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In response to worldwide calls for promoting health and well-being, there is growing interest in creating restorative environments. Although restorative environments can be perceived by multiple sensory modalities, visual studies dominated the majority of restorative research, while olfaction is a frequently overlooked yet important sense. Grounded in Attention Restoration Theory (ART) and cross-modal interaction of olfaction and vision, this research seeks to investigate the independent and interactive effects of vision and olfaction on the perceived restorativeness of a Metasequoia walkway in urban green space. The visual stimulus was a 360-degree virtual reality (VR) tour in a 200-meter-long Metasequoia walkway, and the olfactory stimulus was Metasequoia essential oil extracted from the tree leaves. Based on a stress recovery experiment, 120 participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: control, vision, olfaction, and combination. Psychological evaluations (semantic differential scale [SDS] and perceived restorativeness scale [PRS]) and physiological measurements (systolic blood pressure [SBP], diastolic blood pressure [DBP], heart rate [HR] and blood oxygen level [BOL]) were used as indicators of restorative effects. The findings reveal that a combination of visual and olfactory stimulation can contribute more to restorative effects compared to a single stimulus, in terms of both physiological and psychological indicators. This calls for a greater focus on the effects of vision and olfaction towards more sustainable landscape design and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • RIPK2 functions a critical role in gastric carcinoma-related cachexia development in mice. • Methylnissolin protects against gastric carcinoma-related cachexia by regulating RIPK2. • RIPK2 overexpression blocks lipid homeostasis and reduces lipid biosynthesis in mice. • Methylnissolin suppresses RIPK2-mediated lipid homeostasis dysfunction and decreased lipid biosynthesis. • RIPK2 overexpression decreases the expression of lipogenesis genes in TgRC mice. • Deactivating ASK1 improves lipid homeostasis and inhibits gastric carcinoma-related cachexia. Gastric carcinoma (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, and ranks fifth in incidence and top 5 in tumor-associated mortality. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms contributing to GC development are still unclear, urgently requiring more studies. It has been proposed that the multifunctional regulator receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIPK2) is both a regulator that induces stomach cancer and its complications such as cachexia. However, the potential molecular function of RIPK2 on regulation of GC is largely unknown. Moreover, 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin, a flavonoid derived from the roots of Astragalus membranaceus, exhibits protective effects against cancer, inflammation, and bacterial infections. Unfortunately the antineoplastic mechanism of oral exposure of such flavonoid are poorly understood. It remains unknown whether 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin is capable of mitigating GC progression, and potential molecular mechanism. This study aims to provide mechanistic evidence that the 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin-triggered mitigation of GC by repressing RIPK2 activity and its downstream ASK1 signaling. The TCGA database, GEO database, subjects with GC phenotype and GC cell lines were used in this work. 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin intervention reduces stomach cancer cell migration, proliferation and invasion in vitro. Also, 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin confers protection against tumor growth in xenograft model in vivo. Mechanistically, on the other hand, in the para -carcinoma tissue, overexpression of RIPK2 reduces lipogenesis and disturbs lipid homeostasis. Overexpression of RIPK2 activates downstream signaling of ASK1, which in turn downregulates PPARα, a master regulator of lipid metabolism. This process results in lower lipogenesis and downregulation of a set of PPARα target genes. Astragalus membranaceus naturally produces 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin, a bioactive substance that when suppression of ASK1 by methylnissolin reduces RIPK2-induced GC and its related cachexia and restores lipid homeostasis. These findings offer important new understandings of stomach cancer and could aid in the development of treatment plans for gastric carcinoma and cachexia related to cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we have deposited Cr/CrN/Cr/CrAlN multilayer coatings with various modulation ratios on TC11 alloy substrate using cathodic arc system. The influence of various modulation ratios on microstructure and Al 2 O 3 sand erosion behavior of coatings is systematically studied. Results reveal that the coatings are about 200 nm per cycle and total thickness is 8 μm. Five groups of coatings exhibit high hardness (>3000 HV 0.025). The coating with modulation ratio of 12 adhesion can reaches 55 N. The residual stress increases with the decrease of the modulation ratio, but the increase is generally low (less than −2 GPa). In addition, according to sand erosion test, it is found that sand erosion resistance of multilayer coating is significantly around 5 times higher than TC11 alloy matrix. The erosion morphology shows that a large number of irregular cracks and layered spalling appear on the surface of the coating, indicating that the cracks are constantly initiated under the continuous impact of the sand and gravel，and finally gather together and then spalling. Moreover, dynamic response and stress field of the coating under the impact of single sand (Al 2 O 3) are studied by numerical simulations. It is determined that coating cracking is caused by high tensile stress under CrAlN layer. In addition, according to crack propagation morphology and influence of different interfaces between multilayered structures on crack tips, propagation/termination mechanism of cracks is analyzed in detail. Cracks are easy to initiate in hard CrAlN layer and consume a lot of energy after propagating into soft Cr layer, thereby ending at next soft and hard interfaces. These results provide experimental and theoretical support for the study of high tenacity and anti-erosion coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteopenia is considered a common phenomenon in patients who have scoliosis. Quantitative ultrasound has been used to assess skeletal status for decades, and recently ultrasound imaging using reflection signals from vertebrae were as well applied to measure spinal curvatures in children with scoliosis. The objectives of this study were to develop a new method that can robustly extract a parameter from ultrasound spinal data for estimating bone quality of scoliotic patients and to investigate the potential of the parameter in predicting curve progression. The frequency amplitude index (FAI) was calculated based on the spectrum of the original radiofrequency signals reflected from the tissue-vertebra interface. The correlation between FAI and reflection coefficient was validated using decalcified bovine bone samples in vitro, and the FAIs of scoliotic subjects were investigated in vivo with reference to body mass index, Cobb angles and curve progression status. The results revealed that the intra-rater measures were highly reliable between different trials (intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.997). The FAI value was strongly correlated with the reflection coefficient of bone tissue (R2 = 0.824), and the lower FAI indicated the higher risk of curve progression for the non-mild scoliosis cases. This preliminary study found that the FAI method can provide a feasible and robust approach to assessment of the bone quality of spine and may be a promising factor in monitoring curve progression of patients who have adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Propose a new Na/K geothermometer based on equilibrium between albite and illite. • Compare the thermal fluid characteristics of Taiwan matapelitic geothermal fields (high enthalpy and NaHCO 3 -type fluid) with other orogenic-type geothermal fields. • The temperature estimated by the Na/K geothermometer is affected by several factors, such as redox conditions and the duration of thermal water interaction with the surrounding rocks. • Suggest the Na-K geothermometer only applicable in an reducing environment, where only the albite-illite reaction occurs, leading to a stronger temperature correlation. Taiwan is situated at one of the world's most active orogenic belts with arc-continent collision. This event resulted in the burial and uplift of mudstones along the continental margin, transforming them into metapelitic mountains. These mountains intercept rainfall and serve as the driving force for deep water circulation, enabling meteoric fluids to carry residual heat to the surface, thus giving rise to hot springs. The Taiwan orogenic belt is home to over 100 hot springs, and some of the hot spring reservoir temperatures such as Chingshui, Tuchang-Jentse, Lushan, Chihpon, and Chinlun exceeds 160 °C. Geothermal development in Taiwan has been carried out in such hot spring areas without any volcanic activities. In order to assess reservoir temperatures and confirm the applicability of the Na/K geothermometer to such high temperature hot spring system, the concentrations of Na+, K+, and SiO 2 were analyzed from geothermal wells. Considering the mineral composition of metapelitic host rock, a new Na/K geothermometer is proposed based on equilibrium between albite and illite: T > 180 ∘ C , T ( ∘ C) = 2474 log (N a K) + 3.73 − 273.15 This formula is only applicable in a reducing fluid and does not involve the formation of clay minerals except illite. It also requires several years to reach equilibrium. When using this formula to estimate reservoir temperatures, careful consideration of various conditions is necessary. It is advisable to incorporate both quartz geothermometer and down-hole temperature measurements for a more accurate assessment. Combining the Na/K geothermometer with the quartz geothermometer, along with other geochemical data such as Cl−concentrations and δD and δ18O of fluid, helps to understand whether hydrothermal fluids have undergone evaporation, dilution, and/or mixing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified SSOR-like (MSSOR-like) preconditioner is constructed for a non-Hermitian positive definite linear system with a dominant Hermitian part. The eigenvalue distribution of the MSSOR-like preconditioned matrix and the convergence property of the corresponding MSSOR-like iteration method are discussed in depth. Numerical experiments show that the MSSOR-like preconditioner can lead to a high-speed and effectively preconditioned GMRES, even when the dominant Hermitian part of the coefficient matrix is not so strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the Metal-rich phase Chromium Aluminum (CrAl)/Ceramic phase Chromium Aluminum Nitride (CrAlN) multi-layer coatings were prepared by Arc Ion Plating (AIP). The micro-structure and phase composition of CrAl/CrAlN multi-layer coatings were characterized, and the microstructure, mechanical properties, residual stress and fracture toughness of the coating were emphatically analyzed. It has been found out that the residual stress of the multi-layer coating was only −0.932 ± 0.065 GPa, which was significantly lower than that of the mono-layer coating for −1.569 ± 0.093 GPa. At the same time, it was also found that the preferred growth orientation of the coating changed from a mono-layer (111) to a multi-layer (200) crystal plane. The hardness of the multi-layer (22.74 ± 0.57 GPa) is slightly lower than that of the mono-layer (24.92 ± 0.5 GPa), and the adhesion strength (46.2 ± 3.8 N) is obviously higher than that of the mono-layer (37.4 ± 2.4 N), and the fracture toughness is also higher (8.7 ± 0.8 MPa m1/2). In addition, the mechanism of crack initiation and propagation in stress-induced coatings was studied in detail on the basis of the structure of micro-nano CrAl/CrAlN multi-layer coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]