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The application of microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) in clayey soils has attracted much attention, and many studies used clay as an additive to enhance microbial mineralization efficiency in sandy soils. Within the sand-clay-bacteria-calcite system, the property and content of clay play crucial roles in affecting bacterial growth and calcite formation. More important, bentonite is particularly sensitive to changes in the geochemical environment. In this study, the sand-bentonite mixtures were treated by biostimulated MICP, aiming to provide insights into the behavior of this system. The bacterial activity and cementation pattern at different bentonite contents were evaluated through a series of tests such as enrichment tests, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests, cementation content measurements, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. The findings showed that the bentonite presence promoted the enrichment of indigenous ureolytic bacteria, with lower bentonite levels enhancing ureolytic activity. Macroscopic and microscopic characterization indicated that the bentonite-coating sand structure was more conducive to the formation of large-sized calcite crystals capable of cementing soil particles compared to sand-supported and bentonite-supported structures. Additionally, excessive calcium ions (Ca2+) concentrations in the cementitious solution would lead to predominant calcite deposition on soil particle surfaces, contributing minimally to strength improvement.

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative bone disease associated with ageing, characterized by joint pain, stiffness, swelling and deformation. Currently, pharmaceutical options for the clinical treatment of OA are very limited. Circular RNAs(cirRNAs) have garnered significant attention in OA and related drug development due to their unique RNA sequence characteristics.Therefore,exploring the role of cirRNAs in the occurrence and development of OA is of paramount importance for the development of effective medications for OA. Objectives: To identify a novel circRNA, circUbqln1, for treating osteoarthritis and elucidate its pathophysiological role and mechanisms in the treatment of OA. Methods: The circUbqln1 expression and distribution were determined by qRT-PCR and FISH. XBP1 gene knockout(XBP1 cKO) spontaneous OA and DMM model and WT mouse CIOA model were used to explore the role of XBP1 and circUbqln1 in OA.Overexpression or knockdown of circUbqln1 lentivirus was used to observe the impacts of circUbqln1 on primary chondrocytes,C28/I2 and mice in vitro and in vivo.Chromatin immunoprecipitation,luciferase reporter assay,RNA pulldown,mass spectrometry,RNA immunoprecipitation,fluorescence in situ hybridization,and flow cytometry to explore the molecular mechanisms of circUbqln1. Results: It was found that cartilage-specific XBP1 cKO mice exhibited a faster OA progression compared to normal’s.Importantly,transcript factor XBP1s has the capacity to impede the biogenesis of circUbqln1,derived from Ubqln1. The circUbqln1 promotes cartilage catabolism and inhibits anabolism, therefore accelerates the occurrence of OA.Mechanismly,circUbqln1 can translocate to the chondrocyte nucleus with the assistance of phosphorylated 14–3–3ζ, upregulate the transcriptional activity of the proline dehydrogenase(Prodh) promoter and PRODH enzyme activity. Consequently, this leads to the promotion of proline degradation and the inhibition of collagen synthesis,ultimately culminating in the impairment of cartilage and its structural integrity. Conclusion: CircUbqln1 plays a crucial role in the occurrence and development of OA, indicating that the inhibition of circUbqln1 holds promise as a significant approach for treating OA in the future.

Background: Esophageal cancer (EC) remains a global health challenge due to its poor prognosis. China and the United States of America (USA) represent two distinct epicenters of EC burden. Understanding the EC disparities in these two countries is vital for tailoring prevention strategies, optimizing treatment, and enhancing outcomes in both countries. Yet, there lacks a comprehensive comparison of EC characteristics between the two countries. Methods: In this multicenter, retrospective hospital-based study, we enrolled primary EC patients who received their initial treatment at one of 23 hospitals in China during 2016–2017. Using electronic medical records and cancer registration records, information on demographics, lifestyle, and clinicopathological characteristics (including tumor site, pathology, stage, metastases, differentiation, and treatment) were collected. Additionally, we compared these data with the clinicopathological information of invasive EC patients diagnosed in 2016–2017 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database in the USA. Results: A total of 6,658 EC patients in China and 8,555 EC patients in the USA were included finally. 85.5% (n = 5,694) of EC were esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in China, while esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) was prominent in the USA (58.9%, n = 5,041). Among EC patients with known staging, the proportion of early stage was higher in China compared to the USA (48.3% vs. 30.5%). Among ESCC patients, early-stage cases were higher in China than in the USA (49.8% vs. 31.8%), while among EAC patients, late-stage cases were higher in China than in the USA (77.3% vs. 68.5%) (all P < 0.001). In China, EC mainly occurred in the middle third (60.2%) of the esophagus, whereas in the USA, it was more common in the lower third (59.9%) of the organ. Compared with EC patients with known metastatic status in the USA, China had fewer cases of lymph node metastases (51.4% vs. 57.7%) and distant metastases (7.9% vs. 33.8%). Regarding treatment, China had more surgical therapy (53.7% vs. 22.6%), less radiotherapy (35.6% vs. 53.3%), and less chemotherapy (46.7% vs. 59.7%) compared to the USA. Conclusions: This study reveals notable disparities in EC between China and the USA, encompassing epidemiological, clinicopathological, and treatment dimensions. These findings provide insight for tailored strategies addressing regional variations in clinicopathological and therapeutic characteristics.

Background and objective: Systemic treatments involving immunotherapy-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (IO-TKI) combinations and TKI monotherapy have significantly improved outcomes for patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC). However, there are no biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of these treatments. Our aim was to investigate the prognostic and therapeutic significance of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) in patients with mccRCC patients receiving systemic therapy. Methods: We included 318 patients with mccRCC who received TKI or IO-TKI therapy. Patients were classified into groups according to whether they had an increase or decrease in serum IgG after systemic treatment. The association between baseline serum IgG and the objective response rate (ORR) was compared between the groups using a t test. The association of the change in serum IgG with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated via Cox proportional-hazards regression, and survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Key findings and limitations: Baseline serum IgG was not significantly associated with ORR (p = 0.055). After 3-mo systemic therapy, 133 patients (42%) exhibited an increase in serum IgG. The group with an IgG increase had significantly poorer median PFS (5.6 vs 16.2 mo; hazard ratio [HR] 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.58–4.36; p

Background and objective: Ureteral stones are currently treated with holmium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser lithotripsy using rigid and flexible ureteroscopes. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of semirigid ureteroscopy combined with Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy for treating proximal ureteral stones in real-world studies. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched systematically to retrieve all relevant studies up to April 2024. A meta-analysis of the retrieved studies was performed using Stata 14.0 software and expressed as rate, mean difference, and 95% confidence interval (CI). The main outcomes of this meta-analysis were stone-free rate (SFR) and perioperative outcomes including operation time, hospital stay, postoperative ureteral stent placement, auxiliary procedures, and intra- or postoperative complications. Key findings and limitations: A total of 24 studies were included in this study, including 2058 patients with proximal ureteral stones. According to the results of the combined analysis, the SFR of semirigid ureteroscopy combined with Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy for the treatment of proximal ureteral stones was 78% (95% CI [75%, 82%]), operation time was 51.03 min (95% CI [43.5, 58.56]), hospital stay was 1.62 d (95% CI [1.54, 1.70]), auxiliary procedure rate was 20% (95% CI [15%, 25%]), and postoperative complication rate was 16% (95% CI [12%, 22%]). Conclusions and clinical implications: The results of this study show that semirigid ureteroscopic Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy is a commonly used treatment for proximal ureteral calculi, but its efficacy and safety need to be improved further, and its efficacy is not related to the diameter of the endoscope. Patient summary: This study showed that Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy with semirigid ureteroscopes is commonly used for treating ureteral stones. However, its efficacy and safety need to be improved further, and future research should focus on these.

ABSTRACT: Postpartum cows experience lipolysis in adipose tissue due to negative energy balance, and accumulation of free fatty acids leads to metabolic stress in adipose tissue. Ferroptosis is a type of cell death triggered by excessive buildup of iron-dependent lipid peroxides and is involved in the occurrence and development of various metabolic diseases in nonruminants. However, whether ferroptosis occurs in the adipose tissue of ketotic cows and the regulatory mechanisms behind ferroptosis are still unclear. Despite multiple studies demonstrating the significant involvement of hypoxia-inducible-factor-1α (HIF-1α) in regulating cellular dysfunction, its specific function in the adipose tissue of ketotic dairy cows remains uncertain, particularly its regulation of oxidative stress and ferroptosis. This study aimed to explore the effect of HIF-1α on oxidative stress and ferroptosis in bovine subcutaneous adipose tissue and isolated adipocytes. The adipose tissue of clinical ketosis cows (n = 15) with a serum BHB concentration of 3.13 mM (interquartile range = 0.14) and healthy cows (n = 15) with a serum BHB concentration of and 0.58 mM (interquartile range = 0.13) was collected. The results showed that the concentrations of lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), Fe2+, and total iron were increased in adipose tissue of cows with ketosis, but the contents of glutathione (GSH) were reduced. Furthermore, the protein levels of HIF-1α, heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), acyl-CoA synthetase 4, and nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2 (NFE2L2) exhibited higher abundance in adipose tissue obtained from cows with ketosis, whereas the protein abundance of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1, glutamate-cysteine ligase regulatory subunit (GCLM), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were lower. To simulate the ferroptosis state of adipose tissue in ketotic cows, primary bovine adipocytes were isolated from the adipose tissue of healthy cows and cultured with erastin to construct the ferroptosis model. Adipocytes were cultured with either an adenovirus overexpressing HIF-1α or small interfering RNA targeting HIF for 48 h, followed by exposure to erastin (1 μM) for 24 h. Treatment with erastin led to higher protein abundance of CAT, SOD1, NFE2L2 and HMOX1, and it inhibited the protein expression levels of GCLC, SLC7A11, GCLM, GPX4, and kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1. Furthermore, erastin treatment elevated the levels of ROS, MDA, Fe2+, and total iron and reduced the content of GSH. The overexpression of HIF-1α reversed the erastin-induced decreases in the protein abundance of GPX4 and SLC7A11, as well as the levels of MDA, ROS, Fe2+, and total iron, while significantly increasing protein abundance and content of CAT, SOD1, NFE2L2, HMOX1, GCLC, GCLM, GPX4, SLC7A11, and GSH. Conversely, the silencing of HIF-1α further exacerbated the erastin-induced levels of MDA, ROS, Fe2+, and total iron, while inhibiting the upregulation of SOD1, CAT, NFE2L2 and HMOX1. Collectively, these findings suggest that activation of HIF-1α may function as an adaptive mechanism to mitigate ferroptosis and alleviate oxidative stress in adipose tissue.

ABSTRACT: This study examined the effects of incorporating milk protein concentrate (MPC) or pea or soy proteins isolates (PPI and SPI) on the physicochemical, sensory properties, and AA composition of ice creams containing 7% protein, compared with dairy ice cream as a reference. As protein ingredients, PPI exhibited higher water- and oil-holding capacity but lower surface hydrophobicity than SPI and MPC. The viscosity of the mixes was proportional to the firmness of the ice cream, and both were highest with use of PPI. The MPC ice cream had the most similar physical and sensory properties to the reference. The PPI and SPI ice cream mixes showed a greater extent of fat coalescence than MPC and reference ice creams. Both PPI and SPI conferred structural stability to ice cream with lower melting rates and better shape retention, and ability to delay ice recrystallization during temperature flocculation compared with skim milk powder and MPC. Confocal laser scanning microscope images indicated that a greater extent of protein aggregation and more air cells were found in PPI ice cream. Sensory and amino acid profile results revealed that PPI and SPI ice creams were inferior in taste, texture, and essential AA such as methionine. This study offers insights for the development of high-protein frozen desserts.

Background and aims: The prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing hepatectomy is unsatisfactory, especially for those with microvascular invasion (MVI). This study aimed to determine the impact of adjuvant transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and Lenvatinib on the prognosis of patients with HCC and MVI after hepatectomy. Methods: Patients diagnosed with HCC and MVI were reviewed, and stratified into four groups according to adjuvant TACE and/or Lenvatinib. Multivariate Cox regression analyses are used to determine independent risk factors. Results: 346 patients were included, and divided into four groups (Group I, TACE+ Lenvatinib; Group II, Lenvatinib; Group III, TACE; Group IV, without adjuvant therapy). Multivariable analysis showed that compared to Group IV, Group I had the best effect on improving the overall survival (OS, HR 0.321, 95%CI 0.099–0.406, P = 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (RFS, HR 0.319, 95%CI 0.129–0.372, P = 0.001). Additionally, compared with Group II or Group III, Group I also can significantly improve the OS and RFS. There is no significant difference between Group II and Group III in OS and RFS. Conclusion: The combination of TACE and Lenvatinib should be considered for anti-recurrence therapy for patients with HCC and MVI after hepatectomy.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate whether mindfulness could mitigate the impact of job and interpersonal demands arising from stressful organizational cultures in predicting depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A total of 280 Korean physical therapists participated in this study. To verify the mediated moderation model, this study implemented an SPSS 26.0 PROCESS Macro (v.3.5) that was based on the verification of Hayes' conditional indirect effect. Results: The study confirmed the moderated mediation effect of mindfulness on the mediating relationship between stressful organizational culture, job demands/interpersonal demands, and depression. Moreover, the conditional indirect effect of mindfulness was found to be statistically significant. However, the impact on interpersonal stress differed from anticipated outcomes. Conclusions: Mindfulness, applicable within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources model theory, served as a resource variable and moderated the impact of organizational culture on members' depression. Amidst ongoing debates on mindfulness effectiveness, this study partially confirmed its potential within the Job Demands-Resources model, suggesting a role in mitigating the influence of organizational culture on members' depression as a resource variable.

Data-driven fault diagnosis techniques are significant for the stable operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, in practical applications, the fault diagnosis of NPPs usually faces imbalance data problems with small fault samples and much redundant data which results in low model training efficiency and poor generalization performance. Thus, this paper proposes a convolutional variational autoencoding gradient-penalty Wasserstein generative adversarial network with random forest (CVGR) to reduce the impact of imbalanced samples on fault diagnosis. Firstly, a feature selection method based on the random forest is used to identify the most relevant measurements and reduce the impact of redundant data on fault diagnosis. Then, variational autoencoding is introduced into gradient-penalty Wasserstein generative adversarial to effectively extract original sample features and generate high-quality samples with high rationality and diversity. In addition, the convolutional neural network is used to extract the features of mixed samples to realize intelligent fault diagnosis. Finally, several experiments based on the Fuqing Unit 2 full-scope simulator under different operating conditions are used to validate the performance of the CVGR in data enhancement and intelligent fault diagnosis. The results show that the proposed method can effectively mitigate the imbalance data problem, which gives insights into intelligent fault diagnosis of NPPs.

Objective: The purpose of this work was to develop an anti-CAT-SYI immunoglobulin Y (IgY) antibody that targeted both GtfB (glucosyltransferase B) and GbpB (glucan-binding protein B) and test its anticaries properties in rats. Methods: A new CAT-SYI fusion gene was created utilising functional DNA fragments from the GtfB and GbpB genes. The recombinant antigens, comprising the fused CAT-SYI antigen, GtfB, and GbpB, were expressed and purified using a prokaryotic expression and purification system. The purified recombinant antigens were utilised to immunise laying hens against particular IgY production. The biological activities of these particular IgY antibodies were then assessed both in vitro and in vivo, including their capacity to suppress biofilm formation and tooth caries. Results: Results indicated that these produced IgY antibodies demonstrated a high antibody titer (>0.1 μg/mL) and could precisely recognise and bind to their respective antigens. Furthermore, it was discovered that these specific IgY antibodies successfully bind to Streptococcus mutans and significantly reduce biofilm development. After 8 weeks of ingesting antigen-specific IgY meals, comprising anti-GtfB IgY and anti-GbpB IgY, the severity of dental caries was dramatically reduced in S mutans–infected Sprague-Dawley rats (P < .01). Anti-CAT-SYI IgY therapy significantly reduced tooth cavities by 89.0% in vivo (P < .05) compared to other treatment groups. Conclusions: The anti-CAT-SYI IgY, a multitarget antibody that targets both GtfB and GbpB, displayed excellent inhibitory effects against S mutans, making it a promising targeted method with improved anticaries efficacy and significant application opportunities.

Evolutionary Agroecology theory predicts that the relationship between population yield and individual fitness among genotypes of a crop species is unimodal, and experimental evidence supports this. We test the theory further by investigating the role of resource availability on this relationship by comparing growth and reproductive output of three old and three modern cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in mixture and monocultures grown at three resource levels. The relationship between population grain yield and individual fitness (mean individual grain yield in mixture) of genotypes was resource dependent in a way that is consistent with the theory: when resource levels are low and limit individual growth directly, individual and population yield are positively correlated. When resource levels are high and the growth of individual plants is limited by competition for these resources, the relationship between individual fitness and population yield becomes negative. There was evidence for the unimodal relationship at the intermediate resource level. Old cultivars had higher fitness than newer cultivars at all three resource levels. Old cultivars had higher yields at low resource levels, but the newer cultivars yielded more when resource levels were high. Evaluating individual fitness and population yield in different environments may help wheat breeders to develop locally adapted, cooperative cultivars to increase production across large wheat-producing areas.

Because of their exceptional material qualities, SiCp/Al composites are widely used in significant engineering applications. The processability of SiCp/Al composites is frequently determined by the type of SiC particle removal. This paper examines the material properties of the matrix, reinforcing phase, and matrix-particle interface in detail. To simulate and analyze the microscopic removal mechanism of SiCp/Al composites, a more realistic multiphase two-dimensional microscopic finite element model is established. In terms of chip production, cutting force, and surface morphology, related orthogonal cutting experiments confirmed the validity and correctness of the finite element model. Furthermore, the unique material removal mechanism of SiCp/Al composites is disclosed, and the cause of the oscillation phenomena of the surface roughness value under various cutting settings is explained by analyzing the various removal procedures of SiC particles. Theoretical support and an experimental foundation are offered for the precise machining of SiCp/Al composite materials.

Normal hepatic arterial anatomy consists of the right hepatic artery and left hepatic artery branching from the common hepatic artery. Despite this being the most common configuration, many variations have been described. Here, we present a rare variant of hepatic arterial anatomy- a replaced right hepatic artery with direct aortic origin. Additionally, the patient was found to have a dorsal pancreatic artery originating from the replaced right hepatic artery This was angiographically identified during mapping for transarterial radioembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma. The unique anatomy in this case and the effect it had on transarterial radioembolization planning described herein demonstrates the necessity of understanding variant hepatic arterial anatomy in endovascular hepatic interventions.

Brain imaging genetics is an evolving neuroscience topic aiming to identify genetic variations related to neuroimaging measurements of interest. Traditional linear regression methods have shown success, but their reliance on individual-level imaging and genetic data limits their applicability. Herein, we proposed S-GsMTLR, a group sparse multi-task linear regression method designed to harness summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of neuroimaging quantitative traits. S-GsMTLR directly employs GWAS summary statistics, bypassing the requirement for raw imaging genetic data, and applies multivariate multi-task sparse learning to these univariate GWAS results. It amalgamates the strengths of conventional sparse learning methods, including sophisticated modeling techniques and efficient feature selection. Additionally, we implemented a rapid optimization strategy to alleviate computational burdens by identifying genetic variants associated with phenotypes of interest across the entire chromosome. We first evaluated S-GsMTLR using summary statistics derived from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The results were remarkably encouraging, demonstrating its comparability to conventional methods in modeling and identification of risk loci. Furthermore, our method was evaluated with two additional GWAS summary statistics datasets: One focused on white matter microstructures and the other on whole brain imaging phenotypes, where the original individual-level data was unavailable. The results not only highlighted S-GsMTLR's ability to pinpoint significant loci but also revealed intriguing structures within genetic variations and loci that went unnoticed by GWAS. These findings suggest that S-GsMTLR is a promising multivariate sparse learning method in brain imaging genetics. It eliminates the need for original individual-level imaging and genetic data while demonstrating commendable modeling and feature selection capabilities.

Background: Mounting evidence underscores the importance of cell communication within the tumor microenvironment, which is pivotal in tumor proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Exosomes play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication. Although single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides insights into individual cell transcriptional characteristics, it falls short of comprehensively capturing exosome-mediated intercellular communication. Method: We analyzed Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tissues, separating supernatant and precipitate for exosome purification and single-cell nucleus suspension. We then constructed Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and small RNA-seq libraries from these components. Our bioinformatic analysis integrated these sequences with ligand-receptor analysis and public miRNA data to map the cell communication network. Results: We established intercellular communication networks using bioinformatic analysis to track exosome miRNA effects and ligand-receptor pairs. Significantly, hsa-miR-1293 emerged as a prognostic biomarker for pancreatic cancer, linked to immune evasion, increased myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and poorer prognosis. Targeting this miRNA may enhance anti-tumor immunity and improve outcomes. Conclusion: Our study offers a novel approach to constructing intercellular communication networks using snRNA-seq and exosome-small RNA sequencing. By integrating miRNA tracing with ligand-receptor analysis, we illuminate the complex interactions in the pancreatic cancer microenvironment, highlighting the pivotal role of miRNAs and identifying potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Phthalate esters (PE), a significant class of organic compounds used in industry, can contaminate humans and animals by entering water and food chains. Recent studies demonstrate the influence of PE on the development and progression of heart diseases, particularly in obese people. Di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP) was administered orally to normal and diet-induced obese mice in this research to assess cardiovascular risk. The modifications in the microbial composition and metabolites were examined using RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis. Based on the findings, lean group rodents were less susceptible to DIBP exposure than fat mice because of their cardiovascular systems. Histopathology examinations of mice fed a high-fat diet revealed lesions and plagues that suggested a cardiovascular risk. In the chronic DIBP microbial remodeling metagenomics Faecalibaculum rodentium was the predominant genera in obese mice. According to metabolomics data, arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism changes caused by DIBP were linked to unfavorable cardiovascular events. Our research offers new understandings of the cardiovascular damage caused by DIBP exposure in obese people and raises the possibility that arachidonic acid metabolism could be used as a regulator of the gut microbiota to avert related diseases.

The intricate task of precisely segmenting retinal vessels from images, which is critical for diagnosing various eye diseases, presents significant challenges for models due to factors such as scale variation, complex anatomical patterns, low contrast, and limitations in training data. Building on these challenges, we offer novel contributions spanning model architecture, loss function design, robustness, and real-time efficacy. To comprehensively address these challenges, a new U-Net-like, lightweight Transformer network for retinal vessel segmentation is presented. By integrating MobileViT+ and a novel local representation in the encoder, our design emphasizes lightweight processing while capturing intricate image structures, enhancing vessel edge precision. A novel joint loss is designed, leveraging the characteristics of weighted cross-entropy and Dice loss to effectively guide the model through the task's challenges, such as foreground-background imbalance and intricate vascular structures. Exhaustive experiments were performed on three prominent retinal image databases. The results underscore the robustness and generalizability of the proposed LiViT-Net, which outperforms other methods in complex scenarios, especially in intricate environments with fine vessels or vessel edges. Importantly, optimized for efficiency, LiViT-Net excels on devices with constrained computational power, as evidenced by its fast performance. To demonstrate the model proposed in this study, a freely accessible and interactive website was established (https://hz-t3.matpool.com:28765?token=aQjYR4hqMI), revealing real-time performance with no login requirements.

In this paper, the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) mechanism, texture evolution and the effect of γ ′on the microstructure evolution of a new nickel-based superalloy at 1075 °C and strain rate of 0.01 s−1 were systematically investigated. The results showed that the DRX mechanism undergoes significant alterations with the increase of strain. When the strain is 0.07, the discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) constitutes the dominant mechanism. As the strain increases to 0.13, the DDRX mechanism transforms into continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), and the dynamic recrystallization (DRXed) grains grow when the strain is further increased to 0.20. The texture evolution indicated that with the increase of strain, the crystal orientation shifts from and to and , and texture intensity initially weakens and then strengthens, which is closely associated with the DRX mechanism. At a strain of 0.07, the texture is primarily influenced by the DRXed grains. As the strain increases to 0.13, the deformed grains become the dominant factor in determining the texture, and at a strain of 0.20, both the DRXed and deformed grains jointly dominate the texture. The CDRX mechanism facilitates the formation of and textures, while DDRX is mainly related to orientation. Additionally, due to the L12 ordered structure of the γ′ phase, dislocations and stacking faults gradually accumulate in the γ′ phase with the increase of strain, while the dislocation density in the γ matrix initially ascends and then descends.

This investigation elucidates the spatiotemporal dynamics of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation following myocardial infarction (MI), a process that has not been fully characterized. We revealed early activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in mice with MI and characterized its dynamic temporal expression. Notably, the knockout and inhibition of Nlrp3 expression were found to significantly mitigate infarct size and enhance cardiac function. Furthermore, our analysis of the spatial characteristics of inflammasome activation revealed predominant activation in macrophages and subsequent activation in fibroblasts on the third day post-MI. To elucidate the nexus between macrophage-associated NLRP3 inflammasome activation and myocardial fibrosis, we employed targeted metabolomics analyses of inflammatory oxylipins, small interfering RNA (siRNA) interference experiments, and various molecular assays. These findings revealed that macrophage-associated inflammasome activation facilitates the conversion of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts via the 15-hydroxy-5,8,11,13-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE)-mediated small mother against decapentaplegic (Smad) pathway. Additionally, both mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and targeted metabolomics analyses confirmed the significant increase in 15-HETE levels in mice with MI and in patients with MI and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Our comprehensive dataset suggests that NLRP3 inflammasome activation in MI is characterized by distinct temporal and spatial patterns. These insights mark a significant advancement toward precise MI prevention and treatment strategies, particularly early myocardial fibrosis intervention.

Intestinal stem cells (ISCs) initiate intestinal epithelial regeneration and tumorigenesis, and they experience rapid refilling upon various injuries for epithelial repair as well as tumor reoccurrence. It is crucial to reveal the mechanism underlying such plasticity for intestinal health. Recent studies have found that metabolic pathways control stem cell fate in homeostasis, but the role of metabolism in the regeneration of ISCs after damage has not been clarified. Here, we find that in a human colorectal cancer dataset, miR-29a and b (miR-29a/b) are metabolic regulators highly associated with intestinal tumorigenesis and worse prognostic value of radiotherapy. We also show that these two microRNAs are required for intestinal stemness maintenance in mice, and their expression is induced in regenerated ISCs after irradiation injury, resulting in skewed ISC fate from differentiation towards self-renewal. This upregulation of miR-29a/b expression in ISCs leads to suppression of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and depression of oxidative phosphorylation, which in turn controls the balance between self-renewal and differentiation of ISCs. Deletion of miR-29a/b prevents these effects and thus impairs ISC-mediated epithelial recovery. Finally, we filter the potential targets of miR-29a/b and identify Hnf4g, a transcription factor, that drives this metabolic reprogramming through regulating FAO-related enzymes. Our work discovers an important metabolic mechanism of ISC-mediated regeneration and potentially pave the way for more targeted and effective therapeutic strategies for intestinal repair as well as tumor treatment.

Herein, the effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the corrosion resistance of high nitrogen stainless steel (HNS) is systematically investigated based on experimental characterizations and first-principle calculations. Electrochemical measurements firstly prove that the anodic dissolution rate of HNS has significantly increased due to BSA adsorption and the potential deterioration of the passive film. By subsequent morphology and composition characterizations, it is demonstrated that BSA forms a 1.9 μm porous adsorption layer on HNS surface via the peptide bond mostly in α-helix and β-turn structure. Furthermore, Mott-Schottky tests confirm that the carrier (cation vacancy) density in the passive film has dramatically risen from 6.29 × 1021 cm−3 to 1.97 × 1022 cm−3 after BSA adsorption, which could be ascribed to the detachment of Cr atom from its original lattice due to the preference interaction between BSA molecule and Cr atom. Most importantly, such an increased defects will further promote the dissolution process of both the passive film and HNS matrix according to point defect model (PDM), which will definitely undermine the protective ability of the passive film and eventually result in the declined corrosion resistance of HNS in BSA-contained solution.

Liquid droplet impingement (LDI) treatment changes the roughness and introduces residual compressive stress on 321 stainless steel (SS). Compared to untreated 321 SS, 1 h of LDI treatment with 100, 150 and 175 m/s gradually increases the pitting potential of 321 SS, while 1 h of LDI treatment with 200 m/s decreased the pitting potential of 321 SS. The passive films grown on the 321 SS after LDI treatment with 100, 150 and 175 m/s show a decreased receptor density, an increased Cr content and an increased thickness, whereas a dense passive film with good corrosion resistance cannot be formed on the 321 SS after LDI treatment with 200 m/s. The effect of the change in surface state due to LDI treatment on the electrochemical passivation behavior is explained in detail.

In this work, we investigate the microstructures and mechanical properties evolution on a novel carbon-based maraging steel with the compositions of Fe–10Mn-0.25C–1Cr–2Mo wt%, through hot and cold rolling following by heat treatment. The composition was designed through thermodynamic modelling to achieve a combination of high strength and high tensile elongation through the development of fine tempered martensite with carbide strengthening, and the transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) from the reverted austenite. After hot and cold deformation, a solution treatment at 870 °C followed by quenching gave a martensitic structure with 5% retained austenite. The microstructure and tensile properties were then investigated in detail as a function of ageing time at 510 °C. The kinetics of austenite reversion were much more rapid, with a peak in austenite content after only 5h, giving a maximum volume fraction of ∼26%, with a sharp reduction for longer ageing times. The best tensile properties were obtained after an 8 h age with only ∼16.5% of reverted austenite, which provided a UTS of 1560 MPa (220 MPa contributed by TRIP) and an elongation of 14.5%. While the smallest grain size was attained after 16 h of aging, accompanied by an exceedingly low volume fraction of reverted austenite (∼2.1%) for the TRIP effect, the UTS decreased to 1356 MPa, with a slightly improved elongation of 15.7%. The results show that achieving the optimal mechanical properties requires balancing the volume fraction of reverted austenite for the TRIP effect with the grain size to enhance both strength and ductility.

This paper investigates the corrosion behavior of Fe-SG series metals with different graphite nodule counts to molten Al by using the ultrasonic vibration hot-dip aluminum experimental method. Fe-SG series metals to aluminum melt exhibited a much better corrosion resistance compared to H13 tool steel. As the graphite nodule count increases, the hot melting loss rate of Fe-SG series metals gradually decreases, indicating an improvement in corrosion resistance to aluminum melt. Scanning and EDS analysis of the samples after hot-dip aluminum testing revealed that the thickness of the product layer increased progressively with the extension of hot-dip aluminum time. Through the analysis of the structure and composition of the product layer, it was found that the corrosion products in H13 steel were composed of Fe2Al5 and FeAl3. In addition to the two phases, the product layer of the Fe-SG series metals also contained granularly distributed Fe–Al–Si intermetallic compounds within the Fe2Al5 phase. This resulted in a better corrosion resistance to aluminum melt.

In this study, a series of Ti50–ZrVNbCr alloys were designed under with the constant atomic radius mismatch. It was suggested that valence electron concentration (VEC) and lattice constant, which evolve oppositely in the series of the Ti50–ZrVNbCr alloys, jointly influence the mechanical properties. Based on modeling, the evolution of ductility and yield strength of the designed alloys was predicted. Ductility was predicted to be superior in the VEC range from 4.22 to 4.25, with the lattice constant correspondently ranging from 3.340 Å to 3.334 Å. The optimization of strength-ductility synergy was discussed in terms of coordinately adjusting VEC and lattice constant. The experimental results were quite consistent with the prediction results, showing that the alloy with the VEC value of 4.25 and the lattice constant of 3.334 Å, which consisted of 50 at.%Ti, 28.1 at.%Zr, 9.4 at.%V, 9.4 at.%Nb, and 3.1 at.%Cr, possessed the best ductility and superior strength-ductility synergy.

The effects of sintering temperatures on the microstructures and mechanical properties of titanium carbide particles reinforced iron matrix composites (TiC/Fe MCs) fabricated by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) process with pure element powders have been systematically investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron back scattering diffractometer (EBSD), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) have been conducted for microstructural analysis. The results show that with increasing sintering temperatures, the porosity of the composites initially decreases and then increases. Simultaneously, the grain size gradually diminishes while element diffusion becomes more uniform. Upon reaching a critical sintering temperature (1120 °C), the original grain size disappears and carbides undergo decomposition and reprecipitation to reach an equilibrium state, with which optimal comprehensive properties can be achieved (porosity decreases to a minimum of 3.85%, grain size of 2.69 μm, Vickers hardness reaches 595 HV0.5, bending strength is at 662 MPa, coefficient of friction is at 0.74, and wear loss to 0.21 mg). These property enhancements have been attributed to reduced porosity in the composites, decreased grain size, and improved anchoring effect of carbides within the matrix. Additionally, the primary fracture mechanisms and wear mechanisms of TiC/Fe MCs with different process parameters have been analyzed. When the temperature is below 1080 °C, intergranular fracture predominates, whereas transgranular and ductile fractures become predominant above this threshold. When the temperature is below 1120 °C, fatigue wear, oxidation wear, and abrasive wear are predominantly observed. Conversely, when the temperature exceeds 1120 °C, oxidation wear and abrasive wear become the primary mechanisms.

In the Nd-Fe-Al ternary system, thermodynamic stabilities of three compounds, NdFe3Al2, Nd5Fe17 and μ, were determined by the equilibrated alloys, indicating that both NdFe3Al2 and μ ternary compounds are metastable phases, while Nd5Fe17 compound is a stable phase. Meantime, the microstructures of five representative as-cast alloy buttons are illustrated, which are consisted of crystalline phases and the complex of nanocrystallites + amorphous matrix (NCAM). The crystalline phases including Nd, Nd3Al, Nd2Fe17-xAlx and Nd6Fe13-xAl1+x as well as the nanocrystallites such as dhcp-Nd, fcc-Nd and Nd6Fe13-xAl1+x embedded in the amorphous matrix were observed. Particularly, it is concluded that the fcc-Nd nanocrystallites may be transformed from the fcc dense packing clusters of the amorphous matrix and/or dhcp-Nd nanocrystallites. The hard magnetic properties of these as-cast alloys can be attributed to NCAM and present a non-strict proportionate effect. The alloy composed of Nd + NCAM, with curie temperature (Tc) 515 K, displays the highest intrinsic coercivity Hci 305 kA/m and remanent magnetization Br 10.8 emu/g. Its good glass-forming ability is presented by the high ratio (Tx/Tm) 0.88 and the small interval (Tm-Tx) 105 K of the crystallization temperature (Tx) with the melting temperature (Tm). Since the present investigation focuses on phase stabilities, microstructural characterizations, magnetic properties and glass-forming ability of the Nd-Fe-Al alloys, the obtained results can provide a better understanding for advancing the design of the Nd-Fe-Al based hard magnets and amorphous materials.

A novel precipitate-strengthened Co–Cr–Ni medium-entropy alloy with a pure “FCC + L12” dual-phase structure is developed by adding a high concentration (6 at.%) of Al and Ti elements. After aging heat treatment at 700 °C for 4 h, the hierarchical L12 phases, composed of primary large-sized L12 phases (∼70 nm) and secondary L12 particles (∼14 nm), are achieved. The designed alloy featuring hierarchical L12 phases exhibits excellent strength-ductility combinations and strain-hardening ability, properties that are much improved over their counterparts with homogeneous dispersed L12 phases (∼13 nm) and without L12 phases. Especially, the yield strength (1320 MPa), ultimate tensile strength (1886 MPa), and average strain-hardening rate (5.15 GPa) are obtained in the alloy with hierarchical L12 precipitates deformed at cryogenic temperature. The Orowan bypass mechanism of the primary L12 phases, along with the shearing mechanism of the secondary L12 phases, collectively contributes to the exceptional strength of the alloy with hierarchical L12 precipitates. The penetration of dislocations and stacking faults (SFs) in the primary L12 phases, combined with hetero-deformation-induced (HDI) hardening attributed to these hierarchical L12 precipitates, may be a key factor in improving strain-hardening properties of the alloy.

SiCp/Al composite materials are widely used due to their lightweight and high strength. There is no systematic study on the effect of variation of Cu content on the mechanical properties of composites. In order to study the effect of Cu content on the properties of composites, SiCp/Al composites with Cu content of 0.35–4 wt% were designed and prepared with the assistance of the CALPHAD method. The samples were sintered between 570 and 620 °C. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the composites were systematically studied. The results show that the sample with a Cu content of 2.45 wt% and a sintering temperature of 590 °C achieved a maximum tensile strength of 314 MPa, which is different from the Cu composition widely used in the literature. For practical use, the relationship between the optimum sintering temperature and the Cu content, liquidus temperature and solidus temperature was studied. In order to explore ingredients with better performance, machine learning was applied. The database containing information including material compositions, preparation process, and mechanical properties was constructed, and then four machine learning models were applied to establish the quantitative relationship of ''component-process-performance'' in SiCp/Al composite materials. The RFReg model was selected as the best model and used to design the composition and process parameters of the composite alloy. A new composite was designed by the machine learning models. The sintered tensile strength was 349 MPa, and the strength reached 561 MPa after hot pressing and heat treatment.

In this investigation, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas tungsten arc welding with trailing ultrasonic rotating extrusion (U-RE-GTAW) were applied to 7075 aluminum alloys. Qualitative comparisons and analyses were carried out to investigate the effects of the ultrasonic rotary extrusion-assisted technology on GTAW processes. The weld joints fabricated by GTAW and U-RE-GTAW were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Concurrently, the tensile strength and fatigue characteristics were assessed at ambient temperature. The experimental outcomes indicated that the U-RE-GTAW process mitigated porosity within the weld region and substantially augmented dislocation density, while concurrently achieving a notable reduction in grain size and an increase in the volume fraction of secondary phases due to the synergistic effects of ultrasonic oscillation and rotational extrusion. The enhancement in tensile and fatigue resistance of the welded joint was attributed to the strengthening mechanisms associated with these microstructural alterations. Specifically, the ultimate tensile strength exhibited a 20.4% increase, and the elongation at break was elevated by 46.3%. At stress amplitudes of 190 MPa, 160 MPa, and 100 MPa, the fatigue strength of the welded joints was enhanced by 67%, 55%, and 32%, respectively. A quantitative analysis was conducted to elucidate the impact of diverse strengthening mechanisms on the welded joints. It was concluded that dislocation strengthening is the predominant factor contributing to the superior performance of the U-RE-GTAW specimens.

Unraveling the mechanisms of community assembly in different ecosystems is a central ecological issue. Soil depth, which is the predominant characteristic of karst regions, possibly affects community assembly from the regional species pool into local communities. However, the influence of karst soil depth on plant community assembly mechanisms remains unclear. We investigated the community functional traits of karst shrublands by calculating community-weighted mean (CWM) traits for leaf dry matter content (LDMC), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf carbon content (LCC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), and leaf potassium content (LKC). To explore the assembly pattern of karst shrublands, we assessed the extent of trait divergence or convergence using trait-based null model analyses. Additionally, we examined how community functional traits and assembly patterns changed with varying local soil depths. Karst shrublands were found to exhibit CWM trait combinations characterized by high LDMC and LCC, as well as low SLA, LNC, LPC, and LKC to adapting to harsh environments. Furthermore, the CWM of LDMC, LCC, LCC/LNC ratio, and LCC/LPC ratio significantly decreased, while SLA and LNC in karst shrublands significantly increased along soil depth gradients. This indicates that, as soil conditions improved, the karst shrubland community shifted from a conservative survival strategy to a resource-acquisition strategy. Overall, the convergence pattern prevailed in the karst shrubland communities for most leaf traits. As the karst soil depth increased, the traits of the shrubland communities shifted from a convergence pattern toward a neutral assembly. These results demonstrate for the first time that species were primarily assembled into karst shrubland communities through environmental filtering, while the importance of environmental filtering in the assembly process gradually weakened with increasing soil depth. Our study underlines the necessity of increasing soil quantity to allow more species from the regional species pool to enter local shrublands, thereby promoting karst community succession.

The safety and stability during the excavation and production of the tunnel is a key issue that must be addressed in tunneling engineering, which is pronounced under principal stress re-orientation. A mechanical model is therefore developed to determine the boundary curve of the failure zone of a supported circular tunnel under rotating the principal stress direction. Meanwhile, the effects of various environmental factors on the pattern of the failure zone are quantitatively analyzed. Subsequently, two critical morphological indexes are determined to elucidate the uniformity of the failure zone and the functional relationship between these two morphological indices and the environmental factors, respectively. Furthermore, technical approaches and control measures for maintaining the surrounding rock are put forward. In particular, the “long and short” coordinated hierarchical support technology has been recommended and is validated through a comparison of the designed schemes and several engineering cases. The results indicate that the proposed support technology resulted in a gradual reduction of the “butterfly wings” pattern and a more consistent failure zone in the surrounding rock. These findings are useful to ensure the overall stability and anti-interference performance of the surrounding rock of a tunnel under the complicated stress field, especially with regards to the deflection of principal stress.

Emerging ferroelectric and antiferroelectric HfO2-based thin films are attractive candidates for energy conversion and storage applications. In this work, the polar phase transformation between tetragonal and orthorhombic phases associated with ferroelectric or antiferroelectric behaviors is utilized to manipulate the electrocaloric cooling and energy storage performances in Zr-doped, woken up HfO2 ultrathin films. A giant electrocaloric temperature change of up to 11.85 K in Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 with the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) state and a high energy storage density of 39.34 J/cm3 in the tetragonal phase-dominant Hf0.25Zr0.75O2 system are obtained. More interestingly, contrary to overdoping and excessive electric fields, an appropriate Zr concentration of 0.5 and an applicable driving field of 1.91 MV/cm are desired for the electrocaloric effect, resulting in an ultralow operating voltage as low as 1.3 V in this 6.8 nm thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 film. These findings illustrate that the structural design strategy is a visible method for achieving optimal energy-related behaviors and highlight the great possibilities for building future energy-related devices.

Intracellular delivery of biologicals such as peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids presents a great opportunity for innovative therapeutics. However, the endosome entrapment remains a major bottleneck in the intracellular delivery of biomacromolecules, largely limiting their therapeutic potential. Here, we converted a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), low molecular weight protamine (LMWP), to endosomal escape peptides (EEPs) by masking LMWP with a pH-responsive counter-ionic peptide. The resulting masked CPPs (mLMWP and mLMWP2) effectively promoted the escape of peptide/protein cargoes from endosomes into the cytoplasm. Consequential lysosome repair and lysophagy were initiated upon the endolysosomal leakage. Minimal reactive oxygen species (ROS) elevation or cell death was observed. Based on mLMWP2, we constructed an intracellular protein delivery system containing an antibody as a targeting module, mLMWP2 as an endosomal escape module, and the desired protein cargo. With the HER2-targeting delivery system, we efficiently translocated cyclization recombination enzyme (Cre) and BH3-interacting domain death agonist (BID) into the cytosol of HER2+ cells to exert their biological activity. Thereby, the modular delivery system shows its potential as a promising tool for scientific studies and therapeutic applications.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies have emerged as promising methods for regenerative medicine; however, how to precisely enhance their tissue repair effects is still a major question in the field. Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) from diseased states carry diverse pathological information and affect the functions of recipient cells. Based on this unique property, we report that disease-derived circulating EV (disease-EV) preconditioning is a potent strategy for precisely enhancing the tissue repair potency of MSCs in diverse disease models. Briefly, plasma EVs from lung or kidney tissue injuries were shown to contain distinctly enriched molecules and were shown to induce tissue injury-specific gene expression responses in cultured MSCs. Disease-EV preconditioning improved the performance (including proliferation, migration, and growth factor production) of MSCs through metabolic reprogramming (such as via enhanced oxidative phosphorylation and lipid metabolism) without inducing an adverse immune response. Consequently, compared with normal MSCs, disease-EV-preconditioned MSCs exhibited superior tissue repair effects (including anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects) in diverse types of tissue injury (such as acute lung or kidney injury). Disease-derived EVs may serve as a type of “off-the-shelf” product due to multiple advantages, such as flexibility, stability, long-term storage, and ease of shipment and use. This study highlights the idea that disease-EV preconditioning is a robust strategy for precisely enhancing the regenerative capacity of MSC-based therapies.

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a natural product that effectively inhibits tumor growth, demonstrated in many preclinical models, and phase II clinical trials for patients with glioma. However, its direct proteomic targets and anticancer molecular mechanisms remain unknown. Herein, we developed a novel bi-functional photo-affinity probe PAL/CGA and discovered mitochondrial acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) was one of the main target proteins of CGA by using affinity-based protein profiling (AfBPP) chemical proteomic approach. We performed in-depth studies on ACAT1/CGA interactions via multiple assays including SPR, ITC, and cryo-EM. Importantly, we demonstrated that CGA impaired cancer cell proliferation by inhibiting the phosphorylation of tetrameric ACAT1 on Y407 residue through a novel mode of action in vitro and in vivo. Our study highlights the use of AfBPP platforms in uncovering unique druggable modalities accessed by natural products. And identifying the molecular target of CGA sheds light on the future clinical application of CGA for cancer therapy.

ABSTRACT: The study investigated the effects of dietary protein level and the inclusion of hydroponic barley sprouts (HB) on lactation performance, blood biochemistry and N use efficiency in mid-lactation dairy cows. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design with 2 CP levels (16.8% and 15.5% of DM), with HB (4.8% of DM, replacing 4.3% of alfalfa hay and 0.5% of distillers dried grains with solubles [DDGS]) or without HB. Forty-eight multiparous Holstein dairy cows (146 ± 15 DIM, 40 ± 5 kg/d of milk) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 diets: high-protein diet (16.8% CP, HP), HP diet with HB (HP+HB), low-protein diet (15.5% CP, LP), or LP diet with HB (LP+HB). An interaction between CP × HB on DMI was detected, with DMI being unaffected by HB inclusion in cows fed the high-protein diets, but was lower in cows fed HB when the low-protein diet was fed. A CP × HB interaction was also observed on milk and milk protein yield, which was higher in cows fed HB with HP, but not LP. Inclusion of HB also tended to reduce milk fat content, and feeding HP resulted in a higher milk protein and MUN content, but lower milk lactose content. Feed efficiency was increased by feeding HP or HB diets, whereas N use efficiency was higher for cows fed LP or HB diets. There was an interaction on the apparent total-tract digestibility of DM and CP, which was higher when HB was fed along with HP, but reduced when fed with LP, whereas the digestibility of ADF was increased by feeding low-protein diets. In conclusion, feeding a low-protein diet had no adverse effect on cow performance, while feeding HB improved milk and milk component yield, and N efficiency when fed with a high-CP diet, but compromised cow performance with a low-CP diet.

ABSTRACT: Bile acids are cholesterol-derived molecules that are primarily produced in the liver. In nonruminants with fatty liver, overproduction of bile acids is associated with liver injury. During the transition period, fatty liver is a metabolic disorder that can affect up to 50% of high-producing dairy cows. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of hepatic bile acid metabolism in dairy cows with fatty liver by assessing the expression changes of genes involved in bile acid synthesis, export, and uptake. The serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and glutamate dehydrogenase and the concentration of total bile acids were all greater, whereas the serum concentration of total cholesterol was lower in cows with fatty liver than in healthy cows. The content of total bile acids was higher, but total cholesterol was slightly lower in liver tissues from fatty liver cows than from healthy cows. The hepatic mRNA abundance of cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (CYP7A1); hydroxy-delta-5-steroid dehydrogenase, 3 β- and steroid delta-isomerase 7 (HSD3B7); and sterol 12α-hydroxylase (CYP8B1), enzymes involved in the classic pathway of bile acid synthesis, was higher in fatty liver cows than in healthy cows. Compared with healthy cows, the hepatic mRNA abundance of alternative bile acid synthesis pathway-related genes sterol 27-hydroxylase (CYP27A1) and oxysterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7B1) did not differ in cows with fatty liver. The protein and mRNA abundances of bile acid transporter bile salt efflux pump (BSEP) were lower in the liver of dairy cow with fatty liver. Compared with healthy cows, the hepatic mRNA abundance of bile acid transporters solute carrier family 51 subunit α (SLC51A) and ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 1 (ABCC1) and 3 (ABCC3) was greater in cows with fatty liver, whereas the solute carrier family 51 subunit β (SLC51B) did not differ. The expression of genes involved in bile acid uptake, including solute carrier family 10 member 1 (NTCP), solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1A2 (SLCO1A2) and 2B1 (SLCO2B1) was upregulated in dairy cows with fatty liver. Furthermore, the hepatic protein and mRNA abundance of bile acid metabolism regulators farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and small heterodimer partner (SHP) were lower in cows with fatty liver than in healthy cows. Overall, these data suggest that inhibition of the FXR signaling pathway may lead to increased bile acid synthesis and uptake and decreased secretion of bile acids from hepatocytes to the bile, which elevates hepatic bile acid content in dairy cows with fatty liver. Because the hepatotoxicity of bile acids has been demonstrated on nonruminant hepatocytes, it is likely that liver injury is induced by increased hepatic bile acid content in dairy cows with fatty liver.

ABSTRACT: Mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported to occur in the mammary gland of dairy cows suffering from ketosis. Prohibitin 2 (PHB2) plays a crucial role in regulating mitophagy, which clears impaired mitochondria to maintain normal mitochondrial function. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate how PHB2 mediates mitophagy, thereby influencing mitochondrial function in the immortalized bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T cells). First, mammary gland tissue and blood samples were collected from healthy cows (n = 15, BHB 3.0 mM). Compared with healthy cows, cows with clinical ketosis exhibited lower DMI, milk production, milk protein, milk lactose, and serum glucose. In contrast, milk fat, serum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and BHB were greater in cows with clinical ketosis. The protein abundance of PHB2, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), mitofusin 2 (MFN2) in whole cell lysates (WCL), as well as PHB2, sequestosome-1 (SQSTM1, also called p62), microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-II (MAP1LC3-II, also called LC3-II), and ubiquitinated proteins in mitochondrial fraction were significantly lower in cows with clinical ketosis. The ATP content of mammary gland tissue in cows with clinical ketosis was lower than that of healthy cows. Second, MAC-T were cultured and treated with NEFA (0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2 mM). The MAC-T treated with 1.2 mM NEFA displayed decreased protein abundance of PHB2, PGC-1α, and MFN2 in WCL, as well as protein abundance of PHB2, p62, LC3-II, and ubiquitinated proteins in mitochondrial fraction. The content of ATP and JC-1 aggregates in 1.2 mM NEFA group were lower than in the 0 mM NEFA group. Additionally, 1.2 mM NEFA disrupted the fusion between mitochondria and lysosomes. The MAC-T were then pretreated with 100 nM rapamycin, followed by treatment with or without NEFA. Rapamycin alleviated impaired mitophagy and mitochondria dysfunction induced by 1.2 mM NEFA. Third, MAC-T were transfected with small interfering RNA to silence PHB2 or a plasmid for overexpression of PHB2, followed by treatment with or without NEFA. The silencing of PHB2 aggravated 1.2 mM NEFA-induced impaired mitophagy and mitochondrial dysfunction, whereas the overexpression of PHB2 alleviated these effects. Overall, this study provides evidence that PHB2, in regulation of mitophagy, is a mechanism for bovine mammary epithelial cells to counteract NEFA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction.

Cotton fiber quality is a persistent concern that determines planting benefits and the quality of finished textile products. However, the limitations of measurement instruments have hindered the accurate evaluation of some important fiber characteristics such as fiber maturity, fineness, and neps, which in turn has impeded the genetic improvement and industrial utilization of cotton fiber. Here, 12 single fiber quality traits were measured using Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) equipment among 383 accessions of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). In addition, eight conventional fiber quality traits were assessed by the High Volume Instrument (HVI) System. Genome-wide association study (GWAS), linkage disequilibrium (LD) block genotyping and functional identification were conducted sequentially to uncover the associated elite loci and candidate genes of fiber quality traits. As a result, the previously reported pleiotropic locus FL_D11 regulating fiber length-related traits was identified in this study. More importantly, three novel pleiotropic loci (FM_A03, FF_A05, and FN_A07) regulating fiber maturity, fineness and neps, respectively, were detected based on AFIS traits. Numerous highly promising candidate genes were screened out by integrating RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses, including the reported GhKRP6 for fiber length, the newly identified GhMAP8 for maturity and GhDFR for fineness. The origin and evolutionary analysis of pleiotropic loci indicated that the selection pressure on FL_D11, FM_A03 and FF_A05 increased as the breeding period approached the present and the origins of FM_A03 and FF_A05 were traced back to cotton landraces. These findings reveal the genetic basis underlying fiber quality and provide insight into the genetic improvement and textile utilization of fiber in G. hirsutum.

Seed size is an important agronomic trait in melons that directly affects seed germination and subsequent seedling growth. However, the genetic mechanism underlying seed size in melon remains unclear. In the present study, we employed Bulked-Segregant Analysis sequencing (BSA-seq) to identify a candidate region (~1.35 Mb) on chromosome 6 that corresponds to seed size. This interval was confirmed by QTL mapping of three seed size-related traits from an F2 population across three environments. This mapping region represented nine QTLs that shared an overlapping region on chromosome 6, collectively referred to as qSS6.1. New InDel markers were developed in the qSS6.1 region, narrowing it down to a 68.35 kb interval that contains eight annotated genes. Sequence variation analysis of the eight genes identified a SNP with a C to T transition mutation in the promoter region of MELO3C014002, a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) gene. This mutation affected the promoter activity of the MELO3C014002 gene and was successfully used to differentiate the large-seeded accessions (C-allele) from the small-seeded accessions (T-allele). qRT-PCR revealed differential expression of MELO3C014002 between the two parental lines. Its predicted protein has typical LRR-RLK family domains, and phylogenetic analyses reveled its similarity with the homologs in several plant species. Altogether, these findings suggest MELO3C014002 as the most likely candidate gene involved in melon seed size regulation. Our results will be helpful for better understanding the genetic mechanism regulating seed size in melons and for genetically improving this important trait through molecular breeding pathways.

Compared to traditional transverse integration methods, the variational nodal method, with its unique advantages, is more suitable for high-fidelity calculations of reactor physics in reactors with complex geometries and finer detail descriptions. In this study, the basic theory of the variational nodal method was derived and the VINUS code is developed. The neutron solver based on this method is adaptable to various geometric models, and showcased the code's fundamental framework. On this basis, a set of self-designed macroscopic cross-section benchmarks, actual macroscopic cross-section benchmark VVER-440, and few-group microscopic cross-section benchmark RBEC-M for fast spectrum reactors were used to verify different functionalities of VINUS. The results were shown that VINUS code maintains good computational accuracy and convergence trends. For the VVER-440 benchmarks, the deviation of keff of VINUS from reference is less than 100 pcm, and the maximum power deviation is less than 4 %. For the RBEC-M, the deviation of keff is 125 pcm, and the maximum power deviation is less than 5 %. These outcomes collectively demonstrate the solver's potential for engineering applications in future advanced reactor designs.

Background and objective: Few studies on endoscopic management of primary obstructive megaureter (POM) in adult patients have been reported. Our objective was to describe our technique and long-term outcomes for endoscopic management of adult POM. Methods: We included 76 adult POM patients undergoing endoscopic management between September 2015 and January 2024. Under endoscopic control, the stricture was dilated to 24–30 Fr while maintaining a balloon pressure of 25–35 atm for 3 min. An additional incision of the stenotic ring using either an electrode or holmium laser was performed in 39 patients. Data for patient characteristics, intraoperative variables, surgical complications, and follow-up results were analyzed. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Surgical success was defined as no tubes or stents in the body, stable or improved symptoms and renal function, and the absence of reflux or obstruction during the follow-up period. Key findings and limitations: All procedures were completed without conversion to open or laparoscopic surgery. The median operative time was 45 min (range 16–165) with median estimated blood loss of 2 ml (range 0–150). The median postoperative hospital stay was 3 d (range 1–15). No intraoperative complication occurred. At median postoperative follow-up of 42 mo (range 3–100) the overall success rate was 92.1%. Restenosis of the vesicoureteral junction (Clavien-Dindo grade III) occurred in five patients (6.6%), and high-grade vesicoureteral reflux occurred in one patient (1.3%), all of whom required secondary reconstruction surgery. Conclusions and clinical implications: The results indicate that our endoscopic management for adult POM is safe and effective, with favorable long-term outcomes. This approach could potentially serve as a first-line treatment option for adult POM. Patient summary: Primary obstructive megaureter (POM) occurs when the flow of urine is blocked because of a narrow segment in the tube between the kidney and bladder (ureter), which causes widening of the ureter further up. For our minimally invasive technique, a telescope is inserted through the urethra and bladder to reach the ureter for surgical treatment. Our results show that this is a safe procedure for POM in adults.

In the context of a low-carbon economy, it is crucial to integrate environmentally friendly and intelligent designs into fitness facilities to ensure sustainable economic, environmental, and energy development. However, traditional fitness facilities face challenges in effectively monitoring user movements, conserving energy, and optimizing efficiency. The need to conserve energy and reduce resource costs in a low-carbon economy calls for the development of efficient algorithms that can maintain accuracy while minimizing computation and energy consumption. This study proposes a method that combines machine learning and computer vision techniques to enhance monitoring accuracy while minimizing computation and energy consumption. The ResNet-50 model is utilized to extract image features associated with human movements, while real-time object detection and tracking are performed using the YOLOv5 model. Experimental evaluations are conducted on a dataset comprising multiple action categories, and the results demonstrate the excellent performance and model efficiency of the proposed method. Specifically, on the KU-HAR dataset, the proposed algorithm achieves a reduction of over 46.8% in inference time and more than 45.9% in FLOPs, while improving the MAPE by more than 42.8%. These advancements significantly enhance the accuracy and robustness of human motion recognition, highlighting the importance of this approach in the green transformation and intelligent design of fitness facilities.

In previous studies, structure vibration control mainly focused on integer-order systems or commensurate fractional-order (FO) dynamics systems. In this paper, we propose an adaptive radial basis function (RBF) neural network feedback (ARBF-FK) controller for FO building structure vibration systems with viscoelastic (VE) dampers, uncertain structure parameters and unknown seismic waves. Firstly, use a FO multi-order state space description for FO building structural vibration systems. Then, the design of the ideal feedback controller is based on the stability theory of FO multi-order systems. Moreover, to reduce the cost and facilitate the practical implementation of the control, unknown earthquake seismic waves is approximated by a RBF neural network, the ARBF-FK controller is proposed. In addition, to guarantee the stability of the closed-loop control system and avoid falling into local optimum, network weights are adapted by the FO Lyapunov stability theory instead of gradient descent algorithms. Finally, the convergence rate of the system is analyzed and perform various tests on the ARBF-FK controller. The simulation results demonstrate that the ARBF-FK controller has superior performance and is very robust to control FO building structure vibration systems with uncertain structure parameters and unknown external earthquake excitation.

Studies have demonstrated that the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) extensively affects brain function. Although cognitive dysfunction is considered a common manifestation in COVID-19 patients during the recovery period, the potential changes in decision-making ability, are not yet clear. Decision-making functions are essential to the work of healthcare workers. However, there is a lack of a multidimensional assessment of its functioning in COVID-19 cases. Here, we used tests combined with the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) stabilization feature amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) to explore decision-making behavior and brain neural activity changes in healthcare workers after mild COVID-19. Participants were divided into the SARS-CoV-2 infected group (SI, n = 41) and healthy controls (HC, n = 42). All participants underwent a series of neuropsychological tests. They performed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Game of Dice Task (GDT), followed by fMRI (n = 20) to assess their decision-making ability under ambiguous and risky conditions and changes in brain neural activity. The SI group performed worse in verbal memory than the HC group. Furthermore, the SI group performed worse in the IGT, whereas no significant difference was observed in the GDT. In addition, rs-fMRI showed enhanced spontaneous neural activity in the postcentral gyrus and inferior parietal lobe in the SI group compared to the HC group.

Building on the concepts of groundwater vulnerability and pollution driving factors, this study incorporates the social response to environmental risks, selecting a total of 23 indicators to construct a groundwater pollution risk assessment system suitable for large regions. Furthermore, integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology with the groundwater pollution risk assessment system optimized the evaluation process and, for the first time, attempted to apply image vision technology for risk level classification. Taking Shenyang City in China as an example, the developed groundwater pollution risk assessment system was applied and validated. The results show that the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model has the best prediction accuracy. Compared with the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Random Forest (RF) models, the performance evaluation parameters mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) are closer to 0, and the coefficient of determination (R2) is closer to 1. Unfortunately, the stability of the CNN model is poor. The coefficient of variation (CV) values of each evaluation parameter are higher than the CV values of the corresponding evaluation parameters in the ANN and RF models. The maximum CV value of the evaluation parameters can reach 16.23%. The groundwater pollution risk assessment results in Shenyang show that the area of high-risk areas accounts for 4.11%–5.23%, mainly distributed in Tiexi District, and its main risk source comes from industrial pollution.

Summary: Clonal reproduction through seeds, also termed apomixis, has the potential to revolutionize agriculture by allowing hybrid crops to be clonally propagated. Although apomixis has been introduced into rice through de novo engineering in recent years, the poor fertility and low-frequency clonal reproduction of synthetic apomicts hinder the application of apomixis in crop breeding. Here, in elite hybrid rice, we generated many apomicts, which produced clonal progeny with frequencies of > 95.0% and had high even normal fertility through combining enhanced rice BABYBOOM1 (BBM1)-induced parthenogenesis with the simultaneous inactivation of PAIR1, REC8, and OSD1. These synthetic apomicts maintained the agronomic traits of the elite hybrid rice. Our results indicate that fertility-normal hybrids with high penetrance of apomixis can be generated in rice, thereby laying an important foundation for the application of synthetic apomixis in crop breeding.