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A major threat is posed to both human society and the environment by geological hazards, necessitating the need for accurate and comprehensive investigation and application in this field. Traditional geological hazard monitoring technologies are not only inefficient, but also fail to accurately delineate affected areas and provide comprehensive disaster data sets, preventing researchers from conducting precise investigations, detection and prevention. Therefore, this article summarizes the application of oblique photography technology through examples, especially its application in the investigation of local geological disasters such as debris flows and landslides, and the use of orthogonal-based corrected single-view oblique photography technology in the investigation of regional geological disasters such as earthquakes. Through summary, it is found that compared with traditional methods, UAV oblique photography technology is more excellent in the accuracy of investigation, detection, prevention, terrain information identification and geological disaster risk factor analysis in geological disasters. UAV oblique photography technology plays a vital role in the investigation, detection and prevention of geological disasters due to its versatility, efficiency and accuracy. It can help create detailed maps and 3D models of terrain by capturing high-resolution images from multiple angles to help identify potential geohazards. It can also detect changes in landforms, vegetation or waterways to provide warning signs for landslides, sinkholes or provide early warning signals for potential geological hazards such as erosion. High-resolution imagery captured by drones allows rescuers to quickly assess impacts on infrastructure, settlements and natural resources, thereby facilitating the efficient allocation of resources for rescue and recovery efforts. Drone oblique photography technology significantly enhances the ability to investigate, detect and prevent geohazards by providing timely, detailed spatial information critical for informed decision-making and proactive disaster management. Additionally considering that drone oblique photography technology may be combined with artificial intelligence algorithms and virtual reality (VR) imaging technology in the future, this integration is expected to improve the efficiency and accuracy of geological disaster management, thus ensuring the safety of human life and property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monitoring of the tassel number and tasseling time reflects the maize growth and is necessary for crop management. However, it mainly depends on field observations, which is very labor intensive and may be biased by human errors. Tassel detection remains challenging due to the varying appearance of tassels across maize varieties, tasseling stages, and spatial resolutions. Moreover, the capability of the deep learning model for monitoring tassel number change and the time of entering tasseling stage has not been explored. In this study, we propose a novel approach for fast tassel detection using PConv (Partial Convolution) within YoloV8 series, named PConv-YoloV8 series. Compared to seven state-of-the-art deep learning methods, PConv-YoloV8 × 6 best trades off detection accuracy with the number of parameters (Parameters = 52.50 MB, AP = 0.950, R2 = 0.92, rRMSE = 9.08%). The potential of PConv-YoloV8 × 6 to provide an accurate detection of tassels in complex situations from near-ground and UAV images were comprehensively studied. PConv-YoloV8 × 6 maintained an excellent detection accuracy for maize at different tasseling stages (AP = 0.826–0.972, R2 = 0.83–0.92, RMSE = 1.94–3.01, rRMSE = 21.06%-7.09%), for different varieties (AP = 0.901–0.978, R2 = 0.77–0.97, RMSE = 1.39–3.16, rRMSE = 11.72%-5.06%), at different resolutions (AP = 0.921–0.956, R2 = 0.84–0.93, rRMSE = 8.72%-17.71%), and on UAV images with different resolutions (AP = 0.918–0.968, R2 = 0.98–0.99, rRMSE = 6.43%-12.76%), which proved the robustness of the model. The tasseling number and the time of entering tasseling stage detected from images were basically consistent with the trends observed in the manually labeled results. This study provides an effective method to monitor the tassel number and the time of entering the tasseling stage. A new maize tassel detection dataset (18260 tassels in 729 near-ground images and 20835 tassels in 144 UAV images) is created. Future studies will focus on making more lightweight models and achieving real-time detection capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising sentiment challenges of the metropolitan residents may be attributed to the extreme temperatures. However, nationwide real-time empirical studies that examine this claim are rare. In this research, we construct a daily extreme temperature index and sentiment metric using geotagged posts on one of China's largest social media sites, Weibo, to verify this hypothesis. We find that extreme temperatures causally decrease individuals' sentiment, and extremely low temperature may decrease more than extremely high temperature. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that individuals living in high levels of PM2.5, existing new COVID-19 diagnoses and low-disposable income cities on workdays are more vulnerable to the impact of extreme temperatures on sentiment. More importantly, the results also demonstrate that the adverse effects of extremely low temperatures on sentiment are more minor for people living in northern cities with breezes. Finally, we estimate that with a one-standard increase of extremely high (low) temperature, the sentiment decreases by approximately 0.161 (0.272) units. Employing social media to monitor public sentiment can assist policymakers in developing data-driven and evidence-based policies to alleviate the adverse impacts of extreme temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotor interturn short circuit (RISC) is a common electrical fault in generators. Investigations about such fault on the rotor vibrations, magnetic field variations, and current/voltage changes have been widely carried out, while the thermal properties of the stator side have been rarely studied. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the stator thermal behavior in synchronous generators under different RISC position and varied power load cases. Such thermal behavior includes not only the core loss, copper loss and temperature variations of the stator, but also the mechanical responses of the stator core due to the unbalanced thermal distribution. The whole work is based on the magnetic flux density (MFD) analysis, the core loss and copper loss calculation. Theoretical analysis, finite element calculation, and experimental study are carried out, respectively, by taking a 5 kV A two-pole prototype generator as the case study. During the analysis, the reinforced excitation performance by the automatic control system of the generator set due to the voltage sag caused by RISC is fully considered. It is shown that RISC will significantly increase the stator temperature due to the reinforced excitation. The farther RISC position away from the big tooth is, the larger temperature/thermal risk will be. Besides, the stator temperature will also enlarge with the increase in power load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The dismantling and protection of networks is a significant problem that has wide-ranging applications and attracts many researchers. Most current studies only focus on single-layer or one-to-one interdependent networks. However, this paper considers the more realistic case where the links between layers in interdependent networks are one-to-many, and the networks' robustness is studied accordingly. To solve the problem of dissolving interdependent networks under the premise of heterogeneous costs, we propose a cost-constrained elite quadratic evolutionary algorithm (CCEEA) based on cost constraints. Based on the network's prior information, the initial optimal feasible solutions derived from four classical algorithms are regarded as the initial elite individuals of CCEEA. The set of attack nodes is then continuously updated interactively according to a new evolutionary mechanism with flexible updates so that the combination of nodes in the final set of attack nodes can maximally facilitate the disintegration of the network. We conducted experiments on a series of representative networks and showed that on synthetic networks, the CCEEA algorithm outperforms the other four state-of-the-art attack strategies by more than 13% in terms of disintegration, which is up to 25% higher. In particular, it can be up to more than 90% higher in real networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of metadata-dependent NL2SQL models will be seriously decreased, while facing the incomplete or distorted metadata information. In response to this problem, we proposed a metadata compensation approach, which represents the question together with SQL query, data cell value relevance and incomplete schema data as a global metadata graph, and applies knowledge graph reasoning to complete the metadata graph. This global metadata graph is a multi-graph. An improved transR model was proposed to represent this multi-graph by integrating the contributions from multiple relationships between two nodes. Depending on the compensated metadata graph, new end-to-end and preprocess improving frameworks were respectively constructed for adapting to different metadata-dependent NL2SQL systems. The new models have been evaluated on Spider dataset with artificially simulated partial metadata relation deficiency or metadata distortion. Except ablation comparing, the new models also have been compared with some approaches of existing and have demonstrated improved performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of intra-operative mechanical power (MP) with post-operative pulmonary complications (PPCs) has been described before, but it is uncertain whether the potential inherent bias can limit the use of this parameter, particularly in the context of one-lung ventilation. This single-center study aims to investigate the effect of MP during one-lung ventilation (OLV), and the risks of PPCs in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy. This prospective observational study is being conducted in an academic tertiary hospital in mainland China. Participants diagnosed with lung cancer, and aged 50 to 80 years are eligible. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is performed for all patients. The primary outcome is the occurrence of PPCs over 5 consecutive days after the surgery, or until discharge from the hospital. Secondary outcomes include the composite conditions of PPCs, in-hospital stay, systematic inflammation tested by blood samples, and changes in aeration compartments in the ventilated lung as assessed by CT scans. We aim to evaluate the association of mean MP and the temporal patterns in the trend of MP during OLV with the occurrence of PPCs. A total of 120 patients will be enrolled in this study. The study protocol has received approval from the Ethics Committee of the affiliated hospital of Southwest Medical University, China (Reference number: KY2022162). The findings will be made available to the funder and researchers via scientific conferences and peer-reviewed publications. This controlled trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of Southwest Medical University(ChiCTR2200062173), and registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Register website (http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=172533&htm=4, ChiCTR2200062173). A written consent was obtained from each patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes is a promising strategy to achieve high utilization efficiency of CO2. Although alkali cations in acidic electrolytes play a vital role in suppressing hydrogen evolution and promoting CO2 reduction, they also cause precipitation of bicarbonate on the gas diffusion electrode (GDE), flooding of electrolyte through the GDE, and drift of the electrolyte pH. In this work, we realize the electroreduction of CO2 in a metal cation-free acidic electrolyte by covering the catalyst with cross-linked poly-diallyldimethylammonium chloride. This polyelectrolyte provides a high density of cationic sites immobilized on the surface of the catalyst, which suppresses the mass transport of H+ and modulates the interfacial field strength. By adopting this strategy, the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of CO reaches 95 ± 3% with the Ag catalyst and the FE of formic acid reaches 76 ± 3% with the In catalyst in a 1.0 pH electrolyte in a flow cell. More importantly, with the metal cation-free acidic electrolyte the amount of electrolyte flooding through the GDE is decreased to 2.5 ± 0.6% of that with alkali cation-containing acidic electrolyte, and the FE of CO maintains above 80% over 36 h of operation at −200 mA·cm−2. Alkali bicarbonate precipitation hinders electrochemical CO2 reduction in acidic electrolytes. Here, the authors report CO2 reduction in a metal cation-free acidic electrolyte by covering the catalyst with crosslinked polyelectrolyte, achieving 36-hour stability in a flow cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that poses a huge economic burden due to its extremely poor prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to explore potential mechanisms to improve the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) is a cell membrane–bound protein that performs a range of functions through membrane protein shedding and intracellular signaling. ADAM17-mediated inflammation has been identified to be an important contributor to atherosclerosis; however, the specific relationship between its multiple regulatory roles and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis remains unclear. Here, we reviewed the activation, function, and regulation of ADAM17, described in detail the role of ADAM17-mediated inflammatory damage in atherosclerosis, and discussed several controversial points. We hope that these insights into ADAM17 biology will lead to rational management of atherosclerosis. ADAM17 promotes vascular inflammation in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and macrophages, and regulates the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquiring the crop plant count is critical for enhancing field decision-making at the seedling stage. Remote sensing using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide an accurate and efficient way to estimate plant count. However, there is a lack of a fast and robust method for counting plants in crops with equal spacing and overlapping. Moreover, previous studies only focused on the plant count of a single crop type. Therefore, this study developed a method to fast and non-destructively count plant numbers using high-resolution UAV images. A computer vision-based peak detection algorithm was applied to locate the crop rows and plant seedlings. To test the method's robustness, it was used to estimate the plant count of two different crop types (maize and sunflower), in three different regions, at two different growth stages, and on images with various resolutions. Maize and sunflower were chosen to represent equidistant crops with distinct leaf shapes and morphological characteristics. For the maize dataset (with different regions and growth stages), the proposed method attained R2 of 0.76 and relative root mean square error (RRMSE) of 4.44%. For the sunflower dataset, the method resulted in R2 and RRMSE of 0.89 and 4.29%, respectively. These results showed that the proposed method outperformed the watershed method (maize: R2 of 0.48, sunflower: R2 of 0.82) and better estimated the plant numbers of high-overlap plants at the seedling stage. Meanwhile, the method achieved higher accuracy than watershed method during the seedling stage (2–4 leaves) of maize in both study sites, with R2 up to 0.78 and 0.91, respectively, and RRMSE of 2.69% and 4.17%, respectively. The RMSE of plant count increased significantly when the image resolution was lower than 1.16 cm and 3.84 cm for maize and sunflower, respectively. Overall, the proposed method can accurately count the plant numbers for in-field crops based on UAV remote sensing images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Gram-stain-negative, oxidase-positive, catalase-positive, non-motile, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium, designated WB101T, was isolated from a marine solar saltern located in Wendeng, PR China. Strain WB101T shared a high level of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Rhodohalobacter barkolensis 15182T (93.5%), R. halophilus JZ3C29T (93.2%), and ‘R. mucosus’ 8A47T (92.1%). Strain WB101T formed a species-level branch within the genus Rhodohalobacter in both phylogenetic and phylogenomic topologies. The DNA G + C content was 42.0%. Strain WB101T was found to have menaquinone-7 as the only respiratory quinone. The dominant cellular fatty acid (≥ 10%) was iso-C15:0. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine. Characterisation based on phylogenetic, physiological, and biochemical properties indicated that strain WB101T represents a novel species of the genus Rhodohalobacter, and the name Rhodohalobacter sulfatireducens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WB101T (= KCTC 92204T = MCCC 1H00518T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the stability of ecosystem multifunctionality is imperative for maintaining ecosystem health and sustainability under augmented global change. However it remains unknown whether and how biological communities mediate multifunctional stability in response to biodiversity loss and disturbances. Here, we conducted a 3-year experiment by exposing 270 plant communities of four plant richness levels, i.e., 1, 2, 4, or 8 species, to drought and exotic plant invasion disturbances. Then, the direct effects of plant richness, drought and invasion, and their indirect effects mediated by the stability of plant, litter-faunal, and soil-faunal communities on multifunctional stability were disentangled. We found that plant richness increased, while drought and invasion decreased ecosystem multifunctional stability, which were mediated by plant or faunal community stability. By incorporating the stability of communities into the complex ecological mechanisms, the completeness and goodness of ecological models for explaining and maintaining the stability of ecosystem multifunctionality will be improved. A 3 year experiment exposing 270 plants to drought and exotic plant invasion reveals an increase in plant richness while drought and invasion decrease ecosystem multifunctional stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation indexes (VIs) are a key variable for monitoring the crop growth and estimating crop productivity. The spectral traits of the tassels were significantly different from those of the canopy leaves, which had an effect on the accuracy of using vegetation indices of canopy features to monitor crop growth. Advances in deep learning in computer vision provide opportunities for rapid and nondestructive tassels removal. The objective of this study was to remove tassels from images using a rapid and non-destructive method and to analyze and quantify the effect of tassels on canopy spectral information. This study proposed the color space transformation to divide tassels images into different growth stages and analyzed the performance of three convolutional neural networks (U-Net, PSPNet and DeeplabV3+) for tassel segmentation, and the analysis and quantification of the effect of tassels on canopy spectral information by calculating VIs and contributions. The results showed that the HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) color space transformation divided images into three growth stages with robustness in the field environment. The U-Net model had the best segmentation precision (PA = 82.14%, MIoU = 84.43%). Moreover, the tassels significantly reduce canopy reflectance in the green wavelength range and the contribution of tassels to each of the VIs was different. In addition, the contribution of tassels to VIs is dynamic in different stages of tassels growth. This study provides a fast and non-destructive approach to quantify the effect of tassels on canopy spectral information in the field environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Biodiversity loss, exotic plant invasion and climatic change are three important global changes that can affect litter decomposition. These effects may be interactive and these global changes thus need to be considered simultaneously. Here, we assembled herbaceous plant communities with five species richness levels (1, 2, 4, 8 or 16) and subjected them to a drought treatment (no, moderate or intensive drought) that was factorially combined with an invasion treatment (presence or absence of the non-native Symphyotrichum subulatum). We collected litter of these plant communities and let it decompose for 9 months in the plant communities from which it originated. Drought decreased litter decomposition, while invasion by S. subulatum had little impact. Increasing species richness decreased litter decomposition except under intensive drought. A structural equation model showed that drought and species richness affected litter decomposition indirectly through changes in litter nitrogen concentration rather than by altering quantity and diversity of soil meso-fauna or soil physico-chemical properties. The slowed litter decomposition under high species diversity originated from a sampling effect, specifically from low litter nitrogen concentrations in the two dominant species. We conclude that effects on litter decomposition rates that are mediated by changing concentrations of the limiting nutrient in litter need to be considered when predicting effects of global changes such as plant diversity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) can produce a remarkable improvement in glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, its clinical benefits are limited by its short half-life, which is less than 2 min because of its small size and rapid enzymatic inactivation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV. We engineered Exendin-4-Fc, a 66-kDa fusion protein by linking an IgG2 Fc to Exendin-4. A stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cell line was obtained using electroporation. Exendin-4-Fc stimulated insulin secretion in INS-1 cells in a dose- and glucose-dependent manner and increased insulin mRNA expression. The plasma half-life of Exendin-4-Fc in cynomolgus monkeys was approximately 133.92 ± 25.1 h. In the KKAy mouse model of diabetes, one intraperitoneal injection of Exendin-4-Fc (1 mg/kg) reduced blood glucose levels for 5 days. A 4-week repeat-administration study identified sustained effects on blood glucose levels. Oral glucose tolerance tests conducted at the beginning and end of this 4-week period showed that Exendin-4-Fc produced a stable glucose lowering effect. In addition, KKAy mice treated with Exendin-4-Fc showed statistically significant weight loss from day 23. In conclusion, these properties of Exendin-4-Fc demonstrated that it could be a potential long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallbladder carcinoma is the most common cancer of the biliary tract with dismal survival largely due to delayed diagnosis. Biliary tract intraepithelial neoplasia (BilIN) is the common benign tumor that is suspected to be precancerous lesions. However, the genetic and evolutionary relationships between BilIN and carcinoma remain unclear. Here we perform whole-exome sequencing of coexisting low-grade BilIN (adenoma), high-grade BilIN, and carcinoma lesions, and normal tissues from the same patients. We identify aging as a major factor contributing to accumulated mutations and a critical role of CTNNB1 mutations in these tumors. We reveal two distinct carcinoma evolutionary paths: carcinoma can either diverge earlier and evolve more independently or form through the classic adenoma/dysplasia-carcinoma sequence model. Our analysis suggests that extensive loss-of-heterozygosity and mutation events in the initial stage tend to result in a cancerous niche, leading to the subsequent BilIN-independent path. These results reframes our understanding of tumor transformation and the evolutionary trajectory of carcinogenesis in the gallbladder, laying a foundation for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of gallbladder cancer. The progression from biliary tract intraepithelial neoplasia (BilIN) to gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) remains unclear. Here the authors use genomics to analyze coexisting GBC lesions, low-grade and high-grade BilINs, revealing two distinct evolutionary paths for GBC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a structurally and functionally important component in forest ecosystems, plant debris plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Although it is well known that plant debris stocks vary greatly with tree species composition, forest type, forest origin, and stand age, simultaneous investigation on the changes in woody and non-woody debris biomass and their carbon stock with forest succession has not been reported. Therefore, woody and non-woody debris and carbon stocks were investigated across a subalpine forest successional gradient in Wanglang National Nature Reserve on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Results: Plant debris ranged from 25.19 to 82.89 Mg∙ha− 1 and showed a global increasing tendency across the subalpine forest successional series except for decreasing at the S4 successional stage. Accordingly, the ratios of woody to non-woody debris stocks ranged from 26.58 to 208.89, and the highest and lowest ratios of woody to non-woody debris stocks were respectively observed in mid-successional coniferous forest and shrub forest, implying that woody debris dominates the plant debris. In particular, the ratios of coarse to fine woody debris stocks varied greatly with the successional stage, and the highest and lowest ratios were found in later and earlier successional subalpine forests, respectively. Furthermore, the woody debris stock varied greatly with diameter size, and larger diameter woody debris dominated the plant debris. Correspondingly, the carbon stock of plant debris ranged from 10.30 to 38.87 Mg∙ha− 1 across the successional series, and the highest and lowest values were observed in the mid-coniferous stage and shrub forest stage, respectively. Most importantly, the carbon stored in coarse woody debris in later successional forests was four times higher than in earlier successional forests. Conclusions: The stock and role of woody debris, particularly coarse woody debris, varied greatly with the forest successional stage and dominated the carbon cycle in the subalpine forest ecosystem. Thus, preserving coarse woody debris is a critical strategy for sustainable forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Taiwan by using a population-based longitudinal database from 2001 to 2011. We conducted a longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) containing 1,000,000 beneficiaries' records for calculation of prevalence and incidence rate of SLE from 2001–2011. The overall prevalence of SLE in Taiwan in 2011 is 8.11 per 10,000 people with 14.3 per 10,000 people in female and 1.62 per 10,000 people in male. The overall incidence rate of SLE is 0.74–1 per 10,000 person-years with 1.09–1.76 per 10,000 person-years in female and 0.12–0.25 per 10,000 person-years in male. The highest prevalence rate was observed at 40–49 age group in females. There were no significant differences in the overall prevalence among the urban, suburban and rural area in Taiwan while the relative risk is higher in male population living in rural area (RR 1.36, 95% C.I. 1.03–1.79, p = 0.0303). The highest income group has a lower relative risk for the prevalence of SLE (RR 0.83, 95% C.I. 0.71–0.97, p = 0.0197). The incidence rate of SLE in male in the rural area is also higher than the urban area (RR 2.34, 95% C.I. 1.3–4.22, p = 0.0046). Our study covers the longest period among the nation-wide population studies of SLE in Taiwan. The prevalence was increasing especially in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infiltration of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in endometrial cancer (EC). Collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1), a secreted ECM protein, has been reported to have important roles in promoting cancer invasion and metastasis, but the functional role of CTHRC1 and its association with TAMs in EC remain unclear. Here we report that, in EC patients, CTHRC1 expression was up-regulated in endometrial cancer tissues compared with normal endometrium (P < 0.0001), and is positively correlated with tumor grade and depth of myometrial invasion (P = 0.024 and P = 0.0002, respectively). Meanwhile, CTHRC1 expression was positively correlated with an increased number of infiltrating TAMs, especially M2-like TAMs (P = 0.003, P = 0.001). In the tumor microenvironment of EC, CTHRC1 not only promoted myometrial invasion by interacting with Integrin β3-Akt signaling pathway, but also promoted infiltration of M2-like TAMs by upregulating Fractalkine chemokine receptor (CX3CR1) expression in macrophages. Changing levels of recombinant CTHRC1 protein (rCTHRC1) promoted tumor migration and invasion via enhancing macrophage recruitment in vitro. In summary, our findings eventually provided a novel role for CTHRC1 in remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment to promote tumor metastasis in EC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-dimensional metal organic oxide of Mn(II), with formula [Mn(OH)(Hpdc)] (Hpdc = 3,5-pyrazoledicarboxylic acid), was prepared via the hydrothermal method and its structure solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The compound exhibits a three-dimensional framework structure, comprising three crystallographically unique Mn atoms bridged by OH ligands (O9 and O10) and O atoms from the Hpdc ligands, forming one-dimensional metal-organic oxide chains. Two kinds of magnetic exchange are observed: a strong antiferromagnetic intra-chain interaction, arising from the short distance between Mn(II) centers, and a ferromagnetic inter-chain interaction, due to the larger distances between the chains. The compound shows good photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of methylene blue in aqueous medium under simulated sunlight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superparamagnetic carbon-coated FeO nanoparticles with high magnetization (85 emu·g) and high crystallinity were synthesized using polyethylene glycol-4000 (PEG (4000)) as a carbon source. FeO water-based bilayer-surfactant-enveloped ferrofluids were subsequently prepared using sodium oleate and PEG (4000) as dispersants. Analyses using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicate that the FeO nanoparticles with a bilayer surfactant coating retain the inverse spinel-type structure and are successfully coated with sodium oleate and PEG (4000). Transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and particle-size analysis results indicate that the coated FeO nanoparticles also retain the good saturation magnetization of FeO (79.6 emu·g) and that the particle size of the bilayer-surfactant-enveloped FeO nanoparticles is 42.97 nm, which is substantially smaller than that of the unmodified FeO nanoparticles (486.2 nm). UV-vis and zeta-potential analyses reveal that the ferrofluids does not agglomerate for 120 h at a concentration of 4 g·L, which indicates that the ferrofluids are highly stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since rate effect of materials plays a key role in impact engineering, the microscopic mechanism of rate effect is investigated at molecular level in this paper. The results show that rate effect on the strength of atomic system is closely related to the coupled evolution of atomic motions and potential landscapes. Accordingly, it becomes possible to develop a new algorithm of molecular simulation, which could properly and efficiently demonstrate strain rate effect under a wide range of loading rates and unveil the mechanisms underlying the strain rate effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous Al-Mg-B thin films were synthesized via a combinatorial sputtering approach. The properties of Al-Mg-B films with the varying deposition temperature was investigated. The deposition temperature was found to dominate the hardness of the amorphous as-deposited film. The hardness increases with increasing deposition temperature and may even exceed that of crystalline AlMgB material. The high hardness may be attributed to the existence of randomly distributed B icosahedra structure. Therefore, the thin film that was deposited on cemented carbide shows well-cutting performances in turning Ti alloy bar. At the same time, an appropriate method of pretreatment is the key to ensure the coating tool with the excellent adhesion by impact fracture test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the bacterial colonization on zirconium oxide and titanium surfaces in vivo quantitatively using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Ten samples of zirconium oxide ceramic and commercially pure titanium were fabricated and polished using silicon carbide abrasive paper. One sample from each group was evaluated topographic pattern under a scanning electron microscope. One sample from each group was to evaluate roughness using a profilometer. Eight volunteers were selected. The samples were cemented at the buccal surfaces of upper first molars. All samples were removed after 48 hours, immersed in SYTO-9 and propidium iodide fluorescent to stain for adherent bacteria and observed with CLSM. Fewer bacteria were observed in zirconia group than titanium group. However, there was no statistical difference between two groups. The experimental results demonstrate that zirconium oxide may be considered as a promising material for dental implant abutments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study a new insight was provided to understand the functions of membrane-bound alcohol dehydrogenase (mADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (mALDH) in the bio-oxidation of primary alcohols, diols and poly alcohols using the resting cells of Gluconobacter oxydans DSM 2003 and its mutant strains as catalyst. The results demonstrated that though both mADH and mALDH participated in most of the oxidation of alcohols to their corresponding acid, the exact roles of these enzymes in each reaction might be different. For example, mADH played a key role in the oxidation of diols to its corresponding organic acid in G. oxydans, but it was dispensable when the primary alcohols were used as substrates. In contrast to mADH, mALDH appears to play a relatively minor role in organic acid-producing reactions because of the possible presence of other isoenzymes. Aldehydes were, however, found to be accumulated in the mALDH-deficient strain during the oxidation of alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming to give some advices on the ground coupled heat pump system design in Sichuan Province, China, a typical ground source heat pump (GSHP) system in Sichuan Province was tested in a whole operational year, and the parameters of temperature and flow rate in different parts of system were measured during this period. The seasonal energy efficiency ratio was calculated and the performance of heat pump system in summer was compared with that in winter. The result shows that the coefficient of performance of the system reaches 3.63 in summer and 3.49 in winter, respectively. The heat balance in underground rock mass is acquired basically throughout the year, and the heat accumulation in the earth tends to be zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There are few articles in the literature comparing outcomes between anterior and posterior instrumentation in the management of thoracic and lumbar spinal tuberculosis (TB). Methods: Between January 2004 and December 2009, 217 adult patients, average age 39 (range 16-67) years with thoracic and lumbar spinal TB were treated by anterior radical debridement and fusion plus instrumentation, anterior radical debridement with fusion and posterior fusion with instrumentation, posterolateral debridement and fusion plus posterior instrumentation or transpedicular debridement and posterior fusion with instrumentation in a single- or two-stage procedure. We followed up 165 patients for 22-72 (mean 37) months. Of these, 138 underwent more than three weeks chemotherapy with isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, and the remaining 27 underwent operation for neurological impairment within six to 18 hours of the same chemotherapy regimen. In no case did relapse occur. Apart from eight patients with skip lesions treated by hybrid anterior and posterior instrumentation, anterior instrumentation was used in 74 patients (group A) and 83 patients (group B) were fixed posteriorly. Results: In both groups, local symptoms were relieved significantly one to three weeks postoperatively; ten of 14 patients (71%) in group A and 14 of 19 (74%) in group B with neurological deficit had excellent or good clinical results ( P > 0.05). Erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) returned from 43.6 mm/h and 42.7 mm/h, respectively, preoperatively to normal levels eight to 12 weeks postoperatively. Kyphosis degree was corrected by a mean of 11.5° in group A and 12.6° in group B, respectively ( P < 0.01). Correction loss was 6.8° in group A and 6.1° in group B at the last follow-up ( P < 0.01). Fusion rates of the grafting bone were 92.5% and 91.8%, respectively, at final follow-up ( P > 0.05). Severe complications did not occur. Conclusion: These results suggest that both anterior and posterior instrumentation attain good results for correction of the deformity and maintaining correction, foci clearance, spinal-cord decompression and pain relief in the treatment of thoracic and lumbar spinal TB providing that the opeartive indication is accurately identified. However, the posterior approach may be superior to anterior instrumentation to correct deformity and maintain that correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nano-SiO2 is used to modify the waterborne polyurethane, and the morphology and performance of the waterborne polyurethane (are studied in) prepared by the in-suit polymerization method and the blending method. The properties and structure have been characterized by fourier transform infrared spectra (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermal gravimetric (TG), transmittance electron microscopy (TEM) and Dynamical Mechanical Analysis(DMA). The experiment results show that, compared with the blending method, the in-suit polymerization has more advantages in that the nano-SiO2 is evenly dispersed in the waterborne polyurethane, obviously in microphase separation and better in resistance to high temperature and water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damselflies and dragonflies, of the order Odonata, have distinct body plans and predatory abilities. Knowledge of their various evolutionary histories will allow for an understanding of the genetic and phenotypic evolution of insects. Mitogenomes are suitable materials to elucidate this, but the mitogenome of only a few odonates have been annotated. Herein, we report the complete mitogenome of nine odonates, including seven dragonflies and two damselflies, and a comprehensive analysis of the codon usage in 31 Odonata mitogenomes with the aim to estimate their evolutionary characteristics. Overall, a weak codon bias exists among odonate mitogenomes, although this favours AT-ending codons. Damselflies have a weaker codon usage bias than dragonflies, and 37 codons have significantly different usages. Both directional mutation and purifying selection shape damselfly and dragonfly mitogenomes. Although inevitable, directional mutation bias plays a minor role, whereas purifying selection pressure is the dominant evolutionary force. A higher selection pressure is observed in dragonflies than in damselflies, but it mainly acts on codon usage patterns rather than amino acid translation. Our findings suggest that dragonflies might have more efficient mitochondrial gene expression levels than damselflies, producing more proteins that support their locomotion and predatory abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ordos Block is a critical component of the North China Craton (NCC), which is located at the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Over the years, it has undergone complex tectonic evolution due to the influence of multiple factors, such as the India–Eurasia plate collision, the subduction of the Pacific Plate, and the southward movement of the Siberian Plate. To investigate the crustal structure and dynamic evolution of the northern margin of the Ordos Block, this study employs joint inversion of receiver functions and gravity data and then integrates results from geology, geophysics, and geodesy. The overall results indicate that the crustal thickness shows a thickening trend from south to north. The generally high Poisson’s ratio suggests that the crust is rich in silica or subjected to high crustal stress. Furthermore, the common conversion point (CCP) stacking results identify distinct layering in the subsurface structure of the northern margin, including the Conrad discontinuity and low-velocity zones, thus reflecting its complex deep structure. Driven by the eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau and the northwestward subduction of the Pacific Plate, the block rotates counterclockwise, playing a significant role in the formation of surrounding rift basins. The abovementioned findings emphasize the influence of surrounding tectonic activities on the crustal structure and dynamics of the northern margin of the Ordos Block, thus highlighting the potential for strong earthquakes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]