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Purpose: Growth differentiating Factor 15 (GDF15) is linked to several cancers, but its effect on chemoresistance in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of GDF15 in the chemotherapeutic response of CRC patients to oxaliplatin (L-OHP). Methods: GDF15 levels in serum and tumour tissues were detected in CRC patients have received L-OHP-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The effects of GDF15 neutralization or GDF15 knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were analysed in vitro and in vivo. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP), Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the interaction between GDF15 and Nrf2. Results: In this study, we found that GDF15 alleviates oxidative stress to induce chemoresistance of L-OHP in CRC. Mechanically, GDF15 posttranscriptionally regulates protein stability of Nrf2 through the canonical PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway, and in turn, Nrf2 acts as a transcription factor to regulate GDF15 expression to form a positive feedback loop, resulting in the maintenance of redox homeostasis balance in CRC. Furthermore, a positive correlation between GDF15 and Nrf2 was observed in clinical CRC samples, and simultaneous overexpression of both GDF15 and Nrf2 was associated with poor prognosis in CRC patients treated with L-OHP. Simultaneous inhibition of both GDF15 and Nrf2 significantly increases the response to L-OHP in an L-OHP-resistant colorectal cancer cells-derived mouse xenograft model. Conclusion: This study identified a novel GDF15-Nrf2 positive feedback loop that drives L-OHP resistance and suggested that the GDF15-Nrf2 axis is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of L-OHP-resistant CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chicken coccidiosis causes retarded growth and low production performance in poultry, resulting in huge economic losses to the poultry industry. In order to prevent and control chicken coccidiosis, great efforts have been made to develop new drugs and vaccines, which require pure isolates of Eimeria spp. In this study, we obtained the Eimeira tenella Xiantao isolate by single oocyst isolation technology and compared its genome with the reference genome GCF_000499545.2_ETH001 of the Houghton strain. The results of the comparative genomic analysis indicated that the genome of this isolate contained 46,888 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). There were 15,107 small insertion and deletion variations (indels), 1693 structural variations (SV), and 3578 copy number variations (CNV). In addition, 64 broilers were used to determine the resistance profile of Xiantao strain. Drug susceptibility testing revealed that this isolate was completely resistant to monensin, diclazuril, halofuginone, sulfachlorpyrazine sodium, and toltrazuril, but sensitive to decoquinate. These data improve our understanding of drug resistance in avian coccidia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blockchain-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data storage system encounters challenges which are data leakage, insufficient access control, and low retrieval efficiency. In response to these issues, this paper proposes a lightweight searchable encryption and access control system for sharing EMR data securely. The lightweight searchable encryption scheme which is achieved by integrating the trapdoor verification phase with the keyword retrieval phase is constructed using BGG13 + and MP12. User access control is implemented through a Boolean circuit to replace arithmetic operations and thus improve arithmetic efficiency. Since logic operations can reduce the computation time, this paper uses Boolean circuits for user rights verification implementation. In addition, this paper adopts the Bloom filter as the system index to enhance the efficiency of block-chain data retrieval. According to the simulation results, there is a performance advantage of this system over similar systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated this thermal reaction behavior of oxidized and pyrolyzed oils containing diverse clay minerals by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technology. The catalytic role of various clay minerals for thermal reaction processes involving oxidized oil and pyrolyzed oil during in situ combustion (ISC) was investigated in conjunction with kinetic calculation methods as well. The results demonstrated that all four clay minerals could shorten its temperature region of oxidized oil low-temperature oxidation (LTO) stage, with the peak temperature during the LTO stage of oxidized oil containing montmorillonite being dramatically reduced. The catalytic role of montmorillonite and illite on oxidized oil is more powerful in the high-temperature oxidation (HTO) stage with higher peak heat flow. The Lewis acid sites within clay minerals affect free radical reactions within the crude oil pyrolysis process, and in situ reforming performance of 400°C pyrolyzed oils containing clay minerals is less effective, along with low heat release in the LTO stage. Clay minerals can considerably minimize the activation energy during thermal reaction of oxidized oil, contributing to the coke generation and conversion in the fuel deposition (FD) stage and boosting the success rate of the ISC procedure. The catalytic role of clay minerals in the oxidation and pyrolysis reactions of crude oil contributes to the prediction of fuel deposition and the expansion of the combustion front during ISC under diverse types of rock conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Deep roots are important for crops to access water when the topsoil is dry. Root anatomy and activity play an important role in water uptake. However, little is known about the effects of root distribution and anatomical structure on water uptake and grain yield under different water conditions. This study aimed to reveal the contribution of deeper roots, root anatomy and root activity on grain yield and water use efficiency. Methods: A field experiment and Rhizobox experiment were performed to evaluate the effects of changes in root distribution, root anatomy and root activity on grain yield and water use efficiency under three water conditions. Three dryland wheat cultivars (BM1, CH58 and CH1) were compared. Results: BM1 formed a root system, which limited the acquisition of water in the subsoil, resulting in lower grain yield and water use efficiency in field and rhizobox experiments. In contrast, cultivars CH58 and CH1 exhibited greater root biomass and root length density in the subsoil, optimizing subsoil water uptake, thereby increasing grain yield and water use efficiency. CH58 had a smaller root diameter and vessel diameter, thicker cortex thickness, higher root cortex thickness-to-diameter ratio and higher root activity. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that, deeper roots, root anatomy and root activity are important traits in selecting wheat cultivars that maintain yield under low water conditions. Therefore, wheat crop development and breeding to improve grain yield should also consider optimizing root anatomy and improving root activity while promoting deep root development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cable-driven manipulators find applications in medical care, housekeeping services, and various other scenarios. However, the flexible joints of cable-driven manipulators exhibit rigid-flexible coupling characteristics, posing challenges for their modeling and accurate control. In this paper, a cable-driven serial-parallel manipulator is analyzed, and the rigidflexible coupling characteristics and dynamic modeling of its flexible joints are studied. Based on the coupling problem between joint flexibility deformation and end motion of the manipulator, a rigid-flexible coupling dynamics model was established. Through derivation of the coupling matrix, the coupling factor was defined to characterize the influence of flexible joint deformation on end motion of the manipulator. Finally, the dynamics coupling factor was simulated, and the influence of the joint cable-wheel reduction ratio and the end load on rigid-flexible characteristics of the manipulator was revealed, which lays a theoretical basis for the accurate control of cable-driven manipulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud products from geostationary satellites are the main alternative to surface synoptic cloud observations (SYNOP), and have become the baseline products for the development and construction of the Quality Management System (QMS) of integrated meteorological observation in China. This study addresses the needs of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) for such an operational reform, and it is carried out using real-time observations obtained from the Fengyun-2E (FY-2E) geostationary satellite in 2012 to derive cloud total amount and classification using two different methods. Compared to surface SYNOP observations, the cloud total amount estimated by FY-2E is generally significantly lower (about 30% lower on average). The cloud classification resulting from the two methods used in this study is also significantly different from the classification obtained from surface observations (difference between 22 and 32%). The difference is smaller for the classification method, which uses additional auxiliary temperature profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommender systems have been widely used for implementing personalised content on many mobile online services to reduce computational overload and preserve wireless data for users. The underlying mechanisms used for building recommender systems analyse data collected from users to make recommendations. This poses concerns over the privacy of data from users as both service providers and the cloud will have access. Privacy-preserving recommender systems protect user information by incorporating various cryptographic mechanisms to prevent accessing the data. However, existing works are not practical due to the use of heavy cryptography. In this paper, we propose an efficient privacy-preserving recommender system that takes advantage of clustering to improve efficiency. Using a secure clustering mechanism, user data are assigned to multiple clusters before being fed into the recommendation. Our proposed protocols are privacy-preserving and do not leak information that could be used to identify a data subject. The experiments show that our system is efficient and accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business operations have entered the digital era in which artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and blockchain (BKC) have emerged as major disruptive forces. In AI and ML, deep learning is a critical area. In this paper, we aim to investigate how deep learning and BKC together can help improve business operations. We first examine the operations research (OR) literature related to the applications of deep learning for business operations. Then, we discuss the prior studies on using BKC for operations. After that, we explore deep learning's applications for BKC, BKC's applications for deep learning as well as how deep learning and BKC have been used together for business operations. Then, we construct a research framework and propose future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to search and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in cervical cancer tissues as novel biomarkers to predict cervical cancer prognosis. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data on gene expression profiles in cervical cancer were downloaded and analyzed using R software to identify DEGs in cervical cancer tissues. miRNAs targeted by differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs) and mRNAs targeted by microRNAs (miRNAs) were identified using the online miRcode, miRTarBase, TargetScan, and miRDB tools. The ceRNA network and lncRNA expression modules in cervical cancer tissues were constructed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and analyzed bioinformatically. The Kaplan–Meier analysis was performed to confirm these DEGs as prognostic markers. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was used to verify expression of the hub genes in 10 paired cervical cancer and normal tissues. A total of 1914 DEmRNAs, 210 DElncRNAs, and 67 DEmiRNAs were identified in cervical cancer samples. There were 39 lncRNAs, 19 miRNAs, and 87 mRNAs involved in the ceRNA network and 25 DElncRNAs, three DEmiRNAs, and four mRNAs involved in the ceRNA sub-network. CACNA1C-AS1 was associated with the yellow and blue modules in the ceRNA sub-network, and LIFR-AS1 was associated with the blue module. The DEmRNAs were involved in cancer-related pathways, and three hub genes (i.e., E2F1, CCNB1, and CCNE1) were highly expressed in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma tissues and associated with the prognosis of patients. The ceRNA network and WGCNA analyses are useful to identify novel DEGs that can serve as prognostic markers in cervical cancer. The DEGs will be validated in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) is one of the most endangered medicinally important wild animals in the world. Forest musk deer farming is the main way of production of musk. However, the single provenance and lack of genetic information lead to reduced genetic diversity of forest musk deer. Therefore, more SSR markers need to be developed to identify forest musk deer germplasm. In this study, bone marrow derived mesenchymal cells were used to construct cDNA library for transcriptome sequencing. The datasets were de novo assembled and annotated. 9 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were finally identified and used to detect population genetic diversity. 6.07 Gb clean data were generated using Illumina sequencing technology, and de novo assembled into 138,591 transcripts and 81,553 unigenes. 5,777 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified, in which there were 578 repeating motif types, with mono-nucleotide and tri-nucleotides comprising 55.88% and 25.60%, respectively. 100 primer pairs were designed to validate amplification and polymorphism using DNA from fecal samples. 9 polymorphic SSRs were developed and used to detect population genetic diversity of 122 forest musk deer in 2 farms. The average number of alleles per locus varied from 4 to 15 (average = 8.3). The observed heterozygosity (HO) per locus ranged from 0.102 to 0.941, while the expected heterozygosity (HE) per locus was from 0.111 to 0.651. All loci deviated significantly from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < 0.001). The polymorphism information content (PIC) of these loci varied from 0.108 to 0.619. 9 polymorphic SSR markers were developed in this research. These sites can be used for breeding planning and conservation of germplasm resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the improvements in laparoscopic or robotic surgical techniques and instruments, a growing number of surgeons have attempted to complete all digestive tract reconstruction intracorporeally; these procedures include totally robotic gastrectomy (TRG) and totally laparoscopic gastrectomy (TLG). This study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the TRG and compare the short-term outcomes of the TRG and TLG in patients with gastric cancer. Methods: Between January 2018 and June 2023, 346 consecutive patients who underwent TRG or TLG at a high-volume academic gastric cancer specialty center were included. 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce confounding bias. The surgical outcomes, postoperative morbidity, and surgical burden were compared in PSM cohort. Results: After PSM, a well-balanced cohort of 194 patients (97 in each group) was included in the analysis. The total operation time of the TRG group was significantly longer than that of the TLG group (244.9 vs. 213.0 min, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the effective operation time between the 2 groups (217.8 vs. 207.2 min, P = 0.059). The digestive tract reconstruction time of the TRG group was significantly shorter than that of the TLG group (39.4 vs. 46.7 min, P < 0.001). The mean blood loss in the TRG group was less than that in the TLG group (101.1 vs. 126.8 mL, P = 0.014). The TRG group had more retrieved lymph nodes in the suprapancreatic area than that in the TLG group (16.6 vs 14.2, P = 0.002). The TRG group had a lower surgery task load index (38.9 vs. 43.1, P < 0.001) than the TLG group. No significant difference was found in terms of postoperative morbidity between the 2 groups (14.4% vs. 16.5%, P = 0.691). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that TRG is a safe and feasible procedure, and is preferable to TLG in terms of invasion and ergonomics. The TRG may maximize the superiority of robotic surgical systems and embodies the theory of minimally invasive surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Craniosynostosis refers to the premature fusion of one or more of the fibrous cranial sutures connecting the bones of the skull. Machine learning (ML) is an emerging technology and its application to craniosynostosis detection and management is underexplored. This systematic review aims to evaluate the application of ML techniques in the diagnosis, severity assessment, and predictive modeling of craniosynostosis. A comprehensive search was conducted on the PubMed and Google Scholar databases using predefined keywords related to craniosynostosis and ML. Inclusion criteria encompassed peer-reviewed studies in English that investigated ML algorithms in craniosynostosis diagnosis, severity assessment, or treatment outcome prediction. Three independent reviewers screened the search results, performed full-text assessments, and extracted data from selected studies using a standardized form. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Of the thirteen papers examined on the application of ML to the identification and treatment of craniosynostosis, two papers were dedicated to sagittal craniosynostosis, five papers utilized several different types of craniosynostosis in the training and testing of their ML models, and six papers were dedicated to metopic craniosynostosis. ML models demonstrated high accuracy in identifying different types of craniosynostosis and objectively quantifying severity using innovative metrics such as metopic severity score and cranial morphology deviation. The findings highlight the significant strides made in utilizing ML techniques for craniosynostosis diagnosis, severity assessment, and predictive modeling. Predictive modeling of treatment outcomes following surgical interventions showed promising results, aiding in personalized treatment strategies. Despite methodological diversities among studies, the collective evidence underscores ML's transformative potential in revolutionizing craniosynostosis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the collision mechanisms within particle-block systems, which are crucial for enhancing barrier designs intended to safeguard infrastructure from the impacts of debris flows. The study used Leighton Buzzard sand (LBS) grains and smooth glass beads (SGB) as simulants for debris flow particles to carry out impact tests, incorporating a novel laboratory technique that applies clay mineral coatings to simulate weathering effects on these particles. Additionally, comparative tests involving chrome steel balls (CSB) and rough glass beads (RGB) were conducted to evaluate the influence of particle properties on the collision behavior. The experiments focused on concrete barriers of varied strengths (the concrete grades include C25, C50, and C75), examining energy loss and the coefficient of restitution (COR). Findings indicated that energy dissipation occurred through the brittle to elastoplastic deformation of micro-asperities on SGB and LBS surfaces, with microparticle layers contributing to increased plastic energy loss in weathered grains. Notably, the redirection and rotation of irregularly shaped natural particles post-impact underscored significant mechanisms of energy redistribution. The concrete blocks with a lower compressive strength (C25) displayed greater surface plastic deformation, resulting in heightened energy dissipation and reduced COR. The study not only validated but also refined the impact force model in particle-block systems, proving its efficacy in predicting impact behaviors. These insights are crucial for understanding collision dynamics in particle-block systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Extensive and comprehensive phenotypic data from a maize RIL population under both low- and normal-Pi treatments were used to conduct QTL mapping. Additionally, we integrated parental resequencing data from the RIL population, GWAS results, and transcriptome data to identify candidate genes associated with low-Pi stress in maize. Phosphorus (Pi) is one of the essential nutrients that greatly affect the maize yield. However, the genes underlying the QTL controlling maize low-Pi response remain largely unknown. In this study, a total of 38 traits at both seedling and maturity stages were evaluated under low- and normal-Pi conditions using a RIL population constructed from X178 (tolerant) and 9782 (sensitive), and most traits varied significantly between low- and normal-Pi treatments. Twenty-nine QTLs specific to low-Pi conditions were identified after excluding those with common intervals under both low- and normal-Pi conditions. Furthermore, 45 additional QTLs were identified based on the index value ((Trait_under_LowPi–Trait_under_NormalPi)/Trait_under_NormalPi) of each trait. These 74 QTLs collectively were classified as Pi-dependent QTLs. Additionally, 39 Pi-dependent QTLs were clustered in nine HotspotQTLs. The Pi-dependent QTL interval contained 19,613 unique genes, 6,999 of which exhibited sequence differences with non-synonymous mutation sites between X178 and 9782. Combined with in silico GWAS results, 277 consistent candidate genes were identified, with 124 genes located within the HotspotQTL intervals. The transcriptome analysis revealed that 21 genes, including the Pi transporter ZmPT7 and the strigolactones pathway-related gene ZmPDR1, exhibited consistent low-Pi stress response patterns across various maize inbred lines or tissues. It is noteworthy that ZmPDR1 in maize roots can be sharply up-regulated by low-Pi stress, suggesting its potential importance as a candidate gene for responding to low-Pi stress through the strigolactones pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To comprehensively summarize the existing evidence on the effectiveness of vaginal microbiota transplantation (VMT) in treating vaginal dysbiosis (VD) and bacterial vaginosis (BV). Methods: Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a scoping review was conducted through October 10, 2023, using the databases PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, SinoMed, Weipu (VIP), ClinicalTrials.gov and the Chinese clinical trial registry. Results: A total of 12 studies were included, of which 7 were published (comprising 3 human and 4 animal studies), and 5 were ongoing registered trials (human). Of the published human studies involving 36 women, one focused on VD, and two investigated BV. These studies reported that VMT restored the Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota, alleviating symptoms. In animal studies with 145 female rats or mice, VMT was explored for one case of VD and three cases of BV, demonstrating a reduction in the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α. Additionally, two of the animal studies also indicated an increase in the number of Lactobacilli following VMT. The ongoing registered trials involved 556 women, with two focusing on VD and three targeting BV. Conclusions: VMT shows promise in restoring the Lactobacillus-dominated vaginal microbiota among women with VD or BV. Moreover, animal studies have indicated an increase in the number of Lactobacilli and a decrease in the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α following VMT. Ongoing registered trials are expected to provide comprehensive evidence regarding the efficacy of VMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antigenically divergent H7N9 viruses pose a potential threat to public health, with the poor immunogenicity of candidate H7N9 vaccines demonstrated in clinical trials underscoring the urgent need for more-effective H7N9 vaccines. In the present study, mice were immunized with various doses of a suspended-MDCK-cell-derived inactivated H7N9 vaccine, which was based on a low-pathogenic H7N9 virus, to assess cross-reactive immunity and cross-protection against antigenically divergent H7N9 viruses. We found that the CRX-527 adjuvant, a synthetic TLR4 agonist, significantly enhanced the humoral immune responses of the suspended-MDCK-cell-derived H7N9 vaccine, with significant antigen-sparing and immune-enhancing effects, including robust virus-specific IgG, hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI), neuraminidase-inhibiting (NI), and virus-neutralizing (VN) antibody responses, which are crucial for protection against influenza virus infection. Moreover, the CRX-527-adjuvanted H7N9 vaccine also elicited cross-protective immunity and cross-protection against a highly pathogenic H7N9 virus with a single vaccination. Notably, NI and VN antibodies might play an important role in cross-protection against lethal influenza virus infections. This study showed that a synthetic TLR4 agonist adjuvant has a potent immunopotentiating effect, which might be considered worth further development as a means of increasing vaccine effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain after lung transplantation (LTx) can substantially reduce quality of life (QoL), yet current consensus guidelines say little about how to prevent or manage it. Research on pain after LTx has tended to focus on acute rather than chronic pain, and it has not extensively examined the factors associated with onset or resolution of chronic pain, which differ from factors influencing chronic pain after general thoracic surgery. This narrative review explores what is known about the epidemiology and risk factors of chronic pain after LTx, as well as effective ways to treat or prevent it. The review identifies key questions and issues that should be the focus of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underwater light scattering, absorption, and camera or target moving often bring issues such as blurring, distortion, and color deviation in underwater imaging, which poses significant challenges to underwater target detection. Numerous detectors have been proposed to address these challenges, such as YOLO series models, RCNN-based variants, and Transformer-based variants. However, the previous detectors often have poor detection results when encountering small targets and target occlusion problems. To tackle these issues, We propose a feature fusion and global semantic decoupling head-based YOLO detection method. Specifically, we propose an efficient feature fusion module to solve the problem of small target feature information being lost and difficult to detect accurately. We also use self-supervision to recalibrate the feature information between each level, which achieves full integration of semantic information between different levels. We design a decoupling head that focuses on global context information, which can better filter out complex background information, thereby achieving effective detection of targets under occluded backgrounds. Finally, we replace simple upsampling with a content-aware reassembly module in the YOLO backbone, alleviating the problem of imprecise localization and identification of small targets caused by feature loss to some extent. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method achieves superior performance compared to other state-of-the-art single-stage and two-stage detection networks. Specifically, on the UTDAC2020 dataset, the proposed method attains mAP50-95 and mAP50 scores of 54.4% and 87.7%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently proposed DEtection TRansformer (DETR) has established a fully end-to-end paradigm for object detection. However, DETR suffers from slow training convergence, which hinders its applicability to various detection tasks. We observe that DETR's slow convergence is largely attributed to the difficulty in matching object queries to relevant regions due to the unaligned semantics between object queries and encoded image features. With this observation, we design Semantic-Aligned-Matching DETR++ (SAM-DETR++) to accelerate DETR's convergence and improve detection performance. The core of SAM-DETR++ is a plug-and-play module that projects object queries and encoded image features into the same feature embedding space, where each object query can be easily matched to relevant regions with similar semantics. Besides, SAM-DETR++ searches for multiple representative keypoints and exploits their features for semantic-aligned matching with enhanced representation capacity. Furthermore, SAM-DETR++ can effectively fuse multi-scale features in a coarse-to-fine manner on the basis of the designed semantic-aligned matching. Extensive experiments show that the proposed SAM-DETR++ achieves superior convergence speed and competitive detection accuracy. Additionally, as a plug-and-play method, SAM-DETR++ can complement existing DETR convergence solutions with even better performance, achieving 44.8% AP with merely 12 training epochs and 49.1% AP with 50 training epochs on COCO val 2017 with ResNet-50. Codes are available at https://github.com/ZhangGongjie/SAM-DETR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective yield forecasting is a key strategy for adaptation when facing food loss to climate variability. Currently, solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is an emerging remote-sensing index owing to its high relevance to plant photosynthesis, and sensitivity to drought. Despite many studies have focused on drought monitoring and production assessment by SIF, little puts it into practice for in-season yield prediction. In this study, we combined multi-source satellite and meteorological data, especially coupling with subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) dynamic atmospheric prediction climate model (IAP-CAS FGOALS-f2), with an addition of SIF, to predict maize yields in the U.S. Corn Belt, based on the developed machine learning dynamical hybrid model (MHCF). By comparison, we found that SIF performed well in the correlation analysis with yield, with average correlations up to 0.719 in August. Then we utilized different algorithms, different models (S2S data for MHCF, climate data for the Benchmark), and different input combinations to train and predict maize yields. All four algorithms using SIF significantly improved prediction performance. S2S + VIs + SIF combination (FGOALS-f2、NDVI、EVI、SIF) can achieve the best performance, while the XGBoost algorithm reached 0.897 of R2. With the best combination, it can achieve 4 months before maize harvest (with R2 value of 0.85, and RMSE < 13 bu/acre). In 2012, the year had a severe drought, although predictive capability decreased in all the predictions, the models with SIF still maintained robust and improved the prediction (improved R2 by 5.92%, and RMSE decreased by 18.08% of XGBoost). According to the study, it can be expected, the combination of MHCF and SIF will play a greater role in subseasonal yield prediction. We also provide an operational proposition of hybrid yield forecasting method to fully integrating climate prediction and machine learning for early notice of crop production losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf area index (LAI) is a vital input variable for crop growth and yield prediction models. Therefore, rapid and accurate crop LAI estimates can offer important information for monitoring and managing the quantity and quality of food production. Here, LAI values of maize and soybean were predicted applying height metrics and intensity metrics calculated through unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) LiDAR data. Moreover, we compared the prediction performance of physical model with that of empirical model for estimating crop LAI. The physical model based on Beer–Lambert law yielded reliable estimation results using LiDAR height data (maize: R2 = 0.815, RMSE = 0.385; soybean: R2 = 0.627, RMSE = 0.515) and LiDAR intensity data (maize: R2 = 0.719, RMSE = 0.474; soybean: R2 = 0.548, RMSE = 0.567). However, the linear regression model obtained a higher estimation accuracy. The single linear regression model derived from LiDAR height data had an R2 value of 0.837 (RMSE = 0.361) for maize and 0.658 (RMSE = 0.493) for soybean, and derived from LiDAR intensity data had an R2 value of 0.749 (RMSE = 0.448) for maize and 0.460 (RMSE = 0.619) for soybean, respectively. We found that the random forest (RF) regression model yielded the lowest estimation accuracy in this study. Moreover, the RF regression model in our study was not able to reliably estimate soybean LAI whether using LiDAR height metrics (R2 = 0.294) or intensity metrics (R2 = 0.180). Our results show that both LiDAR intensity and height metrics are capable of reliably predicting maize and soybean LAIs, although LiDAR intensity data yielded lower estimation accuracy than LiDAR height data. In conclusion, the results presented in this study demonstrate that using UAV-LiDAR technology to predict crop LAI is a flexible, practical, and cost-effective method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies reported that peripheral inflammation was associated with cognitive performance and brain structure in schizophrenia. However, the moderating effect of inflammation has not been extensively studied. This study investigated whether inflammation markers moderated the association between negative symptoms and neurocognition in schizophrenia. This cross-sectional study included 137 drug-naïve schizophrenia patients (DNS) and 67 healthy controls (HC). We performed the Measurements and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) for cognitive assessment and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for psychiatric symptoms. Plasma concentrations of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were measured. The MCCB neurocognition score, social cognition score, and total score; the plasma concentrations of NGAL, IFN-γ, and NF-κB were significantly decreased in DNS than in HC (all P's < 0.001). PANSS negative subscale (PNS), PANSS reduced expressive subdomain (RES) negatively correlated with neurocognition score (P = 0.007; P = 0.011, respectively). Plasma concentrations of IFN-γ and NGAL positively correlated with neurocognition score (P = 0.043; P = 0.008, relatively). The interactions of PNS × NGAL; PNS × IFN-γ; RES × IFN-γ accounted for significant neurocognition variance (P = 0.025; P = 0.029, P = 0.007, respectively). Simple slope analysis showed that all the above moderating effects only occurred in patients with near normal IFN-γ and NGAL levels. Plasma concentrations of IFN-γ and NGAL moderated the relationship between negative symptoms (especially RES) and neurocognition in schizophrenia. Treatment targeting inflammation may contribute to neurocognition improvement in schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although metacognition plays a pivotal role in theoretical accounts of mind wandering, their longitudinal relationships have not yet been investigated during the important developmental period of early adolescence. This study aimed to examine the developmental trajectories of spontaneous and deliberate mind wandering and the dynamic associations between metacognition and two types of mind wandering in early adolescence. A sample of 4302 Chinese students beginning in Grade 4 (47.4% female; initial Mage = 9.84, SDage = 0.47) completed questionnaires on five occasions over 2.5 years. The results showed that deliberate mind wandering, but not spontaneous mind wandering, gradually increased from Grade 4 to Grade 6. Metacognition was negatively related to spontaneous mind wandering but positively related to deliberate mind wandering. These findings provide empirical evidence for theoretical viewpoints from both individual differences and developmental perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structured marine clay is commonly encountered in offshore engineering projects and engineers are concerned about its impact on the engineering properties of marine clay as well as its correlation with index properties. Current research has emphasized the role of soil structure in these aspects of marine clay. In this study, we investigated the influence of depositional environment and oxidation-induced evolution of clay microstructure on the formation of clay structure in structured clay from Zhanjiang area, a coastal city located in South China. The distinct soil structure observed in marine-terrigenous clay deposited under different environments exhibited sensitivity ranging from 1.6 to 8.9 at varying moisture content levels. The wide range of sensitivity observed in structured marine-terrigenous clay was attributed to free iron oxide derived from siderite present in an acidic environment. Compared to other regions, Zhanjiang marine clay demonstrated favorable mechanical properties but poor physical properties due to its unique clay structure characteristics. Based on these findings, we proposed a modified approach for correlating index properties with engineering properties that yielded good predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality analysis helps analysts understand the state of atmospheric pollution and its changing trends, providing robust data and theoretical support for developing and implementing environmental policies. Air quality data are typically represented as multivariate time series, which poses challenges due to the large amount of data, high dimensionality, and lack of labeled information. Analysts often struggle to discover internal relationships and patterns within the data. There is still significant room for improvement in related data mining and exploration methods, as issues such as perceptual burden and low efficiency must be addressed. To assist analysts in atmospheric pollution analysis, we propose an air quality visualization scheme based on feature extraction of multivariate time series data. We utilize the automated data modeling capability of deep learning and intuitive data visualization to help analysts explore and analyze complex air quality datasets. To extract features of air quality data effectively, we transform the multivariate time series feature extraction task into an automated deep learning self-supervised task and propose a feature extraction method called CTDCN for multivariate time series. Finally, we design and implement a visualization and analysis system for air quality multivariate time series. This system helps analysts discover potential information and patterns in air quality data, providing support and a foundation for informed decision-making. The system offers rich visualization views, allows users to change data modeling parameters, and interactively analyze and extract insights from the data through multiple views. Extensive experiments on UEA public datasets confirm CTDCN's superior feature extraction capabilities, while case studies and user studies validate the effectiveness and practicality of our visualization approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between signal regulatory protein gamma (SIRPG) and tumor immune microenvironment phenotypes or T cell mediated-adaptive antitumor immunity, and its predictive value for response to PD-1 blockade in cancers. Methods: Pan-cancer analysis of SIRPG expression and immune deconvolution was performed using transcriptomic data across 33 tumor types. Transcriptomic and clinical data from 157 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma received PD-1 blockade were analyzed. Expression characteristics of SIRPG were investigated using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of 103,599 cells. The effect of SIRPG expression was evaluated via SIRPG knockdown or overexpression in Jurkat T cells. Results: The results showed that most cancers with high SIRPG expression had significantly higher abundance of T cells, B cells, NK cells, M1 macrophages and cytotoxic lymphocytes and increased expression level of immunomodulatory factors regulating immune cell recruitment, antigen presentation, T cell activation and cytotoxicity, but markedly lower abundance of neutrophils, M2 macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. High SIRPG expression was associated with favorable response to PD-1 blockade in both NSCLC and melanoma. scRNA-seq data suggested SIRPG was mainly expressed in CD8+ exhausted T and CD4+ regulatory T cells, and positively associated with immune checkpoint expression including PDCD1 and CTLA4. In vitro test showed SIRPG expression in T cells could facilitate expression of PDCD1 and CTLA4. Conclusion: High SIRPG expression is associated with an inflamed immune phenotype in cancers and favorable response to PD-1 blockade, suggesting it would be a promising predictive biomarker for PD-1 blockade and novel immunotherapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) deficiency is the most conspicuous obstacle to limit the cancer immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as anti-PD-1 antibody, have achieved great success in clinical practice. However, due to the limitation of response rates of ICIs, some patients fail to benefit from monotherapy. Thus, novel combination therapy that could improve the response rates emerges as new strategies for cancer treatment. Here, we reported that the natural product rocaglamide (RocA) increased tumor-infiltrating T cells and promoted Th17 differentiation of CD4+ TILs. Despite RocA monotherapy upregulated PD-1 expression of TILs, which was considered as the consequence of T cell activation, combining RocA with anti-PD-1 antibody significantly downregulated the expression of PD-1 and promoted proliferation of TILs. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that RocA could fuel the T cell anti-tumor immunity and revealed the remarkable potential of RocA as a therapeutic candidate when combining with the ICIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is associated with the tumorigenesis and ferroptosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). BBOX1 antisense RNA 1 (BBOX1-AS1) functions as an oncogenic driver in NSCLC. Here, we aim to investigate the regulation effect and underlying mechanism of BBOX1-AS1 in NSCLC progression and ferroptosis. RNA expression was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and protein expression was measured by immunoblotting. Cell growth was assessed by CCK-8 and colony formation assays. Transwell assay was applied to evaluate cell invasion and migration. RNA pull-down and dual-luciferase reporter assays were applied to verify the relationship between miR-326 and BBOX1-AS1 or prominin 2 (PROM2). The role of BBOX1-AS1 in NSCLC tumorigenicity was also analyzed by xenograft assays. Silencing BBOX1-AS1 or PROM2 impeded NSCLC cell growth, migration, and invasion. Silencing BBOX1-AS1 induced cell apoptosis and ferroptosis. BBOX1-AS1 up-regulated PROM2 expression, and re-expression of PROM2 reversed the effects of BBOX1-AS1 depletion on cell malignant phenotypes and ferroptosis. BBOX1-AS1 post-transcriptionally modulated PROM2 expression by sponging miR-326. MiR-326 was validated as a mediator of BBOX1-AS1 in regulating NSCLC cell malignant phenotypes and ferroptosis. Additionally, BBOX1-AS1 deficiency in vivo resulted in the suppression of xenograft tumor growth. Together, our study defines a novel BBOX1-AS1/miR-326/PROM2 axis in regulating NSCLC malignant progression and ferroptosis, offering new evidence for the oncogenic role of BBOX1-AS1 in NSCLC. These findings may provide a basis for the future usage of targeting BBOX1-AS1 in NSCLC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kawasaki disease (KD) and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) are the two most predominant types of childhood vasculitis. In childhood vasculitis, factors such as lack of sensitive diagnostic indicators and adverse effects of drug therapy may cause multiorgan system involvement and complications and even death. Many studies suggest that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the mechanism of vasculitis development in children and can be used to diagnose or predict prognosis by lncRNAs. In existing drug therapies, lncRNAs are also involved in drug-mediated treatment mechanisms and are expected to improve drug toxicity. The aim of this review is to summarize the link between lncRNAs and the pathogenesis of KD and HSP. In addition, we review the potential applications of lncRNAs in multiple dimensions, such as diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction. This review highlights that targeting lncRNAs may be a novel therapeutic strategy to improve and treat KD and HSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of kiwifruit bruising time is one of the essential indicators for reducing postharvest losses and assessing internal quality. To investigate if the bruised time of kiwifruit could be non-destructively detected, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology was used to acquire hyperspectral images of kiwifruit from two different varieties at various bruising time. 70 kiwifruit samples from each of the two varieties were included in the study, with a total of 490 (7 × 70) hyperspectral images collected for each variety across seven bruising time. The spectral feature of the bruised areas of kiwifruit were extracted using the uninformative variable elimination (UVE), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), and principal component analysis (PCA) methods, combined with the successive projection algorithm (SPA), respectively. Besides, the textural feature of the bruised kiwifruit were extracted using the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Finally, Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), support vector machine (SVM), and one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) were built to identify the bruising time of kiwifruit using the spectral feature, textural feature, and fused data (spectra and texture), respectively. The results suggests that the 1D-CNN model built by fused data was the most effective in identifying kiwifruit bruising time, with identification accuracies of 94.55% for 'Hayward', 97.95% for 'Wanhong', and 95.23% for the mixed kiwifruits. The studies suggests that the HSI technique combined with machine learning could effectively identify the bruising time of kiwifruit and provide a reference for kiwifruit quality grading detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although larger hematoma volume is associated with worse outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the association between perihematomal edema (PHE) volume and outcome remains uncertain, as does the impact of sex on PHE and outcome. Here we aimed to determine whether larger PHE volume is associated with worse outcome and whether PHE volume trajectories differ by sex. Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of the Factor VIIa for Acute Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment (FAST) trial, which randomized patients with ICH to receive recombinant activated factor VIIa or placebo. Computerized planimetry calculated PHE and ICH volumes on serial computed tomography (CT) scans (at baseline [within 3 h of onset], at 24 h, and at 72 h). Generalized estimating equations examined interactions between sex, CT time points, and FAST treatment arm on PHE and ICH volumes. Mixed and multivariable logistic models examined associations between sex, PHE, and outcomes. Results: A total of 781 patients with supratentorial ICH (mean age 65 years) were included. Compared to women (n = 296), men (n = 485) had similar median ICH (14.9 vs. 13.6 mL, p = 0.053) and PHE volumes (11.1 vs. 10.5 mL, p = 0.56) at baseline but larger ICH and PHE volumes at 24 h (19.0 vs. 14.0 mL, p < 0.001; 22.2 vs. 15.7 mL, p < 0.001) and 72 h (16.0 vs. 11.8 mL, p < 0.001; 28.7 vs. 19.9 mL, p < 0.001). Men had higher absolute early PHE expansion (p < 0.001) and more hematoma expansion (growth ≥ 33% or 6 mL at 24 h, 33% vs. 22%, p < 0.001). An interaction between sex and CT time points on PHE volume (p < 0.001), but not on ICH volume, confirmed a steeper PHE trajectory in men. PHE expansion (per 5 mL, odds radio 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.10–1.28), but not sex, was associated with poor outcome. Conclusions: Early PHE expansion and trajectory in men were significantly higher. PHE expansion was associated with poor outcomes independent of sex. Mechanisms leading to sex differences in PHE trajectories merit further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Fe-MoOx nanozyme, engineered with enhanced peroxidase (POD)-like activity through strategic doping and the creation of oxygen vacancies, is introduced to catalyze the oxidation of TMB with high efficiency. Furthermore, Fe-MoOx is responsive to single electron transfer (SET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanisms related to antioxidants and can serve as a desirable nanozyme for total antioxidant capacity (TAC) determination. The TAC colorimetric platform can reach a low LOD of 0.512 μM in solution and 24.316 μM in the smartphone-mediated RGB hydrogel (AA as the standard). As proof of concept, the practical application in real samples was explored. The work paves a promising avenue to design diverse nanozymes for visual on-site inspection of food quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel CCOF core–shell composite material (S)-DTP-COF@SiO2 was prepared via asymmetric catalytic and in situ growth strategy. The prepared (S)-DTP-COF@SiO2 was utilized as separation medium for HPLC enantioseparation using normal-phase and reversed-phase chromatographic modes, which displays excellent chiral separation performance for alcohols, esters, ketones, and epoxides, etc. Compared with chiral commercial chromatographic columns (Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralcel OD-H columns) and some previously reported chiral CCOF@SiO2 (CC-MP CCTF@SiO2 and MDI-β-CD-modified COF@SiO2)-packed columns, there are 4, 3, 13, and 15 tested racemic compounds that could not be resolved on the Chiralpak AD-H column, Chiralcel OD-H column, CC-MP CCTF@SiO2 column, and MDI-β-CD-modified COF@SiO2 column, respectively, which indicates that the resolution effect of (S)-DTP-COF@SiO2-packed column can be complementary to the other ones. The effects of the analyte mass, column temperature, and mobile phase composition on the enantiomeric separation were investigated. The chiral column exhibits good reproducibility after multiple consecutive injections. The RSDs (n = 5) of the peak area and retention time were less than 1.5% for repetitive separation of 2-methoxy-2-phenylethanol and 1-phenyl-1-pentanol. The chiral core–shell composite (S)-DTP-COF@SiO2 exhibited good enantiomeric separation performance, which not only demonstrates its potential as a novel CSP material in HPLC but also expands the range of applications for chiral COFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let A be a unital semisimple Banach ∗ -algebra whose centre is denoted by Z(A), and let m be a fixed element in Z(A). Let f, g be two continuous linear mappings on A satisfying the identity f (u) u ∗ + u ∗ f (u) + u g (u) ∗ + g (u) ∗ u = m for each unitary element u in A. Then we prove that there exist two derivations d 1 , d 2 such that f (a) = d 1 (a) + f (1) a , g (a) = d 2 (a) + g (1) a and d 1 (a ∗) = d 2 (a) ∗ for each a ∈ A . Let T be a conjugate linear mapping which is ternary derivable at the unit element from a unital C ∗ -algebra into its dual space. We establish the automatic continuity of any such a mapping T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In prevailing p-i-n perovskite solar cells (PSCs), solution-processible fullerene molecules are widely used as electron-transporting layers (ETLs) but they typically suffer from poor uniformity and undesirable stability issues. Additionally, a separate bathocuproine (BCP) layer is needed to block hole transfer, increasing fabrication complexity and cost. Here, we address these limitations by developing a novel polymeric ETL (named PFBCP) synthesized by polymerizing C60 with BCP. This innovative material achieves both efficient electron transport and hole blocking, while its excellent uniformity minimizes interface recombination and enhances stability. Consequently, our blade-coated PSCs utilizing PFBCP achieve a high power conversion efficiency exceeding 22% and retain 91% of initial efficiency after 1200 h of light exposure. This development not only paves the way for commercially viable PSCs but also opens avenues for future ETL design to realize even more efficient and stable PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucose-sensitive membrane has potential application in self-regulating insulin release. Phenylboronic acid (PBA) is a well-known glucose reporter. Unfortunately, most PBA-based glucose-sensitive materials are expansion-type, which are not suitable as chemical valves in membrane pores for self-regulating insulin release. According to a new glucose-sensitive mechanism, we synthesized PBA-based contraction-type glucose-sensitive liner polymer and microgels. Herein, a glucose-sensitive membrane was prepared by grafting PBA-based contraction-type glucose-sensitive linear polymer on the membrane surface. Through adjusting the chain length and chain density, the glucose-sensitivity of the membrane was optimized. The membrane can reversibly regulate insulin release at physiologically relevant glucose concentrations in simulates body fluids and fetal bovine serum. The membrane also has good stability, anti-fouling and biocompatibility. It has potential application in self-regulating insulin release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis, characterized by lipid peroxidation, plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis (AP). While sterol O-acyltransferase 2 (Soat2) is known for its crucial regulatory role in cholesterol homeostasis, its involvement in the development of AP remains unreported. We conducted this study to identify the pivotal role of Soat2 in AP using transcriptomic databases. Subsequently, we confirmed its alterations through both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Furthermore, we performed intervention with the Soat2 inhibitor avasimibe to evaluate pancreatic tissue pathology and serum enzymatic levels and observe inflammatory cell infiltration through immunohistochemistry. Additionally, changes in indicators related to ferroptosis were also observed. The results showed that in the AP mouse model, the protein and mRNA levels of Soat2 were significantly increased. Following avasimibe administration, there was a decrease in serum amylase levels, reduction in pancreatic tissue pathological damage, and attenuation of inflammatory cell infiltration. Furthermore, avasimibe administration resulted in downregulation of ferroptosis-related indicators. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the Soat2 inhibitor avasimibe protects against AP in mice through inhibition of the ferroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric impulse drilling (EID) technology has great industrialization potential since it has unique advantages in crushing hard rocks of deep formation. To study the mechanism of dielectric breakdown is of great significance for accelerating the practical application of EID technology. In this paper, the dielectric breakdown damage model (DBDM) is established based on the heterogeneous granite model. On the basis of DBDM, the whole process of absolute dielectric breakdown (ADB) is studied, including the formation of the plasma channel and the variation of the electric field. Then, the mechanism of regional dielectric breakdown (RDB) development to ADB is studied, and the influence of peak voltage, electrode spacing and the parameters of a high-voltage electric pulse (HVEP) is discussed. Besides, the efficiency of two dielectric breakdown modes is evaluated. It is found that dielectric breakdown will only occur in the domain where the strength of the local electric field formed by HVEP exceeds the critical breakdown field strength of rock. RDB will occur when the pulse duration is too short or the peak voltage is too low. It is worth noting that RDB can be developed into ADB under multi-HVEPs. Moreover, under the same voltage, there is almost no difference between the failure volume caused by RDB under multi-HVEPs and ADB under a single HVEP. However, the energy consumption of the RDB under multi-HVEPs decreases exponentially with increasing voltage and is always higher than that of the ADB under a single HVEP. When designing the supporting tools and bits of EID technology, the life of insulation, the characteristics of formation, and energy utilization should be fully considered. The related research in this paper aims to provide reference and guidance for the application of EID technology in drilling engineering. Highlights: The variation of the electric field, the change of minerals and the generation of plasma channel in granite during dielectric breakdown is studied. The effect of the characteristics of high-voltage electric pulse (HVEP) on the dielectric breakdown in granite is studied. The mechanism and rock-breaking efficiency of absolute dielectric breakdown (ADB) and regional dielectric breakdown (RDB) are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the time-dependent performance changes in tunnel supports through the monitoring data is crucial to predict the long-term stability of deep hydraulic tunnels. This paper provides an analytical solution for assessing the long-term stability of the diversion tunnels from the perspective of support permeability degradation. An evaluation factor Rgl, which denotes the ratio of the hydraulic conductivities of the grouted rock and the concrete lining, is proposed to analyse the degradation characteristics of tunnel support performance over time. The time-dependent changes in Rgl and its controlling factors are discussed using the monitoring data of the Jinping II diversion tunnel. The results show that there are ascending or descending trends of Rgl over time, linking to the evolutions of hydraulic conductivity in the grouted rock and the lining. The reliabilities of the analytical model for explaining the changes in tunnel support permeability are examined using numerical methods. The comparisons between the numerical solutions and monitoring results show good agreements in the hypothetical cases characterising the potential degradation of support of the diversion tunnel. Highlights: Ratio of hydraulic conductivities between grouted rock and lining was proposed for diversion tunnels. Time-dependent hydraulic performance in support of the Jinping II diversion tunnel was analysed. Hydraulic conductivity degradations of diversion tunnel supports were simulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the corrosion resistance and service life of equipment, the internal surfaces of pressure vessels with large size usually need to be welded with stainless steel layer. Because the expansion coefficient of stainless steel is larger than that of the shell, the residual stresses of welding layer will increase after local heat treatment, leading to stress corrosion cracking. Therefore, in this paper, the effects of conventional local heat treatment and local rapid cooling heat treatment on residual stress distribution were investigated and compared. And the influences of process parameters such as temperature difference, cool source application temperature and cooling rate on the residual stress relief effect of welding layer were analyzed. The result shows that applying cold source on the inner wall can effectively reduce the residual stresses on the surface and inside of the welding layer, and the effect will be improved with the increase in the temperature difference, cooling rate and the advance of the application temperature. For this pressure vessel, the residual stress on the surface of welding layer can be reduced to about − 100 MPa and a 3 mm compressive stress welding layer can be obtained when the cold source was applied at 400 °C and the surface is cooled to 25 °C with the rate of 400 °C/h. This process greatly improves the stress corrosion cracking resistance of welding layer and effectively improves the safety and service life of the pressure vessel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The hyperactivation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a crucial role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Hedgehog (Hh) signaling has been implicated in the tumorigenesis and progression of various cancers, however, its function in NSCLC cells remains controversial. Herein, we present a novel finding that challenges the current understanding of Hh signaling in tumor growth. Methods: Expression of Hh ligands and receptor were assessed using TCGA datasets, immunoblotting and immunohistochemical. Biological function of Hh ligands and receptor in NSCLC were tested using colony formation, cell count kit-8 (CCK-8) and xenograft assays. Biochemical effect of Hh ligands and receptor on regulating EGFR stability and activity were checked via immunoblotting. Results: Expression of Hh ligands and receptor was suppressed in NSCLC tissues, and the lower expression levels of these genes were associated with poor prognosis. Ptch1 binds to EGFR and facilitates its poly-ubiquitylation and degradation independent of downstream transcriptional signaling. Moreover, Hh ligands cooperate with Ptch1 to regulate the protein stability and activity of EGFR. This unique mechanism leads to a suppressive effect on NSCLC tumor growth. Conclusion: Non-canonical Hh signaling pathway, involving cooperation between Hh ligands and their receptor Ptch1, facilitates the degradation of EGFR and attenuates its activity in NSCLC. These findings provide novel insights into the regulation of EGFR protein stability and activity, offer new diagnostic indicators for molecular typing of NSCLC and identify potential targets for targeted therapy of this challenging disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Chromobox (CBX) family proteins are crucial elements of the epigenetic regulatory machinery and play a significant role in the development and advancement of cancer. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding regarding the role of CBXs in development or progression of prostate cancer (PCa). Our objective is to develop a unique prognostic model associated with CBXs to improve the accuracy of predicting outcomes of patients with PCa. Methods: Data from TCGA and GEO databases were analyzed to assess differential expression, prognostic value, gene pathway enrichment, and immune cell infiltration. COX regression analysis was utilized to identify the independent prognostic factors that impact disease-free survival (DFS). The expression of CBX2 and FOXP3+ cells infiltration was verified by immunohistochemical staining of clinical tissue sections. In vitro proliferation, migration and invasion assay were conducted to examine the function of CBX2. RNA-seq was employed to examine the CBX2 related pathway enrichment. Results: CBX2, CBX3, CBX4, and CBX8 were upregulated, while CBX6 and CBX7 were downregulated in PCa tissues. CBXs expression varied by stage and grade. Elevated expression of CBX1, CBX2, CBX3, CBX4 and CBX8 is correlated with poor outcome. CBX2 expression, T stage, and Gleason score were independent prognostic factors. The expression level of CBX2 in PCa tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal tissues. More Treg infiltration was observed in the group with high CBX2 expression. CBX2 expression affected PCa cell growth, migration, and invasion. Conclusions: CBX2 is involved in the development and advancement of PCa, suggesting its potential as a reliable prognostic indicator for PCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The recent focus on the roles of N-linked glycoproteins in carcinogenesis across various malignancies has prompted our exploration of aberrantly expressed glycoproteins responsible for HCC progression and potential therapeutic strategy. Methods: Mass spectrometry was applied to initially identify abnormally expressed glycoproteins in HCC, which was further assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The role of selected glycoprotein on HCC development and underlying mechanism was systematically investigated by colony formation, mouse xenograft, RNA-sequencing and western blot assays, etc. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase assays were performed to explore potential transcription factors (TFs) of selected glycoprotein. The regulation of repaglinide (RPG) on expression of lumican and downstream effectors was assessed by western blot and IHC, while its impact on malignant phenotypes of HCC was explored through in vitro and in vivo analyses, including a murine NASH-HCC model established using western diet and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Results: Lumican exhibited upregulation in both serum and tumor tissue, with elevated expression associated with an inferior prognosis in HCC patients. Knockdown of lumican resulted in significantly reduced growth of HCC in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, lumican promoted HCC malignant phenotypes by inhibiting the p53/p21 signaling pathway. Forkhead Box O3 (FOXO3) was identified as the TF of lumican that transcriptionally enhanced its expression. Without silencing FOXO3, RPG blocked the binding of FOXO3 to the promoter region of lumican, thereby inhibiting the activation of lumican/p53/p21 axis. Mice treated with RPG developed fewer and smaller HCCs than those in the control group at 24 weeks after establishment. Conclusion: Our results indicate that RPG prevented the development and progression of HCC via alteration of FOXO3/lumican/p53 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]