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Objective: To evaluate the association between body composition and subsequent risk of the major gynecologic malignancies. Methods: This is a prospective analysis of participants from the UK Biobank. We measured baseline body composition and confirmed cancer diagnosis through linkage to cancer and death registries. We evaluated hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence interval (CIs) with COX models adjusting for potential confounders. Results: We document 1430 cases of the top three gynecologic malignancies (uterine corpus cancer 847 cases, ovarian cancer 514 cases, and cervical cancer 69 cases) from 245,084 female participants (75,307 were premenopausal and 169,777 were postmenopausal). For premenopausal women, whole body fat‐free mass (WBFFM) was associated with an increased risk of uterine corpus cancer (Adjusted HR per unit increase 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06). For postmenopausal women, compared with the first quartile, the fourth quartile of WBFFM and whole body fat mass(WBFM) was associated with 2.16 (95% CI 1.49–3.13) times and 1.89 (95% CI 1.31–2.72) times of increased uterine corpus cancer risk, respectively. Regarding the distribution of body fat mass (FM)/fat‐free mass (FFM), FFM distributed in the trunk was associate with increased uterine corpus cancer risk in premenopausal (HR 1.18,95% CI 1.07–1.31) and postmenopausal women (HR 1.13,95% CI 1.09–1.18). Meanwhile, FM/FFM distributed in the limbs present an U‐shaped associations with uterine corpus cancer risk. We did not observe any association between aforementioned body composition indices with ovarian or cervical cancer. Conclusion: FM is associated with an increased risk of uterine corpus cancer in postmenopausal women. Meanwhile, FFM is found to be a risk factor for uterine corpus cancer in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. No association of body composition with ovarian or cervical cancer was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An effective membrane-modificatied method was established for exosomes to target axon. • TAxI-exos could effectively alleviate the progression of EAE model than UMSC-exos via targeting axon ability. • UMSC-exos down-regulated the proportion of CD86+ CD206+ active microglia rather than facilitating the phenotypic transition from M1 to M2 through TNF-α pathway regulated cell biological process. • TAxI-exos and UMSC-exos mainly reduced the proportion of Th17 cells compared to Th1 cells in cellular immune regulation. • TAxI peptide endowed UMSC-exos with the ability to regulate the levels of IFN-γ and IL-17. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes demyelination, neuronal damage and white matter loss, but there is still no known cure. Exosomes are 30–200 nm-sized double-layered membrane vesicles that can easily cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Exosomes from umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells（UMSCs） have been found to treat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) through the action of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, but its clinical translation has been hampered by their inefficacious accumulation in CNS. Therefore, we developed a TAxI-exos, also known as a TAxI-peptide-chimeric UMSC-exos, for CNS-specific accumulation and curative effect in EAE. We used the EAE model in vivo as well as active T cell and BV-2 cell models in vitro to explore the efficacy and mechanisms. Exosomes from UMSCs with TAxI or DiR labels were given to EAE mice in one dosage (150 g) prior to the peak at day 15. The mice were sacrificed on day 30 so that spinal cords, spleens, and blood could be taken for analysis of demyelination, inflammation, microglia, T-cell subset proportions, and inflammatory cytokine expression. In vitro, PBMCs and splenocytes isolated from healthy C57BL/6 mice were activated and incubated with 0.15 mg/mL of UMSC-exos or TAxI-exos for immune mechanism investigations. Activated BV-2 cells were used to investigate the targeting and controlling polarization ability and mechanism of UMSC-exos and TAxI-exos. As expected, TAxI-exos exhibited significantly greater therapeutic action in EAE mice than UMSC-exos due to their improved targeting-ability. The medication reduced T-cell subset proportions and inflammation, reduced active-microglia proportions and promoted M1 to M2 microglial cell polarization through TNF pathway, upregulated IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β, and IDO-1 expression, and downregulated IL-2, IL-6, IL-17A, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. The CNS-targeting properties of TAxI-exos and their capacity to inhibit degenerative processes in EAE mice have considerable potential therapeutic value for MS and other CNS illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient transfer hydrogenolysis of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE) was accomplished over Ni 1.5 Cu 1.5 /Al 2 O 3 using isopropanol as hydrogen source. The characterization results demonstrated that the formation of NiCu alloy and electron transfer between Ni and Cu were responsible for the excellent catalytic performance. Isopropanol displayed better hydrogen-donating ability than other low-carbon alcohols because of its unique dehydrogenation pathway and small steric hindrance. The results of isotopic experiments elucidated that active hydrogen species for the C O bond cleavage originated from isopropanol rather than H 2 , while both isopropanol and H 2 were responsible for hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanol when reaction was conducted with mixed hydrogen sources. A mechanism study illustrated that transfer hydrogenolysis of BPE proceeded through direct cleavage of C O bond followed by phenol hydrogenation, in which the active hydrogen species were in the form of H+ and H−. [Display omitted] • Ni 1.5 Cu 1.5 /Al 2 O 3 shows excellent performance in transfer hydrogenolysis of BPE. • Isopropanol exhibits superior hydrogen-donating ability than other alcohols. • Active hydrogen for C O bond cleavage originates from isopropanol instead of H 2. • The active hydrogen species are in the form of H+ and H−. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical study of the dynamics of a nine-module floating aquaculture platform in irregular waves is proposed, to examine the effect of the connector type between net cages and incident wave direction on the hydrodynamic response. A numerical model based on the coupled boundary element method and lumped-mass model was used to simulate the dynamic behavior of the aquaculture platform. Time-domain statistical analysis, and time-frequency analysis based on Hilbert-Huang transform on the motion responses of net cages and the mooring force responses of the platform were then carried out. The results indicate that the mooring system has a decisive influence on the frequency-domain characteristics of surge motion, while the influence of connector can be ignored. The surge motion under flexible hawser connector is less sensitive to wave incident direction, while the wave direction has a greater impact on surge motion under spherical joint connector. The amplitudes of pitch motion under two different connectors decrease significantly under oblique incident waves, compared with perpendicular incident wave condition. The wave incident direction has little effect on the overall mooring force response of the platform. The mooring force responses at different positions show completely different frequency characteristics when the cages are connected by spherical joints. The larger the pitch response of the cage, the smaller the mooring force response of the mooring chain connected to the net cage. There is a positive correlation between the gravity frequency of the mooring force response and the gravity frequency of the pitch response of the net cage. • A numerical model that couples the BEM and lumped-mass model was used to simulate the dynamic behavior of a nine-module aquaculture platform. • The effect of two kinds of connectors between net cages on motion and mooring force responses of the aquaculture platform are analyzed. • The mooring system has a decisive influence on the frequency-domain characteristics of surge motion. • The wave incident direction has a greater impact on the surge response under spherical joint connector. • There is a positive correlation between gravity frequencies of mooring force response and pitch response of net cage connected to the mooring chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poorly assembled or faulty rotors often behave nonlinearly. The accurate extraction of weak nonlinear features is a vital issue. This paper proposes to extract the partial dynamic properties of concern for nonlinear feature based rotor condition monitoring. The realization of this concept relies on a novel tailored data-driven NARX (Nonlinear Auto Regressive with eXogenous input) modelling approach. The tailored NARX model represents part of the system's dynamic properties of concern. The details are first to use the harmonic product spectrum to determine the rotational speed of the inspected rotor system. After that, the least mean squares method is used to extract the harmonic components from the measured vibration signal. The low-order harmonics of concern are then reconstructed for the tailored NARX modelling. Then the Nonlinear Output Frequency Response Functions are evaluated from the tailored NARX model as features for rotor condition monitoring. Finally, the proposed method is validated by simulation and experiment cases. The results show that the obtained features based on the proposed tailored NARX modelling approach are more robust and more accurate than conventional methods when assessing rotor faults. The proposed approach provides a reference for the inspection of the assembly quality of components such as bearings and the on-line health monitoring of rotating machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al −600 display excellent catalytic activity for cleaving C O bond. • Isopropanol as hydrogen source is more conducive to C O bond breaking. • The β-benzylic-H atom in PPE promotes the cleavage of C aliphatic -O bond. • The Ni-to-Co molar ratio affects the surface species of Ni x Co y Al catalyst. The selective hydrogenolysis of C O bonds is critical for the effective valorization of lignin. Herein, we synthesized a series of highly efficient Ni x Co y Al-T catalysts by a coprecipitation-calcination-reduction method and evaluated their catalytic hydrogenolysis performance towards the C O bonds of lignin-derived aryl ether, using isopropanol as the hydrogen donor source. The results revealed that the Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al-600 catalyst displayed superior activity and its catalytic performances were strongly influenced by the Ni/Co molar ratios and calcination temperatures. The enhanced dispersion of metal particles and the electron transfer from Ni to Co in Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al-600 catalyst facilitated the cleavage of C O bonds in lignin model compounds. Furthermore, the β-benzyl-H atom in 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol (PPE) also contributes to the cleavage of C aliphatic -O bonds. Under optimized reaction conditions (180 ℃, reaction time 2 h), PPE was completely converted over the Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al-600 catalyst, and the yield of ethylbenzene and cyclohexanol reached 95.91wt% and 85.73wt%, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the Ni x Co y Al-T catalytic system holds great promise for the production of valuable chemicals from lignin under mild conditions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among Dr. Rosen's many contributions, structure-property relationships of surfactants, surfactant synergy and the infamous beta parameter, and his work on Gemini surfactants are perhaps best remembered. Synergy of anionic and cationic surfactant mixtures is reviewed by Sabatini et al. (Phaodee & Sabatini, 2021) in relation to minimizing surfactant precipitation, microemulsion formation, and enhanced solubilization. To those of us who work in the field of surfactant science, Professor Milton Rosen is a legendary figure. [Extracted from the article]

This study revealed the effect of protein-polysaccharide extracted from Auricularia auricula-judae fruiting bodies (AAP) on the textural properties and microstructures of Chinese wheat noodles. In addition, the underlying mechanisms were explored. AAP is a protein polysaccharide with a molecular weight of more than 104 Da. According to the RVA and DSC results, AAP increased the pasting (PV and FV) and thermal properties parameters (To, Tp, and Tc) of wheat starch. AAP also significantly increased β-sheet and β-turn (p < 0.05) in the secondary structure of gluten but decreased α-helix content and the sulfhydryl group. Additionally, AAP increased the hardness, adhesion, tensile force, and tension distance of wheat noodles and significantly reduced the cooking yield and cooking loss (p < 0.05). The cross-linking of protein molecular networks was promoted to enhance the compact microstructure of the dough detected by CLSM. Moreover, the water status was changed by AAP, forming more combined water in contact with gluten and starch through hydrogen bonds. A theoretical basis for the positive effects of mushroom polysaccharides on the quality of wheat food from the perspectives of physicochemical characteristics of wheat starch and gluten was provided in this study. • AAP is a water-soluble protein-polysaccharide which acted as a food thickener to improve the quality of noodles. • AAP changed the gelatinization and thermodynamic characteristics of starch, and gluten secondary structure. • Textural and cooking properties improved along with the increasing AAP below 1.5%. • Internal microstructure of dough became more compact after adding AAP. • Moisture in noodles was redistributed with different content of AAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the design of nonlinear complex systems, the output responses of a complex system subject to demanding loading conditions need to be assessed before the system can be used in practice. Current assessment approaches (including physical model based analysis, Finite Element (FE) simulation and similitude experiments) are often time-consuming and problematic. The objective of this study is to develop a novel data-driven approach to predict the output responses, as well as their uncertainties, of a complex system for the aim of design assessment. The results can be used to decide whether redesign of the complex system is required to avoid damage for actual use. To achieve this goal, a novel design-oriented data driven modelling approach has been developed based on the FROLS (Forward Regression Orthogonal Least Squares) algorithm and K -fold cross validation. In this approach, the NARX (Nonlinear AutoRegressive with eXogenous input) model of the system is identified and validated. After that, the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method is applied to quantify the uncertainties of the NARX model coefficients. Subject to specified inputs, the model coefficients' uncertainties are propagated to the model predicted output responses for design assessments. Finally, the proposed approach is verified by a case study on the design assessment of a Chinese Space Station Scientific Experiment Rack (CSS-SER). The results indicate the efficiency of the proposed approach and its potential to be applied to solve many engineering design problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer simulations were conducted to understand the nonlinear dynamics of the cage array to establish an offshore fish farm capable of surviving the severe conditions. To that end, a large fish farm containing 16 net cages in a 2 × 8 configuration was modeled based on the lumped mass model. This numerical model was verified against the physical model tests regarding a single net cage and a net cage array. In particular, three different equivalent mesh groups were compared to each other to balance the numerical accuracy and the computational efficiency. Then, the candidate equivalent mesh group was used to separately model the rigid and the flexible cage arrays subjected to severe conditions. The results show that most trajectory patterns of mooring lines are not as elliptical as the water particle trajectories. This provides evidence to justify the perturbations about the equilibrium of the mooring grid for the full-scale aquaculture cage array system. Alongside this, flexible cages with lower bending stiffness have greater tension forces on the weather side. The bending stiffness has a predominant effect on the surge motion and is also the leading contributor to the nonlinearity of cage motion. The flexible cage with lower bending stiffness is appropriate for more exposed, open ocean fish farming applications, but the increased mooring tension should be taken into account for future design consideration. • Nonlinear dynamics of an aquaculture cage array were examined under severe conditions. • The nonlinear wave was considered by introducing the new Stoke wave solutions. • Flexible cages with lower bending stiffness exhibited greater tension forces on the weather side. • The bending stiffness contributed to the nonlinearity of cage motion had a predominant effect on the surge motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the process of maneuvering target tracking, the measurement may be disturbed by outliers, which leads to a decrease in the state estimation performance of the classic interacting multiple-model (IMM) filter. To solve this problem, a weighted maximum correntropy criterion (WMCC)-based IMM filter is proposed. In the proposed filter, the fusion state is used as the input of each sub-model to reduce the computational complexity of state interaction and the WMCC is adopted to derive the sub-model state update and state fusion to improve the state estimation performance under outlier interference. Through principal analysis, the superiority of the proposed filter over the classic IMM filter in fusion strategy is revealed. The specific form of the proposed filter in radar maneuvering target tracking is provided. Two experimental cases of maneuvering target tracking are tested to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed a data-driven frequency domain analysis method for rotor systems using the NARX (Nonlinear Auto-Regressive with eXternal input) model established by system vibration signals. We propose a model-based index of fault features calculated in a multi-frequency range to facilitate condition monitoring of rotor systems. Four steps are included in the proposed method. Firstly, displacement vibration signals are collected at multiple monitored rotating speeds. Secondly, the collected signals are processed as output data and the corresponding input data is generated. Then, NARX models are developed with input and output data to characterize the rotor system. Finally, the NRSF (Nonlinear Response Spectrum Function)-based nonlinear fault index is calculated and compared to the healthy condition. An experimental application to the misaligned rotor system is also demonstrated to verify its effectiveness. Our results indicate that the value of the index directly reflects the severity of the misaligned fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on the length of cultured fish is crucial to evaluate their growth status and biomass. However, existing methods to estimate fish body length are based primarily on manual sampling, which is invasive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. In contrast, such information can be acquired via noncontact methods relying on images of the animals' centerlines in an image. The centerline extraction method has been widely applied as an efficient approach. However, the greatest challenge in measuring the length of cultured fish is that of accurately extracting the animals' centerlines when fish overlap in an image. To address this problem, we propose a method to obtain the centerlines of overlapping fish by processing images captured from a top-view perspective. First, fish contours are segmented using convex-concave points. Second, the contour segmentations belonging to each fish are identified by an algorithm that matches heads to tails; their centerlines are thus extracted and optimized. We conducted both laboratory and on-site experiments, and results show that the proposed method exhibited excellent performance in extracting fish centerline information, even for fish that overlapped in images captured from a top view. Moreover, it also improved on the performance of existing methods in measuring the length of cultured fish from such images. • The fish centerlines are extracted successfully under the complex culture background. • A convex-concave analysis method is used to segment contours of fish in overlapping images. • An optimization strategy of fish centerlines is done by fish head and tail matching method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance supercapacitors extremely depend on reasonable microstructure of electrode materials, but how to efficiently control the pore structure of principal carbon materials remains a challenge. In this study, corncob-based porous carbon (CPC X) with controllable pore structures is synthesized by means of KOH activation strategy, and the technical parameters of KOH activation are comprehensively investigated including activation temperature, activation time and KOH/biochar ratio. The optimal sample with a KOH/biochar mass ratio of 3 activated at 650 °C for 1 h (denoted as CPC 650 – 1-3) possesses sub-nanopores concentrated at 0.6 nm and 0.8 nm, and larger micropores distribute at 1.2 nm and 1.5 nm. These highly cross-linked microporous structures provide accessible specific surface area (SSA) for electrode materials and act as high-speed channels for fast ion diffusion and transfer. The activated carbon material has a high SSA (2998 m2 g−1) and a large V micro /V meso ratio of 8.26. The specific capacitance of CPC 650 – 1-3 reaches 258 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and remains a satisfied retention of 74 % even at 10 A g−1. Moreover, CPC 650 – 1-3 //CPC 650 – 1-3 symmetric supercapacitors exhibit a high energy density of 6.4 Wh kg−1 at power density of 500.1 W kg−1. It also has a capacitance retention of 90.1 % after 10,000 cycles, highlighting its excellent cycle stability. These results indicate that corncob-based microporous carbon materials have broad application prospects in promoting the high added-value utilization of biomass waste and the development of high-performance supercapacitors. [Display omitted] • Microporous carbons were prepared from agricultural waste corncob. • The pore structure of materials was regulated by changing the activation conditions. • The relationships among activation conditions, V micro /V meso , specific surface area and specific capacitance were investigated. • A remarkable capacitance retention of 90.1 % after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a role in sepsis-related autophagy. However, the role of circRNAs in autophagy after sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SICM) is unknown, so we explored the circRNA expression profiles associated with autophagy in an acute sepsis mouse model. At a dose of 10 mg/kg, mice were intraperitoneally administered with lipopolysaccharides. The myocardial tissue was harvested after 6 h for microarray analysis, qRT-PCR, and western blotting. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis were evaluated, and a competing endogenous RNA network was constructed, to evaluate the role of circRNAs related to autophagy in SICM. In total, 1,735 differently expressed circRNAs were identified in the LPS-treated group, including 990 upregulated and 745 downregulated circRNAs. The expression level of the autophagy-specific protein p62 decreased, while the ratio of LC3 II to LC3 I increased. Additionally, 309 mRNAs and 187 circRNAs were correlated with autophagy in myocardial tissue after SICM. Of these, 179 circRNAs were predicted to function as "miRNA sponges". Some distinctive circRNAs and mRNAs found by ceRNA analysis might be involved in autophagy in SICM. These findings provide insights into circRNAs and identified new research targets that may be used to further explore the pathogenesis of SICM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The study aims to develop a model to predict the risk of moderate to severe cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in colorectal cancer patients after chemotherapy. Methods: The study population was colorectal cancer patients who received chemotherapy from September 2021 to June 2022 in a grade 3 and first-class hospital. Demographic, clinical, physiological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors were collected 1 to 2 days before the start of chemotherapy. Patients were followed up for 1 to 2 days after the end of chemotherapy to assess fatigue using the Piper Fatigue Scale. A random sampling method was used to select 181 patients with moderate to severe CRF as the case group. The risk set sampling method was used to select 181 patients with mild or no CRF as the control group. Logistic regression, back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN), and decision tree models were constructed and compared. Results: A total of 362 patients consisting of 241 derivation samples and 121 validation samples were enrolled. Comparing the three models, the prediction effect of BP-ANN was the best, with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.83. Internal and external verification indicated that the accuracy of prediction was 70.4% and 80.8%, respectively. Significant predictors identified were surgery, complications, hypokalaemia, albumin, neutrophil percentage, pain (VAS score), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score, sleep quality (PSQI score), anxiety (HAD-A score), depression (HAD-D score), and nutrition (PG-SGA score). Conclusions: BP-ANN was the best model, offering theoretical guidance for clinicians to formulate a tool to identify patients at high risk of moderate to severe CRF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human image segmentation has been a practical and active research topic due to its wide range of potential application. There are some previous studies on manual, semi-automatic and automatic segmentation methods to investigate the semantic segmentation of human parts fully for real-world human analysis scenarios, but further research is still needed. This paper presents a novel semantic segmentation network, named TRCA-Net, for human image segmentation tasks. Having the TransUNet as the backbone, TRCA-Net incorporates Res2Net and Coordinate Attention to improve the performance. Res2Net blocks and Transformer can obtain better feature maps by encoding the input images. The Coordinate Attention in the decoder aggregates and upsamples the encoded feature maps, and connects to the high-resolution CNN feature maps for gaining accurate segmentation. The TRCA-Net can enhance finer details by recovering local spatial information. We compare the TRCA-Net with state-of-the-art (SOAT) semantic segmentation networks: the original U-Net, DeepLabv3+, and TransUNet. The experiment results have demonstrated that our proposed TRCA-Net outperforms these networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floating aquaculture cages deployed in the nearshore affect the wave field and contribute to the coastal defense by damping incoming waves. Most pioneering works concerning aquaculture cages have concentrated on the hydrodynamics of the structures instead of their influence on the wave field. In order to bridge the gap, this paper examines the wave performance with the interference of floating aquaculture cages via physical model tests. The results show that the existence of cages increases wave height on the weather side. The wave-dissipation performance of the net cage is closely related to the ratio of the wavelength to the structural span, and the minimum transmission coefficients appear in the conditions with the maximum wave number. Moreover, the crests of the free surface elevation inside the floating frames are almost flat, which is particularly obvious in the long-period wave conditions. The surface elevations show nonlinearity in small-wavelength conditions, which is dominantly caused by the pitch motion of the cages. Nevertheless, the presence of the cage does not affect the phase differences in the wave elevation at different positions. The nets have an opposite effect on wave response inside the cage under the conditions of long-period and short-period waves. • The wave performance with the interference of floating aquaculture cages are examined via physical experiments. • The wave transmission coefficients were closely related to the ratio of the wavelength to the structural span. • The wave surface elevations inside the floating frames showed nonlinearity under small wavelengths. • The nets had an opposite effect on the wave response inside the floating frame in long- and short-period waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A data-driven stability analysis and fault assessment approach is proposed. • The relationship between the feature indicator and the rub-impact mechanism is revealed. • The dynamic model of a rolling bearing-rotor system considering unbalance and rub-impact is established. • The nonlinear vibration of the bearing-rotor system under the rub-impact are analyzed. • The rotor rub-impact fault experiment is carried out. • The proposed approach and simulation result is verified by the experimental cases. Affected by manufacture, assembly, and operating conditions, the rotor is prone to rub-impact fault, resulting in instability of a system. The nonlinearity of a system response includes instability and fault characteristics. Based on this, this paper proposes a novel health assessment approach for bearing-rotor system that combines data-driven and NOFRFs (nonlinear output frequency response functions), revealing the intrinsic relationship between NOFRFs-based feature and rub-impact fault. Before utilizing the approach, the vibration and stability of the bearing-rotor with rub-impact are simulated and analyzed. Based on Hertz contact theory, the nonlinear bearing forces are obtained. Then the dynamic model of the rolling bearing-rotor system considering unbalance and rub-impact is established. The influence of rub-impact on the nonlinear vibration and stability of the bearing-rotor system is analyzed by combining the orbit, the Poincaré map, and the bifurcation diagram. A rolling bearing-rotor test rig is built, and the rub-impact experiment was completed. The data-driven model of the system is identified by the filtered vibration displacement. The NOFRF-based feature of the data-driven model is extracted. With the increase of rub-impact severity, the dispersion of feature gradually increases, and the stability of the system decreases. The standard deviation of the feature is solved as a new health indicator. The result shows it is more effective for the evaluation of rub-impact than the conventional indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fast and accurate fishing net damage detection model has been established based on digital twin. • Different damaged levels, positions and wave-current directions have been tested. • The digital twin model can accurately identify whether the fishing net is damaged or not. The fishing net is the most important component of aquaculture net cages. Once damaged, it can cause substantial economic losses and ecological problems to the aquaculture industry. To avoid these subsequent issues caused by the damage to the fishing net, seeking a computerized, labor-saving approach and detecting damage in real time becomes the primary task of this paper. Inspired by recent development of the artificial neural networks and machine learning, this study proposes a fast and accurate approach for fishing net damage detection based on digital twin. Firstly, time-domain numerical simulations of the fishing net are conducted in a series of wave and current conditions to develop the artificial neural network-based digital twin. Then, the significant wave height, the spectral peak period, and tensions of vertical and horizontal ropes are used as input variables during the artificial neural network training; the intact and damaged states of the fishing net are considered outputs. Alongside this, the back-propagation learning algorithm is used for training to maximize damage detection performance. The results highlight that the digital twin model can effectively identify the fishing net damage using the sensor data, and the accuracy of the damage detection reaches above 93%. When the damage occurs at different net positions, the prediction accuracies of the artificial neural network model for training and testing sets are 93.97% and 93.00%, respectively. Regarding different wave-current directions, the prediction accuracies of the artificial neural network model are 99.87 % and 99.34 % for training and testing sets. Moreover, the developed digital twin can accurately detect the damage of the net even sea conditions and sensor data are not included in the training. The digital twin model proposed in the present study can potentially be used for damage detection in other aquaculture components and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of the marine industry offers more opportunities to combine aquaculture with other marine uses. This study reports a trestle-netting enclosure aquaculture facility that combines an offshore steel trestle with a marine aquaculture facility in which the trestle acts as a supporting substructure. In this study, the numerical models include one configuration without netting and three configurations with netting in different regular waves, which are generated based on stream function theory owing to nonlinear wave problems. The time series of the horizontal wave forces were obtained and analyzed in the four models. Numerical results showed that netting can significantly increase the positive amplitudes of horizontal wave forces, and the wave forces of trestle with the lee-side netting were almost smaller than those of the wave-side netting. Moreover, we investigated the nonlinear features of the wave forces and profiles. The horizontal asymmetry factors of the wave forces are affected by those of the wave profiles, while the vertical asymmetry factors of the wave forces are affected by those of the wave slope profiles. The effects of the netting on the force-positive amplitudes agree with the horizontal asymmetry factors of the wave forces but not with the vertical asymmetry factors. • Finite element models of trestle-netting enclosure aquaculture facility are established. • Hydrodynamic analysis of the complex models is conducted under nonlinear waves. • Effects of netting on wave loads and the nonlinear features of wave loads is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growth of global population, the demand for seafood has been increasing. Aquaculture as a sustainable industry provides a new direction to satisfy the rising demand for seafood. However, typhoons, a common disaster in coastal areas, can cause massive waves that can threaten the safety of aquaculture facilities. Therefore, studying the facilities' failure probability under typhoon waves with different return periods is crucial. The example of offshore high-density polyethylene net cages in the seas near Guishan Island, Zhuhai, China, was examined in this study. The wave conditions for different return periods for these seas were predicted using the SWAN+ADCIRC model and the local wave statistics for the last 30 years. Based on the prediction results, the hydrodynamic loads and stresses of the primary cage structure (floating collar, nets, and mooring lines) in typhoon waves at different return periods were calculated using the lumped-mass and finite element methods. Meanwhile, the failure probability of the cage components was analyzed based on the Monte Carlo method. According to the failure probability and cost of different components, the suitable size of the each of the cage components in the representative seas was studied. This study affords a reference for the design of the cage and improve the aquaculture insurance. • Relation between typhoon waves and failure probability of HDPE net cage components. • SWAN+ADICRC model combined with local hydrographic data to predict typhoon waves. • Lumped-mass and finite element methods for hydrodynamic loads on components. • Quantitative response relationship established using Monte Carlo method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LncRNA-HGBC stabilized by HuR promotes gallbladder cancer progression by regulating miR-502-3p/SET/AKT axis. Yun-ping Hu, Yun-peng Jin and Xiang-song Wu contributed equally to this work. [Extracted from the article]

[Display omitted] • Sixteen new and 18 known limonoids from Swietenia macrophylla. • Their structures were determined by by using spectroscopic data and X-ray crystallography. • The cytotoxicities of all the componds were evaluated against four human tumor cell lines (SMMC-7721, SW620, A549, A375). • The inhibitory effects of the new compounds on nitric oxide (NO) production were tested. • Flow cytometric analysis showed that treatment with 19 significantly induced A375 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Swietelinins A − C (1 – 3) and swieteliacates F − R (4 – 16), sixteen new limonoids and 18 known limonoids (17 – 34) were isolated from Swietenia macrophylla. The absolute configurations of these compounds were defined by using a combination of electronic circular dichroism data analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Swieteliacate J (10) is the first limonoid possessing an unusual 8 β , 9 β -epoxy ring system. All of the compounds were tested for cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (SMMC-7721, SW620, A549, and A375). Compounds 10 , 11 , and 19 exhibited selectively moderate cytotoxicity against four tumor cell lines, especially 19 exhibited significant cytotoxic effects against A375 with IC 50 an value of 9.8 μM and was more active than the positive control, dacarbazine with an IC 50 value of 22.4 μM. Compound 19 effectively induced apoptosis of A375, which was associated with G2/M−phase cell cycle arrest. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the treatment by 19 significantly induced A375 cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of isolated surface layer proteins (SLPs) to reassemble on suitable surfaces enables the application of SLPs in various fields of nanotechnology. In this work, SLPs from Lactobacillus buchneri BNCC 187,964 and L. kefir BNCC 190,565 were extracted and verified as glycosylated proteins. They were applied to coat on the surface of cationic liposomes. The absorption of the two SLPs on liposomes induced the zeta potential reduction and particle size increase. The two kinds of SLP-coated liposomes demonstrated better thermal, light and pH stability than the control liposomes. And the L. kefir SLP showed better protective effects than the L. buchneri SLP. Moreover, both of the SLPs could endow liposomes with the function of binding ferritin as observed by transmission electron microscope. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy illustrated that the interaction between the two SLPs and liposomes was similar. The recrystallization of the two SLPs on the liposomes might drive the lipid into a higher order state and hydrogen bonds were formed between the two SLPs and the liposomes. All the findings demonstrated that L. kefir SLP and L. buchneri SLP had great potential to be explored as effective coating agents to improve the stability and function of cationic liposomes.Please check and confirm that the authors and their respective affiliations have been correctly identified and amend if necessary.Yes, all have been checked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effects of Lactobacillus fermentation on the nutrient content and hypoglycemic ability of chickpea milk were studied. Specifically, the fermentation of Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 (LA) and Lactobacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum CICC 20279 (LP) reduced the contents of soluble sugar and protein in chickpea milk. But both single bacteria fermentation (SBF, LA or LP) and mixed bacteria fermentation (MBF, LA and LP) significantly increased the contents of some bioactive substances, such as dietary fiber, free amino acids, total polyphenols and total flavonoids. Moreover, LA fermented chickpea milk showed the best inhibition of α-glucosidase (highest inhibition rate up to 92.91%) and the MBF samples showed the best inhibition of α-amylase (highest inhibition rate up to 33.33%). In addition, free phenolics, conjugated phenolics, and total phenolics were all remarkably increased in chickpea milk after LA fermentation. The three types of phenolic compounds (free, conjugated, and bound) showed greater inhibition of α-glucosidase than α-amylase, and the conjugated phenolics exhibited the best inhibitory effects on both enzymes. From the results, Lactobacillus fermentation process may effectively improve the nutritional values and potential hypoglycemic activity of chickpea milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more clinical trials have explored the role of liquid biopsy in the diagnosis and treatment of EGFR-mutated NSCLC. In certain circumstances, liquid biopsy has unique advantages and offers a new way to detect therapeutic targets, analyze drug resistance mechanisms in advanced patients, and monitor MRD in patients with operable NSCLC. Although its potential cannot be ignored, more evidence is needed to support the transition from the research stage to clinical application. We reviewed the latest progress in research on the efficacy and resistance mechanisms of targeted therapy for advanced NSCLC patients with plasma ctDNA EGFR mutation and the evaluation of MRD based on ctDNA detection in perioperative and follow-up monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a variational Bayesian-based cubature Kalman filter to solve the state estimation problem of nonlinear discrete-time systems under dynamic model mismatch and outliers interference, which occurs in the maneuvering target tracking system. In the proposed filter, the measurement noise is divided into the normal measurement noise and the outlier noise, and two inverse Wishart distributions with different degree of freedom parameters are used to model the unknown normal measurement noise covariance and the unknown outlier noise covariance, respectively. To overcome outliers interference, the judgment factor which follows the Bernoulli-beta distribution is designed to identify the type of measurement noise. Meanwhile, the input vector which follows the Gaussian distribution is introduced to realize the dynamic model revision. The state, the judgment factor, the normal measurement noise covariance, the outlier noise covariance, and the input vector are jointly estimated under the variational Bayesian framework. The numerical simulation is illustrated to verify the performance of the proposed filter and the corresponding results show that the proposed filter has good state estimation performance and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vessel-shaped floating aquaculture platform has numerous advantages over traditional high-density polyethylene gravity cages. Combined with a single-point mooring system, the unique structural form of the vessel shape can significantly reduce the environmental loads transmitted from the bow. This study used potential flow theory and dynamic composite cable theory to simulate the hydrodynamic responses of a single-point moored vessel-shaped floating aquaculture platform in waves. The motion response, mooring force response, and reaction force of the nets were simulated in regular waves and compared with experimental values. The numerical and experimental results agree well. After the validation, the response amplitude operators of the floating frames of the platform were calculated and analyzed in the frequency domain. Then, time-domain calculations were carried out to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of the platform. The results show that the heave and pitch responses of the front frame are significantly higher than those of the rear frames of the same platform. The increase in the number of floating frames decreases the motion responses and increases the mooring force response of the platform. The X and Z components of the hinge joint force between the floating front frames are significantly higher than those between the rear frames. Similarly, the reaction force of the nets of the floating front frame is higher than that of the rear frames under the same wave conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gitelman syndrome is a rare salt-losing tubulopathy caused by inactivating mutations in the SLC12A3 gene, which is expressed in the distal convoluted tubule and accounts for 5–10% of renal sodium reabsorption. Atypical symptoms and insidious conditions generally delay diagnosis until childhood or even adulthood. Here, we report the case of a 22-year-old Chinese woman who was admitted to our endocrinology department for severe hypokalemia during pregnancy. The patient had no specific symptoms but exhibited hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, hypomagnesemia, hypocalciuria, hyperreninemia, hyperaldosteronism, and normal blood pressure. Together, these symptoms indicated the clinical diagnosis of Gitelman syndrome, which was confirmed by genetic analysis. Many drugs have limited safety data during early pregnancy, and optimum potassium and magnesium levels are necessary for a successful pregnancy. Diagnosis and management of Gitelman syndrome are crucial during pregnancy to ensure the safety of the mother and fetus, especially during the first trimester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nonlinear Output Frequency Response Functions (NOFRFs) are an extension of the well-known Frequency Response Function (FRF) of linear systems to the nonlinear case and have recently been applied by many researchers to resolve different engineering problems. However, there exist several issues with current methods that can be used for the evaluation of the NOFRFs of practical systems. These include the difficulty and lack of an effective approach of accurately evaluating the NOFRFs for a general class of nonlinear systems. In the present study, a new concept known as the Generalized Associated Linear Equations (GALEs) is introduced to develop a novel approach to systematically address these problems. By using the GALEs, the NOFRFs of the NARX (Nonlinear Auto Regressive with eXegenous input) model or NDE (Nonlinear Differential Equation) model of nonlinear systems can be accurately evaluated by simply dealing with the solutions to a series of linear difference or differential equations. This can significantly facilitate the NOFRFs based nonlinear system analyses and associated practical applications. Two experimental studies including monitoring fatigue damage of train wheels and inspecting wearing conditions of cutting tools, respectively, demonstrate the significance and potential applications of the new GALEs based NOFRFs evaluation in railway and manufacturing systems' condition monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel multifunctional coordination polymer {[Zn(HCOO) (bcbpy)Cl]·H 2 O} n (1) with multiple colour-changing has been synthesized from Zn(NO 3) 2 ·6H 2 O, and viologen ligand 1,1′-bis-((3-carboxylatobenzyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium) dichloride (H 2 bcbpy·2Cl). In coordination polymer (CP) 1 , bcbpy ligands bridge Zn2+ cations to form a 1D wave-like chain. CP 1 exhibited photochromic properties under xenon lamp and blue light irradiation while obtaining a structurally stable light product 1T. CP 1 thermochromic properties can also be observed during heating. 1 showed photo-controlled fluorescence properties during color rendering and decolorization, and its properties were studied. Interestingly, CP 1 can be deposited in filter paper by coating it with a solution of H 2 O. The filter paper can be used as a printing medium without ink. [Display omitted] • CP 1 was synthesized using viologen ligand 1,1′-bis-((3-carboxylatobenzyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium) dichloride (H 2 bcbpy·2Cl). • CP 1 exhibited photochromic properties under xenon lamp and blue light irradiation. • CP 1 obtaining a structurally stable light product 1T after irradiation. • CP 1 can be used as a good ink-free printing medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Wnt5a, which regulates the activities of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, is reportedly overexpressed in osteoarthritis (OA) tissues. The purpose of this study was to elucidate its role in the development of OA by deleting Wnt5a in osteocalcin (OCN)-expressing cells. Materials and Methods: Knee OA was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) in OCN-Cre;Wnt5afl/fl knockout (Wnt5a-cKO) mice and control littermates. Eight weeks after surgery, histological changes, cell apoptosis, and matrix metabolism of cartilage were evaluated by toluidine blue, TUNEL staining, and im-immunohistochemistry analyses, respectively. In addition, the subchondral bone microarchitecture of mice was examined by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Results: Histological scores show substantial cartilage degeneration occurred in ACLT knees, coupled with decreased collagen type II expression and enhanced matrix metalloproteinase 13 expression, as well as higher proportions of apoptotic cells. Micro-CT results show that ACLT resulted in decreased bone mineral density, bone volume/trabecular volume, trabecular number, and structure model index of subchondral bones in both Wnt5a-cKO and control littermates; although Wnt5a-cKO mice display lower BMD and BV/TV values, no significant difference was observed between Wnt5a-cKO and control mice for any of these values. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that Wnt5a deficiency in OCN-expressing cells could not prevent an osteoarthritic phenotype in a mouse model of post-traumatic OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alloying nanoclusters (NCs) has emerged as a widely explored and versatile strategy for tailoring tunable properties, facilitating in‐depth atomic‐level investigations of structure‐property correlations. In this study, we have successfully synthesized six atomically precise copper NCs alloyed with Group 10 metals (Pd or Pt). Notably, the Pd0 or Pt0 atom situated at the center of the distorted hexagonal antiprism Pd0/Pt0@Cu12 cage, coordinated with twelve Cu+ and two tBuC≡C− ligands. Moreover, ligand exchange strategies demonstrated the potential for Cl− and Br− to replace one or two alkynyl ligands positioned at the top or side of the NCs. The chirality exhibited by these racemic NCs is primarily attributed to the involvement of halogens and a chiral (Pd/Pt)@Cu18 skeleton. Furthermore, all the NCs exhibit near‐infrared (NIR) luminescence, characterized by emission peaks at 705–755 nm, lifetimes ranging from 6.630 to 9.662 μs, and absolute photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 1.75 %–2.52 % in their crystalline state. The experimental optical properties of these NCs are found to be in excellent agreement with the results of theoretical calculations. These alloy NCs not only offer valuable insights into the synthesis of Pd0/Pt0‐Cu alloy NCs, but also bridge the gap in understanding the structure‐luminescence relationships of Pd0/Pt0‐Cu molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alloying nanoclusters (NCs) has emerged as a widely explored and versatile strategy for tailoring tunable properties, facilitating in‐depth atomic‐level investigations of structure‐property correlations. In this study, we have successfully synthesized six atomically precise copper NCs alloyed with Group 10 metals (Pd or Pt). Notably, the Pd0 or Pt0 atom situated at the center of the distorted hexagonal antiprism Pd0/Pt0@Cu12 cage, coordinated with twelve Cu+ and two tBuC≡C− ligands. Moreover, ligand exchange strategies demonstrated the potential for Cl− and Br− to replace one or two alkynyl ligands positioned at the top or side of the NCs. The chirality exhibited by these racemic NCs is primarily attributed to the involvement of halogens and a chiral (Pd/Pt)@Cu18 skeleton. Furthermore, all the NCs exhibit near‐infrared (NIR) luminescence, characterized by emission peaks at 705–755 nm, lifetimes ranging from 6.630 to 9.662 μs, and absolute photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 1.75 %–2.52 % in their crystalline state. The experimental optical properties of these NCs are found to be in excellent agreement with the results of theoretical calculations. These alloy NCs not only offer valuable insights into the synthesis of Pd0/Pt0‐Cu alloy NCs, but also bridge the gap in understanding the structure‐luminescence relationships of Pd0/Pt0‐Cu molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Twenty four novel acylthiourea derivatives were synthesized and characterized. • Completed the herbicidal activity experiment. • Completed the AHAS enzyme activity assay experiment. • Completed molecular docking experiment. In order to develop novel herbicides, a series of novel acylthiourea derivatives containing methylsulfone were synthesized and characterized by melting point, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the preliminary herbicidal activity of title compounds was determined against Echinochloa crusgal, Polypogon fugax, Digitaria adscendens, Brassica napus, Amaranthus retroflexus and Abutilon theophrasti. The results of the petri dish experiments showed that a small part of title compounds had a good inhibitory effect on Digitaria adscendens and Brassica napus. The results of the greenhouse herbicidal activity experiments indicated that the compounds 4p, 4 w and 4x exhibited more high herbicidal activity against Brassica napus and Digitaria adscendens than the commercial herbicide bensulfuron-methyl. Moreover, except for compound 4i , all test compounds performed well in crop safety evaluation. Next, acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) enzyme activity experiments were carried out, and the results showed that compound 4x had the highest inhibition rate reaching 89.12%. Finally, in order to screen AHAS inhibitor, molecular docking was performed by using AHAS protein and target ligand molecules 4a - 4x. The results of molecular docking were similar to bioassay experiments. Compound 4p, 4w and 4x were considered potential AHAS inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new method combining the porous media and rigid wall is applied to analyze the flow field. • The blocking effect of the semi-submersible aquaculture platform on water flow is analyzed. • A phenomenon including low flow velocity region and vortex generation are studied. The study of flow velocity distribution inside and around a semi-submersible aquaculture platform is extremely important for the living environment of marine fish, especially in the open sea. Therefore, a method combining porous media and rigid walls is established to analyze the flow patterns inside and around a semi-submersible aquaculture platform. In the present study, the shear stress transport k–omega turbulence model is chosen to describe the flow, and the governing equations are solved by using the finite volume method. The fish nets and main frame, including pontoons, columns, and braces, are modeled by porous media and rigid wall conditions, respectively. The accuracy of the numerical model is verified, and the results show that the experimental values agree with the calculated values. By comparing the flow field of aquaculture platforms with and without fish nets, it can be concluded that fish nets play a vital role in the attenuation of flow velocity. In addition, vortices exist near the wall of the aquaculture platform. The risk of resonance will increase when the frequency of the vortex shedding is close to the natural frequency of the structure, which should be avoided in practical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrated that As(III) was appreciably removed by ferrate in the presence of straw biochar. Removal efficiency of As in ferrate/biochar system was over 91%, increased by 34% compared with ferrate alone ([biochar] 0 = 10 mg/L, [ferrate] 0 = 6 mg/L, [As(III)] 0 = 200 μg/L). In the reaction process, As(III) was oxidized to As(V) mainly by ferrate, while ferrate was reduced into ferric (hydr)oxides and coated on the biochar. Biochar was oxidized in the reaction and its surface area, pore volume and the amount of Lewis acid functional groups were substantially improved, which provided interaction sites for As adsorption. Analysis of hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential revealed that biochar interacted with the ferrate resulted ferric oxides and enlarged the Fe-C-As particle/floc, which promoted their settlement and thus the liquid-solid separation of As. As(V) was adsorbed on the surface of biochar and ferric (hydr)oxides through hydrogen bond, electrostatic attraction and As-(OFe) bond. Ferrate/biochar was not only effective for As removal, but removed 73.31% of As, 50.38% of Cd, and 75.27% of Tl when these hazardous species synchronously existed in polluted water (initial content: As, 100 μg/L; Cd, 50 μg/L; Tl, 1 μg/L). The combination of ferrate with biochar has potential for the remediation of hazardous species polluted water. [Display omitted] • Biochar improved As(III) removal by Fe(VI) from 57% to 91%. • Biochar enhanced aggregation and settlement of Fe(VI) resulted particles. • Pore-structure and Lewis acid groups of biochar were improved by Fe(VI). • Simultaneous removal of As, Cd, and Tl was achieved by Fe(VI)/biochar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Cetuximab is an essential drug for the treatment of wild-type K-RAS colorectal cancer (CRC). It improves the overall survival of patients. However, acquired resistance prevents its clinical efficacy. Tumor heterogeneity may be a nonnegligible reason for cetuximab resistance. We attempted to explore the corresponding molecular mechanism.Methods: Cetuximab-resistant CRC cell RKO and cetuximab-sensitive CRC cell Caco-2 were applied in this study. Cells were centrifuged to determine the concentration in the culture supernatant (CS). MTT, EdU, and colony formation assays were utilized to evaluate cell survival and proliferation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and promoter-luciferase reporter assays were employed to confirm the direct binding of transcription factors. Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays were used to detect the expression of molecular markers in the pathway.Results: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was up-regulated in RKO cell culture supernatant and induced cetuximab resistance in Caco-2 cells. SRY-Box Transcription Factor 8 (SOX8) bound to the promoter sequence of HGF. HGF activated the HGF/MET bypass pathway and induced cetuximab resistance in Caco-2 cells.Conclusion: The SOX8/HGF/MET axis played a crucial role in the communication between cetuximab-resistant cells and cetuximab-sensitive cells, inducing treatment resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a class of multiband filters, including dual- and triple-band filters, are proposed using thin rectangular waveguide cavities, which are stacked and coupled to the input–output ports in parallel, leading to a multilayer configuration. Each layer could independently control the filtering response of each individual passband, including the operational frequency, insertion loss (IL), and bandwidth. Compared to the reported multiband filters, the proposed multiband filters could simultaneously achieve a large frequency ratio, compact size, independent control of each passband. Moreover, the proposed configuration could be easily extended to filters with more passbands by increasing the number of layers. The design procedures are detailed and one dual-band filter is fabricated. The measured results validate the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal expansion phenomena are of both engineering and fundamental interest. The conventional theory of thermal expansion of solids considers anharmonic phonon effects but largely neglects other kind of elementary excitations. A recent experiment reported a negative thermal expansion (NTE) of a two-dimensional magnet CrBr 3 at low-temperatures. Our first-principles calculations, if only the effects of atomic vibrations are considered, predict a low-temperature NTE but lower by several orders of magnitude than experimental data. We propose magnetic excitations (magnons) as another important contributor to the NTE. We extend the theory of thermal expansion by including the contribution from magnons to Helmholtz free energy. First-principles calculations based on this theory confirm the dominate role of magnons in the negative thermal expansion of CrBr 3 as well as in other two-dimensional magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is a standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with large vessel occlusion. Hypertension and increased blood pressure variability within the first 24 h after successful reperfusion are related to a higher risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and higher mortality. AIS patients might suffer from ischemia-reperfusion injury following reperfusion, especially within 24 h. Dexmedetomidine (DEX), a sedative commonly used in EVT, can stabilize hemodynamics by inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system and alleviate ischemia-reperfusion injury through anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. Postoperative prolonged sedation for 24 h with DEX might be a potential pharmacological approach to improve long-term prognosis after EVT. Methods: This single-center, open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial will include 368 patients. The ethics committee has approved the protocol. After successful reperfusion (modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction scores 2b–3, indicating reperfusion of at least 50% of the affected vascular territory), participants are randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. In the intervention group, participants will receive 0.1~1.0 μg/kg/h DEX for 24 h. In the control group, participants will receive an equal dose of saline for 24 h. The primary outcome is the functional outcome at 90 days, measured with the categorical scale of the modified Rankin Scale, ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 6 (death). The secondary outcome includes (1) the changes in stroke severity between admission and 24 h and 7 days after EVT, measured by the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (ranging from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater severity); (2) the changes in ischemic penumbra volume/infarct volume between admission and 7 days after EVT, measured by neuroimaging scan; (3) the length of ICU/hospital stay; and (4) adverse events and the all-cause mortality rate at 90 days. Discussion: This randomized clinical trial is expected to verify the hypothesis that postoperative prolonged sedation with DEX after successful reperfusion may promote the long-term prognosis of patients with AIS and may reduce the related socio-economic burden. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04916197. Prospectively registered on 7 June 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel procedure has emerged in recent years within oilfields - namely, the utilization of a hybrid fracturing method employing pre-CO2 injection along with sand-carry slick water. In this paper, based on the real logging data of shale oil reservoirs in the second member of Cangdong Sag, Huanghua Depression, combined with the GOHFER, a coupled 3-D hydraulic fracture propagation model is proposed. This research delves into an examination of how engineering factors exert their influence on the process of fracture propagation. The quantitative analysis is conducted encompassing critical fracture parameters such as half-length, height, and width, and self-defined fracture seepage area and fracture front fractal dimension. The research findings indicate that as injection displacement increases, the fracture shape undergoes a transformation from being "long, low, and wide" to becoming "short, high, and narrow". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al exhibits excellent capabilities for C-O bonds cleavage. • Isotope labeling experiments indicate the active hydrogen comes from isopropanol. • Major products of DL hydrogenolysis are phenolic compounds, especially guaiacol. Hydrogenolysis of lignin to produce valuable aromatic chemicals under mild conditions can effectively realize the value-added utilization of lignin. In this work, catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis (CTH) of dealkaline lignin (DL) over Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al catalyst was studied for the production of phenolic compounds, and the reaction mechanism was elucidated through the reaction of 2-phenoxy-1-phenylethanol (PPE) in deuterated isopropanol (CD 3 CD(OD)CD 3) and D 2. Moreover, we investigated the CTH behaviors of various lignin including organic solvents lignin in birch (OL), acidic solvents lignin in birch (AL) and birch powder (BW) to explore the suitability of the Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al catalyst. The results showed that Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al was able to catalyze the hydrogenolysis of various lignin into phenolic monomers using isopropanol as an in-situ hydrogen source. Under optimized conditions, the hydrogenolysis of DL over Ni 0.5 Co 1.5 Al achieved 43.30 wt% lignin oil yield. The experimental results of isotope labeling experiments exhibited that the active hydrogen generated by isopropanol is used for the cleavage of C-O bonds, and the electronic interactions between Ni and Co promotes the C-O bonds breaking. Isopropanol can not only be a hydrogen donor, but also act as a reaction solvent to stabilize intermediates and enhance the yield of phenolic compounds in the lignin CTH process. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite challenges related to the robust and irregular structure of lignin, the valorization of this aromatic biopolymer has aroused great interest. However, the current methods exhibit problems such as harsh reaction conditions, complicated operation, and difficult recovery of catalyst. Herein we present a one‐pot process for the mild oxidative depolymerization of lignin and lignin model compounds catalyzed by nano WO3, along with tert‐butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) as the oxidant and NaOH as the additive, which exhibits advantages of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Under the optimized condition, it yielded 80.4 wt % of liquid oil from organosolv lignin with 7.6 wt % of vanillic acid as the main monomer product, accounting for 91.6 wt % monomeric selectivity. Mechanism studies on the model substrate suggest that the reaction proceeds via an oxidation of Cα−OH to C=O followed by C−O bond cleavage to afford phenol and ketone products which may undergo further oxidation to produce aromatic carboxylic acids. We have developed an operationally simple procedure for mild fragmentation of lignin and lignin model compounds with excellent yields, which provides the potential to expand the existing lignin usage from energy source to value‐added commodity chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface layer proteins (SLPs) are crystalline arrays in the outermost layer of cell envelope in many archaea and bacteria. SLPs subunits have the ability to reassemble on the surface of lipid layers. In this work, the SLP from Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 4356 was extracted and reassembled on the surface of positively charged liposomes composed of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and octadecylamine. Zeta potentials and particle size were determined to describe the adsorption process of SLP on liposomes. The liposomes completely coated with SLP were observed by transmission electron microscope. To investigate the stabilizing effects of SLP on liposomes, carboxyfluorescein (CF) was encapsulated and its leakage was determined as an evaluation index. The results showed that the L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 SLP significantly (P < 0.05) increased the stability of the liposomes in the course of thermal challenge. Furthermore, SLP was able to reduce the aggregation of liposomes in serum. Storage stability of liposomes was performed at 25 °C, 4 °C and −20 °C for 90 days. And the SLP-coated liposomes released less CF than the control liposomes during storage at the three evaluated temperatures. Our findings extended the application field of Lactobacillus SLPs and introduced a novel nanocarrier system with good chemical stability. • A novel kind of surface layer protein (SLP)-coated liposome was introduced. • SLP could enhance the thermal stability of positively charged liposomes. • SLP could enhance the serum stability of positively charged liposomes. • SLP could enhance the storage stability of positively charged liposomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]