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By comprehensive utilizing of the geometry structure of 2D Burgers equation and the stochastic noise, we find the decay properties of the solution to the stochastic 2D Burgers equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Consequently, the expected ergodicity for this turbulence model is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the components produced by high pressure die casting (HPDC) process usually with ultra-large sizes and complex morphologies, high temperature solid solution treatment is not a suitable method to further improve their mechanical properties. In this study, two-stage aging treatment with different pre-aging times was designed and employed to further improve the mechanical properties of HPDC Al8SiMgCuZn alloy. The characteristics of precipitates were evaluated by a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the precipitation strengthening mechanism was discussed. The results reveal that the strengthening is mainly contributed by the precipitation of ß? phase after two-stage aging, and the number density and size of the precipitates are significantly depended on the pre-aging time. The number density of precipitates is increased with the pre-aging time prolonged from 0 h to 4 h, and then decreases with the further increase of pre-aging time from 4 h to 6 h. The precipitates with the highest density and smallest size are observed after pre-aging for 4 h. After pre-aged at 100 °C for 4 h and then artificial aged at 200 °C for 30 min, the yield strength of 207 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 325 MPa and elongation of 7.6% are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we consider 3D stochastic primitive equations (PEs) driven by affine-linear multiplicative white noise, with random initial condition. Our main objective is to obtain the global well-posedness of the stochastic equations under the sufficient Malliavin regularity of the initial condition. Apart from the conventional strategy, we adopt the dynamical system approach and techniques from Malliavin calculus to attack the global well-posedness problem for the PEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent animal and clinical findings consistently highlight the critical role of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in chronic migraine (CM) and related emotional responses. CGRP antibodies and receptor antagonists have been approved for CM treatment. However, the underlying CGRP-related signaling pathways in the pain-related cortex remain poorly understood. Methods: The SD rats were used to establish the CM model by dural infusions of inflammatory soup. Periorbital mechanical thresholds were assessed using von-Frey filaments, and anxiety-like behaviors were observed via open field and elevated plus maze tests. Expression of c-Fos, CGRP and NMDA GluN2B receptors was detected using immunofluorescence and western blotting analyses. The excitatory synaptic transmission was detected by whole-cell patch-clamp recording. A human-used adenylate cyclase 1 (AC1) inhibitor, hNB001, was applied via insula stereotaxic and intraperitoneal injections in CM rats. Results: The insular cortex (IC) was activated in the migraine model rats. Glutamate-mediated excitatory transmission and NMDA GluN2B receptors in the IC were potentiated. CGRP levels in the IC significantly increased during nociceptive and anxiety-like activities. Locally applied hNB001 in the IC or intraperitoneally alleviated periorbital mechanical thresholds and anxiety behaviors in migraine rats. Furthermore, CGRP expression in the IC decreased after the hNB001 application. Conclusions: Our study indicated that AC1-dependent IC plasticity contributes to migraine and AC1 may be a promising target for treating migraine in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large buried depths, extensive tunnel lines, and challenging geological conditions are characteristics of tunnel construction. There is a rising need for high-quality disaster source prospecting in advance, particularly for water-bearing structures. Due to its high sensitivity to aquatic conditions, the electrical resistivity method is frequently utilized in forward tunnel prospecting. However, the configurations of the electrical resistivity method commonly used in tunnels are limited by the narrow space of the tunnel. Their capacity for depth sounding is constrained, and precise detection is challenging. In light of the requirements of fine detection and the limits of existing methods, as well as the advantages of the borehole resistivity detection method in detection accuracy and depth, we conducted research on three distinct types of borehole resistivity configurations in tunnels. We calculated and analyzed the potential characteristic curves of three different types of borehole configurations, as well as quantitatively evaluated their depth. The model test is made to invert and contrast the information gathered by various gadgets. The advantages and disadvantages of various borehole resistivity settings for tunnels are thus demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migraine stands as a prevalent primary headache disorder, with prior research highlighting the significant involvement of oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways in its pathogenesis and chronicity. Existing evidence indicates the capacity of Dl-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) to mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation, thereby conferring neuroprotective benefits in many central nervous system diseases. However, the specific therapeutic implications of NBP in the context of migraine remain to be elucidated. Methods: We established a C57BL/6 mouse model of chronic migraine (CM) using recurrent intraperitoneal injections of nitroglycerin (NTG, 10 mg/kg), and prophylactic treatment was simulated by administering NBP (30 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, 120 mg/kg) by gavage prior to each NTG injection. Mechanical threshold was assessed using von Frey fibers, and photophobia and anxious behaviours were assessed using a light/dark box and elevated plus maze. Expression of c-Fos, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), Nucleus factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and related pathway proteins in the spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (SP5C) were detected by Western blotting (WB) or immunofluorescence (IF). The expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in SP5C and CGRP in plasma were detected by ELISA. A reactive oxygen species (ROS) probe was used to detect the expression of ROS in the SP5C. Results: At the end of the modelling period, chronic migraine mice showed significantly reduced mechanical nociceptive thresholds, as well as photophobic and anxious behaviours. Pretreatment with NBP attenuated nociceptive sensitization, photophobia, and anxiety in the model mice, reduced expression levels of c-Fos and CGRP in the SP5C and activated Nrf2 and its downstream proteins HO-1 and NQO-1. By measuring the associated cytokines, we also found that NBP reduced levels of oxidative stress and inflammation. Most importantly, the therapeutic effect of NBP was significantly reduced after the administration of ML385 to inhibit Nrf2. Conclusions: Our data suggest that NBP may alleviate migraine by activating the Nrf2 pathway to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in migraine mouse models, confirming that it may be a potential drug for the treatment of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deepening integration of distributed energy resources in smart grids catalyzes the development of distributed energy management methods owing to their superiorities in flexibility, scalability, and robustness against single-point failures. Nevertheless, the reliance on localized implementation of distributed methods increases the susceptibility to malicious attacks. This paper focuses on the economic dispatch of smart grids under deception attacks which can artificially tamper with the information among the communication network. We investigate and reveal how such attacks deteriorate the results of optimal power generation schedule. Then, an easy-to-implement defense strategy based on the extreme values discarding technique is developed to realize resilient energy management. It is shown that under a 2 R + 1 -robustness assumption on communication networks, the proposed method is resilient to R-local deception attacks. Compared with existing works, the benefits of the defense strategy include no restricted form of deception attacks and no isolation of attacked nodes. Finally, simulation examples verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D Burgers equation is an important model for turbulence. It is natural to expect the long-time behaviour for this hydrodynamics equation. However, there is no result about the long-time behaviour for this deterministic model. Surprisingly, if the system is perturbed by stochastic noise, we establish the existence and uniqueness of invariant measure for 3D stochastic Burgers equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, from farmland have been recognized to be affected by soil pH and nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. However, the interactive effects of soil pH and N fertilizer type on N2O emissions and their influencing mechanism are poorly understood. A field experiment was conducted to elucidate the impacts of synthetic fertilizer and manure on soil properties and N2O fluxes along a soil acidity gradient (soil pH = 6.8, 6.1, 5.2, and 4.2) in the Huai River Basin, and a lab incubation experiment was performed to understand the underlying mechanisms of changed N2O flux. Low soil pH inhibited the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria abundance and thereby reduced the N2O production by nitrification under both synthetic fertilizer and manure application. The N2O production by denitrification was also reduced with declining soil pH, likely due to the decreased nirS and nirK abundances, and lower NO3−. However, low soil pH reduced the nosZ abundance and increased (nirS + nirK)/nosZ ratio, resulting in the increased N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio. Finally, with the decreased nitrification and denitrification, soil N2O emission was significantly reduced with declining soil pH regardless of fertilizer types. Compared with synthetic fertilizer, manure application increased soil nutrients (total N, dissolved organic C, and NO3−), nirK abundance, and (nirS + nirK)/nosZ ratio in the soils with pH of 5.2 and 4.2, thereby promoting N2O production by denitrification and N2O/(N2O + N2) product ratio in acidic soils. Consequently, soil N2O emission was increased with manure application in acidic soils. This study provides novel insight and improves our understanding of how soil pH regulates nitrification, denitrification, and N2O emissions from soils amended with chemical fertilizer and manure, which gives guidance on developing N management strategies for sustainable production and N2O mitigation in acid soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an improved neutron spectrum unfolding code "Artificial Neural Network Iterative" (ANN_Iter), which utilizes the iterative method combined with artificial neural networks, is proposed for Bonner sphere spectrometer. 201 neutron energy spectra and the corresponding measured responses of Bonner spheres with 15 polyethylene shells of different diameter were provided by an IAEA report. In the process of unfolding, the pre-trained artificial neural network provides a guess spectrum according to the "knowledge" it has learned. The guess spectrum was used as the default initial spectrum in the iterative method, which unfolds the spectrum by the response function and the measured counts. The results show that the ANN_Iter's unfolded spectra have a good agreement with the desired spectra. In addition, their accuracy has improved compared with ANN's guess spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural network pruning provides significant performance in reducing the resource requirements for deploying deep convolutional models. Recent pruning techniques concentrate on eliminating less important or redundant channels from the network. However, these well-designed methods conflict in some situations. For example, some filters are important in importance-based methods but may be regarded as redundant in similarity-based methods. So, the correctness of some existing methods is questionable. In this paper, a novel pruning approach, entitled weight-adaptive channel pruning (WACP), is presented to address the problem. Our approach takes full advantage of the feature similarity information instead of simply categorizing the similarity feature as redundant. Specifically, we first reveal that there is a stable similarity relationship between different output features, independent of the batch size of input images. Then, based on the similarity information, we propose a weight-adaptive compensation strategy to minimize the performance loss caused by pruning. Moreover, we design a novel channel pruning algorithm that determines which features should be retained from a set of similar features by introducing the closeness centrality of graph theory. Extensive and targeted experiments have demonstrated the validity of our proposed WACP for compressing networks. The comparison results demonstrate that the WACP achieves state-of-the-art performance on several benchmark networks and datasets, even for a very high compression rate. For example, WACP improves accuracy by 0.46% while reducing FLOPs by 52.2% and parameters by 43.5% with ResNet-56 on CIFAR-10. For ResNet-50 on ImageNet, WACP prunes more than 55% of FLOPs with only a 0.70%/0.42% decline in top-1/top-5 accuracy. The codes are at https://github.com/lsianke/WACP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major neuron type in the brain, the excitatory neuron (EN) regulates the lifespan in C. elegans. How the EN acquires senescence, however, is unknown. Here, we show that growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) is predominantly expressed in the EN in the adult mouse, marmoset and human brain. In mice, selective knock-out of GDF11 in the post-mitotic EN shapes the brain ageing-related transcriptional profile, induces EN senescence and hyperexcitability, prunes their dendrites, impedes their synaptic input, impairs object recognition memory and shortens the lifespan, establishing a functional link between GDF11, brain ageing and cognition. In vitro GDF11 deletion causes cellular senescence in Neuro-2a cells. Mechanistically, GDF11 deletion induces neuronal senescence via Smad2-induced transcription of the pro-senescence factor p21. This work indicates that endogenous GDF11 acts as a brake on EN senescence and brain ageing. How excitatory neurons (EN) acquire senescence is unclear. Here, the authors show that GDF11 in ENs slows EN senescence, brain ageing, cognitive decline and maintains lifespan, revealing a mechanism underlying EN senescence and brain ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has reshaped the therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). ICIs are a novel therapy with frequent adverse events (AEs), including treatment-related adverse events (trAEs) and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). However, no comprehensive overview of the toxicity spectrum of ICIs in HCC patients has been provided. Electronic databases were searched to identify eligible studies. A meta-analysis of the incidence rate of AEs in HCC patients treated with ICIs was performed. Lastly, the prognostic value of irAEs in HCC patients treated with ICIs was verified. Forty-seven studies with 6472 participations met the inclusion criteria. The pooled all-grade trAEs incidence rate was 83.4% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 77.0–89.1%), ≥ grade 3 trAEs incidence rate was 33.0% (95% CI 26.9–39.5%), all-grade irAEs incidence rate was 34% (95% CI 22–47%), and ≥ grade 3 irAEs incidence rate was 9% (95% CI 5–14%). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increase (38%, 95% CI 35–40%) is the most common trAEs. Fatigue (14%, 95% CI 7–23%) is the most common irAEs. The pooled results also showed that 18.8% (95% CI 13.2–25.2%) of patients required systemic steroid therapy due to AEs, while 6.6% (95% CI 4.6–9.0%) of patients withdrew from treatment due to AEs. Additionally, patients experiencing irAEs may have a better progression-free survival (PFS) (multivariate analysis: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.41, 95% CI 0.27–0.61, I2 = 36.3%) but not overall survival (OS) (multivariate analysis: HR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.22–1.36, I2 = 83.2%) than those with no irAEs. Our study presents a systemic assessment of the AEs profile in HCC patients receiving ICIs, providing important reference for clinicians on toxicity profile. Besides, patients with irAEs may have a better PFS. More large-scale and prospective studies are needed to confirm our conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver metastasis is a frequent phenomenon in advanced tumor disease. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a new class of therapeutics that can improve the prognosis of cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationship between liver metastasis and survival outcomes of patients receiving ICIs treatment. We searched four main databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were the survival outcomes of our concern. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the relationship between liver metastasis and OS/ PFS. Finally, 163 articles were included in the study. The pooled results showed that patients with liver metastasis receiving ICIs treatment had worse OS (HR=1.82, 95%CI:1.59-2.08) and PFS (HR=1.68, 95%CI:1.49-1.89) than patients without liver metastasis. The effect of liver metastasis on ICIs efficacy differed in different tumor types, and patients with urinary system tumors (renal cell carcinoma OS: HR=2.47, 95%CI:1.76-3.45; urothelial carcinoma OS: HR=2.37, 95%CI:2.03-2.76) had the worst prognosis, followed by patients with melanoma (OS: HR=2.04, 95%CI:1.68-2.49) or non-small cell lung cancer (OS: HR=1.81, 95%CI:1.72-1.91). ICIs efficacy in digestive system tumors (colorectal cancer OS: HR=1.35, 95%CI:1.07-1.71; gastric cancer/ esophagogastric cancer OS: HR=1.17, 95%CI:0.90-1.52) was less affected, and peritoneal metastasis and the number of metastases have a greater clinical significance than liver metastasis based on univariate data. For cancer patients receiving ICIs treatment, the occurrence of liver metastasis is associated with poor prognosis. Different cancer types and metastatic sites may hold a different prognostic effect on the efficacy of ICIs treatment in cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-methionine (HM) diet leads to hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), while gastrointestinal tissue is an important site of net homocysteine (Hcy) production. However, the role of the gut microbiota in host HHcy remains obscure. This study aimed to determine whether gut microbiota ablation could alleviate host HHcy and glucose intolerance and reveal the underlying mechanism. The results showed that the HM diet-induced HHcy and glucose intolerance in mice, while antibiotic administration decreased the plasma level of Hcy and reversed glucose intolerance. HM diet increased intestinal epithelial homocysteine levels, while antibiotic treatment decreased intestinal epithelial homocysteine levels under the HM diet. Gut microbiota depletion had no effect on the gene expression and enzyme activity of CBS and BHMT in the livers of HM diet-fed mice. The HM diet altered the composition of the gut microbiota with marked increases in the abundances of Faecalibaculum and Dubosiella, which were also positively correlated with plasma Hcy concentrations. An in-depth analysis of the bacterial cysteine and methionine metabolism pathways showed that the abundances of two homocysteine biosynthesis-related KEGG orthologies (KOs) were markedly increased in the gut microbiota in HM diet-fed mice. Hcy was detected from Dubosiella newyorkensis-cultured supernatant by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC‒MS) analysis. In conclusion, these findings suggested that the HM diet-induced HHcy and glucose intolerance in mice, by reshaping the composition of the gut microbiota, which might produce and secrete Hcy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The impacts of macrovascular invasion (MVI) or extrahepatic spread (EHS) on the efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) among hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients remain unclear. Thus, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify whether ICI therapy is a feasible treatment option for HCC with MVI or EHS. Methods: Eligible studies published before September 14, 2022, were retrieved. In this meta-analysis, the objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and occurrence of adverse events (AEs) were outcomes of interest. Results: Fifty-four studies involving 6187 individuals were included. The findings indicated that the presence of EHS in ICI-treated HCC patients may indicate an inferior ORR (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63–0.96), but may not significantly affect the PFS (multivariate analyses: HR 1.27, 95% CI 0.70–2.31) and OS (multivariate analyses: HR 1.23, 95% CI 0.70–2.16). Additionally, the presence of MVI in ICI-treated HCC patients may not have significant prognostic impact on ORR (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.64–1.10), but may indicate inferior PFS (multivariate analyses: HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.07–2.84) and OS (multivariate analyses: HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.31–3.14). The presence of EHS or MVI in ICI-treated HCC patients may not significantly impact the occurrence of any serious immune-related adverse events (irAEs) (grades ≥ 3) (EHS: OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.12–1.56; MVI: OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.24–1.88). Conclusion: The presence of MVI or EHS in ICI-treated HCC patients may not significantly impact the occurrence of serious irAEs. However, the presence of MVI (but not EHS) in ICI-treated HCC patients may be a significant negative prognostic factor. Therefore, ICI-treated HCC patients with MVI warrant more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proved that there exists a unique invariant measure for solutions of stochastic conservation laws with Dirichlet boundary condition driven by multiplicative noise. Moreover, a polynomial mixing property is established. This is done in the setting of kinetic solutions taking values in an L 1 -weighted space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migraine is a highly disabling health burden with multiple symptoms; however, it remains undertreated because of an inadequate understanding of its neural mechanisms. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been demonstrated to be involved in the modulation of pain and emotion, and may play a role in migraine pathophysiology. Changes in NPY levels have been found in patients with migraine, but whether and how these changes contribute to migraine is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of NPY in migraine-like phenotypes. Methods: Here, we used intraperitoneal injection of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN, 10 mg/kg) as a migraine mouse model, which was verified by light-aversive test, von Frey test, and elevated plus maze test. We then performed whole-brain imaging with NPY-GFP mice to explore the critical regions where NPY was changed by GTN treatment. Next, we microinjected NPY into the medial habenula (MHb), and further infused Y1 or Y2 receptor agonists into the MHb, respectively, to detect the effects of NPY in GTN-induced migraine-like behaviors. Results: GTN effectively triggered allodynia, photophobia, and anxiety-like behaviors in mice. After that, we found a decreased level of GFP+ cells in the MHb of GTN-treated mice. Microinjection of NPY attenuated GTN-induced allodynia and anxiety without affecting photophobia. Furthermore, we found that activation of Y1—but not Y2—receptors attenuated GTN-induced allodynia and anxiety. Conclusions: Taken together, our data support that the NPY signaling in the MHb produces analgesic and anxiolytic effects through the Y1 receptor. These findings may provide new insights into novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnon polarons are novel elementary excitations possessing hybrid magnonic and phononic signatures, and are responsible for many exotic spintronic and magnonic phenomena. Despite long-term sustained experimental efforts in chasing for magnon polarons, direct spectroscopic evidence of their existence is hardly observed. Here, we report the direct observation of magnon polarons using neutron spectroscopy on a multiferroic Fe2Mo3O8 possessing strong magnon-phonon coupling. Specifically, below the magnetic ordering temperature, a gap opens at the nominal intersection of the original magnon and phonon bands, leading to two separated magnon-polaron bands. Each of the bands undergoes mixing, interconverting and reversing between its magnonic and phononic components. We attribute the formation of magnon polarons to the strong magnon-phonon coupling induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. Intriguingly, we find that the band-inverted magnon polarons are topologically nontrivial. These results uncover exotic elementary excitations arising from the magnon-phonon coupling, and offer a new route to topological states by considering hybridizations between different types of fundamental excitations.A magnetic crystal hosts both magnons, the quanta of spin waves, and phonons, the quanta of lattice vibrations. In some materials with strong coupling between spins and lattices, a magnon-polaron can form. Here, using neutron scattering on a multiferroic, Fe2Mo3O8, Bao et al. observe magnon-polaron, and show that it is topologically non-trivial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been explored as first-line treatment in various types of previously untreatable malignancies, while limited evidence is available on the management of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in patients undergoing immunotherapy. We systematically reviewed data concerning challenges of hepatic adverse events including HBV reactivation and hepatitis in patients with chronic HBV infection undergoing immunotherapy. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in Medline, web of science, Embase and Cochrane library up to May 31, 2022. Studies reporting the safety profile of ICIs in patients with HBV infection were eligible. Meta-analyses were conducted to generate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: A total of 13 studies including 2561 patients were included for meta-analysis. The overall incidence rates of HBV reactivation in patients with chronic HBV infection and past HBV infection were 1.0% (95% CI 0–3%) and 0% (95% CI 0–0%), respectively. Among patients with chronic HBV infection, the incidence rates of HBV reactivation were 1.0% (95% CI 0–2%) and 10.0% (95% CI 4–18%) for patients with and without antiviral prophylaxis, respectively. Patients with chronic HBV infection were at a higher risk of HBV reactivation compared with those with past HBV infection [OR = 8.69, 95% CI (2.16–34.99)]. Antiviral prophylaxis significantly reduced the risk of HBV reactivation [OR = 0.12, 95% CI (0.02–0.67)] and HBV-associated hepatitis [OR = 0.05, 95% CI (0.01–0.28)] in patients with chronic HBV infection. Conclusions: Prophylactic antiviral therapy should be administered to patients with chronic HBV infection undergoing anticancer immunotherapy. Patients with past HBV infection are at lower risk of HBV reactivation compared with those with chronic HBV infection, they could be initiated with antiviral prophylaxis or monitored with the intent of on-demand antiviral therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tumor vaccines for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an area of intense interest. Tremendous clinical trials have been conducted globally, but the efficacy and security of tumor vaccines are elusive. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and security of tumor vaccines. Methods: All relevant studies were identified in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science and Cochrane Library databases. Objective response rate (ORR), median overall survival (OS), or median progression-free survival (PFS) and 95% CI were meta-analyzed based on the random-effects model. The individual-level data of OS, PFS were pooled by conducting survival analysis. All observed adverse events were collected. Results: 31 studies containing 35 eligible cohorts with 932 HCC patients were included. The pooled ORR were 7% (95% CI 3–14%), while ORR of dendritic cell (DC) vaccine (19%, 95% CI 11–29%) were highly significant than ORR of peptide vaccine (1%, 95% CI 0–5%). The pooled median OS and PFS were 13.67 months (95% CI 8.20–22.80) and 6.19 months (95% CI 2.97–12.91), respectively. The pooled median OS (DC vaccine: median OS = 21.77 months, 95% CI 18.33–25.86; Peptide vaccine: median OS = 10.08 months, 95% CI 5.23–19.44) and PFS (DC vaccine: median PFS = 11.01 months, 95% CI 5.25–23.09; Peptide vaccine: median PFS = 1.97 months, 95% CI 1.53–2.54) of DC vaccine were also longer than that of peptide vaccine. HBV-related HCC may acquire more benefits from tumor vaccines than HCV-related HCC. In almost all studies, the observed toxicities were moderate even tiny. Conclusions: Tumor vaccines for HCC, especially DC vaccine, are safe and worth exploring. More high-quality prospective studies are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water chestnut is a characteristic aquatic vegetable in China, and its demand for peeling fresh fruit is increasing rapidly. Aiming at the existing problems of high labor intensity and low efficiency of manual peeling, a combined water chestnut peeling machine was designed, which used a rotary knife to remove bud and root, and a differential friction belts to remove side peel. The performance of the peeling machine was tested with water chestnut from Xiaogan, Hubei Provence. Under the conditions of 200 g feeding mass and 10 r/min rotation speed, the single factor test was carried out with cutting speed as the influencing factor and the cutting rate of bud and root as the evaluation index. The results showed that the cutting rate of fresh fruit of water chestnut bud and root were 79.04% and 83.77% respectively when the cutting speed of rotary knife was 1.2 m/s. In the differential friction belts, high and low linear velocities were taken as the influencing factors, and the side peel removal rate was used as the evaluation index. The side peel removal rate was 84.93% at the high-speed linear velocity of 2.1 m/s and the low-speed linear velocity of 1.58 m/s. The performance of the whole machine was evaluated, and the results showed that the working loss of the combined water chestnut peeling machine was 43.03% and the comprehensive peeling rate was 77.43%, which reached the design requirements. This study can provide a reference for the research and development of water chestnut peeling device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stochastic p-Laplace equation with multiplicative transport noise is studied on the torus T d (d ≥ 2) . It is shown that the dissipation is enhanced by transport noise in both the averaged sense and the pathwise sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-deoxyadenosine methylation (6mA) is the most widespread type of DNA modification in prokaryotes and is also abundantly distributed in some unicellular eukaryotes. However, 6mA levels are remarkably low in mammals. The lack of a precise and comprehensive mapping method has hindered more advanced investigations of 6mA. Here, we report a new method MM-seq (modification-induced mismatch sequencing) for genome-wide 6mA mapping based on a novel detection principle. We found that modified DNA bases are prone to form a local open region that allows capture by antibody, for example, via a DNA breathing or base-flipping mechanism. Specified endonuclease or exonuclease can recognize the antibody-stabilized mismatch-like structure and mark the exact modified sites for sequencing readout. Using this method, we examined the genomic positions of 6mA in bacteria (E. coli), green algae (C. reinhardtii), and mammalian cells (HEK239T, Huh7, and HeLa cells). In contrast to bacteria and green algae, human cells possess a very limited number of 6mA sites which are sporadically distributed across the genome of different cell types. After knocking out the RNA m6A methyltransferase METTL3 in mouse ES cells, 6mA becomes mostly diminished. Our results imply that rare 6mA in the mammalian genome is introduced by RNA m6A machinery via a non-targeted mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Lasmiditan is the first 5-HT1F receptor agonist with potential to address the huge unmet medical needs for the treatment of migraine in China. The CENTURION study was the first phase 3 study of lasmiditan in Caucasian and Chinese patients with migraine. This post hoc analysis further demonstrates the safety profile of lasmiditan in the Chinese population and was urgently needed.Methods: Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to lasmiditan 200 mg lasmiditan 100 mg, or a control group. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), their severity, and incidence by treated attacks for frequently reported TEAEs (≥ 5%) were evaluated. The duration, onset, and relationship of efficacy with very common TEAEs (≥ 10%) was analyzed.Results: A total of 281 Chinese patients were included in this post hoc analysis. No deaths and no study drug-related treatment emergent serious adverse events (TESAEs) were reported. The incidence of at least one TEAE was higher in patients receiving lasmiditan 200 mg (73.9%) and 100 mg (66.3%) versus placebo (26.6%). TEAEs were generally mild or moderate in severity, and the incidence of frequently reported TEAEs was generally highest during the first attack. Very common TEAEs with lasmiditan included dizziness, asthenia, somnolence, muscular weakness, fatigue, and nausea. The duration of dizziness was longest during the first attack. There were no cardio-cerebrovascular ischemic events and serotonin syndrome. The presence of very common TEAEs (except nausea), and severe dizziness, did not appear to have a negative influence on the efficacy.Conclusion: In the Chinese population of the CENTURION study, most of the TEAEs were neurologic, of mild or moderate severity, and self-limiting. The distribution of frequently reported TEAEs at the first attack differed from the primary cohort, while the overall safety profile of lasmiditan in the Chinese population was generally consistent with the CENTURION primary cohort. No new safety concerns were observed in the Chinese population.Trial Registration: NCT03670810. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preliminary studies have suggested that soluble programmed death-1 (sPD-1) and soluble programmed cell death ligand-1 (sPD-L1) have prognostic implications in many malignant tumors. However, the correlation between sPD-1/sPD-L1 level and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unclear. Methods: We searched several electronic databases from database inception to October 7, 2021. Meta-analyses were performed separately for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), time to progression (TTP), and tumor-free survival (TFS). Random effects were introduced to this meta-analysis. The correlation between sPD-1/sPD-L1 level and prognosis was evaluated using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). Results: A total of 11 studies (1291 patients) were incorporated into this meta-analysis, including seven on sPD-L1, two on sPD-1, and two about both factors. The pooled results showed that high sPD-L1 level was associated with worse OS (HR = 2.46, 95%CI 1.74–3.49, P < 0.001; I2 = 31.4, P = 0.177) and poorer DFS/RFS/TTP/TFS of patients with HCC (HR = 2.22, 95%CI 1.47–3.35, P < 0.001; I2 = 66.1, P = 0.011), irrespective of method of detection, study type, treatment, cut-off value and follow-up time. In contrast, the level of sPD-1 was not correlated to the OS (HR = 1.19, 95%CI 0.55–2.56, P = 0.657) and DFS/TFS of patients with HCC (HR = 0.94, 95%CI 0.36–2.49, P = 0.906). Conclusion: sPD-L1 rather than sPD-1 could be a good predictor for recurrence and survival after treatment for HCC. More high-quality prospective studies are warranted to assess the prognostic value of sPD-1 or sPD-L1 for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gut microbial dysbiosis and gut-brain axis dysfunction have been implicated in the pathophysiology of migraine. However, it is unclear whether migraine-related cephalic allodynia could induce the alteration of gut microbial composition. Methods: A classic migraine rat model was established by repeated dural infusions of inflammatory soup (IS). Periorbital mechanical threshold and nociception-related behaviors were used to evaluate IS-induced cephalic allodynia and the preventive effect of topiramate. The alterations in gut microbial composition and potential metabolic pathways were investigated based on the results of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbiota-related short-chain fatty acids and tryptophan metabolites were detected and quantified by mass spectrometry analysis. Results: Repeated dural IS infusions induced cephalic allodynia (decreased mechanical threshold), migraine-like behaviors (increased immobility time and reduced moving distance), and microbial composition alteration, which were ameliorated by the treatment of topiramate. Decreased Lactobacillus was the most prominent biomarker genus in the IS-induced alteration of microbial composition. Additionally, IS infusions also enhanced metabolic pathways of the gut microbiota in butanoate, propanoate, and tryptophan, while the increased tryptophan-related metabolites indole-3-acetamide and tryptophol in feces could be the indicators. Conclusions: Inflammatory dural stimulation-induced cephalic allodynia causes the alterations of gut microbiota profile and microbial metabolic pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We preformed this retrospective study of clinical manifestation, imaging feature, and mutations to describe joint involvement in X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) patients, aimed to provide recommendation for physicians. Methods: A total number of 98 XLA patients who have been diagnosed between January 2000 and February 2020 were enrolled and grouped based on whether they developed arthritis and analyzed for the clinical, imaging, and gene mutation data using the t test or the Mann–Whitney test. Results: Forty-five out of 98 patients (45.9%) had joint involvement, 40.8% had symptom prior to the diagnosis of XLA, and 54.1% had no articular symptom. Patients with joint involvement had a higher median diagnostic age of XLA and initial IgG level than patients without it, while their intravenous immunoglobulin was lower (p < 0.05). Knee, hip, and ankle were the most frequent joint, and oligoarthritis (≦ 4 joints) was more common than polyarthritis (88.9% vs 11.1%). Red and tenderness were the most frequent clinical symptoms (80%) with 24.4% reporting limited activity and 8.9% reporting deformity. Imaging data collected from 32 patients indicated that joint effusion (53.3%), synovitis (15.5%), and swollen soft tissue (15.5%) were the most common feature. Seventeen patients were treated by antibiotics plus intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) with an effective rate of 70.6%, and 28 patients only received IVIG with an effective rate of 67.9%. In comparison to patients without arthritis who have higher frequency nonsense and frameshift mutation, patients with arthritis had a higher incidence of missense mutation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: High prevalence of arthritis among X-linked agammaglobulinemia patients and subsequent progression through IVIG replacement therapy highlight the importance of timely diagnosis and better management of these patients. Our finding indicated a potential correlation between genotype and phenotype, and further research on the mechanism of arthritis in XLA patients could increase physicians' awareness and improve patients' prognosis. Key Points • This study described the feature of arthritis in XLA patients and indicated a potential correlation between this complication and genotype. [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.)

Background: Resting-state EEG microstates are thought to reflect brief activations of several interacting components of resting-state brain networks. Surprisingly, we still know little about the role of these microstates in migraine. In the present study, we attempted to address this issue by examining EEG microstates in patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) during the interictal period and comparing them with those of a group of healthy controls (HC). Methods: Resting-state EEG was recorded in 61 MwoA patients (50 females) and 66 HC (50 females). Microstate parameters were compared between the two groups. We computed four widely identified canonical microstate classes A-D. Results: Microstate classes B and D displayed higher time coverage and occurrence in the MwoA patient group than in the HC group, while microstate class C exhibited significantly lower time coverage and occurrence in the MwoA patient group. Meanwhile, the mean duration of microstate class C was significantly shorter in the MwoA patient group than in the HC group. Moreover, among the MwoA patient group, the duration of microstate class C correlated negatively with clinical measures of headache-related disability as assessed by the six-item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6). Finally, microstate syntax analysis showed significant differences in transition probabilities between the two groups, primarily involving microstate classes B, C, and D. Conclusions: By exploring EEG microstate characteristics at baseline we were able to explore the neurobiological mechanisms underlying altered cortical excitability and aberrant sensory, affective, and cognitive processing, thus deepening our understanding of migraine pathophysiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key to measurement by electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) is to obtain accurate phase information from the ESPI fringe patterns. We propose a fast batch skeleton extraction method for ESPI fringe patterns using the pix2pix conditional generative adversarial network (pix2pix cGAN). The network is trained by ESPI fringe patterns and complete skeleton images, and the trained network can quickly extract skeletons; it took 11.7 s to extract the skeletons of 200 experimental ESPI fringe patterns. Compared to the fringe skeleton method, cycle GAN method, and U-net method, our method can obtain accurate, complete, and smooth skeletons faster. In addition, for some broken ESPI fringe patterns, the traditional fringe skeleton method will fail, whereas complete skeletons can be obtained through the trained network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The age-dependent decline in remyelination potential of the central nervous system during ageing is associated with a declined differentiation capacity of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). The molecular players that can enhance OPC differentiation or rejuvenate OPCs are unclear. Here we show that, in mouse OPCs, nuclear entry of SIRT2 is impaired and NAD+ levels are reduced during ageing. When we supplement β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (β-NMN), an NAD+ precursor, nuclear entry of SIRT2 in OPCs, OPC differentiation, and remyelination were rescued in aged animals. We show that the effects on myelination are mediated via the NAD+-SIRT2-H3K18Ac-ID4 axis, and SIRT2 is required for rejuvenating OPCs. Our results show that SIRT2 and NAD+ levels rescue the aged OPC differentiation potential to levels comparable to young age, providing potential targets to enhance remyelination during ageing. Age-dependent decline in remyelination in the CNS is associated with declined differentiation capacity of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Here, the authors show nuclear entry of SIRT2 is impaired and NAD+ levels are reduced during ageing in mouse OPCs. β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (β-NMN) supplement delays myelin aging and enhances remyelination in the aged mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a form of hybrid multi-energy systems, the integrated energy system contains different forms of energy such as power, thermal, and gas which meet the load of various energy forms. Focusing mainly on model building and optimal operation of the integrated energy system, in this paper, the dist-flow method is applied to quickly calculate the power flow and the gas system model is built by the analogy of the power system model. In addition, the piecewise linearization method is applied to solve the quadratic Weymouth gas flow equation, and the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) method is applied to narrow the optimal results of each subsystem at the coupling point. The entire system reaches its optimal operation through multiple iterations. The power-thermal-gas integrated energy system used in the case study includes an IEEE-33 bus power system, a Belgian 20 node natural gas system, and a six node thermal system. Simulation-based calculations and comparison of the results under different scenarios prove that the power-thermal-gas integrated energy system enhances the flexibility and stability of the system as well as reducing system operating costs to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have identified an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Sex and regional disparities in incidence of HCC in AIH continue to be reported worldwide. Nevertheless, the magnitude of this gap remains unknown. Method: We searched several databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang Data, CNKI and SinoMed. Incidence rates of HCC in AIH were combined and analyzed following the EBayes method. Incidence rate ratios were pooled to assess the sex differences. The impact of population difference, sex, age, cirrhotic condition was further analyzed with subgroup analysis and linear regression analysis. Result: 39 studies meeting our eligibility criteria were chosen for the analysis. The pooled incidence rate of HCC in AIH was 3.54 per 1000 person years (95% CI 2.76–4.55). Pooled IRR for the risk of HCC in male AIH patients compared to female was 2.16 (95% CI 1.25–3.75), with mild heterogeneity among studies. The pooled HCC incidence rate in AIH by continents was as follows: Europe 2.37 per 1000 person-years (95% CI 1.45–3.88), Asia 6.18 per 1000 person-years (95%CI 5.51–6.93), North America 2.97 per 1000 person-years (95%CI 2.40–3.68), Oceania 2.60 (95%CI 0.54–7.58). The pooled HCC incidence rate in AIH-related cirrhosis by continent was as follows: Europe 6.35 per 1000 person-years (95%CI 3.94–10.22), Asia 17.02 per 1000 person-years (95%CI 11.18–25.91), North America 10.89 per 1000 person-years (95%CI 6.69–17.74). Conclusion: A higher HCC incidence in AIH was observed among male and in Asian populations. Cirrhosis status at AIH diagnosis is significantly associated with an increased incidence rate for HCC, and routine HCC surveillance is recommended for patients with AIH cirrhosis, especially for those in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been widely used to treat patients with schizophrenia. However, the underlying mechanisms of ECT remain unknown. In the present study, the treatment effects of ECT on brain structure in patients with schizophrenia were explored. Seventy patients with schizophrenia were scanned using structural magnetic resonance imaging. Patients in the drug group were scanned at baseline (time 1) and follow-up (time 2, 6 weeks of treatment). Patients in the ECT group were scanned before ECT treatment (baseline, time 1) and 10–12 h after the last ECT treatment (time 2). Voxel-based morphometry was applied to analyze the imaging data. Patients in the ECT group showed significantly increased gray matter volume (GMV) in the bilateral hippocampus/amygdala and left superior temporal gyrus (STG)/middle temporal gyrus (MTG) after ECT combined with antipsychotic therapy at time 2. In contrast, patients in the drug group showed decreased GMV in widespread brain regions. Correlation analysis results showed significantly negative correlations between the increased GMV in the bilateral hippocampus/amygdala and PANSS scores at baseline in the ECT group. ECT may modulate brain structure in patients with schizophrenia. The GMV in distinct subcortical regions was related to the individual therapeutic response in patients with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication-overuse headache (MOH) is a relatively frequently occurring secondary headache caused by overuse of analgesics and/or acute migraine medications. It is believed that MOH is associated with dependence behaviors and substance addiction, in which the salience network (SN) and the habenula may play an important role. This study aims to investigate the resting-state (RS) functional connectivity between the habenula and the SN in patients with MOH complicating chronic migraine (CM) compared with those with episodic migraine (EM) and healthy controls (HC). Methods: RS-fMRI and 3-dimensional T1-weighted images of 17 patients with MOH + CM, 18 patients with EM and 30 matched healthy HC were obtained. The RS-fMRI data were analyzed using the independent component analysis (ICA) method to investigate the group differences of functional connectivity between the habenula and the SN in three groups. Correlation analysis was performed thereafter with all clinical variables by Pearson correlation. Results: Increased functional connectivity between bilateral habenula and SN was detected in patients with MOH + CM compared with patients with EM and HC respectively. Correlation analysis showed significant correlation between medication overuse duration and habenula-SN connectivity in MOH + CM patients. Conclusions: The current study supported MOH to be lying within a spectrum of dependence and addiction disorder. The enhanced functional connectivity of the habenula with SN may correlate to the development or chronification of MOH. Furthermore, the habenula may be an indicator or treatment target for MOH for its integrative role involved in multiple aspects of MOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mutations in ATP1A2, the gene encoding the α2 subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase, are the main cause of familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2). The clinical presentation of FHM2 with mutations in the same gene varies from pure FHM to severe forms with epilepsy and intellectual disability, but the correlation of these symptoms with different ATP1A2 mutations is still unclear. Methods: Ten ATP1A2 missense mutations were selected according to different phenotypes of FHM patients. They caused pure FHM (FHM: R65W, R202Q, R593W, G762S), FHM with epilepsy (FHME: R548C, E825K, R938P), or FHM with epilepsy and intellectual disability (FHMEI: T378N, G615R, D718N). After ouabain resistance and fluorescence modification, plasmids carrying those mutations were transiently transfected into HEK293T and HeLa cells. The biochemical functions were studied including cell survival assays, membrane protein extraction, western blotting, and Na+/K+-ATPase activity tests. The electrophysiological functions of G762S, R938P, and G615R mutations were investigated in HEK293T cells using whole-cell patch-clamp. Homology modeling was performed to determine the locational distribution of ATP1A2 mutations. Results: Compared with wild-type pumps, all mutations showed a similar level of protein expression and decreased cell viability in the presence of 1 µM ouabain, and there was no significant difference among the mutant groups. The changes in Na+/K+-ATPase activity were correlated with the severity of FHM phenotypes. In the presence of 100 µM ouabain, the Na+/K+-ATPase activity was FHM > FHME > FHMEI. The ouabain-sensitive Na+/K+-ATPase activity of each mutant was significantly lower than that of the wild-type protein, and there was no significant difference among all mutant groups. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings in HEK293T cells showed that the ouabain-sensitive pump currents of G615R were significantly reduced, while those of G762S and R938P were comparable to those of the wild-type strain. Conclusions: ATP1A2 mutations cause phenotypes ranging from pure FHM to FHM with epilepsy and intellectual disability due to varying degrees of deficits in biochemical and electrophysiological properties of Na+/K+-ATPase. Mutations associated with intellectual disability presented with severe impairment of Na+/K+-ATPase. Whether epilepsy is accompanied, or the type of epilepsy did not seem to affect the degree of impairment of pump function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a disorder of brain dysfunction, migraine has been associated with cognitive decline. However, no consistent results with respect to the attention function in migraineurs have been found, and the relationship between attentional inhibition and migraine is also unclear. In this study, the attentional inhibition function was evaluated using event-related potentials (ERPs) while migraine patients and healthy controls were performing the color–word Stroop task. Methods: In this study, 75 migraine patients and 41 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls were enrolled. The Stroop task was performed, and both behavioral and ERP data were analyzed. Results: As to the behavioral data, the migraine group had a longer reaction time compared to the control group, but no difference in Stroop effect was observed. With respect to ERP components, the amplitudes of both early and late medial frontal negativity (MFN) were decreased in the migraine group. Additionally, obvious differences in the early MFN and sustained potential (SP) amplitudes were found between patients with and without allodynia. Conclusions: At the behavioral level, migraine patients exhibited decreased executive ability but no obvious decline in inhibition. By contrast, a decline in attentional inhibition during the migraine interictal phase was confirmed by the analysis of ERP components, mainly those associated with changes in the conflict-monitoring stage, independent of confounding factors such as age, education, medication and mood disorders. Migraine patients with allodynia exhibited some significant differences in early MFN and SP compared to those without, supporting the hypothesis that migraine chronification aggravates the decline in attentional inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies limit behaviors of stationary measures for stochastic ordinary differential equations with nondegenerate noise and presents a criterion to guarantee that a repeller with zero Lebesgue measure is a null set of any limit measure. Using this criterion, we first provide a series of nontrivial concrete examples to show that their repelling limit cycles or quasi-periodic orbits are null sets for all limit measures, which deduces that all their limit measures are concentrated on stable equilibria and stable limit cycles or quasi-periodic orbits, and saddles. Interesting open questions on exact supports of limit measures are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To understand the molecular and physiological mechanism underlying the heat stress in maize, transcriptional and physiological response to heat stress in the heat-resistant Huangzaosi (HZS) and heat-sensitive Lv-9-Kuan (L9K) inbred lines at seedling stage were analyzed and compared at seedling stage. Our results indicated that MDA content of the two inbred lines increased significantly under heat stress; the values of MDA in L9K was significantly higher than that in HZS. The level of SOD, CAT, and POD enzyme activities in HZS was higher than those in L9K for both the heat-treated group and controls. The values of Fv/Fm, qP, and ФPSII reduced by heat stress in L9K were higher than the respective values in HZS. RNA-seq data showed that heat stress induced more heat stress-related genes in HZS (257 heat stress-related genes) than in L9K (224 heat stress-related genes). GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that HZS and L9K changed their physiological and biochemical mechanisms in response to heat stress through different molecular mechanisms. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis showed that HZS might obtain stronger heat resistance than L9K through a unique transcriptional regulatory network. Our findings provide insights into the molecular networks that mediate the tolerance of maize heat stress and also help us to mine key heat stress-related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limiting behavior of stochastic evolution processes with small noise intensity ϵ is investigated in distribution-based approaches. Let μϵ be a stationary measure for stochastic process Xϵ with small ϵ and X0 be a semiflow on a Polish space. Assume that {μϵ: 0 < ϵ ⩽ ϵ0} is tight. Then all their limits in the weak sense are X0-invariant and their supports are contained in the Birkhoff center of X0. Applications are made to various stochastic evolution systems, including stochastic ordinary differential equations, stochastic partial differential equations, and stochastic functional differential equations driven by Brownian motion or Lévy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish the Freidlin-Wentzell's large deviations for quasilinear parabolic stochastic partial differential equations with multiplicative noise, which are neither monotone nor locally monotone. The proof is based on the weak convergence approach. [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.)

The irreducibility, moderate deviation principle and ψ-uniformly exponential ergodicity with ψ(x) := 1 + ∥x∥0 are proved for stochastic Burgers equation driven by the α-stable processes for α ∈ (1, 2), where the first two are new for the present model, and the last strengthens the exponential ergodicity under total variational norm derived in Dong et al. (J. Stat. Phys. 154:929–949, 2014). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]