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Actuators play a crucial role in modern distributed electric grids and renewable energy network architectures, implementing control actions based on sensor data to ensure optimal system performance and stability. This paper addresses the economic dispatch (ED) problem of distributed DC microgrids with renewable energy. In these systems, numerous sensors and actuators are integral for monitoring and controlling various parameters to ensure optimal performance. A new event-triggered distributed optimization algorithm in the discrete time domain is employed to ensure the minimum production cost of the power grid. This algorithm leverages data from sensors to make real-time adjustments through actuators, ensuring the maximum energy utilization rate of renewable generators (RGs) and the minimum cost of conventional generators (CGs). It realizes the optimal synergy between conventional energy and renewable energy. Compared to the continuous sampling optimization algorithm, the event-triggered control (ETC) optimization algorithm reduces the frequency of communication and current sampling, thus improving communication efficiency and extending the system’s lifetime. The use of actuators in this context is crucial for implementing these adjustments effectively. Additionally, the convergence and stability of the DC microgrid are proven by the designed Lyapunov function. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm is validated through simulations of the DC microgrid.

On 22 May 2021, an earthquake (98.3° E and 34.59° N) struck Maduo town in Qinghai province, occurring along a relatively obscure secondary fault within the block. We utilized 105 archived Sentinel-1A/B acquisitions to investigate the coseismic deformation and the evolution of postseismic displacements in both the temporal and spatial domains, as well as the associated dynamic mechanisms of the 2021 Maduo earthquake. The interference fringes and coseismic deformation revealed that the primary feature of this event was the rupture along a left-lateral strike-slip fault. The released seismic moment was close to 1.88 × 1020 N·m, which is equivalent to an Mw 7.45 event. Simultaneously, the maximum coseismic slip reached approximately 4 m along the fault plane. The evolution of postseismic displacements in both the temporal and spatial domains over 450 days following the mainshock was further analyzed to explore the underlying physical mechanisms. Generally, the patterns of coseismic slip and afterslip were similar, although the postseismic displacements decayed rapidly over time. The modeled afterslip downdip of the coseismic rupture (at depths of 15–40 km) effectively explains the postseismic deformation, with a released moment estimated at 4.57 × 1019 N·m (corresponding to Mw 7.04). Additionally, we found that regions with high coseismic slip tend to exhibit weak seismicity, and that afterslip and aftershocks are likely driven by each other. Finally, we estimated the Coulomb Failure Stress changes (ΔCFS) triggered by both coseismic rupture and aseismic slip resulting from this event. The co- and postseismic ΔCFS show similar patterns, but the magnitude of the postseismic ΔCFS is much lower (≤0.01 MPa). We found that ΔCFS notably increased on the Yushu segment of the Garze-Yushu-Xianshuihe Fault (GYXF), as well as the Maqin–Maqu and Tuosuo Lake sections of the East Kunlun Fault (EKF). Therefore, we infer that these fault segments may have a higher potential seismic risk and should be carefully monitored in the future.

To optimize energy structure and efficiently utilize renewable energy sources, it is necessary to establish a new electrical power–gas mutual transformation virtual power plant that has low-carbon benefits. To promote the economic and low-carbon operation of a virtual power plant and reduce uncertainty regarding the use of new energy, a multi-timescale (day-ahead to intraday) optimal scheduling model is proposed. First, a basic model of a new interconnected power–gas virtual power plant (power-to-gas demand response virtual power plant, PD-VPP) was established with P2G and comprehensive demand response as the main body. Second, in response to the high volatility of new energy, a day-ahead to intraday multi-timescale collaborative operation optimization model is proposed. In the day-ahead optimization period, the next day’s internal electricity price is formulated, and the price-based demand response load is regulated in advance so as to ensure profit maximization for the virtual power plant. Based on the results of day-ahead modeling, intraday optimization was performed on the output of each distributed unit, considering the cost of the carbon emission reductions to achieve low-carbon economic dispatch with minimal operating costs. Finally, several operation scenarios are established for a simulation case analysis. The validity of the proposed model was verified via comparison.

Gravity wave (GW) momentum flux spectra help to uncover the mechanisms through which GWs influence momentum transfer in the atmosphere and provide crucial insights into accurately characterizing atmospheric wave processes. This study examines the momentum flux spectra of GWs in the troposphere (2–14 km) and stratosphere (18–28 km) over Koror Island (7.2°N, 134.3°W) using radiosonde data from 2013–2018. Utilizing hodograph analysis and spectral methods, the characteristics of momentum flux spectra are discussed. Given that the zonal momentum flux spectra of low-level atmospheric GWs generally follow a Gaussian distribution, Gaussian fitting was applied to the spectral structures. This fitting further explores the seasonal variations of the zonal momentum flux spectra and the average spectral parameters for each month. Additionally, the GW energy is analyzed using SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) satellite data and compared with the results of the momentum flux spectra from radiosonde data, revealing the close negative correlation between wave energy and wave momentum for stratospheric GW changing with time. The findings indicate that the Gaussian peak shifts more eastward in both the troposphere and stratosphere, primarily due to the absorption of eastward-propagating GWs by the winter tropospheric westerly jet and critical layer filtering. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the stratosphere is larger than in the troposphere, especially in June and July, as the spectrum broadens due to propagation effects, filtering, and interactions among waves. The central phase speed in the stratosphere exceeds that in the troposphere, reflecting the influences of Doppler effects and background wind absorption. The momentum flux in the stratosphere is lower than in the troposphere, which is attributed to jet absorption, partial reflection, or the dissipation of GWs.

Considering the high demand for air quality, the development of biomass-based air filtration membranes with high air filtration efficiency and good stability is an urgent task. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), gelatin (GA), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were mixed and prepared into a membrane through an electrospinning method for air filtration. After a hydrophobic modification, the modified PVA/GA/CNC composite membrane showed excellent filtration efficiency for PM2.5 (97.65%) through the internal three-dimensional structure barrier and the electrostatic capture effect of the CNC with a negative charge, as well as a low-pressure drop (only 50 Pa). In addition, the modified PVA/GA/CNC composite membrane had good mechanical properties (maximum tensile fracture rate of 78.3%) and high stability (air filtration efficiency of above 90% after five wash-filter cycles and a high-temperature treatment at 200 °C). It is worth noting that the whole preparation process is completed without organic solvents, putting forward a new strategy for the construction of green air filtration membranes.

The importance of phosphates has sparked researchers’ considerable interest in the electrochemical detection of phosphates within aqueous solutions in recent years. In this study, we present a novel all-solid-state phosphate ion-selective electrode (ISE) that integrates copper, copper nanoparticles, and copper phosphate. By modifying the copper substrate of the electrode with a copper nanoparticle film and creating a lamellar copper phosphate film through electrochemical treatment, we significantly enhanced the electrode’s electron transfer efficiency. This microstructure with large specific surface area markedly improved the electrode’s responsiveness to the targeted ions by accelerating the achievement of chemical equilibrium on the electrode surface, thereby boosting its sensitivity and stability. The newly developed electrode was capable of detecting phosphate ions in solutions with a pH range from 6 to 11 and performed optimally in neutral solutions at pH 7, following Nernst principle, with a detection limit of 1 × 10−6 M. The electrode exhibited a short response time of less than 10 s with significant reproducibility, stability, longevity—maintaining functionality for more than two months. It also displayed good selectivity as the electrochemical equilibrium was not influenced by up to 1 mM of potential competing species like HCO3−, NO3−, Cl− and SO42−. We compared the detection results of current phosphate ion sensor and conventional determination methods for phosphate content in natural lake and aquaculture water samples, with a detection discrepancy of about 10% (RSD). Considering all feasible performance characteristics combined with its low cost, simple manufacture and portability, the sensor provides a new possibility for rapid, reliable, and long-term real-time in situ detection of phosphates.

Polyphenol-rich grape pomace (GP) represents a valuable processing by-product with considerable potential as sustainable livestock feed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of GP on the growth performance and nitrogen utilization efficiency, antioxidant activity, and rumen and rectum microbiota of Angus bulls. Thirty Angus bulls were allocated three dietary treatments according to a completely randomized design: 0% (G0), 10% (G10), and 20% (G20) corn silage dry matter replaced with dried GP dry matter. The results showed that the average daily gain (ADG) of the G0 group and G10 group was higher than that of the G20 group (p < 0.05); urinary nitrogen levels decreased linearly with the addition of GP (linear, p < 0.05). In terms of antioxidants, the levels of catalase (CAT) in the G10 group were higher than in the G0 and G20 groups (p < 0.05), and the total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC) was significantly higher than that in the G20 group (p < 0.05). In addition, in the analysis of a microbial network diagram, the G10 group had better microbial community complexity and stability. Overall, these findings offer valuable insights into the potential benefits of incorporating GP into the diet of ruminants.

The surface of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) underwent oxygen plasma treatment to enhance its machinability and mitigate the tearing effects commonly associated with mechanical forces on 2D materials. This treatment led to the oxidation of the atoms on the top 1–3 layers of MoS2, resulting in the formation of MoO3 on the surface. During mechanical scanning probe lithography (m-SPL), only the surface oxide layer was uniformly removed, with material accumulation occurring predominantly on one side of the machined area. The resolution of the machining process was significantly enhanced via dynamic lithography while maintaining atomic-level smoothness in the machined area. Importantly, these techniques only removed the surface oxide layer, preserving the integrity of the underlying MoS2 surface, which was pivotal in avoiding damage to the original material structure. This study provided valuable insights and practical guidance for the nanofabrication of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) nanodevices, demonstrating a method to finely tune the machining of these materials.

Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) estimates the robot’s pose in three-dimensional space by analyzing the depth variations of inter-frame feature points. Inter-frame feature point mismatches can lead to tracking failure, impacting the accuracy of the mobile robot’s self-localization and mapping. This paper proposes a method for removing mismatches of image features in dynamic scenes in visual SLAM. First, the Grid-based Motion Statistics (GMS) method was introduced for fast coarse screening of mismatched image features. Second, an Adaptive Error Threshold RANSAC (ATRANSAC) method, determined by the internal matching rate, was proposed to improve the accuracy of removing mismatched image features in dynamic and static scenes. Third, the GMS-ATRANSAC method was tested for removing mismatched image features, and experimental results showed that GMS-ATRANSAC can remove mismatches of image features on moving objects. It achieved an average error reduction of 29.4% and 32.9% compared to RANSAC and GMS-RANSAC, with a corresponding reduction in error variance of 63.9% and 58.0%, respectively. The processing time was reduced by 78.3% and 38%, respectively. Finally, the effectiveness of inter-frame feature mismatch removal in the initialization thread of ORB-SLAM2 and the tracking thread of ORB-SLAM3 was verified for the proposed algorithm.

In this paper, a novel precast concrete composite wall connected by tooth groove and grouted sleeve was introduced, which is produced in factories by means of structure-insulation integrated prefabrication, and the prefabrication and assembly process were presented minutely. To verify the feasibility and reliability of this novel tooth groove and grouted sleeve connection method and explore the joint connection performance and the seismic performance of the precast concrete composite wall connected by tooth groove and grouted sleeve, low-cyclic reversed loading tests with an axial compressive ratio of 0.1 were performed on two full-scale precast concrete composite walls. Moreover, the failure mode, hysteretic curve, skeleton curve, stiffness degradation, displacement ductility, energy dissipation capacity, and reinforcement strain were comprehensively discussed. The research results showed that under the vertical axial load and low-cyclic reversed load, the distributed reinforcements in the wall panel only played a structural role, while the connecting reinforcements at horizontal joints can always effectively transfer stress without bond failure, and the tooth groove and grouted sleeve connection performance was reliable. In addition, the hysteretic curves of the precast concrete composite wall connected by tooth groove and grouted sleeve were full, showing good ductile deformation capacity and energy dissipation capacity. In general, the precast concrete composite wall connected by tooth groove and grouted sleeve not only possessed favorable seismic performance but also showed obvious advantages such as green energy saving, high assembly rate, and less on-site wet operation, which can be applied to practical engineering under reasonable design.

As an important means of in situ detection in near space, meteorological rockets can provide a high-precision distribution analysis of atmospheric elements. However, there are currently few studies on the principles of meteorological-rocket detection and the application of rocket-sounding data. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by providing a detailed introduction to the detection principle of a meteorological rocket launched in the East China Sea in November 2022. Moreover, empirical models, satellite data, and reanalysis data were selected for comparison and verification with the rocket-sounding data. Furthermore, the accuracy of these widely used datasets was studied based on the rocket-sounding data in the near space over the East China Sea. Additionally, gravity-wave power–frequency spectra were extracted using the maximum entropy method from both the rocket-sounding data and the remote-sensing data. Furthermore, the relationship between gravity waves and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) was investigated by analyzing the gravity-wave energy and the Richardson number. The research findings indicate that among the remote-sensing data describing the atmospheric environment over the launch site, the COSMIC occultation data is more accurate compared with the SABER data. The wind-field distribution derived from rocket detection is consistent with the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis data, while also providing a more detailed description of the wind field. The main wavelengths of gravity waves extracted from rocket-sounding data are consistently smaller than those obtained from satellite remote-sensing data, indicating that rocket sounding is capable of capturing more intricate structures of gravity waves. The good correspondence between the peaks of gravity-wave energy and the regions where KHI occurs indicates that there is a strong interaction between gravity waves and KHI in the middle atmosphere.

This study aims to explore the relationship between leader and follower psychological capital (PC) congruence, intrinsic safety motivation (ISM), and safety behavior (SB). The construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries, and most safety accidents are determined by human behavior. Exploring the factors influencing construction workers’ SB is important for improving construction safety. This study collected 242 paired questionnaires from frontline construction workers and crew leaders in China. The SPSS 22.0 software and PROCESS program were used for analysis, the empirical study was conducted using polynomial regression and response surface analysis, and the block variable method was used to test for mediating effects. The findings show that (a) the level of follower SB is determined by the degree of leader–follower PC congruence; (b) when leader–follower PC was congruent, the impact of both high PCs on follower SB was enhanced compared to each low PC; (c) when leader–follower PC was incongruent, the impact of follower PC (FPC) above leader PC (LPC) was better on follower SB compared to FPC below LPC; (d) the relationship between leader–follower PC congruence and follower SB was mediated by ISM. The promotion of SB should focus on the fit between leaders and followers in addition to the PC of the followers themselves. This study contributes to workgroup safety in the construction industry by improving the fit between workgroup leaders and members, promoting ISM, and thus improving their safety performance.

In order to explore the horizontal joint connection performance of the innovative tooth groove connection and vertical reinforcement lapping in the reserved hole, five horizontal joint specimens were designed and constructed in this paper. Through the combination of monotonic horizontal load tests and finite element simulation analysis, the effects of axial compression ratio, vertical reinforcement connection degree, reserved hole type, mortar strength, and tooth groove depth on the horizontal joint connection performance of innovative tooth groove connections and vertical reinforcement lapping in reserved holes were comprehensively analyzed and discussed. The results indicated that the specimens were subjected to penetration failure at the tooth groove joint, but the vertical reinforcements and UHPC in reserved holes can effectively transfer the stress, ensuring satisfactory connection performance. With the increase in axial compression ratio and vertical reinforcement connection degree, the joint connection performance enhanced gradually, while the reserved hole type had little effect on the joint connection performance. In addition, it was found that increasing the mortar strength and the tooth groove depth can significantly improve the peak bearing capacity through finite element analysis. Finally, the optimization design suggestions for this innovative tooth groove connection and vertical reinforcement lapping in the reserved hole were given considering factors such as joint connection performance and construction assembly.

(1) Background: Epidemiological studies on the relationship between serum copper and hypertension are contradictory. We assessed the relationship between serum copper and blood pressure among adults in the United States. (2) Methods: We divided hypertension into two categories: treated hypertension and untreated hypertension. Linear or logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate the association between serum copper concentrations and blood pressure levels. (3) Results: As compared to quartile 1, the odds ratios (ORs) for untreated hypertension in quartiles 2, 3, and 4 were 1.02 (0.74–1.42), 1.23 (0.88–1.72), and 1.08 (0.74–1.58), respectively, in multivariable analysis (all p > 0.05). In non-hypertension, as compared with quartile 1, the β (95% CI) of systolic blood pressure for quartiles 2, 3, and 4 was −0.92 (−2.07–0.23), −0.05 (−1.30–1.20), and −0.48 (−1.83–0.88), respectively, in multivariable analysis (all p > 0.05). As compared to quartile 1, the ORs for treated hypertension in quartiles 2, 3, and 4 were 1.36 (0.88–2.10), 1.35 (0.87–2.09), and 1.56 (0.98–2.47), respectively, upon multivariable analysis including antihypertensive medication use as a covariate (all p > 0.05). Furthermore, 1SD increase in serum copper was non-significantly associated with 1.16 (0.97–1.37)-fold increased risk of hypertension in multivariable analysis (p = 0.096). (4) Conclusion: In the present study, we discovered that the serum copper concentration was not related with hypertension or blood pressure levels. Antihypertensive drug use may distort the correlation between copper and blood pressure levels. Information on antihypertensive drug use may be taken into account when identifying new risk factors for hypertension.

In order to address the problems associated with low detection accuracy, weak detection ability of small targets, insufficiently obvious differentiation of colors, and inability to accurately locate the actual position of the target object in the Formula Student Autonomous China, the YOLOv5s algorithm is improved by adding coordinate attention, modifying the color space transformation module, and adding a normalized Gaussian Wasserstein distance module and a monocular camera distance measurement module. Finally, it is experimentally verified that by adding and modifying the above modules, the YOLOv5s algorithm’s precision is improved by 6.9%, recall by 4.4%, and mean average precision by 4.9%; although the detection frame rate decreases, it still meets the requirement. Monocular camera distance measurement has a maximum error of 5.64% within 20 m in the Z-direction and 5.33% in the X-direction.

With the development and progress of medical technology, the survival rate of premature and low-birth-weight infants has increased, as has the incidence of a variety of neonatal diseases, such as hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy, intraventricular hemorrhage, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and retinopathy of prematurity. These diseases cause severe health conditions with poor prognoses, and existing control methods are ineffective for such diseases. Stem cells are a special type of cells with self-renewal and differentiation potential, and their mechanisms mainly include anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties, reducing oxidative stress, and boosting regeneration. Their paracrine effects can affect the microenvironment in which they survive, thereby affecting the biological characteristics of other cells. Due to their unique abilities, stem cells have been used in treating various diseases. Therefore, stem cell therapy may open up the possibility of treating such neonatal diseases. This review summarizes the research progress on stem cells and exosomes derived from stem cells in neonatal refractory diseases to provide new insights for most researchers and clinicians regarding future treatments. In addition, the current challenges and perspectives in stem cell therapy are discussed.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of potato vine and leaf mixed silage (PVS) on rumen fermentation and the microbe in ruminants and to improve the utilization of PVS resources in ruminants through in vitro gas production and feeding trials. The experiment was divided into three groups: PVS1 (50% corn + 50% potato vine and leaf silage), PVS2 (75% potato vine and leaf + 15% rice straw + 10% cornmeal silage) and whole-plant corn silage (CS). The in vitro gas production results showed that there was a significant reduction in PVS groups in the indexes of total gas (p < 0.05) and CH4 production (p < 0.05). The digestibility of dry matter (p < 0.05), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (p < 0.05), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) (p < 0.05) at 48 h were decreased in the PVS group. For the rumen fermentation indexes, the pH (p < 0.05), microbial crude protein (MCP) (p < 0.05), and acetate to propionate (p < 0.05) showed an increase in the PVS group, but a decrease in the total volatile fatty acid concentration (p < 0.05). In the feeding trial, different silages in diets had no significant effect on the rumen fermentation indexes (p > 0.05). In the rumen microbe composition, the PVS diet significantly reduced the abundance of Prevotella (p < 0.05) compared with the CS diet group. The PVS2 diet significantly increased the abundance of the Lachnospiraceae_XPB1014_group (p < 0.05) and Bacteroidales_bacterium_Bact_22 (p < 0.05) compared with the CS diet group. In conclusion, PVS had no negative effect on rumen fermentation characteristics and rumen microbial flora and could significantly reduce rumen gas production compared to CS, positively mitigating animal husbandry CH4 emissions and environmental protection.

The threat of bacterial septicemia caused by Aeromonas hydrophila infection to aquaculture growth can be prevented through vaccination, but differences among A. hydrophila strains may affect the effectiveness of non-conserved subunit vaccines or non-inactivated A. hydrophila vaccines, making the identification and development of conserved antigens crucial. In this study, a bioinformatics analysis of 4268 protein sequences encoded by the A. hydrophila J-1 strain whole genome was performed based on reverse vaccinology. The specific analysis included signal peptide prediction, transmembrane helical structure prediction, subcellular localization prediction, and antigenicity and adhesion evaluation, as well as interspecific and intraspecific homology comparison, thereby screening the 39 conserved proteins as candidate antigens for A. hydrophila vaccine. The 9 isolated A. hydrophila strains from diseased fish were categorized into 6 different molecular subtypes via enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR technology, and the coding regions of 39 identified candidate proteins were amplified via PCR and sequenced to verify their conservation in different subtypes of A. hydrophila and other Aeromonas species. In this way, conserved proteins were screened out according to the comparison results. Briefly, 16 proteins were highly conserved in different A. hydrophila subtypes, of which 2 proteins were highly conserved in Aeromonas species, which could be selected as candidate antigens for vaccines development, including type IV pilus secretin PilQ (AJE35401.1) and TolC family outer membrane protein (AJE35877.1). The present study screened the conserved antigens of A. hydrophila by using reverse vaccinology, which provided basic foundations for developing broad-spectrum protective vaccines of A. hydrophila.

This study aims to explore the different growth performances of the Angus bull on potato vine and leaf mixed silage in the early fattening period and to provide a reference animal production trial. Thirty-six 13-month-old Angus bulls were divided into three groups with 403.22 ± 38.97 kg initial body weight and fed with three different silage diets: (1) control: whole-plant corn silage as control (CS); (2) treatment 1: 50% whole-plant corn +50% potato vine and leaf silage (PVS1); and (3) treatment 2: 75% potato vine and leaf +15% rice straw +10% cornmeal silage (PVS2). After the 14 days pre-feeding, the formal experiment was carried out for 89 days. The result showed that the ash content of the potato vine and leaf mixed silage (PVS) in the treatment groups was higher than that in control group, and the ash content of PVS1 and PVS2 even reached 10.42% and 18.48% (DM%), respectively, which was much higher than that of the CS group at 4.94%. The crude protein content in silage also increased with the additional amount of potato vine and leaf. The apparent crude protein digestibility of the PVS groups was also significantly higher than that of the CS group (p < 0.05). In terms of serum biochemical indexes, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in the experimental groups was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05). Compared with PVS2, cholesterol (CHO) was significantly lower in the CS and PVS1 groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) of PVS2 were significantly higher than those of the CS and PVS1 group (p < 0.05), and daily gain (ADG) as a key production index had a significantly negative correlation with the CHO (r = −0.38, p < 0.05) and HDL-C (r = −0.40, p < 0.05) of cattle. In conclusion, PVS had higher crude protein content and ash but less starch than whole-corn silage. The PVS could replace whole-plant corn silage at the same dry matter status and did not affect the weight gain in this trial.

(1) Background: The Go/NoGo task and color-word Stroop task were used to investigate the effect of applying different frequency bands of neural oscillations to the lDLPFC on inhibitory control modulation. (2) Methods: Participants were randomly categorized into four groups and received HD-tACS at 6, 10, and 20 Hz or sham stimulation at 1.5 mA for 20 min. All participants performed a color-word Stroop task and Go/NoGo task before and immediately after the stimulation; closed-eye resting-state EEG signals were acquired for 3 min before and after the tasks. (3) Results: There were no significant differences in the Go/NoGo behavioral indices task across the four groups. In the color-word Stroop task, the Stroop effect of response time was significantly reduced by 6 and 10 Hz stimulations compared to sham stimulation, and the Stroop effect of accuracy was significantly reduced by 10 Hz stimulation. There were no significant differences in the frequency range-specific (delta, theta, alpha, beta, or gamma) resting EEG power before and after stimulation. (4) Conclusions: HD-tACS at 6 and 10 Hz effectively improved participants’ performance on the color-word Stroop task, demonstrating the importance of the lDLPFC in interference inhibition and supporting a causal relationship between theta and alpha oscillations in interference inhibition.

Matrix metalloproteinases are a group of proteases involved in the regulation of ovarian follicular development and ovulation. Among the different MMPs, MMP13 is known to play an important role in reproduction. Therefore, this study aimed to screen the molecular genetic markers of the MMP13 gene that affect the egg-laying performance of Chahua chickens. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing were performed in the 5′ regulation region of the MMP13 gene to detect loci significantly related to the egg-laying performance of Chahua chickens. A double fluorescence reporting system, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR), and Western blotting were used to study whether gene expression was regulated by identified sites, providing a theoretical basis to improve egg production in Chahua chickens. The results revealed six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; A-1887T, T-1889C, A-1890T, T-2252C, T-2329C, and C-2360A) in the promoter region of the MMP13 gene. Further analysis revealed that hens with T-1890-C-1889-T-1887/T-1890-C-1889-T-1887 (mutant type, MT) had an earlier age at first egg (AFE) than hens with A-1890-T-1889-A-1887/A-1890-T-1889-A-1887 (wild type, WT; p < 0.05). RT-qPCR showed that the relative expression level of the MMP13 gene in the ovarian tissues of individuals with the mutation was higher than that of individuals with the wild gene (p < 0.05). Western blot results confirmed higher levels of the MMP13 protein in MT ovaries compared to those in WT ovaries. Thus, this study suggests that mutation sites on the MMP13 promoter may affect gene expression. In conclusion, the MMP13 gene in Chahua chickens may be significant for egg-laying performance, and the polymorphism in its promoter region could be used as a molecular marker to improve egg-laying performance.

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a severe disease with unclear pathogenesis. Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC(AT)s) serve as a special source for cell therapy. Herein, we explored whether exosomes (Exo) derived from MSC(AT)s promote primary gingival wound healing and prevent MRONJ. An MRONJ mice model was constructed using zoledronate (Zol) administration and tooth extraction. Exosomes were collected from the conditioned medium (CM) of MSC(AT)s (MSC(AT)s-Exo) and locally administered into the tooth sockets. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA)-siRNA was used to knock down the expression of IL-1RA in MSC(AT)s-Exo. Clinical observations, micro-computed tomography (microCT), and histological analysis were used to evaluate the therapeutic effects in vivo. In addition, the effect of exosomes on the biological behavior of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) was evaluated in vitro. MSC(AT)s-Exo accelerated primary gingival wound healing and bone regeneration in tooth sockets and prevented MRONJ. Moreover, MSC(AT)s-Exo increased IL-1RA expression and decreased interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression in the gingival tissue. The sequent rescue assay showed that the effects of preventing MRONJ in vivo and improving the migration and collagen synthesis abilities of zoledronate-affected HGFs in vitro were partially impaired in the IL-1RA-deficient exosome group. Our results indicated that MSC(AT)s-Exo might prevent the onset of MRONJ via an IL-1RA-mediated anti-inflammatory effect in the gingiva wound and improve the migration and collagen synthesis abilities of HGFs.

In this study, the bond stress distribution and bond–slip model of steel bars and iron tailing sand recycled aggregate concrete (ITRAC) were investigated using central pullout tests on 33 steel bars and ITRAC bonded specimens. The results show three failure modes for the bonded specimens: splitting, pullout, and splitting–pullout. Compared with the maximum bond strength of nature sand concrete (NAC), the maximum bond strength of the iron tailing concrete and ITRAC specimens increased by 23.12% and 6.08–23.96%, respectively. After adding 1% steel fiber, the maximum and residual bond strengths of ITRAC increased by 40.82% and 129.10%, respectively, compared with those of NAC. The maximum bond strength of ITRAC decreased after the configuration of the stirrups. The bond stress distribution characteristics of the ITRAC specimens resembled those of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). Generally, two bond stress peaks emerged, and the uniformity of the bond stress distribution improved after adding RAC to the iron tailing sand (ITS). The results of the proposed ITRAC bond–slip constitutive model agreed with the test results.

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a skeletal stem cell disease caused by mutations in the guanine nucleotide-binding protein, alpha-stimulating activity polypeptide (GNAS) gene, which results in the abnormal accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and hyperactivation of downstream signaling pathways. Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is secreted by the osteoblast lineage and is involved in various physiological and pathological activities of bone. However, the association between the abnormal expression of PTHrP and FD, as well as its underlying mechanism, remains unclear. In this study, we discovered that FD patient-derived bone marrow stromal cells (FD BMSCs) expressed significantly higher levels of PTHrP during osteogenic differentiation and exhibited greater proliferation capacity but impaired osteogenic ability compared to normal control patient-derived BMSCs (NC BMSCs). Continuous exogenous PTHrP exposure on the NC BMSCs promoted the FD phenotype in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Through the PTHrP/cAMP/PKA axis, PTHrP could partially influence the proliferation and osteogenesis capacity of FD BMSCs via the overactivation of the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, PTHrP not only directly modulated cAMP/PKA/CREB transduction but was also demonstrated as a transcriptional target of CREB. This study provides novel insight into the possible pathogenesis involved in the FD phenotype and enhances the understanding of its molecular signaling pathways, offering theoretical evidence for the feasibility of potential therapeutic targets for FD.

The formation mechanism and evolution of plastic damage in billet during reduction pretreatment were investigated using laboratory experiments and simulations. The microstructure and damage distribution were observed using reduction pretreatment experiments. Isothermal tension tests were designed to study the mechanism of damage under different deformation temperatures and strain rates. A plastic damage model based on tension tests was established to further analyze damage evolution during reduction pretreatment. Experimental results showed that the distribution of the damage was characterized by microvoids near the surface and microcracks along the grain boundary at the center. With the increase in strain rate, plastic damage above 1050 °C was transformed from grain boundary damage caused by grain boundary slip to inclusion damage caused by dislocation movement. The simulation results showed that the established plastic damage model was reliable and could be used to describe the plastic damage evolution during reduction pretreatment.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) attenuation imaging is a technique that uses the optical attenuation coefficient (OAC) to distinguish the types or pathological states of tissues and has been increasingly used in basic research and clinical diagnosis. With the increasing application of swept-source OCT, scholars are increasingly inclined to explore deep tissues. Unfortunately, the accuracy of OAC calculation when exploring deep tissues has yet to be improved. Existing methods generally have the following problems: overestimation error, underestimation error, severe fluctuation, or stripe artifacts in the OAC calculation of the OCT tail signal. The main reason for this is that the influence of the noise floor on the OCT weak signal at the tail-end is not paid enough attention. The noise floor can change the attenuation pattern of the OCT tail signal, which can lead to severe errors in the OAC. In this paper, we proposed a Kalman filter-based OAC optimal algorithm to solve this problem. This algorithm can not only eliminate the influence of the noise floor, but can also effectively protect the weak signal at the tail-end from being lost. The OAC of deep tissues can be calculated accurately and stably. Numerical simulation, phantom, and in vivo experiments were tested to verify the algorithm’s effectiveness in this paper. This technology is expected to play an essential role in disease diagnosis and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment methods.

Pedestrian tracking is an important aspect of autonomous vehicles environment perception in a vehicle running environment. The performance of the existing pedestrian tracking algorithms is limited by the complex traffic environment, the changeable appearance characteristics of pedestrians and the frequent occlusion interaction, which leads to the insufficient accuracy and stability of tracking. Therefore, this paper proposes a detector–tracker integration framework for autonomous vehicle pedestrian tracking. Firstly, a pedestrian objects detector based on the improved YOLOv7 network was established. Space-to-Depth convolution layer was adopted to improve the backbone network of YOLOv7. Then, a novel appearance feature extraction network is proposed, which integrates the convolutional structural re-parameterization idea to construct a full-scale feature extraction block, which is the optimized DeepSORT tracker. Finally, experiments were carried out on MOT17 and MOT20 public datasets and driving video sequences, and the tracking performance of the proposed framework was evaluated by comparing it with the most advanced multi-object tracking algorithms. Quantitative analysis results show that the framework has high tracking accuracy. Compared with DeepSORT, MOTA improves by 2.3% in the MOT17 dataset and MOTA improves by 4.2% in the MOT20 dataset. Through qualitative evaluation on real driving video sequences, the framework proposed in this paper is robust in a variety of climate environments, and can be effectively applied to the pedestrian tracking of autonomous vehicles.

The concept of “oil to electricity” is crucial for expanding the share of electricity in final energy consumption as well as for encouraging energy efficiency and emission reduction. Initially, a multidimensional strategy analysis is conducted for the government, ports, and ships concerned. From an economics perspective, a mathematical model of electricity substitution benefit analysis based on multiagent cooperative game theory under cap and trade and carbon tax policies is constructed, and the effect of carbon emissions caused by ships on the environment and society is converted into economic value. How several variables, such as transformation costs, ship electricity consumption, subsidy rates, carbon tax prices, and the ratio of shore power usage time to berthing time, affect the functioning of shore power is analyzed. The best electricity price under various circumstances is determined while considering the benefits of the three parties to maximize social welfare. The reduction in carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions is calculated. Meanwhile, the environmental advantages of the “replacement of oil with electricity” procedure are estimated. An example supports the claim that the suggested modeling approach can successfully resolve the economic benefits of each participant for the period that fosters the growth of electricity replacement projects and offers a sound scientific foundation for the formation of pertinent legislation.

A series of industrial trials of argon injection into ladle shroud (AIILS) with different argon-blowing rates were conducted in this study. Firstly, bubbles in actual liquid steel of the tundish were captured by the method of “cold steel plate dipping” and characterized by microscope examination. A detailed investigation on the three-dimension morphology of bubbles was carried out by using industrial computerized tomography (ICT). Then, the two-phase flow of liquid steel and argon gas in the tundish was numerically simulated to further investigate the motion behaviors of bubbles in liquid steel of the tundish. The simulated results showed that bubbles in the size range of this investigation had a large enough filtration rate to demonstrate a good performance on inclusion removal. Finally, the effect of AIILS on inclusion removal was analyzed by detecting the variations of inclusions as well as total oxygen content in steels taken from the ladle, tundish, and casting billet. The method of AIILS was more effective at improving the removal of inclusions in the range of 5 to 10 μm and obviously increased the removal rate of total oxygen content.

The artificial ground freezing method has been widely used in shield tunneling breakthrough working shafts. The freezing effect was mainly considered in the previous research, and the heat generation of the shield machine was not considered, which has great influence in actual engineering. In this paper, a coupling calculation model, considering phase change latent heat, is establishes that by containing the freezing process and heat generation of the shield machine, the model is verified. A numerical simulation is carried out for several working conditions that may occur in actual projects, and the following conclusions are obtained. Although the heat dissipated by the normal tunneling of the shield machine will melt the frozen soil curtain that originally meets the design requirements, the thickness of the frozen soil curtain after melting cannot reach the initial design, though it is still within the safe range. In the process of a continuous rotation working condition, the bottom and sides of a cup-shaped frozen soil curtain are partially melted in the early 6 day stay of the shield machine, and the thickness is reduced to a relatively stable value of 0.8 m. In a temporary shutdown working condition, when the contact surface temperature between the shield machine shell and the frozen soil drops to −12 °C after almost 4 days of shutdown, the shield machine may not keep tunneling forward due to the freezing effect. The research results will benefit the freezing design and management of the shield tunneling breakthrough working shaft under extreme conditions.

Imbalances in the gut microbiota composition may lead to several reproductive disorders and diseases during pregnancy. This study investigates the fecal microbiome composition between primiparous and multiparous cows during non-pregnancy and pregnancy to analyze the host-microbial balance at different stages. The fecal samples obtained from six cows before their first pregnancy (BG), six cows during their first pregnancy (FT), six open cows with more than three lactations (DCNP), and six pregnant cows with more than three lactations (DCP) were subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing, and a differential analysis of the fecal microbiota composition was performed. The three most abundant phyla in fecal microbiota were Firmicutes (48.68%), Bacteroidetes (34.45%), and Euryarchaeota (15.42%). There are 11 genera with more than 1.0% abundance at the genus level. Both alpha diversity and beta diversity showed significant differences among the four groups (p < 0.05). Further, primiparous women were associated with a profound alteration of the fecal microbiota. The most representative taxa included Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Prevotellaceae_UCG_003, Christensenellaceae_R_7_group, Ruminococcaceae UCG-005, Ruminococcaceae UCG-013, Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Methanobrevibacter, and [Eubacterium] coprostanoligenes group, which were associated with energy metabolism and inflammation. The findings indicate that host-microbial interactions promote adaptation to pregnancy and will benefit the development of probiotics or fecal transplantation for treating dysbiosis and preventing disease development during pregnancy.

A ratiometric fluorescence probe based on the conjugation of peroxyfluor-NHS (PF) and carbon dots (CDs) was designed for selective and rapid detection of glucose. When glucose was catalytically oxidized by glucose oxidase (GOx), the product H2O2 would react with colorless and non-fluorescent peroxyfluor moiety to give the colored and fluorescent fluorescein moiety which would absorb the energy of CDs emission at 450 nm due to the Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and generate a new emission peak at 517 nm. The reaction between PF and H2O2 was slow with a rate constant of about 2.7 × 10−4 s−1 under pseudo-first-order conditions (1 uM PF, 1 mM H2O2), which was unconducive to rapid detection. Given this, a short time detection method was proposed by studying the kinetics of the reaction between PF and H2O2. In this method, the detection time was fixed at three minutes. The linear detection of glucose could be well realized even if the reaction was partially done. As glucose concentration increased from 0.05 mM to 5 mM, the fluorescence intensity ratio (I517/I450) after 3 minutes’ reaction of CDs-PF and glucose oxidation products changed linearly from 0.269 to 1.127 with the limit of detection (LOD) of 17.19 μM. In addition, the applicability of the probe in blood glucose detection was verified.

Based on a Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) chip analysis combined with network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, in this study we explored the molecular targets and mechanism of the wuyao–ginseng medicine pair in the prevention and treatment of diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D). The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) was used to search for the chemical constituents and targets of wuyao and ginseng. The UniProt database was used to search for the target gene name. In the GEO database, IBS was searched to obtain GSE36701 and GSE14841 microarray data. We imported the intersection targets into the STRING database to construct a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (Go) pathway analyses were performed using the Metascape database. A total of 30 active ingredients of wuyao–ginseng, 171 drug targets, 1257 IBS differentially expressed genes, and 20 drug-disease intersection genes were obtained from the GEO data. We screened the results and obtained the core active ingredients beta-sitosterol, DMPEC, Boldine, etc.; the core targets NCOA2, EGFR, VEGFA, etc.; and the key pathways P13K-Akt, MAPK, etc. The wuyao–ginseng medicine pair may be involved in inflammation-related signaling pathways, acting on disease targets such as NCOA2, EGFR, and VEGFA as well as pathways such as P13K-Akt and MAPK, thereby playing a key role in the prevention and treatment of IBS-D.

Sexual maturation provides economically important traits in poultry production. Research on the initiation mechanism of sexual maturity is of great significance for breeding high-yield laying hens. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully clear. Here, one hundred and fifty Chahua No. 2 laying hens (the CH2 group, which has precocious puberty) and one hundred and fifty Wu Liang Shan black-bone laying hens (the WLS group, a late-maturing chicken breed) with similar weights and ages were randomly selected. ELISA was used to determine the secretion levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P4) in 150-day-old serum and small yellow follicle (SYF) tissues. A histology examination, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were used to explore the molecular mechanism of how some genes related to oxidative stress affect sexual maturation. The results showed that the secretion levels of LH, E2, and P4 in the CH2 group serum and SYF were higher than those in the WLS group. The results of the real-time PCR of all genes showed that the expression levels of cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, follicle-stimulating hormone receptor, and cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A member 1 in the CH2 group were significantly higher than those in the WLS groups (p < 0.001). Untargeted metabolomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis was used to identify biomarkers of SYF tissues in the CH2 and WLS groups. A trajectory analysis of the principal component analysis (PCA) results showed that the samples within the group were clustered and that the samples were dispersed between the CH2 and the WLS groups, indicating that the results of the measured data were reliable and could be used for further research. Further analysis showed that a total of 319 metabolites in small yellow follicles of the CH2 and WLS groups were identified, among which 54 downregulated differential metabolites were identified. These 54 metabolites were found as potential CH2 biomarkers compared with WLS at 150 days, and the different expressions of L-arginine, L-prolinamide, (R)-4-hydroxymandelate, glutathione, and homovanillic acid were more significant. Twenty metabolic pathways were found when significantly differential metabolites were queried in the KEGG database. According to the impact values of the metabolic pathways, eighteen differential metabolites belonged to the mTOR signaling pathway, glutathione metabolism, ABC transporters, the cell ferroptosis pathway, and D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism. Interestingly, we identified that the cell ferroptosis pathway played an important role in chicken follicle selection for the first time. The histology and immunohistochemistry of SYF showed that the number of granulosa cells increased in the CH2 groups and the expression levels of glutathione peroxidase 4, tumor protein p53, ribosomal protein S6 kinase, and sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 in the granulosa cell layer were upregulated in the CH2 group at the time of sexual maturation. Furthermore, we also speculated that the antioxidant system may play an indispensable role in regulating sexual maturity in chickens. Overall, our findings suggest differentially expressed metabolites and metabolic pathways between CH2 and WLS chickens, providing new insights into the initiation mechanism of sexual maturation.

A cellular automata model was established to simulate grain coarsening processes pinned by second-phase particles. The influences of particle coarsening, precipitation, growth and dissolution, which contain complex changes of size and number density of the particles, on the grain coarsening kinetics were investigated by considering the following two factors: average pinning force per particle and particle number density. The simulation results showed that the average pinning force per particle was related to the particle size, but little influenced by the particle number density. The investigations about the grain boundary/particles interactions showed that the increase of number fraction of particles, which located at the grain boundary junctions, should be the reason for the increase of average pinning force per particle. Then the limiting grain size was researched and compared to the results of some other models. The results showed that the average number of particles to stagnate a grain was related to both the number density and size of particles. At last, the comparisons between the present simulation results and the other simulation and experimental results showed that the present models were efficient in simulating the grain coarsening processes pinned by second-phase particles.

“Wave turbopause” is defined as the mesospheric altitude level where the temperature fluctuation field indicates a substantial increase in wave amplitude in the vertical direction. It is similar to turbopause in seasonal and latitudinal variations, providing an almost global analysis of turbopause on the basis of satellite measurements rather than localized detection. Previous studies of “wave turbopause” were based on standard deviation of temperature, which is an integrated measure of wave activity. In this study, we distinguish different atmospheric waves and investigate their influences on “wave turbopause”. By comparing the altitude of “wave turbopause” with peak height of amplitude (PHA) for gravity waves and 6.5 days waves (6.5 DWs), whose period is approximately 6.5 days in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, we find that the seasonal variation in altitude of “wave turbopause” is higher at the winter pole and lower at the summer pole, correlated with PHA for 6.5 DWs but anti-correlated with PHA for gravity waves. We infer that gravity waves reach saturation and break at lower altitudes in the winter when Brunt–Vaisala frequency is also lower between 80 and 100 km altitudes. Finally, the results may imply that seasonal variations of the “wave turbopause” are driven mainly by 6.5 DWs.

Egg production is a vital biological and economic trait for poultry breeding. The ‘hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian (HPO) axis’ determines the egg production, which affects the layer hens industry income. At the organism level, the HPO axis is influenced by the factors related to metabolic and nutritional status, environment, and genetics, whereas at the cellular and molecular levels, the HPO axis is influenced by the factors related to endocrine and metabolic regulation, cytokines, key genes, signaling pathways, post-transcriptional processing, and epigenetic modifications. MiRNAs and lncRNAs play a critical role in follicle selection and development, atresia, and ovulation in layer hens; in particular, miRNA is known to affect the development and atresia of follicles by regulating apoptosis and autophagy of granulosa cells. The current review elaborates on the regulation of the HPO axis and its role in the laying performance of hens at the organism, cellular, and molecular levels. In addition, this review provides an overview of the interactive network regulation mechanism of the HPO axis in layer hens, as well as comprehensive knowledge for successfully utilizing their genetic resources.

At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, sulfur oxidation and iron oxidation are of the highest importance to microbial metabolisms, which are thought to contribute mainly in chemolithoautotrophic groups. In this study, 17 mixotrophic neutrophilic thiosulfate- and iron-oxidizing bacteria were isolated from hydrothermal fields on the Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian Ocean, nine to the γ-proteobacteria (Halomonas (4), Pseudomonas (2), Marinobacter (2), and Rheinheimera (1)), seven to the α-proteobacteria (Thalassospira, Qipengyuania, Salipiger, Seohaeicola, Martelella, Citromicrobium, and Aurantimonas), and one to the Actinobacteria (Agromyces), as determined by their 16S rRNA and genome sequences. The physiological characterization of these isolates revealed wide versatility in electron donors (Fe(II) and Mn(II), or thiosulfate) and a variety of lifestyles as lithotrophic or heterotrophic, microaerobic, or anaerobic. As a representative strain, Pseudomonas sp. IOP_13 showed its autotrophic gowth from 105 cells/ml to 107 cells/ml;carbon dioxide fixation capacity with the δ13CVPDB in the biomass increased from −27.42‰ to 3460.06‰; the thiosulfate-oxidizing ability with produced SO42− increased from 60 mg/L to 287 mg/L; and the iron-oxidizing ability with Fe(II) decreased from 10 mM to 5.2 mM. In addition, iron-oxide crust formed outside the cells. Gene coding for energy metabolism involved in possible iron, manganese, and sulfur oxidation, and denitrification was identified by their genome analysis. This study sheds light on the function of the mixotrophic microbial community in the iron/manganese/sulfur cycles and the carbon fixation of the hydrothermal fields.

Meat quality traits are an important economic trait and remain a major argument, from the producer to the consumer. However, there are a few candidate genes and pathways of chicken meat quality traits that were reported for chicken molecular breeding. The purpose of the present study is to identify the candidate genes and pathways associated with meat quality underlying variations in meat quality. Hence, transcriptome profiles of breast tissue in commercial Digao (DG, 5 male) and Chahua (CH, 5 male) native chicken breeds were analyzed at the age of 100 days. The results found 3525 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CH compared to DG with adjusted p-values of ≤0.05 and log2FC ≥ 0.1 FDR ≤ 0.05. Functional analysis of GO showed that the DEGs are mainly involved in the two types of processes of meat quality, such as positive regulation of the metabolic process, extracellular structure organization, collagen trimer, cellular amino acid metabolic process, cellular amino acid catabolic process, and heme binding. Functional analysis of KEGG showed that the DEGs are mainly involved in the two types of processes of meat quality, such as oxidative phosphorylation, carbon metabolism, valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, and fatty acid degradation. Many of the DEGs are well known to be related to meat quality, such as COL28A1, COL1A2, MB, HBAD, HBA1, ACACA, ACADL, ACSL1, ATP8A1, CAV1, FADS2, FASN, DCN, CHCHD10, AGXT2, ALDH3A2, and MORN4. Therefore, the current study detected multiple pathways and genes that could be involved in the control of the meat quality traits of chickens. These findings should be used as an essential resource to improve the accuracy of selection for meat traits in chickens using marker-assisted selection based on differentially expressed genes.

Tengchong snow, which has white feathers and black meat, is one of the most important black-bone chicken breeds and a genetic treasure of black food in China. Although the black meat traits are dominant, there are some chickens with white meat traits born in the process of folk selection and breeding. The purpose of this study was to compare the differences in skeletal muscle development between Tengchong snow black meat chickens (BS) and white meat chickens (WS), as well as whether excessive melanin deposition has an effect on skeletal muscle development. The BS and WS groups were selected to determine their muscle development difference at stages of 1, 7, 14, 21, and 42 days, using histological stain methods to analyze the development and composing type of breast and leg muscle fibers, as well as the count of melanin in BS muscle fibers. Finally, we were validated key candidate genes associated with muscle development and melanin synthesis. The results showed that BS breast muscle development was inhibited at 7, 14, and 21 days, while the leg muscle was inhibited at 7, 14, 21, and 42 days, compared to WS. Melanin deposition was present in a temporal migration pattern and was greater in the leg muscles than in the breast muscles, and it focused around blood vessels, as well as the epithelium, perimysium, endomysium, and connective tissue. Additionally, melanin produced an inhibitory effect similar to MSTN during skeletal muscle fiber development, and the inhibition was strongest at the stage of melanin entry between muscle fibers, but the precise mechanisms need to be confirmed. This study revealed that melanin has an inhibitory effect on the early development of skeletal muscle, which will provide new insights into the role of melanin in the black-boned chicken and theoretical references for the future conservation and utilization of black-boned chicken.

Altered cell-derived microparticles (MPs) have been reported in multiple autoimmune diseases. However, the roles of megakaryocyte- and platelet-derived MPs (MKMPs and PMPs) in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) have not been investigated. In this study, we examined plasma MKMP and PMP levels in patients with ITP and evaluated their potential diagnostic values. Plasma MKMP and PMP levels were analyzed by flow cytometry in a discovery set of ITP patients (n = 78), non-immune thrombocytopenia (TP) patients (n = 69), and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 88). Samples from a therapy set of ITP patients (n = 21) were used to assess the response to thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between MP levels and disease parameters. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the diagnostic values of the MPs. We found that plasma MKMP and PMP levels were significantly lower in ITP patients than those in healthy controls (p values < 0.0001) but higher than in those in TP patients (p < 0.002 and p < 0.0002, respectively). After normalization to platelet counts, PMP/Platelet ratios in ITP patients were higher than those in TP patients and healthy controls (p values < 0.001). PMP/Platelet ratios had a diagnostic value for ITP (area under the curve = 0.808, p < 0.0001) with 73.1% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity. MKMP levels can be used to discriminate ITP from TP with a cut-off value of 112.5 MPs/μL and a sensitivity of 74.4%. Moreover, both MKMP and PMP levels were elevated in ITP patients who responded to TPO-RA treatment. Plasma PMP levels positively correlated with platelet counts in the responders (r = 0.558, p < 0.01). Our results indicate that plasma MKMP and PMP levels are decreased in ITP patients and that plasma MKMP and PMP levels may serve as biomarkers for ITP diagnosis and prediction of TPO-RA treatment response.

Native chicken has become a favorite choice for consumers in many Asian countries recently, not only for its potential nutritional value but also for its deep ties to local food culture. However, low growth performance and limited meat production restrict their economic potential. Conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for chicken-breast muscle development will help identify loci or candidate genes for different traits and potentially provide new insight into this phenotype in chickens and other species. To improve native chicken growth performance, especially breast muscle development, we performed a GWAS to explore the potential genetic mechanisms of breast muscle development in an F2 population constructed by reciprocal crosses between a fast-growing broiler chicken (Cobb500) and a slow-growing native chicken (Daweishan mini chicken). The results showed that 11 SNPs, which exceeded the 10% genome significance level (p = 1.79 × 10−8) were considered associated with breast muscle development traits, where six SNPS, NC_006126.5: g.3138376T>G, NC_006126.5: g.3138452A>G, NC_006088.5: g.73837197A>G, NC_006088.5: g.159574275A>G, NC_006089.5: g.80832197A>G, and NC_006127.5: g.48759869G>T was first identified in this study. In total, 13 genes near the SNPs were chosen as candidate genes, and none of them had previously been studied for their role in breast muscle development. After grouping the F2 population according to partial SNPs, significant differences in breast muscle weight were found among different genotypes (p < 0.05), and the expression levels of ALOX5AP, USPL1, CHRNA9, and EFNA5 among candidate genes were also significantly different (p < 0.05). The results of this study will contribute to the future exploration of the potential genetic mechanisms of breast muscle development in domestic chickens and also support the expansion of the market for native chicken in the world.

Here, we characterized the function of ctr1, ctr2 and atox1 promoters in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, a common freshwater teleost in Asian countries. We obtained 1359 bp, 1842 bp and 1825 bp sequences of ctr1, ctr2 and atox1 promoters, and predicted key transcription factor binding sites on their promoters, including MRE, SREBP1, NRF2, KLF4 and STAT3. Cu differentially influenced the activities of ctr1, ctr2 and atox1 promoters from different regions. We found that the −326/−334 bp and −1232/−1240 bp locus in the atox1 promoter were functional NRF2 binding sites, which negatively controlled the activity of the atox1 promoter. The −91/−100 bp locus in the ctr1 promoter and −232/−241 bp and −699/−708 bp locus in the atox1 promoter were functional SREBP1 binding sites, which positively controlled the activities of ctr1 and atox1 promoters. Cu inhibited the NRF2 binding ability to the atox1 promoter, but promoted the SREBP1 binding ability to the ctr1 and atox1 promoters. Dietary Cu excess significantly down-regulated hepatic mRNA and total protein expression of CTR1, CTR2 and ATOX1 of yellow catfish, compared to the adequate dietary Cu group. The subcellular localization showed that CTR1 was mainly localized on the cell membrane, CTR2 in the cell membrane and the lysosome, and ATOX1 in the cytoplasm. In conclusion, we demonstrated the regulatory mechanism of three Cu transporters at the transcription levels, and found the functional NRF2 and SREBP1 response elements in ctr1, ctr2 and atox1 promoters, which provided new insights into their roles in the regulation of Cu homeostasis in fish.

Background: The association of serum uric acid (SUA) with hypertension has been well established in Caucasian populations. However, its association with hypertension in Chinese remained to be clarified. Methods: Consecutive patients, homogeneous in Chinese Han ethnicity, aged ≥18 years, abstracted from the database, admitted from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2013, were included for potential analysis. The patients were grouped according to the presence or absence of hypertension. Unconditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between SUA and hypertension. Its possible interactions with risk factors on hypertension were also explored. Results: A total of 9587 patients were finally analyzed in the current study, where 5692 were with hypertension and 3895 were without hypertension. Per 100 μmol/L higher SUA concentration was associated with multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of 1.25 (1.08–1.22) in males, 1.10 (1.01–1.20) in females, and 1.19 (1.13–1.24) in total. On a categorical scale, when compared with the first quintile, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) were 1.40 (1.20–1.64) for the 2nd quintile, 1.48 (1.27–1.74) for the 3rd quintile, 1.55 (1.32–1.82) for the 4th quintile, and 1.92 (1.63–2.26) for the 5th quintile, with a p for trend < 0.01. Conclusions: SUA is associated with hypertension in a dose-response manner among the Chinese hospitalized population. Management of SUA could help to the prevention and control of hypertension.

Fe-Ni-Cr austenitic alloys are widely used in hydrogen environments as structural materials. Their weld normally shows higher hydrogen-embrittlement sensitivity than the base metal, endangering large-scale applications. Herein, by using electron microscopy and numerical calculations, the influence of applied load on the fracture mode of hydrogen-embrittled JBK-75 alloy weldment is revealed and correlated with a competition between hydrogen-prompted intergranular decohesion (HPID) and hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity (HELP). Therefore, independent of the load levels, the weld featuring a lower strength and smaller grain sizes is always more vulnerable to hydrogen embrittlement than the base metal.

A new technology of hydrogen bottom blowing instead of traditional argon blowing in the current converter steelmaking process is proposed herein, in the aim of overcoming problems such as energy shortages caused by increased scrap charging, the low stirring intensity of bottom blowing, high CO2 emissions, and endpoint carbon content control. The thermal effect and metallurgical characteristics of hydrogen bottom blowing were investigated based on the production data of a steelmaking converter in Pangang Group Xichang Steel & Vanadium Co., Ltd. This study shows that hydrogen bottom blowing at an intensity of 0.1–0.5 m3·min−1·t−1—rather than argon blowing at an intensity of 0.1 m3·min−1·t−1—can increase the smelting temperature by 16–73 K, increase the scrap charging ratio by 0.89–5.19%, and reduce CO2 emissions by 19.79–115.96 kg per ton of steel. Intensive hydrogen blowing could significantly reduce the oxygen content of molten steel in the late stage of steelmaking and be beneficial to controlling oxygen at the endpoint. Hydrogen can also reduce the (FeO) content in slag, and the equilibrium partial pressure ratios of H2O/H2 for the reaction H2 + (FeO) = H2O + Fe in the middle and late periods are 0.41 and 0.11, respectively. Hydrogen can also slightly suppress the decarbonization reaction in the late period of steelmaking, and the equilibrium partial pressure ratio of H2O/H2 for the reaction H2 + (CO) = [C] + H2O in the late period is 9.65 × 10−2, which means that hydrogen is beneficial in preventing the rapid decrease in [C] and, in turn, helps control the endpoint carbon content. By comparing the degree of the reaction (P2O5) + 5H2 = P2(g) + 5H2O and the reaction (P2O5) + 5H2 = 2[P] + 5H2O, it can be seen that intensive bottom-blown hydrogen may have a slight positive effect on slag gasification dephosphorization. The FactSage simulation results further verify the conclusions of the above analysis.