic protein 3 (BMP3) axis regulated osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Materials and methods: USF2 and miR-34a expression were examined using qPCR. Protein levels of BMP3 and osteogenic markers expression were evaluated using both western blot and qPCR. Activity of ALP was determined by ALP assay kit. Mineralization capacity of hBMSCs was assessed using ARS. Besides, CHIP assay was employed to verify whether USF2 could bind to miR-34a promoter. Finally, RIP assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay were employed to verify whether miR-34a directly bound to BMP3. Results: Our results suggested that miR-34a was upregulated during osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and miR-34a overexpression could enhance osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. USF2 could positively regulate miR-34a expression by interacting with its promoter. USF2 overexpression enhanced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, while miR-34a inhibition reversed the effect. Besides, BMP3 was the target of miR-34a. MiR-34a overexpression enhanced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which was abolished by BMP3 overexpression. Conclusion: Taken together, USF2 enhanced osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via downregulating BMP3 by interacting with miR-34a promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of blood blister-like aneurysms (BBAs) of the supraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) with flow diverters (FDs) has become widespread in recent years. However, ruptured blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA) of ICA treatment with flow diverter-assisted coil embolization (FDAC) remains controversial. Moreover, limited direct comparative studies have been conducted between the two treatment modalities, FDs and FDAC, for BBAs. The purpose of this study was to document our experience and evaluate the effectiveness and safety of FDAC. We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical and radiological information from ten patients who experienced ruptured BBAs of the supraclinoid ICA at our center from January 2021 to February 2023. The technical details of FDAC for ruptured BBAs were described, and the technical steps were named "pipeline embolization device (PED)-Individualized shaping(microcatheter)-Semi deploying-Rivet(coils)-Massage(microwire)" as the PEISSERM technique. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), whereas radiological results were determined through angiography. A pooled analysis was implemented, incorporating data from literature sources that reported perioperative and long-term clinical and angiographic outcomes of ruptured BBAs treated with FD and FDAC strategies, along with our data. Data in our analysis pool were categorized into FD and FDAC strategy groups to explore the preferred treatment modalities for BBAs. The PEISSERM technique was utilized to treat ten patients, seven males, and three females, with an average age of 41.7 years. A single PED was deployed in conjunction with coils in all ten patients. All PEDs were documented to have good wall apposition. The immediate postoperative angiograms demonstrated Raymond grade I in ten aneurysms. Angiographic follow-up of nine patients at 4–25 months showed total occlusion of the aneurysms. At the most recent follow-up, the mRS scores of nine patients hinted at a good prognosis. Pooled analysis of 233 ICA-BBA cases of FD revealed a technical success rate of 91% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88 to 0.95], a rate of complete occlusion of 79% (95% CI, 0.73 to 0.84), a recurrence rate of 2% (95% CI, 0.00 to 0.04), a rebleed rate of 2% (95% CI, 0.00 to 0.04), and the perioperative stroke rate was 8% (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.11). The perioperative mortality was 4% (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.07). The long-term good clinical outcome rate was 85% (95% CI, 0.80 to 0.90). The mortality rate was 6% (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.09). Results from the subgroup analysis illustrated that the FDAC strategy for BBAs had a significantly higher immediate postoperative complete occlusion rate (P < 0.001), total occlusion rate (P = 0.016), and a good outcome rate (P = 0.041) compared with the FD strategy. The FDAC strategy can yield a higher rate of good outcomes than the FD strategy. The PEISSERM technique employed by the FDAC is a reliable and effective treatment approach as it can minimize the hemodynamic burden of BBA's fragile dome, thereby achieving an excellent occlusion rate. The PEISSERM technique in the FDAC strategy contributes to understanding the BBA's treatment and offers a potentially optimal treatment for BBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In heavy rain situations, the clarity of both human vision and computer vision is significantly reduced. Rain removal GAN-based networks have been proposed as a means of resolving this problem. However, such methods have only a limited effectiveness in improving the object detection accuracy. Accordingly, this study commences by analyzing the object detection performance before and after rain removal, respectively. We propose an integrated framework for improving the object detection performance in heavy rain images based on the analysis results. The experimental results show that the proposed framework yields an improved IoU and reduces the error rate compared with existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study aims to investigate the serum levels of anti-nucleosome antibody (ANuA) isotypes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and clarify ANuA isotypes that may diagnose and predict SLE. We detected anti-nucleosome antibodies (ANuA) in the serum from 120 patients with SLE, 99 patients suffering from other autoimmune diseases (OAD), and 50 healthy controls by performing IgG-, IgA-, and IgM-specific ELISAs. The serum levels of total anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA IgG), ANuA IgG subclasses (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4), anti-dsDNA antibodies, and the avidities of ANA IgG were also analysed using ELISAs. The levels of three ANuA isotypes (IgG, IgA, and IgM) were significantly higher in patients with SLE than in patients with OAD and healthy controls (p < 0.05). Moreover, the concentrations of ANuA isotypes increased in the active SLE and lupus nephritis (LN) groups and in patients with SLE presenting high-avidity IgG ANA (p < 0.05). Furthermore, ANuA isotype levels decreased significantly with drug therapy, while anti-dsDNA IgG levels decreased with the same trend. Additionally, ANuA isotypes were positively related to the SLEDAI (SLE Disease Activity Index) score, RAI (relative avidity index) of high-avidity IgG ANAs, and serum anti-dsDNA IgG levels. Last, the sensitivity and specificity values for SLE were 83.33 and 96.67% for ANuA IgG, 85.83 and 93.33% for ANuA IgA, and83.33 and 86.67% for ANuA IgM, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity values for LN were 61.67 and 96.67% for ANuA IgG, 49.17 and 96.67% for ANuA IgA, and 52.50 and 96.67% for ANuA IgM, respectively. In conclusion, we evaluated whether ANuA isotypes represent a diagnostic tool to predict SLE activity and define subsets of patients with LN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this manuscript, we study the non-Hermitian spin-1/2 XY model in the presence of the alternating, imaginary and transverse magnetic fields. For the two-site spin system, we solve exactly the energy spectrum and phase diagram and also calculate the ground-state and thermal entanglements by using the concept of the concurrence. It is found that the two-site concurrence in the eigenstate which only depends on the imaginary magnetic field η is always equal to one in the region of P T symmetry, while it decreases with η in the P T -symmetric broken region; especially, the first derivative of concurrence shows the non-analytic behavior at the exceptional point, and the same is true in the case of the biorthogonal basis, which indicates that the concurrence can characterize the phase transition in this non-Hermitian system. The interesting thing is that η weakens the thermal entanglement when the system is isotropic and enhances the entanglement when the system belongs to the Ising universality class. For the one-dimensional spin chain, the magnetization and entanglement are further studied by using the two-spin cluster mean-field approximation. The results show that their variations have opposite trends with the magnetic fields. Moreover, the system exists the first-order quantum phase transitions for some anisotropic parameters in the P T -symmetry region, and the entanglement changes suddenly at the quantum phase transition point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal spoilage of postharvest grains poses serious problems with respect to food safety, human health, and the economic value of grains. The protection of cereal grains from deleterious fungi is a critical aim in postharvest grain management. Considering the bulk volume of grain piles in warehouses or bins and food safety, fumigation with natural gaseous fungicides is a promising strategy to control fungal contamination on postharvest grains. Increasing research has focused on the antifungal properties of biogenic volatiles. This review summarizes the literature related to the effects of biogenic volatiles from microbes and plants on spoilage fungi on postharvest grains and highlights the underlying antifungal mechanisms. Key areas for additional research on fumigation with biogenic volatiles in postharvest grains are noted. The research described in this review supports the protective effects of biogenic volatiles against grain spoilage by fungi, providing a basis for their expanded application in the management of postharvest grains. Key points: • Biogenic volatile compounds with inhibitory effects against fungi on postharvest grains are reviewed. • Mechanisms underlying antifungal effects of biogenic volatiles are discussed. • Biogenic volatiles have promising applications for the prevention of postharvest grain spoilage by fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large to middle-sized magmatic Ni–Cu sulfide deposits are spatially situated in the eastern portion of Eastern Tianshan, whereas those in the western portion have been poorly understood due to their quantity and scale. The Haibaotan Ni–Cu sulfide occurrence is newly discovered in the western portion of Eastern Tianshan, which provides an opportunity for understanding how its magmatic conduit system was generated and evolved. The Haibaotan mafic–ultramafic intrusion is dominated by peridotite, pyroxenite, olivine gabbro, and gabbro, and sulfide orebodies occur mainly within gabbro. Gabbro from the Haibaotan intrusion is dated at 315.5 ± 1.9 Ma, which suggests that the Haibaotan intrusion is generated in a subduction evironment. The age is much earlier than the emplacement of other mineralized mafic–ultramafic intrusions (~ 280 Ma) in Eastern Tianshan. High zircon εHf(t) values (+ 7.09 to + 18.44) indicate that the parental magmas of the Haibaotan intrusion have been derived from a metasomatized mantle source. Additionally, mafic–ultramafic rocks in the Haibaotan intrusion exhibit enrichment of large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare earth elements (LREE), together with a depletion of Zr, Ti, and Nb, which is indicative of a subduction-modified mantle source. Core–rim variations of olivine forsterite (Fo) and Ni contents imply that the Haibaotan intrusion resulted from successive magma pulses, and the variable PGE tenors reflect that the sulfide droplets scavenged metals from multiple magma pulses. The low Se/S ratios of sulfide mineralization suggest that the addition of crustal sulfur triggered sulfide segregation in the shallow magma conduit system. The evolution history of the Haibaotan magma conduit system meets the requirements for generating a magmatic Ni–Cu deposit. This study highlights that the subduction environments are favorable for the formation of magmatic sulfide deposits in Eastern Tianshan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is an emerging enterovirus that can cause neurological complications. Enhanced serum IL-1β levels were observed in EV-A71 patients with severe neurological symptoms. However, the roles of sensors in enterovirus-induced IL-1β production are unclear. In this study, we identified that pattern recognition receptors, including RIG-I, TLR3, and TLR8, are implicated in EV-A71-triggered IL-1β release in human macrophages. EV-A71 infection results in caspase-1 and caspase-8, which act as regulators of EV-A71-induced NLRP3 and RIG-I inflammasome activation. Moreover, knockdown of the expression of TLR3 and TLR8 decreased the released IL-1β in an NLRP3-dependent manner. Since TLR3 and TLR8 ligands promote NLRP3 inflammasome activation via caspase-8, the alternative pathway may be involved. In summary, these results indicate that activation of the NLRP3 and RIG-I inflammasomes in EV-A71-infected macrophages is mediated by caspase-1 and caspase-8 and affected by TLRs, including TLR3 and TLR8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the miniaturization and electrification of heavy vehicles, this paper innovatively puts forward a two-speed transmission device equiped with electrically controlled toothed band brakes. The dynamic models of the planetary gear and toothed band brake are derived, and the shift strategy is established to achieve the optimal dynamic performance. Moreover, the gearshift characteristics under different working parameters are studied to verify its feasibility. The results demonstrate that the toothed band brake has a short braking time and contributes to good shift performance, thus has potential for application. The effect of synchronous speed and actuator speed on shift performance is also analyzed. The increase of both speeds is beneficial to speed up the shift time, but lead to increased shift impact. The application of such a brake offers the possibility of full-electric and lightweight for electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleo-reconstructing the tectonic framework of an accretionary orogen is inherently difficult. The spatio-temporal occurrence and petrogenetic process of magmatic rocks originating from accretionary prism can provide insights into understanding the evolution of accretionary orogenesis. The North Tianshan Belt of the Eastern Tianshan consists of the Dananhu and Yamansu arcs and the in-between Kanggur ductile shear zone. However, it is still debated whether the arc-basin system in the Eastern Tianshan was generated by the bipolar subduction of the Kanggur Ocean or the southward subduction of the Junggar Ocean. Herein, we synthesized new and published geochronological and geochemical data of Carboniferous alkalic intrusive rocks in the Kanggur ductile shear zone to reconstruct the tectonic framework of the Eastern Tianshan. The suite of alkalic intrusive rocks is characterized by porphyritic texture, and phenocrysts consist of K-feldspar, quartz and albite. These alkalic rocks (K2O = 4.91–11.30 wt%) are enriched in large ion lithophile elements (Rb = 201 ± 66 ppm, Ba = 1683 ± 823 ppm) and possess high Rb/Sr ratios (10.75 ± 8.35) and K/Na ratios (36.0 ± 15.8). Combined with relatively evolved Sr–Nd–Hf–O isotopic compositions (εNd(t) = + 1.8 ± 1.2, εHf(t) = + 6.6 ± 1.5, δ18O = 6.3 ± 0.3‰) and intimate geochemical affiliation with the Kushui Formation accretionary complexes, we suggest an origin from anatexis of accretionary complexes for this suite of alkalic rocks. Relatively high zircon saturation temperatures (761 ± 23 ℃) of these alkalic rocks indicated geothermal disturbance, which is caused by corner flow of asthenosphere resulting from slab rollback. According to the geochemical variation of arc-related granitoid rocks in the Eastern Tianshan and N-trending Kanggur accretionary complexes, we suggested that long-lived bipolar accretion-subduction of the Kanggur Ocean gave rise to the accretionary prism of the Dananhu and Yamansu arcs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a hot stage microscope, thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), and a scanning electron microscope were used to study the role of carbonaceous materials in mold powder and their influence on the melting process. It was found that carbon black has a good isolation effect in mold powder. It delayed the solid-state reaction between the raw materials and increased the softening and hemispherical temperatures of the mold powder. Moreover, the steric hindrance effect of carbon black led to the formation of irregular 2CaO·SiO2 crystals in the solid-state reaction and a significant increase in the flow temperature that exceeded the 30 ℃ error limit of the current standard. The TG-DSC thermal analysis shows that during the heating process of mold powder with 15% graphite, the exothermic combustion of graphite accelerated the decomposition reaction of Na2CO3 and Li2CO3, promoted the melting of mold powder, and decreased the softening and hemispherical temperatures. However, the decrease was smaller than 30 ℃, and there was no need to decarbonize the carbon before the melting range test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumefactive demyelinating lesion (TDL) is an immune-mediated disease which can be misdiagnosed as glioma. At present, there is no study comparing difference between the two disorders at the cellular level. Here, we perform integrative and comparative single-cell RNA sequencing (ScRNA-seq) transcriptomic analysis on TDL and glioma lesions. At single-cell resolution, TDL is comprised primarily of immune cells, which is completely different from glioma. The integrated analysis reveals a TDL-specific microglial subset involving in B cell activation and proliferation. Comparative analysis highlights remyelination function of glial cells and demyelination function of T cells in TDL. Subclustering and pseudotime trajectory analysis of T cells in TDL reveal their heterogeneity and diverse functions involving in TDL pathogenesis and recovery process. Our study identifies substantial differences between TDL and glioma at single-cell resolution. The observed heterogeneity and potentially diverse functions of cells in TDL may be critical in disease progression. Integrative and comparative single-cell analysis reveals transcriptomic difference between human tumefactive demyelinating lesion and glioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an idiopathic chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The effect of current therapy is far from satisfactory; therefore, it is necessary to develop new UC therapeutic strategies. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 21 (LAB 21) has a protective effect in UC. We investigated the underlying mechanisms of action of LAB 21 using UC rat models established by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. The results showed that LAB 21 administration reduced the disease activity index, macroscopic scoring, and histopathological damage scores in UC rats. UC rats had up-regulated levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-17A, and an increased percentage of T helper 17 (Th17) cells, while LAB 21 treatment inhibited the up-regulation of inflammatory cytokines level and Th17 cell proportion. Moreover, LAB 21 administration attenuated the decrease of E-cadherin, ZO-1, and Occludin proteins in UC rats, and inhibited toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression and nuclear factor (NF)-κB nuclear translocation. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that LAB 21 exerts a protective effect in UC rats by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and inflammatory response, down-regulating the proportion of Th17 cells, and reducing intestinal permeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Evaluation of the Relative Tectonic Activity from the Faults in the Gengma-Lancang-Menghai Seismic Belt (Southwestern China)" published in the Journal of Earth Science. The correction addresses an error in the presentation of an author's name, providing the correct version. The article was authored by Dan Wang, Youpu Dong, Zhipeng Xie, Dongyue Zhang, Jiaxin Duan, Huayu Yu, and Liang Yu from the Faculty of Land Resource Engineering at Kunming University of Science and Technology in China. The corrected version of the article can be found online. [Extracted from the article]

A comprehensive numerical model was proposed to investigate the disengaging process of a wet multi-disc clutch, which included the hydrodynamic lubrication, the micro elastic-plastic contact, the spline resistance, and the impact between the piston and clutch hub. The clutch disengaging process was divided into the boundary, mixed, and hydrodynamic lubrication stages to discuss the variations in friction pair gaps and friction torque. Moreover, the nonuniformity coefficient was employed to characterize the disengaging uniformity of friction pair gaps. During the disengaging process, the friction pair gaps increased slowly, increased rapidly, and stabilized after fluctuating. The increase in spline friction coefficient and the decline in pressure decrease rate dramatically deteriorated the disengaging uniformity; the decline in pressure decrease rate also significantly prolonged the disengaging time. This research demonstrated for the first time evidence for the dynamic characteristics of the clutch disengaging process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automatic segmentation of the lung region for chest X-ray (CXR) can help doctors diagnose many lung diseases. However, extreme lung shape changes and fuzzy lung regions caused by serious lung diseases may incorrectly make the automatic lung segmentation model. We improved the U-Net network by using the pre-training Efficientnet-b4 as the encoder and the Residual block and the LeakyReLU activation function in the decoder. The network can extract Lung field features efficiently and avoid the gradient instability caused by the multiplication effect in gradient backpropagation. Compared with the traditional U-Net model, our method improves about 2.5% dice coefficient and 6% Jaccard Index for the two benchmark lung segmentation datasets. Our model improves about 5% dice coefficient and 9% Jaccard Index for the private lung segmentation datasets compared with the traditional U-Net model. Comparative experiments show that our method can improve the accuracy of lung segmentation of CXR images and it has a lower standard deviation and good robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial polyynes are highly active natural products with a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. However, their detailed mechanism of action remains unclear. By integrating comparative genomics, transcriptomics, functional genetics, and metabolomics analysis, we identified a unique polyyne resistance gene, masL (encoding acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase), in the biosynthesis gene cluster of antifungal polyynes (massilin A 1, massilin B 2, collimonin C 3, and collimonin D 4) of Massilia sp. YMA4. Crystallographic analysis indicated that bacterial polyynes serve as covalent inhibitors of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase. Moreover, we confirmed that the bacterial polyynes disrupted cell membrane integrity and inhibited the cell viability of Candida albicans by targeting ERG10, the homolog of MasL. Thus, this study demonstrated that acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase is a potential target for developing antifungal agents. In a multi-omics analysis, bacterial polyynes are found to act as antifungal agents by inhibiting the Candida albicans polyyne resistance gene ERG10, the homolog of MasL encoding acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method for characterizing fiber bending flexibility was developed by worm-like chain model proposed by Kratky-Porod,[1] which was first introduced to the pulp and paper field in this study. For the three types of pulps, the experimental results were compared with the KP chain model, and the resulting determination coefficients were all above 0.95, which proved that the model was feasible to be applied to these three fibers. The relation between fiber bending rigidity and that of cellulosic chains inside was discussed to deduce the fiber bending flexibility. The flexibility of an individual fiber can be approximated as the contribution of that of all the cellulose chains inside. By this method, the fiber flexibility values were determined to be in the range of 0.6×1011−3.5×1011 N−1·m−2, which was comparable to that of the conventional methods recorded in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the bleeding sites and their relationship with clinical characteristics in hospitalized epistaxis patients.We retrospectively reviewed the data of 646 hospitalized epistaxis patients.The bleeding sites were identified in 395 (61.1%) patients and unidentified in 251 (38.9%). We found that age > 50 years (P = 0.030) and the history of cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.027) were more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. Among patients with identified sites, inferior meatus (n = 130, 32.9%) was the most common site, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region (n = 102, 25.8%), nasal septum (n = 80, 20.3%), middle meatus (n = 60, 15.2%), and others (n = 23, 5.8%). After dividing patients into five groups by the area of the bleeding sites, we found significant differences in age (P = 0.026), history of hypertension (P = 0.001), cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.032), and nasal packing (P = 0.011). The logistic regression also revealed that these four factors were predictors for different bleeding sites.The bleeding sites can be identified in most epistaxis patients. Age > 50 years and the history of cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. In our patients, the most common bleeding site is inferior meatus, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region, nasal septum, and middle meatus. Age, histories of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and nasal packing are factors associated with the bleeding risks of different bleeding sites. According to the different clinical characteristics of patients, the order of the nasal endoscopic examination should be adjusted to develop their treatment plans.Methods: This study aims to investigate the bleeding sites and their relationship with clinical characteristics in hospitalized epistaxis patients.We retrospectively reviewed the data of 646 hospitalized epistaxis patients.The bleeding sites were identified in 395 (61.1%) patients and unidentified in 251 (38.9%). We found that age > 50 years (P = 0.030) and the history of cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.027) were more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. Among patients with identified sites, inferior meatus (n = 130, 32.9%) was the most common site, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region (n = 102, 25.8%), nasal septum (n = 80, 20.3%), middle meatus (n = 60, 15.2%), and others (n = 23, 5.8%). After dividing patients into five groups by the area of the bleeding sites, we found significant differences in age (P = 0.026), history of hypertension (P = 0.001), cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.032), and nasal packing (P = 0.011). The logistic regression also revealed that these four factors were predictors for different bleeding sites.The bleeding sites can be identified in most epistaxis patients. Age > 50 years and the history of cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. In our patients, the most common bleeding site is inferior meatus, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region, nasal septum, and middle meatus. Age, histories of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and nasal packing are factors associated with the bleeding risks of different bleeding sites. According to the different clinical characteristics of patients, the order of the nasal endoscopic examination should be adjusted to develop their treatment plans.Results: This study aims to investigate the bleeding sites and their relationship with clinical characteristics in hospitalized epistaxis patients.We retrospectively reviewed the data of 646 hospitalized epistaxis patients.The bleeding sites were identified in 395 (61.1%) patients and unidentified in 251 (38.9%). We found that age > 50 years (P = 0.030) and the history of cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.027) were more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. Among patients with identified sites, inferior meatus (n = 130, 32.9%) was the most common site, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region (n = 102, 25.8%), nasal septum (n = 80, 20.3%), middle meatus (n = 60, 15.2%), and others (n = 23, 5.8%). After dividing patients into five groups by the area of the bleeding sites, we found significant differences in age (P = 0.026), history of hypertension (P = 0.001), cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.032), and nasal packing (P = 0.011). The logistic regression also revealed that these four factors were predictors for different bleeding sites.The bleeding sites can be identified in most epistaxis patients. Age > 50 years and the history of cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. In our patients, the most common bleeding site is inferior meatus, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region, nasal septum, and middle meatus. Age, histories of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and nasal packing are factors associated with the bleeding risks of different bleeding sites. According to the different clinical characteristics of patients, the order of the nasal endoscopic examination should be adjusted to develop their treatment plans.Conclusion: This study aims to investigate the bleeding sites and their relationship with clinical characteristics in hospitalized epistaxis patients.We retrospectively reviewed the data of 646 hospitalized epistaxis patients.The bleeding sites were identified in 395 (61.1%) patients and unidentified in 251 (38.9%). We found that age > 50 years (P = 0.030) and the history of cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.027) were more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. Among patients with identified sites, inferior meatus (n = 130, 32.9%) was the most common site, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region (n = 102, 25.8%), nasal septum (n = 80, 20.3%), middle meatus (n = 60, 15.2%), and others (n = 23, 5.8%). After dividing patients into five groups by the area of the bleeding sites, we found significant differences in age (P = 0.026), history of hypertension (P = 0.001), cardiovascular diseases (P = 0.032), and nasal packing (P = 0.011). The logistic regression also revealed that these four factors were predictors for different bleeding sites.The bleeding sites can be identified in most epistaxis patients. Age > 50 years and the history of cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in patients with unidentified bleeding sites. In our patients, the most common bleeding site is inferior meatus, followed by the septal surface of the olfactory region, nasal septum, and middle meatus. Age, histories of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and nasal packing are factors associated with the bleeding risks of different bleeding sites. According to the different clinical characteristics of patients, the order of the nasal endoscopic examination should be adjusted to develop their treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is a genetic and progressive neuromuscular disease caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene with no available cure. A case report and comprehensive review of BMD cases aim to provide important clues for early diagnosis and implications for clinical practice. Genes and pathways identified from microarray data of muscle samples from patients with BMD help uncover the potential mechanism and provide novel therapeutic targets for dystrophin-deficient muscular dystrophies. Methods: We describe a BMD family with a 10-year-old boy as the proband and reviewed BMD cases from PubMed. Datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database were downloaded and integrated with the online software. Results: The systematic review revealed the clinical manifestations and mutation points of the dystrophin gene. Gene ontology analysis showed that extracellular matrix organization and extracellular structure organization with enrichment of upregulated genes coexist in three datasets. We present the first report of TUBA1A involvement in the development of BMD/Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Discussion: This study provides important implications for clinical practice, uncovering the potential mechanism of the progress of BMD/DMD, and provided new therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we modify the traditional Brusselator model to incorporate the intermolecular interactions, based on which a systematic study is performed on the pattern formation mediated by chemical reaction and phase separation. It is found that if the chemical reaction dominates, the pattern formation will be inhibited by the phase separation while if the phase separation dominates, the chemical reaction will prevent, under certain conditions, the domain size from growing which results in dissipative patterns other than macroscopic phase separations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]