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In this work, rate coefficients of four prototypical insertion reactions, X + H2 → H + XH (X = C(1D), N(2D), O(1D), S(1D)), and associated isotope reactions are calculated based on ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) with Cayley propagator (Cayley-RPMD). The associated kinetic isotope effects are systematically studied too. The Cayley propagator used in this work increases the stability of numerical integration in RPMD calculations and also supports a larger evolution time interval, allowing us to reach both high accuracy and efficiency. So, our results do not only provide chemical kinetic data for the title reactions in an extended temperature range but also consist of experimental results, standard RPMD, and other theoretical methods. The results in this work also reflect that Cayley-RPMD has strong consistency and high reliability in its investigations of chemical dynamics for insertion reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational modulation of surface reconstruction in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) utilizing defect engineering to form efficient catalytic activity centers is a topical interest in the field of catalysis. The introduction of point defects has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to regulate the electronic configuration of electrocatalysts, but the influence of more complex planar defects (e.g., twins and stacking faults), on their intrinsic activity is still not fully understood. This study harnesses ultrasonic cavitation for rapid and controlled introduction of different types of defects in the FeCoNi/FeAl2O4 hybrid coating, optimizing OER catalytic activity. Theoretical calculations and experiments demonstrate that the different defects optimize the coordination environment and facilitate the activation of surface reconstruction into true catalytic activity centers at lower potentials. Moreover, it demonstrates exceptional durability, maintaining stable oxygen production at a high current density of 300 mA cm−2 for over 120 hours. This work not only presents a novel pathway for designing advanced electrocatalysts but also deepens our understanding of defect‐engineered catalytic mechanisms, showcasing the potential for rapid and efficient enhancement of electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational modulation of surface reconstruction in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) utilizing defect engineering to form efficient catalytic activity centers is a topical interest in the field of catalysis. The introduction of point defects has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy to regulate the electronic configuration of electrocatalysts, but the influence of more complex planar defects (e.g., twins and stacking faults), on their intrinsic activity is still not fully understood. This study harnesses ultrasonic cavitation for rapid and controlled introduction of different types of defects in the FeCoNi/FeAl2O4 hybrid coating, optimizing OER catalytic activity. Theoretical calculations and experiments demonstrate that the different defects optimize the coordination environment and facilitate the activation of surface reconstruction into true catalytic activity centers at lower potentials. Moreover, it demonstrates exceptional durability, maintaining stable oxygen production at a high current density of 300 mA cm−2 for over 120 hours. This work not only presents a novel pathway for designing advanced electrocatalysts but also deepens our understanding of defect‐engineered catalytic mechanisms, showcasing the potential for rapid and efficient enhancement of electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vitiligo is an acquired autoimmune depigmented disorder characterized by the presence of white and well‐defined patches on the skin, mucous membrane, or both. It is associated with a significant disease burden and has a profoundly impacts patients' quality of life. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) result from an autoimmune system dysregulation, leading to an erroneous immune attack on the thyroid gland. Previous observational and epidemiological studies have suggested the association between vitiligo and AITDs. However, the bidirectional cause‐effect relationship between vitiligo and AITDs has not been formally assessed. Method: Two‐sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to explore potential causal relationships between genetically increased risk of vitiligo and AITDs, using summary statistics from genome‐wide association studies in European populations. Causal effects were primarily estimated using the inverse variance weighted method, and additional quality control was performed using the MR‐Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weight mode methods. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the robustness of the results. Results: The forward MR analysis showed a positive causal relationship between vitiligo and autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT), autoimmune hyperthyroidism (AIH), and Graves' disease (GD). The odds ratio (OR) were 1.17 (95% CI, 1.01–1.35; p = 0.04), 1.12 (95% CI, 1.03–1.22; p = 0.01), and 1.13 (95% CI, 1.06–1.20; p < 0.01), respectively. In the reverse MR analysis, a positive causal relationship was found between AIT and vitiligo, with an OR of 1.10 (95% CI, 1.01–1.35; p = 0.04). However, no causal relationship was observed between AIH (p = 0.10) or GD (p = 0.61) and vitiligo. Sensitivity analysis revealed no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity. Conclusions: The genetic‐level investigation provides evidence of a genetic causal association between susceptibility to vitiligo and an increased risk of AITDs. Additionally, the results demonstrate a genetic causal association between susceptibility to AIT and an increased risk of vitiligo, while not indicating a similar association with susceptibility to AIH or GD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has the advantage of continuous observation throughout the day and in all weather conditions, and is used in a wide range of military and civil applications. Among these, the detection of ships at sea is an important research topic. Ships in SAR images are characterized by dense alignment, an arbitrary orientation and multiple scales. The existing detection algorithms are unable to solve these problems effectively. To address these issues, A YOLOV8-based oriented ship detection and classification method using SAR imaging with lightweight receptor field feature convolution, bottleneck transformers and a probabilistic intersection-over-union network (R-LRBPNet) is proposed in this paper. First, a CSP bottleneck with two bottleneck transformer (C2fBT) modules based on bottleneck transformers is proposed; this is an improved feature fusion module that integrates the global spatial features of bottleneck transformers and the rich channel features of C2f. This effectively reduces the negative impact of densely arranged scenarios. Second, we propose an angle decoupling module. This module uses probabilistic intersection-over-union (ProbIoU) and distribution focal loss (DFL) methods to compute the rotated intersection-over-union (RIoU), which effectively alleviates the problem of angle regression and the imbalance between angle regression and other regression tasks. Third, the lightweight receptive field feature convolution (LRFConv) is designed to replace the conventional convolution in the neck. This module can dynamically adjust the receptive field according to the target scale and calculate the feature pixel weights based on the input feature map. Through this module, the network can efficiently extract details and important information about ships to improve the classification performance of the ship. We conducted extensive experiments on the complex scene SAR dataset SRSDD and SSDD+. The experimental results show that R-LRBPNet has only 6.8 MB of model memory, which can achieve 78.2% detection accuracy, 64.2% recall, a 70.51 F1-Score and 71.85% mAP on the SRSDD dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a mosquito-borne flavivirus, Zika virus (ZIKV) has been identified as a global health threat. The virus has been linked to severe congenital disabilities, including microcephaly and other congenital malformations, resulting in fatal intrauterine death. Therefore, developing sensitive and specific methods for the early detection and accurate diagnosis of the ZIKV is essential for controlling its spread and mitigating its impact on public health. Herein, we set up a novel nucleic acid detection system based on Pyrococcus furiosus Argonaute (PfAgo)-mediated nucleic acid detection, targeting the non-structural protein 5 (NS5) region of the ZIKV genome (abbreviated ZIKV-PAND). Without preamplification with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the minimum detection concentration (MDC) of ZIKV-PAND was about 10 nM. When introducing an amplification step, the MDC can be dramatically decreased to the aM level (8.3 aM), which is comparable to qRT-PCR assay (1.6 aM). In addition, the diagnostic findings from the analysis of simulated clinical samples or Zika virus samples using ZIKV-PAND show a complete agreement of 100% with qRT-PCR assays. This correlation can aid in the implementation of molecular testing for clinical diagnoses and the investigation of ZIKV infection on an epidemiological scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) faces challenges due to its sluggish kinetics, development of efficient and robust OER catalytic electrodes is critical for reducing the cost of hydrogen production through electrochemical water splitting. In this study, a biphasic CoNi/Zn(Fe,Al,Cr)2O4 coating, characterized by a densely organized stalagmite‐like microarray structure, is deposited on a commercial pure titanium plate, creating an exceptionally effective OER catalytic electrode. The formation of numerous metal/spinel oxide heterogeneous interfaces is demonstrated to enhance its electron transfer ability and conductivity. At high potentials, aluminum leaching and lattice oxygen consumption can facilitate deep surface reconstruction of highly active Fe‐doped CoNiOOH phase inducing electrochemical activation, further optimizing thermodynamic barrier of the fundamental reaction step. Ultimately, this electrode showcases exceptional OER catalytic performance (low overpotential of 248 and 335 mV to deliver the current density of 10 and 100 mA cm−2) compared to commercial IrO2 catalyst (overpotential of ≈310 mV at 10 mA cm−2). Moreover, it demonstrates high current stability sustaining a current density of 500 mA cm−2 for 100 h. This work deepens the comprehension of the surface reconstruction process in OER and, more broadly, introduces a new avenue for designing and enhancing the performance of catalytic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboxylesterase (CES), a main hydrolysis enzyme family in the human body, plays a crucial role in drug metabolism. Among them, CES1 and CES2 are the primary subtypes, and each exhibits distinct distribution and functions. However, convenient and non-invasive methods for distinguishing them and the real-time monitoring of CES2 are relatively rare, hindering the further understanding of physiological functions and underlying mechanisms. In this study, we have designed, synthesized, and evaluated the first selective bioluminescent probe (CBP 1) for CES2 with high sensitivity, high specificity and rapid reactivity. This probe offers a promising approach for the real-time detection of CES2 and its dynamic fluctuations both in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Conductive polypyrrole modified porous carbonyl iron powder was synthesized by one step method. • Polypyrrole modified porous carbonyl iron powder composites have excellent microwave absorption properties. • The mechanism of polypyrrole modified porous carbonyl iron powder composite was discussed in detail. Carbonyl iron powder (CIP) is a common microwave absorber frequently utilized to prepare microwave-absorbing materials. However, it exhibits only magnetic loss and no dielectric loss, which inevitably affects its wave-absorbing performance. Here, porous carbonyl iron powder (p-CIP) modified with conductive polypyrrole (PPy) was successfully prepared by one-step chemical etching and in-situ polymerization and then utilized to fabricate epoxy composites with high microwave absorption intensity. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that conductive PPy was encapsulated on the surface of p-CIP. The reflection loss of the P-200 sample is −41.2 dB at 2.2 mm thickness. Reduction of the sample thickness to 1.8 mm resulted in a still acceptable reflection loss of −35.5 dB. Moreover, the effective absorption bandwidth widened to approximately 6.75 GHz (10.55–17.3 GHz). This provides a valuable approach for the development of microwave-absorbing materials with high absorption capacity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The interfacial polymerization is regulated by the inverse diffusible organic phase additive polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPYN). • The modified reverse osmosis (RO) separation layer features abundant free volume. • The flux of the modified RO membrane increases nearly 3 times compared with the pristine RO membrane without sacrificing separation selectivity. • The modified RO membrane exhibits excellent anti-biofouling property. Highly permeable thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes with abundant free volume are desirable for water treatment. However, the strategy of controlling the microstructure of the separation layer with high free volume rate is still a challenge. In this work, a modified strategy for the preparation of high-performance TFC RO membrane with inverse diffusible polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPYN) as organic phase additive was developed. The combination of PPYN and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) would diffuse backwards from the organic phase into the aqueous phase during the reaction process to disrupt the normal interfacial polymerization (IP) and thus introduce more free volume in the RO membrane due to the nanobubbles from violent reactions. Moreover, the thickness of the modified membrane decreased and the hydrophilicity increased based on the modulation of IP by PPYN, which facilitated the water molecules to transport. The prepared RO-PPYN membranes showed nearly three times the flux compared with the pristine RO membrane without sacrificing separation selectivity. Furthermore, the anti-biofouling property of the modified membrane was also improved. This work successfully demonstrated the potential use of PPYN as an organic filler to enhance the performance of seawater desalination in RO membranes. Our modification strategy provides an efficient and convenient way to prepare novel RO membranes with high permeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic litter and its associated environmental hazards have garnered global attention in recent years, highlighting the need for effective management. Improper handling of plastic litter can lead to environmental degradation, making it crucial to address this issue. In this paper, we propose an innovative approach to predict the spatial distribution and quantity of plastic litter at the city level by leveraging crowd-sensing data and designing a graph neural network-based model. Meteorological data is specifically used to enhance temporal correlation, while the spatial distribution of litter is clustered using the K-means method to capture spatial correlation. For each cluster, multiple graphs are constructed based on the points of interest (POIs) and litter distribution within the cluster. Graph attention neural networks and heterogeneous graph attention networks are then utilized to aggregate the adjacency information and overall structural information of these graphs, respectively. Finally, the litter prediction results are obtained through multiple fully connected layers. Real-world experiments convincingly demonstrate the high effectiveness of our proposed model in predicting city-wide litter, surpassing multiple comparative models. All the code and datasets can be accessed from the GitHub repository at https://github.com/ZJUDataIntelligence/Genii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fiber-optic Michelson interferometric trace DMMP sensor was proposed. • The fiber-optic sensor has the structure of a Michelson interferometer. • ZIF-8@Ag/PDDA as sensing materials is used to enhance the sensitivity. • The sensor has a sensitivity of 45.71 dB/ppm for DMMP. • The sensor has good selectivity and stability. A Michelson interference dimethyl methyl phosphate (DMMP) fiber sensor with a single-mode (SMF)-dislocated single-mode (DSMF)-hollow-core fiber (HCF) structure is proposed. To fabricate the Michelson interference structure of SMF-DSMF-HCF, one end of the DSMF was misaligned and fused to the SMF, the other end was fused to the HCF to generate a reflective surface. The structure, elemental composition, and surface morphology of ZIF-8@Ag were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy after the ZIF-8@Ag/PDDA composite was coated on the surface of DSMF. The result shows that the sensitivity and the detection limit of the sensor are 45.71 dB/ppm and 0.1431 ppb, respectively, and the response/recovery time is around 14/12 s. The sensor also has excellent selectivity and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Monomers developed in recent years for preparation of TFC membranes is summarized. • The relationship between monomer structure and membrane properties is established. • The application problems of the IP monomers are summarized. • The outlook for future development of the monomer is also discussed. The thin-film composite (TFC) membranes fabricated by interfacial polymerization (IP) can be applied in the fields of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO), which has the unparalleled advantages, such as high selectivity and permeability, small capital investment and low energy consumption, thus attracting great research interest in industry and academia field. The performance of TFC membranes is determined by their microstructure and physicochemical properties while IP monomer plays a decisive role regarding both. Over the past few decades, the researchers have paid intensive and sustained efforts to develop new IP monomers. This paper reviews these monomers and the corresponding membranes developed in recent years with the aim of establishing an intrinsic relationship between monomer structure and membrane properties. The excellent performances based on new monomers in enhancing the permeability, selectivity, anti-fouling and chemical stability of NF and RO membranes for liquid treatment are highlighted. Finally, various problems in the monomer development are summarized and the outlook for future development is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology of the active layer plays a crucial role in the device performance and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs). To obtain the optimized blend film morphology, numerous solvent additives have been developed and utilized. Nevertheless, the commonly used high boiling point solvent additives have strict volume control and residual problems, which are not conducive to the development of OSCs. To alter the situation, it is urgent to develop highly volatile additives to minimize the unfavorable effect. Here, a volatile aromatic small molecule, benzoylacetate (BA), is used as a solid additive to control the morphology of the active layer during the post-treatment procedure. More importantly, BA has an apparent positive interaction with Y6, leading to more favorable molecular arrangement in the blend film and enhanced charge transfer properties. Finally, the BA-treated PM6:Y6 device exhibits improved device performance and photostability. Moreover, BA could be used as a universal solid additive for different OSC systems. Specifically, a superior PCE of 18.5 % is achieved in BA-processed PM6:L8-BO binary system with good photostability. Our work demonstrates an approach of applying a volatile solid additive to improve the device performance and photostability. [Display omitted] • High-performance organic solar cells (OSCs) were fabricated by introducing benzoylacetone (BA), a volatile aromatic small molecule, into the non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) systems. • The addition of BA can be used to control the blend morphology and obtain improved crystallinity and appropriate phase separation. Meanwhile, good volatility of BA is beneficial to improve the photostability of OSCs. • For the binary PM6:L8-BO device, a notable PCE of 18.5 % was yielded after treatment with the BA additive, which is much higher than that of the device treated with DIO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more susceptible to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CV). Remote ischemic preconditioning (rIPC) has been proven efficient in improving endothelial function and lowering the risk of CV. However, the safety and effect of rIPC on endothelial function in patients with CKD have not been effectively assessed. Methods: 45 patients with CKD (average estimated glomerular filtration rate: 48.4 mL/min/1.73 m2) were randomly allocated to either 7‐day daily upper‐arm rIPC (4 × 5 min 200 mmHg, interspaced by 5‐min reperfusion) or control (4 × 5 min 60 mmHg, interspaced by 5‐min reperfusion). Vascular endothelial function was assessed by natural log–transformed reactive hyperemia index (LnRHI) before and after a 7‐day intervention. Arterial elasticity was assessed by augmentation index (AI). Results: The results showed that LnRHI could be improved by rIPC treatment (Pre = 0.57 ± 0.04 vs. Post = 0.67 ± 0.04, p =.001) with no changes relative to control (Pre = 0.68 ± 0.06 vs. Post = 0.64 ± 0.05, p =.470). Compared with the control group, the improvement of LnRHI was greater after rIPC treatment (rIPC vs. Control: 0.10 ± 0.03 vs. −0.04 ± 0.06, between‐group mean difference, −0.15 [95% CI, −0.27 to −0.02], p =.027), while there was no significant difference in the change of AI@75 bpm (p =.312) between the two groups. Conclusion: RIPC is safe and well tolerated in patients with CKD. This pilot study suggests that rIPC seems to have the potential therapeutic effect to improve endothelial function. Of note, further larger trials are still warranted to confirm the efficacy of rIPC in improving endothelial function in CKD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As economic fluctuations and market uncertainty intensify, supply chain members face enormous challenges. To explore the role of revenue-sharing contracts in supply chain members with different risk preferences, we study the risk-averse two-stage supply chain coordination in a revenue-sharing contract under three different scenarios: the supplier is risk-averse and the retailer is risk-neutral, or the retailer is risk-averse and the supplier is risk-neutral, or both are risk-averse. We find that the revenue-sharing contract mechanism allows the supplier to offer a lower wholesale price, effectively bearing part of the retailer's cost risk. In return, the retailer compensates the supplier with a larger portion of their revenue, and the lower wholesale price also stimulates the retailer's desire to order more products. In addition, risk aversion always reduces the optimal order quantity in the supply chain. Interestingly, when the retailer's risk aversion level is low, the supplier charges a higher wholesale price under the risk-averse supply chain than that under the risk-neutral supply chain. However, if the retailer's risk aversion level is high enough, the supplier should charge a lower price to stimulate the retailer under the risk-averse supply chain to retain the order size to maintain the channel profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-axis stabilizing gimbal is a device that ensures a sensor is working properly on a moving platform. When classical mechanics (Newton–Euler and Lagrange) is employed to model a two-axis stable gimbal, its limitations can complicate the modeling process. To address this issue, a method for establishing a dynamic model for a two-axis stabilizing platform based on the Kane method is proposed in this paper. The Kane method offers the advantage of a simple model structure and computational efficiency. Initially, utilizing a generalized coordinate system, expressions of the generalized velocities, deflection velocities and angular velocities are derived. Subsequently, the generalized active forces and inertial forces acting on the two-axis stabilized gimbal are analyzed. Finally, by combining force and velocity with the Kane equation, the dynamic model of the two-axis stable platform is obtained, demonstrating the validity of the Kane method for establishing the two-axis stable platform model. To ensure the pointing accuracy stability of the two-axis stabilizing platform, a Novel Particle Swarm Optimization Proportion Integration Differentiation (NPSO-PID) controller is designed using the PSO algorithm. It is then simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and compared with a classical PID controller. Simulation results demonstrate that NPSO-PID exhibits superior object tracking performance compared to classical PID controllers and better optimization of control parameters compared to traditional PSO-PID controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new scheme for generating a wide gamut of structural colors on the thin‐film‐stack‐based (TFSB) substrates is proposed. The TFSB surfaces consist of titanium/random gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and titanium/ random gold and copper nanoparticles (Au+CuNPs), which can trigger more resonance absorption and widen the color gamut. The electric fields in two designed structures are simulated, and the results showed that the random distribution of AuNPs and Au+CuNPs enhance the uniform local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) response. This enhancement is crucial in broadening the coverage of the reflection spectrum, which enables the generation of a wide range of colors, including green and red. The influence of laser parameters on the color of TFSB substrates and tested their durability in terms of time is analyzed. Finally, a color palette and made structural color patterns on TFSB by nanosecond pulsed laser are prepared. The proposed new scheme can be easily fabricated by magnetron sputtering without requiring additional procedures, which can open new perspectives in plasmonic colors. This work demonstrates that the promising potential of methods in creating a wide color gamut on metallic surfaces. Additionally, it serves as a means to store information for the preservation and protection of traditional cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tegoprazan is a potassium-competitive acid blocker that inhibits gastric acid and which may be used for eradicating Helicobacter pylori. This study focuses on the pharmacokinetic interaction and safety between tegoprazan and the combination of clarithromycin, amoxicillin and bismuth in healthy Chinese subjects. Methods: An open-label, three-period, single-center, multiple-dosage, single-sequence, phase I trial was conducted in 22 healthy subjects. In period 1, the subjects took tegoprazan 50 mg twice daily for 7 days, and in period 2 they were administered clarithromycin 500 mg, amoxicillin 1000 mg and bismuth potassium citrate 600 mg twice daily for 7 days (days 14–20). Tegoprazan, clarithromycin, amoxicillin and bismuth potassium citrate were then administered in combination for 7 days (days 21–27) in period 3. Blood samples were collected up to 12 h after the last dose of each period. Safety assessments were performed in each period. Results: The geometric mean ratios (GMRs) [90% confidence interval (CI)] of maximum plasma concentration at steady state (Cmax,ss) and area under the plasma concentration–time curve over the dosing interval (AUCτ) at steady state were 195.93% (175.52–218.71%) and 287.54% (263.28–314.04%) for tegoprazan and 423.23% (382.57–468.22%) and 385.61% (354.62–419.30%) for tegoprazan metabolite M1, respectively. The GMRs (90% CI) of Cmax,ss and AUCτ were 83.69% (77.44–90.45%) and 110.30% (102.74–118.41%) for clarithromycin, 126.25% (114.73–138.93%) and 146.94% (135.33–159.55%) for 14-hydroxyclarithromycin, 75.89% (69.73–82.60%) and 94.34% (87.94–101.20%) for amoxicillin, and 158.43% (125.43–200.11%) and 183.63% (156.42–215.58%) for bismuth, respectively. All reported adverse events were mild. The frequency of adverse events during the coadministration stage was not higher than that during the single- or triple-drug administration stages. Conclusion: The plasma exposure of tegoprazan, M1, 14-hydroxyclarithromycin and bismuth was increased after the coadministration of tegoprazan, clarithromycin, amoxicillin and bismuth. The coadministration exhibited favorable safety and tolerability. Clinical Trials Registration: CTR20230643. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The Na V 1.8 channel, mainly found in the peripheral nervous system, is recognized as one of the key factors in chronic pain. The molecule VX-150 was initially promising in targeting this channel, but the phase II trials of VX-150 did not show expected pain relief results. By analyzing the interaction mode of VX-150 and Na V 1.8, we developed two series with a total of 19 molecules and examined their binding affinity to Na V 1.8 in vitro and analgesic effect in vivo. One compound, named 2j , stood out with notable activity against the Na V 1.8 channel and showed effective pain relief in models of chronic inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain. Our research points to 2j as a strong contender for developing safer pain-relief treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoarthritis and lipid metabolism are strongly associated, although the precise targets and regulatory mechanisms are unknown. Methods: Osteoarthritis gene expression profiles were acquired from the GEO database, while lipid metabolism-related genes (LMRGs) were sourced from the MigSB database. An intersection was conducted between these datasets to extract gene expression for subsequent differential analysis. Following this, functional analyses were performed on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Subsequently, machine learning was applied to identify hub genes associated with lipid metabolism in osteoarthritis. Immune-infiltration analysis was performed using CIBERSORT, and external datasets were employed to validate the expression of these hub genes. Results: Nine DEGs associated with lipid metabolism in osteoarthritis were identified. UGCG and ESYT1, which are hub genes involved in lipid metabolism in osteoarthritis, were identified through the utilization of three machine learning algorithms. Analysis of the validation dataset revealed downregulation of UGCG in the experimental group compared to the normal group and upregulation of ESYT1 in the experimental group compared to the normal group. Conclusions: UGCG and ESYT1 were considered as hub LMRGs in the development of osteoarthritis, which were regarded as candidate diagnostic markers. The effects are worth expected in the early diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an approach to elucidate carrier dynamics by developing a robust rate equation model capable of explaining carrier dynamics in a dual-well system. To experimentally validate the accuracy and reliability of our model, we utilized a combination of time-resolved photoluminescence and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence measurements. The integration of these complementary techniques allowed us to thoroughly investigate the spectral characteristics in both wells, revealing distinct features attributed to carrier tunneling and transport effects and verifying the predictive ability of the model. This validation process not only confirms the model's accuracy under both coupled and uncoupled conditions but also highlights its potential applicability to quantum-well-based semiconductor lasers. Overall, our study not only advances our understanding of carrier dynamics in quantum wells but also introduces a versatile and reliable tool for designing and simulating ultrafast semiconductor lasers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2021, a wildlife conservation base in Hunan, China, reported illness and death among its captive Myocastor coypus population. A gram-positive pathogen was isolated from the affected animals. The 16S rDNA sequence of the isolated strain was approximately 1,500 bp long and exhibited 98.4% homogeneity with Staphylococcus cohnii found in sea cucumbers. Interestingly, the biochemical reactions of the isolated strain were consistent with the characteristics of S. cohnii. The LD100 for BALB/c mice was 1.2 × 107 CFU/g, while the MLD was 0.6 × 107 CFU/g. Inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in the liver, spleen, and kidneys of infected mice, accompanied by widespread systemic bacteremia and focal hepatic and splenic necrosis. Moreover, mycelium was detected in the liver and kidney. The isolated strain possessed both HLB and PVL virulence genes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report a highly pathogenic strain of S. cohnii isolated from M. coypus, possessing both HLB and PVL virulence genes. The findings contribute to yielding a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of S. cohnii and have significant implications for disease control in M. coypus, as well as for public health safety and the prevention of zoonotic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most previous visible–infrared person re-identification methods emphasized learning modality-shared features to narrow the modality differences, while neglecting the benefits of modality-specific features for feature embedding and narrowing the modality gap. To tackle this issue, our paper designs a method based on dual attention enhancement features to use shallow and deep features simultaneously. We first convert visible images into gray images to alleviate the visual difference. Then, to close the difference between modalities by learning the modality-specific features, we design a shallow feature measurement module, in which we use a class-specific maximum mean discrepancy loss to measure the distribution difference of specific features between two modalities. Finally, we design a dual attention feature enhancement module, which aims to mine more useful context information from modality-shared features to shorter the distance between classes within modalities. Specifically, our model exceeds the current SOTAs on SYSU-MM01, with 66.61% Rank-1 accuracy and 62.86% mAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high conductivity of commercial carbon fibers leads to a noticeable skinning effect and weak microwave impedance matching. This results in insufficient effective absorption bandwidth and less than ideal overall wave absorption performance, mainly reflecting electromagnetic waves. These limitations restrict the application of carbon fibers. In this study, we successfully prepared carbon fiber/epoxy composites with adjustable electrical conductivity by precisely controlling the temperature and time of pre-oxidized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers during the low-temperature carbonization stage. This allowed us to regulate the components and microstructure of conductive carbon fibers. The carbon fiber/epoxy composites demonstrated exceptional microwave absorption performance due to their various loss mechanisms. The impedance matching conditions and microwave attenuation capability were also quantitatively evaluated. For 850-9 samples, an effective bandwidth of approximately 7 GHz (11 GHz–18 GHz) was achieved with a thickness of 2.5 mm. For 900-9 samples, the best reflection loss achieved is −39.9 dB at 5.8 GHz, which corresponds to a thickness of 3 mm. The carbon fibers with different electrical conductivity can be obtained by modulating the microstructure of carbon fibers, which can improve the impedance matching performance of conductive carbon fibers and reduce their reflection of electromagnetic waves to improve the microwave absorption performance, achieving the transformation of traditional carbon fibers from electromagnetic shielding to effective microwave absorption. This simple and efficient preparation method has yielded promising results and offers a new avenue for the advancement of high-performance carbon fiber microwave absorbing materials. [Display omitted] • Conductivity-tunable carbon fibers obtained by carbon fiber microstructure modulation. • Broadband absorption bandwidth of 7 GHz was achieved at 2.5 mm and RL min value of −39.9 dB at 5.8 GHz was achieved at 3 mm. • Strong conductive loss and polarization loss accounted for reinforced microwave absorption performance. • Achieved the transformation of traditional carbon fibers from microwaves reflection to effective absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type-II superlattice (T2SL) detectors represent a promising advancement in long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) photodetector with significant potential across various applications. This study aims to explore the effect of different InAs layer thicknesses on the properties of InAs/GaSb LWIR SLs, which are fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). By employing a comprehensive multi-technique analysis, including Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Photoluminescence (PL). We substantiate the outstanding surface morphology, high-quality strain-balanced characterization, actual growth thickness assessment, and elemental content analysis using advanced spectroscopy techniques. These results demonstrate comprehensive insights into the 14/7 ML InAs/GaSb SLs elemental composition and distribution, enhancing understanding of superlattice properties for LWIR applications. • This report investigates the properties of InAs/GaSb LWIR SLs. The SLs were fabricated using MBE and were subjected to a comprehensive analysis using various techniques, including AFM, XRD, TEM, EDXS, XPS, and PL. • The analysis revealed excellent surface morphology, precise thickness assessment, and detailed elemental analysis to characterize the InAs/GaSb SLs (14/7 ML) using advanced spectroscopy techniques. • The results highlight the potential of 14/7 ML InAs/GaSb SLs and provide valuable characterization information that can guide future research and development efforts in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]