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The pathogenesis of depression involves cAMP-response element binding protein1 (CREB1) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (GRM7), and their genetic polymorphisms may affect susceptibility to depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the CREB1 polymorphisms rs2253206 and rs10932201 and the GRM7 polymorphism rs162209 are associated with the risk of depression. Using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing, we analyzed the rs2253206, rs10932201, and rs162209 frequencies in 479 patients with depression and 329 normal controls. The results showed that the rs2253206 and rs10932201 polymorphisms were significantly associated with an increased risk of depression. However, no association was found between rs162209 and depression risk. When the data were stratified for several disease-related variables, none of the three polymorphisms were found to be correlated to onset, disease severity, family history, or suicidal tendency. Thus, the present findings indicate that the CREB1 polymorphisms rs2253206 and rs10932201 may be related to the occurrence of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia (RIH) refers to a state of hyperalgesia or aggravated preexisting pain after remifentanil exposure. There has been considerable interest in understanding and preventing RIH. However, the mechanisms responsible for RIH are still not completely understood. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a classic innate immune receptor, has been detected in sensory neurons and participates in various nociceptive conditions, whereas its role in RIH remains unclear. Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) always serves as a nociceptive channel, whereas its role in RIH has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to determine whether the TLR4 signaling pathway in sensory neurons engaged in the development of RIH and the possible involvement of TRPA1 during this process. Methods: A rat model of remifentanilinduced postoperative hyperalgesia (RIH) was established, which presented decreased paw withdrawal mechanical threshold (PWMT) and paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL). The mRNA and protein expression levels of TLR4, phosphorylated NF-κB, and TRPA1 in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) from RIH model were analyzed by real-time PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence. The TLR4 antagonist TAK-242 and the TRPA1 antagonist HC-030031 were applied to determine the role of sensory neuron TLR4 signaling and TRPA1 in RIH. Results: Compared with control, PWMT and PWTL were significantly decreased in RIH model. Moreover, the mRNA and protein expression of TLR4 and TRPA1 in DRG were upregulated after remifentanil exposure together with increased NF-κB phosphorylation. TLR4 antagonist TAK-242 mitigated mechanical pain in RIH together with downregulated expression of TLR4, phosphorylated NF-κB, and TRPA1 in DRG neurons. In addition, TRPA1 antagonist HC-030031 also alleviated mechanical pain and decreased TRPA1 expression in RIH without affecting TLR4 signaling in DRG. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggested that activation of TLR4 signaling pathway engaged in the development of RIH by regulating TRPA1 in DRG neurons. Blocking TLR4 and TRPA1 might serve as a promising therapeutic strategy for RIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water-lubricated bearing in ship propulsion system is easily impacted by sea wave shock, which is a great threat to the smooth start-up of the bearing system. Therefore, in the present research, the Euler equations, average Reynolds equation, and sea wave shock function are combined together to build the start-up model of water-lubricated bearing. The influences of amplitude, direction, and entry time of sea wave shock on the start-up performance of bearing are studied. The result shows that the shaft has a strong instantaneous vibration under the influence of friction force at the initial start-up stage, and the shock load with appropriate direction and amplitude can suppress or even eliminate this vibration phenomenon. The earlier the shock enters the start-up process, the more serious asperity contact gets, and the worse the system's stability becomes. The increase of the shock load amplitude and the advance of the shock load entry time can help the shaft rapidly lift off. This study can provide a reference for the smooth start-up of ship propulsion system in a sea wave environment. • External force can be actively applied to suppress shaft vibration during start-up. • The later the shock load enters, the more conducive it is to smooth start-up. • With the increase of shock load amplitude, shaft's lift-off time shortens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the impact of precursor preparation methods of biomass-derived carbon materials were investigated. Hydrothermal treatment with phosphoric acid solution, hydrothermal treatment with water, and direct pyrolysis were applied to prepare the carbon precursors from Pleurotus ostreatus stipe. Potassium hydroxide was applied for further precursor activation. The physicochemical characteristics of carbons were tested by X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, nitrogen sorption, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and so on. Moreover, the electrochemical data of these carbon material based supercapacitors were collected by using an electrochemical workstation with Na 2 SO 4 solution as electrolyte. Certain differences, such as surface morphology, specific surface area and elemental composition, were observed for carbon from different precursor preparation methods. The contents of C= O/carboxylic C (32.83%) and C–N/C–O–C (27.38%) of carbon obtained by directly pyrolysis and further potassium hydroxide activation (PCK) were higher than other carbon. PCK as electrode in supercapacitor had higher specific capacitance than Pleurotus ostreatus -derived carbon materials. Much vertical Nyquist plot and small diameters of the semicycle for PCK were observed. After the continuous charge/discharge test for 10000 cycles, the supercapacitor using PCK as electrode still keeps about 98% of its initial value. • Three kinds of biomass-derived carbon precursor preparation methods were study. • Carbon from different precursors are different in physicochemical properties. • The electrochemical performances of the electrode materials were tested. • PCK as electrode in supercapacitor show better electrochemical performance. • Pyrolysis to obtain precursor is more fit to prepare carbon for supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Lung cancer (LC) and breast cancer (BC) are the most common causes of brain metastases (BMs). Time from primary diagnosis to BM (TPDBM) refers to the time interval between initial LC or BC diagnosis and development of BM. This research aims to identify clinical, molecular, and therapeutic risk factors associated with shorter TPDBM. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all diagnosed LC and BC patients with BM at Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from 2016 to 2020. A total of 570 patients with LC brain metastasis (LCBM) and 173 patients with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled for further analysis. BM free survival time curves were generated using Kaplan–Meier analyses. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were applied to identify risk factors associated with earlier development of BM in LC and BC, respectively. Results: The median TPDBM was 5.3 months in LC and 44.4 months in BC. In multivariate analysis, clinical stage IV and M1 stage were independent risk factors for early development of LCBM. LC patients who received chemotherapy, targeted therapy, pulmonary radiotherapy, and pulmonary surgery had longer TPDBM. For BC patients, age ≥ 50 years, Ki67 ≥ 0.3, HER2 positive or triple‐negative breast cancer subtype, advanced N stage, and no mastectomy were correlated with shorter TPDBM. Conclusions: This single‐institutional study helps identify patients who have a high risk of developing BM early. For these patients, early detection and intervention could have clinical benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon and lithium metal are promising anode materials toward high energy densities Li (ion) batteries. However, silicon and lithium generally have dramatic volume change during lithiation/delithiation cycles. With the repeated expansion/shrinkage, the internal stress fluctuations and electrode pulverization can cause high interfacial resistance and the failure of electrodes. Herein, a novel strategy is proposed to engineer the current collector by using a polydopamine-assisted electroless metallization process to prepare an elastic deformable current collector covered with a high electrical conductivity Cu nano-network surface. The deformable current collectors can not only stabilize the interfacial stress as an artificial-spring, but also improve the electrical conductivity of anodes without any binders and conductive agents. Featured with outstanding deformable structure, the well-designed current collector achieves a low surface resistance of 0.06 Ω/sq and excellent electrochemical performance when applied in the commercial Si anode batteries, solid-state batteries, and ionic liquid electrolyte batteries at room-temperature. • A highly elastic and low resistance deformable current collector. • The deformable current collector achieves a low surface resistance of 0.06 Ω/sq. • Stabilized the interface stress of anodes as an artificial-spring. • Improve the electrical conductivity of anodes without binders and conductive agents. • Achieved >400 stable cycling performance when applied in a commercial Si anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning techniques have gained significant interest due to their success in large model scenarios. However, large models often require massive computational resources, which can challenge end devices with limited storage capabilities. Transferring knowledge from big to small models and achieving similar results with limited resources requires further research. Knowledge distillation techniques, which involve using teacher-student models to migrate large model capabilities to small models, have been widely used in model compression and knowledge transfer. In this paper, a novel knowledge distillation approach is proposed, which utilizes the sparse attention mechanism (SAKD). SAKD computes attention using student features as queries and teacher features as key values and performs sparse attention values by random deactivation. Then, this sparse attention value is used to reweight the feature distance of each teacher-student feature pair to avoid negative transfer. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and generality of our approach. Moreover, our SAKD method outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods on image classification tasks. • Propose a novel knowledge distillation approach utilizing the sparse attention mechanism (SAKD). • Use student features as queries and teacher features as key values and performs sparse attention values by random deactivation. • Use sparse attention value to reweight the feature distance of each teacher-student feature pair to avoid negative transfer. • SAKD method outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods on image classification tasks (CIFAR-100 and ImageNet). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Disruption of intestinal barriers plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of colitis. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a recognition sensor that mediates intestinal immune homeostasis and minimizes intestinal inflammation. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) exerts pharmacological actions in colitis; however, the mechanism has not been elucidated. We investigated whether APS protects through AhR‐dependent autophagy. Experimental Approach: The symptoms of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)‐induced colitis in mice involving intestinal barrier function and inflammatory injury were evaluated after APS administration. Intestinal‐specific Becn1 conditional knockout (Becn1 cKO) mice were constructed and compared with wild‐type mice. Autophagy and the effects of APS were investigated after the deactivation of AhRs. The relationship between APS‐induced AhRs and autophagic Becn1 was investigated using a dual‐luciferase reporter system and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Caco‐2 cells were used to investigate inflammatory responses and AhR‐dependent autophagy. Key Results: APS improved intestinal barrier function in inflammatory injury in colitis mice. APS triggered autophagic flow; however, knockout of Becn1 in the gut increased susceptibility to colitis, leading to diminished epithelial barrier function and severe intestinal inflammation, impairing the protective effects of APS. Mechanistically, APS‐triggered autophagy depends on AhR expression. Activated AhR binds to the promoter Becn1 to operate transcription of genes involved in anti‐inflammation and intestinal barrier repair, while deactivation of AhR correlated with intestinal inflammation and the therapeutic function of APS. Conclusions and Implications: APS protects colitis mice by targeting autophagy, especially as the AhR stimulates the repair of damaged intestinal barrier functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Treatment strategies for depression based on interventions for glucose and lipid metabolism disorders are receiving increasing attention. Investigating the mechanism of their antidepressant effect and exploring new diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers have attracted increasing attention. Dulaglutide, a long‐acting GLP‐1 receptor agonist, has been reported to alleviate cognitive deficits and neuronal damage. However, the antidepressant effect of dulaglutide and, especially, the underlying mechanism are still poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to explore the underlying biomarkers of depression and potential modulatory targets of dulaglutide in chronic mild stress (CMS) mice. Methods: Sixty mice were randomly divided into a control group (CON group), a CMS+Vehicle group (CMS+Veh group), a CMS+0.3 mg/kg dulaglutide group (Low Dula group), and a CMS+0.6 mg/kg dulaglutide group (High Dula group). Numerous behavioral tests, mainly the open field test, forced swimming test, and tail suspension test, were applied to evaluate the potential effect of dulaglutide treatment on anxiety‐ and depression‐like behaviors in mice exposed to chronic stress. Furthermore, a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics approach was utilized to investigate the associated mechanisms of dulaglutide treatment. Results: Three weeks of dulaglutide treatment significantly reversed depressive‐like but not anxiety‐like behaviors in mice exposed to chronic stress for 4 weeks. The results from the metabolomics analysis showed that a total of 20 differentially expressed metabolites were identified between the CON and CMS+Veh groups, and 46 metabolites were selected between the CMS+Veh and High Dula groups in the hippocampus of the mice. Comprehensive analysis indicated that lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and tryptophan metabolism were disrupted in model mice that experienced depression and underwent dulaglutide therapy. Conclusion: The antidepressant effects of dulaglutide in a CMS depression model were confirmed. We identified 64 different metabolites and four major pathways associated with metabolic pathophysiological processes. These primary data provide a new perspective for understanding the antidepressant‐like effects of dulaglutide and may facilitate the use of dulaglutide as a potential therapeutic strategy for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of miR-20a-5p on human nephroblastoma cell line WiT49 transplanted tumor in nude mice. Methods The gene expression chip was downloaded from GEO database, and the differential gene miR-20a-5p was obtained by GEO2R. The NF-kB gene was positively correlated with the expression of miR-20a-5p through cBioPortal database. The target gene of miR-20a-5p was predicted to be NFKBIB of the NF-kB transcription factor suppressor protein family by targetscan database, and was verified by dual luciferase assay. Nephroblastoma cell line WiT49 was cultured in vitro and transfected into WiT49 cells with lentiviral vectors constructed with miR-20a-5p mimics and its suppressor gene. Twelve nude mice were randomly divided into three groups: WiT49 model group, WIT49-miR-20a-5p overexpression group and WIT49-miR-20a-5p knockdown group. The tumor mass and volume of each group were detected by tumor formation experiment in nude mice. real time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-20a-5p, NFKBIB and NF-kB in each group; CCK-8 cell proliferation assay was used to verify the proliferation of tumor cells in each group. Results miR-20a-5p is highly expressed in nephroblastoma and is positively correlated with the expression of NF-kB. miR-20a-5p and NFKBIB have mutual binding sites and binding effects. In the tumor formation experiment of nude mice, the tumor volume and mass of WIT49-miR-20a-5P overexpression group were significantly increased compared with WiT49 model group, and the difference was statistically si gnificant (P < 0.05). In the qRT-PCR test, the expressions of miR-20a-5p and NF-kB in the WIT49-miR-20a-5p overexpression group were higher than those in the WiT49 model group, and NFKBIB expression in the WIT49-miR-20a-5p overexpression group was lower than that in the WiT49 model group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05).CCK-8 cell proliferation assay showed that the absorbance of WIT49-miR-20a-5p overexpression group at 24 and 48 hours was higher than that of WiT49 model group, and the absorbance of WIT49-miR-20a-5p knockdown group at 24, 48 and 72 hours was lower than that of WiT49 model group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion miR-20a-5p may promote the growth of human nephroblastoma cell WiT49 transplanted tumor in nude mice by regulating NFKBIB activation of NF-kB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of large yellow croaker roe phospholipids (LYCRPLs) on the physical properties of surimi gels and to clarify their interaction mechanism with myofibrillar proteins (MPs) in terms of chemical forces and the spatial conformation. RESULTS: LYCRPLs could improve the gel strength, textural properties, rheological properties and water‐holding capacity of surimi gels. Moreover, the interaction mechanism between LYCRPLs with MPs was revealed through intermolecular forces, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible absorption spectroscopy. The findings demonstrated that LYCRPLs enhanced the surface hydrophobicity and particle size of MPs, facilitating expansion and cross‐linking of MPs. CONCLUSION: These results provide a theoretical basis for improving the characteristics of surimi gels and thus facilitate the application of LYCRPLs in the aquatic food industry. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The reaction between Na and HF is a typical harpooning reaction which is of great interest due to its significance in understanding the elementary chemical reaction kinetics. This work aims to investigate the detailed reaction mechanisms of sodium with hydrogen fluoride and the adsorption of HF on the resultant NaF as well as the (NaF)4 tetramer. The results suggest that the reaction between Na and HF leads to the formation of sodium fluoride salt NaF and hydrogen gas. Na interacts with HF to form a complex HF···Na, and then the approaching of F atom of HF to Na results in a transition state H···F···Na. Accompanied by the broken of H-F bond, the bond forms between F and Na atoms as NaF, then the product NaF is yielded due to the removal of H atom. The resultant NaF can further form (NaF)4 tetramer. The interaction of NaF with HF leads to the complex NaF···HF; the form I as well as II of (NaF)4 can interact with HF to produce two complexes (i.e., (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF), but the form III of (NaF)4 can interact with HF to produce only one complex (NaF)4(III)···HF. These complexes were explored in terms of noncovalent interaction (NCI) and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) analyses. NCI analyses confirm the existences of attractive interactions in the complexes HF···Na, NaF···HF, (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF, and (NaF)4(III)···HF. QTAIM analyses suggest that the F···Na interaction forms in the HF···Na complex while the F···H hydrogen bonds form in NaF···HF, (NaF)4(I-1)···HF, (NaF)4(I-2)···HF, (NaF)4(II-1)···HF and (NaF)4(II-2)···HF, and (NaF)4(III)···HF complexes. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses were also applied to analyze the intermolecular donor-acceptor orbital interactions in these complexes. These results would provide valuable insight into the chemical reaction of Na and HF and the adsorption interaction between sodium fluoride salt and HF. Methods: The calculations were carried out at the M06-L/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory which were performed using the Gaussian16 program. Intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations were carried out at the same level of theory to confirm that the obtained transition state was true. The molecular surface electrostatic potential (MSEP) was employed to understand how the complex forms. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and noncovalent interaction (NCI) analysis was used to know the topology parameters at bond critical points (BCPs) and intermolecular interactions in the complex and intermediate. The topology parameters and the BCP plots were obtained by the Multiwfn software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upper airway compression is one of the clinical manifestations of thoracic aortic aneurysm, which is associated with poor prognosis and high mortality. A 44-year-old patient with ascending aortic and arch aneurysm who was scheduled for Bentall surgery and total arch replacement under cardiopulmonary bypass suffered difficult ventilation after endotracheal intubation. The patient did not exhibit any positional dyspnoea or orthopnoea, did not show any difficulties in the supine position, and had no noteworthy medical history. However, we encountered unexpected hypoventilation after intubation. Isoprenaline infusion was effective while emergency cardiopulmonary bypass was established to deal with this crisis. Fibreoptic bronchoscopy revealed complete obstruction of the carina and confirmed the supracarinal position of the tube. Complete airway obstruction may occur even if there are no symptoms before surgery in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm. Comprehensive preoperative assessment, a well-developed airway management plan, and responses to possible emergencies are essential to reduce unnecessary events or complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-transmitted disease that affects animals, causing fever, aseptic meningitis, and abortion. Its prevalence in China poses risks to both animal health and public well-being. Currently, there is a scarcity of seroepidemiological data on GETV due to the absence of commercial antibody detection kits for pigs. The aim of this study is to develop a rapid, accurate, and sensitive ELISA, providing a reliable tool for GETV seroepidemiology and laying the foundation for future commercial assay development. In this study, we removed specific hydrophobic domains and intracellular structures from E2 proteins and constructed the recombinant plasmid pCold-TF-E2. The recombinant protein was expressed using a prokaryotic expression system, and efficient purification of the rE2 protein was achieved using a nickel affinity column. The purified rE2 protein is suitable for the development of an indirect ELISA (rE2 ELISA). Following the optimization of reaction conditions for the rE2-ELISA, the cut-off value was 0.356. Additionally, the rE2-ELISA method showed a positive rate of 37.1% for IgG antibodies against GETV when testing 986 pig clinical serum samples collected from pigs in Sichuan between May 2022 and September 2022. The rE2-ELISA method displayed a 95.1% overall agreement with VNT, boasting a sensitivity of 98.2% and a specificity of 92.6%. These results indicate that IgG ELISA based on rE2 protein is an efficient and economical method for the detection of GETV antibodies in pigs, facilitating the diagnosis and prevention of GETV. • An indirect ELISA method for detecting GETV antibodies in swine was established. • The soluble recombinant E2 protein acts as the coated antigen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mining process of the stage empty field subsequent filling mining method, aiming at the problem of unloading failure and instability of the excavation face of the high-stress ore pillar, the theory of unloading stress component is introduced and combined with the energy release theory to explore the unloading failure mechanism of the excavation face of the ore pillar. The results show the following. (1) The degree of accumulation of strain energy in the pillar is related to the tangential stress. After the peak of the tangential stress, the energy changes from accumulation to release, indicating that energy release is the main cause of pillar damage. (2) In pillar unloading, there are 4 typical characteristic areas of stress during the loading process: crushing area, shaping area, elastic area, and original rock stress area. The energy accumulation area and the stress component area show good correspondence, and they all appear from the top to the bottom of the pillar. At 1/4, the starting point of unloading failure can be determined. (3) The mutation mechanism in the process of energy release is related to the time effect of tangential stress. On the contrary, the greater the tangential stress is, the longer the elastic zone lasts, and the more significant the energy accumulation is. Also, the increase in tangential stress will lead the energy release time becomes shorter, and a large amount of accumulated energy is released in a short time, causing local instability and destruction of the pillar, and eventually spreads to the whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A compromise volume fraction of the added magnetizable particles was 0.40. • Preferred magnetizable particles made admixture MFB within magnetic stabilization. • The more stable the obtained magnetic stabilization, the better the intensification. • Mass transfer intensification depended on hydrodynamics in resulting admixture MFB. This work aimed to explore the property effects of added magnetizable particles on the magnetic intensification of mass transfer between the fluidizing gas and Geldart-B nonmagnetizable particles. A compromise volume fraction (x vM) of magnetizable particles in the resulting binary admixture was 0.40 to transmit the stabilizing effect of magnetic field to the nonmagnetizable particles and save the bed volume. When x vM was maintained the same (=0.40), the added magnetizable particles had an optimal size/density to maximize the magnetic intensification. When the gas velocity was three times the minimum fluidization velocity of the nonmagnetizable particles, the optimum size and density ratios between the added magnetizable particles and the nonmagnetizable particles were 0.41 and 2.99, respectively. When the mass fraction was kept constant (=0.77), the lighter magnetizable particles were preferred to transmit the magnetic stabilization. The property effects of added magnetizable particles on the magnetic intensification of mass transfer depended on its effects on the hydrodynamics in the resulting admixture MFB. Provided the added magnetizable particles could make the obtained admixture MFB locate in the magnetic stabilization flow regime, the mass transfer could be significantly intensified. The more stable the obtained magnetic stabilization, the better the magnetic intensification of the mass transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing an environmentally benign bio-adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous medium was a sustainable strategy to ensure water safety. Herein, three-dimensional macroscopic aminosilyated nanocellulose aerogels (APTM S -modified TO-NFC) for the removal of heavy metal ions in water were successfully synthesized from bamboo-derived TEMPO-oxidized nanofibrillated cellulose (TO-NFC) and aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMs) via a facile freeze-drying process. Owing to a relatively high BET surface area (129.32 m2 g−1), high porosity (99.14%) as well as high substitution degree of amino groups (0.41), the resulting APTM S -modified TO-NFC aerogel exhibited good adsorption capacity of 99.0, 124.5, and 242.1 mg g−1 for Cu2+, Cd2+ and Hg2+, respectively. Furthermore, the crosslinked and three-dimensionally porous architecture imparted it with relatively high compression strength, good excellent stability in water, and ease of recyclability from water after the usage. The pH value of the solution had a great influence on adsorption efficiency of the aerogel adsorbent, and optimal adsorption efficiency could be achieved at pH 3–7. Thermodynamic parameters suggested the spontaneous and endothermic nature of adsorption process. This work provides a facile method for preparing sustainable bio-adsorbent for effective heavy metal ions removal from aqueous medium. A novel and sustainable APTMs-modified NFC aerogel bio-adsorbent for effective removal of Cu2+, Cd2+ and Hg2+ ions was prepared via a facile freeze-drying of TEMPO oxidized NFC suspension in the presence of APTMs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software traceability plays a critical role in software maintenance and evolution. We conducted a systematic mapping study with six research questions to understand the benefits, costs, and challenges of using traceability in maintenance and evolution. We systematically selected, analyzed, and synthesized 63 studies published between January 2000 and May 2020, and the results show that traceability supports 11 maintenance and evolution activities, among which change management is the most frequently supported activity; strong empirical evidence from industry is needed to validate the impact of traceability on maintenance and evolution; easing the process of change management is the main benefit of deploying traceability practices; establishing and maintaining traceability links is the main cost of deploying traceability practices; 13 approaches and 32 tools that support traceability in maintenance and evolution were identified; improving the quality of traceability links, the performance of using traceability approaches, and tools are the main traceability challenges in maintenance and evolution. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive understanding of deploying traceability practices in software maintenance and evolution phase and can be used by researchers for future directions and practitioners for making informed decisions while using traceability in maintenance and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High electrochemical reversibility is required for the application of high-energy- density lithium (Li) metal batteries; however, inactive Li formation and SEI (solid electrolyte interface)-instability- induced electrolyte consumption cause low Coulombic efficiency (CE). The prior interfacial chemical designs in terms of alloying kinetics have been used to enhance the CE of Li metal anode; however, the role of its redox chemistry at heterointerfaces remains a mystery. Herein, the relationship between heterointerfacial redox chemistry and electrochemical transformation reversibility is investigated. It is demonstrated that the lower redox potential at heterointerface contributes to higher CE, and this enhancement in CE is primarily due to the regulation of redox chemistry to Li deposition behavior rather than the formation of SEI films. Low oxidation potential facilitates the formation of the surface with the highly electrochemical binding feature after Li stripping, and low reduction potential can maintain binding ability well during subsequent Li plating, both of which homogenize Li deposition and thus optimize CE. In particular, Mg hetero-metal with ultra-low redox potential enables Li metal anode with significantly improved CE (99.6%) and stable cycle life for 700 cycles at 3.0 mA cm-2. This work provides insight into the heterointerfacial design principle of next-generation negative electrodes for highly reversible metal batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ascochlorin glycoside (1) and 8 known ascochlorin derivatives (2-9), and ilicicolin H (10) were purified from brittlestar derived fungus Acremonium sp. GXIMD02024. Their structural elucidations were carried out by analyses of 1D and 2D NMR, high resolution mass spectrometry, and CD spectroscopic data and comparison of those with literature data. Compound 1 was a rare fungal polyketide-sesquiterpenoid possessing sugar moiety. The antibacterial and cytotoxicity activities of compounds 1-10 have been performed in vitro. Compounds 1-3, 7, 8, and 10 were measured for their inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase. Compound 1 exhibited poor activity or was inactive, but the detail analysis indicated sugar moiety in 1 maybe play an important role in effect on biological activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 1966, Ms 6.8 and 7.2 earthquakes occurred in Xingtai, North China, resulting in widespread soil liquefaction that caused severe infrastructure damage and economic losses. Using Keyhole satellite imagery combined with aerial images and fieldwork records, we interpreted and identified 66,442 liquefaction points and analyzed the coseismic liquefaction distribution characteristics and possible factors that influenced the Xingtai earthquakes. The interpreted coseismic liquefaction was mainly concentrated above the IX-degree zone, accounting for 80% of all liquefaction points. High-density liquefaction zones (point density > 75 pieces/km2) accounted for 22% of the total liquefaction points. Most of the interpreted liquefaction points were located at the region with a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of >0.46 g. The liquefaction area on 22 March was significantly larger than that on 8 March. The region of liquefaction was mainly limited by sandy soil conditions, water system conditions, and seismic geological conditions and distributed in areas with loose fine sand and silt deposits, a high water table (groundwater level increases before both mainshocks corresponding to the liquefaction intensive regions), rivers, and ancient river channels. Liquefaction exhibited a repeating characteristic in the same region. Further understanding of the liquefaction characteristics of Xingtai can provide a reference for the prevention of liquefaction in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares three zircon synthesis techniques (synthesis, high-temperature and high-pressure sintering and fast hot-pressing sintering) for the preparation of reference materials for Hf isotope analysis of zircon by laser ablation multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS). Ultrafine milled zircon powder particles doped with Yb2O3 produced by wet milling were used to synthesize zircon samples by using high-temperature and high-pressure sintering and fast hot-pressing sintering techniques. Li–Mo flux was necessary to obtain synthetic zircon grains. Zr signals for synthetic zircon grains and high-temperature and high-pressure sintered zircon are consistent with those of natural zircons but higher than that of fast hot-pressing sintered zircon, indicating that high-temperature and high-pressure sintered zircon has approximated the theoretical maximum density due to high pressure. The Hf isotopic compositions of high-temperature and high-pressure sintered and fast hot-pressing sintered zircon are comparable to those of the initial starting materials, whereas the Hf isotopes in synthetic zircon grains deviate slightly from those of the initial Hf solution. Compared with Hf isotope ratios obtained by SN-MC-ICP-MS, all preparation techniques give reliable LA-MC-ICP-MS results, suggesting that all synthetic zircon samples have great potential as both tools for in situ method development and isotopic reference materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PCIF1 can mediate the methylation of N6,2'-0-dimethyladenosine (m6Am) in mRNA. Yet, the detailed interplay between PCIF1 and the potential cofactors and its pathological significance remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that PCIF1-mediated cap mRNA m6Am modification promoted head and neck squamous cell carcinoma progression both in vitro and in vivo. CTBP2 was identified as a cofactor of PCIF1 to catalyze m6Am deposition on mRNA. CLIP-Seq data demonstrated that CTBP2 bound to similar mRNAs as compared with PCIF1. We then used the m6Am-Seq method to profile the mRNA m6Am site at single-base resolution and found that mRNA of TET2, a well-known tumor suppressor, was a major target substrate of the PCIF1-CTBP2 complex. Mechanistically, knockout of CTBP2 reduced PCIF1 occupancy on TET2 mRNA, and the PCIF1-CTBP2 complex negatively regulated the translation of TET2 mRNA. Collectively, our study demonstrates the oncogenic function of the epitranscriptome regulator PCIF1-CTBP2 complex, highlighting the importance of the m6Am modification in tumor progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial expression recognition has been widely used in lots of fields such as health care and intelligent robot systems. However, recognizing facial expression in the wild is still very challenging due to variations, light intensity, occlusions and the ambiguity of human emotion. When training samples cannot include all these environments, the classification can easily lead to errors. Therefore, this paper proposes a new heuristic objective function based on the domain knowledge so as to better optimize deep neural networks for facial expression recognition. Moreover, we take the specific relationship between the facial expression and facial action units as the domain knowledge. By analyzing the mixing relationship between different expression categories and then enlarging the distance of easily confused categories, we define a new heuristic objective function which can guide deep neural network to learn better features and then improve the accuracy of facial expression recognition. The experimental results verify the effectiveness, universality and the superior performance of our methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of low-light image enhancement (LLIE) is to enhance perception to restore normal-light images. The primary emphasis of earlier LLIE methods was on enhancing the illumination while paying less attention to the color distortions and noise in the dark. In comparison to the ground truth, the restored images frequently exhibit inconsistent color and residual noise. To this end, this paper introduces a Wasserstein contrastive regularization method (WCR) for LLIE. The WCR regularizes the color histogram (CH) representation of the restored image to keep its color consistency while removing noise. Specifically, the WCR contains two novel designs including a differentiable CH module (DCHM) and a WCR loss. The DCHM serves as a modular component that can be easily integrated into the network to enable end-to-end learning of the image CH. Afterwards, to ensure color consistency, we utilize the Wasserstein distance (WD) to quantify the resemblance of the learnable CHs between the restored image and the normal-light image. Then, the regularized WD is used to construct the WCR loss, which is a triplet loss and takes the normal-light images as positive samples, the low-light images as negative samples, and the restored images as anchor samples. The WCR loss pulls the anchor samples closer to the positive samples and simultaneously pushes them away from the negative samples so as to help the anchors remove the noise in the dark. Notably, the proposed WCR method was only used for training, and was shown to achieve high performance and high speed inference using lightweight networks. Therefore, it is valuable for real-time applications such as night automatic driving and night reversing image enhancement. Extensive evaluations on benchmark datasets such as LOL, FiveK, and UIEB showed that the proposed WCR method achieves superior performance, outperforming existing state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional machine learning models have mainly been used to study geological logging data of a single sample point, ignoring the fact that logging data has a strong spatial correlation. In this study, we use convolutional neural network to extract single-point features, structural features, and multidimensional features from logging data and compare the identification effects of lithology identification models based on the three features. The identification model based on the multidimensional feature extraction achieves 77.94% correctness in the test set, which is the best result among the identification models based on CNN and the three machine learning models. Based on this feature extraction model, the feature fusion modules in U-net and feature pyramid are added respectively to build two feature fusion models to combine the features extracted from different convolutional layers and improve the effectiveness of the model. The model also introduces attention mechanism to improve the role of useful features in the model training process. The identification accuracy of the two feature fusion models, U-CNN and P-CNN, reached 79.67% and 80.02% on the test set, respectively, which verified the effectiveness of the feature fusion models for lithology identification in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent metabolic disease in the world. Previous studies have shown that anesthetics can affect perioperative blood glucose levels which related to adverse clinical outcomes. Few studies have explored the choice of general anesthetic protocol on perioperative glucose metabolism in diabetes patients. We aimed to compare total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with total inhalation anesthesia (TIHA) on blood glucose level and complications in type 2 diabetic patients undergoing general surgery. Methods: In this double-blind controlled trial, 116 type 2 diabetic patients scheduled for general surgery were randomly assigned to either the TIVA group or TIHA group (n = 56 and n = 60, respectively). The blood glucose level at different time points were measured and analyzed by the repeated-measures analysis of variance. The serum insulin and cortisol levels were measured and analyzed with t-test. The incidence of complications was followed up and analyzed with chi-square test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. The risk factors for complications were analyzed using the logistic stepwise regression. Results: The blood glucose levels were higher in TIHA group than that in TIVA group at the time points of extubation, 1 and 2 h after the operation, 1 and 2 days after the operation, and were significantly higher at 1 day after the operation (10.4 ± 2.8 vs. 8.1 ± 2.1 mmol/L; P < 0.01). The postoperative insulin level was higher in TIVA group than that in TIHA group (8.9 ± 2.9 vs. 7.6 ± 2.4 IU/mL; P = 0.011). The postoperative cortisol level was higher in TIHA group than that in TIVA group (15.3 ± 4.8 vs. 12.2 ± 8.9 ug/dL ; P = 0.031). No significant difference regarding the incidence of complications between the two groups was found based on the current samples. Blood glucose level on postoperative day 1 was a risk factor for postoperative complications (OR: 1.779, 95%CI: 1.009 ~ 3.138). Conclusions: TIVA has less impact on perioperative blood glucose level and a better inhibition of cortisol release in type 2 diabetic patients compared to TIHA. A future large trial may be conducted to find the difference of complications between the two groups. Trial registration: The protocol registered on the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry on 20/01/2020 (ChiCTR2000029247). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower limb muscle strength is an important indicator of the effectiveness of rehabilitation training for patients with stroke and hemiplegia. When patients are trained with a lower limb rehabilitation robot, real-time human–machine interaction force acquisition can not only grasp the muscle strength of patients' lower limbs in time but also serve as an important reference for active/passive training mode. To accurately collect the human–machine interaction force to identify the patient's movement intention and determine the active/passive mode, a method is proposed to collect the human–machine interaction force based on a resistive strain gauge leg pressure sensor. The method can be applied to a variety of rehabilitation platforms to collect human–machine interaction force quickly and accurately and to identify and classify behaviors through probabilistic neural networks to determine patients' active/passive training patterns. By analyzing the active/passive walking of rehabilitation patients, the motor status of patients in that period is derived. The validity and correctness of the designed sensor and determination method were verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high abundance of their components, low cost, and high safety, zinc‐based batteries open up new vistas for large‐scale energy storage. However, their stability, lifetime, and reversibility are impaired by passivation and dendrite growth of the Zn anode. Here, this challenge is circumvented by an iodine post‐functionalized zeolitic imidazolate framework‐90 (ZIF‐90‐I) additive, in which the polycation absorbed on Zn anode can regulate solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation in the 1 m Zn(TFSI)2 electrolyte and induce Zn2+ uniform deposition. Moreover, the I3−/I− redox can rejuvenate dead Zn and inhibit dendrites. With the ZIF‐90‐I additive, Zn plating/stripping at 99.5% Coulombic efficiency for 120 cycles is obtained in Zn||Ti cells at 20 mA cm−2/1 mAh cm−2. In addition, Zn||Zn cells show steady cycling for 1200 h at 5 mA cm−2/1 mAh cm−2 with stable overpotentials. The utilization rate of Zn reaches up to 68.6%. In situ optical microscopy reveals smooth, uniform Zn plating, and the Zn‐rejuvenated function from the I3−/I− redox couple. The refreshed SEI with the increase of Zn‐rich complexes, and nitrides from adsorbed polycations, are uniform and ZnF2‐rich in the Zn(TFSI)2 + ZIF‐90‐I electrolyte. The full Zn||air cells in Zn(TFSI)2 + ZIF‐90‐I electrolyte exhibit excellent cycling stability with stable polarization voltage at 0.1 mA/0.05 mAh cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Sleep deprivation (SD) triggers a range of neuroinflammatory responses. Dexmedetomidine can improve sleep deprivation-induced anxiety by reducing neuroinflammatory response but the mechanism is unclear; (2) Methods: The sleep deprivation model was established by using an interference rod device. An open field test and an elevated plus maze test were used to detect the emotional behavior of mice. Mouse cortical tissues were subjected to RNA sequence (RNA-seq) analysis. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of p38/p-p38, MSK1/p-MSK1, and NFκBp65/p- NFκBp65. Inflammatory cytokines were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); (3) Results: SD triggered anxiety-like behaviors in mice and was closely associated with inflammatory responses and the MAPK pathway (as demonstrated by transcriptome analysis). SD led to increased expression levels of p-p38, p-MSK1, and p-NFκB. P38 inhibitor SB203580 was used to confirm the important role of the p38/MSK1/NFκB pathway in SD-induced neuroinflammation. Dexmedetomidine (Dex) effectively improves emotional behavior in sleep-deprived mice by attenuating SD-induced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex, mainly by inhibiting the activation of the p38/MSK1/NFκB pathway; (4) Conclusions: Dex inhibits the activation of the p38/MSK1/NFκB pathway, thus attenuating SD-induced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in the cerebral cortex of mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sugammadex has been reported to lower the incidence of postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade. Despite the advantages, until recently the effects of sugammadex on postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) were controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether reversal with sugammadex was associated with a lower risk of PPCs compared with neostigmine. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to May 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing PPCs in patients receiving sugammadex or neostigmine as reversal agent at the end of surgery were included. The primary outcomes focused on PPCs including desaturation, pneumonia, atelectasis, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and reintubation. Trial sequential analysis was performed on the primary outcomes to confirm whether firm evidence was reached. Results: Meta-analysis of included studies showed that the rate of desaturation (43.2% vs 45.0%, RR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.63 to 1.05; p = 0.11) were comparable between the two groups. When looking at other primary outcomes, significantly lower risk of pneumonia (1.37% vs 2.45%, RR = 0.65; 95% CI 0.49 to 0.85; p = 0.002), atelectasis (24.6% vs 30.4%, RR = 0.64; 95% CI 0.42 to 0.98; p = 0.04), NIV (1.37% vs 2.33%, RR = 0.65; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.98; p = 0.04) and reintubation (0.99% vs 1.65%, RR = 0.62; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.91; p = 0.01) in the sugammadex group were detected compared with the neostigmine group. Conclusions: We concluded that sugammadex is more effective at reducing the incidence of PPCs including pneumonia, atelectasis, NIV and reintubation compared with neostigmine. Further evidence, preferably from RCTs, is required to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's first optical stereo mapping satellite with a sub-meter resolution, GaoFen-7 (GF-7), launched in November 2019, shows significant potential for providing high-resolution topographic and geomorphic data for quantitative research on active tectonics. However, no studies have evaluated the capability of the GF-7-generated digital elevation model (DEM) for quantitatively studying active tectonics. This study aimed to validate the accuracy of the DEMs extracted from GF-7 stereo imagery, with or without ground control points (GCPs), and evaluated the potential of applying GF-7 DEMs to active tectonics. First, GF-7 stereo images were processed to obtain DEMs with a spatial resolution of 2 m, utilizing three different methods, including block adjustment without GCPs, block adjustment with the aid of Google Earth images and SRTM DEM, and block adjustment with GCPs derived from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) data. These three generated DEMs were called GF-7 DEMMethod1, GF-7 DEMMethod2, and GF-7 DEMMethod3, respectively, and were verified by the airborne LiDAR data in the Hasishan section of the Haiyuan fault. Second, the capability of the GF-7 DEMs for identifying active faults, fault scarps, and horizontal offsets was evaluated. Finally, 8 vertical and 13 horizontal offsets were measured based on three different GF-7 DEMs, and airborne LiDAR data were used to verify the measurements' accuracies. The results indicated that the accuracy of GF-7 DEMMethod1 was the worst and that of GF-7 DEMMethod3 was superior to that of GF-7 DEMMethod2. The GF-7 DEMs could effectively identify the apparent fault scarps and horizontal offsets. The RMSE values of the vertical offsets measured based on GF-7 DEMMethod1, GF-7 DEMMethod2, and GF-7 DEMMethod3 were 0.55 m, 0.55 m, and 0.41 m, respectively. The horizontal offsets yielded RMSE values of 3.98 m, 2.52 m, and 1.37 m, respectively. These findings demonstrated that vertical and horizontal offsets could be accurately measured using the DEMs generated from GF-7 stereo images. Meanwhile, our study indicated that the GCPs derived from ICESat-2 data could be utilized to improve the accuracies of the GF-7 DEM, and the measurements of vertical and horizontal offsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the effects of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) roe protein hydrolysate (LYCPH)–polyphenol (catechin (CA), gallic acid (GA), and tannic acid (TA)) conjugates on the oxidative stability of fish oil in an oleogel system. RESULTS: Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggested that the LYCPH–polyphenol conjugates were nearly spherical and non‐covalent and that covalent effects could coexist between LYCPH and polyphenols. LYCPH–TA exhibited the highest ABTS scavenging, reducing capacities, and emulsifying stability. Raman spectra and chemometrics revealed that LYCPH–TA loaded with oleogels had the best oxidative stability. Additionally, 32 volatile compounds were identified in fish oil by headspace gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study demonstrated that fish oil oleogels loaded with LYCPH–polyphenol conjugates could inhibit fish oil oxidation. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered δ-MnO2 catalysts were prepared using the one-step redox method in precursor solutions with five different pH values (pH = 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14). The effects of pH on the physical properties and catalytic activity of the catalyst were investigated through XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, H2-TPR, and HCHO degradation tests at room temperature. The results showed that the layer spacing, manganese vacancy content, Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio, and surface-reactive oxygen species content of MnO2 increased with the increase in pH value in the alkaline range. When the catalyst was prepared at pH = 13, the above characteristics of the catalyst reached the optimal value which contributed to the high catalytic activity. Combined with the related characterization results, it was proved that changing the pH can affect the degree of oxidation in the catalyst synthesis process, increase the number of active oxygen and the oxygen mobility of the catalyst, and effectively improve the catalytic activity of the manganese dioxide catalyst for HCHO. This work represents a giant step toward the preparation of an effective catalyst for practical applications of HCHO removal at room temperature at a low concentration and high velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to assess existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures with damages. This task, however, is traditionally empirical and time‐consuming. To improve assessment accuracy and efficiency, this study proposed an approach to semantic model damaged RC beams based on point clouds. A slice‐based method for automatically modeling deformed beams and a color‐based crack detection method were developed for generating building information modeling (BIM) and finite element (FE) models. Furthermore, to enhance structural assessment and decision‐making by providing both damage and loading performance analysis data, a framework to extend the existing IFC standard was proposed for interoperability issues between FE models and BIM, aiming to integrate semantic‐enrichment damages and FE analysis results in the as‐is BIM model. Experiments were carried out on a simply supported RC beam subjected to a concentrated load. As a result, the improvement of the developed as‐is BIM model for damage visualization and structural assessment was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior studies have reported conflicting results on the effect of sugammadex on postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) and research on this topic in transapical-transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI) was sparse. The current study aimed to investigate whether there were differences in the incidence of PPCs between two muscle relaxant strategies (rocuronium/sugammadex vs. cisatracurium/neostigmine) in patients undergoing TA-TAVI. Methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled 245 adult patients underwent TA-TAVI between October 2018 and January 2021. The patients were grouped according to the type of muscle relaxant strategies (115 with rocuronium/sugammadex in the R/S group and 130 with cisatracurium/neostigmine in the C/N group, respectively). Pre- and intraoperative variables were managed by propensity score match (PSM) at a 1:2 ratio. PPCs (i.e., respiratory infection, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, atelectasis, respiratory failure, bronchospasm and aspiration pneumonitis) were evaluated from the radiological and laboratory findings. Results: After PSM, 91 patients in the R/S group were selected and matched to 112 patients in the C/N group. Patients in the R/S group showed lower PPCs rate (45.1% vs. 61.6%, p = 0.019) compared to the C/N group. In addition, the R/S group showed significant shorter extubation time (7.2 ± 6.2 vs. 10.3 ± 8.2 min, p = 0.003) and length of hospital stay (6.9 ± 3.3 vs. 8.0 ± 4.0 days, p = 0.034). Conclusion: The rocuronium/sugammadex muscle relaxant strategy decreases the incidence of PPCs in patients undergoing TA-TAVI when compared to cisatracurium/neostigmine strategy. Trial registration ChiCTR, ChiCTR2100044269. Registered March 14, 2021-Prospectively registered, http://www.Chictr.org.cn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substituent size and isomerization play an important role in the polymorphism of 2-(naphthalen-n-ylamino)-benzoic acids (n = 1, 2; 2-NBAs) as each of the two previously investigated 2-NBAs was found to be polymorphic, while their parent compound fenamic acid (FA) has only one form discovered. 2-(Naphthalen-1-ylamino)-nicotinic acid (1) and 2-(naphthalen-2-ylamino)-nicotinic acid (2) (2-NNA) are isosteric compounds of 2-NBAs, and 2-(2,3-dimethyl-phenylamino)-nicotinic acid (3) and 2-(3,4-dimethyl-phenylamino)-nicotinic acid (4) are 2-NNA analogues with similar substitution patterns. All four compounds are clonixin analogues. The polymorphism of these four compounds was investigated. One solvent-free form (1-A) and one hydrate (1-H) were discovered for 1, three forms (2-I, 2-II, and 2-III) were obtained for 2, and one form was found for 3 and 4. The four systems were characterized by single-crystal XRD (SCXRD) and powder XRD (PXRD), and structural properties were compared among the crystals of the four compounds, their isosteres, and other related analogues. The phase behavior of the four systems was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to investigate the dehydration of 1-H. Computational studies such as stable conformer search, π–π interaction energy calculation, and non-covalent interaction (NCI) analysis were performed to shed light on the rise of polymorphism, and the relative contribution of various intermolecular interactions to the overall stability of the crystals. The study confirmed the effect of substituent size, thus the consequent π–π interactions, on the hydrate formation of compound 1 and polymorphism of compound 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microanalysis of tin isotopes in cassiterite by laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) has been an important tool to reconstruct the fluid evolution or discriminate petrological sources and processes. However, it is a major challenge to prepare the absolutely essential cassiterite reference material that has a homogeneous Sn isotope composition on a micron scale. In this study, we report a novel method to synthesize a homogeneous cassiterite reference material via sintering a micrometer powder. Under the optimized conditions (600 °C, 1 GPa), the synthesized cassiterite has a smooth surface and dense structure that is suitable for laser ablation analysis. The Sn signal for the synthesized cassiterite was consistent with that of natural cassiterite and lower than that of the pressed powder pellets by LA-ICP-MS, indicating that the sintered cassiterite approximated the theoretical maximal density. LA-MC-ICP-MS measurements suggest that the homogeneity (2SD) for δ124Sn/120Sn was improved from 0.64‰ (original cassiterite crystal) to 0.10‰ (synthesized cassiterite). The reproducibility of δ124Sn/120Sn was 0.07‰ (2SD) for the synthesized cassiterite. These data have demonstrated that the synthesized cassiterite has a homogeneous distribution of Sn isotopes. Therefore, we recommend combining ultra-fine powders with the high-temperature sintering technique to synthesize other minerals for microanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variable noise spectrum for many actual application scenarios requires a sound absorber to adapt to this variation. An adjustable sound absorber of multiple parallel-connection Helmholtz resonators with tunable apertures (TA–MPCHRs) is prepared by the low-force stereolithography of photopolymer resin, which aims to improve the applicability of the proposed sound absorber for noise with various frequency ranges. The proposed TA–MPCHR metamaterial contains five metamaterial cells. Each metamaterial cell contains nine single Helmholtz resonators. It is treated as a basic structural unit for an array arrangement. The tunable aperture is realized by utilizing four segments of extendable cylindrical chambers with length l0, which indicates that the length of the aperture l is in the range of [l0, 4l0], and that it is tunable. With a certain group of specific parameters for the proposed TA–MPCHR, the influence of the tunable aperture with a variable length is investigated by acoustic finite element simulation with a two-dimensional rotational symmetric model. For the given noise spectrum of certain actual equipment with four operating modes, the TA–MPCHR sample with a limited total thickness of 40 mm is optimized, which is made of photopolymer resin by the low-force stereolithography, and its actual average sound absorption coefficients for the frequency ranges of 500–800 Hz, 550–900 Hz, 600–1000 Hz and 700–1150 Hz reach 0.9203, 0.9202, 0.9436 and 0.9561, respectively. Relative to common non-adjustable metamaterials, the TA–MPCHR made of photopolymer resin can reduce occupied space and improve absorption efficiency, which is favorable in promoting its practical applications in the noise pollution prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Valvular heart disease remains common in both developed and developing countries, and it requires timely surgical treatment when necessary. However, the stability of hemodynamics during anesthesia induction in patients undergoing valve replacement surgery is difficult to maintain due to their impaired cardiac function. Remimazolam, a novel and ultrashort-acting intravenous sedative-hypnotic, may be beneficial to stable hemodynamics, but the evidence is limited. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of remimazolam induction on hemodynamics compared with midazolam and etomidate in patients undergoing valve replacement surgery. Methods: This is a prospective, multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT). Three hundred and sixty-three non-obese adult patients aged 45 to 80 years old undergoing valve surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass will be randomly allocated to receive remimazolam tosilate, midazolam, or etomidate during anesthetic induction. The primary outcome is the incidence of hypotension within 20 min after the administration of investigated drugs. The hypotension is defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 90 mmHg or a 30% reduction in SBP from baseline or the application of vasoactive drugs. Secondary outcomes include incidence of successful sedation, time to successful sedation, incidence of delirium and postoperative low cardiac output syndrome within 7 days after surgery, hospital mortality, mechanical ventilation time, ICU length of stay, and hospital length of stay. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective RCT to investigate the efficacy and safety of remimazolam induction in adult cardiac surgery compared with midazolam and etomidate. This study will provide important information on the application of remimazolam in cardiac surgery in the future. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry chictr.org.cn ChiCTR2100050122. Registered on August 16, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for the synthesis of 2-aminobenzofurans has been described via Sc(OTf)3 mediated formal cycloaddition of isocyanides with the in situ generated ortho-quinone methides (o-QMs) from o-hydroxybenzhydryl alcohol. Notably, as a class of readily available and highly active intermediates, o-QMs were first used in the construction of benzofurans. This [4 + 1] cycloaddition reaction provides a straightforward and efficient methodology for the construction of 2-aminobenzofurans scaffold in good yield (up to 93% yield) under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are ubiquitous Ca2+ sensors that mediate plant responses to various stress and developmental processes by interacting with CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). CBLs and CIPKs play essential roles in acclimatization of crop plants. However, evolution of these two gene families in the genus Medicago is poorly understood. Results: A total of 68 CBL and 135 CIPK genes have been identified in five genomes from Medicago. Among these genomes, the gene number of CBLs and CIPKs shows no significant difference at the haploid genome level. Phylogenetic and comprehensive characteristic analyses reveal that CBLs and CIPKs are classified into four clades respectively, which is validated by distribution of conserved motifs. The synteny analysis indicates that the whole genome duplication events (WGDs) have contributed to the expansion of both families. Expression analysis demonstrates that two MsCBLs and three MsCIPKs are specifically expressed in roots, mature leaves, developing flowers and nitrogen fixing nodules of Medicago sativa spp. sativa, the widely grown tetraploid species. In particular, the expression of these five genes was highly up-regulated in roots when exposed to salt and drought stress, indicating crucial roles in stress responses. Conclusions: Our study leads to a comprehensive understanding of evolution of CBL and CIPK gene families in Medicago, but also provides a rich resource to further address the functions of CBL-CIPK complexes in cultivated species and their closely related wild relatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) confers clinical benefits after HBsAg seroclearance, especially in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroreversion and maintenance of HBsAb. We evaluated this in patients (n = 222) with HBsAg loss following treatment with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN)-based therapy who completed a 48- week follow-up period. Serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers and biochemical indicators were evaluated every 3 months. The primary endpoint was HBsAg seroreversion. Factors associated with HBsAg seroreversion were also investigated. HBsAb ≥100 mIU/ml resulted in a lower HBsAg seroreversion rate than an HBsAb-negative status (5.5% vs. 29.5%, p < .001); however, the seroreversion rate was not significantly different between patients with HBsAb 10-100 mIU/ml and those in the HBsAb-negative group. Patients with HBsAb ≥100 mIU/ml had a lower HBsAb loss rate than those with HBsAb 10-100 mIU/ml (7.3% vs. 21.7%, p = .005). The final HBsAg seroreversion and HBV DNA relapse rates were 13.5% and 1.8%, respectively. HBsAb ≥100 mIU/ml at the off- treatment time (odds ratio [OR] 0.110, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.034-0.353, p < .001) and treatment time to attain HBsAg loss >28 weeks (OR 2.508, 95% CI: 1.068-5.890, p = .035) were predictors of HBsAg seroreversion. Consolidation therapy for 12-24 weeks resulted in higher HBsAb titres than consolidation therapy for ≤12 weeks in HBsAb-negative patients at the off-treatment time (p < .001). HBsAg seroconversion with HBsAb ≥100 mIU/ml decreases HBsAg seroreversion and provides an efficient maintenance rate of HBsAb. HBsAg seroconversion with high HBsAb titres may be clinically beneficial for chronic hepatitis B treated with PEG-IFN-based therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tropical Pacific currents from January 2004 to December 2018 are computed based on the gridded Argo temperatures and salinities using the P-vector method on an f plane and the geostrophic approximation on a β plane. Three branches of the South Equatorial Current (SEC) are identified, i.e., SEC(N) (2°S–5°N), SEC(M) (7°–3°S), and SEC(S) (20°–8°S), with the maximum zonal velocity of −55 cm s−1 and total volume transport of −49.8 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) occurring in the central-east Pacific. The seasonal variability of each branch shows a distinct and different westward propagation of zonal current anomalies, which are well mirrored by the SLA differences between 2°S and 5°N, between 3°S and 6°S, and between 8°S and 15°S, respectively. Most of the seasonal variations are successfully simulated by a simple analytical Rossby wave model, highlighting the significance of the first-mode baroclinic, linear Rossby waves, particularly those driven by the wind stress curl in the central-east Pacific. However, the linear theory fails to explain the SEC(M) variations in certain months in the central-east Pacific, where the first baroclinic mode contributes only around 50% of the explained variance to the equatorial surface currents. A nonlinear model involving higher baroclinic modes is suggested for a further diagnosis. Considering the crucial role played by the tropical Pacific in the natural climate variability via the El Niño–Southern Ocean dynamics and the ocean response to anthropogenic forcing via the ocean heat uptake in the eastern tropical Pacific, advancing the process understanding of the SEC from observations is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to establish a non-invasive radiomics model based on computed tomography (CT), with favorable sensitivity and specificity to predict EGFR mutation status in GGO-featured lung adenocarcinoma subsequently guiding the administration of targeted therapy. Methods: Clinical-pathological information and preoperative CT images of 636 lung adenocarcinoma patients (464, 100, and 72 in the training, internal, and external validation sets, respectively) that underwent GGO lesions resection were included. A total of 1476 radiomics features were extracted with gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT). Results: The established radiomics model containing 102 selected features showed an encouraging discrimination performance of EGFR mutation status (mutant or wild type), and the predictive ability was superior to that of the clinical model (AUC: 0.838 vs. 0.674, 0.822 vs. 0.730, and 0.803 vs. 0.746 for the training, internal validation, and external validation sets, respectively). The combined radiomics plus clinical model showed no additional benefit over the radiomics model in predicting EGFR status (AUC: 0.846 vs. 0.838, 0.816 vs. 0.822, and 0.811 vs. 0.803, respectively, in three cohorts). Uniquely, this model was validated in a cohort of lung adenocarcinoma patients who have undertaken adjuvant EGFR-TKI treatment and harbored unresected GGOs during the medication, leading to a significantly improved potency of EGFR-TKIs (response rate: 25.9% vs. 53.8%, p = 0.006; before and after prediction, respectively). Conclusion: This presented radiomics model can be served as a non-invasive and time-saving approach for predicting the EGFR mutation status in lung adenocarcinoma presenting as GGO. Key Points: • We developed a GGO-specific radiomics model containing 102 radiomics features for EGFR mutation status differentiation. • An AUC of 0.822 and 0.803 in the internal and external validation cohorts, respectively, were achieved. • The radiomics model was utilized in clinical translation in an adjuvant EGFR-TKI treatment cohort with unresected GGOs. A significant improvement in the potency of EGFR-TKIs was achieved (response rate: 25.9% vs. 53.8%, p = 0.006; before and after prediction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-pyrolysis of coal and seaweed can not only effectively decrease the carbon footprint but also improve the quality and output of coal pyrolysis products, however, the influence of seaweed on thermal releasing behaviors of mercury during co-pyrolysis process are still unclear. In this work, the chlorella and Guizhou bituminous coal were mixed and used to reveal the mercury release behavior during co-pyrolysis by the temperature programmed pyrolysis experiments, thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG) and thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS) methods, offering a sufficient explanation on the control technology of mercury pollutants in co-pyrolysis. The results exhibited that a large amount of reducing gases such as CO, H 2 and H 2 O were generated in chlorella at the temperature range of 100-500°C, which was favorable for the transformation from oxidized mercury to elemental mercury, thus remarkably increased the release of elemental mercury in the raw coal sample. The mixed chlorella also significantly lowered the decomposition temperature range (from 400-600 to 300-400°C) of pyrite-bound mercury and decreased the decomposition temperatures of the pyrite-bound mercury species. Additionally, in the co-pyrolysis about 91.82% of mercury was released into the gas phase below 400°C and was 13.77% higher than that of in individual pyrolysis of coal. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal the correlation of dynamic serum tumor markers (STMs) and molecular features of epidermal growth factor receptor‐mutated (EGFR‐mutated) lung cancer during targeted therapy, we retrospectively reviewed 303 lung cancer patients who underwent dynamic STM tests [neuron‐specific enolase (NSE), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153), the soluble fragment of cytokeratin 19 (CYFRA21‐1), and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC)] and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing with a panel covering 168 genes. At baseline, patients with EGFR mutation trended to have abnormal CEA, abnormal CA153, and normal SCC levels. Additionally, patients with Thr790Met (T790M) mutation were more likely to have abnormal CEA levels than patients without T790M mutation. Among patients with secondary resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), the dynamic STMs showed a descending trend in the responsive stage and a rising trend in the resistant stage. However, the changing slopes differed between T790M subgroup and the non‐T790M subgroup in individual STMs. Our study demonstrated that the combination of baseline levels and variations of STMs (including the responsive stage and resistant stage) can be suggestive of secondary EGFR‐T790M mutation [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.897] and that changing trends of STMs (within 8 weeks after initiating the TKI therapy) can be potential predictors for the clearance of EGFR ctDNA [AUC = 0.871]. In conclusion, dynamic monitoring STMs can help to predict the molecular features of EGFR‐mutated lung cancer during targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ability to generate in situ real-time electric signals, electrochemically active biofilm (EAB) sensors have attracted wide attention as a promising water biotoxicity early-warning device. Organic matters serving as the electron donors potentially affect the electric signal's output and the sensitivity of the EAB sensor. To explore the influence of organic matters on EAB sensor's performance, this study tested six different organic matters during the sensor's inoculation. Besides the acetate, a conventional and widely used organic matter, propionate and lactate were also found capable of starting up the sensor. Moreover, the propionate-fed (PF) sensor delivered the highest sensitivity, which are respectively 1.4 times and 2.8 times of acetate-fed (AF) sensor and lactate-fed (LF) sensor. Further analysis revealed that EAB of PF sensor had more vulnerable intracellular metabolism than the others, which manifested as the most severe energy metabolic suppression and reactive oxygen species attack. Regarding the microbial function, a two-component system that was deemed as an environment awareness system was found in the EAB of PF, which also contributed to its high sensitivity. Finally, PF sensor was tested in real water environment to deliver early-warning signals. • Effects of organic matters on the EAB sensors' sensitivity were investigated. • Propionate rather than acetate was suit for feeding sensitive sensors. • Energy metabolic suppression and ROS attack led to high sensitivity. • Microbial function difference was closely related to the sensitivity change. • Low concentration of propionate was more suit for high sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]