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Studying how the black hole (BH)–(galaxy) bulge mass relation evolves with redshift provides valuable insights into the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. However, obtaining accurate measurement of BH masses is challenging due to the bias towards the most massive and luminous galaxies. Instead, we focus on the BH and bulge masses as they vary with redshift using the EAGLE, Illustris, TNG100, TNG300, Horizon-AGN, and SIMBA large-scale cosmological simulations. We use an analytical astrophysical model with galaxy stellar mass function, pair fraction, merger time-scale and BH–bulge mass relation extended to include redshift evolution. The model can predict the intensity of the gravitational wave background (GWB) produced by a population of supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) as a function of the frequency. This allows us to compare the predictions of this model with the constraints of pulsar timing array observations. Here, we employ Bayesian analysis for the parameter inference. We find that all six simulations are consistent |$\le 3.5\sigma$| with a range of simulated GWB spectra. By fixing the BH–bulge mass parameters to the simulations we analyse the changes in the constraints on the other astrophysical parameters. Furthermore, we also examine the variation in SMBHB merger rate with mass and redshift between these large-scale simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road networks are essential elements of a community's infrastructure and need regular inspection. Present practice requires traffic interruptions and safety risks for inspectors. The road detection system based on vehicle-mounted lasers is also quite mature, offering advantages such as high-precision defect detection, high automation, and fast detection speed. However, it does have drawbacks such as high equipment procurement and maintenance costs, limited flexibility, and insufficient coverage range. Therefore, this paper proposes a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based alternative using imagery for automatic road pavement inspection focusing on pothole detection and classification. A slicing-based method, entitled the Pavement Pothole Detection Algorithm, is applied to the imagery after it is converted into a three-dimensional point cloud. When compared with manually extracted results, the proposed UAV-structure-from-motion (SfM) method and the associated algorithm achieved 0.01 m level accuracy for pothole depth detection and maximum errors of 0.0053 m3 in volume evaluation for cases studies of both a road and a bridge deck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmosphere modelling applications become increasingly memory-bound due to the inconsistent development rates between processor speeds and memory bandwidth. In this study, we mitigate memory bottlenecks and reduce the computational load of the GRIST dynamical core by adopting the mixed-precision computing strategy. Guided by a limited-degree of iterative development principle, we identify the equation terms that are precision insensitive and modify them from double- to single-precision. The results show that most precision-sensitive terms are predominantly linked to pressure-gradient and gravity terms, while most precision-insensitive terms are advective terms. The computational cost is reduced without compromising the solver accuracy. The runtime of the model's hydrostatic solver, non-hydrostatic solver, and tracer transport solver is reduced by 24 %, 27 %, and 44 %, respectively. A series of idealized tests, real-world weather and climate modelling tests, has been performed to assess the optimized model performance qualitatively and quantitatively. In particular, in the high-resolution weather forecast simulation, the model sensitivity to the precision level is mainly dominated by the small-scale features. While in long-term climate simulation, the precision-induced sensitivity can form at the large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon replication fork stalling, the RPA-coated single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) formed behind the fork activates the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase, concomitantly initiating Rad18-dependent monoubiquitination of PCNA. However, whether crosstalk exists between these two events and the underlying physiological implications of this interplay remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrate that during replication stress, ATR phosphorylates human Rad18 at Ser403, an adjacent residue to a previously unidentified PIP motif (PCNA-interacting peptide) within Rad18. This phosphorylation event disrupts the interaction between Rad18 and PCNA, thereby restricting the extent of Rad18-mediated PCNA monoubiquitination. Consequently, excessive accumulation of the tumor suppressor protein SLX4, now characterized as a novel reader of ubiquitinated PCNA, at stalled forks is prevented, contributing to the prevention of stalled fork collapse. We further establish that ATR preserves telomere stability in alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) cells by restricting Rad18-mediated PCNA monoubiquitination and excessive SLX4 accumulation at telomeres. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between ATR activation, Rad18-dependent PCNA monoubiquitination, and SLX4-associated stalled fork processing, emphasizing the critical role of ATR in preserving replication fork stability and facilitating telomerase-independent telomere maintenance. Synopsis: The exact molecular interplay between ATR activation and Rad18-dependent PCNA monoubiquitination, along with the broader physiological implications of this interaction, remain unclear. This study reveals that ATR restricts Rad18-mediated PCNA monoubiquitination to maintain replication fork and telomerase-independent telomere stability. ATR phosphorylates human Rad18 at Serine 403 in response to replication stress. ATR restrains excessive SLX4 accumulation at stalled forks by phosphorylating Rad18. SLX4 recognizes monoubiquitinated PCNA to promote fork collapse. ATR preserves telomere stability in ALT cells by restricting Rad18-mediated PCNA monoubiquitination and excessive SLX4 accumulation at telomeres. Replication stress induced phosphorylation of Rad18 restrains excessive SLX4 nuclease accumulation at stalled forks and ALT telomeres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation has accompanied human beings since the emergence of wounds and infections. In the past decades, numerous efforts have been undertaken to explore the potential role of inflammation in cancer, from tumor development, invasion, and metastasis to the resistance of tumors to treatment. Inflammation-targeted agents not only demonstrate the potential to suppress cancer development, but also to improve the efficacy of other therapeutic modalities. In this review, we describe the highly dynamic and complex inflammatory tumor microenvironment, with discussion on key inflammation mediators in cancer including inflammatory cells, inflammatory cytokines, and their downstream intracellular pathways. In addition, we especially address the role of inflammation in cancer development and highlight the action mechanisms of inflammation-targeted therapies in antitumor response. Finally, we summarize the results from both preclinical and clinical studies up to date to illustrate the translation potential of inflammation-targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of pulsed magnets capable of generating magnetic fields exceeding 100 Tesla has been recognized as a crucial pursuit for advancing the scientific research on high magnetic fields. However, the operation of magnets at ultra-high magnetic fields often leads to accidental failures at their ends, necessitating a comprehensive exploration of the underlying mechanisms. To this end, this study investigates, for the first time, the mechanical behaviors of Zylon fiber-reinforced polymers (ZFRPs) within pulsed magnets from a composite perspective. The study begins with mechanical testing of ZFRPs, followed by the development of its constitutive model, which incorporates the plasticity and progressive damage. Subsequently, in-depth analyses are performed on a 95-T double-coil prototype that experienced a failure. The outcomes reveal a notable reduction of approximately 45% in both the radial and axial stiffness of ZFRPs, and the primary reason for the failure is traced to the damage incurred by the end ZFRPs of the inner magnet. The projected failure field closely aligns with the experiment. Additionally, two other magnet systems, achieving 90.6 T and 94.88 T, are analyzed. Finally, the discussion delves into the impact of transverse mechanical strength of the reinforcement and axial Lorentz forces on the structural performance of magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate structural analyses of continuous fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are imperative for diverse engineering applications, demanding efficient material constitutive models. Nonetheless, the constitutive modeling of FRPs is complicated by the nonlinear behavior resulting from internal damages and the inherent plasticity. Consequently, this study presents an innovative anisotropic constitutive model for FRPs, designed to adeptly capture both the damage evolution and plasticity. All requisite parameters can be easily obtained through fundamental mechanical tests, rendering the model practical and user-friendly. The model utilizes the three-dimensional Puck criteria to determine damages, initiating the evolution process through a combination of continuum damage mechanics and linear stiffness attenuation methods. This evolution is coupled with a one-parameter plastic model. Subsequently, the numerical implementation method, integrated into ANSYS, is detailed. This emphasizes the Cauchy stress and consistent tangent stiffness solution strategy. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed model is demonstrated through comprehensive verification, encompassing existing biaxial tension and open-hole-tension tests conducted on carbon and glass FRP laminates. The simulation results exhibit a remarkable correspondence with the experimental data, validating the reliability and accuracy of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease mainly involving the damage of articular cartilage and the whole articular tissue, which is the main cause of disability in the elderly. To explore more effective treatment measures, this study analyzed the regulatory role and molecular mechanism of lncRNA LINC00665 (LINC00665) in the chondrogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), providing a valuable theoretical basis for the pathogenesis and patient treatment of osteoarthritis. Methods: Osteoarthritis tissues and healthy tissues were obtained from 52 patients with osteoarthritis and 34 amputated patients without osteoarthritis, and the levels of LINC00665 and miR-214-3p were assessed by RT-qPCR. BMSCs were cultured and induced chondrogenic differentiation. The proliferation ability of BMSCs was detected by CCK-8 method, and the apoptosis level of BMSCs was evaluated by flow cytometry. The content of proteoglycan-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in cartilage matrix was determined by Alcian blue staining. In addition, the binding relationship between LINC00665 and miR-214-3p was verified by luciferase reporter assay, and the molecular mechanism was further analyzed. Results: In osteoarthritis tissues, LINC00665 was elevated and miR-214-3p was down-regulated. With the chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs, the level of GAG increased, and LINC00665 expression gradually decreased, while miR-214-3p level was on the contrary. After transfection of pcDNA3.1-LINC00665 in BMSCs, cell proliferation capacity was decreased, apoptosis rate was increased, and GAG content was reduced. Moreover, LINC00665 sponged miR-214-3p and negatively regulate its expression. Transfection of pcDNA3.1-LINC00665-miR-214-3p mimic changed the regulation of pcDNA3.1-LINC00665 on the viability and chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Conclusions: Overexpression of lncRNA LINC00665 inhibited the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of BMSCs by targeting miR-214-3p. The LINC00665/miR-214-3p axis may improve joint damage and alleviate the progression of osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Steroid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head (SANFH) is characterized by osteoblast apoptosis, leading to a loss of bone structure and impaired hip joint function. It has been demonstrated that erythropoietin (EPO) performs a number of biological roles. Objective: We examined the effects of EPO on SANFH and its regulation of the STAT1-caspase 3 signaling pathway. Method: In vitro, osteoblasts were treated with dexamethasone (Dex) or EPO. We identified the cytotoxicity of EPO by CCK-8, the protein expression of P-STAT1, cleaved-caspase9, cleaved-caspase3, Bcl-2, BAX, and cytochrome c by Western blotting, and evaluated the apoptosis of osteoblasts by flow cytometry. In vivo, we analyzed the protective effect of EPO against SANFH by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Immunohistochemical staining, and Micro-computed tomography (CT). Results: In vitro, EPO had no apparent toxic effect on osteoblasts. In Dex-stimulated cells, EPO therapy lowered the protein expression of BAX, cytochrome c, p-STAT1, cleaved-caspase9, and cleaved-caspase3 while increasing the expression of Bcl-2. EPO can alleviate the apoptosis induced by Dex. In vivo, EPO can lower the percentage of empty bone lacunae in SANFH rats. Conclusion: The present study shows that EPO conferred beneficial effects in rats with SANFH by inhibiting STAT1-caspase 3 signaling, suggesting that EPO may be developed as a treatment for SANFH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imagery from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can be used to generate three-dimensional (3D) point cloud models. However, final data quality is impacted by the flight altitude, camera angle, overlap rate, and data processing strategies. Typically, both overview images and redundant close-range images are collected, which significantly increases the data collection and processing time. To investigate the relationship between input resources and output quality, a suite of seven metrics is proposed including total points, average point density, uniformity, yield rate, coverage, geometry accuracy, and time efficiency. When applied in the field to a full-scale structure, the UAV altitude and camera angle most strongly affected data density and uniformity. A 66% overlapping was needed for successful 3D reconstruction. Conducting multiple flight paths improved local geometric accuracy better than increasing the overlapping rate. The highest coverage was achieved at 77% due to the formation of semi-irregular gridded gaps between point groups as an artefact of the Structure from Motion process. No single set of flight parameters was optimal for every data collection goal. Hence, understanding flight path parameter impacts is crucial to optimal UAV data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis remains a major challenge owing to its severe adverse effects and high mortality, against which specific pharmacological interventions with high efficacy are limited. Mitigation of hyperactive inflammatory responses is a key factor in enhancing the likelihood of survival in patients with sepsis. The Aloe genus has several health benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties. The toxicological implications of aloe-emodin (AE), extracted from various Aloe species, remain uncertain in clinical contexts. However, AE has been shown to inhibit inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide-induced mice, indicating its potential as a therapeutic approach for sepsis treatment. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of data regarding the therapeutic benefits of AE in the widely recognized cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis model, which is commonly used as the gold standard model for sepsis research. This study demonstrates the potential benefits of AE in the treatment of CLP-induced sepsis and investigates its underlying mechanism, along with the efficacy of postoperative AE treatment in mice with CLP-induced sepsis. The results of this study suggest that AE can mitigate sepsis in mice by diminishing systemic inflammation and regulating the gut microbiota. The study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of AE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the stratum corneum barrier, resveratrol is difficult to be absorbed transdermally, limiting its anti-aging and skin-brightening effects. Furthermore, there is a lack of systematic studies on the efficacy of resveratrol in human skin, especially in three-dimensional skin models and clinical trials. To overcome the low transdermal delivery issue, we encapsulated resveratrol into nanoliposomes using the high-pressure homogenization method to develop an efficient transdermal drug delivery system, and systematically evaluated its anti-aging and skin-brightening efficacy via cell line models, a three-dimensional skin model and human skin. The resveratrol nanoliposomes effectively improved the transdermal penetration and retention of resveratrol and enhanced cellular uptake. In addition, compared to free resveratrol, resveratrol nanoliposomes remarkably enhanced the skin-care effects by promoting the antioxidant capacity and collagen synthesis, inhibiting the secretion of matrix metalloproteinases, tyrosine activity and melanin synthesis. Notably, human clinical trials proved the anti-wrinkle and skin-brightening effectiveness of resveratrol nanoliposomes. Three levels of systematic studies indicated that resveratrol nanoliposomes could be a promising transdermal drug delivery system to enhance the anti-aging and skin-brightening effects of resveratrol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold damage is one of the most important environmental factors influencing crop growth, development, and production. In this study, we generated a pair of near-isogenic lines (NILs), Towada and ZL31, and Towada showed more cold sensitivity than ZL31 in the rice seedling stage. To explore the transcriptional regulation mechanism and the reason for phenotypic divergence of the two lines in response to cold stress, an in-depth comparative transcriptome study under cold stress was carried out. Our analysis uncovered that rapid and high-amplitude transcriptional reprogramming occurred in the early stage of cold treatment. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis indicated that genes of the response to stress, environmental adaptation, signal transduction, metabolism, photosynthesis, and the MAPK signaling pathway might form the main part of the engine for transcriptional reprogramming in response to cold stress. Furthermore, we identified four core genes, OsWRKY24, OsCAT2, OsJAZ9, and OsRR6, that were potential candidates affecting the cold sensitivity of Towada and ZL31. Genome re-sequencing analysis between the two lines revealed that only OsWRKY24 contained sequence variations which may change its transcript abundance. Our study not only provides novel insights into the cold-related transcriptional reprogramming process, but also highlights the potential candidates involved in cold stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to evaluate the dynamic expression of lncRNA NORAD in fracture healing of patients with brittle fractures and explore the function and mechanism of NORAD in regulating osteoblastic proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The expression level of NORAD was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. The proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of osteoblasts were analyzed by MTT assay, ELISA, and flow cytometry. Luciferase report analysis was used to confirm the interaction between NORAD and its target ceRNA miR-26a. This study showed no significant differences in serum NORAD expression on the 7th day during fracture healing in patients, but increased expression of NORAD was certified on the 14, 21, and 28 days after fixation. Overexpression of NORAD promoted the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and suppressed the apoptosis of osteoblasts. miR-26a proved to be the target gene of NORAD and was inhibited by overexpression of NORAD in osteoblasts. The enhanced expression of miR-26a was negatively linked to the lessened expression of NORAD. NORAD could accelerate the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and inhibit apoptosis, thereby promoting fracture healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2 and CUC2) is a large gene family of plant-specific transcription factors that play a pivotal role in various physiological processes and abiotic stresses. Due to the lack of genome-wide characterization, intraspecific and interspecific synteny, and drought-responsive expression pattern of NAC genes in poplar, the functional characterization of drought-related NAC genes have been scarcely reported in Populus species. Here, we identified a total of 170 NAC domain-containing genes in the P. trichocarpa genome, 169 of which were unevenly distributed on its nineteen chromosomes. These NAC genes were phylogenetically divided into twenty subgroups, some of which exhibited a similar pattern of exon–intron architecture. The synteny and Ka/Ks analysis indicated that the expansion of NAC genes in poplar was mainly due to gene duplication events occurring before and after the divergence of Populus and Salix. Ten PdNAC (P. deltoids × P. euramericana cv.'Nanlin895') genes were randomly selected and cloned. Their drought-responsive expression profiles showed a tissue-specific pattern. The transcription factor PdNAC013 was verified to be localized in the nucleus. Our research results provide genomic information for the expansion of NAC genes in the poplar genome, and for further characterizing putative poplar NAC genes associated with water-deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GIMAPs are recognized as an important regulator in the carcinogenesis and development of lung cancer, but the function of GIMAP4 in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of lung cancers is unclear. In this study, we investigated the expression and variation of GIMAP4 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), to explore its association with infiltration of immune cells. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data were analyzed. Infiltration of immune cells was identified with TIMER (Tumor Immune Estimation Resource) and TISIDB (an integrated repository portal for tumor-immune system interactions). GIMAP4 expression declined in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), correlated with a poor overall survival (OS) in LUAD, indicating that GIMAP4 was a promising prognostic biomarker in LUAD. GIMAP4 mutation frequency was 1.76% in TCGA cohort and was relevant to the expression of immune components. TIMER and CIBERSORT analysis further confirmed that high GIMAP4 expression possibly promoted immune cell infiltration into the TME, with low GIMAP4 impairing the efficacy of immunotherapies targeting common immune check point inhibitors (ICI). GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analyses were performed to provide insights into biological processes involved in LUAD. GIMAP4 was expected to be a prognostic biomarker in LUAD and provides potential adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapeutic strategies for targeting ICIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proppant is an essential material in hydraulic fracturing, and it can support artificial fractures for a long time. However, few people have applied proppant and conductive materials in the in-situ modification of shale oil. Here, we developed a graphene and resin coated (GRC) proppant with electrically conductive properties. The electrical conductivity of the GRC proppant improved by four orders of magnitude. The GRC proppant has a 54.58% improvement in suspension and 22.75% increase in settlement time at 0.25 wt% concentration compared with uncoated proppant. The GRC proppant's adhesion reached 68.34 nN under 1 μN load force, increasing by 63.13% compared to uncoated proppant. This new electrically conductive proppant can be used as a conductive carrier to improve the efficiency of electric heating in in-situ modification technology of shale oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An examination of internals employed in both traditional and PI units is provided. • Essential principles of internal design are discussed. • Advantages of internal implementation are explored. • A perspective on the advancement of internal design strategies is provided. Internals within reactors play an important role in the chemical industry, and numerous studies focus on their investigation and development. This review discusses the application of internals in both conventional and Process Intensification (PI) units, including stirred tanks, fluidized beds, bubble columns, tubular vessels, trickle beds, spinning disks, rotating packed beds, rotating fluidized beds, and microreactors. It emphasizes enhancing mass and heat transfer through internals such as baffles, packing, heat exchange elements, and wall modifications. Recurring themes include phase distribution, interfacial area, slip velocities, heat transfer, and pressure drop. While internals offer benefits, challenges such as fouling and catalyst attrition are acknowledged, yet often under-quantified. Practical aspects, including manufacturing and safety, are often overlooked. The review highlights the urgent need for comprehensive evaluations, incorporating detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental studies. Based on previous research, this work aims to provide insights into innovative reactor designs that ultimately lead to optimal efficiency and energy balance in chemical processes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A data-driven framework for zero-defect manufacture of composite parts is proposed. • Accurate and fast simulation of the autoclave processing of a composite part of industrial complexity is achieved. • A statistical surrogate model is trained from model data and used to automatically design the part's caul plate. • Successful defect elimination is achieved in the physical demonstrator made using this caul plate. Manufacture-induced defects are a critical issue in composites applications that result in high volumes of material waste and costly experimental trials to help mitigate this. Advances in process modelling techniques have enabled the prediction of defects. However, the high computational cost of these tools limits their usefulness in an industrial context as they often struggle with the ever-increasing size of industrial structures, and present significant challenges to undertaking large optimisation problems. In this work, a recently proposed homogenisation scheme is used to accurately simulate the autoclave processing of a composite part of industrial complexity in a fraction of the time of other state-of-the-art processes. Physical manufacture of a demonstrator part is used to evaluate the model in terms of accuracy. Based on the observed good agreement (discrepancy of less than 1.5% in the thicker sections and less than 7% in the thinner region of the part), a data-driven optimisation of the part's caul plate has been conducted that aims to mitigate defects whilst keeping cost and material use low. Further manufacturing trials validate the proposed framework by demonstrating successful defect elimination and a 25% improvement in the maximum local deviation from ideal design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to measure the avoidable hospitalization rate and the treatment cost per hospitalization in large cities of eastern China.Methods: In this study, the hospital discharge data of all inpatients in the city from 2015 to 2018 were collected. In accordance with the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) definition of avoidable hospitalizations, five diseases were selected as the measurement objects, including hypertension, diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as congestive heart failure (CHF). We described the avoidable hospitalization rate, average cost and length of stay for avoidable hospitalization cases. Linear probability model and log-linear model were used to control the basic characteristics and disease severity of patients, and to measure the trend of the avoidable hospitalization rate and expenditure of avoidable hospitalizations.Results: From 2015 to 2018, the absolute number of avoidable hospitalizations in the city increased while fluctuating, which reached 125,372 in 2018. Among the five avoidable hospitalizations, the number of hospitalizations for diabetes increased continuously in the 4-year period. Congestive heart failure showed the most significant increase over the four years. Avoidable hospitalizations in the city have remained at a high level, while avoidable hospitalizations of hypertension and asthma fell to levels lower than those in 2015 in 2017 and 2018 after rising in 2016. The cost per hospitalization and length of stay per hospitalization decreased.Conclusions: Avoidable hospitalizations in the city remain at a high level, and more effective policies should be formulated to guide patients with avoidable hospitalizations, so as to more effectively exploit outpatient services and continuously improve the quality of primary health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous SoCs integrate FPGAs and microprocessor cores on the same fabric to accelerate applications, such as cryptography and deep learning. Since FPGAs share resources with the microprocessor cores, they can launch noncacheable synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) transactions through direct FPGA-to-microprocessor SDRAM interface. Therefore, if the FPGA 3rd party IPs (3PIPs) are malicious, they can launch rowhammer attacks on the SDRAM. Today’s countermeasures based on performance counters cannot detect these attacks because memory transactions from FPGAs do not pass through the cache. In addition, today’s countermeasures that count the frequency of activation of memory rows cannot identify the intellectual property (IP) that launches the attack from the FPGA. We present a security solution that monitors the SDRAM transactions from IPs on the FPGA to each bank of the microprocessor SDRAM through the FPGA-to-microprocessor SDRAM interface. The proposed monitor is implemented on the FPGA fabric. It can detect attempts to launch a rowhammer attack before it causes bit flips in the SDRAM. It utilizes 6.3% of the adaptive logic modules (ALMs) available in an Intel Cyclone V FPGA, when multiple IPs are monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For robot swarm applications, accurate positioning is one of the most important requirements for avoiding collisions and keeping formations and cooperation between individuals. However, in some worst cases, the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals are weak due to the crowd being in a swarm or blocked by a forest, mountains, and high buildings in the environment. Thus, relative localization is an indispensable way to provide position information for the swarm. In this paper, we review the status and development of relative localization. It is first assessed that relative localization to obtain spatio-temporal relationships between individuals is necessary to achieve the stable operation of the group. After analyzing typical relative localization systems and algorithms from the perspective of functionality and practicality, this paper concludes that the UWB-based (ultra wideband) system is suitable for the relative localization of robots in large-scale applications. Finally, after analyzing the current challenges in the field of fully distributed localization for robotic swarms, a complete mechanism encompassing the relative localization process and the relationship between local and global localization that can be a possible direction for future research is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Recombination is one of the essential genetic processes for sexually reproducing organisms, which can happen more frequently in some regions, called recombination hotspots. Although several factors, such as PRDM9 binding motifs, are known to be related to the hotspots, their contributions to the recombination hotspots have not been quantified, and other determinants are yet to be elucidated. Here, we propose a computational method, RHSNet, based on deep learning and signal processing, to identify and quantify the hotspot determinants in a purely data-driven manner, utilizing datasets from various studies, populations, sexes and species. Results RHSNet can significantly outperform other sequence-based methods on multiple datasets across different species, sexes and studies. In addition to being able to identify hotspot regions and the well-known determinants accurately, more importantly, RHSNet can quantify the determinants that contribute significantly to the recombination hotspot formation in the relation between PRDM9 binding motif, histone modification and GC content. Further cross-sex, cross-population and cross-species studies suggest that the proposed method has the generalization power and potential to identify and quantify the evolutionary determinant motifs. Availability and implementation https://github.com/frankchen121212/RHSNet. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event Causality Identification (ECI) aims at detecting the causal relation between 2 events, which is a challenging task due to the complexity of causal expressions and the background knowledge needed for identifying certain causal relations. Considerable work has been done on the learning of context and the incorporation of external knowledge. However, none of the work incorporates both explicit and implicit causal knowledge. To this end, we propose an integrative model for event causality identification, integrating both explicit causal indicators and implicit causal knowledge with the data-oriented model. For the data-oriented model, an event pair graph is constructed and Relational Graph Convolutional Network (R-GCN) is employed to better capture interactions between individual pairs. Regarding the explicit causal indicators, their word embeddings are used to initialize the filters of convolutional neural network so as to capture the clues indicating causal relation. We further introduce a cause–effect matching mechanism to better leverage implicit causal knowledge. It measures the possibility of causal relation holding between 2 events based on the possible causes and effects generated by COMET. The proposed method is evaluated on 3 datasets, and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. • Propose a novel method integrating RGCN and explicit and implicit causal knowledge. • Propose a cause–effect matching mechanism to leverage implicit causal knowledge. • Achieve the best performance on 3 widely adopted datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein–RNA interactions are of vital importance to a variety of cellular activities. Both experimental and computational techniques have been developed to study the interactions. Because of the limitation of the previous database, especially the lack of protein structure data, most of the existing computational methods rely heavily on the sequence data, with only a small portion of the methods utilizing the structural information. Recently, AlphaFold has revolutionized the entire protein and biology field. Foreseeably, the protein–RNA interaction prediction will also be promoted significantly in the upcoming years. In this work, we give a thorough review of this field, surveying both the binding site and binding preference prediction problems and covering the commonly used datasets, features and models. We also point out the potential challenges and opportunities in this field. This survey summarizes the development of the RNA-binding protein–RNA interaction field in the past and foresees its future development in the post-AlphaFold era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging of a subwavelength microstructure made of a periodic grid-like finite set of circular rods is carried out from transient scattered field data in different configurations of sources and receivers. The goal is to identify the position of possibly missing rods. Time reversal is confirmed as a cheap yet efficient first-order diagnostic method even in the demanding context of a subwavelength microstructure. Tools of deep learning, expected to be valid in general circumstances if data acquired in sufficient numbers, are in parallel developed to image the microstructure. To that effect, recurrent neural networks (RNN) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) are both used. Pros and cons of all approaches are illustrated by comprehensive simulations from synthetic data computed via a finite difference time domain method (FD-TD) software carefully tailored to the microstructure model and used also to make the networks learn the microstructures. The analysis is completed from examples of laboratory-controlled data acquired on a microstructure prototype set within a microwave anechoic chamber. These examples confirm the good promises of neural networks even with rather scarce data as exemplified in a forward scattering case—fixed source and receiver antennas face each other and the microstructure is rotated between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Viral infections are prevalent in human cancers and they have great diagnostic and theranostic values in clinical practice. Recently, their potential of shaping the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) has been related to the immunotherapy of human cancers. However, the landscape of viral expressions and immune status in human cancers remains incompletely understood.Methods: We developed a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based pipeline to detect viral sequences from the whole transcriptome and used machine learning algorithms to classify different TIME subtypes.Results: We revealed a pan-cancer landscape of viral expressions in human cancers where 9 types of viruses were detected in 744 tumors of 25 cancer types. Viral infections showed different tissue tendencies and expression levels. Multi-omics analyses further revealed their distinct impacts on genomic, transcriptomic and immune responses. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-infected head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) showed decreased genomic variations, significantly altered gene expressions, and effectively triggered anti-viral immune responses. We identified three TIME subtypes, in which the "Immune-Stimulation" subtype might be the promising candidate for immunotherapy. EBV-infected STAD and HPV-infected HNSC showed a higher frequency of the "Immune-Stimulation" subtype. Finally, we constructed the eVIIS pipeline to simultaneously evaluate viral infection and immune status in external datasets.Conclusions: Viral infections are prevalent in human cancers and have distinct influences on hosts. EBV and HPV infections combined with the TIME subtype could be promising biomarkers of immunotherapy in STAD and HNSC, respectively. The eVIIS pipeline could be a practical tool to facilitate clinical practice and relevant studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oscillator fluctuations are described as the phase or frequency-noise spectrum or in terms of a wavelet variance as a function of the measurement time. The spectrum is generally approximated with the “power law,” i.e., a Laurent polynomial with integer exponents of the frequency. This article provides: 1) the analytical expression of the response of the wavelet variance parabolic variance (PVAR) to the frequency-noise spectrum in the general case of noninteger exponents of the frequency and 2) a useful approximate expression of the statistical uncertainty. In turn, PVAR is relevant in that it replaces the widely used modified Allan variance (MVAR), featuring the identification of noise processes with fewer data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a fully physics-based stochastic 3-D modeling of metal–oxide-based resistive random access memory (RRAM) device has been conducted. In contrast to general 1-D or 2-D modeling of RRAM devices, 3-D modeling is able to provide a picture of the evolution of the 3-D random distributions of oxygen vacancies and temperature inside the device during the forming and SET/RESET processes. The modeling confirms that a tunneling gap between the top electrode (TE) which serves as an oxygen ion reservoir and the tip of the conductive filament may form at a high resistive state, which is assumed in the frequently used compact models of RRAM devices. The modeling shows that the sites with high temperature are concentrated in a cylindrical region at the center of the RRAM device, running from the inert bottom electrode to the TE. The modeling can reproduce both typical current-voltage characteristics of metal–oxide RRAM devices in forming and RESET and SET operations under a dc voltage sweep and the modulation of RRAM conductance by SET/RESET pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Several wrinkle-based metrics to assess the quality of formed textiles from complex finite-element simulations are presented. • A Gaussian process emulator to rapidly predict the quality of formed textiles is developed. • Sequential design method to efficiently generate more data and improve the surrogate model is demonstrated. • Only tens of simulations (instead of thousands with traditional methods) are required for a good probabilistic surrogate. • The surrogate model is used to optimise processing conditions to minimise manufacturing defects. A new framework for optimising the process of forming dry textile materials using finite element (FE) analysis and Gaussian Process (GP) regression is explored in this work. FE models were generated to simulate the double diaphragm forming process of non-crimp fabric over a hemisphere tool. A GP emulator was developed to regress the dataset generated by FE model, then used to optimise the forming process. Importantly the FE simulations can capture the formation of wrinkles during the process under different forming configurations and boundary conditions. Rigid blocks (risers) were introduced to the forming process to affect the defects generation by controlling the block positions. Several indices abstracted from FE output files were used to assess the wrinkle level of the forming simulations and compared, as the model output. A small dataset was generated by Latin hypercubic sampling (LHS) to train an initial GP surrogate model. Then, the prediction error of the model was reduced to an acceptable level (<10 %) through a Bayesian active learning method. The trained surrogate model was then used to optimise a forming process using only tens of simulations, rather than hundreds or even thousands, as required by traditional optimisation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the piece-linear finite difference approach, a one-dimensional large strain thaw consolidation model, TCS1, for saturated frozen soil was established. The model couples the heat transfer considering phase change of pore ice with consolidation deformation, and accounts for large strain, soil self-weight, unfrozen water, variable hydraulic conductivity and compressibility, flexible boundary conditions and time-dependent loading during the process of thaw consolidation. The FORTRAN is used to implement computation of the model. TCS1 was verified by the existing numerical solutions and laboratory tests. The results were in good agreement with the large strain numerical solutions and tests results. Computational examples were conducted for further study of the influence of strain value, loading types and periodic temperature boundaries on the thaw consolidation of frozen soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) as a new type of flame retardant exists in various water environments, causing great risks to humans and the environment. In this study, shrimp shell was used to prepare an economical and environmental-friendly adsorbent for the efficient removal of TCEP. The systematic studies including characterization, removal performance, and adsorption mechanism of shrimp shell biochar toward TCEP were carried out. Adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics showed that fast equilibrium reached within 30 min, the maximum adsorption capacity q m was 108 μmol g−1 at 298 K, and the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. The environmental factor, such as temperature, pH, inorganic anions and organic matter hardly affected the adsorption performance. Structural characterization indicated that the hierarchical porous structure of shrimp shell biochar is the key to excellent adsorption performance. The adsorption mechanisms were further revealed using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and the hydrogen bond, van der Waals interactions, Cl–H interactions, and pi-H interactions were identified as potential interaction mechanisms between TCEP and specific biochar structures. The calculated binding energy between TCEP and simplified biochar structure suggested that oxygen-containing groups especially carboxyl, hydroxyl and aldehyde facilitate the adsorption. Our work not only provides a novel strategy for the quick remediation of organophosphate-contaminated water environments but also offers new opportunities for crustacean waste biomass valorization. [Display omitted] • Hierarchical porous shrimp shell biochar exhibted efficient removal of TCEP. • Modified biochar showed good tolerance of pH, anions and HA for TCEP adsorption. • Weak interactions for adsorption were demonstrated by DFT calculations. • Oxygen functional groups influenced the weak interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of saturation (DOS) and water transport have significant influences on the F-T damage in cement-based materials. However, as a traditional test method, the regime of the rapid-freeze method restricts sealing conditions and the DOS before the F-T process (named initial degree of saturation: IDOS) of the specimen. In this study, the effects of IDOS and sealing conditions on the F-T damage were investigated by modifying these two conditions of the rapid-freeze method. The dynamic elastic modulus and compressive strength test results demonstrated that the unsealed specimens were more sensitive to IDOS in the water environment compared to the sealed specimens. For the unsealed specimens, a negative correlation relationship between the IDOS and the loss of the mechanical indicators for the unsealed specimens was originally disclosed in this work, which is opposite to the regularity for the sealed specimens reported in previous studies. Furthermore, the unsealed specimens with low IDOS exhibit greater F-T damage, implying that in the water environment, reducing the IDOS required by the rapid-freeze method will create harsher F-T conditions. In addition, decreasing the IDOS of the specimen results in a changed pattern of development of the compressive strength loss rate of the specimen. As supplement examinations, microstructure analysis (including TG, SEM, and MIP tests) was performed. Furthermore, a new mechanism of IDOS and sealing conditions on F-T damage was presented. • Reducing the IDOS had opposite effects on F-T damage of specimens with different sealing conditions. • Lower IDOS of unsealed specimens in the water environment leads to increased F-T damage. • A new mechanism is proposed to explain the effects of IDOS and exposure conditions on F-T damage. • Separated DEM and mass tests is not suitable for evaluating early F-T damage in unsaturated specimens with only water supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elucidation of the molecular driving forces responsible for Liquid–liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) of proteins and nucleic acids within living cells is crucial for understanding its biological functions and its role in related diseases. In the present study, we investigated the regulation of LLPS in a series of polypeptides with repetitive proline and arginine (PR) sequences by modifying their length and the salt concentration in the solution. Our findings indicate that higher salt concentrations are necessary for LLPS of repetitive PR peptides longer than eight PRs, which emerges as a threshold value. To pinpoint the molecular forces driving the LLPS in peptides, we sequentially introduced various concentrations of hydrophobic disruptors, such as 1,6-hexanediol, and electrostatic regulators, such as ethyl alcohol and 6-Aminocaproic acid. We further modulated the electrostatic interaction by introducing ethyl alcohol and 6-Aminocaproic acid to alter the dielectric constant of the solution. The inclusion of ethyl alcohol intensified the electrostatic interaction between arginine molecules, facilitating LLPS of PR15, while 6-Aminocaproic acid yielded the reverse effect. We deduced that the phase separation in peptide systems is conjointly driven by hydrophobicity and electrostatic interactions. These insights can guide the regulation of LLPS in other peptide and protein systems, and could be pivotal in addressing abnormal aggregations of proteins and nucleic acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Regional graph attention is used to efficiently capture neighborhood features. • Value decomposition structure is applied for the training of multi-agents. • Proposed distributed dispatching method learns the more effective strategy. • Proposed algorithm is adaptive to network topology change and time granularity scale. In this article, an adaptive active power rolling dispatch strategy based on distributed deep reinforcement learning is proposed to deal with the uncertainty of high-proportioned renewable energy. For each agent, by using recurrent neural network layers and graph attention layers in its network structure, we aim to improve the generalization ability of the multiple agents in active power flow control. Furthermore, a regional graph attention network algorithm, which can effectively help agents aggregate the regional information of their neighborhood, is proposed to improve the information capture ability of agents. We adopt the structure of 'centralized training, distributed execution' to help agents improve the effectiveness of proposed methods in dynamic environments. The case studies demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can help multi-agents learn effective active power control strategies. Each agent has a strong generalization ability in terms of time granularity and network topology. We expect that such an approach can improve the practicability and adaptability of distributed AI method on power system control issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People are becoming increasingly active on social media. It is common knowledge that most users register more than one social media account. Some users use multiple accounts to publish fake reviews to disorder the regular social network. To identify multiple accounts of the same author, multiple userids identification problem is defined. Existing methods for multiple userids identification problem focus on human-designed shallow statistical features and do not fully utilize the deep semantic information in user-generated texts. This paper uses the deep learning model to extract deep semantic features at the document level and user level. Then the most similar user pairs can be selected by computing the similarity of their writing styles indicated by text features. The experimental results demonstrate that our deep learning method outperforms state-of-the-art methods. • A two-stage method is proposed to solve multiple userids identification problem. • This study extracts deep semantic features at the document level and user level. • The proposed method shows superiority on Weibo and Douban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3D Euler-Euler simulations of gas-liquid flow in a vortex unit are performed. • Validation based on experimental data shows good agreement. • Residence time distribution of the gas and liquid phases in the GLVU are analyzed. • Multiple liquid inlets allow to achieve a better performance. A gas-liquid vortex unit (GLVU) operates in a centrifugal force field which significantly intensifies the gas–liquid mixing and interphase mass transfer. Experimentally obtaining detailed hydrodynamic information on the flow behavior and mixing process in a GLVU is difficult due to the presence of a highly turbulent liquid layer. In this study, a 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Euler–Euler model is developed to study hydrodynamics and residence time distribution in a GLVU. The numerical results are validated using experimentally obtained pressure drop measurements and liquid velocity data. The liquid layer is found to rotate in the vortex chamber and suppress the gas phase vortex flow. Near the gas injection slots, the flow behavior is similar as in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), improving mixing and mass transfer efficiency. Finally, our CFD results show that the use of multiple liquid inlets results in an even more uniform liquid velocity distribution in the vortex unit, which further improves the performance of the GLVU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shudage-4, an ancient and well-known formula in traditional Mongolian medicine comprising four different types of traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used in the treatment of gastric ulcers. However, the potential material basis and molecular mechanism of Shudage-4 in attenuating stress-induced gastric ulcers remain unclear. This study aimed to first explore the potential material basis and molecular mechanism of Shudage-4 in attenuating gastric ulcers in rats. The chemical constituents and transitional components in the blood of Shudage-4 were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS). The rat gastric ulcer model was induced by water immersion restraint stress (WIRS). The ulcer damage to gastric tissue was measured at the gross anatomical level and pathological level by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining of gastric tissue. RNA sequencing of gastric tissue and plasma metabolomics were performed to analyze the mechanism of Shudage-4 against gastric ulcers. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to explore the association between serum metabolites and gene expression of gastric tissue. A total of 30 chemical constituents were identified in Shudage-4 by UPLC-TOF-MS. Among 30 constituents, 13 transitional components in the blood were considered as the potential material basis. Shudage-4 treatment had a significant effect on WIRS-induced gastric ulcers in rats. HE staining of gastric tissue illustrated that WIRS-induced ulcer damage was suppressed by Shudage-4 treatment. RNA sequencing of gastric tissue showed that 282 reversed expression genes in gastric tissue were related to Shudage-4 treatment, and gene set enrichment analysis revealed that Shudage-4 treatment significantly inhibited gene set expression related to reactive oxygen species (ROS), which was also validated by detecting rat gastric tissue MDA, GSH, SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT activities. The plasma metabolomic data demonstrated that 23 significantly differential metabolites were closely associated with the Shudage-4 treatment. The further multiomics joint analysis found that significantly upregulated 5 plasma metabolites in Shudage-4-treated rats compared to model rats were negatively correlated with gene set expression related to ROS in gastric tissue. Shudage-4 alleviated WIRS-induced gastric ulcers by inhibiting ROS generation, which was achieved by regulating plasma metabolites level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed a multi-sensor system for detection of indoor fire incidents at early stage. • Machine learning using support vector machine for effective classification. • Improved accuracy with reduced false alarms for fire incident classification and detection. • Cost-effective for embedded implementation and satisfying industrial needs. Accurate detection and early warning of fire hazard are crucial for reducing the associated damages. Due to the limitations of smoke-based detection mechanism, most commercial detectors fail to distinguish the smoke from dust and steam, leading to frequent false alarms and costly evacuation unnecessarily. To tackle this issue, we propose a fast and cost-effective indoor fire alarm system for real-time early fire detection under various scenarios, whilst significantly reducing the false alarms. Multimodal sensors are integrated to acquire the data of carbon monoxide, smoke, temperature and humidity, followed by effective data analysis and classification. For ease of embedded implementation, the support vector machine (SVM) is found to outperform the Random Forests (RF), K-means, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). On a public dataset and our own dataset, the proposed system performs promising, with the values of the precision, recall, and F1 of 99.8%, 99.6%, and 99.7%, respectively. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A feasible rechargeable organic nickel ion battery is first demonstrated. • A reversible insertion/extraction of Ni ions in the cathode structure is confirmed. • The reaction mechanism during cycle process is analyzed in detail by in-situ XRD. Organic nickel ion battery using Ni2+ as a charge carrier has yet to be explored due to the lack of workable electrolytes and high-performing Ni2+ storage cathode materials to couple with the nickel metal anode. Herein, a feasible rechargeable organic nickel ion battery with an ether base electrolyte is demonstrated for the first time, in which Li 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 and nickel foam as cathode and anode materials, respectively. The Li 3 V 2 (PO 4) 3 can demonstrate a high reversible specific capacity of 124 mAh g−1 at the rate of 1C and a stable cycle performance with 84% capacity retention after 50 cycles. In addition, a reversible insertion and extraction of Ni2+ ions into the cathode structure is confirmed by XRD, XPS, and EDX studies. Finally, using in-situ X-ray diffraction technology and Rietveld refinement, the reaction mechanism and structural changes during the cycle process are analyzed in detail. Therefore, the results provide an avenue to explore the organic nickel ion battery as a novel energy storage technique for renewable energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A total of 39 WRKY genes were identified in seed hemp. • Members of each subgroup share similar gene structure, implying similar functions. • CasWRKY genes can respond to GA 3 stress and promote fiber elongation and development. • This work will contribute to functional characterization of CasWRKY genes and breeding improvements in seed hemp. WRKY transcription factor is one of the largest transcription factor families in higher plants. However, the investigations of the WRKY gene family have not yet been reported in seed hemp. In the present study, we identified 39 CasWRKY s at the genome-wide level and analyzed phylogenetic relationship, chromosome location, cis -acting elements, gene structure, conserved motif, and expression pattern. Based on the gene structure and phylogenetic analyses, CasWRKY proteins were divided into 3 groups and 7 subgroups. The gene duplication investigation revealed that 6 and 5 pairs of CasWRKY genes underwent tandem and segmental duplication events, respectively. These events may contribute to the diversity and expansion of the CasWRKY gene family. The regulatory elements in the promoter regions of CasWRKYs contained diverse cis -regulatory elements, among which P-box cis -regulatory elements showed high frequency, indicating that CasWRKYs can respond to the regulation of gibberellin. The expression profiles derived from RNA-seq and qRT-PCR showed that 13 CasWRKY genes could respond to GA 3 stress and affect fiber development, as well as play significant roles in stem growth and development. This study will serve as molecular basis and practical reference for further exploring the genetic evolution and biological function of CasWRKY genes in seed hemp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protective effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of sodium selenite (SS) and selenomethionine (SM) against chronic oxidative stress-induced duodenum and jejunum tight junction (TJ) network disturbance and growth inhibition of broilers were investigated in the current experiment. At the age of 1 d, 720 Lingnan Yellow broiler chicks were allocated to 4 experimental diets (with 6 replicates per diet and 30 birds per replicate) and offered either a control diet (fluorine [ F ] 23 mg/kg, control [ CoN ] group) or test diets (800 mg/kg F, high F [ HF ] group; 800 mg/kg F+0.15 mg selenium [ Se ]/kg as SS [ SS group ] or SM [ SM group ]) for 56 d. The results showed that HF group could induce chronic oxidative stress and subsequently increased (P < 0.05) proinflammatory cytokines levels of duodenum and jejunum in comparison with the CoN group. Increased proinflammatory cytokines levels of HF group promoted myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) transcription, thus leading to a decrease (P < 0.05) in TJ proteins expression of duodenum and jejunum when compared with the CoN group. A reduction of TJ proteins expression destroyed the TJ structures in the HF group, which in turn increased intestinal mucosal permeability of duodenum and jejunum and ultimately induced growth inhibition of broilers. Dietary Se supplementation could ameliorate HF-induced duodenum and jejunum TJ network impairment and growth retardation of broilers, potentially by increasing (P < 0.05) the glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase activities, reducing (P < 0.05) the reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde levels, regulating the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, and mediating the transcription level of MLCK in the duodenum and jejunum. Additionally, our data also suggested that the protective effects of SM were superior to those of SS. This study will provide a theoretical basis for developing SM into an efficient protective agent for intestinal mucosal barrier in poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation of gross primary productivity (GPP) is necessary to better understand the interaction of global terrestrial ecosystems with climate change and human activities. Light use efficiency (LUE)-based GPP models are widely used for retrieving several GPP products with various temporal and spatial resolutions. However, most LUE-based models assume a clear-sky condition, and the influence of diffuse radiation on GPP estimations has not been well considered. In this paper, a diffuse and direct (DDA) absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR)-based method is proposed for better estimation of half-hourly GPP, which partitions APAR under diffuse and direct radiation conditions. Firstly, energy balance residual (EBR) FAPAR, moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) leaf area index (LAI) (MCD15A2H) and clumping index (CI) products, as well as solar radiation records supplied by FLUXNET2015 were used to calculate diffuse and direct APAR at a half-hourly scale. Then, an eddy covariance-LUE (EC-LUE) model and meteorological observations from FLUXNET2015 data sets were used for obtaining corresponding LUE values. A co-variation relationship between LUE and diffuse fraction was observed, and the LUE was higher under more diffuse radiation conditions. Finally, the DDA-based method was tested using the half-hourly FLUXNET GPP and compared with half-hourly GPP calculated using total APAR (GPP_TA). The results indicated that the half-hourly GPP estimated using the DDA-based method (GPP_DDA) was more accurate, giving higher R2 values, lower RMSE and RMSE* values (R2 varied from 0.565 to 0.682, RMSE ranged from 3.219 to 12.405 and RMSE* were within the range of 2.785 to 8.395) than the GPP_TA (R2 varied from 0.558 to 0.653, RMSE ranged from 3.407 to 13.081 and RMSE* were within the range of 3.321 to 9.625) across FLUXNET sites within different vegetation types. This study explored the effects of partitioning the diffuse and direct APAR on half-hourly GPP estimations, which demonstrates a higher agreement with FLUXNET GPP than total APAR-based GPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive mineral exploitation activities in history have aggravated potential toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in agricultural soils in China. Comprehensive ecological risk assessment is of great significance to orientate the restoration of contaminated soils, especially for those with high background values and multiple sources. The study area is located in the major rice producing area of China. Historically, there was a silver mine and a lead-zinc mine in the area, which were successively closed during the investigation. The intensive mining activities caused serious PTEs pollution in the agricultural soils around the mining area. In this study, five PTEs (As, Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb) selected to assessed the potential of geoaccumulation index in assessing agricultural soil potential risk assessment by identifying ecological risk sources. 315 of soil samples collected in 2009, 2014, 2018 were comprehensively analyzed by single pollution index evaluation (single factor index, geoaccumulation index), comprehensive evaluation (Nemerow index, potential ecological risk index) and trend analysis. Single factor index analysis showed that geoaccumulation index considered the impact of natural diagenesis of background values and human activities on the environment, ensuring high evaluation accuracy comparing to other methods used in typical complex agricultural soils. The modified potential ecological risk index revealed that the high background area did not represent high risk area, which was consistent with the implementation effect of governance measures. This study can provide important insights for policymakers and environmental engineers to quantitatively recognize the soil pollution and the effectiveness of governance based on applicable and reasonable evaluation methods. [Display omitted] • Modified potential ecological risk index (MRI) by geoaccumulation index. • MRI is more accurate in assessing ecological risks of agricultural soils. • Changes of MRI in 2014 and 2018 were related to mining and remediation activities. • Traditional pollution index results in the high background area were polarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of the A-site transition from Ca2+ to Cd2+ on the microstructure, morphology, and electrical properties of Ca 1–x Cd x Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12 thin films were studied. The film surfaces are smooth, compact, and without cracks. The CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 and CdCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 films had similar morphologies and electrical properties. The grain size initially increased and subsequently decreased with the transition from Ca2+ to Cd2+ at the A site. The change in Ca sites has an obvious effect on Cu sites. The film with more copper-rich phases at the grain boundaries had the largest grain size when Ca2+ and Cd2+ equally occupied the A sites. The dielectric constant of Ca 1–x Cd x Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12 was closely related to the copper oxide secondary phase. The dielectric loss tangent and nonlinearity coefficient were associated with the compact structure, copper oxide secondary phase, copper vacancies and improved grain boundary response. The simultaneous occupancy of the A sites by Ca2+ and Cd2+ improves the dielectric and nonlinear properties of Ca 1–x Cd x Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12. Optimal dielectric properties (Ɛ r = 5238 and tan δ = 0.009 at 1 kHz) and an enhanced nonlinearity coefficient (∼4.22) were simultaneously obtained for the Ca 0.5 Cd 0.5 Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12 thin film. This study demonstrates that the extrinsic mechanism is the main origin of the high dielectric constant values in Ca 1–x Cd x Cu 3 Ti 4 O 12 films. The resulting films are suitable for applications in capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the impending energy crisis and the environmental Impact of fossil fuels, researchers are actively looking for alternatives, such as Helium-3 on the Moon. Although it remains challenging to explore energies on the Moon due to the long physical distance, the lunar features, such as craters and rilles, can be the hotspots for such energy sources, according to recent studies. Thus, identifying lunar features, such as craters and rilles, can facilitate the discovery of Helium-3 on the Moon, which is enriched in such hotspots. However, previously, no computational method was developed to recognize the lunar features automatically for facilitating space energy discovery. In our research, we aim at developing the first deep learning method to identify multiple lunar features simultaneously for potential energy source discovery. Based on the state-of-the-art deep learning model, High Resolution Net, our model can efficiently extract semantic information and high-resolution spatial information from the input images, which ensures the performance for recognizing the lunar features. With a novel framework, our method can recognize multiple lunar features, such as craters and rilles, at the same time. We also used transfer learning to handle the data deficiency issue. With comprehensive experiments on three datasets, we show the effectiveness of the proposed method. All the datasets and codes are available online. The source code and the data are available at https://github.com/frankchen121212/High-Resolution-MoonNet • The first deep learning method to identify lunar features for energy discovery. • One computational method to predict multiple features automatically and simultaneously. • Deployment of cutting-edge machine learning techniques: HRNet and transfer learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The bone marrow is the place of hematopoiesis with a microenvironment that supports lifelong maintenance of stem cells and high proliferation. It is not surprising that this environment is also favourable for malignant cells emerging in the bone marrow or metastasizing to it. While the cellular composition of the bone marrow microenvironment has been extensively studied, the extracellular matrix and interstitial fluid components have received little attention. Since the sinusoids connect the bone marrow interstitial fluid to the circulation, it is often considered to have the same composition as peripheral blood plasma. Stark differences in the cellular composition of the bone marrow and peripheral blood with different secretory capacities would however suggest profound differences. Methods: In this study we set out to better define if and how the bone marrow interstitial fluid (BMIF) compares to the peripheral blood plasma (PBP) and how both are remodeled during chemotherapy. We applied a multi-omic strategy to quantify the metabolite, lipid and protein components as well as the proteolytic modification of proteins to gain a comprehensive understanding of the two compartments. Results: We found that the bone marrow interstitial fluid is clearly distinct from peripheral blood plasma, both during active pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and following induction chemotherapy. Either compartment was shaped differently by active leukemia, with the bone marrow interstitial fluid being rich in extracellular vesicle components and showing protease dysregulation while the peripheral blood plasma showed elevation of immune regulatory proteins. Following chemotherapy, the BMIF showed signs of cellular remodeling and impaired innate immune activation while the peripheral blood plasma was characterized by restored lipid homeostasis. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive examination of the fluid portion of the acute lymphoblastic leukemia microenvironment and finds the contribution of either microenvironment to tumourigenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymphocyte antigen 96 (LY96) plays an important role in innate immunity and has been reported to be associated with various neurological diseases. However, its role in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. Transcriptome data from a total of 49 patients with PD and 34 healthy controls were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to analyse the expression pattern of LY96 and its relationship with gene function and immune-related markers. In addition, peripheral blood samples were collected from clinical patients to validate LY96 mRNA expression levels. Finally, an in vitro cell model of PD based on highly differentiated SH-SY5Y cells was constructed, with small interfering RNA-silenced LY96 expression, and LY96 mRNA level, cell viability, flow cytometry, and mitochondrial membrane potential assays were performed. The results of the analyses of the GEO database and clinical samples revealed significantly abnormally high LY96 expression in patients with PD compared with healthy controls. The results of cell experiments showed that inhibiting LY96 expression alleviated adverse cellular effects by increasing cell viability, reducing apoptosis, and reducing oxidative stress. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that LY96 was positively correlated with T1 helper cells, T2 helper cells, neutrophils, natural killer T cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, macrophages, and activated CD4 cells, and may participate in PD through natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathways and extracellular matrix receptor interaction pathways. These findings suggested that LY96 might be a novel potential biomarker for PD, and offer insights into its immunoregulatory role. • This study for the first time indicates that LY96 can serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker for Parkinson's disease; • This study extends the discovered biological functions of LY96 ; • This study explores the changes in the immune environment in Parkinson's disease; • This study investigated the abnormal expression of immune cells caused by LY96 in Parkinson's disease for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common endocrine malignancy. Studies have indicated that estrogen can regulate the expression of miRNAs in numerous malignancies. MiR-570-3p has been shown to have a regulatory function in various cancers. However, studies of the regulatory function of miR-570-3p and a direct link between estrogen (especially estradiol E2) and miR-570-3p in PTC have not been done. Methods: Expression of miR-570-3p and its downstream target DPP4 in PTC tissues and cells was predicted using bioinformatics and validated by qRT-PCR and western blot assays. We then performed a series of gain-and-loss experiments to assess the functional significance of miR-570-3p/DPP4 axis in PTC progression in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, the methylation of the miR-570-3p promoter region was examined via bioinformatics analysis and MSP. Finally, the effects of E2 on PTC progression and the correlation between DNMT1/DNMT3A and EZH2 were predicted by bioinformatic tools and proved by luciferase reporter, ChIP, and co-IP assays. Results: In PTC tumor tissues and cell lines, there was a lower expression level and a higher methylation level of miR-570-3p compared to normal tissues and cell lines. DPP4 was identified as the downstream target of miR-570-3p. Overexpression of miR-570-3p reduced the proliferative, migratory, and invasive capabilities, and promoted apoptosis, while overexpression of DPP4 reversed these effects in PTC cells. It was also discovered that DNMT1 and DNMT3A increased the CpG methylation level of the miR-570-3p promoter in an EZH2-dependent manner, which led to decreased expression of miR-570-3p. Furthermore, we observed that estrogen (E2) enhanced the methylation of miR-570-3p and suppressed its expression levels, resulting in augmented tumor growth in vivo in PTC. Conclusion: Estrogen regulates the EZH2/DNMTs/miR-570-3p/DPP4 signaling pathway to promote PTC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hearing loss has been associated with serious health problems around the globe. Previous studies have found the positive effects of fitting hearing aids on health, but few studies were conducted in developing countries. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of hearing aids on multiple health outcomes among middle-aged and older adults with hearing loss in rural China.Methods: In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), participants aged 45 and above were randomly assigned to the treatment group prescribing with hearing aids or to the control group with no intervention. Trial outcomes for 385 participants were collected during the 20-month follow-up study. Using the difference-in-difference approach, our primary outcomes were hearing-related quality of life (QoL) and generic QoL.Results: The intervention led to improvements in hearing-related QoL, presenting as the reduction in Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening Version (HHIE-S) scores (interaction coefficient = - 2.86, p = 0.005), HHIE-S-Emotional scores (interaction coefficient = - 1.42, p = 0.029), and HHIE-S-Situational scores (interaction coefficient = - 1.43, p = 0.007). The intervention was also effective in alleviating the increase in depressive symptoms (interaction coefficient = - 0.14, p = 0.042). Subgroup analysis revealed that the effects were only shown among people with social activities or active social networks.Conclusions: Our study is the first RCT in China to measure the health effects and heterogeneity of hearing aid interventions. Wearing hearing aids can help improve hearing-related QoL and alleviate the increase in depressive symptoms. The intervention is expected to be applicable to similar settings in other developing countries to combat hearing-related health problems.Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1900024739 . Registered on 26 July 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]